Chapter 102: Let the water flow and catch the fish
Liu Ji knew that Qin Yao was going to take the silver home today, so he ran to the village entrance early in the morning and squatted, waiting for people who were going to the town, and asked someone to buy meat for them.
There were spare ribs and pork belly with the right amount of fat and lean meat. Several delicious meat dishes were made in the evening. Dalang and his friends were so greedy that they kept wandering around the kitchen door and had no time to practice calligraphy.
As soon as Qin Yao entered the house, she smelled the tempting aroma of meat and was in a good mood.
Liu Ji turned around in the kitchen and looked over, "Madam, you're back!"
"The last dish will be ready soon. We'll eat once you've washed up."
Qin Yao curiously poked her head into the main room, "What a big deal today, so many dishes."
On the dining table, there was a pot of braised pork ribs with red dates and sweet potatoes, a plate of stir-fried pork belly with green peppers, a dish of refreshing pickled radish, and the cabbage and tofu soup being made in the kitchen.
I didn't eat this good during the Chinese New Year. Qin Yao said with a sigh, "It seems that the business of Water Mill has been much better recently."
Erlang knew this and immediately raised his hand and said, "Mother, in the past half month, I have been able to get ten copper coins every day, and sometimes I can also pick up eggs, vegetables, a bowl of noodles, etc."
Dalang also said: "Now people don't like to go to the stone mill in the village anymore. They all come to our water mill and say that our water mill is very useful."
By this calculation, a monthly income of three hundred coins can indeed allow Liu Ji to cook more meat dishes. After all, Qin Yao did not take the money and used it all as living expenses.
However, the food at home is getting better and better, so there is no need to collect the extra money.
Liu Ji had already served the cabbage and tofu soup. Seeing that Qin Yao did not ask for private money, his smile became more sincere, "My wife, it's time to eat."
Qin Yao urged the four siblings to wash their hands, and then went to the kitchen to get bowls and chopsticks. Each of them filled a bowl with white rice, and sat around the dining table, waiting for her to start eating first.
It was all meat, and it tasted very good. The whole family enjoyed the meal so much that no one dared to say a word.
He only slowed down his eating speed when he was about 70% full.
At this time, the food on the table was almost gone.
Liu Ji was quick and grabbed the last bit of the cabbage and tofu soup and poured it directly into the bowl. He then picked up two pieces of pickled radish and mixed them together. The soup was sour, crispy, a little spicy and fragrant.
Qin Yao was very satisfied with the meal and was in a particularly good mood. There was always a faint smile on her face.
Liu Ji finished the last mouthful of soup and rice in the bowl, put down his bowl and chopsticks, wiped his mouth, and asked curiously:
"Madam, have you finished the water mill in Xiahe Village?"
Qin Yao nodded, knowing what he wanted to ask, and told him directly, "You have the tuition for one year. After you finish copying the books at the end of the month, you will go to the county academy to resume your studies in early July."
Liu Ji converted the tuition fee into a specific number in his mind. It was about five taels of silver. She had earned it in less than half a month!
Although the money was not in his hands, he had to spend it on him. He couldn't help laughing, "Wife, we are so lucky to have you in this family."
Qin Yao snorted and laughed, asking him to stop flattering him, "How much of the book have you copied?"
"It's almost done. There are only two books with more words left. I can finish copying them by the end of the month." Liu Ji answered confidently.
Thinking of the upcoming college life, he couldn't help but feel excited.
I don't have to work in the fields anymore, and I can stay in the county town for a long time. It would be great to gather old friends, eat, drink and have fun!
Qin Yao looked at his expectant expression, and her eyes dimmed.
The rain in June comes suddenly and heavily at night. The wind in the mountains is cool and the summer heat is completely extinguished by the rain. The sound of "sneezing" due to the cold can be heard from the children's room.
Qin Yao hurriedly got up and went to the next room, pushed open the door and took out the thin blankets in the wooden box for them, and told the four of them to cover their stomachs and not sleep with their clothes open.
Medical care is underdeveloped. If you have minor illnesses, the village barefoot doctor can give you some medicine. But if the condition becomes serious, you can only leave it to fate.
Sanlang and Si Niang were sleeping soundly, wearing only small bellybands. No noise in the house could wake them up, but they knew they were cold. They covered themselves with a thin quilt and immediately rolled themselves in, wrapping themselves in it, leaving only half of their chubby little faces exposed.
Qin Yao felt itchy and pinched them. The two little ones grunted, smacked their lips, and fell asleep again.
"Boom!" A thunder rolled over the roof and the rain got heavier.
Qin Yao looked down and saw that the two little guys didn't even move.
She really envied this sleep quality.
Qin Yao waved to Dalang and Erlang who were sleeping on the upper bunk, signaling them to continue sleeping. She closed the doors and windows and returned to her room. It took her a while before she fell asleep.
She was always worried that the roof would leak when it rained so heavily, so she would open her eyes from time to time to look at the beams to make sure that the tiles were covered tightly before she fell asleep to the sound of the dripping rain.
When I woke up in the morning, the rain had lessened a lot, but it was still falling.
It was not possible to do morning exercises in this weather, so Dalang and Erlang slept in for a rare night.
Qin Yao listened to the farmers' sighs coming from the fields below the mountain, said something to Liu Ji who was preparing breakfast in the kitchen, put on a straw raincoat, put on a bamboo hat, and went to the fields with a hoe.
The mud on the road was washed away by last night's heavy rain, forming a small stream. Fortunately, Qin Yao was wearing straw sandals, otherwise the uppers would have been soaked.
The water level of the river rose by almost 20 centimeters. The ridges of several acres of land close to the river were washed away by the river, and the river water flowed back into the rice fields, destroying a small part of the rice.
Qin Yao couldn't help but sigh along with the farmers. She then rolled up her trouser legs, moved stones and mud to reinforce the ridges of the fields, and straightened the fallen rice.
Several plants were crushed to death. Seeing the destroyed rice flowers, I felt sad, thinking that they would produce grains in the future.
It is not good to have too much water in the fields. As soon as the rain subsided, almost all the villagers went out to clear the ditches in the fields and dig a hole in the ridge to release the water.
People whose rice fields are located near the river and in low-lying areas were so angry that they started cursing when they saw the muddy water leaking into their fields.
But there was no other way for everyone. Those in the low-lying areas could only consider themselves unlucky and raise the ridges near the canals.
Qin Yao followed suit and raised the ridge of her own field near the canal. Some fish, perhaps raised by someone, rushed down the canal.
With her quick eyes and hands, she grabbed it and caught a fat big field fish.
Now, the fish in the low-lying areas were very happy, while the fish in the high ground were anxiously shouting, "My fish! My fish!"
"I don't care whose land it is. If it falls into my field, it belongs to me!" everyone laughed.
Qin Yao also laughed. Seeing another fish being washed down, she quickly knocked the fish in her hand unconscious and placed it on the edge of the field, freeing her hand to catch the fish that was rushing down.
The children in the village heard the noise and swarmed over. They could not tell which ones were someone else's and which ones were their own. Anyway, with baskets slung over their shoulders, a group of girls and boys blocked the middle of the canal and put any fish they caught into their own pockets.
Dalang and Erlang performed very well and filled both small bamboo baskets.
Sanlang and Si Niang did not dare to go down into such a deep ditch, so they stood on the edge of the field to cheer their brother on. The rice fields were filled with the excited cheers of the children.
(End of this chapter)