1994: Vegetable farmers strike back

Chapter 155 A Bountiful Harvest of Eels

"I probably won't be acquiring any more land this year," Chen Jiazhi said thoughtfully. "After buying what we plan to buy, we'll save the money and try again next year."

"Well, it's all up to you."

After putting down his notebook, Chen Jiazhi got up and went to the dam area. Looking at the vegetable fields, a Jiefang truck loaded with fertilizer drove into the market in the time it takes to smoke a cigarette. Hong Zhong led the way on his motorcycle.

Chen Jiazhi waved his hand and called out, "Come here first."

There are a total of 4 tons of fertilizer, which the small warehouse definitely can't hold. However, the storage room that used to be used to store hoes and other items has become more spacious since many people have left, so there's less worry about it being stolen.

The car stopped, and it was clear that Hong Zhong was in a good mood.

Chen Jiazhi gave him the remaining 4975 yuan, and then pointed out the stacking location to the three porters who got off the truck.

Turning around, I saw Hong Zhong heading into the vegetable field. The road was slippery, but his steps were firm.

"Boss Hong, what are you going to do?"

"Need I say more? Just chop the vegetables!"

He spoke with absolute confidence.

Li Xiu came out and said, "Jiazhi, why don't you go and pinch him? I'll just keep an eye on the numbers here."

"It's alright, let him pinch you, he won't be able to eat many vegetables anyway."

"This Boss Hong is too familiar with everyone; he went without even saying hello."

"..."

Chen Jiazhi couldn't very well say that Hong Zhong and Hong An were together, since they had also made a lot of money off others.

Li Xiu then said, "You should go and take a look, show him the way, so he doesn't mess around in the fields."

"Okay."

Chen Jiazhi then changed into his rain boots and went to the field. He hadn't gone far when he heard someone calling him.

"Jiazhi, how much fertilizer did you buy?"

It is easy to determine the stem.

Chen Jiazhi also raised his voice and replied, "Urea is 1750 yuan/ton, and compound fertilizer is 2450 yuan/ton."

A few seconds later, Yi Dinggan's curse was heard again: "It's fucking expensive!"

Their shouts had already caught the attention of Li Mingkun and Guo Mancang; they couldn't help but notice them, as the large truckload of fertilizer was too conspicuous.

Li Mingkun said, "I can't afford it, it's too expensive!"

Guo Mancang also complained, "Why doesn't the government do anything about this?!"

Fertilizers have always been state-controlled commodities. During the period of monopoly, prices remained very stable and unaffected by fluctuations.

As reforms deepened, starting from the end of last year, fertilizers broke free from the cradle of state ownership and entered the market, which led to various chaotic situations.

At first, Chen Jiazhi only knew that fertilizer prices would skyrocket this year.

But by listening to the news in conjunction with the results, I gradually understood the reasons behind it.

He didn't answer the three of them again and walked over to Hong Zhong.

Hong Zhong said, "I really didn't make any money off you with my fertilizer. The ex-factory price of urea is 1600 yuan per ton right now. You need connections and favors to get it from the factory. By the time it gets to me, it's already changed hands two or three times."

"I didn't say anything!" Chen Jiazhi laughed. "Come on, follow me, I'll take you to pick some vegetables."

He now understands why Hong Zhong still risked his life to smuggle goods.
Given the current chaotic situation, agricultural supply stores don't seem to be making as much money as one might imagine; there's demand but no supply!

Thinking about those inferior and counterfeit goods, one might end up losing money even if they try to do business honestly.

A short while later, they arrived at the bok choy field. Chen Jiazhi said, "There are only this many bok choy left, but they are very tender and the taste is quite good for this season."

Hong Zhong examined the bok choy and frowned slightly.

Although he didn't come to pick vegetables during this time, he continued to eat Chen Jiazhi's bok choy, and Hong An would often save some for him.

The difference between the bok choy I had before and the bok choy in front of me was like that between an auntie and a young girl.

Chen Cai Nong, that scoundrel, keeps the good vegetables for himself to sell, and gives the less desirable ones to Hong An, right?

Then I thought, "The bad ones are gone too," and I felt even worse.

掐！
We have to pinch them hard!
As Hong Zhong left, he could feel the murderous intent in the mistress's eyes, which made him feel a little better.

...

