By Jia Xiuzhen

There are two large ponds, one small pond and three ponds in Caotian Village, all of which lead to Caodangpu outside, where nearby residents wash clothes and wash rice.These ponds are all owned by the village, and those who usually go fishing for fish and shrimp in their spare time are left alone.This returned to Li Wan's hands, and Peng Qiao and the others came up with the idea of ​​raising fish again, and talked to Li Wan, and Li Wan naturally agreed to everything, and allocated another money for them to take care of it.

The farmers in this Caotian Village are all from farming backgrounds, and none of them are good at fishing and hunting.Naturally, Madam Xu came forward again and entrusted Ji Liang to find someone who is good at fishing to look at the pond, saying that the water is not bad and the pond is also good for raising some bighead carp, grass and silver carp.He also said that there are a lot of fish in there now, and they can catch some fish by digging into the ice in winter, so as to get something, and also to avoid being hurt by throwing fry in the next year, so it is better to catch some first.It's not a big deal to go into Layue Village, it just happens to be lively, and I can send some dried fish and fish cakes to Li Wan, so that she can see her future, and Madam Xu immediately discussed fishing with Yan Jun .

Fishing on the ice in this winter is not a job that ordinary people can do, and Yan Jun and the others didn't let the wind out, fearing that it would be too early to say that there would be accidents if the ice broke due to too many people.The fishers that Ji Liang helped to invite were all dressed in animal skin clothes. The clothes were clever, starched, and could hold water for a while.Otherwise, although people don't need to enter the water, they will be wet when they splash, and they are only waiting to get sick.

Drill holes with iron drills on the big ice. The ice is as thick as a foot. There are 27 holes in the two big pools, and only [-] holes in the small pool.Get off the net after the eyes are drawn, and when you pull it up, carp, grass carp, fat head, silver carp, lacy bream, big crucian carp and melon seeds are scurrying in the net. Come and go to Zhuangli to pull fish.

Nanny Xu and Yun Qiu Moyu were still watching with great interest at the beginning, but they didn't expect that it would take a long time to drill the ice hole, so they all dispersed, and only came to watch the fish when they set up their nets.Seeing that scene, Yunqiu smiled at Mammy Xu and said, "Mother, please tell grandma about this. There are so many fishes that can pile up a mountain." Mo Yu also laughed and said, "This pool has been here for a long time. , I can’t see anything, I don’t think there are so many fish! Look at that one, how big it is, I’m afraid it weighs twenty or thirty catties!”

Mammy Xu saw that the fishermen were working very hard, so she ordered Mrs. Chen to prepare good wine and food in the farm, and also asked to prepare hot water for them to take a bath later.It was already dark after the three ponds were beaten, and Yan Jun left them to stay in Zhuangzi for another night. Before leaving, besides bringing a few baskets of big fish as usual, Madam Xu also gave her a purse, which contained two Two pieces of silver.

Yunqiu joked afterward: "Mammy just learned from grandma, how many catties of fish can you buy with this tael of money? And I gave them one by one, it's a joke to tell."

Mother Xu chanted and said: "Don't you look at the thick ice, how freezing the ice hole is. You are wearing the big clothes that grandma gave you, and you don't know the cold and heat. Those people's clothes are frozen hard. It's really pitiful. Just because of our idea, people would not usually fish at this time." Yunqiu hurriedly said: "Oh, my mother, stop talking, if you keep talking like this, we should add two taels to others That's right."

Mo Yu murmured: "Qiu, don't talk about mother, we are all spoiled by grandma. Didn't you look like someone took the purse? Some lips trembled. We were in the Although the mansion is not a worthwhile yard, there is one tael of silver a month, and more rewards during the New Year and holidays. When I left the mansion, I thought I was going to suffer, but I didn’t expect it to be more serious .Now in this Zhuangzi, I see many people coming and going, and I have a little touch of the earth, otherwise, how would I know the value of silver."

Mother Xu sighed: "Mo Yu is telling the truth. Tell me, which one of you is a maidservant and a monk who is rich? You only follow such a grandma. Even if I go back, I will inevitably nag her a few words , I am not the same now! To tell you the truth, I wanted to give five taels at first!"

