"Xiuxiu is right. The bigger the fish, the better. Everyone will be able to have a bountiful New Year," a villager said. It was already the twelfth lunar month, the perfect time to stock up on New Year goods.
After fulfilling the commune’s quota, the remaining fish could either be sold to the production team or taken home to eat. It was entirely up to the individual. If they chose to take the fish home, they wouldn’t get a share of the money from the fish that were sold. Conversely, if they opted for the cash from the sales, they would only receive the leftover, unsold fish. Alternatively, they could exchange their work points for fish upfront. Though they wouldn’t get a share in the final distribution later, they could still buy more.
In this era, work points were crucial. A family’s work points weren’t just used to allocate grain; they were also converted into cash at the end of the year. One could say that an entire year’s livelihood rested entirely on these points.
The fish harvesting lasted well into the afternoon. The villagers stood by the river all the while, completely skipping lunch. Bai Jiu hadn’t expected to stand there for so long either. If Xiuxiu hadn’t mentioned she was hungry, Bai Jiu could have kept watching. It just went to show how exciting the harvest was.
"Mom, let’s go home and cook," Xiuxiu said, rubbing her tummy. She was starving.
"We really lost track of time. Let’s hurry home. The men will be heading back soon too," Mrs. Li said, surprised she had watched for so long.
"Besides, the wind is picking up," another woman noted.
"Tell me about it! It was so bustling that we completely forgot about our stomachs," someone else chimed in.
The other older women in the group also snapped out of their daze, each rubbing their flattened, hungry bellies.
Bai Jiu gently patted the top of Xiuxiu’s head. "Aunt Li, we’ll head back first then," she said. No matter what, she couldn’t let her two children go hungry.
On the way back, Aunt Peng asked Bai Jiu whether she planned to take cash or exchange for fish this year.
"I want to exchange for a bit more to stock up," Bai Jiu replied. "I’ll make dried fish so we can still eat it next year. It’s not like people don’t catch fish from the river on regular days, but they are scarce." She herself loved eating fish. Unfortunately, her dimensional space had almost everything except fish.
"You have money on hand, so there’s no need to hold out for cash. Exchanging it for fish is a good idea," Aunt Peng said, knowing Bai Jiu’s financial situation and agreeing with her plan. "If it’s not enough, I have work points to spare. I’ll save some for you when the time comes." After all, fish was meat, and Aunt Peng felt it was better to keep the fish. That was why every year, she would have Aiguo keep their per-capita fish share rather than mixing it in with the production team’s sales.
"I won’t need that much. My work points are enough," Bai Jiu said. The original owner of her body had been a hard worker, so she figured she could exchange for quite a lot of fish. While it wasn’t unheard of for women in the village to earn the maximum ten work points a day, she was one of the few who did. Thus, she had plenty of confidence in her resources. If it still wasn’t enough, she could simply buy more with cash.
"Then hurry up and go cook. After you eat, head over to the team’s drying yard. If you get there early, you can pick the good ones," Aunt Peng advised, chatting with Bai Jiu about the team’s affairs as they walked.
Upon arriving home, Bai Jiu saw that both children were famished. Instead of cooking a full meal, she directly boiled some noodles. If she made them wait for rice to cook, their stomachs would start hurting from hunger. It was her fault as a mother; she had been so engrossed in watching the spectacle that she forgot about their meal.
Since they had noodles for dinner, it was a quick affair. After washing the dishes, Bai Jiu planned to go buy the fish. These were pure, wild-caught fish, and she didn’t want to miss the opportunity. Although this happened every year, it was obvious that this was a year of bumper harvest. Past years hadn’t seen such an impressive haul.
"Mom is going to buy fish. Are you going to wait at home, or do you want to come with me?" After drying her hands, Bai Jiu dug out a large woven sack. The fish would all freeze to death once they were out of the water anyway, so a sack was perfect for carrying them.
"We’ll go with you," they chimed in.
