Chapter 196: Chapter 196: Cutting Holes in the Ice, Hearty Stew

Shitou timidly took the candy from his hand.

When he compared his own little black hands and dusty, dirty clothes to Dabao’s clean and tidy appearance, he immediately felt a bit ashamed.

“Th-thank you.”

A few kids nearby quickly gathered around to share the candy, each getting a piece, grinning as if it were New Year’s.

“Dabao, I heard your stepmom took you to the capital. How come you’re back?”

“It’s so sweet!”

Dabao replied seriously, “She’s not my stepmom, she’s my mom. We went to the capital to get my dad treated. Now that he’s better, of course we came back.”

In his heart, Gu Qinghuan was his mother—the best mom in the world.

Shitou looked at him in disbelief. “Dabao, your dad’s really better? Are the doctors in the capital that amazing?”

Dabao tilted his head, thinking about it. He figured it counted as better.

“Pretty much!”

The other kids looked at them with envy. Everyone knew that the ‘crazy Xu’ from Xujia Village was the toughest, and now that he was well, Dabao’s life would be much easier.

“Beibei, what’s that on your head? It’s so pretty.” A little girl, sucking on her candy, pointed at the beautiful hair clip on Beibei’s head.

Beibei touched her hair clip and boasted, “My aunt bought this for me. I have a bunch of different ones, all really pretty.”

She still remembered how, in the past, she could only drool with envy at other kids’ things. Now, she was the one others envied. It felt so good.

A few kids glanced at Ming Ruxue, guessing that she must be the “aunt” Beibei was talking about.

So jealous—they had such a nice aunt.

A little girl sneaked a few peeks at Ming Ruxue and whispered, “Beibei, your aunt is so pretty, like a fairy from the sky.” She must have picked up that line from the adults.

Beibei grew even more proud. “Of course! My aunt is beautiful and kind.” She’d learned that line from Ming Ruxue herself.

Ming Ruxue watched them from the side with You Ran, secretly amused.

Kids don’t know how to lie. Even though she knew she was pretty, being praised by children made her heart feel as sweet as honey.

Once the two kids had shown off enough, Ming Ruxue led them off to wander around some more.

Seeing they were about to leave, Shitou called out, “Dabao, Dacheng’s family is cutting holes in the river ice to catch fish. Do you want to come?”

Ming Ruxue’s interest was instantly piqued. “Cutting holes in the ice to catch fish? How does that work?”

Dabao explained, “In winter, the river here freezes over. People cut holes in the ice and use nets to catch fish. But it depends on luck. Sometimes, as soon as you open a hole, a fish jumps out. Other times, you might not catch anything even with bait.”

Ming Ruxue immediately understood.

In winter, the oxygen content in the water is lower, so when people cut holes in the ice, the oxygen level rises there, and fish gather around. Plus, fish are sluggish in winter, making them easier to catch.

She was really interested—mainly because she’d never tried it before.

She’d never even walked on a frozen lake before, so she was quite excited.

“Can we go too?” Ming Ruxue asked expectantly.

Dabao nodded. “Sure, anyone can go. Whoever catches a fish gets to take it home. But we don’t have any tools right now, so we’ll just have to watch.”

Ming Ruxue didn’t mind at all.

She happily led the kids out.

“Alright, let’s go take a look. After lunch, I’ll ask your mom to bring us back to try fishing ourselves.”

So, the group headed toward the river, a bunch of little ones trailing behind.

When they got there, they could see from a distance that lots of people were already cutting holes and fishing.

Xu Huaizhi was there too, with Lin Xiaomeng and their son, hoping to catch some fish for the New Year.

Thanks to Lin Xiaomeng’s good luck, their first net brought up three or four fish—a great start.

Xu Huaizhi cast the net again, with Dacheng helping and Lin Xiaomeng sorting the catch.

The whole family was busy and happy when Dabao and the others arrived.

Dabao greeted them with his little sister, “Uncle, Aunt, Dacheng!”

After being taught by Gu Qinghuan, Dabao now understood the importance of basic manners and always greeted people he knew.

