"Young Masters, what happened here?"
Qiu Niang was startled to see Luo Ge and the others bringing back two drenched little fellows.
"The little rascals went to the river to have fun and play in the water on such a cold day. Qiu Niang, please help boil some water for them to bathe," said Luo Ge, turning to look at the two little fellows.
While their mischief was exasperating, their drenched appearance was also rather helpless and amusing.
"Alright, I'll go do that now."
While Qiu Niang was boiling the water, Gu Jinchen helped the two little cubs change their clothes.
These two little fellows were shy, so Luo Ge usually avoided them during this process.
"Younger Uncle, we're grown up now, we can change ourselves."
Inside the room, the two little cubs blushed furiously as they spoke to Gu Jinchen.
Hearing this, Gu Jinchen raised an eyebrow and released his hold.
"Oh, then try changing yourselves now."
With the cold weather, they were wearing quite a few layers of clothes, which were now soaked and clinging to their bodies, making it difficult to change.
Not to mention children, even adults would find it challenging to change out of drenched, heavy clothes.
Sure enough, after their words, the two little cubs tried for a while but soon fell silent with flushed faces.
"Will you go play again next time?" Gu Jinchen asked with an amused raised eyebrow as he quickly undressed them and wrapped them in new, warm clothes.
Hearing his words, the two little cubs shook their heads obediently. "No more."
Initially, with their friends around, they had become overexcited and playful, not realizing the cold or considering the consequences.
Now, they had come to their senses and realized their mischievousness. The weather was too cold for playing in water, and catching a chill could have serious consequences.
They understood why the adults were so worried.
Moreover, they had seen their Young Aunt's distressed expression for the first time, and although she didn't say much, they could sense that she was angrier than usual.
After witnessing this, they had learned their lesson.
Seeing their remorseful expressions, Gu Jinchen knew they understood the adults' concerns. He reached out and ruffled their heads.
"It's fine to play with friends, but your safety must come first. Your Aunt and I already consider you our own children, and we worry about you."
Hearing his words, the two little fellows looked up at him and nodded solemnly.
"Master, the hot water is ready," Ning Xing's voice came from outside, interrupting their conversation.
By this time, Qiu Niang had also boiled the water, and Ning Xing had helped carry it over.
"Good." Gu Jinchen acknowledged and then took the two little fellows to the separate bathroom, allowing them to have a proper hot bath.
Luo Ge had also prepared ginger soup, which they drank after bathing, before being confined to the house and not allowed to go out.
The other mischievous children who were brought back by their parents received similar treatment.
In this era, catching a chill was a serious matter, sometimes even life-threatening.
Therefore, they couldn't afford to be careless.
However, ahem, the annual excitement couldn't be missed, and the adults still had to go and join in the fun.
After ensuring the two little cubs stayed obediently at home under Qiu Niang's watchful eye, Luo Ge went to find Qin Mianmian by the river.
At this point, the large nets had been retrieved, and many things had been caught.
There were plenty of fish, though not many shrimp were caught in the large nets, but some were found near the water outlet.
The river wasn't deep in this section, so the clams settled at the bottom couldn't be netted, but many were gathered by people while they were in the water.
There were quite a few clams as well.
At the moment, everyone was busy sorting through the fish and clams caught on the shore.
The young men recruited for catching fish were chosen in equal numbers from both clans, so the catch was also divided equally.
"Luo Ge, come here quickly. The village chief said we can each have a good share of these clams," Wang Sister-In-Law called out upon seeing Luo Ge.
"Hurry and pick some. People say these clams might have pearls inside, and if we're lucky, we might find some."
Wang Sister-In-Law had finished sorting Tie Dan's share and rushed back, now busy picking clams. When she saw Luo Ge, she immediately invited her over.
Everyone had heard that these clams might contain pearls, so they were carefully selecting them.
Since there was a set number allotted to each family, they could choose whichever ones they wanted.
The villagers had also gathered by now, and everyone was picking together. You could choose any you liked, without any concerns of favoritism or unfairness.
After each family received their share, the remaining clams belonged to the village for public use and expenses.
"Alright, I'm coming."
"The ground is wet, be careful," Gu Jinchen said, unable to join the women picking clams but watching from behind Luo Ge.
Hearing his reminder, Wang Sister-In-Law and a few other women near Luo Ge laughed.
"Look at this Second Master, acting all precious."
"But the Second Master is right. Second Master's wife, you're with child, watch your step."
"Pick the bigger clams. I once found a pearl in a big one."
While teasing Gu Jinchen, the women also heeded his advice and reminded Luo Ge, even sharing their own experience.
"Got it, sisters, I understand."
The village had gathered quite a few clams from the day's efforts, with each family receiving around twenty or so.
Luo Ge knew that it was rare for wild river clams to produce pearls, so she didn't have high hopes.
She casually picked some plump ones and put them in the small wooden bucket they had brought.
Wang Sister-In-Law had arrived early and finished picking while talking to Luo Ge. Qin Mianmian had also picked some, and they both waited for Luo Ge after they were done.
"Have you finished picking? Good, let's go get our share of fish and shrimp. Those are divided by weight, so we'll just line up and take our share."
Seeing Luo Ge was done, Wang Sister-In-Law spoke up.
"Alright."
There weren't many shrimp, so each family only got a pound or two, but they could get a decent amount of fish.
Lining up was tiring, so Gu Jinchen and Li Qiao took the initiative to queue up first.
"I envy you," Wang Sister-In-Law said with a smile, turning to Luo Ge and Qin Mianmian.
"Wife, I've got our share."
Before she could finish, Wang Brother-In-Law came over with their portion.
"Yeah, we're quite envious," Luo Ge and Qin Mianmian said in unison, exchanging a smile with Wang Sister-In-Law, who grinned back at them.
Shortly after, Gu Jinchen and the others returned as well.
However, the shrimp they brought back seemed to be more than what other families received.
"I was afraid it wouldn't be enough, so I bought some extra from the villagers," Gu Jinchen explained.
Seeing his lovely young wife's bright, sparkling eyes, he knew she must have liked it, so he bought more.
"The sisters-in-law said this stuff is good for the body," Gu Jinchen explained to Qin Mianmian.
Upon hearing this, before Luo Ge and the others could speak, Wang Sister-In-Law raised her eyebrows with a teasing look, "Ah, how enviable, how enviable."
Hearing this, Luo Ge and Qin Mianmian both turned to look at her with amusement, feeling that this joke had perhaps gone too far.
Actually, apart from these items, they had also brought up quite a few river crabs.
However, Gu Jinchen and the others had been warned by the village elders not to eat that.
Pregnant women should not consume those, so none of them took any.
Moreover, those crabs had little meat, and no one really liked eating them.
Wang Sister-In-Law did take some, but they were the small ones, which were quite tasty once stir-fried.
"Husband, are those crabs difficult to catch normally?"
Usually, the villagers rarely touched them, and they seldom came to this part of the river, so she had not paid much attention before.
"Hmm, those creatures like to stay under rocks in the river, there are quite a few of them," Gu Jinchen nodded in response to her question.
Assuming she wanted to try them, he added, "But we can't eat them now. Once the children are born, we can catch some."
Realizing he was being considerate of her, Luo Ge nodded in understanding.
"I know this. Don't worry, I was just reminded of a dish that we could add to the restaurant menu in the future."
