Chapter 70: Zhang Family, Settlement of Accounts

Chapter 70: Zhang Family, Settlement of Accounts

Chapter 70 Going Home and Settling Accounts

Li Xiaoyang and his brother also caught up, "Mom, we saw a mine, it's bigger than a bucket and it's all rusty."

Mrs. Li glanced at the two brothers and said, "You are everywhere, but you two are the fastest."

Li Xiaoqing nodded, "That's right, he just wanted to watch the fun but didn't call us."

Li Xiaozhou reached out and pulled her, "Sister, I'm fine! I'll come back and call you."

Li Xiaoqing rubbed his fluffy curly hair, "Yeah! Our Xiaozhou is the best behaved, just like a doll."

Li Xiaozhou quickly hid behind Li Changle, "Women can't touch men's heads, it will bring bad luck."

"Xiao Zhou, your mother is also a woman, will she be unlucky if she touches you?"

"Aniang is a mother, not a woman."

"Hahaha!" Everyone laughed.

Mrs. Li asked Li Changle enviously, "Ah Le, we were standing far away and couldn't hear clearly, but we heard everyone talking about how there would be rewards for those who fished out the items and handed them over to the police station, will they really give them?
"Really? You can give it to the Coast Guard."

"Alas! Your eldest brother and his gang are helping others. Even if they get some eavesdropping devices, it will benefit the eldest family members."

Accountant Chen laughed and said, "It's not that easy to get it. If that were the case, our place would be like a sieve."

"That's right. It's been promoted for two or three years, but this is the first time I've heard of someone fishing something out of the sea."

"Ah Le and Ah Wei are still lucky..."

Everyone walked back talking about it. Some said that they would be more careful next time, and if they could catch something and hand it over, they would get a prize.

Some said that Li Changle and his companion were lucky and that they could find certificates and bonuses while fishing in the sea.

After Li Changle and his party arrived home, he told Zhou Ruonan and Mrs. Li that Li's father would be discharged from the hospital and return home in the afternoon.

Mrs. Li said happily, "Let's go pick them up together this afternoon."

Li Changle: "No need, Awei and I can go together."

"Then we'll just wait at home." Mrs. Li happily pulled Zhou Ruonan aside, "Let's go tell Zhen that Dad is back."

The two of them went out and saw that the door next door was ajar. "Did the second sister-in-law also go to watch the fun?"

"I went to wash the spicy snails."

Before she finished speaking, Li Ersao came back with a porcelain basin in her hand. "Sister-in-law, Anan, we picked up a lot of spicy snails today. You can take some to eat too."

Mrs. Li nodded readily, "It just so happens that I've been feeling a bit irritated these past two days. I'll go back and get the rice washing basket, pour some in and cook it and dip it in vinegar and soy sauce to cool down the heat."

"Xiao Hai and Xiao Zhou are also a little angry. I was thinking of prying some back!" Zhou Ruonan took out the rice washing basket, poured a small half of it into it, and told her that Li's father would be back in the afternoon.

In some places, spicy snails are also called bitter snails because in addition to the spicy taste of their tail tip, they also taste bitter. The bitterness mainly comes from the subbranchial glands, digestive glands and rectal glands in the abdomen.

Spicy snails have the effects of clearing away heat and detoxifying, reducing inflammation and stopping swelling. The snail shells can also be used as medicine, mainly treating diseases such as lymph node tuberculosis and thyroid enlargement.

March is the time when spicy snails are most abundant. Some families will collect spicy snails and take them home. After breaking the shells, they will take out the snail meat and pickle it with salt to make spicy snail sauce.

Marinate the snail meat for one or two days, drain the marinade, add some rice wine and a little salt, mix well, put it into a ceramic jar, seal it and store it into snail sauce.

After ten days or so, the spicy snail sauce is ready. The spicy snail meat tastes refreshing, crispy and chewy, with a hint of bitterness in the spiciness and sweetness in the bitterness, with a long aftertaste.

Li Changle saw her carrying the spicy snails into the house, "Did my second sister-in-law give it to you?"

Zhou Ruonan nodded. "The kids have eaten too much ginger candy these past two days and they are all getting irritated. Don't buy so much next time."

"Buy less next time." Li Changle said with a smile, "Then when dinner is ready, you can cook for them now."

"Yeah, you take a break first, I'll be there in a minute."

Li Changle remembered that he hadn't told her about the tricycle yet, so he went inside to get the receipt and handed it to Zhou Ruonan proudly, "Wife, I bought a big item."

"What big thing?" Zhou Ruonan took the order curiously, "A tricycle, why is it so cheap?"

"It's not new. Someone assembled it from old tricycle parts." Li Changle said with a smile, "Now that I have a tricycle, I won't have to borrow it from A-Qing when I go to town to sell my catch."

