Farming and reading family

In this respect, Lei and Chen Jie are very similar. Neither of them wants to work in the fields. If Chen Jie wasn't too thin, Lei would have wanted Chen Jie to learn blacksmithing from her father.

"My third brother and sister-in-law went to the city to see smoked fish. Too few people in He County buy it, but I think if the fish and shrimp are particularly easy to catch, it would be nice for us to make more for ourselves." Gao E analyzed.

"Yes, yes, yes." Lei had eaten smoked fish before. It tasted really good after just steaming it.

"How about this, I will prepare the ingredients for making smoked fish, and my third brother's wife will go back and discuss it with my third brother. You guys go catch the fish, and my eldest sister-in-law will be responsible for processing it. We will split it equally then." Gao E suggested.

"How can we split it equally?" Mrs. Lei immediately denied it. "We just contribute a little bit of effort, and it doesn't cost any money. Besides, it was your idea to smoke the fish." After she said that, she looked at her sister-in-law.

Lei felt that she couldn't take more, but she couldn't be too generous to others either. This matter needed the approval of her sister-in-law.

Yang didn't react for a moment. She thought that processing the fish was just helping and didn't want to share anything at all.

Although I also gave them some of the smoked fish I made before.

"Third sister-in-law is right. We are just helping. It's too polite for second sister-in-law to say that." Yang nodded.

There was some anxiety in Lei's eyes. She asked you to be more generous, but she didn't ask you to be so generous.

"This is not being polite. Brothers should settle accounts clearly. We are working together." Gao E said with a smile.

"Yes, yes, yes." Lei was really worried that the second sister-in-law would take advantage of the situation and not give them any. "How about this, the second sister-in-law takes half, and the eldest sister-in-law and I take half and we split it equally."

Yang looked at Lei and felt that this was not a good idea.

"How about this." Gao E didn't want to talk too much. "I'll take 40%, and you each take 30%."

"Okay." Lei agreed immediately.

Yang looked back and forth at the two of them, and thought, forget it, they are all family, even if they separate, they are still in the same pot in the end.

"Then it's settled. Let's go buy some ingredients for smoked fish tomorrow. Master An will come to install the doors and windows the day after tomorrow. My third sister-in-law will start fishing the day after tomorrow night, so we have just enough free time to prepare." Gao E decided the matter directly.

Neither of them had any objection.

As for the eldest brother who was still busy repairing the fence for them, Gao E expressed her ideas. Chen Qing still felt that the fence should be repaired first. No matter what changes happened later, at least there was still a fence to use.

Since her elder brother said so, Gao E couldn't say anything more.

The next day Chen Ke and Gao E went to the city to buy things.

Gao E mainly buys spices for pickling fish.

These had to be bought at a pharmacy. When Gao E asked about the prices, she felt a little pain in her heart. Common peppercorns, star anise, cinnamon and bay leaves were not cheap. She still reluctantly bought some, which cost her almost one or two taels of silver.

Then I went to buy some salt.

Tomorrow Master An will take people to install doors and windows, and he also bought some meat. Together with the fish and shrimp at home, it’s pretty good.

On the way back, Gao E remained silent.

Chen Ke didn't know what was wrong with Gao E: "Those herbs are expensive, but they are used sparingly, so it won't be a problem."

Gao E remained silent because she was looking through the original owner's memories to see if there were any spices in the local area.

Unfortunately, the original owner was the eldest daughter of a landlord. Although she had some education, she knew nothing about the local products.

"Doesn't anyone in our village grow ginger?" Gao E asked suddenly. "We should have peppercorns, right?"

Every place has its own spices, as the saying goes, the local climate and soil shape the local people.

Chen Ke was stunned by the question: "I'll ask my brother and the others later."

"You don't use spices when eating meat?" Gao E asked this question with some embarrassment.

Farmers rarely see meat throughout the year, so they really don't need spices.

Chen Ke didn't know how to answer this question.

"I'm just asking." She touched her belly and stopped talking.

I was thinking too much. I should give birth to the baby smoothly and save my life first.

It was still early when they returned to Baotou Village. Yang cooked for her four children. She put a lot of dried shrimps in it, but was reluctant to put in grains, so she cooked a pot of porridge.

She wondered how her second brother and sister-in-law could cook such delicious food.

Gao E didn't know what to say when she saw the pot of porridge cooked by Yang. She had never eaten a decent meal, so how could she expect her to cook a good one?

After lunch, Chen Ke took Duokui and Gaozhong out, saying they were going to take a look at the bamboo forest. Gao E didn't say anything.

Chen Jie and his wife had lunch downstairs, and after lunch they ran up to help repair the fence.

"Second sister-in-law, were there any wild animals last night?" Lei asked while digging the trench.

"There was nothing in the yard, so I didn't look." Gao E remembered to go shopping and forgot about this.

"What are you afraid of?" Chen Jie said nonchalantly. "Those beasts are usually hard to find even if you go up the mountain. If they really come every day, I'll set a trap to catch them and add another dish to my family."

Chen Qing laughed when he heard this: "Don't let our father hear this."

"I'm not a kid anymore." Chen Jie obviously thought of something bad, and his expression became teasing.

"Are there many wild boars on this mountain?" Gao E suddenly asked.

"Quite a lot." Chen Jie frowned. "Every summer and autumn harvest, those animals come down the mountain in droves to eat the crops."

Gao E thought of the village organizing young and strong people to patrol and hunt wild boars every year.

But only three or five are caught every year, and they are divided among the villagers.

The original owner never participated in these things and even felt a little disdainful.

"Are there no hunters going up the mountain to catch wild boars?" Gao E thought this was a good resource and no one was taking care of it now.

"There are no hunters in our village. Besides, those creatures are very strong. We have to avoid them when we meet them in the mountains. How dare we catch them?" Chen Qing explained.

Gao E had her sights set on catching wild boars. If she could get one or two, her reserves would increase.

"If... we knew there were wild boars there and set up an ambush in advance, could we catch them?" Gao E said tentatively.

"Of course you can." Chen Jie immediately became excited. "The thing is that once it enters the mountains, it disappears without a trace. It's impossible to catch it. If we know where it is, we can just dig a few traps and we won't be able to catch it."

Gao E thought about it seriously.

"Second sister-in-law, do you know where it is?" Lei felt that her second sister-in-law would not say this for no reason.

"I have an idea." Gao E said with a smile.

"Second sister-in-law, please speak quickly." Lei stopped digging the trench and came over immediately.

"But first we need to find a pool of water, preferably one that doesn't overflow."

"That's easy. There are many pools like this on our mountain." Chen Jie also came over.

"Then you find a suitable place to set traps, and we will mainly catch wild boars." Gao E suggested.

"That trap is a bit troublesome." Chen Jie muttered uncertainly and asked, "Are you sure there will be wild boars there?"

"As long as there are many wild boars in the mountains, wild boars will definitely appear." Gao E was very sure.

Now that she is unable to move around easily, she can only come up with some ideas that the Chen family can implement and try to improve their current life.

Chen Jie hesitated for a moment and made up his mind: "Okay, I'll go get ready after I finish working in the yard."