I have been eating well these past few days. The weather is gradually getting warmer. The snowdrifts outside can no longer freeze anything, so I must eat everything as soon as possible.
During the meal, the two of them didn't speak much. The only exchange was that Qiu Henian put all the fish belly into Qingyan's bowl, and Qingyan put half of it back in for him.
After eating, I tidied up, and before going to bed at night, I read as usual.
After finishing reading the book, Qingyan refused to let Qiu Henian turn off the light. He grabbed his arm and asked: "After I went to town to buy materials, how much money do I have left with me?"
Qiu Henian thought for a while and responded: "There are less than six taels left."
Qingyan asked him, "I am in charge of this family, right?"
Qiu Henian nodded and affirmed without hesitation: "Yes."
Qingyan opened her palms towards him and said, "Give me the remaining silver."
Qiu Henian got down to the ground as instructed and brought him the money in his robe. After Qingyan accepted it, he also got off the ground, opened the drawer under the bed and stuffed the money in.
Most families in the village have their wives as housekeepers. If a man is disobedient, he will be punished by his ears. Qingyan used to think that doing this would hurt a man's face, but now, he feels that sometimes doing so actually makes sense.
After the oil lamp was extinguished, the two of them lay on the bed. Qingyan came to the conclusion: "A man cannot have money in his pocket. If he has money, something will happen!"
Qiu Henian: "..."
Qingyan turned around and got into the arms of the man beside her, and said in his ear: "Let's slowly figure out a solution for that matter. We are not allowed to take medicine randomly in the future. If you do this again, I will pull your ears in front of Sanyao. Look at you. How will the second brother behave in front of him in the future!"
Chapter 28 The river is opening
After February 2, the weather got warmer again. This time the weather didn't repeat itself. The snow on the ground melted and turned into mud. When I went out, I always had mud on my feet.
After a few days, the snow water seeped into the ground, the ground became dry, and the sunny side of the hillside began to have patches of green, which were newly sprouted grass and fine leeks.
I have been holding back the winter at home for a long time. When this time comes, every wife, mother-in-law, and child will go up to the mountain with sickles to dig wild vegetables.
Qiuniang called Qingyan and several young wives of similar age in the village, and each of them carried a small basket on their arm and went up the mountain.
Chen Yu, who was next door, heard the commotion and followed behind, carrying a basket.
Others didn't know that the unhappiness between him and Qing Yan was not a grudge, so they all walked away together while talking and laughing.
Qing Yan didn't think anything of it. He had no problem with Chen Yu, as long as the other party didn't take advantage of him in the future, and didn't make blind suspicions. He could just be a normal neighbor who met and greeted each other.
But Chen Yu might not think so. Several times when Qingyan's eyes met his, the other party would roll his eyes at him, which made Qingyan feel funny and helpless.
After chatting and eating all the way without feeling tired, we arrived at the place. Qiuniang stood on the hillside and looked down, sighing, "It snowed heavily last winter, and now it's getting warmer than in previous years. There is a good chance that the harvest will be good this year." "
She looked at Qingyan beside her and said, "My second brother previously picked ten acres of good land and gave it to the boss, but now he still has twenty acres left in his hand. In the past, it was because the land had no energy and nothing could grow well. My second uncle just left this land uncultivated. It has been uncultivated for several years, and now it looks like we are going to start burning the land for farming. My second sister-in-law, what are your plans?"
Qingyan pondered for a while. The weather had warmed up recently, and he had really thought about this. Although the land was not good, it was a pity to leave it uncultivated. He had an idea to plant it, but in this case, he would have to work hard to transform it. The consumption of manpower and material resources will not be small.
Recently, the family has accumulated a lot of savings and has enough money. However, Qiu Henian can only go to the fields when the blacksmith shop is not busy, and Qingyan can do some work, but he knows himself that he cannot do these three jobs together.
He told Qiuniang his thoughts. Qiuniang had expected that he was a scholar and could not do farm work, so she was not surprised. She simply said: "This is not a problem. Sanyao only comes back to help for a few days every year in Qiu. Normally, It's all my own. If I'm too busy, I'll find farmhands. They have quite a lot of experience. When the time comes, you just have to provide food and drink, and just pay the wages when the time comes."
Qingyan's eyes lit up and she said, "This is such a great love!"
Qiuniang said: "Don't worry, I will look for the farmhands together when the time comes. I will look for suitable people in a few days."
Qingyan said thank you.
Everyone was squatting on the hillside digging wild vegetables. The wind was quite cold, but they didn't feel cold even when they moved.
