Reborn in the Millennium: Building a Fortune from Fishing

Chapter 154 Pumping Water (Part )

He was a little speechless when he thought of the fish pond. He had to watch it every day, knock on the door if it was frozen, and pay attention to the wrong color of the water. He was lucky to have a net profit of 3,000 yuan a year.

When the old man came back for lunch at noon, he told him what had happened.

"It's time to fish. I saw quite a few crucian carp weighing three or two taels. It's easier to sell them during the New Year holidays."

During the meal, Qin's mother kept picking up food for Yanyan, fearing that her daughter-in-law would be shy and not dare to eat more.

The little girl actually adapted quite well to the situation here. She was happy for a long time while eating and would pick up some food for Qin Dahe from time to time.

"Brother, this cabbage stewed with bacon is delicious."

"You eat too."

"I know. I just took a bite. The stewed cabbage is so delicious." The girl said with shining eyes.

I was very happy that my daughter-in-law praised my cooking, so I picked up some more for her.

The family lived in harmony. In the afternoon, he accompanied his wife to visit his father-in-law's house and took away the other crossbow.

It had just snowed and the ground was still covered with rotten mud. When the ground dried up, it was the time for rabbits to come out to look for food.

Actually, it is nice to hunt rabbits on snowy days, but the snow in the south is too wet. When you walk on the ground, your feet get muddy and you can't catch them at all.

On the tenth day, Erhu brought the latest news.

"Dahe, the water from Xinba can be pumped. It only costs 1000 yuan." Erhu and Tiedan came excitedly together.

It was still afternoon, the sun was out, and the young couple was basking in the sun in the yard.

"Can it be done with just 1000 yuan?" Qin Dahe stood up, took out a cigarette and started smoking.

"Yes, my uncle said that the water is deep there. No one in the village would be willing to do the work even if it's only 1000 yuan, unless it's free. If we pump the water, it will cost at least to yuan."

"Of course. Even if there are 1000 kilograms of wild fish in it, the average price is probably only six or seven yuan, unless there are a lot of big bluefish." Where would a normal wild river come from? In this place, the maximum fish resources are 1000 to kilograms.

A fish pond of the same size can raise tens of thousands of kilograms of fish without oxygen.

"I called my brother-in-law, but unfortunately, my uncle and his family left. Otherwise, I would have gone to play with them as well."

As he said that, he made the call.

My uncle left the day after his wedding because he was too busy in Shenzhen. If it weren't for his nephew's wedding, he would have left on the third day of the New Year.

When my brother-in-law knew that we were going to pump water from the pond, he readily agreed. It would be so fun if everyone contributed some money to go and have fun.

The silly kid definitely doesn't have the time to follow the old carpenter in carving the remaining small pieces of huanghuali wood.

It takes real skill for an old carpenter to do these small things, as there are not many opportunities to learn.

"The three of us plus your brother-in-law, four of us?"

"Well, I've been to the pond over there many times. We may not make any money, but it's good to have fun together."

When Erhu and his wife got married, both sides sponsored some money to their family, but it was definitely not as exaggerated as Qin Dahe's.

"For four of us, we estimate it will cost 5000 yuan to pump water, and we'll give the village another 1500 yuan, which means each person will contribute yuan. Does Tiedan feel any pressure?"

"It's okay, it's not like I'll lose much money, and my dad supports it."

My family would definitely be willing to pay for me to be able to get closer to Qin Dahe and the others, and it wouldn't be a big loss to just take the money.

"I'm going to the brigade headquarters in Xinba now. Is there anyone there?"

"Yes, just go to my uncle directly, he is in charge of this matter."

Yanyan was quite confused at first. She didn't know how many people were going to pump water. After asking in detail, she became more excited than them.

"Take me to play, I want to go too."

"You can go, but you can't go in the water."

"Yes, I'll get the fish for you right here." Yanyan said obediently.

The two of them are now financially well-off, so she has no objection to spending fifteen hundred yuan, as long as her brother is happy.

Riding on a three-wheeled motorcycle, Qin Dahe took Erhu with him and went to the brigade headquarters together.

It's cold to go into the water now even wearing leather pants, but he doesn't usually have the chance to draw water from such a large pond, so how could he pass up this opportunity?

Besides, the price of fish is high when the weather is cold, so there should be some black carp among them. If you can catch 100 kilograms of black carp, you can make a profit by doing anything with the rest.

When we arrived at the brigade headquarters in Xinba, the village director and secretary were both there, and they were quite impressed by Qin Dahe.

A young man led a team to build a flower-making factory. This is a skill that most people don't have.

