Chapter 13: Silver Carp

Li Qingzhi’s current body couldn’t handle much work, so digging rice roots was done by Jin Xiaoye taking Li Laogen along.

As for him, he stayed at home helping with cooking and taking care of the children, occasionally turning over the sun-dried rice.

The people of Miaoqian Village didn’t have much work on normal days, but recently, with the busy farming season, everyone was rushing around.

After all, once the rice was harvested, it was time to start planting the next crop!

People in Miaoqian Village would first prepare a small plot of land for seedling cultivation. When the rice grew to a certain extent, they would pull it out, bundle it neatly, and replant it all over again, which is commonly known as transplanting seedlings.

But before that, the rice fields needed to be fertilized. If the fertility wasn’t enough, the rice wouldn’t grow well, and what was once good farmland would turn into inferior land.

In this era, there were no chemical fertilizers, so fertilizing the fields mainly relied on human and animal manure, river silt, and ash from grass and trees, making this work dirty and tiring.

What shocked Li Qingzhi the most was that they had to spend money to buy manure.

There was a businessman named Zhang in Chongcheng County who specialized in selling manure. He had people collect manure from all over the county and then sell it to nearby farmers.

The so-called “manure” was a polite term for feces used locally.

It was said that in previous years, the people in the county town would sell their manure to different buyers, who would then sell it to farmers. But later, this Zhang monopolized the market.

After monopolizing the market without competition, he stopped paying the people from the county town for their manure and raised the price, but fortunately, the farmers could still afford it.

And he made a lot of money by monopolizing this business.

Li Laogen squatted at the door, chattering about the deeds of that Zhang business and how despicable he was. “Ten years ago, those who sold manure used to compete with each other, and the price of manure wasn’t as expensive as it is now!”

Li Qingzhi was greatly shocked to hear this. In this day and age, monopolizing business actually meant monopolizing a whole city… well, manure.

Thinking like this, Li Qingzhi looked at Li Laogen with admiration. “Dad, you know so much!”

Li Laogen laughed, revealing the few yellowish teeth he had left. “Of course, I know a lot of things!”

Li Qingzhi then asked about other things that interested him.

In the apocalypse, there was no one to talk to, so he had become lonely enough to talk to zombies. Now, everyone around him was alive… and when he had the strength, he was especially eager to talk to them.

This also allowed him to understand this era better.

Actually, he liked talking to Jin Xiaoye the most, but Jin Xiaoye was very busy, so he could only settle for talking to Li Laogen.

Li Laogen also enjoyed talking to Li Qingzhi. Before, when Li Laogen had nothing to do at home, he always wanted to go out and find someone to hang out with. But now, Li Qingzhi has warmly pulled him into conversations and occasionally praised him…

Li Laogen suddenly felt a bit like a father, finding the skinny, somewhat endearing boy in front of him quite likable.

Li Damao also enjoyed listening to Li Laogen talk, but Li Ermao was different. He hoped the adults could take him out to play… Seeing Li Qingzhi and Li Laogen chatting endlessly, he reached out to cover Li Qingzhi’s mouth.

Li Qingzhi grabbed that hand and kissed it several times. “My Ermao’s hands are so soft and lovely to kiss. Dad really likes Er Mao.”

Li Ermao looked foolishly at his own hand.

Feeling it wouldn’t be fair otherwise, Li Qingzhi grabbed Li Damao’s hand and kissed it several times. “Damao’s hand is lovely too! Dad also likes Damao!”

Li Damao was dumbfounded.

Seeing this, Li Qingzhi lifted the child’s face and kissed it again.

Li Damao: “!!!”

As for Li Ermao… he couldn’t wait to come over. “Dad, me too!”

Li Qingzhi happily kissed Li Ermao’s little cheek.

Having two children to kiss, he felt truly blessed!

Before, Li Qingzhi was afraid the two children wouldn’t adapt, so at most, he just hugged them. But today, since he had kissed them… he could continue to do so in the future!

While his sons were still young, he must kiss their little cheeks and hands more!

Jin Xiaoye undoubtedly loved the children, but she was usually too busy, rarely showing affection towards them. This might not necessarily be due to being busy, but simply a cultural norm.

Parents in this era often appeared authoritative in front of their children, controlling them, but seldom expressed affection verbally or physically. If they did, it was often material rather than verbal or physical expressions of love.

The lower-class farmers were busy with their livelihoods, and their children were completely left to fend for themselves.

Being both kissed and told “liked,” Li Damao and Li Ermao felt delighted. Li Ermao even pouted and kissed Li Qingzhi’s face as he sat on the doorstep.

The child’s lips were soft, and Li Qingzhi felt like his heart was melting from the kiss!

How could there be such adorable children in this world!

Thinking it wouldn’t be fair otherwise, Li Qingzhi brought his other half of the face closer to Li Damao’s face, inviting him to kiss. “Damao, come and kiss dad too!”

Li Damao felt a bit shy but still kissed Li Qingzhi firmly.

Li Qingzhi felt satisfied.

At that moment, Jin Xiaoye returned.

Jin Xiaoye came back from work, a bit dirty, so she didn’t approach them. Instead, she called out to Li Laogen, “Dad, come with me to the fields.”

Li Laogen glanced enviously at Li Qingzhi, who didn’t have to work, then followed Jin Xiaoye reluctantly, muttering, “No need to spend so much time in the fields. Others don’t do it like this…”

“But others have more land!” Jin Xiaoye retorted.

Li Laogen sighed and said nothing.

Jin Xiaoye took Li Laogen to fetch fertilizer. The neighboring Yao family brought buckets of fertilizer by boat, and everyone in the village was busy adding fertility to their fields.

