PDLP Chapter 6: Showing Off a Little Skill
Chapter 6: Showing Off a Little Skill
"Okay, I understand. Go back to your room and change your clothes."
Li Xiangyang gave a word of advice, watched Liu Xiulan go back into the house, and then turned to Li Zhenshan and said:
"Don't worry, Dad, I've already planned how much to sell these fish for!"
"Um……?"
Li Zhenshan was somewhat surprised.
"Tomorrow, have my brother drive the carriage to the black market in town to sell me. When we arrive, my brother will be waiting for me in the carriage at a distance."
I'll take a few to sell first and see if anything seems amiss. If not, I'll just abandon the fish and run away. If nothing's wrong, I'll wait until I've sold them all before getting them from the cart. It's very safe!
After listening to Li Xiangyang's plan, Li Zhenshan nodded silently.
Then he took out a copper pipe from his belt and began to puff away.
He gazed thoughtfully at the wind and snow outside the window.
Although Xiangyang was a bit mischievous and didn't like to work, he was quick-witted, which made him better than Xiangdong.
If I hadn't been spoiled by my wife since I was a child, I would have been a skilled worker by now.
Fortunately, it's not too late to realize it!
By the time they finalized the details of selling fish in town the next day, it was already past 3 p.m.
It's getting dark; I need to hurry and cook.
Mother led Xiulan and her sister-in-law into the kitchen to start cooking, while the eldest brother went to inspect the sheepfold. Father led Doudou and Chunsheng to play with sheep knucklebones on the heated kang.
Everyone got busy with their own tasks.
This ordinary yet heartwarming scene was something Li Xiangyang could only dream of but never attain in his previous life.
of course,
He also remembered that the purpose of going to the lake to catch fish was not only to sell them to earn money for the ranch contract, but also to make fish soup to help Xiulan produce milk.
I pushed open the wooden door and stepped into the courtyard.
I dug out the Chinese cabbage that I had buried before winter from the snowdrift, and then took out a few crucian carp from the burlap sack, preparing to make a Chinese cabbage and crucian carp soup.
Entering the kitchen,
Press the fish onto a wooden board, scrape off the scales, gut it, rub it with oil and salt, fry it until golden brown on both sides, and pour hot water over it.
A pot of fragrant, creamy crucian carp soup is now ready!
The housewives were stunned.
"Mom, so Xiangyang can cook...?"
Liu Xiulan tugged at Wang Guiying's sleeve and asked.
She and Li Xiangyang got married through a matchmaker. Their families lived in several villages apart and didn't know each other before the wedding. Otherwise, knowing that he was lazy and good-for-nothing, she wouldn't have married him.
Back then, there was no such thing as dating; it was all about marriage first, then love.
That very night, the matchmaker brought Li Xiangyang to her home for a blind date. She looked at Li Xiangyang from afar through the curtain, and seeing that he was tall and big, she agreed.
Married to Li Xiangyang for more than two years,
She had never seen him enter the kitchen, and none of the adult men she knew knew how to cook, so she assumed that Li Xiangyang couldn't cook.
After all, this era still belongs to a typical patriarchal society where men are the breadwinners and women stay at home.
"Oh my, so Xiangyang can cook! It's rare to see a man cooking these days. Xiulan is going to be very lucky."
"They kept it so well hidden; even my mother didn't tell me before."
Zhao Lijuan nudged Liu Xiulan with her elbow and teased her.
Liu Xiulan didn't know how to respond, so she tugged at Wang Guiying's clothes again.
"This...? I don't know either, when did he learn to cook?"
Wang Guiying was stunned.
His youngest son has always been ignorant of the five grains and lazy in physical labor.
You can't even be bothered to make milk tea, how come you can cook rice all of a sudden?
"Hey, you three, stop standing there like idiots, hurry up and get me the soybean paste."
Li Xiangyang's shouts interrupted everyone's wild thoughts.
He took the earthenware jar from Xiulan and scooped out two large spoonfuls of soybean paste, stirring it into the milky white fish soup.
The unique salty, savory, and mellow aroma of Dongbei Dajiang (a type of soybean paste) quickly spread.
That sentence,
Yunnan mushrooms ascend to heaven, Northeast soybean paste dips everything in them.
As expected, what was said was true.
Although their village is located in Mongolia, it is adjacent to Northeast China. Through generations of integration, many of their lifestyles are very similar.
So the people in their village,
His ID card stated he was Han Chinese, his address was in Inner Mongolia, and he spoke with a strong Northeastern accent.
of course,
It's easy to distinguish between people from Inner Mongolia and people from Northeast China.
It all depends on whether he can stay with you from sunset to sunrise.
