MAC’60s Chapter 25.1

The last time Wang Ying went into the mountains to catch fish, she had just blindly scooped around with her basket. But this time, Xu Shuang said that wouldn’t work.

“The basket is too heavy, and you can’t catch much at once.”

Xu Shuang planned to catch enough fish in one go to last them the whole winter—even two baskets might not be enough.

So a few days ago when he went to town, he spent a few yuan at the supply and marketing cooperative and bought a fishing net.

The two of them braved the cold wind and headed up into the mountains. The fish pond already had a thin layer of ice on the surface. Xu Shuang rubbed his hands together and told Wang Ying to stand back while he broke the ice with a rock.

The winter pond, maybe due to the season, no longer had that clear surface—it was dark and murky, as if filled with a pool of black water. Wang Ying couldn’t see anything inside, which made her a bit uneasy.

They cast the fishing net, but for a while, nothing happened.

Wang Ying hesitated. “What if the fish all left for the winter?”

Xu Shuang tugged on the net. “I’ll pull it up and take a look.”

Sure enough, as soon as he tugged, the net felt heavy. The two exchanged glances, both of their eyes lighting up with excitement.

As expected, when the heavy net was pulled up, what came into view were big fish, mouths still moving!

Wang Ying was stunned. The last time they caught fish, it hadn’t been so direct. Now with the fishing net, she was shocked by how rich the little pond was.

More than a dozen big fish—some over a foot long! Even the smaller ones were seven or eight inches! No wonder the net had felt so heavy. These big fish must’ve been growing for years without anyone catching them!

Xu Shuang had exerted a lot of strength and was slightly out of breath, but he was visibly delighted. “Pick them out and pack them up—we’ll take this first batch home.”

Each basket could only carry about ten fish at most. Although the fish were big and plenty, winter was long.

They’d be cooped up at home for more than two months, with only one more ration of pork in the twelfth lunar month. Even with all of Xu Shuang’s skills, he felt Wang Ying deserved better.

With this batch of fish, they could make a variety of dishes over the winter and truly nourish their bodies.

They cast the net three times, selecting only the fish over ten inches long and throwing the smaller ones back into the pond.

They divided the work—one person stayed at the pond to watch over the catch, and the other carried the fish baskets down the mountain to take them home.

Xu Shuang felt conflicted about making Wang Ying carry the fish back and forth. He couldn’t help but worry—those fish were heavy, and six or seven in a basket weighed quite a bit.

But if he left Wang Ying alone on the mountain, he worried about wild animals.

The trees had already shed their leaves, and wild animals on the mountain were likely hungry. Though the village team had recently led a hunt for wild boars, who knew if they’d gotten all of them?

Wang Ying patted her chest confidently. “Don’t worry, I can handle it!”

She might not be as strong as Xu Shuang, but she was agile.

Worst case, she’d climb up a tree to hide.

Seeing her so determined, Xu Shuang could only agree. “Be careful. Don’t run around.”

Wang Ying nodded fiercely. “I definitely won’t run around.”

Xu Shuang couldn’t help himself and rubbed her head. “Good girl.”

Even though they’d already done everything married couples do, Wang Ying still blushed. “Hurry up and go!”

If he stayed any longer and someone found them, what would they do?

This wasn’t summer—there were no leaves or bushes to hide behind. Now it was just a wide-open fish pond. As long as they kept a low profile it’d be fine, but if anyone saw signs of activity, it’d be a whole mess.

Xu Shuang carried a basket of fish and headed down the mountain. Wang Ying, now alone and bored, didn’t wander off. Instead, she kept a close eye on the surrounding environment.

As she looked around, she suddenly noticed a slightly elevated area where the terrain was uneven. A section of the soil had been cut away, exposing part of a plant’s root.

Wang Ying went over and tried to break off a small piece—and was instantly overjoyed. It was wild yam!

Finding wild yam in the mountains wasn’t rare—what was rare was finding some that no one had discovered before!

Eyes sparkling, Wang Ying picked up a handy stone and began digging.

Even though the yam was just for themselves and she didn’t have to worry about appearance, she was still very careful. After a lot of effort, she managed to dig out two full yams with roots intact.

When she held them up, they were each about half her height!

By the time Xu Shuang returned from delivering the first load of fish, he saw Wang Ying digging in the dirt.

“What are you doing?”

Wang Ying, like she was presenting a treasure, held up the wild yam. “Digging up yams!”

Wild yams are very nutritious—good for the stomach and dryness. Seeing the yams made Wang Ying think of yam and pork rib soup, and she felt a fresh surge of energy.

