“I’m not sure. We can buy a few more fish if needed,” Lin Guodong replied.

“Then let’s buy some more and save them for later,” Ning Shu suggested.

This whole Spring Festival, they could eat seafood for several days.

Since crossing over, she hadn’t had a proper seafood feast yet.

When they returned to the village, it was eerily quiet.

Everyone was waiting at the village committee’s courtyard to receive their fish, and almost no one was at home.

Upon returning home, they found several baskets and crates outside, with the boys’ baskets still filled with jumping white shrimp.

Ning Shu was stunned. “Why are there so many white shrimp? How did they catch so many? Did Erbao do this on his own, or did he disturb the shrimp nest?”

“When I came ashore, they already had this many white shrimp,” Lin Guodong replied.

He was also surprised when he saw them, as he was the one who brought them back.

In addition to the white shrimp, Ning Shu also found five blue crabs bound with cloth strips and two large fish in the baskets Lin Guodong brought back.

Oh my, blue crabs! Just the thought made her mouth water. “Where did these blue crabs and large fish come from?”

The crabs were alive, but the fish were dead.

“I saw them while picking fish. They probably came in from the sea, using the cloth strips tied around their legs,” Lin Guodong explained. “I hid the big fish while picking fish, suffocating them to keep them hidden.”

Everyone hid things this way; not doing so would be foolish.

Lin Guodong certainly didn’t want to be seen as foolish.

“Comrade Lin Guodong, you’re amazing,” Ning Shu praised, giving him a thumbs-up. “You’re the best.”

Lin Guodong smirked.

His wife hadn’t been so good at praising people before, but now, she praised without a word.

He… liked it a lot.

The couple moved these items into the utility room before heading to the village committee’s courtyard to wait for the fish distribution.

“Dad, Mom!” The two boys spotted their parents and ran over joyfully.

Erbao hugged his mother’s leg proudly and asked, “Mom, did you see the white shrimp I picked? Aren’t they a lot?”

Ning Shu looked at his dirty face, where the mud had dried. “Yes, there are a lot. Why are there so many?”

As she spoke, she began cleaning the mud off his face, leaving behind faint gray imprints.

He looked like a dirty little kitten.

“Hehe, I picked them all by myself. Am I great?” Erbao boasted.

Hearing this, Ning Shu knew something was fishy.

She wasn’t stupid and wouldn’t believe that he had picked them all himself.

However, the kids had worked hard today, so they deserved praise. “Great job! Both you and Yibao did well. You not only took care of Sanbao but also picked white shrimp, so I’ll make big fish for you tonight.”

“Mom is so nice,” Erbao said, rubbing his face against her leg a few times.

Yibao felt that his little brother was being naughty, fooling their mother.

Seeing that his mother was being deceived and that his brother was becoming more unruly, he had to speak up.

“It was Brother Xiaoshan and brother Xiaoshi who picked the white shrimp for us, and Auntie also knew about it.”

Yibao initially didn’t want them, even though Mom wanted to eat the white shrimp.

But he couldn’t accept the white shrimp from his friend. However, Auntie said that their family had also given them things, so he had to accept them.

So he accepted them.

Ning Shu was somewhat surprised. “I see. Well, when I make something delicious tonight, can you and Erbao help me take it to Little Shan and Little Shi? We should reciprocate kindness.”

“Okay!” Yibao happily agreed.

The mother and son’s conversation naturally went unnoticed, as everyone was happily chatting at the moment.

Ning Shu looked around and saw that the team leader hadn’t arrived yet, and the fish distribution hadn’t started.

She then turned to Lin Guodong and said, “I’ll go back and boil some water first. We can take an early bath after the fish distribution. If there are any fish left to sell afterwards, you can buy ten or twenty catties. I can make some fish in fermented rice sauce. More fish won’t be a problem.”

Lin Guodong nodded. “Got it. Don’t worry.”

Ning Shu had a hint of seafood smell on her body, and her hands and feet weren’t clean either, so she wanted to take a bath early.

Otherwise, she would feel uncomfortable being damp and dirty.

But before leaving, she reminded the two boys, “Make sure to come back early after distributing the fish and take a bath. You need to wash every part of your body thoroughly today, including your hair and every crevice.”

“We know,” Yibao and Erbao replied.

“I know,” suddenly piped in Sanbao.

“Oh, Sanbao knows how to say ‘I know’!” Erbao was immediately drawn to his younger brother.

He clapped his hands. “Sanbao is so clever. Say ‘I know’ again.”

Sanbao flashed a smile but shyly hid behind Dad and didn’t say anything more.

Ning Shu didn’t hesitate to praise her youngest son. “Sanbao is also great, just like his brothers.”

Sanbao peeked out from behind Dad, then said again, “I know.”