Yun Qiu covered her mouth and smiled, "Mama herself has tens of thousands of dollars in her pockets, and she still came to laugh at us." Mo Yu said: "Let's get down to business, what can we do with so many fish, there aren't so many pots and buckets?" The ones that can’t be kept alive are piled up in the kitchen yard.”

Mother Xu said: "I just discussed with Yan Jun, let all the households in the village come and share some tomorrow, we already have too many of them." Yunqiu said: "How can we divide this? More or less, some big and some small, more troubles will come out." Mo Yu said: "I have an idea, let them divide the piles according to the number of households, and the size and color are about the same. Good points, early come early."

Mother Xu rubbed her forehead and said, "That's it! Who would bother to worry about this!" Then she said, "Grandma is right, all things, as long as Ji Liang is involved, it will become a big deal if you are not careful. But if you catch fish in a few ponds, you can actually get a few thousand catties!" She didn't know that although no one had seriously raised fish in these ponds, they hadn't bottomed out, so it was inevitable.

Early in the morning of the next day, all the family members of the farmer got the letter one after another, and they went to the farmer to inquire suspiciously, but they were really asked to come to pick up the fish.A family piled them all up in the courtyard. The weather was cold and the fish were all frozen hard. Looking at the pile, I am afraid it must weigh fifty or sixty catties.Aunt Xu and the others were watching the fun under the eaves, and Nanny Xu said to Yan Jun, "This is great, I'm afraid the pond will be empty."

Yan Jun smiled and said: "How can it be? I told the fishermen yesterday when they were drinking that the two big ponds were too deep, and the nets didn't even sink to the bottom. In addition, the nets were only drilled on such a big ice surface. , Although I looked at the net under the fish nest, it was only that big, and not half of it came out." Madam Xu was surprised and said, "It's not even half? Then what else are you raising, you can't finish it! "

Yan Jun smiled and said: "The pond is idle if it is idle, it's good to try it, if it works, the people in the village will make a living." Madam Xu nodded after listening.Seeing that all the fish in the yard have been picked up in sevens and eighties, they are all rushing to take them home to clean up. Just as they were about to ask who else did not come to pick them up, Sun Dabao came with Daniel and Xiaoer. Jun laughed and said, "Why did you come here at this moment? If it's too late, I won't be able to catch up to eat."

Sun Dabao replied with a smile: "We live close together, so we can catch up." Madam Xu knew the way this family behaved, she thought she didn't want to pick and choose, so she reserved it for the last few to pick it up.Xiao Er went to the place where the name was registered and made a bet. Daniu and Sun Dabao had already picked up all the fish into the rattan basket, and the two of them carried them to the house after saying hello to Nanny Xu.

This Yan Jun asked Nanny Xu again: "Mommy, there are still a lot of fish left in the kitchen?" Nanny Xu smiled and said: "Those who share with the people in the village, and want to do favors, You can come from there as much as you want." Yan Jun smiled and thanked Madam Xu, and the two discussed about raising fish next year.

Lady Qiao saw Sun Dabao and the others bring in the fish in the yard, and said with a smile: "Why are there so many!" Daniel said: "Yesterday we caught several thousand catties of fish, but every household in our village got them. I'm afraid there will be a lot of points." Sun Dabao came out with a knife, fetched water from the well in the backyard and began to clean up the fish, with Daniel and Xiaoer helping.

Little three and little four brought little five and little six to watch the excitement.Qiao Niangzi came out with a big basket, picked up a few fish they had packed up, and walked into the house.Seeing this, Xiaosan quickly jumped up and said, "Mother, I'll light the fire!" Mrs. Qiao said with a smile, "It's already agreed, we have to eat fish, so we have to push back the meal time. The fish won't be stewed until the time is right." It doesn't taste good." Sun Dabao raised his face and smiled and said, "It's never too late for a good meal!" A crowd of young people echoed.

