Chapter 50: What on earth is going on? How could you catch anything empty-handed?

Hearing her mother's question, Liu Chuxue belatedly realized the foolish thing she had done. She shouldn't have brought the bucket out in the open; these were items from her spatial dimension, and if someone with a discerning eye saw them, it might invite trouble.

After all, this was a wooden bucket made of century-old sandalwood, which would be difficult to explain to others.

She quickly changed the subject: "The doctor said Dad needs to eat some nutritious food to recover, but we don't have any meat coupons on hand. I thought I'd go check the moat to see if I could catch some fish, and I didn't expect to get so lucky."

At this moment, not only Mother Liu but also the auntie from the neighboring bed leaned in: "My goodness, such a huge fish!"

Before Mother Liu could react, Ji Ganlan, who had been following behind Chuxue, smiled and said, "Sister, you've raised a wonderful daughter. She's a girl who truly knows how to care for others."

Seeing her mother's bewildered expression, Liu Chuxue hurriedly explained, "Mom, this auntie wants to trade some meat coupons for the fish."

Ji Ganlan was anxious to get the fish back to make soup for her daughter-in-law, so she spoke up quickly: "Sister, it's like this. My daughter-in-law just gave birth this morning, but she hasn't been able to produce milk yet. I've been so worried and anxious, and then I ran into your daughter. The child is kind-hearted and agreed to let me trade meat coupons for the fish. Fearing that you parents might feel uneasy, she asked me to come along and tell you in person."

Mother Liu understood now. To help her daughter-in-law produce milk, this woman wanted to use meat coupons to trade for her daughter's fish. She felt a bit embarrassed for a moment, as meat coupons were hard to come by, and the fish had clearly taken some effort to catch.

However, after seeing the fish in the bucket, she was indeed quite shocked: "The fish was caught by my daughter; she can make her own decisions."

Ji Ganlan smiled even more brightly: "I spent all morning standing outside the delivery room worrying about my daughter-in-law. It wasn't until I saw the baby that I remembered I needed to cook soup to help her produce milk, but there were no fish for sale anywhere."

Since things had been said, Liu Chuxue decided to go along with it: "Auntie, you can take the fish. If I get the meat coupons, I can use them to nourish my father, and I can always make another trip to the moat later. Maybe I'll be lucky enough to catch more fish."

How could Ji Ganlan refuse? She pulled a handful of coupons from her pocket, deftly sorted out the equivalent value in meat coupons, and even tossed in two extra industrial coupons: "Count them. Those two industrial coupons are a gift from me."

Her family certainly didn't lack meat coupons. Ever since they learned her daughter-in-law was pregnant, the family had been exchanging for more whenever they had the chance, so giving away a few extra didn't matter. However, fresh snakehead fish were not common.

They had a refrigerator at home, so they didn't have to worry about storage; it would be perfect to use for various soups for her daughter-in-law.

The reason she gave the two industrial coupons was that she felt this family was very honest. When she walked in, she had noticed the coarse porcelain bowls on the bedside table; since everyone in the family had a job, they would receive their monthly rations proportional to their wages.

The young girl had even said she wanted to share in the good fortune of her grandson—a sentiment Ji Ganlan loved to hear.

After Liu Chuxue expressed her thanks, she began to worry about how to carry the fish.

Ji Ganlan knew what she was worried about: "I have a relative working in the hospital canteen. I'll go find her and see if we can find a way."

She had already planned it out: once she reached the kitchen, she would cut a portion to stew immediately, and have her son take the rest home right away to put in the refrigerator. It wasn't too far, after all.

Liu Chuxue had her own plan, so she decided to see the good deed through and helped deliver the fish to the canteen. After coming out, she found a spot to tuck the bucket back into her space.

Of course, she had also thought ahead about how to handle her mother in a moment.

By the time she returned to the ward, family members had already brought food to the other patients.

Seeing her daughter return, Mother Liu pulled her aside worriedly: "What on earth happened today? How could you catch fish when you went out empty-handed?"

(End of Chapter)