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

The two pieces of intelligence today can actually be considered as one.

Zhang Wenshan didn't take the latter seriously.

Crayfish, river crabs, and river shrimp are not uncommon in rural Northeast China, but they currently have little market. I only vaguely remember the old men at the welfare home mentioning them.

For a period of time, the Foreign Trade Bureau would collect [the goods/services].

I really don't know the exact year, and there's no foreign trade bureau in the town, so I'll have to wait until I have time to go to the county to use it.

After descending the mountain.

The 32℃ high temperature demonstrated its power.

The soaked clothes were dried in the blink of an eye, but after walking a few steps, sweat poured out again, and the fish basket on his back became heavier and heavier, making his shoulders ache.

He was worried about the small-scaled fish, so he didn't dare use the bow-fishing method and instead put them directly in cold water.

Taking turns with his older sister, Zhang Wenshan couldn't help but ask, "Sister, did you get the money?" The three-pound fish felt like it weighed three hundred pounds.

"Took it, so what?"

"I'm thinking of hitting the bus to town if I happen to catch it."

"Well..." Zhang Fengxia instinctively wanted to shake her head, but when she saw her younger brother looking like he was about to fall apart, her heart softened: "Okay, you can sit down."

Zhang Wenshan didn't say much, saying that he would wait until a car was available to pick up the people.

After spending the last two days together, he has figured out his place in the family.

If the original owner of this body could act so arrogantly and domineeringly, then he could easily handle the three older sisters who were obsessed with supporting their younger brothers.

It was a piece of cake.

Strangely enough, just as the town was right in front of them, a horse-drawn carriage slowly swayed towards them.

"Damn it, don't fucking come here!"

Zhang Wenshan was so angry that he couldn't help but swear.

Why show up only when people are almost there? Isn't that just deliberately making things difficult?

After finishing the water in the kettle, Zhang Wenshan led his older sister straight to the state-run restaurant.

They were getting closer.

He stopped and said, "Sister, go inside and find that person from yesterday, then bring her here to see me."

"Oh!" Zhang Fengxia didn't ask why and strictly carried out the order.

Soon.

Before long, the plump woman Wu Xia came out with a big smile: "I knew you were capable, little brother!"

As she spoke, she couldn't help but look at the fish basket.

"Thanks to my older sister, I managed to get a few fish, but I don't know if it'll be enough." Zhang Wenshan smiled as he put down the fish basket and lifted the leaves that were providing shade.

"Good heavens, have you stirred up a hornet's nest?" Wu Xia looked down and was immediately shocked, her mouth agape in astonishment.

"We sneaked into the cold river in the mountains in the middle of the night and spent several hours there, and this was all we got."

"Don't worry, the price we agreed on yesterday won't be less." The plump woman curled her lip. "Come with me."

She led the siblings around to the back of the restaurant and opened a small door.

The small courtyard with three rooms comes into view, and through the window you can vaguely see that one of the rooms is piled with vegetables and rice.

Zhang Fengxia couldn't help but swallow, a look of envy on her face.

These are old things, it would be great if we could move them back home.

"Old Hong!" Wu Xia called out to the kitchen.

A bald man with a greasy face strolled out slowly, and you could smell the aroma of firewood and meat from a distance.

"This is my husband, Hongyuan. Just call me Sister Wu." The plump woman gestured with her lips. "Inspect the goods?"

"You just blindly agreed. Small-scaled fish aren't that easy to get. Three or five are barely the size of a palm; how could I possibly offer them upstairs..."

Hong Yuan strolled over with his hands behind his back, muttering to himself.

"You need to change your habit of talking to everyone. These days, everyone who comes here is trying to curry favor and sell their junk for a fortune."

Zhang Wenshan glanced at the chubby woman who was pretending to be aloof and immediately understood.

No wonder the other party agreed immediately when I asked yesterday.

Is it a case of feelings being suppressed and competitive?

