Chapter 197: Chapter 197: Net Fishing

What a divine way to eat!

This time, Ming Ruxue didn’t even have time to praise it—she just dug in, scooping bowl after bowl into her own bowl, eating it with pancakes, savoring every bite.

Zhong Zijun laughed, “You’ve really blended in with the locals now, making this Northeastern specialty so authentic.”

She didn’t know that in her past 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 second-hand one she’d bought from a vending machine), then cobbled together a simple sled from some wood. On top, she placed a big wooden tub and two buckets, 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 pile of gear, 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 over and don’t catch a single fish, that’ll 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 one bucket at most.”

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

“Then I’ll do whatever you say,” Gu Lanting replied confidently.

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

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

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

Gu Qinghuan was actually worried about this—she could cook, but killing chickens, ducks, or fish was too much for her. Free labor, problem solved.

Gu Lanting nodded, “Deal. But if you lose, you have to agree to let me go up the mountain and have a look around.”

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

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

Cheng Shuying nudged Zhong Zijun, urging her to say something—if Gu Qinghuan lost and let Lanting go up the mountain, it could be dangerous.

Zhong Zijun whispered in her ear, “Don’t worry! Like Sun Wukong can’t escape Buddha’s palm, 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 firsthand—never once had she come back empty-handed.

Cheng Shuying chuckled, “Those two in your family—each one’s more stubborn than the other.”

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

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

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

“Huai’an’s wife, when did you get back? Hey, who’s this young man? Looks bright.”

Qian Caihua was carrying a big sack, walking home with her daughter-in-law Qiu Shuxia, when she ran into Gu Qinghuan and her group. Her gossip radar was instantly triggered.

Qiu Shuxia was a bit shy when she saw Gu Qinghuan’s group and waved hello.

“Aunt Caihua, I just got back yesterday. This is my younger brother from my mother’s side, here to spend the New Year with me. You’re carrying so much—coming back from the commune? Stocking up for the holidays?” Gu Qinghuan quickly changed the subject.

Qian Caihua immediately started listing her haul, “Not the commune, it’s the big market at Sanlitun. You know, before the New Year, there’s always a big market there for a few days. You can bring things to trade—really practical and affordable.”

Gu Qinghuan nodded in understanding.

“This morning I brought ten jin of black flour, twenty jin of cabbage, and twenty jin of radishes, and traded with some mountain folks for a roe deer leg and a wild rabbit. They can’t grow much grain over there, but they have plenty of meat. My Shuxia is pregnant, so she needs to eat well.”

Gu Qinghuan could tell—the main point was to show off her daughter-in-law’s pregnancy.

“Congratulations, you’ll be a grandma soon. Next year, you’ll be holding a chubby grandson.”

Qiu Shuxia blushed and turned away, saying nothing.

She actually had good taste, marrying a practical man like Tugen. Qian Caihua, as a mother-in-law, was fond of her by extension and treated her with more kindness.

Qian Caihua was a chatterbox, but unlike other mothers-in-law, she never badmouthed her daughter-in-law in public—she always spoke well of her.

She also wasn’t the type to hit or scold her daughter-in-law. By village standards, she was 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 anything away, so Gu Qinghuan accepted it without fuss.

Qian Caihua wasn’t a bad person—she just wanted to thank 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 his hometown for the New Year—it was their first year married, after all.

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

But Chen Jianghe was a surprise—he always went home to visit every year, but this year he didn’t. Probably didn’t want his family to know he’d gotten married.

But that wasn’t her 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 Xu Huainian, the brigade leader of Xujiatun, in 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—a big age gap between the brothers.

Dabao was thrilled to see Erdan, and the two kids greeted each other right away.

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

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

The group headed to the river.

Erdan’s mom, 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 some special pastries from Beijing for you. I’ll bring them over another day.”

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

Since she had so much luggage, no one knew exactly what she’d brought, so after she got home, she just took things out of her space and said they were from Beijing—no one suspected a thing.

Her grandparents and Zhong Zijun had tried them and said the pastries tasted 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 definitely have to try them. Thanks for thinking of me.” Chen Fengqin was straightforward.

“Haha, it’s nothing, just a little something. Hope you like it.”

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 mother’s side. They came specially to bring me back and spend the New Year together. Huaian isn’t back yet—he still needs more 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 thought that young man looked a bit like you. You two siblings are both good-looking—your parents must be good-looking too.”

“Haha, Sister Fengqin, your genes are great too—Erdan is such 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 suddenly remembered the two kids weren’t Gu Qinghuan’s biological children, so she changed her words at the last second.

It was just that Gu Qinghuan treated the two kids so well—better than some real mothers. She’d raised them chubby and healthy, always dressed neatly. Sometimes Chen Fengqin almost forgot they weren’t her own.

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

Gu Qinghuan had married into the Xu family when Xu Huaian was in such a bad state, yet 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, girls from all over would’ve 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 went mad, she married her off elsewhere.

You could say Xu Huaian was lucky in disguise—if he hadn’t gotten sick, how could he have met such a good girl as Gu Qinghuan?

Gu Qinghuan was sharp and clear-minded—she knew what Chen Fengqin meant, but she had a clear conscience when it came to caring for the two kids.

“They have grown a lot.”

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 to eat, to give as gifts, or to trade, fish were valuable.

If you didn’t work during the New Year, you’d have a comfortable year ahead, and with all the visiting, there’d be no time to fish later.

The ice was crowded.

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 without finding a suitable hole, they decided to make their own.

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

They found a less crowded spot and started drilling.

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

They made a hole half a meter in diameter.

When the ice was only about an inch thick, you could flip the auger over and smash down in the center, breaking through to make a hole about the size of a bowl.

Erdan’s dad was strong—one strike and there was a hole, very impressive.

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

Ming Ruxue had already taken the four kids to watch the excitement—drilling ice wasn’t much fun, but net fishing was.

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

The eldest son was tall and strong like his father—just a few strikes and the half-meter ice patch was loose.

Finally, he flipped the auger and smashed down in the center, breaking through the ice.

With their hole ready, Gu Lanting quickly took over to try for himself.

He knew how to do it in theory, but his hands weren’t used to it, and he didn’t have the strength. One strike left only a faint mark—nothing like the real thing.

Gu Qinghuan couldn’t help but laugh. Gu Lanting scratched his head awkwardly—how come others could make a hole in one go, but he only left a mark?

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

“You’re a scholar, not used to this kind of manual labor. Let me do it!” He saved Gu Lanting’s pride.

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