Ling Chengyan stood still and looked back at the three men.
Her expression was light and casual. There wasn't even a hint of disgust, but that look on her face was enough to make the three men feel ashamed. They unconsciously hung their heads.
"There's no need for you to follow us when we go fishing. "Ling Chengyan said in a faint voice. The three of them snapped their heads up as they wanted to plead a few words, but Ling Chengyan continued, "You guys are familiar with the county. All you have to do is ask around and look for more buyers. I'll contact you guys when we catch more fish."
Gou'er's eyes lit up as he said, "Great Aunt, your word is our command."
Ling Chengyan nodded and turned to leave with Wang Lianfa.
Before Wang Lianfa could say anything, Ling Chengyan shook her head. "These boys owe me a favor, so don't worry. Let's go."
Although Ling Chengyan had married into the Wang family for several years now, the first and second branch of the family never got along well. They didn't visit each other often, especially since it wasn't appropriate for a young married man from the elder household to hang out with his cousin's wife from another household. But after today, Wang Lianfa realized that he knew nothing about Ling Chengyan. He only knew that she was gentle, diligent, and polite.
After a few days of spending time with Ling Chengyan, Wang Lianfa knew that Ling Chengyan appeared calm on the outside, but she sure wasn't docile. She was someone who paid attention to detail. Additionally, she was also someone who could handle things smoothly and wasn't beneath any man.
Hearing Ling Chengyan's words earlier, Wang Lianfa didn't doubt her. He didn't pursue the matter and just drove home.
Halfway home, they met Wang Lianqi and told him that all the fish had been sold. Lianqi didn't even ask for the price as he was relieved everything worked out.
After knowing they had gotten a good price for their catch, Wang Lianqi was even happier. "The price the county's seafood company offers for fish is very high. So if we catch any fish in the future, it'll be worth it even if we have to travel a few miles to sell the fish there."
The smile on Wang Lianfa's face froze, and then he whispered, "It wasn't the county's seafood company that bought it."
"What?" Wang Lianqi almost choked on the water he was drinking.
Wang Lianfa glanced at Ling Chengyan behind him. She was sleeping with her arms hugging her knees, so he lowered his voice to ensure he didn't disturb her. "Ling Chengyan found some people to help her sell the fish. They managed to find a buyer who seemed to be from a canteen..."
Wang Lianqi wanted to ask Ling Chengyan how she knew such people, but then he recalled that Wang Liansheng used to work in the county. So, he swallowed the words on the tip of his tongue and only nodded.
It was already midnight when the three arrived back at the village. By then, Xiao Xing and Xiao Tian were both fast asleep.
Ling Chengyan didn't wake the two children and went to wash up and sleep.
With yesterday's setback from selling the fish and the start of spring plowing, the production team couldn't take time off as they were busy. Due to this, they had to stop fishing for now.
Nevertheless, from the two days of fishing, Ling Chengyan still got more than 100 yuan after the two families split the money 50 - 50. With that, she had almost 500 yuan in her hands.
The next day, Ling Chengyan began her first day at work with the production team. She entrusted Qu Cui to take care of Xiao Tian and Xiao Xing.
It was the beginning of spring, so the farmers had to transport fertilizer to the fields and then evenly sprinkle piles of manure on the fields. The women were assigned to all the fertilizing work.
This job required less physical strength, but due to the blowing winds, the smell of manure spread quickly around in the air. Ling Chengyan had only started and wasn't used to it at all.
Fortunately, she had personally washed horses and cleaned stables before, so she wasn't completely foreign to this work. She wrapped a square towel around her face, especially her mouth and nose. This way, the smell was reduced, making it easier for her to continue working.
After a few days of eating and drinking, Ling Chengyan's body became much stronger, and it wasn't hard for her to carry a big shovel and dig up dirt. Ling Chengyan controlled the digging speed, so she felt a little more relaxed.
After a day, the only thing that Ling Chengyan couldn't tolerate was that dust often covered her face. Even if she wrapped it with a headscarf, she still felt a lot of dust and dirt everywhere.
She boiled some water. After that, she washed her face and hair and changed into clean clothes.
