Zhang Jing never expected Zhao Yi to be so generous. Most people would hide their skills, afraid others might learn them and steal their livelihood.
Yet Zhao Yi didn't even mention that her own family was struggling before offering to help.
Early morning.
After breakfast, Zhang Jing hurried to her parents' home. Zhao Yi had already entered the mountains at dawn. He would return with a full basket of wild grapes before work started, then go to Zhang Jing's parents' house after work in the evening.
They hadn't eaten the fish from last night either – Zhang Jing directly brought it to her parents.
Villagers at the entrance turned green with envy when they saw Zhang Jing leaving with two fish.
However, since Wangou Village was by the river, no one would report this to Li Dequan. Every family might fish in the river – those with better skills caught more, while those less skilled naturally caught nothing.
"What's the point of marrying such a daughter-in-law? She sends all the good stuff to her parents."
"Exactly! If I dared do that, I'd have been beaten to death long ago."
Several women at the village entrance pointed at Zhang Jing's retreating back and gossiped.
Soon, Zhang Jing arrived at Zhangjia Village.
By this time, everyone in Zhangjia Village had already started work.
No one was home at her father Zhang Fusheng's house. The courtyard gate was merely latched, and Zhang Jing pushed it open easily.
After placing the two fish in a basin, Zhang Jing hurried to the fields.
"Oh, isn't that Zhang Fusheng's daughter? Look, she's wearing cloth shoes, and new ones at that."
"Seems she's doing well in her husband's family."
"I heard she convinced her husband to separate from his family just days after marriage. Probably her husband is weak-willed and listens to everything his wife says. Otherwise, why would he even get her cloth shoes?"
Most villagers wore straw sandals – partly because the weather was hot and straw sandals were cooler, and partly because they couldn't afford cloth to make clothes, leaving no scraps to make shoes themselves.
Seeing Zhang Jing's radiant complexion made everyone envious, as most people looked somewhat sallow and thin these days.
Soon, Zhang Jing found Zhang Fusheng.
"Dad."
Zhang Jing called out cheerfully.
"Why are you here? Don't you need to work in your team?"
Zhang Fusheng asked in a slightly scolding tone.
Work Points meant rations nowadays. The more Work Points earned throughout the year, the more grain distributed at year's end.
Frequently visiting home meant fewer Work Points from her own team. His daughter used to work every day when she lived at home – why had she changed so much after marriage?
"Dad, Brother Yi asked me to come tell you something."
Zhang Jing pulled Zhang Fusheng to a shaded spot away from people.
"Couldn't it wait until after work? This is delaying work."
"It's about earning money. We might make over ten yuan a month."
Zhang Jing carefully looked around before whispering after confirming no one was nearby.
"How much?"
Zhang Fusheng was slightly stunned. Earning over ten yuan a month meant his whole family could get new clothes this year.
"Don't worry, Dad, it's reliable. Brother Yi has already earned two yuan and forty cents. We just need to collect wild grapes from the mountains, wash them clean, then dry them over charcoal. After they're ready, we'll go to the city with Brother Yi to sell them – twenty cents per pound."
Zhang Jing whispered.
"Alright, I understand. I'll ask the team leader for a day off."
Suppressing his excitement, Zhang Fusheng waved casually as if nothing important had happened. He then found Zhang Jing's two brothers, and together they asked the team leader for leave. Returning home, the three immediately carried bamboo baskets into the mountains.
Wild grapes were also plentiful in Zhangjia Village, but usually only groups of children would pick a couple to satisfy their cravings when they encountered them in the mountains. Adults rarely bothered with these things—when adults went into the mountains, it was either for wild vegetables or other items.
After returning home, Zhang Jing started cooking. By now, she was no longer as inexperienced as the first time she handled fish, appearing quite skilled. In no time, she had cleaned both fish.
By the time the Zhang father and his two sons returned home, the aroma of meat was already wafting from the kitchen.
"Did Little Sister bring fish again?" Zhang Qiang asked his father.
"Where else would it come from? What's important now is learning how to handle this stuff. Don’t just think about eating all day," Zhang Fusheng retorted, rolling his eyes at his son. He then set down his basket and fetched the winnowing basket from the house.
He began washing the grapes, placing the cleaned ones into the winnowing basket.
"One of you two, go burn some charcoal. The other, hurry up and tidy the west room, then make a few racks," Zhang Fusheng instructed while busily washing the grapes, not forgetting to assign tasks.
"Girl, how many pounds of these will make one pound of raisins?" Zhang Fusheng asked Zhang Jing as she stepped out of the kitchen.
"About three and a half pounds will yield one pound. It doesn’t cost anything, just takes some effort," Zhang Jing quickly replied.
Naturally, she didn’t know these details herself—Zhao Yi had told her all about it.
At noon, when work ended, Wang Kaihui returned home with a sullen face.
Having three strong laborers from her household take leave on the same day meant a significant loss of Work Points. But when she got home and saw the three of them busy with those worthless mountain finds, her expression darkened even further.
"Mom, the food’s ready. Let’s eat," Zhang Jing cheerfully said as she brought out the cooked fish, urging everyone to the table.
"Eat? I’m too angry to eat! What madness possessed you three to take leave today?" Wang Kaihui demanded, turning to her husband, Zhang Fusheng.
"Mom, I asked Dad and Big Brother to take the day off. Let me explain," Zhang Jing said, and proceeded to share how raisins could earn money.
Wang Kaihui was initially skeptical. She hurried over to the washed wild grapes, picked one to taste, and found it somewhat sour. Could people really buy such things?
"Try some of these," Zhang Jing offered, handing over some raisins Zhao Yi had given her as snacks. After tasting a couple, Wang Kaihui nodded in satisfaction.
"Does the Supply and Marketing Cooperative buy them?" Wang Kaihui asked Zhang Jing doubtfully.
"Regular Supply and Marketing Cooperatives don’t seem to take them. It has to be the one in the city," Zhang Jing thought for a moment and replied.
Zhao Yi always went straight to the city to sell them, likely because the county Supply and Marketing Cooperative or the Commune Supply and Marketing Cooperative wouldn’t accept them. Otherwise, going to the county town would be over an hour closer, and the road there was safer—unlike the mountain paths, which were dangerous without proper routes.
Wang Kaihui’s spirits lifted. She hadn’t expected her son-in-law to be so considerate. Most families with such skills would never share them, not even with their in-laws.
She quickly joined Zhang Fusheng in washing the grapes and directed her two daughters-in-law to go help their husbands.
In the countryside, opportunities to earn money were hard to come by, especially ones that could bring in over ten yuan a month.
After a simple lunch at noon, everyone immediately resumed working on the dried grapes, hoping to quickly produce what Zhang Jing had described so they could go to the city with Zhao Yi to earn money.