In the afternoon, Zhao Er'ni and Zheng Xiaotian came again. This time, it was Zhao Er'ni who fed Xiao Tian.
Ling Chengyan who had been practicing sewing a few round finally found it getting easier to sew pants. In just a short while, the two sides of the pants were sewn together.
Qu Cui took out an old-fashioned iron from the bottom of her box. She heated a few pieces of charcoal and put the iron on top, sprinkling some water on it. With a sizzling sound, the iron was steaming hot, and the jacket and pants were able to be ironed properly.
Zhao Er'ni and Zheng Xiaotian's eyes were shining. They were mesmerized by the sight before them. They decided that they would bring their clothes over to get ironed should they ever need to go out on trips in the future. Wearing such neatly-pressed clothes outside, they'd look as decent as the city officials.
After sewing the clothes, Zheng Xiaotian fed Xiao Tian some milk, and the two of them left together. Qu Cui decided to give the two of them the leftover fabric that she had cut from the clothes for their own use.
The two of them were extremely grateful for the fabric and went off happily.
Ling Chengyan was also about to take her leave when Hong Bing, Zhao Er'ni's youngest son, came stomping in and said, "I heard Second Uncle has borrowed a fishing net!"
Zhao Er'ni slapped her younger son and scolded him jokingly, "You're so noisy, you might disturb Xiao Tian. Aren't you afraid your father will punish you?"
Ling Chengyan laughed and said, "Xiao Tian is a very heavy sleeper, such noise will not affect him at all."
As she spoke, she greeted her aunt and sisters-in-law. She let Hong Bing lead the way in front.
Hong Bing ran in front of them and said, "Aunt Chengyan, Second Uncle has gone directly to the South river. That way, he won't offend the farm production team as it's not their territory."
"Smart boy, you know a lot." Ling Chengyan smiled.
Hong Bing chuckled, revealing his front teeth. "I heard it from my father and Second Uncle this afternoon."
Ling Chengyan had come to understand a little after talking and doing needlework with the other women. She found out that the land here belonged to the country, and the farmers didn't have their own land. They were all members of the farm production team and were organized to work together. Farming, irrigation, repairing tools, and other jobs were all assigned accordingly. After the end-of-the-year autumn harvesting, the grains and money collected would be divided according to the work merit accumulated within the year.
Of course, the amount of grains that could be distributed would depend on the specific situation of each brigade and production team, the year's overall environmental performance, and many other factors.
Zhao Er'ni had an aunt who had fled from famine and settled down in a village on the mountains. It went well for a few years. There was a lot of arable land on the plains, and they used it to make a living. In spite of that, because the arable land in the mountains was spaceful and the fertility of the land was overall poor, they still did not have enough food to eat. It was said that even the teenage girls didn't even have the funds to wear pants. They could only lie in bed and avoid meeting people outside.
However, most of the women that lived in the village had not even gone to the commune, thus they knew little about the outside world. Speaking of which, they only relied on hearsay and rumors to find any news regarding the places outside their village.
Ling Chengyan followed Hong Bing all the way to the West part of the village, with Xiao Xing happily following behind.
What Wang Lianfa borrowed was a casting net. It was the most traditional net, but you'd need some degree of skill to be able to use it well.
Wang Lianfa had learned from his friends a few times, but he still barely knew how to cast it. The net he borrowed didn't become round when spread, and there was a chance that the net could become tangled, which would make it harder for it to be casted.
The reservoir fish was a collective property. No one would say anything if a little child took away one or two of them, but it was certainly impossible to post it online. Thus, Wang Lianfa chose the South river instead.
The South river was used to convey water from the main source to one or more farms. During the abundant water period, the water surface would become more than ten meters wide. However, in spring the flow of water was relatively small, hence the water surface was only about seven or eight meters wide. With such a narrow surface, it was even more difficult to cast a net to catch fish.
Therefore, Wang Lianfa's success rate of casting the net was only 50%. After casting the fishing net, he managed to catch a few fish, but they were smaller than average. They were mostly small white fish, small crucian carps, and the biggest one was a carp cub the size of a palm.
The kids were excited, especially Hong Bing and Hong Ming, who were from Wang Lianqi's family and Wang Lianfa's family. They looked proud and excited. As soon as Wang Lianfa dragged the fish out, the brothers would rush to pick up the fish along with their little kids. Wang Lianqi didn't have to do anything.
Ling Chengyan didn't regret bringing Xiao Xing to the river. Not only the children, but even the adults had come to watch the fun.
The adults weren't as innocent and cute as the children. Wang Lianfa threw the net down, but it didn't spread out. The net got entangled, and two men watching from the riverside laughed seeing it.
"Lianfa, do you even know how to do this? This net is so loose, it's going to end up catching dumplings instead!"
"You can scatter flowers, but you can't scatter nets! Hahahaha..."
"Hahaha..."
Wang Lianfa wasn't very good at casting nets, but he wasn't afraid of anyone when it came to verbal battles. As he untangled the net, he laughed and retorted, "You two rascals sure talk a lot, are you even good at doing this? If you don't even dare to try, then don't talk so big..."
The two rude young men shrank back into the crowd, causing a burst of laughter.
Ling Chengyan and Xiao Xing stood in the crowd, not in a hurry to go to the front. They waited for Wang Lianfa to finish fixing the next. After making sure that there was no more entanglement, Wang Lianfa gathered his strength again and cast the net out...
"Alright!" Ling Chengyan shouted.
Xiao Xing immediately followed, clapping her hands and jumping around, cheering. The people around them also cheered.
Wang Lianfa's net was cast nicely as it landed in the middle of the river.
Wang Lianfa turned back to look at the two talkative guys while slowly pulling the net.
However, it turned out a little awkward.
"No fish at all? Hahahaha, Wang Lianfa, you might as well use that net as an embroidered pillow at this point!"
"Cast the net nicely but still didn't get any fish! Hahahaha..."
The two men ran their mouths off again, and Wang Lianfa didn't even have the courage to talk back this time. He shook the net with a face full of hope, as if he wanted to fight again.
"Second Brother!" Ling Chengyan stood up and took the net from Wang Lianfa.
"Ling Chengyan, this net isn't in a good state..." While Wang Lianfa was still in shock, Ling Chengyan had already taken the net and walked away. Wang Lianfa realized and tried to persuade her, but before he could finish, Ling Chengyan had already cast the net.
This net was not too round, but it was right in the middle of the river. Furthermore, the oblate shape was also along the river surface. It looked as if it was deliberately spread out to make the river narrow.
Wang Lianfa didn't have time to talk. He, along with the other adults and children who followed him, all paid attention to the fishing net that was slowly being pulled up.
Once it was pulled up, Hong Bing, Hong Ming, and his other brothers ran the fastest as they rushed straight up to pull the fishing net. Xiao Xing was a step slower, following Wang Lianqi's second daughter, Hong Zhi.