Chapter 35

In the end, Zhou Jing did not catch any fish, but he picked up some small snails and shrimp. Shen Mo felt a six-pound fish and then caught two that weighed eight ounces each.

Zhou Jing had a lingering question in his heart and asked Shen Mo, “How did you manage to catch such a big one all of a sudden?”

Shen Mo’s ears turned slightly red, and he shyly replied, “I also didn’t know. At that moment, I was just holding my breath, wanting to casually catch a fish to show him. I didn’t expect that a fish would suddenly bump into my hand. When I caught it and looked at it, I realized it was that big!”

When the two of them returned home, Zhou Jing immediately rushed into the kitchen to get busy.

Shen Mo took a look and saw that he was cleaning the small snails. Shen Mo had always thought that Zhou Jing had picked up some small snails to save face because he couldn’t catch any fish. After all, the meat from small snails was scant, and they were troublesome to eat, especially since they had a strange, fishy smell.

Shen Mo said tactfully, “Brother Jing, this stuff is too much trouble to eat. You should just do a little less.”

Zhou Jing laughed and said, “Xiao Mo, once this is prepared, it tastes really fresh. You’ll see when it’s time to eat.”

The two small fish were kept in water, and only the big one was killed. A six-pound fish was quite rare, and Shen Mo had received many envious glances while carrying it back.

The large fish was chopped into pieces and made into a red-braised dish, while the small snails were stir-fried with a bit of high-proof white liquor and ginger to remove the fishy smell. As for the small shrimp, Zhou Jing added extra oil and stir-fried them as well, creating another dish.

By the time Zhou Jing finished preparing these three dishes, it was just when Shen Lin returned to pack up.

As soon as Shen Lin entered the house, he took a deep breath, washed his hands, and hurriedly sat down at the dining table. The fish and meat on the table were surprisingly piled high in a large bowl.

Shen Lin exclaimed in surprise, “Elder Brother, how many pounds of fish did you catch?”

Although it was unintentional, Shen Mo felt a bit proud.

“This fish must weigh at least six pounds in my hands. It should be one of the biggest fish caught in our village this time!”

Shen Lin sighed, “Good days always seem to come together. In the past, I craved meat so much that I dreamed about eating it. Back then, I always looked forward to the days when we could fish at our place, hoping to catch a big one to satisfy my cravings. But I never caught anything over two pounds! By the way, today isn’t even a day for fishing at our house. How did we end up with such a big fish?”

Shen Mo recounted what had happened during the day to Shen Lin.

Shen Lin nodded and said, “Our Village Chief is indeed a good person. But, Elder Brother, why did you also pick up small snails? People in the village don’t want to eat them; they complain about the fishy smell and how troublesome they are to eat. You used to dislike them too!”

At that moment, Zhou Jing walked in, holding a few peeled small wooden skewers.

“Don’t judge it based on your previous impressions; just try it, and you’ll see how different it is from what you had before,” he said.

Shen Lin shook his head in refusal, but in the end, Shen Mo felt that it would be rude not to taste something Zhou Jing had worked hard on, so he gave it a try.

To his surprise, it was really good!

“Brother Jing, is this really a small snail? It doesn’t have any fishy smell at all!”

“I added white wine and ginger, which are both good at removing the fishiness.” Zhou Jing explained.

“Mm, it’s delicious. Xiao Di, you should try it too; it’s really good!”

Shen Lin, still somewhat skeptical, took a bite and gave a thumbs-up.

“It’s delicious!”

“I plan to add this to our snack stall’s menu. I’ll also make some potato chips and seaweed, cooked in the duck broth. The flavor will carry the taste of the duck, making it a great dish to pair with drinks.” Zhou Jing said.

Shen Mo expressed his concern, “Even though this has a meat flavor, it’s still not meat. Will it sell well?”