Xu Shuang made a quick decision. “Let’s finish with the fish first. I’ll bring a hoe up here later.”

Digging with hands was too exhausting. While using a hoe might break some of the yams, broken pieces could still be used—like sliced and dried, or mashed into a paste for yam soup, which was perfect for cold weather.

And so, the two of them took turns going up and down the mountain, and by the end, they’d brought home nearly thirty big fish!

Xu Shuang also dug up dozens of pounds of wild yam.

Wang Ying couldn’t help but marvel—they’d really hit the jackpot.

The wild yams in the mountains weren’t as uniform as the cultivated ones from later times. Aside from the first two that were nice and straight, the rest were all sorts of strange shapes. Two of them were coiled up like a nest of snakes. From a distance, you’d definitely steer clear if you saw them!

Fortunately, it was precisely because of this that the thick wild yam hadn’t been discovered and dug up by someone else long ago!

Wang Ying knew that there were quite a few people in the brigade who secretly went up the mountain. After all, living next to the mountain, the natural resources weren’t reserved just for her family. Not long ago, when people went hunting wild boars, many households had gone into the mountains to look for wild game.

Although the brigade had distributed grain, it wasn’t enough for people to eat freely. Families with more members inevitably had to carefully calculate their rations, lest they run out of food and go hungry by the time spring arrived and the weather warmed up.

Back at home, Xu Shuang immediately started processing the big fish. Those that were still lively were thrown into the water vat to keep them fresh. Half of the rest were set aside to be sealed up once it snowed. The remaining ones were cleaned, salted, and hung under the eaves to dry in the sun when the weather cleared up. When it got colder, they would be moved into the room with the heated brick bed to be slowly dried, ensuring that the thirty fish would last through the entire winter.

Wang Ying went down to the cellar and carefully stored away the wild yams.

Originally, their house didn’t even have a cellar, but Xu Shuang had built one last time when he repaired the courtyard wall.

Now, the cellar held stacks of white radishes and Chinese cabbage, two sacks of coarse grain that had been allocated to them, half a basket of potatoes, over a dozen kilograms of wild yam, and a large bag of dried wood ear mushrooms and tofu sheets.

Such a stockpile was already considered top-tier. Looking across the whole brigade, there weren’t many families that had managed to prepare this much for winter.

Not to mention, there was still a large bag of sugar and two packs of peach crisps stored in the house.

In the kitchen, there was also half a bowl of lard and some leftover rabbit meat from entertaining guests a few days ago. Xu Shuang had also told her that during summer, he had dried various vegetables like long beans, potato slices, and mushrooms. He had also prepared a vat of pickled cabbage and several jars of assorted pickles.

Wang Ying felt incredibly content. Though life now couldn’t compare with the future, having enough to eat and drink was already a blessing. To have escaped the apocalypse and come here, and to meet Xu Shuang—Wang Ying felt she was already extremely lucky.

For lunch, Xu Shuang made iron-pot stewed fish with cornmeal biscuits.

In the thick cast iron pot, fresh fish meat just killed that morning simmered with Chinese cabbage and tofu sheets. Along the sides of the pot, he had stuck a row of small cornmeal cakes.

Wang Ying stoked the fire and couldn’t stop asking, “Is it ready yet? Is it ready yet?”

It smelled so good she could hardly resist!

Xu Shuang chuckled, “Almost.”

Old Mrs. Xu hurried over around noon. She had been cooking for herself the past few days, figuring she’d leave the young couple some time alone. But earlier that morning, Xu Shuang had come to find her, telling her they were stewing fish for lunch and to come early.

Old Mrs. Xu was puzzled. She knew her son—he might not be talkative, but he was clever and had a few tricks up his sleeve. In previous years, he’d quietly traded things under the radar, but since he always acted within reason, she never interfered too much.

But now, right after getting married, he suddenly had fish? And it wasn’t like the couple had gone to the county town recently!

When she stepped into the courtyard, Old Mrs. Xu was stunned.

There were several big fish hanging in the yard at Wang Ying’s place!

Goodness, each one looked like it weighed over ten jin (about 5 kg)!

Seeing her mother-in-law arrive, Wang Ying quickly greeted her: “Mom, lunch will be ready soon! We’re having stewed fish in the iron pot!”

Feeling uneasy, Old Mrs. Xu pulled Wang Ying aside and whispered anxiously, “What are you two… up to?”

How on earth did they manage to get so many fish?

Wang Ying quickly explained that they hadn’t stolen or done anything shady—the fish were caught from a wild pond up in the mountain.

Old Mrs. Xu was instantly reassured and got excited: “That’s great! We’re finally going to have a proper feast this winter!”

