Chapter 242

When Yang Qing was cooking, the people who worked during the day began to come to his place one after another, congratulating him on the birth of a son.

Xu Damao even brought over a piece of cured meat.

"Brother Qing, I originally wanted to invite Chen Feng over for a sit tonight, but I didn't expect Sister Hong to give birth today."

"This piece of cured meat, make a nice dish for Sister Hong."

Yang Qing accepted it without hesitation; he had already heard from Chen Feng about Xu Damao's goodwill.

During the day, Lou Xiao'e also sent over malted milk and powdered milk, which are rare commodities.

Especially the powdered milk—you can't just buy it whenever you want.

"Then I won't stand on ceremony; after Sister Hong returns, we brothers will get together again."

Xu Damao nodded happily.

"That's great."

"In a moment, Little Moth will go to see Sister Hong; when Brother Qing leaves, call out, and we'll go together."

Yang Qing nodded.

"Okay, definitely."

After seeing Xu Damao off, Qin Huairu came again and opened her mouth to ask.

"How is Chen Hong?"

"She's doing fine, hasn't suffered too much."

Qin Huairu patted her chest.

"That's good, that's good."

"I'll go to the hospital to have a look in a bit."

At that moment, Liang Ladi also came over.

"Let's go together."

Saying this, she handed Yang Qing two pig's trotters.

"This is to help Chen Hong produce milk; can you make it? If not, I'll make it for you."

Yang Qing quickly took it.

"I can, I can, I can."

Among the fish he caught there are crucian carp; adding chicken soup and eggs, Chen Hong is really going to get a big tonic.

If not done well, it could be a lot more.

Chen Feng was tending the fire, watching people come and go.

"Brother-in-law, are you really a capitalist? How come your social connections are so good."

Yang Qing let out a sigh.

"Your brother-in-law used to be nothing like that—people despised him, and his house was almost torn down."

"Your sister is my great luck star; since marrying her, I've had great fortune, and my life has been getting better and better."

"Not only have I been promoted and given a raise, but your sister has also become a cadre of the Jiedao."

"Life has gotten better, and so have my relationships."

"How does that saying go? 'In a rich city, the poor are ignored; in the deep mountains, the rich have distant relatives.'"

Chen Feng pondered Yang Qing's words and gave him another lesson in reality.

Because the cooking was a bit late, after Yang Qing finished, he didn't have time to eat; he took his lunch box and headed to the hospital.

Passing by the backyard, he summoned Lou Xiao'e and Xu Damao.

The group hurriedly arrived at the hospital.

Chen Hong was eating snacks and chatting with Qin Huairu and Liang Ladi.

Seeing Yang Qing come over, she gave him a glare.

"I haven't seen the two of you all afternoon."

Yang Qing smiled apologetically and brought out the fish soup.

"This afternoon I saw there were many people, so I went fishing with Xiao Feng."

"Look, I've already made the crucian carp soup for you."

Chen Feng said from the side.

"It's because I got addicted to fishing and kept brother-in-law from leaving."

Chen Hong knows this; in winter fishing, Yang Qing's ability can be said to scare many people silly.

It's understandable that her younger brother, seeing this for the first time, couldn't help but react.

The first money they earned as a couple came from fishing.

Most of the money she sent back home was also earned from fishing.

"You went fishing? Ah, isn't it better to fish at night?"

Yang Qing shook his head.

"At night I still have to take care of you; where would I find time to fish?"

Chen Hong, however, waved her hand.

"Go on, go on; we haven't fished yet this year—catch a bit more and make it into crispy fish."

"Besides, with so many people coming to see me, we should also have a return gift."

"Catch more fish and give each household a fish as a return gift?"

Lou Xiao'e and her husband didn't mind, but Qin Huairu and Liang Ladi's eyes lit up.

They all roughly knew a little about Yang Qing's skill as a fishing expert.

Although Yang Qing and his wife did things very secretly, what's with all that fish you can't finish? Others aren't blind.

Yang Qing didn't want to go.

He made an excuse, saying: "I still have to take care of you there in the evening, I have no time."

Chen Feng leaned close to Zhao Ruoyun's ear and spoke softly.

"Mom, we caught over twenty fish this afternoon."

Zhao Ruoyun, hearing they'd caught so many fish, immediately took charge of the matter.

"You go fish, you go fish, I'll take care of Honghong here."

Being stirred up by his mother-in-law, Yang Qing couldn't avoid going.

"Then that's fine."

Seeing his plan succeed, Chen Feng immediately volunteered enthusiastically.

"I'll go, I'll go too."

Yang Qing noticed all of Chen Feng's small movements.

Forget it, earn a bit more money, let the mother-in-law take it away.

Since his wife had made the fishing matter public, there was nothing left to hide.

He looked at Xu Damao, Liang Ladi, and Qin Huairu.

"Are you going or not?"

Lou Xiao'e shook her head. "Going fishing in the middle of the night in deep winter? Are you crazy?"

"They aren't short on food; why suffer this?"

"We're not going then."

Qin Huairu thought for a moment, then gritted her teeth.

"I'll go; tomorrow is still the big cleaning, I won't be operating machinery, staying up late is no problem."

Liang Ladi also nodded.

"Me too, the wires at the Mechanical Factory have all been cut down; even if I go tomorrow, it'll just be shoveling snow."

Yang Qing nodded.

"Alright, you go back first and prepare your fishing rods, hooks, and things to keep warm tonight."

"I'll return at nine, then we'll go."

After seeing them off, only Yang Qing and Chen Hong remained in the room.

Yang Qing ate up what she had left, noisily.

Chen Hong said.

"Will you resent me for revealing your fishing?"

Yang Qing shook his head.

"Others aren't stupid; they probably already know about this."

"Don't forget, when we first went fishing, everyone in the compound took part."

Chen Hong continued.

"So, do you resent me for letting you go fish and share the catch with them?"

Yang Qing shook his head again.

"My wife is kind and lovable; what do I have to complain about?"

Chen Hong grabbed his hand.

"This afternoon, my mother and I talked for a while."

"She told me to mend relations with the people in the compound."

"Even if there were unresolved conflicts before, it's best to take this opportunity to settle them."

"She said, if we lived in the military compound, we'd be outsiders and would be excluded; this compound suits us, and since we're going to live there, we can't avoid dealing with human relations."

"It's best to keep dealings with enemies minimal and with friends ample."

"Only then can life be a bit more comfortable."

"Otherwise, there will be plenty of things that upset people later."

"In this society, since you can't kill the people you dislike, we have to learn how to get along with them."

"I think my mother is right."

"We have a child now; we're no longer lonely."

"We can't not think about it more."

After hearing this reasoning, Yang Qing once again looked at his mother-in-law in a new light.

"That comes from life experience."

Heeding advice to eat one's fill, since my wife and mother-in-law want to give a return gift, we'll just give it.

There's no need to argue over this.

"I'll listen to you; for me, this isn't a big deal."

"It's just a bit of trouble."

At eight-thirty, the mother-in-law came over.

Yang Qing had already set up the simple bed.

He also prepared hot water for them.

Yang Qing then took the gift and went back.