Qiao Niangzi entered the house, first wiped the pot dry, lit a fire under the stove, and Xiaosan took it.The straw festival was full of fire, and the twigs were ignited and crackling, but within a short while, the big iron pot was hot.First, I dug a piece of lard from the earthen bowl and poured it into the pot. The milky white fat turned into hot oil with a soft sound. When thinking about it, I slowly slid a few fish into the pot with their tails lifted, frying both sides first. One fried.

The fish skin has changed color, put in shredded ginger, garlic cloves, and scallion white knots, turn it over slightly, and raise your hand to pour the warm water in the soup pot beside it.There was a lot of babbling, the warm water covered the body of the fish, and Xiaosan had already put a large piece of pine wood on the bottom shelf of the stove.Qiao Niangzi took down several pots from the stove, took out a few peppercorns from one and threw them into the pot, and the other contained dried coriander, pinched a pinch and put it down.Then I scooped a few tablespoons of bean paste from the bottom sauce jar and put it inside, and then covered the pot.Then he turned around and sliced ​​a few radishes and sprinkled some thin salt soup to marinate them.

Sun Dabao and the others finally managed to pack dozens of catties of fish, the big ones were three to four catties to make a basket, and the rest only one or two catties to make a basket.This time, the mesh used for fishing was large, and no small fish were caught.The kitchen was facing the backyard, and at this moment a hot smell of sauce and meat wafted over, and the children were scratching their ears and cheeks happily, when they heard Qiao Niang yelling through the window: "Set the dishes and chopsticks, let's eat."

Xiao Si took the two young ones in to help carry the dishes, while Sun Dabao and Da Niu and Xiao Er fetched water to wash their hands to wash their hands of the fishy smell.The crowd sat around and set up the Eight Immortals table, a plate of salted radish and a plate of sauerkraut on the table, and the younger ones looked into the kitchen with their necks crooked.As soon as the curtain was lifted, Mrs. Qiao came out holding a clay basin the size of a basin in both hands.Putting it in the middle of the table, I saw a handful of chopped garlic and green onion sprinkled on top of the white garlic and ginger in the brown sauce, and the piled up fish was braised until soft.

Qiao Niangzi brought out a small earthenware bowl from the rice pot on the stove. The steamed white rice in it was more like thick porridge, but it was prepared for Xiao Qi.Picking up the rice scoop, he loosened a large pot of rice mixed with brown rice and miscellaneous beans, and then shouted: "Here comes the rice!" He took the pottery bowl out, scooped up some fish soup, picked up a few pieces of fish maw, and put it on the table. Mix the boneless meat together, hold Xiaoqi and feed him first.

Da Niu and Xiao Er filled rice for Sun Dabao and Qiao Niangzi first, and then served the younger ones. The stove was so high that even Xiao San and Xiao Si couldn't reach it.Sun Dabao looked at the bowl in front of Mrs. Qiao and pushed it in front of Da Niu and said with a smile: "Your mother will feed Xiao Qi first, and it will be cold after serving it out. Now you are not afraid that there is not enough food, so you can eat it openly. Enough!" Then Daniel smiled and brought the bowl over to eat.Qiao Niangzi was feeding Xiaoqi while watching the older ones mouth puffing up, and hurriedly persuaded: "Don't rush, don't rush, eat slowly, be careful of thorns!"

Sun Dabao pushed a carp aside first, and said: "This time the fish are quite big, otherwise there will be more bones in the small fish." Then he said to Xiao Si, "Si Er, eat slowly! Don't get stuck! Look Look at your brothers, even Xiao Wu and Xiao Liu are more stable than you." Xiao Si smiled embarrassedly, picked another piece of meat from the belly of the fish for Xiao Wu and Xiao Liu, and gnawed on the tail of the fish himself.

Qiao Niangzi smiled and said: "You guys, just opened it up and ate it. Didn't you see that there are still some outside? It was originally said to be dried fish. I think our family has a large population, so we don't worry that we can't finish it, and we don't need to make dried fish. Already, it’s all stewed and eaten! This time I’m in a hurry, next time I’ll stew a crispy fish, the bones can be eaten, and I’m not afraid of getting stuck.” Xiaosan came out with a whole spine, after hearing this, Regretfully said: "Then it would be a pity to lose this bone."

