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Chapter 10: Loach Yellow Eel
In these days, you can’t live like this.
If she were a native, with no previous life but this one, she would probably be willing and resigned to her fate.
But who made her travel back! She had experienced a good life, and it was easy to go from frugality to luxury.
She was a bit lazy by nature and greedy for enjoyment, so she had to find a way to get out of her current life as soon as possible.
Wen Jiajia thought about it, and then thought about it some more…
Well, what else do you want? Let’s make that little stool right; there is still a tough battle to be fought in the afternoon.
If it were a few decades later, you could simply tie a small plastic stool directly around your waist. Plastic is light, and it’s easy to get up or sit down.
You could buy that kind of plastic stool in a dollar store, but now you couldn’t find that kind of stool even if you searched the whole county.
Wen Jiajia thought for a moment, went to the backyard to get a sun-dried plank, and sawed it into sections. It didn’t take much plank; it was enough for her to sit on most of her bottom.
Then she attached stool legs on both sides, and finally installed the horizontal support. The small stool was finished.
Because the wooden planks used were light, it didn’t feel like a strain when the stool was fixed to her waist. It just lacked good balance; in the end, it wasn’t as good as a square plastic stool, so she made do with it.
Before Wen Jiajia went to work, she deliberately carried two eggs in her pocket, afraid of starving herself.
In the afternoon, it is much easier to pick peanuts.
One sits, one shakes, and they work together.
Hey, not only is it easy, but the efficiency hasn’t dropped at all. However, it is difficult to see the uncles and aunts on the surrounding hills.
Honest farmers all feel that Wen Jiajia’s behavior is “taking advantage of loopholes.”
They mutter, “People fool the ground, the ground fools the belly.” “Wen San is too dishonest, not a responsible person!”
But the eyes of the younger people light up. Goodness, Wen Jiajia is not only clever but also brave enough to break norms.
Who wouldn’t want to do that? But if they did, their ears would surely suffer from the elders’ complaints. It’s just that the Wen family is independent, so she can do as she pleases.
Now, an old man couldn’t stand it anymore and walked over with his hands behind his back. “I said, Wen family girl, you can’t do this.”
Wen Jiajia asked, “Then what should I do? Teach me, because if I can’t learn, my whole family will starve. When the time comes, I’ll take a child in each hand and come to your house for dinner. I’m just staring at your house to eat!”
“Anyway, the aunt in the county said she reserved a spot for me on the street. Although it’s only eight yuan, if necessary, hum!”
The old man’s face froze, frightened.
Wen Jiajia ignored him and didn’t stop her work. There was no one else nearby, and no one else could hear their conversation, so she didn’t bother to be polite. Besides, the fire from the morning was still simmering, and the sun was making her irritable. She didn’t feel like giving a face at all.
She rolled her eyes inwardly, thinking, You’re not related to me, and you haven’t given me a penny. What are you boasting about here? If you really want me to be your grandchild, give me 2,000 yuan first, and then call me master.
The old man turned to leave, and when he went back, he told the villagers that Wen Jiajia had a hard temperament and a sharp tongue.
What could the villagers say?
They couldn’t say anything. The Wen family had been reduced to just three people. If Wen Jiajia didn’t manage, Wen Chun and Wen Xuan would have to join the labor team.
So not only did no one speak ill of her, but many people came to her door and whispered about the old man.
“Old man Fang Gui has a problem with his brain, Jiajia. Don’t pay attention to him. Even his sons can’t stand him. His daughter-in-law left early, probably because she was annoyed to death by him.”
Wen Jiajia thought, I seem to be a little glad she left early.
“You’re the aunt of two children. Chun’er’s father is an orphan, with no relatives around, so you are the closest family. Xuan’er’s situation is even more difficult. We don’t like to talk about your second sister’s choice of partner. He’s just a pretty face, not as capable as Chen Xiong, the old son of the Chen family next door. What did your second sister see in him back then… Ahem, of course, let’s not talk about that now. Poor Xuanxuan! My beautiful flowers even said they envy Xuan’er for having an aunt like you!”
Wen Jiajia thought, I understand. They’re afraid she’ll run away and take her two children to eat a hundred free meals.
“Our village has planted a lot of late rice this year, so don’t worry about food. With your current situation, it’s enough for your aunt and nephew to eat white rice for a whole year.”
Wen Jiajia thought, Don’t say it, but I really plan to do so.
Sweet potato rice is fine, but she prefers white rice, pure white rice.
She had suffered so much since the time travel. She couldn’t eat meat, couldn’t afford milk, slept on a straw mat, wore a torn cotton shirt, and now she couldn’t even give herself white rice.
Wen Jiajia held back her words and tried her best to stay composed until the aunts left.
She was exhausted, drank some water, and grabbed the tools to catch loaches.
In late summer and early autumn, the sky doesn’t darken quickly. When Wen Jiajia went out with the fish basket, the sun was still hanging over the Western Hills. It was bright but not too sunny, a comfortable time.
Where do you catch loaches and yellow eels in the village?
Go to the river, go to the ditch.
Decades later, Wen Jiajia wouldn’t have such good wild loaches and yellow eels to catch, so she was a bit busy at first.
“Are you Wen San?” someone called out.
Wen Jiajia turned to see someone squatting on the ridge next to the ditch. At first glance, he looked familiar. After a closer look, he seemed to resemble her neighbor from the Chen family.