“It won’t be a problem. Both of these items have low costs, and we’ll sell them cheaply—just at the price of small dishes. The potato chips will be five wen per pound, and the seaweed will be four wen per pound. We’ll go for a strategy of thin profit and high sales,” Zhou Jing replied.

“You can give it a try. The investment is small, and if it sells well, that’s great. If not, it won’t matter,” Shen Mo said.

“Brother, how come your skills are so good? You know how to do things that many villagers don’t, and the food you make is something they’ve never even seen before. Even if you took it to the town, it would still be considered unique!”

Shen Lin spoke without thinking, but Shen Mo listened intently and quickly looked up at Shen Lin.

He saw that Shen Lin was happily eating, taking bites of small snails and fish meat, almost wishing he had two more mouths to enjoy the food.

He completely failed to realize that his careless remark had inadvertently exposed a flaw in Zhou Jing’s story.

Zhou Jing, a native farmer who had been shaped by life’s hardships to learn how to cook, raised a question: why did he possess so many skills that even the village elders did not have?

 Not only could he cook, but he could also take his creations to town and sell them.

However, Shen Lin was somewhat oblivious and did not think deeply about many things he said. He remained unaware of the implications of his words.

Under the table, Zhou Jing secretly held Shen Mo’s hand and shook his head slightly.

It was originally an unconscious gesture of reassurance, but recently, Shen Mo followed Zhou Jing’s advice to stick to using face masks and hand cream. His skin had not only returned to being smooth but was even more so than before. After touching it a couple of times, Zhou Jing became addicted and couldn’t help but keep pinching Shen Mo’s hand.

It’s great to see how Shen Mo’s persistence in taking care of his skin has paid off! Small steps can lead to amazing results, and this is a perfect example of that.

Just as Zhou Jing finished clearing the dining table, there was a loud knock on the front door.

It was Wang Ren, who came in holding two white catfish, each weighing over two pounds, presenting them to Shen Lin like a treasure.

“I caught these in Shenjia Village. These two are the biggest, and I specifically saved them for you!”

Shen Lin refused to accept them: “These fish are quite plump. You should keep them for your own family. My elder brother caught a six-pounder, and my Brother-in-law has braised it. We’ll probably be eating it for several days!”

“Six pounds?!” Wang Ren’s eager expression dimmed, resembling a child whose boasting had backfired. “That’s definitely enough to last for a few days. Mine are still small compared to that.”

Shen Lin thought for a moment and said, “But my elder brother made some small snails, stir-fried them, and they are especially delicious. You probably haven’t tried that method before. I’ll pack some for you to take home and taste. We’ll be selling them at our stall tomorrow, so if you like them, you can come buy some.”

“Ah?” Wang Ren exclaimed, sounding dazed as Shen Lin had already gone back inside to pack some sea snails for him.

Wang Ren’s expression was complicated as he held the conch shell.

What was going on? He had originally brought fish to please his Ger, but in the end, he didn’t deliver the fish and instead received a small conch.

It was unfortunate that the person who had given him the small conch did so with the intention of having him buy it; it was unclear whether that person understood his feelings.

As Wang Ren walked into the courtyard, Hao Yulan spotted the two big fish she had been searching for.

“I wondered why the two biggest fish at home were gone; I almost thought I had remembered it wrong. It turns out you took them to please your sweetheart,” Hao Yulan said.

She was Wang Fulu’s wife and Wang Ren’s mother, an ordinary farmer woman.

Hao Yulan covered her mouth and laughed with a hint of mischief. “Come quickly, head of the household! Your son took the two biggest fish to please his sweetheart, only to be sent back home with his tail between his legs!”

Wang Ren felt his face turn red from embarrassment. “I didn’t!” he exclaimed, tossing the two fish back into the basin as if they had suddenly burned his hands.

Wang Fulu was troubled about his younger son’s marriage. His son was a very opinionated person, and he felt he couldn’t make decisions for him.

He had suggested a few young women from different families, but Wang Ren had rejected them all for various reasons, which made Wang Fulu quite anxious.

