Reborn in the Millennium: Building a Fortune from Fishing

Chapter 270

After returning home and having lunch, Qin Dahe drove his boat to the tofu shops in various villages to collect bean curd dregs.

I have run around to get these things, and once I get the address, I will go to their door and pick them up directly.

Basically, anywhere that can be reached by car, you can also reach it by boat.

One cent and two cents, one cent and three cents, the price doesn’t matter. I went to three stores and came back with a full load of one thousand kilograms.

When I get home, I first use a roaster to fry the bean dregs, and then spread the rest on a waterproof cloth to dry in the sun.

Dry it some now so that it will be faster to fry later.

It has to be fried today, otherwise it will go bad.

The two dogs in the yard stole tofu dregs and ate them until their bellies were full, but no one cared. If they were to feed the fish, it would be dirty.

Anyway, I definitely won’t eat it this time.

The flour mill at Qin's mother's place has basically never stopped since morning until now, and soybean flour and corn flour have been grinding all the time.

The advantage of having a long-term delivery service at home immediately becomes apparent, as we have everything in stock.

In other words, it’s not the summer harvest yet, otherwise my dad and the others would be so busy harvesting that they wouldn’t have time to rest.

At around three o'clock, he started looking for his brothers to go fishing.

It's been a busy day.

Tiedan was still working on an order, and Hanwaer was busy making a bed at his grandfather's house. Both of them were busy, so Qin Dahe had to take Erhu with him.

Knowing that there were wild duck eggs on the island, Erhu was quite looking forward to it.

"It's been years since we've collected wild duck eggs. How about we bring our crossbows and shoot some ducks?"

"I brought it a long time ago, haha." He had already thought about catching ducks.

There are so many wild ducks on Hexinzhou Island, it would be nice to get a few for a snack. Cook a big pot of wild duck stewed with dried tofu, it's delicious.

"Get some more, we'll have drinks tomorrow night."

"Row."

The two men arrived at the Dragon King Temple and began to assemble the boat, attached a diesel engine and headed straight for the island.

The flanks are all dry and yellow today. The concentration of the herbicide he used was quite high, and it killed them instantly. However, if the roots are not removed, they will grow back soon.

Then see how the fish situation is. If it is good, cast a few more times.

First spread the bait on the big side. If you want to catch big fish, you have to maintain the bait. Simply relying on guarding it can make you despair.

After reaching the side of the island, they headed directly to the bush area. In order to pick up duck eggs today, they were fully armed.

They wear leather jumpsuits, thick gloves and a net bag on their waist. They not only pick up duck eggs, but also snakes.

So many wild duck eggs will definitely attract snakes.

The deeper you go, the thicker the vegetation becomes, and just as you reach the edge, you'll find a surprise.

"Oh my god, there are so many wild duck eggs." Erhu started to pick up the duck eggs excitedly. Qin Dahe stopped him and knocked around a few times. Only when he found that there were no snakes did he start to pick them up.

"Be careful, don't get bit by the snake."

"I know. There aren't many snakes in this kind of grassland." Erhu said indifferently.

The two of them made quite a lot of noise, and they did it on purpose. To catch a snake, you have to chase it away, and once it's scared out of the way, you don't have to worry about a sneak attack.

But the main focus is still on picking duck eggs. Changdao is such a big island, I guess there are usually quite a lot of duck eggs stored there.

Go south along the edge, and after searching, go north from the other side.

This is a mud pit, with little vegetation on the edge.

Seeing a snake, Erhu was immediately surprised and covered it with a scoop net.

This thing is extremely poisonous. You must restrict your movements and then wear gloves to catch it, otherwise getting bitten will be more trouble than it's worth.

After successfully putting the snake into the bag, they all breathed a sigh of relief.

After all, I'm not a professional snake catcher, so I'm lucky to catch one.

Almost all the wild ducks on the island were driven away. The two men put the things on the boat and began to load the crossbow arrows.

It was just after five o'clock, and the fiery red sun was shining on my face.

Sweat flowed down their necks and bodies, but the two of them didn't care at all.

"Put the fishing line on it, and pull it back directly after shooting."

"I know. That's how we caught fish last time."

At this time, the wild ducks began to drift along the edge of the Yuxi River, surging with the waves like small boats.

As the crossbow arrows were shot out, although the accuracy was not very good, five or six arrows could still catch one.

It’s just too troublesome to reel in the fishing line. The aiming distance is ten meters, and it takes some time to reel it in and then load the crossbow arrows.

"Great, haha."

When they got another duck back, both of them grinned.

“There are so many ducks.”

