Transmigrated as an Unwanted Ugly Girl

Chapter 467: Chapter 245: The Conversion Theory of Chicken and Egg

Zheng Changhe perked up at this. He had just taken off the new shoes he was trying on. Standing on one foot, he slipped the other into his old shoe and said hurriedly, "Yes! We’ll have her marry into the family next winter. We can’t wait any longer—Qingmu is already twenty! I’ll go talk to her family. He’s marrying his daughter to us, and it’s not like they’ll be far apart. Who would stop him from visiting his daughter if he wanted to? It’s not right for him to keep his daughter at home for so long!"

Juhua couldn’t help but laugh when she heard this. ’Her father is getting anxious to hold a grandson.’

’Look at their neighbor Li Changming’s wife, Meizi—she’s pregnant. Big Mouth Zhao’s wife, Guizhi, is also pregnant. Liu Dashun just had a son, and Liu Ershun’s wife will likely be next. And here his own son hasn’t even married yet. How could he not be anxious!’

Mrs. Yang shot him a glare. ’Parents only ever think of themselves,’ she thought. ’Just the other day, he was telling me he wanted to keep Juhua at home for a couple more years, that he didn’t want her marrying off so early. He even said that Huai Zi kid could just wait a couple more years. And now he’s blaming Liu Fugui for keeping his daughter at home for too long.’

Qingmu blushed a little at his father’s words. He didn’t interrupt, just smiled without saying anything.

Mrs. Yang said, "It’s not like her family said she can’t marry him. You’re just complaining for no reason. Wasn’t it our Qingmu who suggested waiting two more years to get married? Why are you blaming them now? If we go discuss it with her family next year, I’m sure they’ll agree to a wedding by the end of the year."

And so, the old couple began discussing the matter of setting a wedding date, going on and on about it. Qingmu and Juhua exchanged a helpless smile. If Juhua hadn’t called them for dinner, there was no telling how long they would have gone back and forth.

「Two days later」

The weather turned gloomy and unpleasant, looking as if it was about to snow. Afraid that a real snowfall would delay the work for days, the Zheng Family gathered some people to help drain their fish pond. Liu Sanshun, Zhao San, Li Changming, Li Changxing, Zhang Dashuan and his son, and Shorty Zhou and his son all came to help.

The small size of the pond was a convenience. It was quickly drained with a water wheel, and a lively scene of catching fish and digging up lotus roots unfolded.

Because there were lotus roots in the pond, everyone was careful not to trample around carelessly. They decided to dig up the lotus roots first before catching the fish to avoid breaking the roots during the catch.

Juhua, of course, wouldn’t miss out on the harvest. To ward off the cold wind, she was bundled up like a ball. She, along with Liu Xiaomei, Xiu, and Cui, "helped" on the bank by organizing the fish and lotus roots, though in reality, they were just there for the spectacle.

Watching the lotus roots being brought ashore one after another, her face lit up with joy. She said to Liu Xiaomei, "Set aside the ones for planting, and put the rest over here. The broken ones can go here, too. When they’re almost done digging, we’ll wash a few, take them home, and make some Stuffed Lotus Root with Glutinous Rice. I’ve already got the rice ready."

Liu Xiaomei also laughed excitedly. "Wow! This pond isn’t even that big, how can it hold so much? You’re making a profit from top to bottom, nonstop. First, you harvested water bamboo shoots and their greens from the surface to eat, then you caught fish in the middle of the water to eat, and now you’re digging up lotus roots from the mud. Man, what a great deal! Third Brother, we should dig a fish pond like this too. The village pond is too deep to grow lotus roots."

Liu Sanshun, who was bent over digging up lotus roots, looked up at her words. With his two muddy hands on his hips, he flashed a brilliant smile at his little sister on the bank and promised, "You just wait. Your Third Brother will definitely make a pond just like this."

Liu Xiaomei beamed with a happy smile, not seeming to doubt the credibility of his words in the slightest, nor worrying that her Third Brother wouldn’t be able to do it.

Xiu watched the confident Liu Sanshun and found his smiling, round face especially pleasant to look at, unlike her own father who always wore a stern expression. ’Sanshun can definitely make a pond like this too,’ she thought to herself. ’Even if he doesn’t have the money now, he’ll surely be able to buy some land and dig one in the future.’

But Juhua spoke directly and encouragingly to Liu Sanshun. "Brother Sanshun, the fish you harvest from the pond you’re leasing this year should be plenty. It will definitely earn you enough money to buy a *mu* of land. It’s not that hard to make your own pond. If you just grit your teeth and get it done, it’s like bringing home a mother hen. Later, the hen lays eggs, the eggs hatch into chicks, the chicks grow up and lay more eggs, and the eggs then..."

Before she could finish, everyone in the pond burst into laughter. Her chicken-and-egg analogy was amusing, but it also filled the crowd’s eyes with a hopeful light and a sense of longing.

Liu Sanshun watched Juhua with a cheerful grin, feeling greatly encouraged by her words. It was as if those bountiful rewards were now within his grasp. Even Li Changxing was overjoyed, laughing and saying he also wanted to get a plot of land just for raising swamp eels.

Juhua’s eyes widened, and she added in a serious, affirmative tone, "I’m not joking, you know. Look at my family’s pond. The money from selling the fish and lotus roots is enough to buy a *mu* of land—or at least very close. That’s why my dad just dug out another *mu* to expand this pond. When we harvest it next year, won’t we be able to get even more fish and dig up even more lotus roots?"