Fishing and Hunting 82, Starting with Three Sisters Who Overprotect Their Brothers

Zhang Wenshan, cooking?

They simply couldn't connect the two words together; in the past two years, nothing good had ever come out of anything related to Zhang Wenshan.

He'd either gotten into a fight, lost all his money gambling, or gotten free food from someone's house and then someone came to complain...

"Damn it, was it really the fourth brother who did this?" Zhang Jianshe couldn't help but ask for confirmation.

"Yes." Xu Xiulian nodded and briefly recounted what had happened that morning, "I found a master in town..."

"That's utter nonsense!" Zhang Jianshe's face darkened immediately. "If hunting were so easy, why would everyone be stuck in the fields farming?"

"Alright." Xu Xiulian looked displeased. "At least the fourth brother should think about serious matters. What he said makes sense."

"What a load of nonsense! When he was playing cards, he swore to the heavens that he would win back a brick house!" Zhang Jianshe said with a sullen face, panting heavily.

Seeing that her parents were about to start arguing, Zhang Fengxia quickly said, "Why don't we eat first?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the room fell silent. Everyone's eyes involuntarily fell on the pot of chicken soup, and their stomachs began to rumble.

Zhang Jianshe tried to be stubborn, but the tempting aroma kept wafting into his nose, and he finally couldn't resist reaching out with his chopsticks.

The pheasant meat, glistening with broth and oil, looked incredibly tempting.

He put it in his mouth, took a gentle bite, and the meat came off easily, sliding down his stomach.

It's delicious, absolutely delicious.

I've eaten pheasants before, but none of them taste like this.

"Fourth brother's cooking is really good." Zhang Fengxia took a bite, her eyes lit up, and she couldn't help but lick her lips, not even letting go of the bones.

This tastes better than anything she ate at the banquet.

It's perfectly seasoned, tender, and flavorful.

Beside him, Zhao Hongwei had already buried himself in his food.

For a moment, no one spoke in the room except for the rustling sounds of eating.

Before long, the whole pot of pheasant soup was gone.

Zhang Fengxia let out a satisfied burp: "That felt so good. I should have had my second son's girlfriend arrange for him to learn to be a chef, right, Dad?"

Zhang Jianshe squinted, puffing on his pipe without saying a word, his lips twitching almost imperceptibly upwards.

"With all that oil, it's no wonder it tastes bad," Xu Xiulian muttered irritably, feeling a pang of jealousy.

She cooks, but she's never seen her family eat like this before.

"Oh no, this is terrible!" Zhang Fengxia suddenly slapped her thigh, stood up abruptly, and looked terrified.

"What are you doing? You're making such a fuss, you scared me to death!" Xu Xiulian shouted, glaring at him.

"We've eaten so much oily food, we'll probably get diarrhea this afternoon, won't we?" Zhang Fengxia looked utterly disappointed. "What are we going to do in the fields?"

Instantly, the room fell into dead silence.

Zhao Hongwei tugged at his hair in frustration, while Zhang Jianshe stopped smoking, his mouth agape, unable to utter a word for a long time.

It's all because the pheasant soup smelled so good that I completely forgot about the important business. During the busy farming season, even half a day's delay will result in a smaller harvest.

"fine."

Just then, a calm voice came from the doorway.

"It's going to rain this afternoon, so we can't work."

Zhang Wenshan stood at the door holding a bundle of fresh willow branches, looking at his family members filling the room, feeling somewhat nervous.

"Why are you doing this in this hot weather?" Zhang Fengxia quickly took the towel, her eyes full of concern.

"We're making a net to catch frogs at night." Zhang Wenshan put down the willow branches, wiped the sweat from his face, and said with barely suppressed excitement.

The land in the village was allocated according to the principle of combining good and bad land.

He had just checked it out; his family's gravelly land was near a mountain stream, with thin soil that was prone to waterlogging and lots of gravel, making it completely unsuitable for growing crops. It was perfect for raising toads.

The second piece of intelligence, which was originally thought to be just something to casually use, suddenly became incredibly valuable.

"That's utter nonsense!"

Zhang Jianshe immediately got angry upon hearing this, blowing his beard and glaring.

"After all that effort, you only manage to grab a couple of clams? Is that even enough to fill a tooth gap?"

Frogs are hardest to catch in the summer; even a three-year-old in the village knows that!

You're trying to learn new skills? You can't even grasp this basic common sense?

Zhang Wenshan glanced at his mother and saw Xu Xiulian nod slightly, knowing that his father knew what he was going to do.

