"Alright, I’ll start that now so we can eat sooner. Your father has to return to the fields in the afternoon," Ms.Wang said, heading into the house to grind the cornmeal. She completely ignored Ms.Liu. Indeed, Ms.Wang really abhorred Ms.Liu.
"Mom, look how arrogant that little hussy is!"
With Ms.Wang and Yang Chuxia each attending to their tasks, Yang Ruoqiu who had been ready to pick a fight with Yang Chuxia suddenly felt unsatisfied.
"Hmph, don’t worry. I’ll find an opportunity to deal with her," said Yang Ruoqiu’s mother dismissively.
For lunch, Yang Chuxia recommended that the third branch of family cook first, so they did. The fish soup in the pot that had been simmering since early morning had turned milky white. Garnished with scallions and ginger, it was exceptionally delicious. Alongside it were the burnt yellow corn cakes that Ms.Wang had made, and some sauteed beans that an elder relative had gifted. The entire kitchen, and even the Yang Family’s courtyard, wafted with the delicious aroma of food.
The enticing aroma lured Yang Qingbao and Yang Dongzhi, Ms. Liu’s son and daughter, as well as Yang Xiaochuan and others. From time to time, they would poke their heads into the kitchen to see if they could sneak some of the soup. However, seeing Yang Chuxia in the kitchen, they shrank back and retreated.
Yang Chuxia laughed quietly to herself. She was on guard against these folks trying to freeload a meal. She was also worried about Old Lady Hua and Ms.Liu potentially poisoning the food if they didn’t succeed the first time. So, she had already agreed with Ms.Wang that they would jointly prepare the meals for the Yang family these two days.
Because such a rare delicacy as fish soup was available for lunch, the children were very excited and wolfed down their food. The children were this excited for two reasons. Firstly, the Yang family rarely ate fish. Secondly, even when the family did buy fish, it seldom reached the children. Every time, it was the first and second branches of the family who enjoyed the treat.
Although Yangshu Village is situated along the coast, they don’t enjoy seafood because they don’t own a fishing boat, and they aren’t very close to the sea either, meaning that they still have to buy their fish. Moreover, fish is not cheap at all.
Fishing is not as convenient as modern times, with secure and bigger fishing boats. The catch from each trip is quite small. Furthermore, the products from the sea are akin to the rarity of animals in the wild. As such, the fish is scarce and seen as a novelty, resulting in high pricing. Even then, there isn’t a guarantee that one would be able to get fish; local businesses would have already purchased the catch and shipped it elsewhere as soon as a fishing boat returned to shore.
Thus, even though they live near the sea, they rarely get to buy and eat fish. Old Lady Hua is so thrifty that she buys even less.
Yang Chuxia speculated that if this small river were not known as an evil river, the fish in it would have long been caught. The people here are superstitious and consider the river unclean. No matter how abundant the fish is, they will not dare to catch them. This superstition, however, works in her favor as she does not believe in such things.
After lunch, after resting for a while, Yang Dachuan picked up his hoe to go off to farm. Four plots of land that the old Yang family had allocated to them were already planted with crops such as rice and maize.
However, four plots of land were not enough. So, Yang Dachuan planned to continue reclaiming land on the days when there were no porter jobs available in the town. When porter jobs were available, he would continue working as a porter. Earning about thirty cents a day was definitely enough to support a family. The farm’s harvests could supplement their income, and they might even have some money to spare for the year. With these thoughts, Yang Dachuan felt content and motivated.
"Dad, I want to go to the fields with you."
"I can help you reclaim the land!" She knew how to dig. Plus, since she was free at home anyway, she might as well help to ease her father’s burden.