Luo Yecheng walked over to Liu Linlin and quietly whispered something in her ear. She glanced over at Song Wei with a troubled expression. She wasn’t on good terms with Song Wei either, and Luo Yecheng was suggesting she trade something temporarily with Song Wei, promising to return it later. But, for some reason, Liu Linlin suddenly recalled all the things she’d given Luo over the years—gifts he’d accepted without ever giving anything back, save for the occasional wildflower picked from the fields. At the time, she’d thought it was romantic.
In the end, she steeled herself and asked Song Wei to trade, since she really wanted to eat some fish. Song Wei didn’t make it difficult for her, but Liu had to trade eight eggs for a large fish. Liu Linlin tried to negotiate a bit, but Song Wei just looked at her and said, “You should feel lucky I’m not charging you extra, considering our ‘relationship.’”
Liu Linlin went red with frustration but didn’t dare argue back, worried Song Wei might refuse her entirely.
Song Wei was being generous today, mostly because she’d had a good amount of meat recently. Catching fish wasn’t difficult, and she’d been able to get enough to share, meaning fewer people would be pestering her. But the best part was that she still had plenty of crayfish to cook!
While Li Juan started making pickled fish, Song Wei sent Heidan to fetch Gao Le and Zhao Su so they could help clean the crayfish. Halfway through, Xu Laidi, her face freshly scrubbed, stormed over in a huff.
“Song Wei, did you give fish to everyone else but not to me?” she demanded. “What, do you look down on me or something?”
Smelling the aroma of fish cooking, she couldn’t hold back her frustration. When she went outside and saw that Bai Yunjiao and the others all had fish, she was fuming.
Song Wei didn’t hesitate, looking her up and down. “Yes, I do look down on you a bit.”
Xu Laidi was speechless.
“Besides,” Song Wei continued, “everyone else actually traded for their fish with sugar or eggs. Do you want to trade something?”
“What? Trade?” Xu Laidi raised her voice in disbelief. “Why should I trade precious things like sugar and eggs for fish when they’re everywhere in the river?”
No one was surprised by Xu Laidi’s miserly outburst, though they’d had enough of her selfishness.
“If the river’s full of fish, then go catch some yourself,” Gao Le shot back. “Why do you only look at what we bring back?”
Zhao Su rolled his eyes. “If you think we’re just going to give it to you for free, you’re dreaming. Besides, it’s too late anyway—the last of the fish is already cooking.”
Desperate, Xu Laidi offered, “I’ll trade a whole pound of sweet potatoes!”
The way she said it, you’d think she was offering a treasure.
Song Wei pointed in the distance and said with a smile, “Get lost, or I’ll be tempted to whack you with a stick.”
Even Gao Le and Zhao Su were stunned by her audacity.
Seeing Song Wei grab a stick, Xu Laidi’s expression changed, and she hurried away. Undeterred, she stomped her foot, grumbling as she headed off to see if she could scrounge up food from someone else.
Once the crayfish were cleaned, Song Wei handed them over to Li Juan to cook. She didn’t know how to cook it herself, but she could recall the recipe from memory.
After prepping the garlic sauce and other ingredients, Song Wei turned to Gao Le and Zhao Su. “How much oil do you two have left?”
Without a word, Gao Le quickly fetched a tin of soybean oil, weighing about four jin (around 2 kg). Oil was precious—and oil coupons were hard to get. But Gao Le and Zhao Su, with families back home who cared for them, often received a supply of oil when they wrote home.
Seeing all that oil, Li Juan felt a pang of envy.
Song Wei smirked, “No wonder Xu Laidi is so set on getting close to you two.”
Zhao Su was exasperated. “Please, don’t say such scary things!”
Gao Le generously told them to use as much oil as they needed, and Song Wei didn’t hold back. Pouring in a good amount of oil, making Li Juan feel a bit distressed—it was enough for days’ worth of meals! But once the garlic, spices, and crayfish hit the pan, the aroma that filled the air made everyone feel it was worth it.
The smell of the cooking crayfish was so enticing that even the other youths came over to see what was cooking. Since they’d caught a lot, Li Juan was able to use a large pot, and the bright red color made everyone’s mouths water.
No one had expected the crayfish to smell this good after being fried in garlic and spices, making everyone’s mouth water. As soon as Song Wei declared it ready, Gao Le and Zhao Su each grabbed a crayfish and blew on it to cool it down.
The crayfish they’d caught were surprisingly big, likely because no one else in the area bothered with them. One bite and both of them lit up, savoring the sauce-soaked meat and even gnawing on the heads.
Song Wei showed Heidan how to eat the crayfish, and he was soon munching away, his mouth glistening with oil.
“So good!” Heidan’s eyes sparkled as he ate. He couldn’t believe these crayfish, which he’d once thought were barely edible, could taste this amazing.
Seeing this, the others grew even more eager.
“Song Wei, could I trade something for some crayfish?” Bai Yunjiao asked, her eyes fixed on the pot.
Song Wei shrugged. “Don’t ask me. We all caught the crayfish together, Gao Le and Zhao Su provided the oil, and Li Juan did the cooking.”
Bai Yunjiao turned to the others.
Gao Le and Zhao Su exchanged glances. “We could trade a little, but not too much.”
After all, they didn’t mind sharing a bit, but they weren’t about to give it all away.
Li Juan also nodded, agreeing to share a little. Since Song Wei had arrived, she’d gotten to enjoy meat more often, but she also knew they’d been drawing attention lately.
Trading in this way kept things friendly, and Li Juan didn’t mind it at all.
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