Xu Huaizhi looked up and saw Dabao. He quickly wiped his hands on his pants and walked over.

“Dabao, when did you get back? Where’s your dad? Is he alright? And who’s this?”

“Uncle, we got back last night. Dad isn’t home yet—he’s still getting treatment and probably won’t be back until after the New Year. This is my mom’s younger sister, my aunt. Aunt, this is my uncle.” Dabao introduced them.

Ming Ruxue nodded, impressed by the boy’s way with words.

“Hello, big brother. I’m Gu Qinghuan’s sister, Ming Ruxue. Nice to meet you.” Ming Ruxue greeted him with a bright smile.

Xu Huaizhi smiled awkwardly. “I’m Xu Huaizhi, Xu Huaian’s older brother. Welcome to Xujia Village.”

Lin Xiaomeng, watching them talk, was a bit unhappy. Where did this woman come from?

“Huaizhi, come quick, I can’t hold it!” she called.

Xu Huaizhi hurried over to pull in the net.

Sure enough, it was a big haul—so heavy it was hard to pull up.

Ming Ruxue and the kids watched with great interest, especially Youran, whose eyes were glued to the scene.

After some effort, Xu Huaizhi finally hauled up the net.

Four or five big fish, a few medium-sized ones, some shrimp, and even a turtle.

Dacheng cheered, “Dad, you’re amazing!”

No one else had caught so many fish in one go all morning.

Now their family would have plenty of fish to eat.

Xu Huaizhi grinned at his son’s praise.

Lin Xiaomeng quietly basked in her own contribution.

Xu Huaizhi cast the net a few more times. While the later catches weren’t as big, they still filled two large buckets in no time.

They could have kept fishing, but didn’t want to show off too much, so they decided to call it a day.

Noticing that Ming Ruxue and the kids had been watching them, Xu Huaizhi wondered if they wanted some fish too.

So he generously put a few fish in a basin and handed them to Ming Ruxue. “We caught plenty today. Take some home and try them.”

Lin Xiaomeng didn’t object—after all, they still had plenty, and it was nature’s gift, not something you had to pay for.

Ming Ruxue politely declined. “No need, big brother. We’ll come back later with my sister to try fishing ourselves. By the way, can we use your hole?” She pointed at the ice hole.

Xu Huaizhi nodded. “Go ahead, it’s not just mine.”

The two groups said their goodbyes and headed home.

News of Xu Huaian’s family returning spread quickly through the village.

When Liu Guifang heard, her eyes lit up, clearly scheming something.

When Ming Ruxue got home, she pestered Gu Qinghuan to take her fishing that afternoon.

Gu Lanting’s eyes lit up too at the idea of fishing.

The kids all looked at Gu Qinghuan hopefully—how could she say no?

But that meant the elders would have to handle the New Year’s food preparations.

Zhong Zijun waved her hand, telling them not to worry—she and Cheng Shuying would take care of everything.

“Go ahead and take the kids this afternoon. You’ve already done the hard part. All that’s left is wrapping and steaming, which your grandparents and I can handle,” Zhong Zijun said.

“Yeah, I’m used to it. Look how happy these little monkeys are,” Cheng Shuying said with a smile as she kneaded dough.

Gu Qinghuan had already prepared the fillings for buns and dumplings that morning, and soaked beans for bean buns the night before.

With so many people at home, she planned to make extra buns, dumplings, bean buns, and big steamed buns to freeze outside. Whenever they wanted to eat, they could just heat them up—very convenient.

There was also a basin of crispy fried pork—just fry some up as needed, or add to soup for a delicious meal.

With everything prepared today, the rest of the New Year would be much easier.

“That’s right, Huanhuan, take them out. Just be careful. The wind by the river is strong, and I get headaches from the cold, so I’ll stay home and help. We have plenty of hands,” Zhong Luoning said, coming out of the kitchen.

Almost forgot about her cousin—now they really had enough help.

Gu Qinghuan agreed after a moment’s hesitation.