The little daughters-in-law were chattering and chattering without delaying the work at hand. They were all sharp-eyed and quick-handed, and they dug out the bottom of the basket in a short time.
Qingyan was a little slow at first, and he didn't know much about wild vegetables. Fortunately, Qiuniang took him to dig for a while, and his speed became faster, and there were gradually more in the basket.
The sun was just right, the air was clear, and the breeze was blowing on my face. Listening to the young wives next to me talking about the stupid things the men in the family had done, everyone burst out laughing from time to time, and Qingyan also laughed.
As we chatted, the chatter continued.
A young daughter-in-law said: "I don't know what the men in your family are like. My family is like that. They don't have enough to do. They don't rush to eat when they get home from work. They hug me and lay down on the kang in the back room every day. It's like he's been hungry for ten and a half days!"
Another said: "Aren't all men like this at this age? As long as they have free time, they will think about that kind of thing every day."
Someone bumped Chen Yu's shoulder, winked at him, and said, "Mr. Zhang is a scholar. He usually looks polite and polite. You don't behave like this at home, do you?"
Hearing this, Chen Yu snorted, glanced at Qing Yan, and said with a smile: "It's not the same. When you enter the room, you lift your clothes and hold me down and don't let go."
"Tsk, tsk." Everyone burst into laughter with red faces.
Qingyan lowered his head, and his face was lightly red from his ears.
"I think about it every night." Qiu Henian's expression when he said this echoed in his mind, making Qingyan blush even now thinking about it.
How can a man of this age not care about meat and fish, Qingyan thought, Qiu Henian has a reserved temperament, and because of the scars on his face, he rarely shows anything.
But in fact, when Qingyan longed for him, the other party also longed for him. This made Qingyan feel that he was not burdened with shaving his head, and felt much relieved.
Qingyan went home and rested for a while, then started making dinner.
He first stewed the big-bone sauerkraut in the pot, and then went to pick up the wild vegetables.
Thin leeks have a strong flavor. Wash them well and cut them into sections to make scrambled eggs. They taste particularly fresh and are good for the spleen and stomach.
Another kind of wild vegetable is called Kuqucai. It has just sprouted now. It is the right time to eat it. If it is too late, it will be too bitter to eat. Now it has a light bitter taste. Blanch it with hot water and it will taste fresh and tender. It is delicious when used as a salad or as a dipping sauce. , and it can also remove fire.
It so happened that Aunt Li gave him a jar of doenjang two days ago. He fried the dried chili peppers until fragrant. After boiling the doenjang with a little water, he poured in chili oil and simmered it over low heat. It didn't take long for the doenjang to change color before it was out of the pot.
In the coarse porcelain bowl, there is a layer of red oil on the surface of the bean paste, and there are crispy fried chili seeds, which taste spicy and fragrant.
At this time, the big bones have been stewed until they are soft and tender. The meat falls off when grilled, and the bone marrow oil comes out. Take a sip of the white soup, with the aroma of meat and the sourness of pickled cabbage. It is really delicious.
Both of them had a lot of dinner.
Qingyan discussed with Qiu Henian about picking up the twenty acres of wasteland for planting, and he agreed, so the matter was settled.
After turning off the lights at night, Qingyan felt agitated when he thought of his little wife's words during the day. He wanted to turn over and pounce on her several times, but it had only been a few days since he thought about taking medicine. He didn't want to make any mistakes and irritate Qiu Henian again.
I had no choice but to give up.
Three or four days later, one night late at night, Qingyan was woken up by a low, thunderous sound, and she vaguely felt that the bed was shaking slightly. She thought it was an earthquake, and was so startled that she sat up suddenly.
Her warm hands gently held the back of his neck, leading him to lie back on the bed.
"Don't be afraid, the river is open." Qiu Henian had just woken up, and his voice was still a little hoarse. .
Qingyan lay back on the pillow, and the quilt that had slid down was pulled up and tucked under his chin, leaving only his face exposed.
He closed his eyes and asked in a daze, "What is Kaijiang?"
The man next to him held his head with one hand, lying on his side and patting his back, "The ice shell on the river has melted."
Qingyan said "hmm", but he didn't know whether he understood it or not. He was about to fall asleep again, but before falling asleep, he could still make a request in his sleep, saying: "I want to kiss you."
The man coaxed him, "Okay."
Lowering her head and touching his lips, Qingyan finally fell asleep.
