Time Travel: Volume 1! Starting from a Small Mountain Village

As soon as she stepped into the house, Long Lifan got to work. She expertly grabbed a large basin and dumped the small fish in all at once. As the water was slowly poured in, the fish leaped and frolicked happily, as if excited about the upcoming change. Long Lifan carefully washed each fish, making sure they were clean and free of mud.

Seeing this, Hu Lili and the others quickly gathered around, eager to help. Some helped pass basins, some helped change the water, and others joked and laughed, filling the scene with joyful laughter. With everyone's combined efforts, the little fish were quickly cleaned thoroughly.

Next, Long Lifan put Hu Lili in charge of tending the fire. The flames danced merrily in the stove, illuminating everyone's faces. She picked up the bucket of oil that Factory Director Xu had given her that day and generously poured more than half of it into the pot. The others felt a pang of regret seeing her pour so much oil into the pot; even Hu Lili was stunned by Long Lifan's extravagant spending. Although their families were well-off, they couldn't possibly use that much oil for cooking at home.

It's no wonder they were so shocked; there's a shortage of supplies. Essential necessities like grain, oil, and cotton are especially scarce, and city dwellers only have a few ounces of oil coupons per month.

As they watched in shock, the oil temperature gradually rose with continued heating, and an enticing aroma of oil began to fill the air. Xiang Fang and her friends, in particular, couldn't help but swallow hard. They vividly remembered just a few months ago, when Chen Wei had falsely accused them of stealing oil and they had even fought with him.

Seeing that the time was right, Long Lifan carefully picked up a small fish and gently placed it into the oil. Instantly, the fish tumbled in the hot oil, making a sizzling sound. With practiced skill, she placed the fish into the pot one after another, and soon the entire kitchen was filled with the aroma of dried fish.

Because there were so many small fish, Long Lifan decided to fry them in three batches. She patiently waited for each batch to fry until golden brown and crispy, then took them out to drain the oil. Each frying was accompanied by the exclamations and anticipation of her companions, who gathered around, their eyes fixed on the small fish in the pot, afraid of missing any detail.

Finally, after a flurry of activity, the entire bucket of small fish was fried. Looking at the several plates full of golden, crispy dried fish, Long Lifan felt a great sense of accomplishment.

"Come on, everyone, give it a try!"

Long Lifan placed the first batch of fried and cooled dried fish in front of everyone and invited them to taste this hard-won delicacy with a smile.

"Let me try!"

Hu Lili picked up a small dried fish and carefully took a bite. The dried fish was dry on the outside and tender on the inside. A crispy sensation she had never experienced before filled her mouth. Hu Lili almost instantly gave a thumbs up and said exaggeratedly, "Sister Fan, your fried dried fish is so delicious! I've never eaten anything so delicious before."

"You guys should try it too! The fish here owe their reputation to you!" Long Lifan said with a smile, looking at the few people who were too shy to take any.

So Xiang Fang and Liu Pandi each symbolically took one and started eating. They kept praising it, some saying the dried fish was fried perfectly, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside; others praising Long Zhiqing's superb skills, turning such an ordinary little fish into such a delicious dish, as if they hadn't eaten anything so good in a long time.

Of course, some people showed a hint of heartache amidst the joyful atmosphere. A few older educated youths looked at the remaining oil in the pot and couldn't help but feel regretful. They thought, with so much oil for frying, let alone dried fish, even tree leaves would taste exceptionally delicious!

Long Lifan filled a small bowl with some food and walked up to Yu Xiulian, saying, "Yu, could you please give some to the male comrades?"

The small bowl didn't hold much; with seven or eight educated youth, each person could only get one or two fish, enough to satisfy a few of their cravings. For her, giving them some dried fish was enough to maintain their current relationship; after all, the male educated youth hadn't done anything to her.

"Row!"

Yu Xiulian paused for a moment, but still nodded and took the small bowl from Long Lifan. Then she filled it with a lot more for Xiang Fang and the others, since they had all done the work and naturally couldn't be treated the same as the male educated youth.

Of course, the reason we were able to catch so many fish today is entirely thanks to the help of the team leader's grandsons, Lin Tiezhu and Qi Fangfang, and their children. They not only contributed a lot of effort, but they were also very skilled. Without them, how could we have caught so many fish?

Thinking of this, Long Lifan decided to take some dried fish to them. After hearing Long Lifan's plan, Hu Lili pulled Jiang Nian'an and the other two along to follow.

They first arrived at the brigade leader's house. Even when Long Lifan placed the dried fish in Aunt Zhou's hands, she was still a little confused. It wasn't until Long Lifan thanked Tiezhu for catching a lot of fish for her that she understood what was going on.

When they arrived at Qi Fangfang's house, it was already getting late. Long Lifan handed over the rest of the dried fish to her, asking her to give it to her two friends, Lin Jie and Zhou Yuping, before taking Hu Lili and the others back to their lodgings to enjoy the dried fish.

When Lin Guodong returned home that evening, he found a bowl of golden, crispy dried fish on the dinner table. Curious, Lin Guodong asked about the origin of the dried fish, and Aunt Zhou explained with a smile, "This was sent by Long Zhiqing to thank Tiezhu for helping them catch fish."

Upon hearing this, the captain remained silent for a moment before ordering everyone to eat. Everyone tasted the dried fish and praised it highly. Its crispy and delicious texture made it impossible to resist eating it one bite after another. Zhou Xiufen ate the dried fish, savoring the aroma of the oil on it, knowing that a lot of oil must have been wasted.

She couldn't help but mutter under her breath, "Long Zhiqing is such a spendthrift, using so much oil to fry fish." Her voice was very soft, but Lin Guodong, who was standing next to her, still heard it clearly.

"What do you know!"

Lin Guodong rolled his eyes at his wife, then whispered, "Do you know someone came looking for Long Zhiqing today?"

"I know, that car was parked at the village entrance today, attracting so many people to go and see it, it's hard not to know."

"Yes, Dad, what do those people want with Long Zhiqing?" Lin Guodong's eldest daughter-in-law chimed in.

"I'm telling you, but don't go spreading this around. Today, Director Xu from the county personally invited Long Zhiqing to become their machinery factory's technical consultant," Lin Guodong whispered, afraid that the news would get out.

"From now on, Long Zhiqing won't have to go to work at the machine factory, and she'll still get a salary. Do you know how much her salary is?" Everyone at the dinner table shook their heads in unison.

"45 yuan! And there are other benefits too. For example, this oil was a Mid-Autumn Festival benefit given to Long Zhiqing by Director Xu."

"My God, 45 yuan is so much!" Zhou Xiufen exclaimed in surprise.

You have to understand, Lin Guodong, as the brigade leader, only earns about ten yuan a month. The others at the dinner table were all shocked by their father's words. No wonder Long Zhiqing dared to eat like that; he really could afford it!

"That's why people really need to study more. Look at Long, even after he went to the countryside, everyone wanted him!" Lin Guodong said meaningfully, then looked at his sons and said:

"When schools officially reopen, I'll send all my kids to school."