"They're just too small. It'll probably take six or seven for the four of us."

Each one weighs only about one pound, and the larger ones weigh one and a half pounds. After removing the internal organs, there is not much left.

After driving two kilometers west, I vaguely saw a large group of white-feathered ducks.

"Is this farmed?" Qin Dahe was a little unsure.

The group of ducks in front are a bit fat, they don’t look wild.

"Go and take a look and you'll know. Don't rush to shoot. You might encounter a duck herder." Erhu said with a smile.

"Duck herder?"

"You'll know when you go there. I encountered it once last summer in Yuncao."

With doubts, I stepped on the accelerator and rushed forward. It really was a farmed duck.

A crescent-shaped shack was built on the shore, and someone was boiling water there.

Qin Dahe was a little curious, so he pulled the boat ashore.

"Grandpa, are you raising ducks?" He took out a cigarette and gave it to the other person.

Cigarettes are a social tool for the middle and lower classes. After smoking one cigarette, they can start chatting even if they have no personal connection.

"Hey, I raise ducks. All of these are mine. What are you doing?"

Ce, this large group of white people actually belong to the other side, awesome.

"We are hunting wild ducks." The three of them lit cigarettes and sat by the river to chat.

They were both tired now and decided to take a break.

During the conversation, I learned that the other party was a professional duck herder, driving ducks all the way from Anhui to Jinling.

The ducks were eaten wherever they went, and when they arrived in Jinling, they were raised and sold there to make salted duck, roast duck and other foods.

"If you kids want to pick up duck eggs, go ahead and do it. I always keep a lot." Grandpa said with a smile while smoking a red Nanjing cigarette.

This is the rule. If the ducks are driven to eat a lot of local small fish and shrimps, some duck eggs must be left locally.

Children can buy candy if they pick it up.

Nowadays, chicken eggs and duck eggs are equivalent to currency and can be used to buy most things.

The duck herders couldn't carry too many duck eggs, and they also had to carry a half-moon hut along the way.

"We picked up a lot of wild ducks ourselves." Qin Dahe said with a smile.

Grandpa was quite curious to see so many things on their boat.

"This boat is great! If I had one, I could take my shack with me without having to carry it on my shoulders."

He jumped onto the boat, took a look, and found that it was really convenient.

Not only can it store a lot of things, but you don’t have to choose a shack.

You can also go to places with abundant resources, such as small islands. Ducks need to eat these things to grow fast.

"If you want to make it, just find a carpenter. If you have the wood, you can make it in three to five days. It'll only cost a few hundred dollars."

"It's getting harder and harder to herd ducks now. This year is the last year." Grandpa sighed, and a hint of melancholy appeared on his rosy face.

Seeing that the other person had finished smoking a cigarette, Qin Dahe handed him another one and asked him to continue.

He was now curious about everything in the countryside and couldn't help but ask in detail about the life of the duck herders.

"Duck herders have a hard time. Mosquitoes eat people near the water, and some people steal ducks."

“Besides, there are so many ducks being raised now that I can’t sell them at a good price.”

Qin Dahe felt a little sad when he heard this. It was indeed very hard.

There are more and more duck farms. Duck down, duck necks, duck feet, duck tongues and duck bodies can all be sold for money, which makes much more money than selling the whole ducks.

"There used to be three duck herders in our area, but now I'm the only one left. There will be no one left next year." There was a look of loneliness on his face.

In the past, when times were hard, duck herders could support their entire families. But now that people can have enough to eat, they can no longer make money by herding ducks.

Qin Dahe also lit up a cigarette himself, and Erhu listened to the two people chatting with relish.

It was almost six o'clock and grandpa was about to start getting busy.

I saw him holding a long bamboo pole with a bright red cloth tied to it, which was used to command the leading duck.

"This is what I eat." Grandpa said with a smile.

When the bamboo pole is tapped, the head duck sees the signal and immediately comes to the side, and the other ducks follow and return to the group.

I can only see it now, there are at least hundreds of them, maybe thousands, there are so many.

"sharp."

"Haha, I've been doing this for so many years." A proud look appeared on the old man's face.

As if it was a great thing to show off their skills in front of young people, the two of them also showed surprised expressions at the right time, which made Grandpa even happier.

"I'll give you two ducks. Two Nanjing cigarettes cost one dollar each." He didn't have anything else now, so he could only give you the ducks.

"No, we have plenty on hand." Qin Dahe quickly refused. "We're going home. Grandpa, we'll talk next time we meet."

With that, the two of them hurried back to the boat, started the diesel engine and went back.

"Drive slower." The old man shouted worriedly.

"Got it, Grandpa, please be safe."

