Chapter 248

After Liu Tong talked with King Yan, he acknowledged King Yan. However, according to the terms of address of the servant in the mansion, it seemed to be the same. The only difference was that Liu Tong didn’t call King Yan brother before.

On the second day, when they were having breakfast, King Yan mentioned the matter that Xu Ran had talked about breaking ice for fish and going up the mountain to find wild vegetables, and asked them who would like to go.

Apart from the three kids, Xiao Qingyun and Shao Yu whose movement had been confined, everyone else said they wanted to go.

But the problem was, were they going to break ice or go up the mountain? They actually wanted to go for both. It felt really hard to choose.

In the end, Xu Ran made the decision on behalf of their family. When he was Xu Village, he often went up the mountain and dug wild vegetables, so he decided to watch the ice-breaking and fish-catching!

Although this method was proposed by Xu Ran, he did not try it himself, so he did not know if it could work.

Gao Quan and Lu Qi went up the mountain. As Gao Quan now had some study on weeds and herbs. he could be of some use on the mountain, while Lu Qi went to be the supervisor. After all, King Yan had to personally supervise the fish-catching.

The group split up after dinner. Today seemed to be even colder than yesterday. The piercing wind whistled and their faces tingled as it blew across them.

There were no protective measures, and they could only be exposed in the wind. With time going, they got used to it, but their faces might suffer a lot.

Xu Ran covered his face and said to Liu Tong, “Tongtong, make a few scarves when we go back! In the future, we will wear some whenever we go out. If the wind is strong, we can shield faces with them. Otherwise, we would be shamed to be seen by people after being repeatedly mutilated by wind like that.

Liu Tong nodded and said with a smile, “No matter what kind of look Ran becomes, I won’t dislike Ran.”

Xu Ran smiled too. “Tongtong is able to sweet talk too. I’m really afraid that someone will compete for you with me. What if I can’t fight your suitors?”

Liu Tong waved his fist. “Then I’ll help you beat him up. I can’t let anyone loot me away, right?”

After saying that, the two laughed at the same time. The more they lived, the more childish they became. They had never thought about such a problem before.

……

King Yan took them to the riverside of Yanzhou, which ran through the entire Yanzhou. The name of the river was Zhou River, simple and easy to remember.

There were already people waiting by the river. These should be the local people that King Yan asked Yan to find yesterday.

When those people saw King Yan, they began to kneel down to greet him. King Yan quickly stopped a person at the front, “No need to stand on ceremony. How can you kneel on the ground on such a cold day?”

King Yan’s considerate behavior would probably touch these people.

King Yan pulled Xu Ran over and asked him, “I’ve found the people you need. They all have the experience of breaking ice to catch fish during winter. You also talk about your ideas as to where is the ideal place to get fish. Although the ice is thick, it is easy to crack if you knock too hard. It will be bad if anyone falls.”

Xu Ran said, “Just pick the place where you usually get fish, draw a circle around it, then chisel along the circle. In the meantime, get some cold water to melt ice. In this way, it will work faster.”

It didn’t snow today, but was a little windy. It was estimated that the water wouldn’t freeze so quickly, so King Yan agreed to what Xu Ran said and let people get the water.

These people were all experienced fishermen and often fished on the river, so they were very familiar with the river.

Zhou River was very wide, looked more like a lake than a river.

These fishermen walked on the ice, looked around carefully, and chose a location. After informing King Yan, they started to draw the circle.

Xu Ran asked Tangtang and Guoguo to go over to help. As they had learned kong fu and had much strength, they had to apply it once given the chance, in case it was wasted.

After the circle was drawn, the water was also brought over. As Xu Ran said, some fisherman started to chisel ice along the circle, while some others started to pour water in the middle.

Xu Ran reminded them to be careful, not to use force, and to slowly chisel the ice.

He also asked Tangtang and Guoguo to pay more attention. However he held Liu Tong tightly without going to the ice.

Firstly, it was too slippery. Secondly, he was afraid of the cold. He suspected that if he fell down, he would be frozen to death.

In Xu Ran’s blind and disorderly conjectures, a sound came from the middle of the river. Xu Ran immediately came back to his senses and saw that a piece of ice had fallen into the water. It worked!

“There are fish, fish, Dad, there are really fish below.” Guoguo shouted and ran to Xu Ran, wanting to pull him to see.

Xu Ran shook his head. “I won’t go. Go and help them get the fish! Remember not to touch the water. It’s too cold. Be careful not to fall, and look after your brother, remember?”

Guoguo turned back and saw that Tangtang was looking at him. He nodded hurriedly, “Dad, I know.” Then he slid forward.

The fishing net and wooden buckets were all ready. The fishermen scooped up the fish with net and iron basins, then poured them into the wooden buckets. Soon, a bucket was filled with fish.

By the time almost all the fish under this circle was scooped up, there were already two buckets full of fish. Even if the water inside was removed, there were more than half a bucket of fish.

They were of big and small sizes. When the fishermen brought two buckets of fish to King Yan, Xu Ran said in surprise, “I didn’t expect there are so many fish in the river.”