When she was done, she didn't expect Xiao Xing to have already finished cooking. Seeing her mother come out, Xiao Xing quickly smiled and asked, "Mother, shall we eat now?"
Ling Chengyan looked at the little girl who had a smudge of black ash on her chin and went forward to wipe it off her face. "Wash your hands and face. I'll clean up."
"Alright." Xiao Xing said.
Ling Chengyan opened the pot's lid. There was a bowl of steamed fish, steamed eggs with pickled vegetables, and four or five noodle cakes. She could also see that there was corn porridge below.
Ling Chengyan and her children usually used one pot to cook all their meals. Many people had hot dishes and steamed buns cooked in the top section, while soup and sticky congee was cooked in the bottom section. It saved a lot of time and firewood.
While Ling Chengyan was serving the food, Xiao Xing had just finished washing her hands and face. She ran out to help carry the dry food and chopsticks, running back and forth a few times.
Ling Chengyan looked outside the dining shed. The weather will be warmer in a few days, so she planned to cook outside. It would be best to build a shed so that they could enjoy the cool breeze at night while they ate under the shed.
After dinner, Ling Chengyan put Xiao Tian to sleep. Then, instead of sewing like usual, she took a book to read together with Xiao Xing at the table.
From the two times she had gone to the county, Ling Chengyan had bought brushes, notebooks, ink, paper, and an inkstone. She also bought a dictionary to learn more new words.
Sometime later, Zhao Er'ni visited with her eldest daughter, Hong Ling.
"You two can read?" Zhao Er'ni said, surprised.
Ling Chengyan was in the middle of teaching Xiao Xing how to write using a brush. When she heard Zhao Er'ni's voice, she put down the brush and smiled as she offered Zhao Er'ni and Hong Ling to sit down. She asked Xiao Xing to bring some sweets for Hong Ling to snack on.
"It's fine. I don't feel like eating right now…" Hong Ling was a little embarrassed.
"She's already so old and still eats children's snacks…" Although Zhao Er'ni said that, she was happy to see Ling Chengyan treating Hong Ling kindly.
Ling Chengyan laughed. "She's still a child no matter how old she is. If we don't dote on her now, when she leaves the house one day, we won't have any more chances to do that even if Hong Ling wanted us to."
Hong Ling's face reddened slightly at the mention of this, and she lowered her head. Zhao Er'ni sighed. "No, it's not like that. I often complain about her at home, but when I think about her leaving the house one day, my heart breaks into a million pieces... If I keep this up, I might stop anyone from courting my Hong Ling. Sigh!"
Ling Chengyan poured two cups of water, passed one to Zhao Er'ni, and then asked Xiao Xing to bring another cup to Hong Ling.
"Sister-in-law, you shouldn't think too much about this. Here, have some water."
This was a common problem faced by parents for thousands of years, no matter the era. Unfortunately, Ling Chengyan didn't know how to persuade people, so she could only change the topic.
Zhao Er'ni took the water and changed the topic. She started talking about the purpose of her visit today. "Hong Ling recently learned how to sew. She made a bib and wanted to give it to Xiao Xing. I happened to be free, so I came over as well."
Ling Chengyan smiled and took the bib that Hong Ling handed to her. Ling Chengyan put the bib on Xiao Xing to see if the size suited the little girl well. Seeing how it fit perfectly, Ling Chengyan put out many compliments towards Hong Ling's work.
Hong Ling's face brightened at the praise, but she said humbly, "I just started learning, and the lines are still not that smooth. Aunt Chengyan is the only one who doesn't mind the crooked lines."
Ling Chengyan folded up the bib and handed it to Xiao Xing, saying, "Anyway, I think it's much better than the one I made before."
Zhao Er'ni smiled and said, "Don't let us delay you from your writing. You can continue; Hong Ling and I will watch."
Ling Chengyan wrote Hong Ling's name on a piece of paper and passed it to the girl. Then, she wrote Hong Zhi's name on another piece of paper so she could pass it to her little sister. Hong Ling accepted it and gently blew on the ink as she said in a small voice, "This ink smells good."