Fishing and Hunting 82, Starting with Three Sisters Who Overprotect Their Brothers

"What happened?"

"Old Zhang's family got Li Kuai Zui talking about it, and it caused a scene at the team level."

"What exactly did he say? Jianshe is usually such an honest person!"

"Zhang Wenshan learned how to raise toads outside and is preparing to dig a pond."

"Not farming anymore?"

"Frogs are great! In the fall, a female leopard can sell for over two cents, and a big male dog can fetch a dime. They're just hard to catch. But if you really raise them, wouldn't you be able to sit back and count your money?"

Under the bright red sun, people crowded in front of the Chishongtun Brigade headquarters, discussing the matter animatedly.

Inside the team headquarters.

The three leaders, the old Party Secretary, the brigade leader, and the accountant, sat in the middle, with the four squad leaders on either side. Only Li Yuejin was missing.

opposite.

Zhang Jianshe hung his head, his trembling hands tightly tucked behind his back, shielding his family.

"Make way, everyone."

A commotion arose in the crowd, and Li Yuejin, reeking of alcohol, squeezed in with a sullen face.

"This is going to be good."

"The Zhang family is being ungrateful. What's wrong with Captain Li stopping them from digging the pond?"

"Gravelly land can't grow crops, but we can do something else, right?"

Chishongtun is a typical rural village in Northeast China, with more than a dozen surnames mixed together. The villagers immediately started arguing, each sticking to their own version of events and refusing to give in.

"Quiet down, everyone." The brigade secretary tapped the table, his hands, dry as old tree bark, held a curled-edge notebook, his brows furrowed.

As the authoritative voice rang out, the scene fell silent.

"Tell me, what happened?"

No sooner had the brigade secretary finished speaking than Li Yuejin spoke first.

"It was my fault. This morning I saw Old Zhang's family digging holes in the field, and I asked them a few questions. I heard that Zhang Wenshan was going to dig a frog pond, and I got a little agitated and criticized him."

"In the heat of the moment, I might have said something unpleasant."

"I admit that I was anxious at the time. After all, the policy said that the land was allocated to us to grow crops, so how could we do anything else? I was worried that their family would make a mistake."

As Li Yuejin spoke, his eyes swept over the Zhang family.

"I didn't mean anything by it, but your family owes the team grain, and instead of farming properly, you're just doing those crooked and wicked things."

"If it gets smashed, it will delay the farming season, and what will we do then? It will also set a bad example for others."

Upon hearing this, a commotion immediately arose in the crowd.

"That makes sense. How can you be sure about raising frogs?"

"Yes, I've never heard of that before. It's not like chickens or ducks that can be caged up. People have long legs and can hop around."

"Yes, that good-for-nothing Zhang Wenshan only knows how to ruin people; he's ruined both of my older sisters..."

"You dare say another word?" Xu Xiulian was furious and turned to confront the person who had spoken.

She could naturally tell that although Li Yuejin was saying nice things, he was actually criticizing their family.

"Alright, enough with the small talk! Let's get down to business!" The captain, unable to stand it any longer, stopped everyone and turned to Zhang Jianshe, "What do you have to say?"

"I……"

Zhang Jianshe suddenly looked up, his lips trembling as he tried to explain.

But looking at the three powerful figures in Chishongtun in front of him and listening to the commotion behind him, he couldn't utter a single word.

He couldn't find any way to refute Li Yuejin's words.

Seeing this, the old Party Secretary shook his head: "Yuejin didn't do anything wrong either. He filled in Hama Pond, and then..."

"No way!" Zhang Jianshe roared, his face flushed red, his voice cracking.

An apology is acceptable, and being scolded is tolerable, but the toad pond cannot be filled.

The son's calculations were reasonable; it was impossible to pay off the debt by farming.

"Why not?" Li Yuejin stepped forward abruptly, staring intently at Zhang Jianshe. "Are you openly defying national policy?"

"I……"

Zhang Jianshe was so frightened that he shrank back and trembled like a leaf.

These days, rural people are terrified when they hear these words.

"Captain Li, who exactly is going against national policy?"

Zhang Wenshan stepped forward, standing between his father and Li Yuejin, his expression calm and a faint smile on his lips.

"I read about Document No. 1 in the newspaper. It mentioned adjusting the structure and adapting to arable land conditions. For arable land that is not suitable for growing grain, it can be converted to other crops, developing diversified operations, and focusing on developing mountainous areas, water areas, and tidal flats..."

The eloquence he honed as a live streamer came in very handy at this moment.

He had heard similar stories from the elderly men at the welfare home. Many people took advantage of the blurred policy boundaries to rush to contract land, build fish ponds, vegetable greenhouses, raise chickens, and plant trees...

It even made it into the newspapers.

He then took it up and began to speak eloquently, instantly stunning everyone.

"You, me, policy..." Li Yuejin was speechless for a moment. He became emotional and the alcohol took effect. He staggered back two steps.

He couldn't recall whether it was mentioned in the document.

Most importantly, how would Zhang Wenshan, a scoundrel, know this?

She spoke even more fluently than him.

The three leaders of Chishongtun were equally astonished, looking at Zhang Wenshan in disbelief.

I'd heard that this kid had distanced himself from Li Dong and vowed to stop gambling, but nobody took it seriously.

I've lived most of my life.

I've never seen a gambler ever reform. They all swear they'll quit gambling, but then they're back at the table, and they won't stop until they've ruined their families and lost everything.

"My God, was that Shanzi who just spoke?"

"Goodness gracious, anyone who didn't know better would think it was some high-ranking leader giving a speech!"

"Going to town makes a difference. So, raising frogs really works?"

The crowd erupted in discussion again, most notably the Zhang family.

Zhang Jianshe looked at his son, who was standing in front of him. The figure had unknowingly grown a head taller than him, standing tall and providing shelter from the wind and rain.

"Boss, where did Si'er learn all this? He's like a completely different person. I almost didn't recognize him."

"I heard from the third brother that all the factories in town are holding ideological education classes..."

"No wonder, the country has a way to educate people well."

Zhang Wenshan ignored everyone and looked directly at the brigade secretary: "You know my family's situation. It's impossible for us to repay the brigade's grain tax with that little bit of land."

Someone happened to teach me how to raise frogs, so I thought I'd give it a try. If it works, all the gravelly land in the village can be used, and it can also bring in some income for the collective.

So we dug a two-square-meter pond for testing, and will report back to you with the results.

He remained calm and expressed his willingness to share his method of raising toads, then immediately changed the subject.

"But Captain Li said that crops must be grown on gravelly land. If they can't be grown, it's because we haven't put in enough effort. Many people heard this."

He must have a way to turn waste into treasure.

"Our village, with so many households having so much gravel and sandy land, is finally saved."

The principle of struggle is to make more friends.

Sure enough, these words were like water droplets falling into a hot oil pan, causing an uproar among the crowd.

"Li Kuai-zui, you son of a bitch! I'm in the fields every day, who do you think isn't putting in the effort?"

"Come here, take my piece of gravel land."

"Tell me your ideas quickly!"

Li Yuejin suddenly came to his senses and was about to speak in rebuttal.

Zhang Wenshan suddenly stepped forward and put his arm around Li Yuejin's shoulder. The original owner of this body had never been one to mince words and was tall and strong.

Hold the drunkard down gently.

"Captain Li, may I ask..."

With so much gravel land lying fallow in the village, has the brigade leader not put in enough effort over the years?

Furthermore, is the policy you're talking about deliberately only half-truths and distorts it...?