Little Ya's Dad and the group he brought were part of the same gang. The fish were divided into three portions.
There were two grass carp, each weighing about two pounds, and five crucian carp. The rest were only two or three fingers in size.
Old Gu Six took two grass carp and one crucian carp, giving half to Yang Poxiao and Little Ya's Dad, with two crucian carp each.
He had enough big fish, his daughter probably wouldn't like the small ones with lots of bones that could get stuck in her throat.
He left Yang Mingxiao and a middle-aged man from Little Ya's Dad's group to watch over things.
Old Gu Six threatened the pretending-to-be-dead tiger to protect the two men before leaving with the others.
Tiger: How heavy-handed of you? Don't you have any sense of mercy?
It could barely stand up now, otherwise it would've left long ago instead of enduring your taunts.
Chang'an was sitting by the pot, idly poking the charcoal ashes underneath, bored. Her Old Six Dad had been gone for nearly an hour and a half. Surely nothing had happened to him?
The villagers who went to fetch water together had already returned. Maybe Old Six Dad was fine?
Next door, Little Ya's Mother was anxiously looking into the woods, holding Little Ya's hand.
Just as Chang'an wondered if she should go look for them, her Old Six Dad returned with two buckets of water.
One bucket's lid had something wrapped in leaves - wild chickens and rabbits he'd prepared. The other bucket's handle had fish strung together with grass rope.
"Dad," Chang'an dropped the branch and happily ran over to him.
Seeing his fair, adorable little daughter, Old Gu Six's mood lifted.
But out of habit, he still gave her a once-over to make sure she was okay before relaxing.
Old Gu Six set the buckets down by the carriage and mysteriously took out something from his pocket, no bigger than Chang'an's tiny fist.
He handed it to her and asked, "Daughter, do you know what this is? Little Ya's Dad and the others dug up a lot of them."
Chang'an took the clean little thing and looked at Old Gu Six in surprise. Those people had good luck - it was just a potato!
"This is a potato. You can bake it or boil it to eat. I've made you potato mash before, remember? It can be a staple food when there's no grain."
Old Gu Six's usually fierce phoenix eyes now shone like a child who had found a treasure.
Chang'an laughed softly, dimples appearing on her cheeks. "We don't lack grain, so we can keep these as seeds to plant when we reach the northern lands."
Old Gu Six nodded vigorously. "I'll go pack them up with Little Ya's Dad and the others. But since they dug them up, we'll just take some for seeds, if that's okay?"
"Of course. They dug them up through their own labor, we have no right to take equal portions."
Chang'an crawled into the carriage and took out a hemp sack from her space, handing it to her dad. "Dad, seed potatoes shouldn't be washed, just bring them back with the soil."
"Got it."
Old Gu Six took the sack, then called out, "Little Ya's Dad, let's go!"
"Coming!"
Little Ya's Dad responded loudly, patting his daughter's little head before telling his wife, "Missus, I'll be back soon. When I return, we'll have food."
Little Ya's Mother nodded. "Be careful, don't cause trouble for Old Six."
"I know, I won't."
Carrying baskets woven from vines and willow branches, they followed Old Gu Six back into the mountains to collect the potatoes.
Little Ya's Mother hugged Little Ya and told her, "We're able to eat and drink because of Old Six's grace. Never become an ungrateful person."
Little Ya nodded solemnly. "Mother, I'll remember. I won't dare forget."
They could now have meat and fish - something previously unimaginable.
The other villagers taught their children similarly, that they owed Old Gu Six a great debt they would repay for the rest of their lives if needed.
Meanwhile, at Yang Poxiao's place, the villagers complained that he and his brother weren't being fair enough.
They thought the brothers were too selfish, not to mention the rabbits Old Gu Six gave them, but all those fish too.
Since the pond ahead had fish, and they all went to fetch water together, why didn't they call the others to catch some too?
They had completely forgotten that it was they who chickened out and refused to go further.
Someone riled up the crowd, "We all went out to find water together, so those fish belong to all of us too. They should be divided up."
The more hot-tempered Yang Mingxiao glared angrily at the man. "These fish were given to us by Old Six. We didn't catch them ourselves.
If you want fish, go catch them yourselves. From now on, let's all find our own water. My brother and I won't lead the group anymore."
Someone wasn't having it. "So you won't lead, like we can't find water without you Yangs around."
How quickly they forgot almost being scared to piss themselves by the snake.
Yang Poxiao patted his brother's shoulder, holding two cloth bags. "Forget it, let's go. Old Six and the others left long ago, we shouldn't keep them waiting."
The two brothers left the mess for their own father the Village Head to clean up as they headed into the mountains after Old Gu Six's group.
They both thought, if their dad distributed the fish, they wouldn't bring home a single wild vegetable from then on, just water.
Unsurprisingly, they knew their dad well - the Village Head did plan to divide the fish to resolve the ruckus.
But there weren't many fish, not even enough for one small fish per person in the village. In the end, he decided to have them cooked into a pot of fish soup for everyone that night.
Only then did the agitators quiet down. The other two family heads shook their heads at the Village Head's handling, but to the villagers, Yang Demin acted fairly and justly.
To his own family, he was just a spineless pushover.
But they were the beneficiaries, so had no interest in teaching proper conduct. How the Village Head handled things was none of their business.
If he were part of their families, the two old heads would give him a few whacks with their canes.
Half an hour later, Old Gu Six and the others returned with the potato harvest. Earlier in the mountains, he had also told Little Ya's Dad and Yang Poxiao what this thing was called and how to eat it.
Old Six had gained yet another wave of adoration, practically floating on air.
He didn't divide out much, just half a hemp sack, around thirty pounds. Little Ya's Dad said each vine would yield many tubers, so it should be enough for seeds.
He didn't tell them that these things could be planted, and now they couldn't even fill their stomachs, let alone talk about planting crops. For now, they should focus on the present. In the future, if Little Ya's Dad and the others also went to the northern lands, he could share some seeds with them.
If they went to Lingnan? He could also share some with them, and let them know that these potatoes could be used as crop seeds.
As for whether they would eat them all up, that was not within his consideration.
"Dad, come and eat quickly, the food's getting cold."
Chang'an carefully carried the large bowl of rice and handed it to Old Gu Six.
He poured some clean water to rinse the pot, leaving a bit of oil so it wouldn't rust easily.
With everyone watching, Old Gu Six brought back wild chickens, rabbits, and fish. He couldn't go into the spatial realm to cook them and bring them out ready.
For the next couple of days, he would still have to cook over an open fire outside. However, to prevent them from spoiling, he would still need to put them into the spatial realm and take them out when it was time to cook.
