Fast-forward to the era of cannon fodder

"Mom, I'll go get some more eggs and scramble them with the black fungus." Yuanchun went back to the house and took the basket. The Queen Mother gave her a handful of change and said, "Take it. You'll be responsible for buying vegetables these days."

"Mom, I have money here."

"Okay, you build a house. Mom doesn't have a lot of money to give you, but I can still give you some money to buy groceries."

"Mom, you are so kind."

Yuanchun chuckled and put the money in her pocket.

After buying the tofu, Yuanchun went for a walk in Tiangou River. When she came back, there were a few fish weighing more than two kilograms in her basket.

When the Queen Mother saw the fish, her eyes widened. "Yuanchun, where did you get this fish? It's still alive."

"Mom, I went for a walk in the fields and saw a few fish trapped in a ditch. I fished them out so we can make braised fish for lunch."

The Queen Mother did not doubt her daughter's words at all. She just thought her daughter was lucky. "It hasn't rained since the autumn harvest. The water in many field ditches is almost dry. Let's go over there and walk around a few more times this afternoon to see if there are any trapped fish to catch."

Yuanchun: "..."

The Queen Mother added, "This fish is not small. Let's cook two for lunch and leave two for your brother and sister-in-law to eat when they come back in the evening."

"It's up to you, Mom. Let's catch some fish this afternoon and save them for lunch tomorrow."

It looked like she would have to release some big fish this afternoon.

Her fifth uncle helped her build a house. She couldn't let people eat boiled cabbage and shredded potatoes every day. She always wanted them to have some meat and vegetables. Xiaowa Village was not backed by mountains, but only by water, so she brought out fish but didn't dare to bring out pheasants or rabbits.

The Queen Mother is a good cook. She cut two fish into pieces and braised them with two pieces of tofu. The Chinese cabbage was stewed with vermicelli. The Queen Mother also made a cold salad of dried wild vegetables, fried some peanuts, and stewed a big pot of pumpkin soup.

This was the first time that the Queen Mother saw such a big fish in the ditch. She said with joy, "Yuanchun, you are so lucky. You caught four fish in the morning and five more in the afternoon. We don't have to worry about tomorrow's food."

"Mom, I'll go to town the day after tomorrow morning to buy some vegetables and see if the supply and marketing cooperative has any tomatoes and eggplants for sale."

"It's all frozen, where can I buy eggplants? If you want to eat tomatoes, your third grandmother has a lot stored in the cellar. I'll ask your third grandmother for some tomorrow."

After a pause, the Queen Mother continued, "It will take more than half a month to build the house, and we have to provide food for half a month. The food we have at home is definitely not enough. You might as well go to town and have a look. Go early and buy some big bones or pig offal that don't require meat coupons. We have a lot of dried chilies at home. You can stir-fry the pig offal and eat it with rice."