Honey, you didn't really drugged me, did you?

Two small crucian carps, Chen Jie took to the wellside, fetched water, slit open their bellies with a knife, removed the internal organs, wiped off the blood sticking to the bones, removed the black membrane, and then scraped the scales and mucus off the bodies of the crucian carps.

This way of preparing fish soup would ensure there was no fishy odor.

Chen Jie was a good cook, having worked as an apprentice in a restaurant right after he dropped out of school, so he was familiar with the recipes for some common dishes.

Little Douding was squatting not too far away, watching Chen Jie, her eyes brimming with curiosity. Could her bad brother-in-law actually cook?

Seeing Little Douding staring intently, Chen Jie smiled and waved her over. Little Douding shook her head, afraid to go closer, but Chen Jie waved again, and after hesitating, she approached, enticed by the fish soup.

Chen Jie said with a smile, "Ruirui, why is sister crying?"

Ruirui paused and replied, "Before it was because you hit her, today, um... Ruirui doesn't know, just that when you were outside yelling at those bad people, sister started crying."

Chen Jie asked, "How do you know those people are bad?"

Ruirui said, "They always whisper behind our back that my sister is a jinx who brought death to Dad and Granny Chen, so sister cried."

"Oh."

Chen Jie nodded after hearing this.

In a rural area where the tongues of gossip could crush people, life was hard for a woman without a man to stand up for her.

Chen Jie rinsed the fish again, and at that moment, Little Douding suddenly spoke up.

"Brother-in-law."

"Yes?"

Chen Jie looked at Little Douding, who solemnly asked him, "Can you not hit sister in the future?"

Chen Jie's expression stiffened, and then he saw Little Douding as if resolving herself said, "If, if brother-in-law really can't help but want to hit someone, then hit Ruirui..."

Upon hearing this, Chen Jie gave a wry smile. These sisters really had it rough.

Chen Jie gently rubbed Little Douding's head with the back of his clean hand, "Okay, brother-in-law promises you, I won't hit sister anymore, no one can hit sister."

"Okay."

Hearing this, Little Douding immediately smiled broadly, extending her little hand.

Chen Jie: "What for?"

"Let's make a pinky promise."

Little Douding said in her childish voice, smiling at her, Chen Jie wiped his hand dry with a rag and said, "Come."

Their little pinkies linked together.

"Pinky promise, hang yourself if you ever betray, a hundred years, no change allowed."

"Seal it with a stamp."

Both of their thumbs met, making a childlike pact.

At this moment, Su Yunjin, her eyes red from crying, walked out from the house and saw this harmonious scene, suddenly having an illusion as if she saw herself and her father when she was a child, a smile inadvertently appearing at the corner of her mouth.

Little Douding withdrew her hand, feeling she had accomplished something significant, turned her head, and saw her sister. Smiling, she rushed into her sister's arms.

"Sister!"

Su Yunjin lifted her up, and she whispered, "Sister, I just made a promise with brother-in-law."

"What promise?"

Su Yunjin asked, but just then, Chen Jie said, "Ruirui, promises are meant to be secret, not to be told to anyone!"

Little Douding's expression became serious, and she earnestly said to Su Yunjin, "Hmm, a promise must not be spoken of; I won't tell sister."

Upon hearing this, Su Yunjin's interest was piqued, wondering what the mysterious promise could be.

However, Little Douding wore a look of tight-lipped secrecy, eliciting a helpless smile from Su Yunjin who couldn't help but lightly pinch Little Douding's nose.

After washing the fish, Su Yunjin came over and said, "Let me do it."

Chen Jie responded, "No need, I'm quite experienced at making fish soup."

Then, Chen Jie asked, "Do we have any onions, ginger, or garlic at home?"

On hearing this, Su Yunjin shook her head and said, "No."

Chen Jie was momentarily taken aback but didn't say much else. He went to the stove and seeing the wild vegetables picked that day, including a few small wild onions, thought to himself. He then said to Su Yunjin, "Those little onions, wash them clean, give me the onion roots, and chop the leaves into pieces."

"Do we have any fatty oil at home?", he asked.

"Adding a bit of fatty oil to the fish soup will make it more fragrant."

Su Yunjin shook her head, as there was no grain left at home, let alone such a luxury as fatty oil.

Fatty oil, also known as lard, was a valuable substance in this era where people lacked oils in their diet and was the primary source for them to obtain oils; hence, it was very expensive and beyond what Chen Jie's family could afford.

Chen Jie sighed and looking at the small amount of remaining rapeseed oil, the only edible oil they had at home, he thought to himself that they were really down to the bare walls.

Chen Jie said, "Alright, you chop the onions."

He poured the rapeseed oil into the pan, heated it up, and fried both sides of the fish until golden brown, added some small onion roots for aroma, and then poured in hot water. The only seasoning available was crude salt.

Gazing at a pot of milky white fish soup, Chen Jie fell into deep thought.

His biggest problem now was survival; he had lost the family's only three acres of good farmland, leaving them without any grain.

In such a situation, and including himself, there were three more mouths to feed.

The most critical issue for him now was finding food, as it would be tragic to have survived a calamity only to starve to death.

With no land or means of production, the path of a self-sustaining farmer was unfeasible.

Thus, the only viable options left were to engage in business or to find work.

For entrepreneurship, Chen Jie could consider producing commodities like glass, soap, refined salt, or sugar, but he quickly dismissed these ideas.

This was a world governed by martial arts.

According to the memories of his original self, in this world where martial prowess was esteemed, let alone a county town, even city factions could stand on equal footing with the government.

This was the case with the two biggest guilds in Mianshui County – the Fishing Guild and Guild Cao.

The Fishing Guild managed all the fisheries of Mianshui County's villages and the trade of aquatic products within the city, along with various other industries.

Guild Cao handled the port transportation of goods and also had some city-related industries.

These two guilds essentially held the economic power of Mianshui County.

Even the County Magistrate had to be polite and yield to the gang leaders when he encountered them.

For the people of Mianshui County, the only way to ascend beyond their inherent social class was to join a guild, and if one could prove one's worth and become a minor leader, they would be regarded as a noteworthy person throughout Mianshui County.

It could be said that to live comfortably in Mianshui County, one had to become part of a guild.

Much like the old Shanghai Beach, the quickest way to rise to prominence was to join the Green Guild.

As for taking the imperial exams to become an official, forget it; in the Daqian Empire established by the Northern Mulan people after defeating the Qian Song, in order to suppress the Han people, the government explicitly forbade Han people from taking the exams.

This directly blocked the career path for scholars, which was why Su Yunjin's father, despite being a learned man, remained unrecognized and unaccomplished.