Qin Dahe specifically asked them to sign a note stating that villagers were not allowed to go fishing during the water pumping period without their permission.

This thing may not be useful, but as locals from nearby villages, there are not many people who are shameless enough to cheat them.

Of course, if it was a village farther away, I guess no one would be willing to come and do this.

"Without further delay, we need to go back and prepare. We need to set up the water pump today."

"Well, let's go. I have a small electric pump at home. It can pump out the deep water in the middle."

In deep water areas, the middle part is definitely the deepest. The iron pump is not that long, so you need an electric pump and a soft hose.

The deepest part of Uncle San's pond is more than 200 meters away from the edge of the pond. It is too difficult to pump out the water, so we have to leave the bottom of the pond every time.

After returning home, the elders of the three families began to help borrow water pumps and diesel engines. Almost everyone had a diesel engine, but three were not enough.

Ten large pumps were lifted onto a tricycle, tied with hemp ropes and transported first, and then the diesel engine and electric pump were transported over.

This time we have to be quick. Drain the pond and catch fish in a few days. If we are slow, someone will steal the fish.

The money was on the ground and anyone could pick it up. After a long time, the villagers couldn't hold back any longer.

Qin Dahe first went to find someone to close the dam, then went to the brigade headquarters to connect electricity and directly paid them according to the meter price.

Many people nearby looked at them working so hard and were curious.

Installing a water pump is rather troublesome, as one has to wear leather pants and drive piles and pull ropes. Several elders in the family are currently doing this.

"Qin Da, does your family provide water pumping?"

"Well, if Daha wants to play, then go ahead and play. The four families are combined." The old man smiled and began to pass out cigarettes.

He was not optimistic about his son's behavior. He had to do favors to borrow the pump and the diesel engine. Once the water was pumped, the daily fuel bill would be quite high.

But since his son wants to do it, he supports him. It is good for young people to have ideas. How can they grow without trying?

Qin Dahe and his team are also discussing this. They will take turns to look after it and pump it out 24 hours a day. It will be drained out in a few days.

Diesel is not expensive now. According to fuel consumption, a five-horsepower diesel engine consumes only more than fifty yuan in 24 hours a day. However, there are two twelve-horsepower diesel engines among them, which are very powerful.

They don’t know exactly how many days it will take to drain the water, but they will have an idea after draining it all for a night.

These villagers didn't dare to do it themselves, but others were interested in doing it, and a lot of people gathered around.

The Lantern Festival hasn't arrived yet, so everyone is free.

Most of the locals looked at me and made sarcastic remarks, asking why they would bother to rent a pond and pump it out when it was so cold in winter. If they had that much time, they could just go fishing and make some money.

Besides, it's really hard to work for local people. If you make money, others will be jealous and try to trip you up in the future. If you don't make money, everyone will laugh at you. Qin Dahe, a foreigner, is just right.

After the diesel engine and water pump were installed, Qin Dahe began to build a temporary shed with tarpaulin. Since the engine wouldn't stop at night, someone had to be watching. Otherwise, it would be a disaster if someone dared to take the diesel engine away.

"Who will guard the first night? My brother-in-law will come the day after tomorrow night." The three friends gathered together again to discuss things.

"Let me come in the evening. You two just got married." Tiedan said with a smile.

The two of them just got married, and if he, an unmarried man, doesn't keep watch over them at night, who will?

"I know you're loyal. I'll let you come first if there's something good in the future."

"It's settled then." The three of them didn't care about such a small matter.

After everyone discussed it, they decided that my brother-in-law didn't need to come all the way to take over the shift, and the three of them could just work in three shifts.

Qin Dahe was on duty until ten o'clock in the evening, then Tiedan came over to work until seven o'clock in the morning, and then Erhu came to take over the shift until three o'clock in the afternoon.

Those working the night shift definitely suffer, but the newlyweds are embarrassed to leave their wives at home, so this is the only way.

It’s actually not cold inside the waterproof cloth. After all, it is sealed. Just leave a ventilation hole.

But people can't stay in the shed all the time, they have to go out from time to time, which is a torture.

"You take my tricycle back home and go to sleep first, then come over after 10pm to take over from me."

"know."

Qin Dahe turned to look at Yanyan: "Go back and have dinner."

"No, I will go wherever my brother is." The little girl stared at him intently.

They had been married for only a few days, but they were already inseparable. As soon as their eyes met, they went up to the attic hand in hand. How could she be reluctant to leave now?

"Okay, just ask my dad to send two meals later." It wasn't too cold inside anyway, so we could just leave the stove on the tricycle.

He also talked to his father and asked him to bring a baking tray and some dried fruits so that he could bake some fruits to eat in the evening when he had nothing to do.

