Distributing the Fish

Fang Zeng was very happy to hear about Li Fu’s misfortune. He felt more energetic for several days. He thought that he didn’t have a ger, so it was impossible for him and Fang Zhiyuan to make glutinous rice cakes for Fang Zhiyuan’s birthday. So, he simply asked Lin Xin and Lin Zheng to help him.

Lin Zheng got the benefit from Fang Zeng, and he felt embarrassed to take advantage of his brother. At this time, Fang Zeng asked him to do something, and he was happy in his heart. This was because Fang Zeng didn’t treat him as an outsider, so he naturally agreed. Lin Xin was also easy to talk to. This birthday was a happy event, when Fang Zeng asked him to do it, he didn’t hesitate. How could he refuse?

The two gers from Lin Xin’s and Lin Zheng’s families are the most important for making glutinous rice cakes, but Fang Zeng also needs to prepare the raw materials and molds. He originally wanted to exchange some glutinous rice in the village, but the glutinous rice farmers in the village could not produce the amount Fang Zeng wanted. Fang Zeng was very busy, fishing and hunting, and he was really overwhelmed.

Lin Zheng had also been to the town with Lin Xin, so he volunteered to help Fang Zeng buy glutinous rice in the town. Fang Zeng followed Lin Xin to fish. There are several large ponds in Lin Village. At the beginning of each year, each family in the village pays a lot of money per person to buy some fish fry and put them in the pond. At the end of the year, the village organizes young men to fetch fish and distribute them according to the number of people in the village.

If a family needs fish for weddings or funerals, it’s okay. Just pay a lot of money in the village, and use the money to subsidize road and bridge construction in the future. They were all acquaintances, and there was no need to be so particular. Therefore, Fang Zeng only needed to pay some money to get fish.

Fang Zeng needed fish, and the village planned to fetch fish at the end of the year. If there were young and strong men, one man from each household would go out to fish. The water in the pond was released a few days ago, and the fishing net was also put down yesterday. Today was the time to collect the net and fish. On this day, the temperature had already frozen, and the water in the pond was freezing cold. Even the men with extremely strong tempers could not stand it. Therefore, even though children as old as Fang Zhiyuan clamored to go fishing, they were suppressed by the grandmas at home.

After Fang Zhiyuan repeatedly promised Fang Zeng that he would never go into the water and would only watch from the shore, Fang Zeng reluctantly agreed to let Fang Zhiyuan go and have a look. Fang Zhiyuan proudly carried his basket on his back and swaggered with Fang Zeng to watch the fishing under the envious and jealous eyes of Da Zhuang and Xiao Zhuang.

 The men who fished were all young and strong. They wore straw sandals, thick animal skins to keep out water, and old coats that they had bought from who knows where. They were all ready to go. As the head of the village, Lin Xin naturally directed the fishing process.

In the afternoon, when the water was not as cold as in the morning, dozens of men went into the water together. Some drove the fish, and some collected the nets. The division of labor was clear. The nets were collected in half an hour. Looking at fish in the fishing nets, the gers who had been waiting on the side were all smiling. The gers who were preparing to cook the complicated ginger soup quickly asked the men who came ashore to drink a bowl of ginger soup. They couldn’t get sick because of fishing in this weather.

Fang Zeng also pinched his nose and drank a large bowl of ginger soup. Fang Zhiyuan looked at him and laughed. Fang Zeng simply filled another half bowl and walked towards Fang Zhiyuan.  Fang Zhiyuan saw something was wrong, and asked Fang Zeng, who was smiling a little strangely, “Uncle, what are you doing with the ginger soup?”

Fang Zeng stood in front of him and said with a smile, “Huzi, you have been blown by the wind by the water for half a day today. Children are prone to catching cold. You should drink some ginger soup to get rid of the cold.” Fang Zhiyuan looked at the soup that smelled like ginger from a long distance, pursed his lips in disdain, and silently refused.

The old grandma standing next to Fang Zeng and the others listened to Fang Zeng’s words and agreed very much. She said to Fang Zhiyuan, “Kid, your uncle is right. Drink it quickly to get rid of the cold. Otherwise, you will suffer from the cold and make your uncle worry. Drink it quickly!”

Fang Zhiyuan had to drink it today. He was a little annoyed that he had laughed at his uncle earlier. Is this retribution in this life? There was no way. Under the old grandma’s gaze, he closed his eyes, made up his mind, and poured down half a bowl of ginger soup. Ginger water without sugar tasted like poison. Fang Zhiyuan made up his mind that he would never catch a cold again. He never wanted to taste ginger soup again.

The water in the pond was drained. In addition to fish, there were snails, clams, loaches and eels. In these villages, whoever caught them would own them. Because there was silt in the pond, some boys found animal skins at home and wrapped them around their feet and calves, and then went down to pick them up.

Looking at these, Fang Zhiyuan thought of many delicious foods. He had prepared them long ago and took out four robe skins from his backpack. Fang Zeng was a hunter, and his family had the most of these skins. Many families in the village liked to ask Auntie Lin for these skins when she was there. In the past six months, because only Fang Zeng and Fang Zhiyuan were there, it was difficult for those gers to go, and the men at home didn’t have to go to Fang Zeng for these skins, so there were quite a few left at home.

 Fang Zhiyuan handed two pieces to his uncle, and tied the leather tightly around his feet and calves with a thin hemp rope. After trying it, it was very good, not leaking or airtight. Fang Zeng had long been told by Fang Zhiyuan last night how delicious the boiled snails, tofu loach, and braised eel were, so he tied them up and prepared to pick them up.

