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

"We really need your help."

Zhang Wenshan smiled and patted his nephew's head, not trying to be brave.

There wasn't enough fabric at home to make the end bag, so we had to weave a double-layered net using thin willow twigs, which greatly increased the workload.

In 1982, cloth was a truly scarce commodity, and it was allocated per capita and purchased with ration coupons.

A foot costs several cents, and a better one can cost more than a dollar.

Although coarse cotton cloth is sturdy, it is not durable, especially clothing worn for working in the fields. The shoulder and knee areas will need to be patched after a short time.

For farmers who rely on work points and farming, cloth is a precious commodity that they must use sparingly.

Almost every household adheres to the attitude of "new for three years, old for three years, and patched up for another three years".

The clothes are arranged from largest to smallest in descending order.

Many children never wear new clothes and always wear their older siblings' hand-me-downs.

If they were truly unwearable, they would tear them apart to mend quilts, make cloth shoes and socks... They had to use every last thread and piece, never wasting a single bit.

Their family couldn't save any extra cloth; the cloth coupons they had saved had long been exchanged for grain.

Why? Because it's still the original form.

"Mother, roast the willow twigs, and sister, get some wet mud."

Zhang Wenshan immediately took charge of his mother and eldest sister.

He first selected three of the straightest willow twigs, then bent them into rings with a diameter of twenty centimeters using both hands, overlapping the joints, and then securing them by interlacing thin willow twigs.

Then, following the same pattern, he made an 18-centimeter one.

When combined, the two form a passage that is wider at the front and narrower at the back.

"Hey bro, why are you smearing mud on yourself?"

Live mud always has an inexplicable attraction for children, so Zhang Fengxia simply ignored her son, went over to look at it for a while, and couldn't help but ask questions.

"Willow twigs have gaps at the joints and are prone to loosening. Applying mud can make them stronger and prevent them from breaking easily when soaked in water."

As Zhang Wenshan spoke, he took out four more willow branches and fixed them to four points on the top, bottom, left, and right of the ring, tying both ends together to form a short cylindrical frame about sixty centimeters long.

"Sister, wrap the vine around it and make sure it's tight."

"Alright, just you wait and see."

Zhang Fengxia smiled and immediately took over. When she got to the corner and couldn't exert much force, she simply bit down with her teeth.

It's heartbreaking to see.

Things will get better and better.

Once you earn your first sum of money, you can buy equipment, catch more prey, and the snowball effect will naturally begin.

Zhang Wenshan shook his head, cleared his mind of distractions, and selected a slender willow branch.

He first laid a layer vertically, with the spacing controlled at half a centimeter, and then wove it back and forth horizontally, creating a dense and even mesh, only the size of a fingernail.

"Mother, do the rest like this."

After handing the work over to his mother, Zhang Wenshan continued working on the trumpet-shaped opening, the partition in the middle of the cage, and the hatch at the back.

Hand weaving is a delicate craft.

Although her mother and eldest sister knew how to weave baskets and hampers, they had never woven a ground cage before, and they had to call Zhang Wenshan to come and save the day from time to time.

The trap wasn't finished until the sun was setting in the west.

"Ouch."

Zhang Wenshan stood up from the ground, rubbed his lower back, and moved his numb legs, feeling dizzy and lightheaded.

"This job is really grueling." Zhang Fengxia rubbed her shoulders, her rough fingers bearing several red marks, and there was a cut on the corner of her mouth with blood seeping out.

"When we have more money in the future, we can just buy iron wire and nylon thread, and get a set of hardware tools. That will save us a lot of trouble," Zhang Wenshan said with a smile.

"Don't talk nonsense. Are hardware tools something ordinary people like us can use?"

Xu Xiulian rolled her eyes at her son.

After the fourth brother changed his personality, he became good in every way, except that he couldn't keep his mouth shut.

"That's right, if you really make money, you'll have to save it up to get a wife," Zhang Fengxia chimed in.

"Yes, yes, yes, Wang Lao Er's daughter is a very capable worker."

"What are you saying, Mother?" Zhang Fengxia said discontentedly. "My younger brother has a skill and can earn money. We should find someone in town to help him."

"That's true, it's best if they have a job..."

Seeing that the mother and daughter were getting further and further off track and were almost talking about a cadre family, Zhang Wenshan quickly interrupted them.

"Let's try putting the fish trap in the water! We can also go check on how the frog pond is coming along."

After saying that, he picked up his things and hurriedly left.

My family's filters are too strong; I really can't stand it.

"I'm going too, little uncle."

Before long, Zhang Wenshan brought his nephew to the hillside.

"Dad, Grandpa."

Zhao Qiang spotted the two people working in the distance and ran over in a flash.

Zhao Hongwei put down his pickaxe, picked up his son, and lifted him high in the air.

"How did you get here?"

"I made a fish trap, let's try it out."

"Why are there so many odds and ends?" Zhang Jianshe glanced at the thing his son was carrying. "It's not very big."

"The cage for the fine-scaled fish in the underground river is too big to fit."

As Zhang Wenshan spoke, he walked to the mountain stream, picked up three flat pebbles and pressed them into the bottom of the cage as a counterweight, deliberately placing the cage in the place where the current was strongest.

"There's a trick to it. Unlike fishing teams that just press down on one stone, which eventually tilts and falls over time."

After observing for a while, Zhang Jianshe immediately noticed the ingenuity and pointed to the extra part at the horn opening: "What's this for?"

"With the addition of this semi-transparent partition, once the fish go in, they can't get out."

"The master craftsman's skills are truly amazing." Zhang Jianshe couldn't help but nod.

Farmers may lack knowledge, but they are not stupid.

He could tell at a glance that this fish trap was better than any he had ever seen before, and it would definitely catch fish.

"Are you getting up early tomorrow to go into the mountains?" Zhang Jianshe suddenly asked.

"Um."

"Is everything prepared?"

"There's also a landing net; you just need to close the pole when it reaches the desired location."

"Who asked you that?" Zhang Jianshe said irritably. "I don't even know when you'll be back. Shouldn't you have prepared food and drink, and sharpened the hatchet for clearing the way?"

"Don't worry," Zhang Wenshan said with a confident smile, "It's just a few miles of mountain road, nothing will go wrong."

I am, after all, a wilderness survival streamer.

This is such a small matter, can't you handle it with ease?

After a moment of silence, Zhang Jianshe spoke again: "The ditch will be dug by tomorrow, so we can just fill it with water and release frogs?"

"Hmm." Zhang Wenshan sensed his father's change in mood, but he didn't pay much attention to it.

Normally, the pond should be soaked for a few days until the ground softens and the stones are covered with mud before releasing the frogs.

There was nothing we could do; it rained the day he arrived.

"Okay." Zhang Jianshe said calmly, taking the fish trap his son had fished out of the water and holding it in his hand.

"By the way, Father, did Li Yuejin get injured in that spot before?"

On the way down the mountain, Zhang Wenshan suddenly remembered something.

"He once injured his back while working, I don't know if that area is still injured, but his two wives never got pregnant."

Zhang Jianshe thought for a moment and understood what his son meant, but he was still puzzled.

Why are you asking this?

"Let's divide the enemy." Zhang Wenshan had a plan in mind and immediately said, "I'm going to talk to Captain Li. Don't wait for me to eat."

If I remember correctly, these days county-level hospitals already have the ability to diagnose and treat post-traumatic sequelae.

Whether it can be cured or not is another matter.

But as long as there is hope, Li Yuejin will not continue to help his nephew cause trouble.