Sure enough, he pulled out a dog’s tail grass and took it in his mouth, “You know who I am. I’m Chen Xiong, and I live next door to you.”
Wen Jiajia tugged at the corners of her mouth, nodded, and continued to fish for loaches.
“Hey, I’m talking to you!”
Wen Jiajia didn’t raise her head. Her hands were steady and quick as she scooped up two loaches as long as her middle finger and swiftly poured them into the fish basket. “Didn’t I nod?”
“Okay, okay.” Chen Xiong moved closer to Wen Jiajia. “Wen San, do you remember we played together when we were young, before you went to the city?”
“How would I remember that?” The original Wen Jiajia could barely remember her parents’ faces, let alone her neighbors.
“Yes, you were still very young.” He nodded pretentiously and moved closer again. “Alas! Blame me for not being home that day. I was actually in the commune, and I saw Brother Wei running with you in his arms. I didn’t know it was you. Later, I found out that something had happened to your family.”
Wen Jiajia finally looked up at him and remarked, “You’re really not like Brother Chen Qiang and Brother Chen Li.”
Chen Qiang and Chen Li were kind and honest, unlike this fellow who seemed quite foolish.
Who would bring up a person’s dead family in front of an orphan? Is he stupid or just mean?
Probably stupid. Even to be mean, you need some intelligence.
If she had any malicious intent, she could cry now, fall to the ground convulsing, and extort ten or twenty eggs from him.
Call him stupid, and he’d fulfill it immediately.
Seeing Jiajia willing to respond, Chen Xiong seemed encouraged. He pretended to be worried and asked, “What about your family? Uncle Wen and Aunt Wen probably didn’t leave you much savings. Without a strong labor force at home, you still have to raise Chun’er and Xuan’er. What should you do?”
Wen Jiajia found it amusing, “Yes, what should I do?”
Chen Xiong’s eyes lit up, and he approached her: “Sister, do you want me to show you a way out?”
Wen Jiajia’s small face remained indifferent: “A way out? Sure, give me food and money, and I’ll have a way out.”
Chen Xiong was choked by her words: “Hey, what are you talking about? Your Brother Xiong here has empty pockets. I don’t have as much money as you, so how can I give you any?” This little chili pepper is beautiful, but her words are sharp, unlike Sister Wen and Second Sister Wen.
Wen Jiajia rolled her eyes: “Then you’re just talking nonsense.”
She had seen many strange men in her previous life. She knew what kind of people were easy to manipulate and what kind of people would take advantage of you. Chen Xiong was the latter.
If you don’t show him a bit of a thorny attitude, he’ll think you’re easy to bully.
She didn’t rely on him to eat, so she might as well establish a reputation for being spicy. In the future, even if someone wanted to treat her like a soft persimmon, they would have some scruples.
Wen Jiajia flipped her hair and left the ditch.
Chen Xiong shouted behind her: “Don’t go to the front to look, there are a lot of loaches and yellow eels in the river at the end of the village.”
Wen Jiajia paused and turned towards the end of the village.
The river meandered through the village, going up towards the upper reaches.
There was a land temple nearby, with many local believers in Buddhism. The incense offerings were extremely strong in this area, even if there were many believers in the city.
As a result, although no one dared to preach about praying to God and worshiping Buddha outside, burning incense and reciting scriptures in private continued every year. No one dared to destroy the temples, which meant that no more sesame oil offerings were the limit.
The area Chen Xiong mentioned was probably near the temple.
Wen Jiajia cautiously approached the river from a high place, then found a long wooden stick. She rolled up her trouser legs and tested the depth of the river while wading in.
Luckily, it was a shallow river.
Wen Jiajia began to bend down after eliminating the danger. There were indeed a lot of loaches and yellow eels here, and after a while, she saw other people coming one after another.
“Jiajia, you’re here too,” someone laughed. “You came at the right time. The yellow eels are the fattest this time of year. In less than a week, you can fish out all the water in this river.”
Wen Jiajia was still very well-behaved in the face of normal people and replied with a smile, “Yes, I have a good mouth. It’s hard to find these things in the city, and in some aspects, our village is better.”
The others were happy to hear this and felt that Wen San, this girl, was still quite good at talking.
You don’t provoke her, and she won’t provoke you.
So there were those kind ones who went to teach her how to catch them more easily.
Wen Jiajia had a very strong hands-on ability, and her skill in catching loaches and yellow eels evolved again.
The sky was not yet dark, but the sun had disappeared into the horizon. Experienced farmers knew that in less than half an hour, it would be dark.
Wen Jiajia went ashore, kicked with both feet to shake off the water, covered the fish basket, and hummed a little song on her way home.
“The pond was full, the rain stopped, and the mud on the edge of the field was full of loaches…”
Half a basket of yellow eels, loaches, small crabs, and small trash fish, enough for her to eat for several days!
Facing the gentle evening breeze and the fiery red sunset, she suddenly felt that life was also very beautiful.
As she approached home, the two children who were playing at the door ran towards her, and Wen Jiajia suddenly burst into a bright smile, brighter than the sunset.
“Chun’er, Xuanxuan! Look what I brought back.”
“Bang dang!”
The wooden basin in Chen Xiong’s hand fell to the ground, and he was stunned.
Zhang Xiuli hit him on the spine: “You’re going to die, my clothes have just been washed!”
Then she followed her son’s line of sight. Oh no, her son was smitten again.
***
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