Transmigrated as a Peasant Baby Who is Pampered by All

Chapter 520: Chapter 320: Lunar New Year (Part 2)

”Take it slow with the drinks; you can only have one bowl. After that, you can drink chrysanthemum goji tea.”

As she spoke, she pointed to the teapot next to her, kept warm beside the fire.

Since last time when Xiaomi mentioned that alcohol makes kids stupid, Auntie had banned their rice wine outright. If it weren’t for New Year’s, it probably wouldn’t have been allowed.

Xiaomi looked at the rice wine in her bowl; it was barely half a bowl, just three or four sips’ worth!

Then she glanced over and saw that big brother obviously got more!

”Mom, why does big brother get so much?”

”Because he’s older than you and won’t get stupid from drinking a bit more.”

Xiaomi felt deflated, but seeing second sister had the same amount as she did, she balanced out.

Jiang Yu picked a piece of fragrant pan-fried dry fish for Xiaomi: ”Alright, I just got one sip more than you. If you’re so greedy, hurry up and grow up. Mom said when you’re fifteen, you won’t be banned from drinking anymore.”

Xiaomi instantly broke into a smile, but she deliberately said, ”What! I think this rice wine is just sugar water. What dad drinks is real wine.”

Once it’s poured, the smell of wine fills the entire room.

Immediately after, her head was knocked lightly as Auntie feigned a stern face: ”Rice wine is also wine; drink too much, and you’ll get drunk.”

Xiaomi immediately sat up straight, chuckling and picking dishes for her mother: ”Mom, don’t be mad, I was just joking.”

After a burst of laughter and chatter, everyone settled down to eat, exchanging auspicious New Year’s blessings, enjoying the rich and delicious food, and drinking rice wine, feeling so happy.

”By the way, Dad, our fish pond isn’t small. Since there aren’t many ducks and geese, how about building a shed beside the pond and raising them there?”

The fish pond is over an acre, nearly 700 square meters.

According to the original plan, with water depth at one and a half to two meters, you can raise fish in the water and ducks on the surface.

Because of their different habits, ducks and geese typically lay eggs in the early morning or evening, rarely during broad daylight.

But there were a few exceptions, laying eggs in the water. If their nests were by the pond, they probably wouldn’t mind swimming a bit more, right?

The old fish pond in Fu’an Village was just deeper, but not large; it was mainly dug for the water source back then, but this one is deliberately wider and larger.

Besides, it’s not particularly deep in the middle, and while the water is still shallow, you can make a few egg nests in the water, set bamboo rafts in the water, tied to the surrounding rocks, making it convenient for ducks and geese to lay eggs.

Xiaomi chirped away, sharing her ideas while still eating.

This New Year’s Eve dinner had much more seafood than before. Yesterday, Auntie soaked dried scallops and dried squid; scallops can be cooked into millet porridge, and when soaked, they can also be used directly in cooking.

Additionally, seaweed was added to the stewed ribs, and prawns were braised in the afternoon.

Jiang Hu listened seriously to Xiaomi’s ideas.

Recently, they’ve stopped driving the ducks and geese to the village pond since it’s a bit far.

”Moving the duck shed closer to the pond would save the time spent driving them out in the morning and back in the afternoon.”

”Exactly, exactly, and then we can just collect the duck eggs directly.”

Jiang Hu smiled: ”Alright, let’s go with Xiaomi’s idea. We’ll find someone to help with this in a few days. By the fourth day of the New Year, everyone should be free.”

Even though the New Year celebrations last fifteen days, officially ending after the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth, there’s hardly enough time to rest every day.

On the first day of the New Year, families stay home, and kids go about wishing Happy New Year everywhere.

On the second and third days, they usually visit their mother’s family or wait for married sisters or daughters to return.

By the fourth day, things aren’t so urgent; those needing to visit relatives do so, but if no one visits, people just continue with farming.

Their long-term workers always start work on the fourth day.

Jiang Hu had considered giving them a few more days off but, after asking, they all agreed to come on the fourth to earn a few extra days’ wages.

Since fish ponds were mentioned, they talked about raising fish. Jiang Hu planned to find Yang Shulin tomorrow to discuss fishing with his brother-in-law when visiting his in-laws on the second day.

The fish pond already has over a foot deep water, and they can start slowly introducing fish.

Yang Shulin’s brother-in-law goes fishing almost every day, especially during New Year’s when many families buy fish, not to mention restaurants.

But those people only want big fish. For small fish, they prefer crucian carp or those naturally small, like finger-sized minnows.

Fish like grass carp or carp should be as big as possible.

Usually, if they catch small fish, they throw them back into the lake. Now, they could bring them directly here; since it won’t be caught all at once, they can start with whatever small fish they have.

Xiaomi didn’t hide that she tossed lotus seeds into the fish pond from her parents; after all, it’s hard to keep hidden.

As for whether they can grow into such deep waters, or whether they’ll be able to harvest the lotus roots, that’s something to see at the time.

If it doesn’t work out, they can just take the lotus seeds and leaves and forget about the roots.

Xiaomi thought maybe they could hire a few skilled swimmers to dive into the water to harvest them. It might be slow, but it’d work.

Besides, lotus roots are typically ready for harvest in September or October, which isn’t too cold, and with a bit more pay and safety precautions, it’s still profitable.

But such matters can wait; after all, there are no rivers around Xiangmu Village, and many people can’t swim.

Under the table was a small basin of charcoal fire; as the family chatted and ate, they didn’t worry about the food getting cold. After the meal, they gathered in the courtyard, starting a fire and keeping warm until midnight.

When the faint sound of firecrackers came from a distance, Jiang Hu quickly brought out the firecrackers Liu’s family had prepared for them. After a long crackling, a new year began.