Chapter 17 Water Fish
Aunt Sun pointed to the things in the basket and said, "These are the New Year gifts that Yu Niang asked me to bring back."
He took out a gift list from the basket and handed it to the village chief, then pointed to another list on the basket and said, "This is my New Year gift to you, uncle."
The village chief narrowed his eyes, smiled and said, "Oh, you're so polite."
He put away the gift list and said with concern: "How is Yu Niang? Is she okay?"
The old lady married into He Wenshu's family the year before last. She gave birth to a big fat boy, Baoger, last year, and two months ago she said she was pregnant again.
Aunt Sun smiled and said, "Well, both mother and child are doing well. Yu Niang is pregnant again, and it's not even three months yet. A few days ago, Yu Niang complained that Bao Ge'er's father didn't want her to go out, and kept her at home all day."
After hearing this, the village chief and others laughed happily.
The village head's wife angrily scolded: "Bao Ge'er's father did a good job. He wanted to go out even though he was pregnant. How can this be allowed?"
The mother gave birth to a boy as her first child, and the whole family breathed a sigh of relief. The reason why He Wenshu's family married the village girl was to continue the family line.
After getting married, the whole family was worried that Yu Niang was not pregnant. When she was pregnant, they were worried that it was not a boy.
Fortunately, I was lucky enough to give birth to a big fat boy. Now I am pregnant again. Whether it is a boy or a girl, I am happy. After all, there is not much pressure.
But it would be better if it was a boy, then Yu Niang’s position would be more stable.
Aunt Sun went on to say, "Oh, Bao Ge'er has grown up to be white and chubby. The He Wenshu family loves him very much, especially He Wenshu, who holds his grandson in his arms all day long and takes him wherever he goes. He really dotes on him."
What Aunt Sun said was the truth. Baoger was a strong boy, which made He Wenshu, a thin boy, look happy and he loved him very much.
When the village chief heard that Bao Ge'er was favored, he felt relieved and said gratefully: "Yu Niang is what she is today, all thanks to you, my sister. I ask you to take good care of Yu Niang in the future. If she does anything wrong, please point it out. Be filial to your parents-in-law, support your husband and raise your children."
Chunlan has been in the He family for more than ten years. She has given birth to four boys in succession and runs her own shop. She eats more salt than Yu Niang eats rice. Whenever something happens, Chunlan is the only one who can save her.
I have to write a letter to Yu Niang later, asking her to get along well with Chun Lan.
Aunt Sun said comfortingly, "Don't worry, you two. The He family is very satisfied with Yu Niang. It's you, Yu Niang, who is always worried about you and can't come back. I feel guilty about you."
After Yu Niang got married, she became pregnant, gave birth to a child, and then became pregnant again. She didn't return to her parents' home for three whole years.
The village head's wife said nonchalantly, "We are fine. Tell Yu Niang not to worry. As long as she is fine, we are fine too."
Every year, the old man would follow Sun Bomin to He's house to sell oranges, so he could catch a glimpse of Yuniang. However, this year was special, the orange harvest was small, so Sun Bomin did not go to He's house.
Aunt Sun chatted with the village chief and his wife.
Uncle He and the three sons of the village chief were chatting about this and that. If it weren't for the lively and cheerful Yu Ge'er, the four grown men might have just stared in disbelief.
Uncle He is not a talkative person, and the three sons of the village chief don’t know what to talk about when they see that people from the capital are timid.
I'm afraid the most common sentence is: The weather is nice today, not too cold.
Later, Yu Ge'er was really bored, so the village chief's eldest son said, "Yu Ge'er, let's go look at the big water fish. We caught them in the big pond yesterday. Let's take them back and eat them later."
The water fish here are nail fish and giant turtle.
Yu Ge'er's eyes lit up. It didn't matter whether he ate or not. The main thing was that he wanted to see it.
The three sons of the village chief, Master He and Brother Yu went to see the water fish. As for Sun Shan, he wanted to listen to the adults gossip and understand this era from their words.
Aunt Sun saw the men go out and said with a smile: "Brother Yu likes to mess around, it's hard for Brother Dalang to accompany him.
The village head's wife disagreed and said, "Brother Yu has a very good temper. Boys should be naughty."
The village chief also thought so. He felt that Shanzi, who was beside Aunt Sun, was too dull and not like a child at all. He also didn't like to join in the fun. He smiled and said, "Shanzi is a steady person."
You can't say that other people's children are sulking, so you can only use nicer words instead.
Aunt Sun tapped Sun Shan's little head and said with a smile, "Being steady is good, and doing things reliably."
This is true. It doesn't matter if Sun Shan is depressed. He just needs to be steady in doing things in the future.
Aunt Sun saw that only the village chief and his wife were left in the main room. As for Sun Shan, she ignored him because he was too young to understand anything she said.
He took out a purse from his belt and whispered, "This is Yu Niang's gift money. You two should keep it well."
He opened the purse, took out two silver ingots, and handed them to the village chief and his wife respectively: "Yuniang said 5 taels per person, I hope you don't mind."
The hot silver ingot was thrown into his hand. The village chief was restless and asked nervously, "Is this the silver that Yu Niang brought?"
5 taels per person, 10 taels for two people.
A family in Sunjia Village could only save 2 taels at most throughout the year. Those who were better off and more diligent, like the village chief, could only save 5 taels.
The 10 taels given by Yu Niang was enough for two years’ net income.
The village head's wife also said anxiously: "Chunlan, tell me in detail, how did Yu Niang get so much silver?"
In previous years, we only gave New Year gifts plus 2 taels of filial piety money, but this time it was too much.
Aunt Sun gave her a reassuring look and said nonchalantly, "These should be the pocket money that Yu Niang saved. She is always at home and doesn't go anywhere, so she can save money naturally. Don't worry, you two guys, I heard from Yu Niang that the He family gives her 1 tael every month as pocket money."
The village chief quickly waved his hand and said, "It was given by the He family, so she should have kept it and saved it for Bao Ge'er to use in the future. It would be embarrassing to take it back to her parents' home.
After a pause, he continued, "Chunlan, to be honest, Yu Niang is not like you. She has her own business and makes her own money. Yu Niang relies on the He family. If people knew that she secretly gave money back, the He family would look down on her."
The village chief was afraid that He Wenshu's family would know and be unhappy and dissatisfied.
Aunt Sun said soothingly, "I will tell Yu Niang next time. I have taken it back this time, so you two should accept it."
The village chief and his wife had no choice but to accept it, and repeatedly reminded him not to bring the silver back next time.
Aunt Sun nodded perfunctorily, took out another two taels, and said with a smile: "This is my gift to you two, don't think it's too little."
The village chief and Sun Shan’s family are relatives within the fifth degree of mourning. They worship the same grandfather and usually go to weddings and funerals together.
The village chief didn't want to take it, but Aunt Sun stuffed it in with all her might, pretending to be angry and saying, "Just take it if you two are given it. You have money in your hands, so you don't need to ask for help."
The village head's wife took it gratefully and said sincerely, "Then we will accept it. Thanks to you, our lives will get better and better."
After that, they chatted for quite a while about all sorts of things. When Aunt Sun saw the sky, she thought it was time to go back, so she said goodbye to the village chief.
Aunt Sun took Sun Shan and followed the village head and his wife out of the main hall and into the large courtyard.
I saw Yu Ge'er and the head of the family staring at the big jar.
When he walked over, he saw a turtle and exclaimed, "This fish is too big."
The village chief's son scratched his head and said, "I just weighed it, and it weighs a full 8 kilograms."