With nothing to do for the moment, Li Qingzhi said to the two children, “Come, let dad take you for a walk.”

Li Damao and Li Ermao nodded happily. Li Damao even thoughtfully brought along a bamboo basket.

Whenever their dad went out, he would definitely go to pick wild grass.

People in the village said their dad was starving crazy, his mind unclear, and he needed to eat some pig brains to clear it up. But they still quite liked this dad of theirs.

Li Qingzhi took the two children for a walk, occasionally letting them pick some grass.

There were more children in the village carrying baskets to cut grass, but while others did it to feed sheep, they did it to feed their dad.

As they were picking grass, Li Qingzhi saw his little brother-in-law, Jin Xiaoshu, coming from a distance, carrying a grass carp.

When Jin Xiaoshu saw Li Qingzhi, his expression was somewhat conflicted. “Brother-in-law, I heard you eat grass all day?”

Li Qingzhi replied, “Not all day…”

“I bought a fish from the people on the boat. Take it home and steam it instead of eating grass.” Jin Xiaoshu handed the fish to Li Qingzhi.

The fish was already dead, with several stalks of straw stuffed into its gills and tied together from its mouth, making it easy to carry.

There were many rivers in the area where fish could be caught, but ordinary families mainly relied on farming for a living. Fishing was done in the irrigation ditches, and they mostly caught small fish and shrimp. It was rare to catch big fish.

If you wanted to eat big fish, you had to buy them from those who made a living by fishing.

The “people on the boat” that Jin Xiaoshu mentioned referred to those who didn’t own land and lived on boats year-round. Many of these people made a living by fishing.

Fish were much cheaper than meat, but a fish weighing around three kilograms would cost about ten cents.

Jin Xiaoshu could catch fish himself. He had originally planned to catch some fish for Li Qingzhi when he had some free time in a few days. However, hearing that Li Qingzhi was eating grass, he deliberately used his own saved money to buy a fish and brought it to Li Qingzhi.

“I still have work at home. I’ll leave first,” Jin Xiaoshu said hurriedly before leaving.

The Jin family was considered wealthy in the village, owning a total of twelve acres of land.

Jin Xiaoye’s eldest uncle worked as a cook in the army and didn’t come back, but he had three sons. With Jin Xiaoshu and his father, the five men should be able to work quickly together.

However, Jin Xiaoye’s several cousins liked to push the dirty and tiring work onto Jin Xiaoshu and his father, so Jin Xiaoshu and his father were always busy and tired.

Li Qingzhi’s attention was drawn to the fish, and before he realized it, Jin Xiaoshu had already left.

But his little brother-in-law was indeed a good person! This was a fish! A three-kilogram fish!

Li Qingzhi looked at the fish and couldn’t help but salivate again.

The two children were also drooling, looking at the fish and asking, “Dad, can we eat fish later?”

Li Qingzhi replied, “Yes! We’ll eat half of it today and salt the remaining half for tomorrow.”

Li Qingzhi went home to get a knife and then went to the riverbank to prepare the fish.

People generally didn’t eat the fish’s internal organs, but Li Qingzhi couldn’t bear to throw them away. He cleaned the fish’s intestines and stomach and then rubbed them with salt. When cooking, he would steam them on the steaming rack.

When Li Laogen came back and saw the fish, he laughed happily. Jin Xiaoye also became much calmer. As for Li Qingzhi…

With so much protein, how could he not like it!

As for the fishy smell… the two children didn’t mind at all!

Today was another day of enjoying delicious food to the fullest, thanks to the heavens!

Jin Xiaoye and the others didn’t pay much attention.

They had gotten used to Li Qingzhi’s ecstatic expressions whenever he ate anything, as if he were eating delicacies from all over the world. They didn’t know when he would recover…

As they ate, Jin Xiaoye said, “I’ll be busy again tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow, I need to go to the county town.”

Before, she would go to the county town about once every ten days to meet acquaintances and maintain relationships. But this time, because Li Qingzhi had returned and they were busy with farming, she hadn’t been to the county town for twenty days.

Now that she finally had some free time, she wanted to go take a look.

Li Qingzhi immediately asked, “Can I come?”

Jin Xiaoye replied affirmatively, “You can’t walk.” Their village was ten miles away from the county town!

Li Qingzhi indeed couldn’t walk. “Why don’t you take a boat? It’s a bit dangerous to walk…” The original owner used to walk to the county town alone, but when passing by the riverside, he was taken away by someone on a boat.

Of course, it’s relatively safe now, and it’s unlikely to encounter such unlucky incidents.

Jin Xiaoye said, “Taking a boat costs one penny… I’ll go with dad, and it’ll be fine with the two of us.”

Before, Jin Xiaoye used to take boats as well, but now they didn’t have enough money!

As for Li Qingzhi wanting to go, Jin Xiaoye wouldn’t mind taking him on a boat to the county town if she had money. But she didn’t have any!

Jin Xiaoye said to Li Qingzhi, “You stay home and take care of Damao and Ermao. I’ll buy some delicious food for you to enjoy.”

Li Qingzhi could only nod and agree, “Okay.”

His body was recovering quickly. Next, he could walk around more to exercise and strive to find a job in the county town half a month later.

Upon careful consideration, he realized he still looked a bit thin and frail. If he were to go to the county town like this, others might not dare to employ him.

But in half a month, he probably wouldn’t gain much weight either…

With a sigh, Li Qingzhi couldn’t help but carefully chew on the fish bones before swallowing them.

After the meal, Jin Xiaoye went back to her tasks, and Li Qingzhi didn’t delay either. He took Damao and Ermao and headed towards the riverside where many villagers liked to gather.

Every evening, there would be many elderly ladies gathered there chatting and gossiping. He wanted to go and listen in!