CHAPTER 96: CHAPTER 96: CATCHING RICE EELS

When everything that needed to be prepared was ready, it was already February. Xiao Mi’s birthday was on January 23rd, that day Jiang Hu specially bought meat, and everyone had a good celebration.

Next, Jiang Hu bought ten jin of rice seeds, which could be nursed for seedlings next month.

Beside the wheat field, the sweet sorghum had grown full tassels. In about a month, it could be harvested, dried, and replanted.

This period, Xiao Mi was also busy, happily listening to her parents discussing what to plant, and then secretly searching for seeds at home.

Of course, she wasn’t trying to steal seeds. After all, she had plenty of everything; she just wanted to mix in some from her special space into the family supply.

After all, those items in the space were cultivated meticulously by countless people; they must be better than the seeds now, right?

Indeed, just as Xiao Mi said, even the green bean and soybean seeds she took out were larger than the ones her father bought.

Because of this, she didn’t dare add much, just grabbed one or two handfuls to mix in, afraid too many would be too obvious, making it noticeable to her parents.

The thing that left Xiao Mi most helpless was, as with the wheat earlier, villagers brought various seeds to the Jiang family, asking Xiao Mi for blessings.

It wasn’t complicated; they just needed Xiao Mi to touch the seeds and say, "Abundant harvest."

Being neighbors and considering Xiao Mi didn’t want her family to stand out too much, she didn’t refuse anyone.

However, she had her own thoughts, sharing more of the superior varieties from her space with Uncle Liu’s family, who were on good terms with them.

Though she found Liu Yang a bit sly and always coveting her family’s water, besides that, Liu Yang was a nice person, always grateful and returning favors.

Besides Liu Yang’s family, she also paid special attention to Uncle Liu’s eldest uncle’s family, but only added a little bit for them.

Humph!

Don’t think she’s young and doesn’t understand. Her father had warned her mother to be cautious of that old woman when he returned.

She hadn’t forgotten!

Besides this, what Xiao Mi liked most was that she could finally shed her heavy clothes and follow her parents to the fields.

On a day in March, Jiang Hu suddenly returned excitedly from the fields, saying he saw eels in the paddy field.

That afternoon, he didn’t go back to work, immediately cutting a bamboo pole to make two eel clamps, shaped like scissors.

That night, carrying a torch and a bamboo basket, father and son went to the field to catch eels.

Xiao Mi was so anxious she was jumping, wanting to follow along, but no matter how she pestered her dad and brother, she couldn’t succeed.

It was just her being shy, unable to cry or make a fuss. In the end, she unwillingly stayed home, held by her second mother.

Even when her dad and brother came back from their haul with three to four jin of eels, it didn’t soothe Xiao Mi’s bad mood.

Fortunately, Big Wa saw through Xiao Mi’s nature, knowing Third Sister wasn’t one to sit still. So, early the next morning, after breakfast, he led his younger siblings to the field.

With the two eel clamps, Big Wa generously let them have a turn, giving one to Second Niece and one to Xiao Mi.

During the day, eels rarely came out, but Big Wa had a good memory and learned some things following their dad the night before.

He immediately found a long stick, then searched the holes likely to have eels, using the stick to prod the eels out.

There was a shallow layer of water in the paddy field, and the eels moved fast.

But that didn’t matter; as long as the eels came out and the younger siblings saw them, it was fine, whether they caught them or not!

After playing for a while, Second Niece lost interest, returned the clamp to Tie Dan to play, and when Tie Dan also got bored, he returned it to Big Brother, and they went back home with Second Sister.

On the other hand, the more Xiao Mi couldn’t catch an eel, the more determined she became. Since it was only March and not too hot, she dragged Big Wa to the field every day, poking around any eel holes they could find.

There was no choice; their land wasn’t big enough to play around in much and they had to avoid areas where others were raising seedlings.

"Xiao Mi, are you catching eels again? Did you catch any today?" Wang Xiang was carrying a bamboo basket, heading to the Jiang family’s house.

She almost didn’t do any chores now, after that incident had scared her family very much. Her mother-in-law didn’t even let Wang Xiang cook, strictly controlling her time even when making children’s clothes.

Oh right, the bamboo basket carried sewing supplies for making clothes.

Judging by her direction, she probably just returned from her own home.

"Aunt Wang Xiang, are you going back? I haven’t caught any today." Xiao Mi sighed and sat dejectedly on the straw stack beside her.

Wang Xiang laughed: "Look over there, that’s our paddy field. Your brother Liu Hai and Uncle Liu caught a big eel there last night. You can check our place this afternoon, maybe you’ll catch one too."

Wang Xiang pointed in the direction, detailing exactly which spot to Xiao Mi.

Xiao Mi’s eyes lit up: "Really?"

Wang Xiang nodded: "Of course. It was a big eel, over two jin. You’re Little Lucky Star, maybe your luck will let you catch another one."

Eels live in the mud, and the paddy fields have good water retention. Before cultivation started, the fields had water.

This meant these years’ wild fields weren’t tended, so there were undoubtedly lots of eels. At first, nobody realized this, so last summer the eels could hide away.

When reclaiming fields in the winter, the drop in temperature meant eels hibernated, so nobody caught any.

This year, as people are raising rice seedlings, they discovered the abundance of eels in the fields!

Not just at Jiang Hu’s, nearly every household kept an eye on their field’s eels, catching two meant a good deal of copper coins selling to the tavern!

However, everyone refrained from digging in others’ fields, conscientiously staying in their own.

Except for Xiao Mi, who never caught a single one.

Despite that, hearing Wang Xiang’s invitation made Xiao Mi both surprised and delighted: "Really? Uncle Liu actually caught such a big eel?"

Wang Xiang nodded, smiling: "Of course, Xiao Mi is Little Lucky Star. Surely your luck is better than Uncle Liu’s, you might catch something bigger."

Xiao Mi was tempted yet hesitant: "But, but what if I really catch one, what then?"

She was just messing around for fun before, nobody cared.

But if she truly caught one from someone else’s field, that changed everything. It was akin to taking grain from others’ fields.

Wang Xiang smiled: "If you catch one, take it home and have your mom cook it. If you feel awkward, share a piece with Liu Hai, how about that?"

Xiao Mi immediately beamed, stood up and brushed off her pants: "Thank you, Aunt Wang Xiang, I’ll go catch some then."

Wang Xiang nodded: "Alright, have fun, aunt needs to head back first."

With that, Wang Xiang walked off leisurely.