Even though Old Mrs. Xu lived relatively well—compared to others in the brigade—during winter, when no one could enter the mountains, eating meat was still difficult.

But this year, with so many fish, they could truly live up to the saying “nian nian you yu” (a Chinese New Year blessing meaning “may you have surplus every year,” also a pun involving the word “fish”). Clearly, this was all thanks to having found such a good daughter-in-law. Even heaven had shown them favor.

When the fish stew was ready, Xu Shuang didn’t bother serving it into bowls. The family just gathered around the iron pot in the kitchen to eat. After all, fish didn’t taste good when it got cold and would start to smell fishy. Since there were only three of them and plenty of space, they could easily sit around the stove. A fire burned beneath the hearth, keeping the pot bubbling hot.

Wang Ying picked up a big piece of fish. The meat was incredibly tender—unlike anything she’d had before. Wild fish had no natural predators, so their meat was delicate, and they had fewer bones. The tofu, soaked with fish broth, was full of flavor. Even the plain ingredients on the edge of the pot tasted just as good as the fish itself.

She then took a bite of the crispy corn cake stuck to the pot’s edge. Wang Ying was so satisfied that her eyes squinted in happiness.

Old Mrs. Xu praised the food endlessly: “This fish is amazing! Even better than your father’s cooking back in the day.”

They never had the means to farm fish around here, so fish was a rare treat. While Xu Shuang’s father was good at cooking other things, his fish dishes weren’t anything special.

After eating two bowls, Wang Ying held her stomach and said, “I can’t eat anymore.”

One big fish in the pot was almost gone, with just some broth left. All three were stuffed.

After the meal, Xu Shuang did the dishes while Wang Ying dragged a chair outside to chat with Old Mrs. Xu.

As they talked, snow began to fall.

The snowfall grew heavier, and before long, a layer of snow had accumulated in the yard.

Old Mrs. Xu murmured, “A timely snow promises a good harvest. Next year will definitely be a prosperous one.”

While Wang Ying’s home was lively and warm, Wang Yongshun’s household wasn’t nearly as fortunate. Wang Yaozong’s injuries weren’t severe, but the bruises on his face looked scary.

Embarrassed, he didn’t want to return to school and stayed in the hospital for several days. But with snow coming soon, Wang Yongshun made a decisive call—they had to leave the hospital and head home.

As for the two men who had beaten him up and run away, Wang Yongshun had visited the militia team several times and even asked the Public Security Bureau, but they all gave the same answer: no leads.

Wang Yongshun only dared to say that someone had attacked his son—he didn’t dare go into specifics. What Wang Yaozong had done was considered speculative profiteering, and if things got more serious, he might even be held accountable for attempting to purchase stolen goods.

Those two men likely knew this all too well, which was why they acted so brazenly. The people they lured in weren’t clean themselves and thus didn’t dare to report them openly. As long as they hid for a while, everything would settle down, and they could scam others again.

Wang Yongshun had lost 80 yuan in one blow, and Wang Yaozong’s hospital stay cost another 10 yuan. Every day, he woke up with his heart aching.

Food and drink in the city were expensive, and since he didn’t have grain coupons, he had to secretly exchange them outside the hospital—at outrageous prices.

As soon as it started snowing, Wang Yongshun urged everyone to hurry up and leave.

If the snow got heavier, the mountain paths would become difficult to navigate, and they’d have to struggle through the snow to get back to the brigade.

Wang Yaozong was reluctant, but he left the hospital anyway. The three of them headed back, only for the snow to start falling heavily halfway there. They were so cold that they were shivering and could barely speak.

By the time they reached the town, the three of them were so frozen they couldn’t even talk properly.

Wang Yongshun stammered, “L-let’s go to Pingping’s house, h-have some water before we keep going.”

The weather was too cold. He and Li Chunjuan had left in a hurry and hadn’t brought thick clothing. They were still in single layers. They were not only shivering but also had empty stomachs and felt dizzy.

Wang Pingping had been married for over a year now, married into the Li family in town.

The three of them shoved their hands in their sleeves and trudged through the snow toward the Li house.

The Li family were distant relatives of Li Chunjuan, and that connection was exactly why Li Chunjuan had married her eldest daughter into that family in town.

Li Chunjuan had been proud of that for a long time, constantly showing off to others about her capabilities.

But the bragging stopped abruptly after a year of marriage.

There was only one reason: after a whole year of marriage, Wang Pingping still wasn’t pregnant.

Li Chunjuan couldn’t understand it. Back in her day, she had three kids one after another without even catching her breath. She’d barely finished postpartum recovery before getting pregnant again. Though the first two were girls—which was a bit discouraging—as long as you could have children, nobody cared much.

