Turning Antagonist to Protagonist: He is Both Soft and Fierce-Chapter 76 - 71: Little Uncle Is a Treasure, He Can Do Anything
Upon hearing this, Lin Qiao glanced at him briefly before quickly looking away, ignoring him.
Song Tingfan pressed his lips together but didn’t say anything, thinking about catching fish earlier. After a while, he placed the shrimp bucket next to his foot.
Niu Er gave him a look, snorted, and threw the shrimp in his hand at his feet.
Seeing that Widow Song still ignored him, he felt a bit embarrassed, "Widow Song, I helped you pick shrimp, and you don’t even thank me?" Saying this, he threw a shrimp in front of her.
Lin Qiao didn’t even glance at him but casually tossed the shrimp he threw far away and then walked over to Song Tingfan’s side.
The young man glanced at her and pressed his lips together with a bit of joy, then positioned himself to block Niu Er from getting close.
Widow Song kept ignoring everyone, causing Niu Er to feel embarrassed. He went barefoot to check the water level in the fish pond.
He hadn’t been looking for long when he felt a sharp pain in his ear and turned to see his father looking like he was itching to hit him. Niu Er’s father gritted his teeth and said, "You worthless brat, what did I tell you! If you cause any trouble today, you’ll get kicked out of the Niu Family on your own."
"It hurts, it hurts." Niu Er covered his ear, unable to help but shout. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂
"Hurts, does it? Good, remember that!" Niu Er’s father twisted his ear hard, releasing it only after a good while.
There were so many shrimp that after a short while, more than half the bucket was full. Song Qin saw there were no buckets left for fish, so she went back to get another bucket.
Lin Qiao noticed Song Tingfan was selective in picking shrimp, choosing only those with small heads and large bodies.
More meat.
She also picked selectively.
Before long, someone announced that the fish pond water was roughly right.
The water in the fish pond was left to about the height of an adult’s calf, and some startled fish jumped up, splashing water.
A child on the edge of the fish pond clapped their hands excitedly, "Mom, I see the fish, they’re so big."
"Yes, yes, we’ll let your dad catch a big one for you later," the woman couldn’t stop smiling as she reached out to pat his head.
Song Tingfan quickly picked a few shrimp and tossed them into the bucket, "Sis-in-law, I’m going down to the pond; you be careful with Grandma and Grandpa."
"I know, little uncle, be careful."
Lin Qiao watched him take a winnow down to the pond. With one scoop, he caught two or three fish, and they splashed water on his face as they moved. He casually wiped it off.
Suddenly, the fish pond became busy—men, women, old, and young were bustling about, some catching fish and others loading them.
The sun gradually climbed high; all the fish in the pond were caught.
This year’s catch was several dozen fish more than last year’s, and each weighed about three to four pounds. The village chief had the fish counted three times, tallying up to three hundred and fifteen fish, totaling one thousand and eight pounds.
There are one hundred and eighty-six villagers altogether, with a distribution of five pounds and four taels per person. The Song Family’s four members received over twenty-one pounds of fish.
Families with fewer members, seeing those with more members receiving more weight, began to grumble at their daughters-in-law, "Only good for eating, never laying eggs."
Not having descendants is unfilial, and the daughters-in-law dared not speak, nor did their husbands help.
Lin Qiao felt somewhat fortunate that the Song Family was broad-minded and reasonable; otherwise, she’d have a headache with this kind of situation.
Families dispersed, and Lin Qiao’s group continued picking shrimp for a while until quarter past noon before heading home.
Song Rong hadn’t been standing for so long in a long time and was a bit tired, sitting in the hall to catch his breath. Song Qin was a bit better off but still tired.
Seeing this, Lin Qiao urged them to rest while she went to the kitchen to cook, and Song Tingfan brought them two bowls of water before entering the kitchen as well.
He asked, "Sis-in-law, are you tired?"
"Not tired; little uncle must be very tired, right?" Lin Qiao started the stove.
Song Tingfan shook his head honestly, "Not tired, sis-in-law, let me start the fire."