Yes, they are from Northeast China!
The four of them rushed around and finally managed to cook dinner before nightfall. It was the first time they had ever tasted such delicious fish soup, and they all ate their meal with great satisfaction.
That night,
Given Li Xiangyang's good behavior throughout the day, Liu Xiulan also took the initiative to crawl into his bed, which was a rare occurrence for her.
…………
The next morning, around 5 a.m., just as dawn was breaking.
Li Xiangyang, supporting his aching lower back, got off the kang (a heated brick bed) and emptied the ashes from the kang's interior, intending to take them outside to dispose of them.
A dark figure, almost as tall as him, suddenly appeared, startling him.
"Who?"
Li Xiangyang darted forward, grabbed the shovel placed in front of the house, and roared.
The shadowy figure paused for a moment, then a familiar,憨笑 (a kind of hearty laugh) rang out:
"Brother, it's me! Your older brother."
"call….."
It turned out to be his brother, Li Xiangdong. Li Xiangyang finally breathed a long sigh of relief.
People are scary, they can scare you to death!
"Brother, where have you been so early in the morning?"
"I'm going to town to sell fish soon. I'm going to check the sheepfold and put the morning's fodder in there so that Lijuan and Xiulan don't have to do it."
"Oh, I know, I know."
This brother is really hardworking and diligent; he gets up so early to work even in this cold weather.
Moreover, this job was originally supposed to be done by the two of them taking turns.
"Brother, I'll patrol the sheepfold tomorrow night. You've had a long day and need to rest."
Li Xiangyang's words were earnest.
In her previous life, she was always cunning and deceitful, taking her brother's love and tolerance for granted as a sign of honesty and vulnerability, and pushing all the work onto her brother.
Looking back now, I realize I shouldn't have done that.
I wonder if the prince was too overworked when he was young, which damaged his health, and that's why he died so young in his previous life, only living to his fifties.
Having been given a second chance at life, I certainly cannot let such a tragedy repeat itself.
"Hehe, it's alright, little brother. There's not much work to do at the ranch in winter, so I'll take care of it."
"You're smart, just focus on making money and earn back next year's ranch lease fee as soon as possible."
Li Xiangdong patted Li Xiangyang on the shoulder and said earnestly:
"Our family can't let Second Uncle look down on us anymore!"
"Yes, brother, don't worry. With our two brothers working together, we will definitely be able to run the ranch well and show it to our second uncle."
"Uh-huh!"
After their heart-to-heart talk, the two hitched up the carriage and headed out the door, heading straight for Wuzhen.
Li Xiangdong sat in front driving the carriage, while Li Xiangyang sat back-to-back with him.
This morning, with temperatures dropping to over -30 degrees Celsius, was incredibly cold. Even modern refrigerators only reach a minimum temperature of -18 degrees Celsius.
Fortunately, the snow on the road leading to town had been cleared to both sides, making it easier for the carriage to travel.
The sky was a cold, deep blue. The two brothers chatted idly, and the steam from their breath quickly froze into ice crystals on their eyelashes.
After traveling for more than an hour, they finally arrived in town. The carriage stopped a few streets away from the black market, and Li Xiangyang took a few fish to try selling them.
"Brother, find a sheltered place to hide. I'll go check what's going on over there. You're safer here, but you still need to be careful. If you notice anything amiss, run away immediately."
Don't wait for me!
Li Xiangyang was a little worried and emphasized it several times.
Then, carrying a sack of fish, he headed alone toward the black market.
After walking through several streets, I finally saw the black market that people were talking about at a bend in the street, and I was somewhat surprised.
"The black market is this big?"
The stalls stretched forty or fifty meters along both sides of the alley.
Looking out, the crowd was dense with people coming and going to shop.
Yet it makes almost no sound.
This is something that Li Xiangyang greatly admires.
He wasn't in a hurry to sell the fish. He carried a sack around and wandered around, thinking he would first see if there were any fish sellers and find out the market prices.
who knows,
I walked around twice, but there wasn't a single stall selling fish.
There are plenty of daily necessities, such as soap, kerosene, cloth, and mountain products, as well as wild game, but no beef or mutton. If there are any extra sheep later, they should be brought over to sell, and there should be a market for them.
This pleased him somewhat.
Li Xiangyang opened the sack while making his calculations.
They first displayed several large wild carp to make a good impression.
Attract attention and increase popularity.
really,
Just as they finished setting things up, a middle-aged man wearing a blue cotton-padded jacket and with his hair parted in a side part walked over.
She whispered carefully in his ear:
"Comrade, how much is this carp?"
Hehe, a customer has arrived.