Upon hearing his wife’s words, Wang Fulu’s first reaction was that his son had finally come to his senses.

As for his wife’s teasing remarks, neither of the older couple took them to heart; they were simply having fun at Wang Ren’s expense.

They believed that Wang Ren had good qualities; he was spirited and tall. In the village, he was not one to brag, but he could definitely be counted among the most eligible bachelors.

Without exaggeration, he was considered the ideal partner by many young women, including Ger. His family background was also favorable, as Wang Fulu was the village head, and they lived comfortably, putting them a step above others.

Because of these factors, they thought that even if Wang Ren’s sweetheart did not agree, it wouldn’t matter. After all, in the village, people mainly looked at a man’s character and family background when choosing a partner.

As long as those aspects were satisfactory and the man was proactive, there were usually no issues in finding a match.

Wang Fulu’s family had also prepared fish, while Wang Ren added a small conch dish to the dining table.

In the farmers’ view, small conchs had little meat, were quite fishy, and were troublesome to eat. No one was willing to go through the hassle of eating them unless they were from a poor family.

Wang Fulu and Hao Yulan thought that Wang Ren’s sweetheart must come from a poor family. However, even in such poverty, she was unwilling to accept the two fat fish Wang Ren had offered, which indicated that the girl had character and was not someone who would take advantage of others. With this thought in mind, they found themselves feeling much more favorably towards this potential daughter-in-law.

Wang Fulu even pointed to the stewed fish and said, “Don’t eat yet. Set aside two pieces for later so that the boy can take them to the girl’s family. If the girl is too shy to accept your food, you still have to send it. When it comes to marrying a wife, you have to be willing to let go of your pride. Otherwise, if the girl feels embarrassed and you, as a man, are too timid, she’ll end up becoming someone else’s wife!”

“There’s no need to set any aside,” Wang Ren stopped Hao Yulan from getting up. “He truly doesn’t need it. His family caught a six-pound fish today and probably won’t finish it for days. I certainly wouldn’t want to give him my fish.”

Wang Fulu instinctively repeated, “A six-pound fish? His parents and brothers are quite capable…” Suddenly, he realized that there seemed to be only one family in the village that had caught a six-pound fish, and that was the Zhou family. The only unmarried girl in the Zhou family was Ger—Shen Lin!

Hao Yulan clearly realized this as well and immediately became nervous, dispelling the light-hearted atmosphere they had earlier when talking about their son’s sweetheart.

She tentatively asked, “Son, this small conch was given to you by Shen Lin, and the two fish you were supposed to give today were also meant for him?”

Wang Ren also paused with his movements. He knew that his parents didn’t approve of him marrying a ger.

In the eyes of farmers and perhaps people of this era, ger was almost synonymous with being unable to bear sons.

Being unable to have sons would mean that the family line could be cut off, which was a matter of great significance to them, as important as food, clothing, and shelter.

It was precisely because of this reason that Wang Ren had never told his parents that the person he like was Shen Lin.

Over the years, he had deliberately or unintentionally delayed the matter, putting it off day by day.

But now that the conversation had reached this point, Wang Ren could no longer avoid it.

He decided to come clean and said, “Yes, I want to marry Shen Lin!”

“No way!” Hao Yulan reacted just as strongly as Wang Ren had expected.

“You don’t want sons anymore! You don’t care about continuing your family line?”

“Mother, Ger isn’t incapable of having sons; it’s just more difficult. Look at Wang Baichuan—he’s a man, but his mother was a Ger.”

“Don’t bring up Shen Wen! Out of all the Gers married into our village, only Shen Wen had a son, and even then, he only had one and couldn’t have more!” Hao Yulan exclaimed.

“One is enough!” Wang Ren replied.

“But it has to be a son!” Hao Yulan insisted. “In any case, Shen Lin won’t do, no Ger will do. You’re my son, and I can’t let you cut off our family line!”