In the countryside, as long as a woman could conceive, chances were she’d eventually have a boy, unless she was extremely unlucky.

But Wang Pingping was different. She had been married into the Li family for a year with no sign of pregnancy, and that alone was enough to draw suspicion.

Especially since her mother-in-law even took her to the clinic. Afterward, a message made its way back to the Wang family:

—Wang Pingping couldn’t have children.

Once that message got out, Li Chunjuan was dumbfounded.

She never expected her daughter to be “a hen that couldn’t lay eggs”!

Luckily, the Li family only informed them quietly and didn’t spread the news.

Li Chunjuan was terrified that the Li family would divorce Wang Pingping. A daughter who couldn’t have kids—if she came back home, who would want her? Would they just keep her around to eat and do nothing?

Before, when the two families were getting along, Wang Pingping always brought food and drinks for her younger brother in town, and often invited him over for meals. During holidays, she never returned home empty-handed.

But after the news got out that she couldn’t have children, not only did Li Chunjuan avoid sending her son over, Wang Pingping herself became more reserved.

It had been three or four months since they last met.

Now, with the three of them freezing, they decided to drop by to ask for some water.

The Li family hadn’t been allocated housing in town, so they still lived in a small courtyard built before the founding of the country.

Li Chunjuan knocked and called for Wang Pingping. After a short while, Wang Pingping came out.

She had short hair, wore a half-length old jacket, and had a towel wrapped around her head. “Mom, what’s going on? I was just sweeping the rafters.”

She peeked nervously inside the house and whispered, “My mother-in-law’s home too… Didn’t I tell you? If anything comes up, send someone to tell me. Don’t come looking for me.”

Li Chunjuan said, “We just came by for a sip of water, it’s too cold. We’re walking back from the county…”

Wang Pingping didn’t even ask why her parents had gone to the county. Hearing they only wanted water, she quickly ran inside, grabbed a ladle, scooped some cold water, and mixed it with half a bucket of hot water.

Her mother-in-law, sitting inside, heard the noise and shouted, “Who is it?”

Wang Pingping calmly replied, “No one, just a passerby asking for some water!”

Then she hurried out with the ladle and handed it to Li Chunjuan, urging, “Mom, drink up quickly.”

Li Chunjuan felt deeply uneasy. What did this girl mean? Was she treating her own family like beggars?

Wang Yongshun’s face darkened too. He had thought they could at least go in and rest. The journey had been exhausting and freezing—he couldn’t even feel his ears anymore. Now would’ve been the perfect time to warm up by a fire before continuing through the colder mountain roads.

But the eldest daughter never once mentioned letting them inside, and even when her mother-in-law asked, she didn’t tell the truth.

“What’s that supposed to mean? Are you treating us like beggars coming here with your brother? Are we, your parents, not even allowed through your door now?”

Wang Pingping kept her head down and stayed silent, but in Wang Yongshun’s eyes, her silence was confirmation.

Thinking about his two daughters—one couldn’t even have a child and was now useless; the other had married off with no dowry, even becoming a stepmother and bringing nothing back—he was furious.

Li Chunjuan drank all the water in one go, handed the ladle back to Wang Pingping, and snapped, “You’re really something! When your brother makes it big, don’t come clinging to him!”

As her family walked away, Wang Pingping couldn’t help but feel heartbroken.

But what could she do?

If she could have children, she would’ve boldly brought her family inside, made sure they were warm, and shared the vermicelli her husband’s factory had just given out to help her brother regain his strength.

She used to do that—bringing her younger brother Wang Yaozong home for big meals like pork and vermicelli stew, feeding him well in hopes that his future success would help her gain standing in her husband’s household.

But now things were different. Wang Pingping felt deeply bitter. She couldn’t have children, and no matter how much her brother supported her, it wouldn’t help.

Back inside, Wang Pingping’s mother-in-law, Mrs. Li, said disapprovingly, “Passersby asking for water—couldn’t you just give them cold water? Do you think firewood is free?”

Wang Pingping meekly agreed. Mrs. Li then nitpicked again, “Go finish sweeping the rafters! And check the tiles on the roof before the snow gets heavier.”

Wang Pingping obeyed without complaint. Mrs. Li leaned back comfortably in her chair, completely at ease.

Her sister-in-law, Li Ying, cracked some sunflower seeds and remarked, “My sister-in-law sure is docile now. You’d never guess how she was when she first got here.”

Mrs. Li sneered, “We burned that arrogance out of her! She still thinks it’s the old days?”