Travel to the mountains and make a fortune in silence

That morning, Wang Qing'er picked mint and then went to pull the fish basket. She caught quite a few small fish and shrimp, including a few that were slightly larger than her palm.

Two little girls followed behind her, running around. By the end of the morning, the three of them and their basket of mint leaves were still not full.

Only Zihan was completely unaffected by the three of them. She diligently picked mint by herself, filling the baskets of the other three to the brim, and then filling several other baskets before sitting down on the grass to rest.

She sat on the grass, facing the river, lost in thought. The cheers of the other three did nothing to distract her from gazing at the water.

Wang Qing'er glanced at the time and realized it was getting late, so she figured she wouldn't be able to catch any big fish. "Muqin, let's go pull the fish basket up and go home. I'll cook fish for you for lunch."

"Sister-in-law, how can we eat such small fish?" Mu Qin frowned as she looked at the bucket, which was mostly filled with tiny fish, none of which were even the size of a palm.

“That’s right, cousin-in-law, the fish are too small. Let’s take them back and raise them in the pond in the back until they grow bigger before we eat them!” Zitong said with a frown.

“Well, the big ones can be used to make fish soup, and the small ones can be raised or fried in oil. They taste pretty good too. If you raise them, you’ll have to go to the stream behind the mountain every day to cut some of this grass to feed them so they can grow bigger,” Wang Qing’er said, picking up a handful of grass from the ground.

"Okay, leave the fish feeding to me and Zitong!" Muqin patted her chest and assured them that it would only take a little effort to pluck some grass and scatter it in the pond.

"Let's go pull up the fish basket!"

"Ah."

"it is good."

The three climbed up the big rock again. Wang Qing'er untied the rope and tried to lift the fish basket with all her might. "Why is it so heavy? Mu Qin and Zi Tong, come and help me. I can't pull it up."

"it is good."

"Okay," the two of them said, clinging to her left and right hands and helping to pull. "Sister-in-law, it's so heavy! Could it be a big fish?"

"Pull harder, or even if there's a big fish, it'll be gone."

"Ugh! Ugh! Ugh!" The three of them used all their strength to pull the fish basket up.

Wow! Wow! Wow! Good heavens! There are three big fish inside, and some small fish, but the big fish seems to be stuck in the basket and can't get out.

This proves the old saying: "The little mouse climbs the lampstand, steals oil, and can't get down."

Uh! It should be that the big fish went into the basket to steal grass, got in but couldn't get out.

Luckily, it got stuck, otherwise the fish would have escaped long ago, and they wouldn't have been able to pull it up.

Wow! What a big fish! Now we really have fish to eat.

"One, two, three, there are three big fish and many small fish."

"Hurry up and get down there, pour them into the bucket. They're all choking to death." Wang Qing'er saw a full basket of fish crammed into it, unable to move.

"Yes, yes, quickly pour it into the bucket." Mu Qin slid down the big rock again.

“But this bucket probably can’t hold such a big fish!” Zitong walked to the bucket and looked at it, saying.

"It's alright, we can put two of the big ones in the basket and cook them when we get back." Wang Qing'er turned the basket upside down and poured the fish into the bucket. Only some of the smaller ones fell into the bucket, while the larger ones remained motionless in the basket.

"Hey, why aren't you coming out?" Mu Qin asked anxiously.

"Looks like it's really stuck." Wang Qing'er turned the fish basket upside down and shook it hard on the stone a few times. The three fish finally slipped out and fell to the ground. They tumbled around for a few moments and then quieted down.

Wang Qing'er then realized that two of them were grass carp and the other was a bighead carp. She wondered if it was called a silver carp or a bighead carp.

Oh well! Whatever kind of fish it is, it's big enough to make sauerkraut fish, and the sauerkraut we have at home should be ready to eat too.

Oh, and salted duck eggs, how could I have forgotten? Also, why is there no word from Fuxianglou? Could it be that their business has fallen through?

Wang Qing'er suddenly felt a little annoyed. Although selling braised meat could bring in more than two hundred taels of silver a month, who would complain about having too much money?

Besides, with so many people in the family, the expenses are considerable. Before the new grain was available, the family had to buy grain to eat, consuming several kilograms of grain every day. She didn't want to eat brown rice, so she bought golden rice and white flour.

She also loves to eat meat, the kind she eats every day.

It wasn't just her who loved eating meat; her family worked tirelessly every day, and her younger brothers were all boys who needed to eat meat to have the strength to work.

As the saying goes, a half-grown boy can eat his father out of house and home, but you two are the ones who are eating your sister-in-law out of house and home.

My aunt, Mu Yan, also needs more than ten taels of silver a month for medicine.

Well, we also have to support two students in their studies. Although tuition fees don't cost much, the bulk of the expense is on writing materials.