Ming Ruxue and the kids cheered.

“Yay! Awesome!”

At lunch, everyone enjoyed a classic Northeastern dish: “Big Mixed Stew.”

Big Mixed Stew is a common home-style dish in the Northeast, where you basically throw in whatever you have at home—it might look a bit slapdash.

Pork belly, green beans, cabbage, vermicelli, potatoes, wood ear mushrooms, dried eggplant, pumpkin, corn, and more.

Plus scallions, ginger, salt, soy sauce, oyster sauce, and “thirteen spices.”

Around the edge of the pot, they stuck a ring of leavened buns, all cooked together in one pot.

Surprisingly, this seemingly messy dish was so fragrant it made everyone’s mouth water."

"Chapter 197: Net Fishing

What a divine way to eat!

This time, Ming Ruxue didn’t even have time to praise—she just dug in, scooping bowl after bowl into her own bowl, eating it with flatbread. It was absolutely delicious.

Zhong Zijun laughed, “You’ve really adapted to local customs—you made this famous Northeastern dish so authentically!”

She didn’t know that in her previous life, Gu Qinghuan was actually from the Northeast.

“If you like it, eat more. There’s plenty.”

After lunch, Gu Qinghuan took out a fishing net (a secondhand one she’d bought from the vending machine), cobbled together a simple wooden sled, put a big wooden tub and two buckets on it, and had Gu Lanting pull it along.

“Sis, you’re not planning to catch so many fish that you’ll need all this stuff, are you?” Gu Lanting looked at the big containers in front of him, a bit speechless.

Gu Qinghuan turned back. “Is there a problem?”

“Don’t blame me for raining on your parade, but if we haul all this gear over and don’t catch a single fish, that’d be embarrassing.”

Gu Qinghuan shot him a look. “Want to make a bet?”

Gu Lanting perked up. “Sure, I’ll bet you can only fill up one bucket at most.”

“What if I fill them all?” Gu Qinghuan pointed at the containers on the ground.

“Then you can do whatever you want with me,” Gu Lanting replied confidently.

Ming Ruxue looked at him like he was an idiot. After all, she’d just gotten the impression from Lin Xiaomeng’s family that net fishing was actually pretty easy.

Wasn’t Gu Lanting just digging his own grave? But she wasn’t about to warn him.

“I won’t do anything to you. If I fill them all, you’ll be in charge of cleaning the fish! How about that?”

Gu Qinghuan was actually worried—she could cook, but butchering chickens, ducks, or fish was a real headache for her. Now, here was some free labor.

Gu Lanting nodded. “Deal. But if you lose, you have to let me go up the mountain for a look, okay?”

He was still hung up on going hunting in the mountains.

“Sure, no problem!” Gu Qinghuan agreed readily.

Cheng Shuying nudged Zhong Zijun, hinting for her to say something—if Gu Lanting got to go up the mountain, it could be dangerous.

Zhong Zijun whispered in her ear, “Don’t worry! Sun Wukong couldn’t escape the Buddha’s palm, and Huanhuan never brags. That boy’s only fate is to clean fish!”

After living here for over a month, she’d seen her daughter’s skills—she never came back empty-handed.

Cheng Shuying chuckled. “Your two are really a handful, each more stubborn than the other.”

Gu Lanting set off pulling the sled, letting the three kids sit in the big wooden tub for a ride. They had a blast.

Ming Ruxue was tempted to try it herself, but felt too embarrassed to say so.

On the way, Gu Qinghuan ran into many villagers and stopped to greet them one by one.

“Huai’an’s wife, when did you get back? Hey, who’s this young man? He looks sharp!”

Qian Caihua was carrying a big bundle, walking home with her daughter-in-law Qiu Shuxia, when she ran into Gu Qinghuan’s group. Her gossip radar immediately activated.

Qiu Shuxia looked a bit shy when she saw Gu Qinghuan and the others, and raised her hand in greeting.

“Aunt Caihua, I just got back yesterday. This is my younger brother from my parents’ side—he’s here to spend the New Year with me.

