Chapter 367: Dividing the Fish

Zhou Yimin’s first stop was at Aunt Li’s house. He had originally thought she might not be home.

“Yimin, what brings you here?” Director Li asked with a smile when she saw him.

She’d been in a good mood lately. In the second half of last year, her performance at work had been outstanding and she’d received praise from the organization. If all went well, she’d probably get promoted to a district-level position soon.

And she knew this success wouldn’t have been possible without Zhou Yimin’s support.

Ever since they formed this connection, things had only gotten better for her family.

Zhou Yimin said, “Aunt Li, we did winter fishing in the village and caught a good haul. I brought some over for you to try.”

As he spoke, he handed her the three fish he’d brought.

Director Li smiled and said, “Thank you, Yimin. Come in and have a seat.”

She reached out to pull him inside.

“Aunt Li, I still need to deliver some fish to my fiancée’s family, so I won’t stay. Next time—I’ll come over for a meal next time,” Zhou Yimin quickly explained, throwing in a small joke.

When she heard he was heading to his fiancée’s place, Aunt Li didn’t insist.

“Alright, then go quickly!”

After leaving Aunt Li’s house, Zhou Yimin hopped on his bicycle and headed to Uncle Zhang’s home.

To his surprise, Uncle Zhang happened to be home. Zhou carried in three fish and stepped inside.

“Yimin! Come in, sit!” Zhang Jianshe quickly invited him in.

Zhou Yimin followed him in and handed over the fish, repeating what he’d said earlier: “Uncle Zhang, these are from the village’s winter fishing. I brought some for your family to try.”

“Yimin, keep them for Grandpa and Grandma. We’re not short on food here. We still haven’t finished the meat you brought over before New Year’s,” Zhang Jianshe replied.

“It’s alright. I left thirty jin for Grandpa and Grandma. Don’t worry, Uncle Zhang.”

Only then did Zhang Jianshe accept the fish.

“Uncle Zhang, the village is planning to build a second layer of greenhouse film. What do you think…”

The village was preparing to grow vegetables in the greenhouses, but with the current temperatures, a single layer of plastic film wasn’t enough to maintain the necessary warmth.

Zhang Jianshe laughed and scolded, realizing Zhou had come with a request.

Zhou Yimin chuckled sheepishly.

“Laugh all you want. Alright, I’ll talk to the office about it during work. The materials should be delivered to your village either tomorrow or the day after,” Zhang Jianshe readily agreed.

Seeing that it was nearly the end of the workday, Zhou figured he should head back to the siheyuan.

“Uncle Zhang, I’ll head back now—there’s still something I need to take care of at the siheyuan,” Zhou said.

Zhang Jianshe had planned to keep him for dinner, but when he heard there was work to do, he let it go. “Alright, take care on the way.”

“Old Zhang, if you’re asking for a favor, you might as well give him all the fish,” Zhang Jianshe’s wife chimed in.

Their family didn’t lack for meat, so they weren’t particularly craving fish.

Not long after Zhou returned to the siheyuan, Eldest Uncle knocked on his door.

Zhou opened up. “Eldest Uncle, off work?”

“Yimin, you were looking for me?” Eldest Uncle nodded and asked.

Zhou didn’t beat around the bush. “There was winter fishing in the village—we caught a lot of fish. I brought some back and wanted to ask if anyone in the courtyard would be interested. Each household can buy a few jin.”

The moment he heard there was meat, Eldest Uncle got excited. “Yimin, are you serious?”

A few jin of fish might not be as good as chicken, duck, or goose, but it was still meat.

“Of course it’s real—I’ve already brought the fish back.”

Hearing that, Eldest Uncle immediately said, “Yimin, wait here. I’ll go call a courtyard meeting.”

With that, he left without another word. Soon, everyone in the courtyard had gathered.

People were a bit confused but still brought out stools and assembled outside.

Unlike the pompous way other courtyard elders held meetings—having people enter in order like officials from ancient times—Eldest Uncle kept it simple.

“We’re holding this courtyard meeting today because Yimin says each household can buy a few jin of fish. His village caught them.”