After seeing Hong Zhong off, Chen Jiazhi had nothing to do. Thinking about the paddy fields on Nanpu Island, he decided to get some wild game to improve his meals.

It just so happens that Li Xiu is also about to give birth.

Just doing something.

Loach, eel, frog?

It's best to go at night, with a flashlight or an eel hook; you'll catch them every time.

Yi Long probably likes doing this too. We'll be running low on ingredients in a couple of days, so we can give it a try.

There seemed to be rice worms as well; he remembered seeing unharvested rice on his way back from selling vegetables.

Loach, eel, and sandworm are all good things, very nutritious. We can get some for Li Xiu to supplement her diet.

Chen Jiazhi sat in front of the door for a while, then went inside to get 50 yuan. He then went out the back door, where Li Xiu was already preparing lunch.

"Xiu, I'm going out for a bit."

"Where are you going? It's almost noon."

"I'll just wander around the neighborhood and be right back."

After saying hello, Chen Jiazhi rode his bicycle out again and wandered around the paddy fields in the village for a while.

Sure enough, there was still some early rice that hadn't been harvested.

Next are the tender green water chestnuts and arrowheads, and some are still being harrowed after the rice harvest.

There should be goods in these paddy fields.

Snails were the most abundant. Chen Jiazhi only watched for a while before he saw many snails that were bigger than his finger.

However, Li Xiu is not suitable to eat this for the time being.

After looking around, Chen Jiazhi went to the dockside grocery store and bought five nylon mesh cages and a few sections of steel wire before heading home.

Then he took a steel wire and started sharpening it on the whetstone, continuing until one end of the wire was sharp before stopping and sharpening the next one.

Around 11 o'clock, the vegetable farmers and workers went home to cook, and they all greeted him with smiles when they saw him doing this.

Especially Yi Dinggan and others, they all stopped and exchanged a few words. No man could resist catching fish and shrimp.

A little while later, Yi Long also came out, still half asleep.

"Uncle, what are you doing?"

"We're setting up an eel ditch. Want to go fishing for eels with fish traps tonight?"

"Go, go, you must take me with you."

Yi Long squatted down, curiously examining the eel ditch. "Be careful, this wire is very sharp after it's been sharpened, don't poke your hands."

"I know."

After grinding two more steel wires, Chen Jiafang called them to eat at the door. Only then did Chen Jiazhi put them away and go inside to eat.

Chen Jiafang asked, "Jiazhi, what made you decide to go eel fishing?"

"I was thinking of giving Li Xiu some nourishment." Chen Jiazhi paused and said, "Second sister, please keep a close eye on her these next few days. I estimate that Li Xiu's due date is approaching."

Chen Jiafang said, "You don't need to worry about it. Li Xiu and I discuss it every day."

Chen Jiazhi nodded. "I also estimate it will be soon, probably in the next day or two."

Li Xiu just kept eating quietly.

After eating, Chen Jiazhi continued working on the eel ditch. After sharpening all the hooks, he used pliers to bend them into the desired shape, making sure the hook tip was slightly pointing outwards. Once that was done, he went to sleep.

I slept for a long time and it felt great.

When they got up, the sky was full of stars. Li Xiu and her second sister and several other women sat under the eaves chatting and enjoying the cool air, while Yi Dinggan and a few others gathered together to play chess.

After asking, Chen Jiazhi learned that Ao Dehai and the others had just gone out to harvest vegetables.

Since there are no mustard greens today, I can leave the house a little later.

Just then, Yi Long came over excitedly, "Uncle, let's go, it's still early, we can go fishing for eels!"

Chen Jiazhi checked the time; it was only a little past eight, so they could play for more than three hours.

"Then let's give it a try, start by digging for earthworms."

Yi Long took out a small plastic bag and said, "I've already dug it up, just waiting for you to get up."

"Hey, that's great, let's go then."

"Let's go, let's go!" Yi Long said excitedly. "Old man, do you want to go fishing for eels with us?"

Yi Dinggan: "You guys go first, I'll come find you later."

Chen Jiazhi greeted Li Xiu, then grabbed a flashlight and went out with Yi Long.

Several women started discussing it.

In those days, eating eels was quite common in the south, especially in rural areas where wild eels were readily available, so most people had tried them.

However, few people at the Dongxiang vegetable market know how to do this, and if you do go there, the price isn't cheap; it's much more expensive than pork.

Riding their bicycles, Chen Jiazhi and Yi Long arrived at the edge of a paddy field in about ten minutes.