Fang Zeng took Fang Zhiyuan to the river to pick them up. He stopped moving after one step, and then bent down to start picking them up. Fang Zeng did a good job in snails, river clams, catching loaches and digging eels. Fang Zhiyuan, who could only pick up some small snails and river clams, was envious. Fortunately, some small shrimps jumped out to comfort him.

Fang Zhiyuan’s own small backpack was soon full, and Fang Zeng’s backpack seemed to be full too. The uncle and nephew looked up and saw that many men were helping their gers pick up snails. At this time, Lin Xin had also divided the fish and asked everyone to take the fish.

 According to the number of people, no matter adults or children, each person got six catties of fish. Those who went to the river to fish were given two more fish as a reward. Fang Zeng and Fang Zhiyuan were only two people, and they also took twelve catties of fish. They divided them into six crucian carps weighing seven or eight taels, two silver carps weighing two or three catties, and two mullets as a reward for fishing in the water. Fang Zeng wanted to hold a birthday party, so he asked for six more crucian carps, two grass carps weighing five catties, and four mullets, and gave fifty big coins.

Fortunately, they brought baskets with them. They put all the fish in one basket, and put Fang Zeng’s backpack in the other basket. Fang Zhiyuan carried his own backpack. The uncle and nephew went home happily.

 On the way, Fang Zeng seemed a little excited, and said to Fang Zhiyuan mysteriously: “Huzi, uncle will show you something good later.” Fang Zhiyuan looked at Fang Zeng curiously, and couldn’t help asking: “Uncle, what good thing? Tell me now.”

Fang Zeng was unwilling to say anything. He looked very happy, which made Fang Zhiyuan feel itchy.

After returning home, Fang Zeng kept the fish in a wooden barrel and basin. He took off the lid of the backpack and took out a black thing from it. He waved to Fang Zhiyuan and said, “Huzi, come and see what good thing your uncle caught.” Fang Zhiyuan couldn’t wait any longer and ran over to take a closer look at the black thing. He then found out that it was a turtle which was a great tonic.  

Fang Zeng looked at his nephew with pride and said with a smile: “Uncle touched it when he was touching the eel. He originally thought it was a big river clam, but when he touched it and it moved, he knew it was this thing. Uncle took advantage of the time when no one was paying attention and helped to throw it into the backpack.”

Fang Zeng said to Fang Zhiyuan earnestly: “You, remember what your uncle said, you should not have the intention to harm others, but you must be on guard against others. We were all picking up snails together. If I said that I caught a turtle at that time, what would people think? They are all things from the village, and everyone has a share. If you get one more fish, someone will be hurt.  How can you not accept it, not to mention that this is something that can be worth some money. You said that when the time comes, you can take it. Although everyone doesn’t say it, they are not convinced in their hearts; you can give it to others. There are so many people in the village. Who can you give it to? Who will be willing to give it to others? You may not be happy to take out something you touched. It’s better to do it quietly, so no one knows and there will be no disputes. In the future, Huzi, you have to think more about everything and make a fortune in silence. “

Fang Zhiyuan looked at his uncle with starry eyes. He is a talent. It is really lucky to encounter a wild turtle in this pond. What’s more, the pond here is used to fish every year, so naturally it can’t hold turtles. His uncle can catch it, which is his character. The most important thing is that his uncle has a very positive mind and is very familiar with the ways of the world. Although his vision may not be far-sighted, he is very useful as an authentic farmer.

 Fang Zeng looked at the turtle and said to Fang Zhiyuan: “Let’s stew it tonight. I heard from the old people that this thing is a tonic. It will nourish you well.”

Fang Zhiyuan disagreed. It was the end of the year and everything was rising in price. If this wild turtle was sold to Manager Chen, it could get one or two strings of money. His uncle spent a lot of money on his birthday, and selling this thing would help the family. As for nourishing the body, Fang Zeng never let him down after he came to the Fang family. Although meat and vegetables were not available every meal, they were eaten every three or five days. He had already kept his body strong, so why did he need a turtle? Besides, it was unrealistic to think that eating a turtle would make him strong.

 Fang Zhiyuan thought so in his heart, but he couldn’t say it. He said tentatively: “Uncle, you see, now we have to eat delicious food every day at home. I am as strong as a calf, so there is no need to nourish myself like this. Otherwise, you can sell it and buy me other delicious food.” Fang Zeng could see his nephew’s little thoughts. He smiled and said to Fang Zhiyuan: “Although this thing is worth some money, I would be embarrassed to sell it to Shopkeeper Chen. After all, there is only one. Shopkeeper Chen a few days ago also helped our family. If I take it with me, should I sell it or give it away? If I sell it somewhere else, it will be bad if people know about it. It is better to put it into the stomach of my family, which is the most economical. “

Fang Zhiyuan knew that his uncle had seen through his thoughts when he heard it. He blushed a little, and did not argue. After thinking for a while, he said to Fang Zeng: “Then I will stew it into soup. And cook a crucian carp for uncle to eat with wine.”

Fang Zeng was responsible for cleaning up the turtle and crucian carp, and Fang Zhiyuan put the snails in the wooden barrel to spit out the dirt. Then he separated the eel and loach, and planned to buy a few pieces of tofu to go with the loach tomorrow. Fortunately, the eel is a long thing that can be raised, otherwise, it would be too much to eat together. There are also river clams, which can also be raised, and they are also a good soup when eaten.

 Fang Zeng cleaned up the turtle and crucian carp, and said to Fang Zhiyuan: “Huzi, I will ask your uncle Lin Xin and uncle Lin Zheng to come over to eat together. You can add more rice. I will also bring Da Zhuang and Xiao Zhuang to drink the turtle soup and nourish them.” Fang Zhiyuan agreed loudly.