Chapter 258: Chapter 258: Loaches and Eels

Zhu Chunlin and Lin Shengnan’s side also received eight of them from her.

Thinking she might run into other educated youths at the educated youth spot, Gu Qinghuan deliberately brought a few extras.

Luckily she did—otherwise, it would have been pretty awkward.

A new batch of educated youths had arrived at the spot this year. When she got there, she happened to catch them returning from work, a whole crowd pouring in at once, which was a bit intimidating.

Lin Shengnan, with her pregnant belly, was also working, though since she was expecting, her tasks were relatively light.

Gu Qinghuan took out the extra qingtuan she’d brought and handed them out to the other educated youths, keeping just one box aside for Lin Shengnan.

There were a lot of unfamiliar faces at the educated youth spot, so she simply handed the qingtuan to Jiang Xue, asking her to distribute them—after all, Jiang Xue was the only one she was somewhat familiar with here.

Jiang Xue hadn’t expected Gu Qinghuan to let bygones be bygones and share the qingtuan with her. She accepted them, a little flattered and incredulous. “Thank you.”

“I made a lot—share them among yourselves!” Gu Qinghuan said.

The other educated youths who hadn’t met Gu Qinghuan before all looked her up and down curiously, especially two young men who didn’t bother to hide their stares.

This woman was just too beautiful, and she dressed so well—she didn’t look like a rural person at all. No one knew what her background was.

Lin Shengnan quickly pulled Gu Qinghuan into her own room, away from the prying eyes.

Jiang Xue divided up the qingtuan—one for each person, with two left over, which she simply kept for herself.

After a whole day of hunger, just one bite of qingtuan soothed not just the stomach, but brought an indescribable joy to the heart.

A new male educated youth asked Jiang Xue, “Comrade Jiang, is that comrade who brought us the qingtuan from Xujiatun? I’ve never seen her before.”

Jiang Xue didn’t even look up. “Why, have you taken a liking to her?”

The young man blushed and turned away, thinking he’d hidden his feelings.

“No, nothing like that. I just thought, since she gave us qingtuan, we should thank her.”

“Don’t even think about it—she’s a married woman. You’d best not get any ideas!”

Even someone as proud as Chen Jianghe couldn’t win her heart—what chance did any of them have?

Jiang Xue suddenly realized she hadn’t thought about Chen Jianghe in a long time.

Turns out, no matter how passionate a love is, it will fade one day. Now, all she wanted was to live well. Romance had become a luxury she could no longer afford.

“She’s already married… That’s a shame.”

The young man looked a little crestfallen.

—

“Here, don’t say I don’t think of you. I brought these especially for you. Good thing I brought extras, or there wouldn’t have been enough to go around.” Gu Qinghuan took out a lunchbox and handed it to Lin Shengnan.

“You made these qingtuan? I’ve been craving them! When I was a girl back home, we’d make and eat qingtuan every year, though it’s not so common in the north. You have no idea—when a pregnant woman craves something, she just can’t stop thinking about it until she gets it. Zhu Chunlin was even saying he’d take a day off tomorrow and go up the mountain to find some mugwort so we could make some ourselves. And now you’ve brought them—right to my heart. Just the smell is making my mouth water. Don’t laugh at me—I’m going to have one right now to satisfy my craving.” Lin Shengnan said, picking one up and taking a bite, sighing contentedly.

“So good! Sweet but not cloying. Qinghuan, you’re so talented—everything you make turns out great.” Lin Shengnan was eating a red bean paste qingtuan.

“It’s not about talent, just putting your heart into it.”

“You saw it just now, right? There’s a new batch of educated youths this year. Ever since they arrived, our good days have been over. The spot is small, and even the kitchen has to be used in shifts. There are small squabbles every day, big fights every three days—it’s exhausting. Several of the new ones think it’s inappropriate for Chunlin and me to have a whole room to ourselves, so they went to Secretary Xu and asked him to make us move out, saying there aren’t enough rooms. Secretary Xu already talked to us—he said within a month, we need to find a way to move out. Either borrow a place in the village, or build our own house—he’ll approve a plot for us.” Lin Shengnan sounded a bit down.

“Just build your own! One or two rooms is enough to live in,” Gu Qinghuan suggested.

“I think so too, but the problem is, even if we build it, the house won’t belong to us—it’ll be the village’s. If anything changes in the future, we won’t even have the right to deal with it. No matter what we choose, it’s frustrating, but we don’t have a choice. Sigh, we’ll build it. Chunlin and I plan to put up one room and a small kitchen. That’s all we can manage for now. We’d finally managed to save a little money for emergencies when the baby comes, but now we’ll have to use it. Luckily, building a house in the countryside doesn’t cost much except for labor—otherwise, we’d be at a loss.”

