Chapter 27: Half a Year

Time flowed like water, quietly reaching the end of the year. The uncle and nephew rarely went fishing anymore, instead heading to the mountain every few days, where they could basically hunt Wild Boar and wild rabbits each time.

Zhang Ping'an would also go to set up a stall by the roadside in the late evening, all of it wild rabbits from his space, thirty thousand each. He would run off after selling eight or ten of them each time.

On this day, Shazhu was off work and resting at home, so he pulled Damao along to find Zhang Ping'an.

"Zhang Shu, let's go ice fishing."

"Sure. It's rare for Zhuzi to have free time. I happen to have a small pot at home, so I'll bring it along. Zhuzi, our lunch will depend on you."

"Sure, just leave it to me. I haven't been practicing in vain these past six months."

"Good, everyone get ready. We'll meet in ten minutes."

"Got it."

Ten minutes later, the four of them put everything into the tricycle. Just as they pushed the cart out of the Middle Courtyard, they ran into Yan Bugui, who was also carrying his gear.

"Yo, what a coincidence. Going together? But why didn't you bring ice picks?"

"This..." The four of them had clearly forgotten.

"A bit young, aren't you? You still need us old comrades to think of these things. Hurry back and get them."

"I have one at home, I'll go get it," Damao said, hurrying home.

By the time the five of them reached Shichahai, there were already quite a few youngsters skating on the ice.

"Let's find a secluded spot."

"Sure."

"Right here, there's no one else around."

"Good, let's get to work."

Zhang Ping'an took the ice pick and started chiseling on the ice. With Zhang Ping'an's current strength, chiseling an ice hole was easy; soon, a hole with a diameter of thirty was finished, while Yan Bugui was still huffing and puffing away.

"Zhang Shu, let me do it next."

"Good, here you go."

Shazhu started chiseling three or four meters away from their ice hole. He hadn't worked in vain these past six months; at the very least, his strength had increased by a notch. By this time, Yan Bugui had also finished his ice hole.

"Dongxu, here you go."

"Got it."

"Damao, you fish at this ice hole first, I'm going to gather some firewood."

"Got it."

By the time Zhang Ping'an returned with a bundle of firewood, Damao had also finished his ice hole, and the few of them had all had a small harvest.

"Not bad. Zhuzi, when it's noon, make some fish soup so we can drink something to warm up."

"Sure, I brought some seasonings too. I'll make some grilled fish later."

"Hehe, I also brought some tofu," Damao said cheekily.

"Yo, you guys didn't even say anything, I didn't prepare anything."

"It's fine, old man, just provide all the fish when the time comes."

"6."

"Sure." Yan Bugui didn't mind; it was just a matter of four or five fish.

Seeing it was noon, Shazhu had already started cleaning the fish. Two grilled fish for each person, plus some fish head and tofu soup to fill the gaps.

"Zhuzi, your skills are really not bad. This grilled fish is spicy, fresh, and fragrant, and this fish soup is fresh and tender. Amazing."

"Hehe, Teacher Yan, you're a person who knows his stuff."

Hearing someone praise him, Shazhu was so young that he smiled until his forehead wrinkles appeared, and Yan Bugui also changed from "old man" to "Teacher Yan."

"Zhuzi's talent for cooking is beyond question, it really is delicious."

"What does silly Mao say?"

"Mm~ not bad, Master Mao finds it refreshing."

"Hehe, next time you're off, silly Mao, bring your family's old hen. I'll stew a soup for you all. That taste, slurp."

"Sure."

Damao was immediately tempted. This guy was also a foodie and never treated himself poorly when it came to eating. Ever since he had money, he had two big meat buns almost every morning, so he agreed immediately.

Shazhu was a bad one; if Damao brought the family's old hen, he would inevitably receive a round of "care" from Xu Fugui. In this day and age, an old hen that could lay eggs was a precious treasure.

"Whew," the four of them drank the fish soup and felt their whole bodies warm up.