Zhou Ruonan thought about the time she went to borrow Ah Qing's bicycle yesterday afternoon, and Ah Ping said sarcastically, "It would be better to buy one. It would be more convenient if you need it."

Li Changle knew from her expression that Chen Liping was probably giving her a cold look. "What's wrong? Did wife Aqing give you a cold look?"

"No, it's not like that. The main thing is that a bicycle is not a shoulder pole or a basket. We would be embarrassed to borrow one every few days!"

"I thought so too, so I made the decision." Li Changle pointed at the plastic cans and said, "Tie the cans up this afternoon and put them down tonight. If we're lucky, we can earn back the money we earned from the tricycle in a week."

"Hmm!" Zhou Ruonan asked him to watch the fire in the stove. He saw that his second sister-in-law had washed the spicy snails, rinsed them with two scoops of water from the water tank, put two scoops of water into the pot, added some salt, and poured the spicy snails in.

Everyone in their family likes to blanch the spicy snails in water and then eat them with sauce and vinegar.

The blanched spicy snails have delicate meat. After dipping them in soy sauce and vinegar and putting them into your mouth, the sweet and sour taste of the soy sauce and vinegar, as well as the bitter and spicy taste of the snail meat, mix together. When they touch the tip of your tongue, the taste buds will feel the taste.

The taste of freshness, bitterness, spiciness, sourness and sweetness mixed together, and it tastes a bit like the Schisandra chinensis from the mountains.

After the spicy snails were cooked, Li Changle went to the alley to call a few children back for dinner. Seeing Li Xiaoyang hunched over, Li Xiaohai jumped over with his hands on his back.

"Brother is so awesome, it was over in no time." Little Li Xiaozhou stood by the wall and clapped his hands to cheer.

"Stop playing and go home for dinner." Li Changle shouted and turned back to the house.

"Oh, time to eat! Time to eat spare ribs!" Li Xiaozhou cheered, turned around and ran after Li Changle.

Li Changle went back and helped bring the dishes to the table. There were pork ribs stewed with dried bamboo shoots, stir-fried green vegetables, blanched spicy snails, and the sauce and vinegar dish gave off a rich sweet and sour flavor.

"Wow! Big spare ribs!" Li Xiaozhou climbed onto the bench excitedly. Zhou Ruonan smiled and patted him, "Greedy cat! Your hands look like cat paws. Go down and wash your hands with your brother before you come back."

"Oh oh!" The little guy quickly got off the bench and followed Li Xiaohai who had just entered the room to wash his hands.

Zhou Ruonan took out a few pieces of ribs and put them in the bowls of the two sons, waiting for them to wash their hands and come over, just right for them to eat. Li Changle looked at the two little ones jumping to wash their hands, picked up a spicy snail with chopsticks, took off the lid and inserted the chopsticks into the spicy snail, and a whole piece of snail meat was picked out.

Remove the black part on the snail meat, then dig out the liver. Eating this will make you dizzy.

Dip the snail in the sauce and vinegar and put it in your mouth. The sweet and sour taste of the sauce and vinegar, as well as the bitter and spicy taste of the snail itself, make you feel wonderful.

Li Xiaozhou climbed onto the stool, picked up a piece of pork ribs and started chewing them. His cheeks were puffed up, and he did not forget to ask Li Changle, "Dad, why don't you eat the pork ribs? They are delicious."

Li Xiaohai also nodded, "Dad, the ribs are delicious and smell so good!"

"That's because your mother is a good cook. Even vegetables are delicious!"

"You make me sound like a chef." Zhou Ruonan glared at him in disapproval and put a piece of pork ribs in his bowl. "You eat too. Eat more oily meat so you have the strength to work."

Li Changle winked at her, "You don't know whether I am very strong when I work!"

Stinky man! Zhou Ruonan glared at him and stepped on his instep, "If you don't speak properly, don't eat."

Li Xiaohai looked at her in confusion and said, "Mother, father is right. He is really strong. He carried such a heavy fish back home."

"..." Zhou Ruonan's eyes flew towards Li Changle, "Xiao Hai is right, you guys should eat it too, and help Auntie tie the jar after you eat it."

"Good son!" Li Changle laughed, picked out a few pieces of snail meat and put them in a sauce and vinegar dish, and said to the two little guys, "Your mother said that you have a sore throat, so eat some spicy snails to cool down your heat."

Li Xiaozhou nodded and said, "The poop I pooped today was all sheep shit. My mother said that my brother and I ate too much ginger candy every day and got a sore throat."

Li Changle tapped the table with his fingers, "Comrade Li Xiaozhou, you call people shit when they are eating. That's not civilized at all!"

Li Xiaohai: "My brother also said that what he pooped was all sheep shit."

"Hehe!" Li Xiaozhou pointed at him, "Brother, you are learning from me!"