"Okay."
Lin Qiao stepped aside and checked the bucket of crayfish, then said, "Little uncle, let’s go pick more this afternoon. We can dry them and use them for dumplings or porridge this winter."
"Okay." Song Tingfan agreed without hesitation; he always listened to his sis-in-law.
After a busy morning, everyone was exhausted. Lin Qiao picked a fish weighing two to three pounds to make fish soup; she fried it for a little less than a quarter-hour and then added water. She suddenly remembered something, "Little uncle, check if there’s any tofu, buy a pound."
"Okay."
Song Tingfan patted his clothes, grabbed a bowl, and ran out. Before long, he returned with tofu, "Sis-in-law, tofu has increased to five cents per pound."
"So expensive? We won’t eat tofu next time then." Lin Qiao had bought it for three copper coins last time.
"Sis-in-law, if you want tofu, I can grind it; I know how." Song Tingfan worried she wouldn’t believe him and added, "Really."
"Little uncle, you know how to make tofu?"
"Yes, Grandma taught me."
"So capable."
Lin Qiao praised him sincerely and added, "Little uncle is a treasure, can do everything."
Song Tingfan felt a bit embarrassed and complimented her in return, "Sis-in-law is the real treasure, she knows how to do many things."
Indeed, sis-in-law can do a lot; she can cook, embroider, draw designs...
Upon hearing this, Lin Qiao laughed, half teasing, "Both little uncle and I are treasures."
She chopped the tofu and put it into the fish soup, cooking it for a quarter-hour before serving it in a large bowl.
Four people could just finish one bowl of fish, with only a bowl of soup left. Lin Qiao handed it to Song Tingfan, "Little uncle, have some more; it won’t taste as good reheated tonight."
Song Tingfan obediently drank it.
Song Qin looked at him and said with a smile, "Niu Niu’s grown a bit, his face has plumped up."
Immediately, Lin Qiao and Song Rong both looked at him. Lin Qiao observed him closely for a while; he’s gained just a bit of weight but isn’t heavy, the opposite, he needs a little more to be normal.
Meeting her gaze, Song Tingfan blushed uncomfortably, drank the fish soup in one gulp, and hurriedly stood up, picking up the bowls and chopsticks and running outside, "I’m going to wash the dishes."
Song Qin smiled in the hall, sighing, "Niu Niu’s grown up, he gets embarrassed now."
"Little uncle is so pure." Lin Qiao casually added.
"Niu Niu is pure; earlier, your Grandpa and I worried he’d be tricked by people. Now with you managing things as sis-in-law, we’re much more at ease," Song Qin expressed genuine "gratitude."
This statement made Lin Qiao feel "guilty," well, she’s really a trickster, but on second thought, she’s looking out for him, so she’s not really a trickster.
At most, she’s a kind-hearted trickster.
"Grandma, you and Grandpa can rest assured; with me here, no one can trick little uncle and although he is pure, he’s aware."
...
In the afternoon, Lin Qiao and Song Tingfan went out to pick crayfish for a couple of hours, even going through holes in others’ field ridges, filling a bucket with some difficulty.
After returning home, Lin Qiao started processing the fish and shrimp while they were fresh.
Song Tingfan wouldn’t let her touch water, wouldn’t let her work on it, and wouldn’t let Song Qin or Song Rong work on it, handling it himself until late.
Lin Qiao used the peeled shrimp to make dumplings and started cooking them when he was almost done.
Soon, a large bowl of dumplings was served on the table, Lin Qiao went back to the kitchen to get condiments, "Grandma, everyone, eat while it’s hot."
Song Qin, who had lived most of her life, was seeing shrimp dumplings for the first time. After eating one, she found it quite tasty, "These shrimp dumplings are delicious."
"If they’re tasty, eat more."
Lin Qiao placed two dumplings in Song Tingfan’s bowl, "Little uncle, eat more."
Song Tingfan ate them all at once, chewed a few times, and nodded repeatedly, "Delicious, sis-in-law."
