Koi baby helps his mother farm and becomes the richest man

By the time Aunt Zhao finished speaking, Qin Ying's emotions had completely calmed down. She smiled at the two sisters and said, "I'm not telling you this to gain your sympathy. I'm telling you that after you've gotten through the hardest days, things will get better and better."

“Perhaps decades later, when I look back, I will feel that the suffering I endured back then was nothing but commonplace.

“I’m not saying that suffering is a good thing, but it’s undeniable that after overcoming a hurdle, one becomes stronger.

“In one’s life, no one else has what you have, no one else is as good as you, no one else is as strong as you, and many times it is better to rely on yourself than on others.

“When people are in despair, they will surely pray to all the gods and Buddhas for help, but it is doomed to be useless, so they still have to save themselves.”

She stopped talking and invited them outside: "I'll make some walnut juice for you to drink to moisten your throat."

Aunt Zhao also said, "There are also fried pumpkin seeds, which are also very fragrant."

The four people arrived at the main room.

Qin Ying didn’t know if it was an illusion, but she seemed to see the straw curtain at the door move.

She didn't care either.

The walnut paste is made in advance. Some of it is frozen outside, and some of it is warm on the stove. You can drink it after heating it up a little.

In addition to pumpkin seeds, there are also various fried dried fruits, all packed in shallow baskets and placed on the table.

Qin Ying took out the five-spice dried mushrooms and said, "This is made with the mushrooms in the house.

“In the past, there was nothing to eat in the winter, but now we have enough vegetables at home, so I can think of making some snacks.

"Life will be better in the future, we will have more food stored at home, and we can do more things.

"For example, I want to grow some ramie so that we can have better clothes.

"Plant some more fruit trees, and you can not only sell fresh fruit, but also make preserved fruit and sell it...

"Master Zhou said that the wasteland we are reclaiming now will belong to us in the future.

"After surviving the years of famine, these will no longer be dreams."

Aunt Zhao also said happily: "Yes, yes, now that we have money, we can renovate the house, and save up the betrothal gifts for Hu Zi and the dowry for An An..."

Qin Ying also said: "I remember when I was a child, I heard people say that noble families all had gardeners with superb skills who could improve flower varieties.

"I was thinking, if flowers can be improved, can fruit trees also be improved?

"If our fruits are bigger and tastier than others, won't they sell better?

"I don't know if there's any record of this in the book. If I get a chance, I'll have to ask Master Zhou for help."

Zhou Qi, who was sipping walnut juice from the bowl, suddenly said, "It's possible, but it's quite difficult."

"I'm not afraid of difficulty," Qin Ying said with a smile, "as long as I can succeed. We can always find the right path by constantly summarizing the experience of failure.

"Also, I'm thinking that when they say it's difficult, they're probably just keeping it to themselves. They don't want to spread it around, nor do they want to widely promote the method they've painstakingly developed. After all, scarcity makes things valuable!"

The two sisters looked at each other and thought, "How could they think this way?" But it really makes sense!

After talking for a while, Aunt Zhao saw that the two sisters looked much more relaxed, so she said, "We still have to stay up late, why don't we go to bed for a while? We can get up later to prepare the New Year's Eve dinner."

Qin Ying stood up first and said, "Okay, you guys go ahead, I'll clean up here."

The two sisters hesitated for a moment, and Aunt Zhao tentatively invited them, "I'm afraid there's no fire over there, and the kang is cold. Why don't you stay here with us?"

Zhou Mian looked at Zhou Qi eagerly. Zhou Qi pursed her lips and nodded hesitantly.

Aunt Zhao went in, made the kang, and invited them in.

When An An woke up from her sleep, she released her memory and rolled into Aunt Zhao's arms, pestering her to tell her stories.

Grandma is full of weird legends, they are so nice to hear!

Aunt Zhao patted her back to sleep while whispering to her.

The two Zhou sisters also pricked up their ears to listen. Although they were a little scared, they became more and more addicted to it. Later, they fell asleep in a daze.

When they woke up again, there was no one in the room. They could hear low laughter outside and a strong fragrance wafting in.

The two of them felt as if they had never been so relaxed and comfortable. Indeed, what they thought was suffering was nothing compared to the experiences of others.

They stood up and folded the bedding, then helped each other comb their hair. Then they went downstairs to put on their shoes and tidied their clothes. After they found nothing wrong, they left the east room.

Aunt Zhao, Qin Ying and An An were roasting small potatoes around the brazier. After they were roasted and peeled, they rolled them in the prepared five-spice powder. They were so delicious!

When Qin Ying saw them coming out, she invited them to join her.

"They..." An An was just about to say that they looked down upon eating like that, when she saw the two girls bring their own small stools and sit over obediently.

An An snorted, turned her head and concentrated on peeling potatoes.

Aunt Zhao introduced them to Zhou Qi and the others: "These are small potatoes dug up from the ground. If you have sugar at home, they are delicious when cooked and dipped in sugar, or fried in plenty of oil for a more fragrant taste. They are okay when stewed.

"Even now, sugar and oil are scarce, so we can only think of other ways to eat them."

I used up a lot of oil frying food yesterday, and I have to save the remaining oil for cooking dishes later. The oil in the oil gourd cannot be moved in the short term.

Zhou Mian peeled a potato and rolled it in the bowl of five-spice mixture, imitating An An. He put it in his mouth and tasted it. His eyes lit up and he mumbled, "Delicious!"

He quickly peeled another one and gave it to Zhou Qi.

Zhou Qi ate from her hand and nodded with a smile.

"It would be nice if we had fresh chestnuts," Aunt Zhao said with a smile, "nowadays the wild fruits in the mountains are all dried. In previous years, when we went into the mountains after the autumn harvest, we could always find some fresh chestnuts or wild persimmons.

"Persimmons are best when frozen, otherwise they're incredibly astringent. After freezing, take them in and let them thaw a little. Just bite through the skin a little bit and sip. Wow! They're cool and sweet!"

"And those hairy chestnuts, when you throw them into the fire, they'll pop and crackle, filling the whole house with fragrance.

"You have to eat it while it's hot. It's fragrant and sweet..."

Zhou Mian asked curiously, "Are there so many good things on the mountain?"

"Yes," Aunt Zhao said with emotion, "that's why they say you live by the mountain, eat by the mountain; live by the water, eat by the water!

“We have so little land here, if it weren’t for this mountain, we would have starved to death!

“Not to mention the wild fruits in the mountains, there are also wild vegetables and herbs. If you’re lucky, you can even hunt some wild game and eat some meat.

"However, there are many dangers in the mountains. People like us dare not go into the deep mountains because there are ferocious beasts there, such as tigers, wolves, black bears, and the like.

"This is also because of the famine in recent years. These things must have fled. Otherwise, during the winter, there would be nothing to eat, and wolves and black bears would often sneak into the village.

"When I was in my twenties, the sheep in my family's pen were taken away by wolves."

Zhou Qi sighed softly: "It's true, survival is not easy."