Sister Han is good at farming

Chapter 109 Saved Someone

The men were busy cutting wood and making charcoal in the mountains, while the women were taken by Ruan Qingqing to the river and canals to catch fish and shrimps with fishing nets woven with hemp and coarse cloth.

They have to stock up on enough food to get through the winter before the heavy snow comes.

At this time, Ruan Qingqing didn't dare to hope to try her luck outside. If a heavy snow came, she would probably die outside.

As the weather got colder, it became harder and harder to catch fish. After catching shrimp twice, Ruan Qingqing never saw any more shrimp.

After all the fish in the rivers, canals and reservoirs near Zaoziling were caught, everyone turned their attention to Qianlong River and the buffer reservoir.

"Qingqing, there's a layer of ice on the water. How are we going to catch fish? How about we take a day off today?" After Li kicked the ice a few times, she gestured to Ruan Qingqing, "Qingqing, look, this ice is really thick."

A woman from the village who came with us cried anxiously, "How come it's frozen? Weren't we able to catch fish yesterday? My family didn't catch many kilograms of fish in total. If it really snows heavily, we will all starve to death at home!"

Another older woman wiped away tears, "This damn God really doesn't want us to live! First there was a three-year drought, then there was a locust plague, and now there's the possibility of heavy snow. He doesn't even give us a chance to breathe. He's trying to drive us to death!"

"Aunts and aunts, things are not as difficult as you think. Although the water is frozen, we can break the ice and fish without any delay. And maybe everyone can get more than before."

"But can such a solid block of ice be chiseled?" someone expressed doubt.

"Let's try with a hoe and a hatchet."

Ruan Qingqing was not sure either, but what was certain was that the smaller the contact surface, the more likely it was to make a hole.

After trying a few times, she found that this was not the way to go. She had to draw a circle with a diameter of half a meter and first chisel holes around the circle. When it was only an inch thick, she turned the hoe or hatchet upside down and smashed down hard on the center of the circle. In this way, she could create a water-permeable hole as thick as a bowl.

After the first ice hole appeared, Ruan Qingqing did not hesitate and put the net directly into it.

“There are fish, there are fish!”

Li's eyes widened and she wanted to scream but didn't dare to, and she covered her mouth tightly with her hands.

"Don't make any noise, or you'll scare the fish away!"

Someone reminded me immediately.

Li covered her mouth tighter and shook her head up and down.

With a loud noise, Ruan Qingqing pulled up the fishing net.

"many fish!"

Some people marveled.

“Sure enough, the harvest is better than before!”

Some people lamented.

There were eight fish in the net, all of which weighed more than two kilograms. Even Ruan Qingqing was surprised.

"Everyone, chisel the ice at the location of the bubbles." Ruan Qingqing passed on her experience to the people who were looking at her eagerly.

"Let's go!" Ruan Qingqing didn't need to remind everyone. Everyone rubbed their hands and started to dig a hole in the ice.

Although fishing by breaking ice is more laborious, the harvest is indeed more fruitful. Everyone had a rare smile on their face.

Seeing that it was getting dark, Ruan Qingqing and others did not dare to stay outside. They immediately packed up their fishing nets and walked home carrying buckets of water.

"Qingqing, there's a young man here! He fainted on the side of the road!" Li, who was walking in front, screamed.

Everyone looked in the direction of her finger and saw a young man lying on his back on the side of the road, dressed in clothes made of nice material.

"Looking at his fancy clothes, he doesn't look like a local." Liu analyzed calmly.

"Look at his fleshy cheeks. He doesn't look like someone who escaped from the plague." Zhang also shared his findings.

Everyone stood there and started discussing the topic.

Ruan Qingqing walked up and slapped the person lying on the ground.

After a while, the man opened his eyes.

"Excuse me, is there anything to eat? I'm so hungry!"

Ruan Qingqing didn't expect that this would be the first thing the other person said when he woke up.

She took out an oil-paper bag from her purse and opened it to reveal a dried fish inside.

Sui Yun didn't care whether the other party was feeding him like a cat. The moment he smelled the fragrance of the food, he instantly felt like he came back to life.

"Thank you!"

After saying that, he immediately rolled up the dried fish as quickly as fallen leaves in the wind and stuffed it into his mouth.

"Slow down, this is thorny, don't get stuck!"

Suiyun quickly finished the fish and asked, "Miss, do you have any more?"

Then he realized that it was inappropriate to ask this question, and hurriedly touched his waist, "I will pay the money, do you think this should be enough?"

Ruan Qingqing looked at the five taels of silver that the other party handed over, raised her head and asked him: "Are you from outside? What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to look for someone on the orders of my master. By the way, does anyone know a girl named Ruan Qingqing?"

Upon hearing this, Liu immediately pushed Ruan Qingqing to the back without making a sound. She looked at Suiyun warily, "What do you want to do with Qingqing?"

Li and Liu blocked Ruan Qingqing completely, and asked Suiyun with a frown, "Yes, what is your intention in looking for my Qingqing?"

Sui Yun said with a sad face, "How dare I have any intentions? Isn't this what Lord Zhou asked my son to help find?"

Ruan Qingqing pushed aside the two aunts who were blocking the way and asked, "Excuse me, is the Mr. Zhou you are talking about the former Qingshui County Magistrate Zhou Zheng?"

"Yes, yes! It's him. He is no longer a county magistrate. He is now in charge of the three prefectures of Lulin, Jianghuai and Jiangxia."

Ruan Qingqing's eyes lit up, "Is Mr. Zhou here too?"

"Not only did he come, he also brought with him many children of noble families in the capital, as well as the resources behind those children."

Speaking of this, Suiyun's face was full of admiration.

"Did they bring a lot of food with them?"

Li asked in a trembling voice.

"Of course there is food. Just tell me where Miss Ruan Qingqing is and whether she is still alive. I can pay you with food."

After Suiyun recovered, he stood up immediately.

"Pah, what's wrong with you? Can you speak? What do you mean by alive or not? My Qingqing is fine, why are you cursing her?"

Liu spat several times, with a look of disgust on her face.

"Sister-in-law, I'm sorry! I made a slip of the tongue before. May I ask who Miss Ruan Qingqing is? Can I meet her? My master is anxiously waiting for my reply!"

"Where is your master now?" Ruan Qingqing asked.

"Of course it's the county government office! My young master is now the magistrate of Qingshui County. Where else would he stay if not in the county government office?" Sui Yun rolled his eyes at Ruan Qingqing.

Ruan Qingqing smiled and said, "So you are from the county magistrate's family. I am so sorry! I am the one you need to find Ruan Qingqing."

"So you are Miss Ruan Qingqing?" Sui Yun was surprised. "You are Miss Ruan Qingqing who escaped from the epidemic?"

"It's the truth! Don't stand here and talk anymore. Why don't you come home with us and have a bowl of ginger soup to warm yourself up?"

Ruan Qingqing suggested.

"Thank you Miss Ruan!"