Hearing Xu Ran’s words, the fishermen explained, “This river is very long, and it is the deepest part of the river. We won’t fish in this part when the weather is warm, so there are the most fish in this part. Look at the size, you cannot catch such big fish elsewhere!”

Xu Ran looked at the fish in his hand. It was the largest one among these fish, weighing four to five jin.

Xu Ran nodded. “As for wild fish, this is really big.”

The fisherman nodded. “Tell me about it! Today, it was a good start. We should dig a few more holes. In winter, it doesn’t matter even if the fish died.”

The fisherman left and went with the other fishermen to find a new location to start again.

Xu Ran saw that Tangtang and Guoguo had been around the fishermen, saying something attentively.

Xu Ran turned to King Yan, “Your Highness, have you ever thought about breeding fish and shrimps in this river? These things are absolutely exquisite for foodies. Only those who are not picky about foods won’t care about them. However, there is no shortage of foodies in Great Xia.“

King Yan pondered for a moment and asked, “The towns close to Yanzhou have similar resources to the Yanzhou. The fish can not be sold out in these places. As to the farther places, how can the fish live for so long?”

Xu Ran smiled and said, “Your Highness, dead fish are also edible. Yanzhou in winter is a natural ice house. You can freeze anything. In addition, we can dry up the fish. It is not a problem to make salted fish and fish slices. As long as you are willing to do it, Your Highness, don’t forget that there are 50,000 soldiers in Yanzhou. Yanzhou is the least lacking in people.”

Xu Ran had always proposed letting the soldiers work, and King Yan himself had an idea in his heart. Indeed, with the 50,000 soldiers in Yanzhou, there was no shortage of people.

Although the Barbarians would often come and harass the area, as long as he didn’t allocate too many people one time, it wouldn’t affect the whole situation, so this could be considered.

Thinking of the idea of Xu Ran about breeding fish in the river and of the grassland he had planted in three years, King Yan suddenly felt that as long as Yanzhou made it through this winter, good lives would be expecting them.

As he watched the people busy on the ice, King Yan’s eyes were full of smiles. Zheng’er was really his lucky star, finding a smart husband.

At this, King Yan smiled again. Although this winter was colder than before, it didn’t appear as hard as before.

The fisherman opened three holes on the river and took out seven buckets of fish. They didn’t dare to continue. After all, the holes were too close to each other and the ice had the risks of cracking open. If someone fell in, it would be too bad.

Seven buckets of fish were really quite a lot, and it could be eaten for a few days. Besides, it was not the only source of food.

King Yan asked Yan to pay the fishermen, and then let them choose a few fish to take back to eat. Then he sent people to take the buckets back to the mansion.

As Tangtang and Guoguo had worked very hard, their faces flushed rosy, looking even prettier.

King Yan spoke to Liu Tong as he walked, wanting to communicate more with him. Xu Ran didn’t disturb them and deliberately walked behind with the two kids.

Xu Ran asked Tangtang and Guoguo, “What do you think of Yanzhou?”

Guoguo said, “Dad, although it’s a little cold, it’s pretty good. But Dad, I don’t want to live in the mansion. Can we find a place to live by ourselves? Although uncle is quite good, it was after all a little uncomfortable staying in others’ home.”

Tangtang also nodded. “Dad, although we are just here, my view is the same as my brother. I also think Yanzhou is very good. Dad, this place will eventually become prosperous.”

Xu Ran nodded and agreed with Tangtang, then asked him, “What about you? What do you think of living in the mansion?”

Tangtang said, “Dad, if we have to stay in Yanzhou for a long time, we’d better buy a house. We’d better have a shop to sell some things. Otherwise, our silver won’t last long.”

Xu Ran said, “I’ve also thought about this and I’ve got an idea. You don’t have to worry about the money. It’ll definitely be enough. I will never let you starve. Think about it carefully. Do you want your uncle to find a master to teach you reading and martial arts? After all, the person he finds will be definitely better than me and Gao Quan. It is best to let Lu Qi teach you.”

Tangtang and Guoguo thought seriously, then nodded in unison. Guoguo said, “Dad, we also have a similar idea, but Dad, the money-making method you mentioned, do you want us to help? If there is no need, I want to go to the military camp to train with the soldiers.”

This was a good idea. Guoguo was not worried, but how about Tangtang? Xu Ran looked at Tangtang and asked about his opinion.

Tangtang understood his meaning and replied, “Don’t worry, Dad! If Dad can do it, I can too. I know that after he grows up, he wants to join the army. Then, wouldn’t it be better to let him go to the military camp early to see and to learn?

Guoguo was touched by his brother’s unconditional support.

Since the two kids said so, Xu Ran naturally wouldn’t stop him.

He said, “Don’t worry! Aren’t there Gao Quan and the others? Even in Yanzhou, the two were still part of our family. You can just be kids as you are. You don’t have to worry about adults’ matters.

The father and sons settled this matter while laughing and talking. Xu Ran also had a decision in his heart. He wanted King Yan to help them find a house as soon as possible.