Chapter 19: Xiang Ma Town

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

When he got home, he heard Erniang coaxing the child. Jiang Hu shouted to her and hurried to the kitchen.

He immediately placed the largest big fish in a vat. His gains today were not bad. In addition to the big silver carp that was longer than his forearm, there were also two carps that were larger than his palm and a group of small fish as thick as his finger.

He placed the big silver carp and the two carps in the vat and poured the remaining small fish into the stone vat outside.

The stone vat was filled with small fish. The largest were only the size of a woman’s palm. The larger ones were all raised in the kitchen vat.

Jiang Hu first went to the courtyard to see if Dawa and Erni had returned. Seeing that the siblings were walking home, he went into the house.

“Erniang, I caught a big fish!” Jiang Hu excitedly gestured the size of the silver carp to Erniang. “It’s so big. I’ll take it to town tomorrow. I’ll definitely be able to sell it for a good price!”

“It’s so big!” Erniang exclaimed. Beside her, Xiaomi waved her hand and called out a few times. Erniang patted her.

Jiang Hu nodded. “Yes, I came to tell you. I’ll go fetch water first and I’ll be back to cook. Wait a moment.”

Erniang quickly said, “Hu, slow down. It’s dark.”

Jiang Hu had already gone out, and only one word of acknowledgment came from outside.

The water vat was filled with fish. The water used for cooking was freshly fetched from the village. There were only three wells in Fu’an Village. Every family had to come here to get water for their meals.

In the past, Jiang Hu would immediately fill a vat with water. Even if he wanted to wash the diapers, he could use the water for two to three days. Now he only fetched the water he needed every day. After all, there were only these two buckets at home.

He fetched a bucket of water to cook rice for dinner. It was still fish soup today, but he had also cooked wild vegetable porridge. Although it was all soup, at least there was meat and fish so that they would not get hungry so quickly.

After dinner, Dawa went to wash the dishes. Jiang Hu washed the diapers he had saved for the day and placed them on the bed behind the stove.

The coals for cooking had not all been extinguished, and it was warm here. After a night of drying, they would be completely dry in the morning and ready to be worn. It had been like this before when it rained. It was more convenient.

At night, when they slept, the two children kept telling Erniang about the big fish. The two little fellows were especially excited, thinking about catching more and bigger fish in the future.

Xiaomi was also listening with relish. She wanted to get up immediately and catch fish with her brother and sister.

This excitement lasted until she fell asleep. Even in her dream, she was dreaming of drinking fish soup.

To be able to eat fish soup every day was sheer luxury!

Early the next morning, Jiang Hu woke up before dawn to cook. He cooked the rice and washed the diapers the children had changed out of the night before.

This time he splashed water in a place without vegetables.

While there was still time, he planted the vegetable sprouts he had plucked the day before back into the vegetable garden.

It was amazing that the vegetable seedlings that had been pulled out the morning before did not wilt much.

After the meal, he reminded Dawa not to go anywhere today. He was to take good care of his sisters, brother and mother at home. Jiang Hu carried the wooden bucket, loaded it with fish, and went to town.

It would take more than an hour to walk to the town closest to Fu’an Village. With things on his back, he would have to rest on the way. It would only take longer.

At this moment, the sun had just risen.

From the end of the village to the entrance, he encountered many people on the way. When everyone saw the big fish on Jiang Hu’s back, they exclaimed enviously.

Jiang Hu was in a hurry to go to town to sell the fish. He did not have time to chat with everyone. He just greeted them and left in a hurry.

However, with Jiang Hu as a lesson learned, everyone was even more expectant and motivated to catch fish and birds.

Anyway, they had nothing to do for the time being. Why not take this opportunity to specially get some food? Even if they could not sell it for money, they could roast it into dried fish and save it for later.

Therefore, a fishing craze quickly rose in Fu’an Village. No one had such good bait, but who said that fishing had to use bait?

People always came up with solutions. Someone discovered that there were many small fish under the cracks in the rocks by the river, but those small fish swam very quickly. As soon as they touched the water, they quickly fled.

However, this was not difficult for people who wanted to eat fish. They found a rock and stood a little further away, smashing it hard against the big rock by the river.

With a loud bang, the fish in the crack were stunned. If they lifted the big rock now, they would be able to pick up the small fish.

Not to mention adult men, even slightly stronger children could catch a lot in a day.

However, there was also a drawback to catching fish like this. These small fish would not live long. At most, they would die in an hour.

However, no one cared. After bringing the fish home, they squeezed the fish with two fingers to remove the dirty contents from the fish stomach. Then they strung the small fish with a rope and roasted them by the fire into dried fish.

Such dried fish could be kept for months!

However, Jiang Hu did not know about these things yet. After he left Fu’an Village, he relied on his memories to find the direction to town.

They had fled to the county town in the other direction and had been arranged by the county magistrate to settle in this village. He had only walked the road from town to Fu’an Village once.

Fortunately, it hadn’t been long, and the traces on the road were obvious, so he wouldn’t get lost.

Xiang Ma Town, the town closest to Fu’an Village.

Seeing the town from afar, Jiang Hu heaved a sigh of relief. He had finally arrived.

After resting, Jiang Hu strode in again. When he entered the town, he saw traces of swords on the nearby walls, proving that this place had also suffered the ravages of war not long ago.

Fortunately, that was all in the past. The town was bustling with people and noise.

Jiang Hu was not in a hurry to sell the fish. Instead, he walked around the town and confirmed that there were only three restaurants in town. Then he went to one of them.

“Hello, do you want fish here? The big fish I caught yesterday is still alive.”

“Go away, go away. Where did this country bumpkin come from? Don’t you know that all the dishes in our restaurant are specially sent by someone? Go back to where you came from.”

Before he could enter, he was chased out by the waiter like a fly.

Jiang Hu blushed and was a little discouraged.

However, when he thought of the expectant gazes of his wife and children when he left, he perked up again and turned to go to the second restaurant.

In the end, he was chased away by the waiter before he could finish speaking.

There was only one last restaurant left. If they did not want his fish, he would have to go to the market and have a slimmer chance of selling it.

Jiang Hu took a deep breath outside the door, then smiled the biggest smile he thought he had and walked into the last restaurant.

“Hello, Shopkeeper. I have a very big fish here. Do you want it?”

The shopkeeper was settling accounts and was a little unhappy to have his thoughts interrupted, but he looked up at Jiang Hu and then at the large bucket he was carrying.

“How big is the big fish? Put it down for me to see.”

When Jiang Hu heard that there was a chance, he hurriedly put down the basket and took out the bucket.