Chapter 14

When they got home, everyone divided the fish while it was still early.

It was a lot more than expected, and each household of several cousins ​​got seven or eight kilograms.

But if you rely on feeling, three or four pounds is considered a lot.

Because Qiao Xiaoshan’s family produced lime powder, they received two more kilograms, so his family received ten kilograms in total.

The harvest was fruitful and everyone was very happy.

“Xiaoshan, Xiazhi seems to have changed a lot this afternoon. And our Jasmine wanted to talk back to me several times today, but Xiazhi looked at her and she seemed to regain control.”

“Last night, Xia Zhi and Mo Li were whispering to each other at the foot of the house for a long time. Mo Li said that Xia Zhi asked her to be a good girl in the future. It seems that there has really been a change.”

In the evening, Xu Li talked to her husband about the changes in Qiao Xiazhi and Qiao Moli.

Qiao Xiaoshan was still immersed in the joy of harvest, but he was still listening to what Xu Li said and nodded in agreement:

“It seems that Xia Zhi has changed a lot today. Although she still speaks very harshly sometimes, at least she is changing for the better. A temper that has lasted for more than ten years cannot be improved overnight.”

Xu Li agreed: “Yes, if Xia Zhi gets better, it will be something to be happy about. It would be nice if Jasmine could learn from her. Our two families are also very troubled by these two girls.”

“That’s right, especially in the past two years because of Zhao Zhiqing. Now that Zhao Zhiqing was heard to have been arrested, Xia Zhi finally came to his senses.” When he said this, Qiao Xiaoshan sighed.

He continued, “It’s a good thing that the traffickers were caught. It’s even more gratifying that Xia Zhi has come to his senses. I just hope that our family will slowly get better in the future.”

Thinking back to the hardships he had endured in the past, Qiao Xiaoshan felt that children today are the happiest.

The conditions are better now, but they have gradually improved over the years.

In the past, we survived by relying on hunger and fullness.

Now that life is better, children don’t know how to appreciate it.

“Hey, I heard Daguo and Erguo chatting this afternoon. They said Xia Zhi wanted to study medicine. Today, the old man brought out all his family assets. It seems that Xia Zhi is determined. If she has a promising future, our Qiao family will also be able to make it.”

When Qiao Xiaoshan heard his wife talk about this, he turned over and sat up again, having almost fallen asleep.

“Are you telling the truth?”

Xu Li smiled and said, “How can this be false? If you don’t believe me, ask your son.”

Qiao Xiaoshan was actually going to get out of bed and ask his son, but after thinking it over he said, “Forget it, I’ll ask him tomorrow morning.”

Then he continued to lie down, with a look on his face that made him happier than if he had eaten candy, “That’s great, that’s great! Xia Zhi is actually a smart kid, and his grades were pretty good when he was in school, the only thing is his stubborn temper.”

“It’s better now, it’s changed, hahahaha… Zhao Zhiqing caught it well… hahahaha…”

“You’re crazy, keep your voice down. Your laughter is so creepy late at night. If someone doesn’t know, they would think your daughter has become a better person.” Xu Li shrank her neck in fear at his laughter.

Qiao Xiaoshan: “That’s no different. Jasmine and Xiazhi have a good relationship, and things should change slowly. We have to give the children time.”

After saying that, Qiao Xiaoshan moved closer to his wife.

“Go away, you are already an old married couple, and it’s not over yet.”

Being an old couple does not affect their love for each other.

A good night’s dream –

The next day, many people in the team started to learn from the Qiao family as they had done the day before.

We caught a lot of fish.

The harvested fish can be dried on a kang or in the sun, then stored and eaten later.

Especially fried soybeans paired with a little wine is men’s favorite.

During these few days of leisure, everyone has been having fun in the mountains and rivers.

The fish in the river were so scared these days that they hid under the rocks and dared not come out.

The pheasants in the mountains were so scared that they stopped laying eggs.

I just stayed away for fear of losing my life.

The little rabbit also dug a deep hole, thinking that the deeper he hid, the safer he would be.

But even so, it cannot escape capture by experienced and meat-hungry humans.

These days, Qiao Xiazhi reads medical books at home every day and begins to learn about Chinese medicinal materials.

Because he had a photographic memory and the ability to read ten lines at a glance, Qiao Xiazhi decided to go up the mountain to practice and learn about medicinal materials after reading medical books at home for a few days.

So today he and Qiao Daguo went into the mountains carrying backpacks.

When they came back, both of them had gained a lot.

“Mom, grandma, we’re back.” The voices came into the house before Qiao Daguoren entered.

After he opened the door and entered the yard, Zhu Shizhen, who was sewing shoe soles under the jujube tree in the yard, looked up and saw the pheasants and rabbits in the hands of his grandchildren.

“Oh, ahahahaha… You guys are so lucky today. Not only did you catch a pheasant, but you even caught a rabbit. Ahahahaha…”

Zhu Shizhen smiled so happily that his teeth were showing.

In the 1970s, there were no explicit regulations prohibiting hunting in the mountains, so when the farming season was not busy, the villagers would go into the mountains. This was a way to satisfy their cravings and a source of meat.

Qiao Xiazhi put down the backpack and said, “We’ll have pheasant stewed with bamboo shoots for lunch today. Let’s keep the rabbits for now and eat them later.”

Zhu Shizhen said happily, “Okay, then grandma will take care of it and make you fried pheasant and bamboo shoots later.”

As he spoke, Zhu Shizhen carried a pheasant and walked towards the kitchen.

Even though we caught two pheasants, we didn’t have the luxury of eating them all in one meal.

If it’s not enough, just add more bamboo shoots.