“Moving out might be a good thing. You’re due in a few months, and with so many people here, it’s noisy and not good for your rest or recovery. If the baby cries, it’ll cause trouble. Better to move out now while you can build quickly—it’s always more comfortable living in your own place.” Gu Qinghuan spoke from experience.

She remembered how, when she’d lived at the educated youth spot, there was no privacy at all—whatever you did, someone was always watching.

“Exactly. Now, as soon as Chunlin finishes work, he goes to make mud bricks—he barely gets a moment’s rest. We want to finish the house and move out as soon as possible, so we don’t have to be crowded in here with everyone. By the way, have you planted your vegetable garden yet? I’ll come help you this afternoon.”

Lin Shengnan felt a bit embarrassed—she was always saying she’d help Gu Qinghuan, but in reality, it was always Gu Qinghuan helping them.

Gu Qinghuan was always at school, and there wasn’t much work at home anyway.

“It’s all planted. Don’t worry about me—just rest when you can.”

Gu Qinghuan thought she really had it tough.

“Oh, and if you need money, just say the word. I can lend you some so you can get through this rough patch. Things will get better.”

“Alright, thank you. If we need it, I’ll let you know.” Lin Shengnan said gratefully.

She finished one qingtuan and put the lid back on, clearly wanting to save the rest to share with Zhu Chunlin when he got back.

A poor couple doesn’t necessarily have a miserable life—as long as you notice and appreciate the small things.

As they were talking, Zhu Chunlin came in carrying a wooden bucket.

“Comrade Gu, you’re here? Perfect timing—look what I caught today!” Zhu Chunlin grinned, bringing the bucket over for them to see.

He moved aside the weeds on top, and both women jumped in fright.

They gasped and shrank into the corner.

Inside was a pile of long, thick, wriggling creatures, filling half the bucket and still squirming.

Gu Qinghuan’s first thought was snakes, but on closer look, the coloring was off.

Lin Shengnan recognized them. She marched over and gave Zhu Chunlin’s arm a smack.

“You scared us! Where did you get these loaches? They’re huge!”

Zhu Chunlin smiled and set the bucket down.

“I was digging in the mud by the riverbank and saw something wriggling around. So I caught a bunch. They might taste a bit muddy, but at least it’s meat—better than nothing. This is the best time of year to catch loaches—it’s their wild breeding season, so they’re out and about. Oh, and it’s not just loaches—there are two eels in here too. Those are really good—very nourishing. Lots of folk doctors use eels as remedies. I’ll try to catch more loaches and eels to raise for you, so you can get more nutrition,” Zhu Chunlin said happily.

“Oh, Comrade Gu, take a few home with you when you leave.”

Gu Qinghuan shook her head vigorously. She liked eating eel, but only if someone else cooked it. She absolutely couldn’t handle touching those squirmy things herself—it was too scary.

But suddenly, an idea struck her.

She’d always wanted to find a way to help them out, but never had the chance.

Wasn’t this the perfect opportunity?

She’d once had wild eel in the future, and the chef said that big wild eels could go for at least a hundred yuan per jin. Wild loaches were fifty or sixty yuan per jin. These things were everywhere in the countryside now, but in the future, people would go crazy for them.

Gu Qinghuan called the couple over, closed the door, and whispered, “You guys know my family’s living standard is pretty good. Actually, I have some connections—I can buy and sell all sorts of things. I think your loaches and eels are great. If you want to make some money, I can help you sell them, and I’ll make sure you get a fair price! In the future, whenever you catch these, I can buy them from you. You won’t get rich, but you’ll definitely earn some extra cash.”

The couple already knew Gu Qinghuan wasn’t ordinary, and they figured she had resources. They just hadn’t expected her to trust them and bring them in to make money together. After all, in these times, most people only looked out for themselves.

It was easy to kick someone when they were down, but rare to offer a helping hand.

They’d been at a loss for how to earn money, and now the path was laid out right in front of them—how could they refuse?

They exchanged a glance, and Lin Shengnan immediately said, “Of course we’re willing! Qinghuan, thank you for thinking of us. Don’t worry, we’ll keep this to ourselves—no one else will know. These things don’t cost us anything, so you set the price. We’ll split the money fifty-fifty, but we can’t let you do all the work for nothing.”

Gu Qinghuan was very satisfied with their attitude—after all, no one wants to help out an ingrate.

She did some quick calculations in her head.

She’d list the loaches at sixty cents a jin, and the eels at one yuan a jin."