Shen Qing and Huo Bing were among the first to eat.

After all, there was still a lot of work to be done around the house.

Once they finished eating, Huo Bing would take over from Jiang Xiangdong, Jiang Shui would go for wild vegetables, and Jiang Xiangzhong would go to the academy.

There was no need for fancy meals when you had so much work to do; as long as the food was left for later, it would be fine.

At this moment, the cheerful voices of Jiang Xiangnan and Jiang Xiangbei could be heard coming from the yard.

Shen Qing, Huo Bing, and Jiang Shui had just finished eating and were all gathered in the courtyard.

Shen Qing, unlike the others, had already received a notification from the marketplace.

“Fresh wild, pollution-free premium yellow eel, 19 jin, 54 yuan per jin, would you like to sell?”

“Fresh flower carp, one fish, 7 jin, 2 yuan per jin, would you like to sell?”

Shen Qing could tell by the adjectives in the notification whether it was something the marketplace needed.

Yellow eel was considered a high-priced item in the markets of Huaguo, and wild yellow eel was particularly rare, often requiring early mornings and luck to buy.

Even farmed yellow eel was priced at 7 to 8 yuan per jin, while wild ones could easily cost over 100 yuan per jin.

The marketplace’s offer of 54 yuan per jin was quite reasonable for a buy-sell transaction, with the price difference between buying and selling being fair, especially for agricultural products.

As for flower carp, the fish had a large head and coarse meat, which most wealthy people didn’t buy. It didn’t matter whether it was farmed or wild; the buyers simply wanted it cheap.

As Shen Qing arrived in the yard, she heard Jiang Xiangnan’s excited voice: “Mother, look! Fourth brother and I caught a big fish. Fourth brother thinks it weighs about 7 jin. It should sell for quite a bit of silver!”

Jiang Xiangbei, usually quiet, couldn’t help but smile.

After all, they were still young, and earning silver was incredibly exciting.

Huo Bing and Jiang Shui also expressed their joy, gathering around the big fish to inspect it: “It’s really big. It should easily sell for 40 to 50 wen.”

While fish didn’t compare to pork, lamb, or chicken, it was still a meat product, selling for a price higher than fine rice or flour—about 8 to 9 wen per jin.

Big fish, with more meat and fewer bones, were more popular than yellow eel in the city.

Yellow eel, while better than small fish or shrimp, required more oil and seasoning to make it tasty, which many city women were reluctant to deal with. But big fish, though hard to catch, were easier to sell than yellow eel.

“Third brother and fourth brother are awesome!” Jiang Shui couldn’t help but praise them.

Jiang Xiangnan and Jiang Xiangbei, who had been praised, suddenly felt shy.

The two boys scratched their heads awkwardly and waved their hands, unsure how to respond.

No matter how much money they earned in the past, it was always their mother who took care of it, and it always ended up going to the younger siblings.

Except for the eldest and second brothers, no one was willing to do the hard work without much reward!

Now that they were doing more and earning more for themselves, of course, they would work harder. But they hadn’t expected to be praised by their sister-in-law and little sister.

The feeling of being praised was really great!

Especially when it came from your own family.

Unlike the others, Shen Qing’s gaze fell on the yellow eels wriggling around in the large wooden tub.

They resembled snakes, much thicker than her thumb.

No wonder the marketplace called them premium!

She wasn’t concerned about the big fish.

The marketplace’s offer of 2 yuan per jin was too low, so it made more sense to take the fish to the city and sell them.

After all, rice and flour were also 2 yuan per jin, and fish would be a better deal.

She asked, “How much can we sell these yellow eels for in the city?”

Jiang Xiangbei replied happily, “5 to 6 wen per jin. We had a good harvest today. This whole tub should sell for over 100 wen!”

Over 100 wen.

Shen Qing felt a pang of disappointment.

Nineteen jin, at 54 yuan per jin, would be 1,026 yuan, which could buy over 500 jin of flour from the marketplace!

She felt a bit anxious—how could she sell these yellow eels to the marketplace?

“Mother, let me go with you to the city. Not only is the bucket heavy, but the big fish needs to be kept in water too. It’s a short trip, but carrying these heavy buckets won’t be easy!” Jiang Xiangnan said eagerly.

Their village, Qili Village, was about 7 or 8 miles away from Xingcheng, which wasn’t far.

However, Jiang Xiangnan had only been to the city a handful of times, mainly because it cost 2 wen per person to enter the city, which most people were reluctant to spend unless they had a reason.

Now that he had a chance, he wanted to see the city.

Jiang Xiangbei immediately became anxious. “Mother, the yellow eels are mostly from my cage. I should go!”

He had been looking forward to this for a long time!

Fearing that his mother wouldn’t agree, he quickly added, “Mother, I’m the best at selling things. If you take me to the city, I’ll make sure all the fish and yellow eels are sold, and not a single one will be left behind!”

Shen Qing, who had been unsure about who to take, made up her mind immediately.

It had to be Jiang Xiangnan.

When Jiang Xiangnan heard his brother’s words, the light in his eyes dimmed.

He wasn’t as good at selling things as Jiang Xiangbei.

In fact, no one in the family was as good at selling as Jiang Xiangbei.

Even when he was young, he could trade eggs and ducks more quickly and effectively than anyone else in the family.

Mother always preferred taking Jiang Xiangbei.

“Xiangbei, Mother knows you’re good at selling things, but this time, I have another plan. Look how heavy the water, yellow eels, and big fish are. Only your third brother is strong enough to carry them. But don’t worry, your share of the money will be given to you without a single coin missing!”

Jiang Xiangbei felt comforted at the mention of his share of the money.

Hearing about the fried fish, Jiang Xiangbei couldn’t help but swallow.

His eyes widened. “Really fried fish?”

Shen Qing nodded confidently.

Frying small fish was on the shopping list for the trip to the city.

The family had plenty of flour at the moment.

Mixing it with water and coating small wild fish in batter before frying would make a crispy, fragrant dish, which would be both a meal and a snack.

This way, both Jiang Xiangnan and Jiang Xiangbei would be more motivated to catch small fish and shrimp instead of focusing only on the big fish.

Jiang Xiangnan loved selling things because, naturally, he wanted to make money for good food. Now that he had both money and good food, what more could he ask for?

Excited, he immediately replied, “Okay, I’ll go dig worms and catch more fish, shrimp, and yellow eels. Maybe we’ll even catch a big fish!”

Shen Qing earnestly said, “Don’t focus too much on the big fish. Catching more fish, shrimp, and yellow eels will be great.”

Jiang Xiangnan was deeply touched.

Mother was so kind!

She comforted him, saying that even if he didn’t catch a big fish, the small fish and shrimp were valuable too.

“Don’t worry, Mother! I’ll catch more today than I did yesterday!”

Shen Qing felt reassured.

Once the decision was made, Shen Qing went inside to fetch the money.

Jiang Xiangnan grabbed the two large water buckets, and the two set off toward Xingcheng with determination, heading into the morning mist.