No wonder, these days being a cook is a great job. No matter what the harvest is like, you won't go hungry.

Moreover, as a chef in a state-run restaurant, he naturally carried an air of arrogance, which he also displayed at home.

"Holy crap!"

A startled cry echoed through the courtyard.

Hong Yuan glanced at it, and like a cat seeing a mouse, he suddenly squatted down, grabbed the edge of the fish basket with both hands, and his fingertips trembled slightly.

"This boss, there are so many?"

He looked up abruptly and asked urgently, "Brother, where did you get this? Do you have any more?"

Having lived two lives, Zhang Wenshan immediately turned to look at the plump woman, appearing completely bewildered.

"You don't mind me talking to anyone now?" Wu Xia asked, hands on her hips, beaming.

Hong Yuan wiped his nose and said blankly, "That persistent beggar from last time..."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Wenshan silently shook his head and could only interrupt, saying, "This thing depends on luck; you never know if we'll have it next time."

He didn't rule out any possibility of definitive conclusions.

If it comes too easily, it's hard to negotiate the price. Besides, the fine-scaled fish have a new use now, so we can't send them all to the state-run restaurants.

"That's true." Hongyuan nodded. "Wife, did you explain things clearly to your little brother?"

"We're waiting for you to inspect the goods first!" Wu Xia waved her hand impatiently. "Go do your work, I'll take care of the rest."

After sending her husband away, Wu Xia took two steps closer and lowered her voice.

"Brother, you're a smart man. This fish is for entertaining guests, so it's more expensive than in the market. Normally, a small-scaled fish would only cost two yuan at most."

Zhang Wenshan understood: "Don't worry, we won't say a word out of turn once we're out the door, and we won't ask for more if we get anything else."

As he spoke, he glanced at his older sister.

Zhang Fengxia nodded immediately, completely lost in confusion.

No wonder a pound of fish can sell for five yuan; there's a trick to it.

Wu Xia smiled with satisfaction, went straight to the house on the left, and knocked on the door: "Old Xie, here's some fine-scaled fish for entertaining guests."

Inside, a middle-aged man wearing glasses silently took out a scale, weighed the item, and quickly wrote out a receipt.

Zhang Fengxia doesn't know many characters, but she can see clearly.

The fish weighed over three pounds, but the tag said eight pounds.

Her heart started pounding wildly.

This is a state-run restaurant, how can they do this?

Even after the sixteen yuan was stuffed into the younger brother's hand, it still felt like a dream.

"Sister Wu, thank you so much! You've been a huge help to our family!"

As soon as they stepped outside, Zhang Wenshan immediately grabbed the plump woman's hand and shook it up and down, completely different from before.

"..."

Zhang Fengxia's expression changed drastically.

What kind of talk is it to hold a woman's hand?

Even if they were married, it wouldn't work. Just as she was about to stop them, she caught a glimpse of a maroon color flashing between their palms.

It looks exactly like the color of a one-yuan coin.

"Oh dear, I'm so sorry..." Wu Xia said politely, wiping her hand on her apron, and the red stain disappeared instantly.

"If there's nothing else, I'll be going now."

Zhang Wenshan smiled, picked up the fish basket, turned around and left, decisively and efficiently.

"Hey, wait a minute!"

Just as I reached the gate of the courtyard, the plump woman's voice caught up with me.

Zhang Fengxia tensed up, her feet felt like they were nailed to the ground, and she dared not turn around or move.

Could something unexpected happen?

What do you do with the money you get?

Or should we run?

She glanced at her younger brother instinctively; Zhang Wenshan's expression remained unchanged as he smiled and turned away.

"Is there anything else you need, sister?"

"Go ask around at the supply and marketing cooperative about getting some crayfish and river crabs."

Wu Xia quickly stepped forward, whispered those words, and then shut her mouth and said no more.

"Understood, thank you, sis!"

Zhang Wenshan's eyes lit up, he immediately nodded, and turned to leave.