Early the next morning while eating, someone knocked on the door. It was Liu Fa who asked them to go to the river together.
After finishing the meal in a few mouthfuls, Qiu Henian found a mink velvet vest for Qingyan to wear inside, and said, "The ice has melted and the river wind is cold, so wear more."
"What about you?" Qingyan asked.
Qiu Henian said: "I don't need it."
When they got to the place, Qingyan understood why he said no.
Throughout the winter, there were no traces of people near this river, until the river opened last night. The thick ice shell broke off, forming silvery white ice rows. The ice rows drifted down the river and collided with each other. It makes a clicking sound.
The newly melted river water was faintly black and shiny in the gaps between the ice rows.
Everyone in the village who was free came, as well as people from other villages. Liu Fa called a few people he often played with, including Qiu Henian, and they formed a partnership, wearing water boots and casting a large net in the shallow water to catch fish.
The shore was also very busy. Liu Fa's wife was busy unloading things from the car, and each family brought their own pots and pans to pack the fish.
Qingyan was not idle either, and worked with him.
Things were just put away here, and Liu Fa's voice was heard on the other end. Several men had already worked together to lift the big net, and swung it to the shore. With a crash, the net shook open and hit the shore, with several nets inside. Fish of all sizes were tumbling about.
Qingyan and the others hurried over, divided the fish into categories, put them into containers, and poured some water on them to prevent them from dying.
After doing this several times, Qing Yan saw that there was a thin layer of sweat on Qiu Henian's forehead and his breath was full of white air. The other party was also looking at him at this time and waved to him. Qingyan ran over and took the robe that Qiu Henian took off. Just as he was about to turn around and leave, a small paper bag was stuffed in his hand. Qingyan took it After folding the robe and putting it in a clean place in the car, I opened the paper bag and looked at it, and found two pieces of candy inside.
They were having sex in full swing when they suddenly heard the sound of something breaking, followed by a man's muddy yelling.
Qingyan looked over there and saw Wang Heyao scolding a thin, elderly man. The man must have fallen down just now. The earthen pot fell to the ground and broke into pieces, and fish fell all over the floor. He himself was also very wet.
But he didn't care about himself, wiped his face with his sleeve, climbed up from the ground in a panic, found an empty jar, filled it with water, and put the fish on it. The price of the fish would be less if they were dead.
Qingyan wanted to go over and help, and held his arm with a hand. He turned around and saw Liu An's wife shaking her head at him.
The brother packed up the fish and trotted off to work again.
The people nearby only glanced at it a few times, and no one cared about it anymore. Everyone was busy with their own things, and the episode passed.
When the fishing net was almost done, everyone loaded the cans and basins filled with fish into the car, fixed them, and took them to the market five or six miles away from the river.
The market is full of people now. It was not so lively in the past. Most of the people here today are here to buy this stubble fish.
After being frozen under the ice shell for so long in winter, the fish are very hungry, the fat on their bodies is gone, and all the messy things have been metabolized. It is the time when the meat is firm and delicious.
Even carp, crucian carp and grass carp, which we usually eat a lot, taste particularly delicious at this time.
Fish such as gayazi and nail-piercing fish have less spines and more meat, so they are usually more expensive. Their meat is more delicate, and when the river is open, it tastes like a fairy.
The men are the main force in collecting fish and pulling carts. They are all tired by now, so the job of selling fish is left to the women and brothers.
They were behind the stall, squinting and basking in the sun, smoking pots and pots, and watching the wives selling fish.
Qiu Henian didn't smoke, so he just rested against the wall. If someone chatted with him next to him, he would just say a few words.
He doesn't talk much, but once you get to know him, you can tell that he is generous and honest, so Liu An and the others are willing to ask him to come with them if they have something to do.
Qiu Henian was not focused on talking at the moment.
Not far in front of him, a fair little beauty dressed like a ball was so busy that she hit the back of her head with her feet and her face was flushed with cold. She bargained with customers, weighed them, and packed them in one go, happily and neatly. When there was no one around, I took the opportunity to stamp my feet and rub my hands, chatting with the wives next to me, and laughing together from time to time.
People who came to buy fish thought he was good-looking and liked to ask him questions about this and that. He was not bothered and kept smiling on his face.
The sun was very warm. Qiu Henian squinted slightly and saw Qingyan rubbing his hands. He turned around and looked over. When their eyes met, he smiled sweetly at him. Someone came to buy fish again. Qingyan turned around to say hello.
Qiu Henian lowered his head, twitched the corners of his mouth slightly, and smiled.