Chapter 9 The Worried Son
Chapter 9 The Worried Son
There is a big well next to the Zhou family’s house, and there is a small stream about ten meters away. The two rows of people living at the foot of the mountain fetch water and wash clothes there.
When I got there, I saw Li Changle sitting barefoot by the ditch smoking, with his boots, net bag and scoop net placed aside.
Zhou Ruonan went down two steps and said, "My sister-in-law gave me three yuan and said it was for helping to sell the fish."
"Just take it." Li Changle remembered what he had put under the oilcloth bag, "Anan, there is a pair of trousers in the backpack, remember to take them out and wash them."
Then he leaned forward and whispered, "After dinner, I'll take you to the place where I catch sea fish. There are a lot of oysters there, some are bigger than my feet. Be quiet and don't let anyone know."
Zhou Ruonan glanced at his feet and said, "Where can you find such a big oyster? If there was one, it would have been pried open long ago."
"Your husband is famous for his good shipping skills. Whenever I go shopping, I guarantee that the goods will be great!"
"...Every time you go out, you always get big stuff. Why haven't I seen you go fishing in recent years?"
Nowadays, people don’t say “catching seafood”, but “tanking the sea” or “asking for food from the sea”, which means to make a living from the sea.
"This..." Li Changle laughed awkwardly, "Wife, I was not sensible before, you can see how I behave from now on."
Zhou Ruonan looked at Li Changle like this and felt that if he could really change, it didn't matter how valuable seafood he found, as long as he didn't wander around idly every day like before and make people look down on him.
Seeing that she didn't respond, Li Changle hurriedly grabbed her hand and said, "Wife, when your students do something wrong, you always give them a chance. I'm your husband, we are a family, so give me a chance to correct my mistakes!"
Zhou Ruonan pulled her hand away, "Xiao Hai is growing up day by day, I hope you won't let him down!"
Li Changle's eyes flashed with the cold look of his eldest son, "It won't happen this time."
Zhou Ruonan nodded and buried her head in cleaning the mantis shrimps.
Li Changle grinned and said flatteringly, "An Nan, I will help you kill the fish."
Zhou Ruonan handed him the kitchen knife and said calmly, "Don't break the gallbladder."
"Don't worry, I won't break it even if I kill it with my eyes closed."
Zhou Ruonan didn't respond, and the look on her face clearly showed disbelief.
Li Changle then remembered that she had never even touched a kitchen knife at home before. "I don't kill fish at home. When Awei and I grill fish outside, I kill them all. If you don't believe me, look at your husband and show you his skills."
Zhou Ruonan still ignored him and continued washing the shrimps.
Li Changle killed the fish and put it in a porcelain basin. He looked at her with a smug look on his face, "You're not bragging, are you?"
Who who grew up by the sea doesn’t know how to kill fish?
Zhou Ruonan complained inwardly and gathered the fish intestines together. "I'm going to cook. Go see if Xiaohai and his brother are still playing in the alley. I'm worried that he will take his brother to the long pond to look for fish."
"Looking for fish? What kind of fish?" Li Changle found that he had no memory of the two children's childhood.
"He was playing by the Long Pond yesterday and saw a perch floating on the bank. Before he could run back to call me, the father of the old Wai family fished it out. I'm worried that he'll go there again."
"Okay, I'll go and take a look." Li Changle carried the scoop net and net bag home and hung them on the clothesline. He looked into the alley and saw the two brothers and the children in the back row playing with spinning tops.
At lunch time, there was no woman weaving nets in the alley, and smoke was coming out of the chimneys of every household.
"Who wants to go fishing with us after dinner?" "I want to!" Li Xiaozhou immediately left his brother and ran towards him, "Dad, I want to go!"
"Okay, Dad will take you there after dinner." Li Changle held her hand and looked at Li Xiaohai, "I heard that you saw a perch by the Changtang yesterday?"
Li Xiaohai pursed his lips and said, "It was a big bass. It was really big. Old Wai's father said it weighed more than two kilograms and could be sold for more than one yuan. I didn't have a landing net, so he caught it."
Li Changle saw the distressed look on his face that was inconsistent with his age, and her heart felt like it was being pulled, "Li Xiaohai, how old are you?"
"Six years old!" Li Xiaohai raised six fingers.
Li Changle looked at him seriously, "Do you still know that you are only six years old? You are so young, yet you dare to go fishing in the long pond? If you are pulled into the water by a fish, do you think your mother will cry to death?"
Li Xiaohai looked at him with a stubborn and dissatisfied expression, "Lao Wai's father will help him catch fish, you are not at home every day, who can I ask to help me?"
Li Changle was speechless for a while, and went forward to rub his head, but the child dodged his hand and said, "You are not at home every day, and people say you are a second-rate person. They also say that you are the eldest child raised by my mother."
Damn it! Whoever said that in front of a child, I’ll catch him and knock out all his teeth!
Looking at his son's expression, he wished he could find a hole to crawl into.
"Don't listen to those rotten mouths. Dad went out to play before because there was nothing serious at home. Look, today Grandpa was bitten by a poisonous insect, and the family was short of money, so Dad immediately went to the sea to make money. If you don't believe me, ask your mother."
Li Xiaohai pursed his lips and looked at him for a long time before saying, "My mother said that you gave her all the money from selling fish today, so she asked me to give you a chance to correct your mistakes. If you don't correct them, my brother and I will no longer want you to be our father."
Li Xiaozhou was anxious and quickly hugged Li Changle's neck, "Brother, I want daddy!"
Li Changle looked at his son who had always had his own opinions, and rubbed his head quickly, "You worry about everything all day long, no wonder you haven't grown taller."
"Brother, grow taller!" Li Xiaozhou also imitated him and touched Li Xiaohai's head.
"I'm not short, I'm much taller than Lao Wai!" Li Xiaohai gestured with dissatisfaction, turned around and ran home.
Li Changle carried her youngest son home, but didn't see her son. She went straight to the kitchen and saw him helping to light the fire in front of the stove, while Zhou Ruonan was standing in front of the stove frying fish.
The two green mullets had been cut into six pieces and fried in the pan until both sides were golden brown. Because there was too little oil, she also added fish oil, which smelled a bit fishy.
Zhou Ruonan sprinkled shredded ginger, garlic slices, and green onion, added two small pieces of chili peppers, poured rice wine on it, added a little water, covered it with a lid and simmered it for about two or three minutes.
Turn it over and simmer for a few minutes until the soup is almost reduced, then add a handful of scallion leaves and simmer for a while before serving.
Li Changle, who hadn't smelled the fragrance of An Nan's cooking for more than 20 years, felt a little sour in his nose.
Li Xiaozhou sniffed, "Mother, it smells so good! Mother, I'm hungry!"
Zhou Ruonan glanced at the father and son and said, "Go wash your hands with your brother, and you can eat soon."
"Xiao Hai, take your brother to wash his hands." Li Changle put the child down, took the mantis shrimps on the stove, and put them on the table.
Zhou Ruonan put the fish on a plate, scooped a ladle of water into the pot, picked up the porcelain bowl and walked outside.
The year before last, the village divided the land and everyone worked on their own. A family of four received one and a half acres of land and four acres of mountain land.
Although they were still poor, they worked hard to plant two crops of rice. After paying the public grain tax, the family would have the remaining grain to eat white rice without shredded sweet potatoes every now and then.
Thanks to 2017...2306, Qiuxiao Luoyan for their reward and support!
(End of this chapter)