"Alright then. Bundle up, the wind is strong tonight." She certainly had no objections to the children tagging along.
When they arrived at the drying yard, a line had already formed. Many of the people waiting were still holding their rice bowls.
Aunt Peng had mentioned on the way back that she wouldn’t be coming. It was freezing at night, and at her age, she didn’t want to join the commotion. However, Bai Jiu spotted Aiguo. Judging by his appearance, he probably hadn’t had the chance to go home for dinner yet.
Bai Jiu took out two large steamed buns from her coat. "Zhengyang, take these to Brother Aiguo so he can fill his stomach." The buns were still warm when she pulled them out. If he ate them right away, they wouldn’t be cold.
"Mom, you even prepared steamed buns!" Zhengyang exclaimed, taking them with a look of surprise.
"They were originally saved for you and Xiuxiu, but your Brother Aiguo obviously hasn’t gone home to eat. Let him have them first. I’ll heat some up for you later when we get home." Since they had eaten dinner early today, having a late-night snack before bed wouldn’t be a problem. There was no need to deliver food next door either. She had brought over so many supplies last night, and they had a pot, so they could cook for themselves. She wasn’t worried about them.
"Okay."
Zhengyang immediately stuffed the two buns inside his jacket, afraid they would get cold.
"Brother Aiguo, here you go. Mom told me to bring these to you. Eat up before they get cold." Zhengyang ran over to Aiguo, pulled the buns from his coat, and handed them over.
Because of his height, the moment he took them out, the people nearby saw everything. A few busybodies couldn’t keep their mouths clean.
"Oh my, Zhengyang, your family eats so well! You’re even having big white steamed buns. It seems your mother is quite wealthy," a mean-looking old woman said, swallowing hard as she drooled over the food.
Hearing this, Aiguo directly took the buns from Zhengyang’s hands without standing on ceremony.
"We don’t have money. Mom gave these to me and Xiuxiu. Since Brother Aiguo didn’t go home for dinner tonight, I brought them out for him to eat." Despite his young age, Zhengyang was very sensible. No one should think he couldn’t hear the jealousy in the old woman’s words. He was sharp as a tack.
"Aunt Hu, this is something you just don’t know. After all, Aiguo is full of strength. I’m afraid some people have been scheming for a long time," another voice rang out.
The person who spoke was none other than Wang Qiuyue. It was like a toad leaping out—absolutely repulsive.
Bai Jiu had been keeping a close eye on Zhengyang. Ever since the last incident, she didn’t dare let her children out of her sight. Upon seeing Wang Qiuyue, she grabbed Xiuxiu’s hand and walked over. Catching the filthy nonsense spewing from her mouth, Bai Jiu didn’t say a word. She just raised her hand and—SLAP—struck Wang Qiuyue right across the face.
"If you didn’t brush your teeth before leaving the house, I don’t mind washing them for you. Even a cesspit doesn’t stink as much as you." After hitting her, Bai Jiu looked at her hand in disgust, pulled a handkerchief from her pocket, and wiped it clean. "Filthy people see filth in everything. I’m warning you, keep your mouth clean." It seemed this woman never learned her lesson. Bai Jiu didn’t mind helping her remember.
"You... you dare hit me!" Wang Qiuyue had never expected Bai Jiu to strike so fast.
"Hitting you is getting off light. If I hear any more of this dirty talk, I’ll kill you. My life isn’t worth much anyway, so I don’t mind dragging your whole family down to hell with me." Bai Jiu’s reckless, death-defying expression instantly terrified Wang Qiuyue and the old woman from earlier, causing them to stumble back several steps.
Granny Hu was a bully who only targeted the weak. She had seen with her own eyes what Bai Jiu had done to the Gao family. Just now, she had merely been unable to resist the temptation of the steamed buns and made a snide remark. She hadn’t expected a clueless fool to jump in and completely misread the situation.
"I didn’t say anything!" Seeing Bai Jiu’s fierce glare, Granny Hu immediately waved her hands in denial.