He patiently explained, "I know how to catch a lot of frogs."

"And then?" Zhang Jianshe exhaled a puff of smoke. "The toad dealers only come in the fall. Those things are worthless now; there's no meat to be found."

"Raise it!"

Zhang Wenshan didn't hold back and took the initiative to explain.

"The sandy and gravelly land by the stream near our house is perfect for digging a frog pond. We can just dig a ditch, build some shade, and it'll cost almost nothing. We just need to change the water regularly and feed it earthworms and locusts. We can sell it right away in the fall."

"Will this... will this work?" Xu Xiulian was intrigued and couldn't help but ask.

"If it doesn't work out, it'll just be a waste of time. If it does, not only will we be able to pay off our grain debt, but we'll also have income every year after that," Zhang Wenshan continued to paint a rosy picture.

It's impossible for one person to raise frogs after the rain; the whole family needs to help.

Going forward, dealing with the villagers will require my father's intervention.

He's burdened by the original owner's infamy, making everything he does difficult for the time being.

"Shanzi has really grown up! He knows how to think about the family now." Zhang Fengxia's eyes were slightly red, and her voice was choked with emotion. "Dad, I think it's a good idea."

"What a load of crap! It's still a piece of land. If you plant pumpkins there, you can eat them in the fall." Zhang Jianshe tapped his cigarette ash and denied it without even looking up.

Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent.

Given the current situation at home, choosing between a safe food harvest and an uncertain frog is indeed a difficult decision.

"Fourth brother, how about we go somewhere else?" Xu Xiulian asked hesitantly, feeling a headache coming on.

My husband is right, but my son has finally learned to be good. What if he goes back to the mahjong table if we don't agree?

"It has to be our land, otherwise if we really raise them, there's no guarantee that no one will be envious."

Zhang Wenshan shook his head, took a deep breath, and stepped forward.

"Dad, how about we make a bet? If I win, I can use that piece of land."

Instantly, everyone's eyes were fixed on him, filled with astonishment.

Although Zhang Wenshan was a scoundrel in the past, he was still full of awe in front of his father and never dared to talk back.

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Zhang Fengxia instinctively wanted to stop him, but seeing the determination in her younger brother's eyes, she swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue.

Seeing that his father remained silent, Zhang Wenshan continued, "Your disagreement simply stems from a lack of trust in my skills. Let's make a bet on whether it will rain or not!"

As he spoke, he pointed towards the door.

"No, I'll honestly farm with you from now on."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Jianshe subconsciously looked up at the sky.

The blazing sun hung high in the sky, not a cloud in sight, and waves of heat surged; there wasn't even a breath of wind.

"Just keep your word." He scoffed, disdainfully saying, "You really think you're the Dragon King, able to make it rain whenever you want?"

After saying that, she angrily went back to the inner room with her hands behind her back.

"You're just asking for trouble!" Xu Xiulian scolded, pointing at her son's head, and hurriedly followed after him.

We still need to persuade them.

"What should we do? I'll help you." Zhang Fengying stepped forward to help, reaching out to pat her younger brother's head to comfort him, but found that she could only reach his shoulder.

"Thank you, sister." Zhang Wenshan smiled and bowed.

"Why are you being so polite with me?" Zhang Fengying was taken aback, and her nose tingled slightly.

……

On the kang (heated brick bed) in the east room.

Xu Xiulian fanned Zhang Jianshe, who was pretending to take a nap, with a palm-leaf fan.

"Si'er finally manages to do something worthwhile, why are you stopping him?"

"If this really works out, our family's situation will improve."

"Can you believe that stuff he said?" Zhang Jianshe rolled over and said irritably, "If you keep messing around, your reputation will be completely ruined. How will you find a wife then?"

If you go to town, you'll only have about six months at most. What kind of skills can you learn there?

Which hunter isn't taught from a young age?

Xu Xiulian sighed repeatedly, not knowing what to say.

But just then...

"Waaah..."

A sudden, sharp whistling sound came without warning, the paper windows rattled, and dust fell from the mud walls.

"Boom!"

A sudden clap of thunder boomed, as if the entire room trembled.

Then, large raindrops began to pelt down, becoming denser and faster, until in the blink of an eye, a white curtain of rain connected the sky and the earth.

"His dad!"

Xu Xiulian was shocked and quickly turned around.

But Zhang Jianshe had already sat up straight, staring intently at the torrential rain outside the window, his lips trembling as he muttered to himself.

"It's really over."

"It shouldn't be raining!"