"Uncle, where should we put this trap?"

"There's a drainage ditch next to the rice paddy in front, let's put them in the ditch, there should be crucian carp and loaches there~"

After finding a spot to hide his bicycle, Chen Jiazhi and Yi Long went to the edge of the ditch.

First, put the five traps in separately, tie the ropes to the stones in the ditch or to the weeds, and then take the eel hooks.

"Xiaolong, each of you go to one side. There might be eels in the ditches, in the crevices of the rocks, and along the edges of the rice paddies. If you can catch them by hand, use water. If you can't catch them, use a fishing rod. Keep your eyes sharp. If you see a snake, don't panic. Just call me."

"got it."

Neither of them was afraid of snakes, and they could catch snakes almost every time they moved to a new vegetable garden to cultivate, and then have a big meal to nourish themselves.

Holding their breath, the paddy field fell silent, save for the croaking of frogs.

Two people, one big and one small, walked along the ditch, one on the left and one on the right. They had bamboo baskets hanging from their waists and eel hooks with earthworms on them in their hands, and their headlamps probed the water little by little.

Suddenly, Chen Jiazhi saw a bubble rising from a crack in the rocks of the ditch. The rocks were very smooth and looked just like an eel's hole.

He then inserted the eel hook into the hole and gently shook the earthworm.

Suddenly, Chen Jiazhi felt an eel bite the hook. He pushed the hook into the hole and then quickly turned it, pulling it out.

A golden eel hung on the hook, its body constantly curling up.

Good start!
Yi Long exclaimed in a low voice, "This eel is huge!"

"Maybe three or four ounces."

Chen Jiazhi was overjoyed; he was incredibly lucky. Such a large wild eel would be a rare sight in the future.

The two continued walking.

Soon, Chen Jiazhi spotted another eel by the rice paddy. When he shone his headlamp on it, the eel froze. He quickly pinched the eel between his two fingers and put it into his bamboo basket.

Three minutes later, Chen Jiazhi found a smooth, round hole on the edge of the field and caught another big fish.

The wild game resources in the ditches and paddy fields were more plentiful than Chen Jiazhi had imagined!
The delivery speed is very fast.

Besides eels, Chen Jiazhi also saw quite a few snails, all of which were quite large, but he didn't have time to pick them up yet.

Eels are much more nutritious than snails.

After several failures, Yi Long finally got the hang of it.

At first, we would call out to him every time he caught a fish, but gradually it became a habit.

This ditch is nearly 200 meters long in a straight line, encircling a large paddy field, and there are also ditches in the other three directions.

Chen Jiazhi and Yi Long fished around the area before finally stopping, still wanting more.

"Uncle, how many did you catch?"

"The bamboo basket is a little over half full."

Yi Long came closer and looked at Chen Jiazhi's bamboo basket. "I don't have as much as you. I only filled it a little more than halfway. I couldn't grab a lot of it by hand."

Chen Jiazhi smiled and said, "That's quite a lot. Next time, bring the fire tongs with you and use those to grab things; they're easier than using your hands."

Yi Long: "Uncle, how about we fish a little longer? There are some places we haven't seen yet."

"Never mind, it's 11 o'clock, it's getting late. I should go back and rest for a bit before I have to go sell the vegetables. I'll come back to collect the traps after I've sold them."

They had a great time that night and gained a lot.

After arriving home, Chen Jiazhi asked Yi Long to bring a bucket. He poured the eels into the bucket and weighed them on a platform scale.

The two caught a total of 12 jin (6 catties) of eels.

There were quite a few large ones; Chen Jiazhi felt that the eels hiding in the crevices of the rocks would be much larger.

After raising the eels well, Ao Dehai and the others returned with vegetables, and then weighed them.

When Heiwa arrived, ignoring his mournful face, Chen Jiazhi packed him two hundred catties of kale and then went to the market with Yilong to sell vegetables.

Yi Long's movements became much more efficient, and he served the dishes very quickly.

Chen Jiazhi knew what he was thinking; he wanted to go back and collect the traps as soon as possible. Actually, he wanted to as well.

Today we're missing mustard greens. There were a total of 30 vegetables at the market, plus 200 jin of Chinese kale from Hong'an, so the total income is over 2400 yuan.

But it doesn't seem as appealing as a small fish trap.

(End of this chapter)