You’re carrying so much—coming back from the commune? Stocking up for the New Year?” Gu Qinghuan changed the subject.

Qian Caihua immediately started listing her haul with pride. “Not the commune—Sanlitun’s big market! You know, every year before the New Year, Sanlitun has a big market for a few days. You can bring things to trade—really good deals.”

Gu Qinghuan nodded in understanding.

“This morning I carried ten jin of black flour, twenty jin of cabbage, and twenty jin of radishes over and traded with some mountain folks for a deer leg and a wild rabbit. They can’t grow much grain over there, but they’ve got plenty of meat.

My Shuxia is pregnant, so she needs to eat well.”

Gu Qinghuan could tell—Qian Caihua mainly wanted to show off her daughter-in-law’s pregnancy.

“Congratulations! You’ll have a chubby grandson next year.”

Qiu Shuxia blushed and turned away, saying nothing.

She actually had good judgment—she’d married a practical, down-to-earth man, and Qian Caihua, as a mother-in-law, was more tolerant because of her love for her son.

Qian Caihua was a chatterbox, but unlike other mothers-in-law, she never badmouthed her daughter-in-law in public—she only said good things.

She also never hit or scolded her daughter-in-law. In the village, she was considered a good mother-in-law.

Just looking at Qiu Shuxia, you could tell she was doing well.

“Haha, thanks for your kind words.”

Qian Caihua put down her basket and took out a bag of fried pastries. “Here, for you and the kids.”

“Thank you, Auntie.”

It was rare for this penny-pincher to give something away, so Gu Qinghuan accepted without hesitation.

Qian Caihua wasn’t a bad person—she was actually grateful to Gu Qinghuan for helping her out a few times before.

After chatting a bit more, Gu Qinghuan learned from Qiu Shuxia that Zhu Chunlin and his wife had gone back to their hometown for the New Year—it was their first year married, after all.

Jiang Xue had also gone back to the city to visit family.

But Chen Jianghe was acting strange—he usually went home every year, but this year he didn’t.

Probably didn’t want his family to know he’d gotten married?

But that wasn’t Gu Qinghuan’s business.

After parting ways with Qian Caihua, they ran into Erdan’s family, who were also heading out to fish after lunch.

So the two families decided to go together.

Erdan’s father was Xujiatun’s brigade leader, Xu Huainian, the same generation as Xu Huaian, just over ten years older.

His eldest son was old enough to get married and was looking for a match, while his younger son, Erdan, was about the same age as Dabao—quite an age gap between the two boys.

Dabao was delighted to see Erdan, and the two kids immediately greeted each other.

Erdan looked enviously at Dabao and the others riding on the sled.

Lanting simply picked him up and put him in the tub with the others.

The group headed for the river.

Erdan’s mother, Chen Fengqin, chatted with Gu Qinghuan as they walked.

“Comrade Gu, when did you get back? How’s your Huaian doing?”

“Director Chen, I got back yesterday. Oh, and I brought you some specialty pastries from Beijing—I’ll bring them over for you soon.”

Gu Qinghuan had set aside some pastries in her space to give to her grandparents and some close families in the village. She hadn’t had time to deliver them yet, but now she could use them as New Year’s gifts.

Since she had so much luggage, no one knew exactly what she’d brought back, so when she took things out of her space and said they were from Beijing, no one questioned it.

Her grandparents and Zhong Zijun had tasted them and said the pastries were very authentic, just like the old brands, and even asked where she’d bought them.

“Don’t call me Director Chen, that’s too formal—just call me Sister Fengqin. Haha, Beijing pastries, I’ll have to try them. Thanks for thinking of me.” Chen Fengqin was straightforward.

“Haha, it’s nothing, just a little something—hope you don’t mind.”

Chen Fengqin glanced at Gu Lanting pulling the sled and Ming Ruxue chatting and laughing beside him.

“I haven’t seen these two young people before—are they your relatives?”

Gu Qinghuan explained, “They’re my younger brother and sister from my parents’ side. They came to bring me home and will spend the New Year with us.