"Hey." He smiled and shook his head. Seeing the ducks surrounding him, he began to stare at the river absent-mindedly again.

A total of ten wild ducks were shot this time. The two of them shared four, and the remaining six were stored in Qin Dahe's refrigerator.

Erhu took the snake back to raise it. His father would help deal with it tomorrow so that the young people would not get poisoned.

When it comes to eating snakes, the elderly are more reliable. They have eaten everything when they are hungry.

I'll roast the snake and duck for a meal tomorrow night, and start fishing the day after tomorrow.

Normally, whenever a group goes out fishing, Erhu and Tiedan will put down what they are doing and join in, and they always make a lot of money.

The silly kid would see if the master was busy, and if he was busy he wouldn't be able to come out.

But as long as Qin Dahe goes over and tells the old man, he will definitely let him go.

There is plenty of time to learn a skill, but it cannot interfere with making money.

It’s not surprising for me to see ducks. I brought a crossbow with me when I went out today.

Qin Dahe told the story of his encounter with the duck herder. The little girl became interested and kept asking questions.

"I encountered a lot of them when I was a kid. I picked up a lot of eggs every year." Mother Qin's face showed a look of nostalgia.

"Since the reform and opening up, there are basically no duck herders anymore. They used to work for the commune. They all had letters of introduction and went all the way to Jinling. Your father even knew quite a few of them."

"How many more does my dad know?"

"He also liked to go to Jinling at that time, but he couldn't stay in a guesthouse, so he would squeeze into the shacks with the duck herders along the way, helping them with their work and eating some duck eggs."

The young couple was immediately surprised. They didn't expect that their father had such an experience.

Yanyan was reluctant to let go of such a rare story, so she stood at the door and listened to them talk about the duck herder.

Even those born in the 80s have seen very little of many things and can only learn a little bit from the older generation.

Qin's father also came back at this time, and she went to pester Qin's father to ask about the duck herder.

"Meet?" The old man glanced at his son.

"Yes, I met one. He should be from Hefei, west of Chaohu." Qin Dahe nodded.

"Did you send two extra cigarettes?"

"I gave him two Nanjing rifles," he said with a smile. "We talked for over half an hour, and even saw Grandpa herding ducks."

To be able to control such a large group of ducks with just a stick seemed like a miracle to him.

"Haha, I didn't expect there are still duck herders nowadays." Qin's father was obviously in a good mood.

He told the two of them about his experience at that time.

At that time, he got into trouble in Jinling and didn't dare to take a car, so he ran all the way back with the duck herder.

The young couple gained a lot from listening to it. It was really interesting.

"Eat first, then work after dinner." The knife fish was fried, and the aroma filled the house.

"Hmm." The little girl became greedy as soon as she smelled it. The knife fish she had eaten last time was so delicious.

Qin Dahe washed his hands and started serving the dishes.

"This knife fish is good," the old man praised at the dinner table.

Although it is not Jiangdao, it is still very crispy after frying, and sprinkled with some cumin powder and chili powder, it is fragrant.

"Scarlett gave it to me, Dad. Shall we have a drink?"

"Have a drink." The little girl helped to get the wine.

He poured a glass for each of the father and son.

It was a great pleasure to eat knife fish while drinking and chatting.

After dinner, the family started to get busy again, and Qin's mother still had to pluck the duck feathers.

These duck feathers can also be sold, and some people come to the village to buy them.

The little girl was lighting the fire for the roasting machine. The fire below couldn't be too big, a little bit of charcoal would be enough.

Today's roasted peanut machine has been busy all day without a break, and there is still a pot of tofu dregs left.

Soybean flour and corn flour can be fried tomorrow, but the tofu dregs cannot wait, they must be fried today.

Sang Biao was staggering around the yard, dragging a hammer.

He also yelled at Feifei fiercely, asking why he was locked up.

Feifei was not afraid at all. Instead, he walked lightly to Yanyan's side and lay down proudly.

Although it is fat, its fighting power will be no less when it grows up.

Seeing Sang Biao's pitiful look, the little girl grabbed a handful of fried tofu dregs and fed it to it, which calmed it down a little.

"Brother, when will Sang Biao be released?"

"At least it's winter." In winter, the chickens in the village have grown up, so there's no need to worry about it killing the whole family.

But if you want to catch chicks in the spring, you have to lock it up again.

This cat is so wicked that it has implicated him.

"Oh." Yanyan knew that she couldn't let him go recently, so she could only comfort Sangbiao.

She had asked many times, and there was nothing she could do if Qin Dahe refused to give in.

(End of this chapter)