As soon as the words were out, the residents burst into joy. They’d been cold and reluctant to come out into the chill, but now they weren’t cold at all—and totally willing.

Second Uncle quickly stepped in, “I know everyone’s excited, but let’s calm down a bit.”

“Yimin, how much is the fish per jin?” Third Uncle asked.

Everyone wanted to know. Even if the price was slightly higher than market value, they’d accept it—so long as it wasn’t like the black market, where prices were several times higher.

“Five mao per jin,” Zhou Yimin said plainly.

In truth, he could’ve sold it for two mao, but that would’ve caused other issues.

He knew the people in the courtyard weren’t short on money—they were short on food.

The moment they heard the price, the whole courtyard cheered. They’d thought it might be much more expensive, but this was perfectly reasonable—market price, even.

Eldest Uncle turned to the crowd. “If you want to buy, come register with us.”

The residents rushed to line up, afraid that if they were too late, they’d miss out.

Even though there was plenty, the allure of meat was just too strong.

In the end, only two families who were in slightly harder times didn’t line up. Though they wanted to buy and had the money, they held back. They were worried—if they spent now, what would they do later?

Word was that this year wouldn’t be a good one.

Zhou Yimin took note of this scene.

Before long, Eldest Uncle finished compiling the list and kindly collected the money as well. He handed the list and cash to Zhou Yimin.

Zhou took them and distributed the fish according to the list. Though he didn’t weigh them, he made sure to give more rather than less, so no one had any complaints.

Soon, everyone went home happy, carrying their share of fish.

Some impatient folks even added it to their dinner that very night.

The happiest of all were the kids—because they got to eat meat.

Zhou Yimin, with some fish in hand, went and knocked on Granny Wang’s door.

Granny Wang opened up and looked surprised to see him. “Yimin, what brings you to this old woman?”

“Granny Wang, could I trouble you to make some dumplings for me?” Zhou Yimin asked.

She immediately understood he was just trying to help her in another way and responded warmly, “Of course!”

She couldn’t help but think to herself—what a kind-hearted boy.

Xuhua, you fool! Giving up a boy this good for a widow? What was he thinking? Just how sweet could a widow be?

If Zhou Yimin knew what Granny Wang was thinking, he would definitely speak up to clear his father’s name.

By now, he had pretty much figured out what his father was up to. He felt nothing but admiration for him and wished him a swift return from forging swords for the nation.

“Alright, then I’ll trouble you with this, Granny Wang. Consider this your payment.”

As he spoke, Zhou Yimin took out the fish he had prepared in advance.

“Yimin, this is too much,” Granny Wang said when she saw the two fish in his hands, which weighed at least five or six jin. Just helping to wrap some dumplings definitely didn’t warrant so much.

Five or six jin of fish meat would cost at least two yuan.

Zhou Yimin said, “Granny Wang, just take it. I don’t have anything else to give as thanks.”

Granny Wang didn’t insist and accepted the fish.

“When should we wrap the dumplings?”

Zhou Yimin replied, “In a bit, I’ll bring over the flour and filling.”

Back in his room, he bought pork, scallions, and flour from the store.

Then he brought everything over to Granny Wang.

The people in the courtyard heard about it too. Although they were a bit envious, it was someone else’s business, and no one got jealous. In fact, they all felt grateful to Zhou Yimin.

Using the same method, Zhou Yimin brought fish to another household as well, and in exchange, asked them to help with some chores.

Although they wouldn’t be able to eat that many dumplings all at once, the weather was cold, so there was no worry about them spoiling without a fridge—especially with the store’s storage space, there was absolutely no need to worry.

The two hundred jin of fish he brought back were quickly “sold out.”

He hadn’t expected the total cost to be just over forty yuan, and now he had sixty or seventy in hand, not to mention he’d given quite a bit away too.

After finishing everything, Zhou Yimin stayed the night. The next morning, he got up early and rushed back to Zhoujiazhuang because the people delivering the plastic film were arriving soon.

If he didn’t return, the villagers would be left to build the greenhouse on their own, and he didn’t feel right about that. So, he hurried back.

(End of Chapter)