Sun Dabao patted him on the head with a smile, and said: "Okay, let's change to this big yard now, and store up so much rice grain, you hurry to wash away that poverty." Qiao Niangzi said: "Why is it called poverty? You have to live a good life carefully, if San’er likes it, save this bone and stew it with you next time, and then you can eat it.” Xiao San quickly shook her head and said, “Don’t, don’t, mother, I still like to eat fish.” For a while, everyone, big and small, was in a ball of joy.

Xiao Qi has always been quick to eat, and Madam Xu, who never likes to touch children, loves to feed him, "Our Xiao Qi eats delicious food, every bite is one mouthful, and it fills his mouth and stomach." The small bowl of rice mixed with fish soup and fish is finished.Sun Dabao had already finished eating two large bowls of rice, took Xiao Qi and sat on his lap, and Mrs. Qiao brought out the rice, and Sun Dabao pointed to the carp that had been set aside early in the morning, and said, "I'll save it for you." Come on, don’t mix another soup and eat it with pickles.”

Seeing that the basin was almost exhausted, Mrs. Qiao smiled and brought it back to the kitchen, turned around and came out with half a basin full, then smiled and said: "It's my fault, I just forgot to say, this basin is not filled, there is still more. I wanted to serve two pots, but this fish is still delicious when it’s hot.” ​​Xiao Liu whispered from the side, “Fish and fish jelly are also delicious.”

Sun Dabao laughed and asked him, "How do you know that fish jelly is delicious? Could it be that you have eaten it? Our family hasn't seen such a big fish for many years." Xiao Wu said: " The food that Granny Chen gave us in Zhuangzi is also the same red color, and it melts when it touches the hot rice, it's delicious, let's serve it." Qiao Niangzi raised her head and smiled, "The two of them stayed in the kitchen and didn't eat anything. "Xiao Liu nodded seriously after listening and said: "When I grow up, I will be a cook, cook, cook!" Sun Dabao and Mrs. Qiao were both happy, and hurriedly encouraged him: "Good job, our Liu'er is really ambitious."

In a few days, Da Niu and Xiao Er brought home a lot of fish again, this time the fish were quite big, and the smallest one weighed seven or eight catties.Qiao Niangzi asked them, and Xiaoer said: "The head of the village asked us to bring it back, saying that we have helped with the work these days, and we didn't pay the wages. There are still some fish left, and we won't be able to keep them for long. Bring it to us." Qiao Niangzi said: "There are still so many people in the village, how can we divide so many?"

Daniu shook his head and said: "They don't eat it, maybe it's not as delicious as your mother's cooking?!" Xiaoer laughed and said: "Mother, the ordinary fish in our Dingshuitu pond, the chief stewards of the village, they taste precious, these It’s rough food, and people can eat it fresh. It’s not like we can’t get tired of eating it for three days. Xiaowu Xiaoliu learned it from Granny Chen and the others in the kitchen. Give us more!" Lady Qiao was relieved when she heard that it made sense, and said, "I really can't bear to take so much of such a good fish for nothing. Some people in the village didn't eat it themselves, so they took it to the market. It will cost a lot of money to sell it.”

Xiao Er persuaded her, "Mother, if you are sorry, when did you make dried fish or something, just send some to the kitchen. People really don't care about these things. Mrs. Zhuangtou said there was dirt after eating a meal." It smells fishy, ​​and it makes me sick after eating it." "Smell of earth?" Qiao Niangzi sniffed the fish in her hand in doubt, shook her head and said, "It's really a noble man with a golden tongue."

Daniel smiled and said: "If you want me to say, it's because you made delicious food. I eat it only has a fragrance, which is very fragrant." Mrs. Qiao stared at him and said, "Okay, I understand, I won't return it, and I will return it to you." I made it for you to eat!" Then Daniel scratched his head and smiled foolishly and stopped talking.