Qiao Xiazhi looked at the other pheasant in Qiao Daguo’s hand and said, “Brother, then you go and send the other pheasant to my uncle and aunt. This pheasant was caught from the mountains and is difficult to raise. It’s better to eat it while it’s fresh. I think you can raise a rabbit.”

After these few days, Qiao Daguo has gradually become accustomed to Qiao Xiazhi’s occasional behavior. He is the happiest one to see his sister change.

“Okay.” He agreed immediately, put down the basket on his back and delivered the pheasant to his uncle and aunt.

When Qiao Xiaoshan and his wife heard that Xia Zhi had sent them a pheasant, they were so happy that they couldn’t stop smiling.

“You two silly kids, you should just keep the pheasant you worked so hard to catch for yourselves, and give it to your grandparents and your parents as a nourishment. Why did you send it to your uncle and aunt?” Xu Li said politely.

Qiao Daguo stuffed the pheasant into Xu Li’s hands and said, “We had a good trip today. We caught two. Xia Zhi asked me to bring them to you. You can just take them and eat them. My grandparents and my parents can’t do without them. I’ll go back after I deliver the pheasants.”

“Wait a minute.” Xu Li called out to Qiao Daguo, “Take some dried bamboo shoots and stew the pheasant.”

Qiao Daguo: “We dry a lot of them at home. On the day we came back from the city, Xiazhi went up the mountain to pick a lot of bamboo shoots and dried them in the sun.”

After saying that, Qiao Daguo turned around and ran away.

Xu Li shouted at him, “Thank you and Xia Zhi for still thinking about my uncle and aunt.”

Qiao Daguo waved his hand: “We are a family.”

Hearing this, Xu Li’s eyes suddenly turned red.

“Don’t stand there anymore, go and cook. We’ll also have pheasant stewed with bamboo shoots for lunch. The children will be back from school soon.” Qiao Xiaoshan said happily.

Qiao Moli and Qiao Xiaohua are currently in the first grade of junior high school and the first grade respectively.

My primary school was in a big team, so I could come back to eat at noon.

Qiao Moli went to junior high school in town. She usually came back to eat after school in the afternoon, and she brought her own lunch box to eat at school.

Qiao Erguo only finished primary school and then stopped going to school because his family could not afford to support him, so he went to the fields to drain water.

Qiao Moli learned this from Qiao Xiazhi. She was very stubborn and insisted on going to school, so after finishing elementary school, she went on to junior high school.

Fortunately, Qiao Erguo did not go to school, and his family can still afford it for the time being.

“Xiazhi, what are you going to do this afternoon? Are you going up the mountain again?” Qiao Daguo asked Qiao Xiazhi at the dinner table.

Qiao Xiazhi replied: “No, I will process the herbs I dug this morning in the afternoon. I will keep some commonly used medicines at home, and take the less commonly used medicines to the brigade clinic to see if I can exchange them for some money.”

“Brother, if you have time, please help me deal with it. If we can get it done sooner, we can go to the health center to exchange money earlier.”

Qiao Daguo was embarrassed when he heard this: “Ah, this… I don’t know these herbs, let alone how to deal with them.”

Qiao Qiping: “I will help Xia Zhi process these herbs in the afternoon, and Daguo will be responsible for watching over the water in the fields in the afternoon.”

Qiao Daguo nodded: “Okay, I’m good at this.”

After the decision was made, everyone started to work in the afternoon.

After the herbs were processed, Qiao Xiazhi took them to the brigade clinic to exchange them for money.

Two baskets of herbs were sold for 78 cents.

It’s pretty good. After all, they are fresh, not dried, and much cheaper.

Two people managed to catch two pheasants and two rabbits in one morning, which was a very good harvest.

From time to time, there is some income, and by catching some pheasants and rabbits and picking up some pheasant eggs, the family’s living expenses are covered.

In fact, Qiao Xiazhi also thought about getting Ganoderma lucidum and ginseng, but she had just started learning to identify medicinal herbs. It would be a bit too exaggerated to get ginseng on her first trip up the mountain to dig for medicinal herbs.

So we have to wait a little longer.

Wait until the time is right before you do it.

Recently, she has been starting from the basics.

I would go up the mountain once every two days of reading, and then go to exchange herbs.

From time to time, you can dig up some relatively expensive medicinal herbs.

This way you don’t end up with only a few cents every time.

Like this time, Qiao Xiazhi exchanged more than four yuan.

When she took out four dollars and gave it to her grandmother, everyone was stunned.

“Xiazhi, what precious medicinal herbs did you dig up this morning that you sold for four dollars?” Qiao Daguo asked curiously.

Qiao Xiazhi replied: “I sold it for 4.60 yuan. I kept the 60 cents for myself and gave it to my grandmother for household expenses.”

Hearing this, Qiao Dongzhi looked envious, “Second sister, next time I have a day off, take me up the mountain with you. I’ll help you dig, and you just tell me what to dig. I don’t want much money, just give me a dime or two.”

Qiao Xiazhi did not refuse: “Sure. But the prerequisite is that you have to finish your homework first before I take you up the mountain.”

Qiao Dongzhi was very happy: “Then it’s settled. I’ll finish my homework when I get back this Friday, and I’ll go up the mountain with my second sister on Saturday and Sunday.”

15-year-old Qiao Dongzhi is also in the first grade of junior high school.

Her grades were neither good nor bad, and she originally didn’t want to go to school. But now she was the only one in her family who went to school, and Qiao Dashan could afford to support her, so he forced her to go.

Qiao Xiazhi seemed to see through her intention to cheat, and said, “After you finish your homework, check it for me and make sure it’s all correct.”