"While it's warm, let's fish for another two hours."

"Sure."

Two hours later, the four of them reeled in their lines and carefully marked the area around the ice holes before sending the fish to the Rolling Mill.

The five of them had nearly four hundred catties of fish. Zhang Ping'an alone accounted for nearly half, while the other three had sixty or seventy catties each.

Shazhu was so happy his teeth were bared. Although his food had been good these past six months, he hadn't had any income, which had always made him feel uneasy. He was always calculating how much money Xu Damao had made, which made him incredibly envious.

Today, he had also earned nearly thirty thousand, his little treasury had grown a bit more, and he felt inexplicably more secure.

"Damao, the holiday is coming soon, and exams are right around the corner. Do you need me to tutor you?"

"This... I don't have any money."

Xu Damao's grades were terrible, but he was afraid of getting beaten if he failed the exams, and he also knew the price Zhang Ping'an charged Yan Bugui.

"......"

"Damao, what kind of person do you think your teacher is?"

"Then..."

"Call me when you're drinking the chicken soup."

"Sure, but if my exam grades don't go up, I won't call you."

"No problem," Yan Bugui still had that much confidence; fourth-grade math was hardly a challenge for him.

Yan Bugui taught Chinese at school and couldn't easily interfere with math, but if he watched Damao one-on-one at home and still couldn't improve his grades, he might as well buy a block of tofu and bash his head in; the two made a gentleman's agreement, both smiling.

From then on, every day after school, Xu Damao would go home with Yan Bugui for tutoring; for the sake of eating chicken, both were giving it their all.

If Xu Damao tested well, the beating he got from his mother might be lighter or even avoided entirely, and if Yan Bugui taught Damao well, he could get a free meal of chicken soup.

Soon, exam time arrived, and Xu Damao had been specially trained by Yan Bugui for over half a month; he wouldn't dare claim first or second place, but he definitely wouldn't be at the bottom like before.

Zhang Ping'an also brought paper and a pen to take the exam, and his classmates looked at him as if they had seen a ghost.

"Um, Zhang Ping'an, didn't you drop out of school?"

"Who said that?"

"Everyone says so; you only came on the first day of school and then disappeared."

"Hehe, go ask the principal," Zhang Ping'an ignored the group of stunned brats and walked to the seat he had occupied at the start of the term.

Three days later, Zhang Ping'an lived up to expectations, still getting full marks on everything; Principal Zheng couldn't stop grinning after seeing them.

Xu Damao's final grade actually reached the middle of the class, which thrilled him so much that he took his test paper and went back to show off to his father.

After the exams, Zhang Ping'an rode his tricycle back to his hometown again, preparing to bring his family to the city for the New Year.

"Zhang Shu, hurry back; we'll be waiting for you to return to drink chicken soup."

"......" Now that Xu Damao's grades were good, his confidence had grown.

"Alright, I'll be back tomorrow."

Winter at this time was truly cold; even though he was wearing padded clothes and pants and carrying rabbit-fur gloves, being blown by the north wind for a long time still chilled him to the bone.

Fortunately, he persisted in exercising, so his Qi and blood were vigorous and he could endure it; he didn't know how the people of this era managed to hold on.

As he neared the village, Zhang Ping'an loaded the tricycle with some oil, salt, cloth, and three sacks of cotton.

At the edge of the village, he met his uncle Zhang Laiyuan again.

"Ping'an, are you heading home for the New Year?"

"Uh, I'm planning to take my parents and the others to the city for the New Year."

"Hmm~ your parents are fine, they're in their prime, but your grandparents are getting on in years; it's better for them to avoid the cold wind."

That's right, how could he have forgotten that? He had just been chilled through by the north wind on his way back; he was young and strong and could endure it, but what about his grandparents?

"Uncle, you're right to remind me; this was my oversight."

"Hmm, as long as you have a plan in mind, that's fine."