Huaian isn’t back yet—he still needs some treatment, but he should be back after the New Year.”

She said this to give Gu Lanting and the others a proper reason for being here, so people wouldn’t gossip.

“I was just thinking, that young man looks a bit like you. You siblings are both good-looking—your parents must be good-looking too.”

“Haha, Sister Fengqin, your genes are good too—Erdan is a handsome boy.” Gu Qinghuan laughed.

“I was going to say, your Dabao and Beibei have really shot up lately.”

Chen Fengqin had wanted to say their genes were good, but then remembered the two kids weren’t Gu Qinghuan’s biological children, so she changed her words mid-sentence.

It was just that Gu Qinghuan treated the two children so well, more like a real mother than a stepmother. She’d raised them to be chubby and well-dressed—so much so that Chen Fengqin almost forgot.

She really admired Gu Qinghuan. She’d been dealt a bad hand but played it better and better, unlike Jiang Xue and Chen Jianghe at the educated youth spot, who’d started with good cards and squandered them.

Gu Qinghuan had married into the Xu family when Xu Huaian was in such bad shape, but she’d taken good care of him and even spent money on his treatment.

She’d have a good life in the future—Xu Huaian was capable, and if he hadn’t gotten sick, all the girls in the area would have wanted to marry him.

Just look at Yang Fengmei—she’d tried so hard to marry her daughter to Xu Huaian, but as soon as he got sick, she married her off elsewhere.

You could say Xu Huaian’s misfortune turned out to be a blessing—if he hadn’t gotten sick, how could he have met such a good girl as Gu Qinghuan?

Gu Qinghuan was sharp and clear-headed—she knew what Chen Fengqin wanted to say. But when it came to taking care of the two kids, she had a clear conscience.

“They’ve both grown a lot taller.”

As they chatted, they arrived at the river.

There were even more people in the afternoon than in the morning.

Everyone wanted to catch some fish before the New Year—whether for eating, gifting, or trading, fish were valuable.

If you didn’t work during the first month of the lunar year, the whole year would go smoothly, and besides, everyone would be busy visiting relatives and wouldn’t have time to fish.

There were a lot of people on the ice.

Ming Ruxue wanted to find the ice hole Xu Huaizhi had used before, but it was already taken, so she gave up.

After searching for a while and not finding a suitable hole, they decided to make their own.

Luckily, Erdan’s family had brought an ice auger.

They found a spot with fewer people and started drilling.

Erdan’s family’s ice auger was homemade. To use it, you gripped the handles with both hands and pounded it up and down like a pile driver.

They made a round hole about half a meter in diameter.

When the ice was only about an inch thick, they flipped the auger over and smashed down in the center, making a hole about the size of a bowl.

Erdan’s father was strong—one hit, and there was a hole. It looked impressive.

Gu Lanting’s eyes lit up—he wanted to try it too.

Ming Ruxue had already taken the four kids to watch the fun. Drilling ice wasn’t interesting—net fishing was the real excitement.

When Xu Huainian got tired, he handed the auger to his eldest son.

His eldest was just as tall and strong as he was. After a few hits, the half-meter-wide ice was loose.

Finally, he flipped the auger over and smashed down in the center, making a hole in the ice.

Once their hole was ready, Gu Lanting quickly took over and tried it himself.

He knew how to do it in theory, but his hands hadn’t caught up—and he wasn’t as strong as the others. When he tried, all he got was a little white mark, nothing like the hole the others made.

Gu Qinghuan burst out laughing. Gu Lanting scratched his head in embarrassment—how come they could make a hole with one hit, but he only made a mark?

Xu Huainian’s eldest son came over and took the auger from him.

“You’re a scholar—not used to this kind of manual labor. Let me do it!” He was tactful enough to save Gu Lanting’s dignity.

You had to admit, Chen Fengqin really knew how to raise her kids—both the older and younger ones had high emotional intelligence."

"Chapter 198: Can’t Pick Them All Up, Just Can’t, Dividing the Fish