The meal was spent in a cheerful atmosphere with laughter.

Li Changle sat on a chair, crossed his legs, and smoked while watching his two sons who had just finished their meal and were having fun outside with their cousins. He felt that this was what being a child should be like.

After sitting there and watching for a while, he saw several children hugging one leg, standing on one foot and jumping around playing with their crutches. Suddenly he remembered that he had not cut down his crutches yet, so he ran to the grove with his machete, cut down two crooked little trees, and dragged them back home.

The branches and leaves were dried and used as firewood. The bark was peeled off and the burrs on the tree knots were cleaned. I clapped my hands and looked at the packed walking stick, thinking it was pretty good.

After Chen Yongwei came over, the three of them took three hours to tie up the jars with fishing ropes. After tying up the four jars with the fishing ropes they bought, there were still about ten jars left.

Li Changle planned to pick up a few dozen more when he had time and tie another fishing rope.

Looking at the jars that almost took up half of the house, he said, "Awei, my house is too small. I'll put these jars in your house from now on."

"Okay, I'll take it back right away." Chen Yongwei took the sack handed to him by Zhou Ruonan and filled the cans with Li Changle. "Brother, it's almost four o'clock. Are we going to the hospital now?"

"Take the jar back. I'll come right back after I wash my face."

Half an hour later, the two boarded a minibus to Tuxia Bridge. When they arrived at the hospital, Li's mother had already packed her things and was waiting there.

The weather was hot, and the chicken and duck eggs given by relatives and friends would go bad if they were not eaten, so she gave most of them to sell on the street. As for the dried goods and sugar, which would be needed when she visited relatives in the future, she kept them all.

Li Changle looked at the two elders who were eager to go home, and took the prescription written by Doctor Lin to the window to go through the discharge procedures. Surprisingly, there was still six yuan left of the prepaid hospital fee.

He returned to the ward with the money and medicine. Li's mother and Chen Yongwei had already packed all the things in a backpack and were waiting for him to go home.

Father Li said happily, "I can finally go home. I have been lying in the hospital for the past two days and my bones are sore from sleeping."

Mother Li glared at him in reproach and picked up the toiletries. "Didn't you always say that it would be nice if you could do nothing and sleep peacefully for a few days? Now I ask you to sleep, but you can't lie down."

"Is staying in the hospital the same as staying at home?" Father Li felt distressed when he thought about the money he had spent in the past few days. "It costs nothing to stay at home, but staying in the hospital costs money faster than water. I have spent more than two hundred and ninety in just a few days."

"Dad, more than two hundred dollars is nothing. As long as it can be cured, it is worth spending any amount of money."

"If that's the case, it's better to not get treated and die cleanly, rather than leaving with a mountain of debt."

"Puh, puh, puh!" Li's mother spat three times in succession, "His father, don't die just after being discharged from the hospital! It's unlucky!"

"Okay, I won't tell you." Father Li said to Li Changle, "Let's go home quickly. If we get late, we'll get wet in the rain."

Chen Yongwei asked curiously, "Uncle Tang, how do you know it's going to rain?"

Father Li patted his knees and said, "My bones are weak. They start to hurt as soon as the weather changes."

Li Changle knew that he had a rheumatic attack. "Go back and fry some salt and apply a hot compress to it. It may help. It's better to go see a doctor."

"Doctor Lin prescribed some ointment. I'll apply it on him when I get home." Mother Li picked up her luggage. "Let's go. The dark clouds are coming. If you keep talking, we'll really get caught in the rain."

Li Changle squatted down in front of Li's father and said, "Dad, I'll carry you downstairs."

Chen Yongwei hurriedly said: "Brother, I'm strong, I'll carry it."

"Awei, you take the backpack and let this kid carry me." Father Li said as he lay on his son's broad back.

Li Changle carried his father on his back, who was not as heavy as he had expected, and walked out with steady steps, step by step. He hugged his father, who did not even have much meat on his thighs, and felt a sour taste in his heart.

Mother Li followed behind him and muttered, "Ah Le, please watch the stairs and walk slowly, don't let your father fall..."

Seeing his son walking away without saying anything, Father Li hurriedly said, "Stop nagging me. You are so big, but you can't even carry an old man like me. What's the point of that?"

"That's right!" Li Changle looked up at Li's mother, "Mother, you and Awei should hurry up and call a rickshaw. We still need to stop a minibus on the side of the road!"

"Oh!" Only then did Li's mother follow Chen Yongwei in front of her and walk downstairs.

　There was a period of time when the chapters were messed up because Cat posted the chapters upside down in a panic last night.

　　Later I copied and pasted it and modified it back, but the chapter name and chapter number were still wrong, but it did not affect the reading.

　　I asked the editor to revise it this morning, and then, the chapter number was correct, but the content was reversed again.
　　The cat is sorry for everyone’s support!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)