Old Man Su suppressed the excitement on his face, putting on his demeanor as the head of the household.
“Eldest Son, speak properly!”
Although he said this, for some reason deep down, he actually believed his son’s words.
After all, he had just experienced the miraculous sight of fish leaping right onto people.
“Father, I’m not talking nonsense, it’s true,” Su Dahu said solemnly. “I just took a walk around the foot of the mountain, thinking to myself that if I could catch a wild chicken, Mother would have chicken soup to drink. Just as I was thinking about it, I heard a rustling in the nearby bushes, and a big wild chicken flapped its wings and flew straight toward me…”
Without much effort at all, Su Dahu just reached out his hand and caught the pheasant.
Having caught one, he thought he’d take another look into the bushes, and then another one flew right out.
And after that, he discovered a huge nest of wild eggs.
Following Su Dahu’s story, all the villagers who had come to join the excitement—felt so sour!
It was so darn sour.
Sour enough to make their teeth fall out!
How could someone have such good luck?
When other people went out with knives, spears, and clubs, they might not even catch a pheasant if they ran into one.
Yet look at him—he could catch pheasants with his bare hands.
And caught two in one go!
While some were sour, others offered their blessings.
“Brother Su, your family truly has abundance and good fortune to spare,” Old Man Wang said with a hearty smile.
“Brother Wang, I’ll take your good words!” Old Man Su, his face glowing red, smiled broadly, showing all his teeth.
“This little daughter of yours is truly a star of good fortune, bringing luck to your family,” Old Man Wang added.
“Hahaha… Of course my daughter is blessed with good fortune!”
The moment Little Tangbao was mentioned, Old Man Su couldn’t keep up his composure anymore and felt like he was floating on cloud nine.
Old Man Wang shook his head with a smile, “Look at how pleased with yourself you are!”
Nearby, others immediately chimed in to tease him.
“Old Man Su, your tail is about to stick straight up into the sky!”
“Old Man Su, why don’t you just fly up into the sky yourself?”
…
Old Man Su didn’t mind at all, still smiling with utter satisfaction.
For a time, the courtyard was bustling with excitement and continuous laughter.
Especially a few old men who were around Old Man Su’s age and on good terms with him, poking fun at one another back and forth.
In the end, Old Man Su laughingly began inviting his guests to stay.
“Brothers, let’s not leave at noon! Stay and eat fish and chicken at my place today. There’s plenty for everyone—eat to your heart’s content!”
“Deal! I’m going home to get a jar of my own homemade sorghum wine!
“I’ll go home and tell them…”
…
The old men didn’t stand on ceremony either, nodding in agreement one after another.
Whether they went back to grab wine or just said they were going home to let their families know, none of them would return empty-handed.
After all, it wasn’t as if they didn’t know what the Su family’s financial situation was like—how could they have the cheek to eat a meal at Old Man Su’s home for free?
They would inevitably bring along some rice, flour, grain, oil, eggs, or fresh vegetables of their own.
In any case, these weren’t overly expensive items—just things they had in their own homes.
Of course, Old Man Su didn’t let these people go home empty-handed either.
He had already discussed it with Old Lady Su to give each of them a fish.
In Old Man Su’s words: when wealthy families had a child, in their delight, they would host a multi-day open feast to demonstrate their love and esteem for the baby.
Now that his family had finally gotten the daughter they had longed for after so much effort, they had to celebrate properly no matter what and go through the motions.
Since they couldn’t afford an open feast, giving away a fish would bring good luck all the same, serving to accumulate blessings for his daughter.
And so, Old Man Su cheerfully called over his sons and began handing out the fish.
“Dahu, scoop out a fish for your Uncle Wang to take back…”
“Erhu, pick a large one for your Uncle Li…”
“Liuhu, for your Eighth Uncle…”
…
Big fish after big fish were given away.
Anyone who received a fish had a smile so wide it nearly reached their ears.
These carp and grass carp each weighed several pounds.
Even the crucian carp—the smallest among them—were more than a palm long, while the larger ones must have weighed two or three pounds.
What’s more, the Su family didn’t give away crucian carp; they gave out large carp to ensure good fortune.
When Qian Yuemei saw the big carp being given away one after another, her heart throbbed with pain.
This was all real money!
“Father of my children, so many fish could be sold for a lot of silver—how can we just give them away for free?” Qian Yuemei tugged on Su Erhu’s sleeve and whispered.
Su Erhu glared at Qian Yuemei impatiently, “Father said to give them away, so we give them away! Why are you meddling in so many things?”
Rebuffed by Su Erhu, Qian Yuemei choked back her anger.
Ordinarily, she would have dropped the matter.
After all, her parents-in-law were still the heads of this household.
But now, Qian Yuemei stroked her belly, and the daughter inside instantly gave her courage.
Thus, she called out unreconciled, “Why can’t I meddle? These fish belong partly to me, and partly to my and a share for my daughter!”
After saying this, Qian Yuemei deliberately pushed her belly out toward Su Erhu.
Su Erhu’s gaze landed on Qian Yuemei’s belly, a rather strange expression on his face.
“A daughter in your belly? Impossible! Our mother gave birth to six boys before finally having our little sister. Where would you get that kind of good fortune?”
Qian Yuemei: “…”
Her liver throbbed with pain!
She was so angry her liver hurt.
A moment ago her heart was aching, now her liver was aching.
Fortunately, Su Erhu wasn’t completely foolish.
Looking at Qian Yuemei’s belly once more, he explained:
“Everyone in the village is a neighbor, and they’ve helped our family a lot in normal times. Now that our family got so many fish, of course we have to return the favors.”
Reaching this point, Su Erhu paused and added, “Besides, our family had an addition to the household today, so we ought to celebrate regardless.”
Knowing there was no room for discussion, Qian Yuemei figured out of sight, out of mind, twisted her hips, and went straight into the room.
As for cooking and the like, it had nothing to do with her.
She was carrying a child of the Su family in her belly—a daughter, no less—so it went without saying she didn’t need to do anything at all.
Qian Yuemei immediately elevated her status sky-high.
In the past, when her mother-in-law was pregnant, she still busied herself inside and out, so as a daughter-in-law, Qian Yuemei had felt embarrassed to sit back and do nothing.
Now that her mother-in-law had already given birth, she was naturally going to put on airs as a pregnant woman.
In truth, for a family as dirt-poor as the Su family, where did a pregnant woman get the luxury to be delicate?
They could barely put food on the table, so what was there to be delicate about?
They still did laundry, cooked, fed the pigs and chickens, and did all kinds of chores as usual.
Some women even worked in the fields right up until they were about to give birth.
Poor people simply didn’t have the destiny to rest and preserve a pregnancy.
Even so, the Su family was considered a family that doted on their wives, never mistreating their daughters-in-law.
Zhao Chunhua didn’t rely on Qian Yuemei anyway; she slaughtered chickens and dressed fish all by herself, bustling about in full swing.
“Dapan, help your mother stoke the fire.”
“Got it, Mother.”
Although Dapan was young, he was exceptionally obedient.
Zhao Chunhua looked at her son with eyes full of affection, then instructed Su Liuhu:
“Sixth Brother, help Sister-in-law pluck the chicken feathers.”
“Sure thing, Eldest Sister-in-law!”
Su Liuhu nodded, his face full of excitement.
Plucking chicken feathers was a great chore.
He could keep the chicken feathers for himself and brag about them to his playmates.