Lin Guodong couldn’t wipe the smile off his face.

Ning Shu rewarded Sanbao with a thumbs-up, then went home to boil water.

After she boiled the water and finished bathing and washing her hair, and boiled some more water, Lin Guodong returned with his three sons.

He still carried the basket, which seemed quite heavy.

Ning Shu hurried over to look and asked, “How many fish did you catch?”

Lin Guodong replied, “Caught five, bought twenty catties. Haven’t paid yet, you give me the money, and I’ll take it.”

Lin Guodong always handed over his money. Without it, he didn’t even have small change.

Ning Shu immediately went back into the house to get money for him, then turned to Yibao and Erbao and said, “The hot water is ready. Take Sanbao to bathe, and make sure to wash their hair. When your dad comes back later, you can bathe together.”

“Okay.”

Yibao and Erbao took Sanbao to the bath.

Ning Shu carried the hot water she had prepared into the bathroom.

The bathroom was small, the warmth from her shower had not completely dissipated, so it was a bit warmer inside than outside.

Plus, the sun had just set, so the temperature hadn’t dropped completely yet.

When Lin Guodong returned from the village office after paying, Ning Shu immediately had him and the three boys bathe together while she kept boiling water outside.

Lin Guodong and the three boys took a while to bathe and wash their hair.

By the time they were done, Ning Shu had already sliced the two big dead fish into fish fillets.

There were over five catties of fish fillets from the two fish, perfect for making sour and spicy fish.

And it was fresh fish, very tender.

“Comrade Lin Guodong, there’s no pickled vegetables at home, you need to go to the old house to exchange some,” Ning Shu said.

Lin Guodong asked, “What should I use to exchange?”

Ning Shu thought for a moment, “There’s no spinach at the old house, so bring back a bowl of spinach.”

“Okay.” Lin Guodong went to the backyard to pick some spinach and then headed to the old house.

The old house was lively, with many people and even more fishing by the river. Naturally, there were plenty of fish to go around.

Plus, with many children at the old house, there were a lot of small fish and shrimp picked today, and everyone was happily washing these things.

Seeing Lin Guodong arrive, everyone was a bit surprised.

Lin’s mother stood up and asked, “Youngest, why are you here?” Especially since he was holding a bunch of spinach.

Lin Guodong said, “I’m here to exchange some pickled vegetables from Mom.”

Lin’s mother took the spinach from Lin Guodong’s hand.

If they had already split the property, why would she need her youngest son to bring something to exchange?

Sigh…

“Wait here, I’ll get the pickled vegetables.”

At this time, the youngest son came to exchange pickled vegetables.

It should be because his daughter-in-law wanted to make pickled vegetable fish soup.

Pickled vegetable fish soup not only removes the fishy smell but also tastes delicious, and they planned to have it for dinner tonight.

Thinking that the youngest son had bought twenty catties of fish today, she was worried that the pickled vegetables she gave wouldn’t be enough, so she gave quite a lot.

Qian Aifen and Zhang Qinfang saw the pickled vegetables Lin’s mother brought out.

Qian Aifen didn’t care much about these things; she didn’t care if the three kids ate something at the old house.

Pickled vegetables were one of the least valuable vegetables in the countryside. Even if Lin Guodong brought spinach to exchange, she didn’t mind.

But Zhang Qinfang was petty.

She thought that Lin Guodong only brought a bunch of spinach, which would only make one dish at most, while her mother-in-law exchanged so much pickled vegetables.

She felt aggrieved.

This mother-in-law was too partial.

Fortunately, they would split after the New Year.

Otherwise, wouldn’t all the things at the old house be moved to the youngest son’s side by the mother-in-law?

Others have poor relatives coming to ask for a favor, but their family’s mother-in-law favors her youngest son.

Hmph.

Zhang Qinfang suppressed her anger and felt even worse.

Lin Guodong returned home with the pickled vegetables, and Ning Shu was surprised, “Why so many?”

Lin Guodong said, “Mom gave them.”

Ning Shu didn’t expect Lin’s mother to give so much.

She took the pickled vegetables and arranged more tasks, “Go pour out the oysters, pick out the small ones, and wash them clean. I’ll need them later.”

“Okay.” Lin Guodong nodded.

Ning Shu was busy in the kitchen, and the three boys waited in the kitchen.

They knew that dinner would be rich tonight, so they were all looking forward to it.

After the sour and spicy fish and steamed oysters were done, Ning Shu assigned tasks to Yibao and Erbao, “One, take the small basket of steamed oysters to the old house and thank Grandma for the pickled vegetables. Two, take the small basket of steamed oysters to Xiaoshan’s house and thank Xiaoshan and Xiaoshi for the small white shrimps.”

“We got it.” Yibao and Erbao quickly ran out with the small baskets!