After the work was done here, everyone went back, and the surrounding villagers came to ask him about the contract.

"It's only a thousand yuan. I don't expect to make any money. It's so fun to catch fish." He said with a smile.

"You can still make money, it's just too cold to fish in this weather, otherwise no one would be willing to do it."

If it is contracted out in the summer, with a thousand yuan plus several thousand yuan in diesel, some people are still willing to take a chance, and there are many who like to catch fish.

But it’s so cold and it’s the New Year, who doesn’t want to rest a little? Playing cards at home is more comfortable than going fishing in the water.

"I'm just joining in the fun and looking for any bluefish."

Everyone was free at the moment, so they gathered around him and chatted for a while before dispersing.

After everyone left, the place became deserted. The only sound was the roar of ten diesel engines and the sound of water flowing into the river.

Qin Dahe simply poured some diesel and started a big fire. It was quite comfortable to just light a fire now. Before the New Year, there were children in the village burning reeds. The flames rising into the sky were scary.

The firewood was directly picked from nearby branches. Because of the snow, they had not been dried in the sun for a day or two, but they could be roasted for a while, but there would be a lot of smoke.

Now everyone has cotton stalks, and no one picks up wild firewood anymore.

It was already past four o'clock, and Yanyan came to his side like a little child to help him light the fire.

After a while, I went to buy two boxes of firecrackers to play with.

The canteen is just opposite the primary school and is only a short walk away.

"You're an adult, and you're still playing this." As he said that, he took a box from Yanyan and started frying it himself.

"Hey, you're stealing mine." The girl smiled and threw one at his feet, but Qin Dahe didn't care.

The firecrackers with grey fuses that we usually set off are really exciting. They start exploding as soon as the lighter is lit.

"are you hungry?"

"I'm hungry. I didn't have enough for lunch."

"Go buy some more snacks and remember to put them in a black plastic bag." Qin Dahe smiled and touched her head.

"Why use a black plastic bag?" Enjoying her lover's caress, she didn't want to buy snacks anymore.

"Don't let my dad see it. He definitely won't tell you, but he will think I'm greedy." He said angrily.

"Haha, you're just greedy and won't admit it. I'll go buy it."

Ever since he came back from school, the old couple thought he was the reincarnation of a starving ghost. He wanted to eat meat every day and was so greedy.

If I buy snacks now and the old man sees me, I will definitely be criticized and I won’t be able to explain myself clearly.

After a while, the girl came back jumping and skipping. Qin Dahe had sharp ears and when he heard the sound of the tricycle, he quickly asked her to put the snacks away and put them in the corner.

It just looks like a plastic bag from the outside, so no one would pay attention to it.

Qin's father brought him food and a lot of charcoal. Tiedan must prepare some for his shift in the evening.

"What kind of fire is this? There's so much smoke?" The old man was choked by the smoke as he got out of the car.

“I just picked it up randomly from the surrounding area.”

"I should have brought you a few bales of cotton stalks. There are plenty at home."

Qin Dahe smiled bitterly. He never thought of bringing firewood. He would just call Tiedan and ask him to bring some cotton stalks later.

This thing is not worth anything at all. This autumn, many people burned the poles directly in their own fields.

"Didn't you go to see the place?" He was a little curious. The place was already bustling with activity at this time.

The food today is pretty good. Now that the new bride is coming home, we will definitely not treat her badly.

The braised meatballs with pickled vegetables and Chinese cabbage were delicious and tasty, so the young couple quickly started eating.

"It's a new person. What the hell are you talking about me every day?" the old man said unhappily.

Just over a hundred yuan a day, and all I have to do is stay on the tricycle. What a great job.

"I'm worried about you going to jail, but my family doesn't need money urgently right now."

"Why else would I take a break?" Qin's father said unhappily.

He also thought so. After his son finished his big business, there would be some money left at home, so there would be no need to take risks.

"If it's not enough, come back to eat in the evening. I'll save some food for you."

"No need, we can also roast some fruits to eat." He also hid a bag of snacks, so if we put them together, we would have a full stomach when we went back at night.

After the old man left, Yanyan couldn't wait to add some charcoal to the stove and put a baking tray on it.

"Can the spicy skin be grilled?" She tilted her head and looked at Qin Dahe.

"If you want to bake, just try it. Do you have anything to drink?"

"Yes, I bought ten bags of ice packs." She took out the drinks from the plastic bag as if to show off. Neither of them wanted to drink boiled water now.

The drink is called ice bag, which is actually a bag of sweet water. In the summer, it is frozen solid and sold to children to sip slowly.

(End of this chapter)