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

Not long after lunch, Zhang Jianshe, the father, and his brother-in-law, Zhao Hongwei, picked up their tools and headed out.

"If you feel weak, have heart palpitations, shortness of breath, or cold hands and feet, stuff yourself with a piece of candy. Don't try to tough it out," Zhang Wenshan said patiently as he chased after her out the door.

"No need, we've been through so many years, nothing's happened." Zhang Jianshe continued walking, not taking it seriously at all.

"If I get sick and have to go to the hospital, it will cost even more money. If I stay at home for a few days and miss the work in the fields, our family will starve."

Zhang Wenshan raised his voice a few decibels, revealing his trump card.

Unlike before, after the household responsibility system was implemented, there were no fixed work points each day, and you could only know how much work you needed to do.

Now, the fruits of labor are tied to one's own interests.

The farmers in every household in the village are putting in a lot of effort, and their enthusiasm has increased significantly.

Especially my dad.

They wish they could stay on the ground all the time, but they definitely couldn't take it after a while, and something bad would happen sooner or later.

He understood that forceful persuasion wouldn't stop him; he had to strike at his weakest point.

As expected, Zhang Jianshe stopped, turned around, opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a word for a long time.

"Listen to the fourth brother," Xu Xiulian chimed in.

The eldest sister, Zhang Fengxia, shoved her husband: "Keep a close eye on Dad. If he gets impatient, stuff him in his mouth!"

Zhao Hongwei glanced at his father-in-law, then at his wife, and nodded.

"Mind your own business," Zhang Jianshe muttered, but didn't argue further, and led his eldest son-in-law away.

"Little brother, what do we do today?"

Zhang Fengxia's eyes lit up, and she brought out the materials she had bought, asking anxiously.

"You went out with the fourth brother twice, and you were completely different each time," Xu Xiulian said, squinting at her eldest daughter.

"Where?" Zhang Fengxia spread her hands and looked at herself in circles.

"I can't really explain it, but she just looks more energetic." Xu Xiulian frowned, unable to explain it clearly for a long time.

Zhang Wenshan smiled but remained silent.

In the past, life was predictable, and the remaining decades were nothing more than a repetition of the previous life, monotonous and repetitive.

Not only the eldest sister, but the entire family was lifeless.

Now that I see hope and have something to strive for, I naturally become more confident and full of energy.

"First, remove the ashes from the stove and soak them in a bucket."

"Okay."

Upon receiving the order, Zhang Fengxia didn't ask why and immediately got to work.

Xu Xiulian asked doubtfully, "Do you need furnace ash to catch river crabs?"

"No, I think our persimmons seem to be sick. We should get some potassium fertilizer."

"What?"

"Didn't you see that the old leaves at the bottom are curled and yellowed, the leaf tips are scorched as if they've been burned, and the stems aren't sturdy either..."

Zhang Wenshan listed five or six characteristics in a row, leaving his mother speechless.

"Wait a minute." Xu Xiulian could no longer care about anything else and turned to run to the vegetable garden behind.

Zhao Qiang followed closely behind.

"Where's Mother?" Zhang Fengxia asked, puzzled when she came out and saw that two people were missing.

"They went to check on the persimmons, let's get to work."

As Zhang Wenshan spoke, he picked up the basket, weighed the wood ash in his hand, poured it into the bucket, and then added water in a 10:1 ratio.

The older sister then realized, "Little brother, you don't need this to catch crabs, do you?"

Before Zhang Wenshan could answer, Xu Xiulian rushed back from the back garden in a panic: "Fourth brother, how did you know?"

"There are science posters on the agricultural supplies counter at the supply and marketing cooperative," Zhang Wenshan said without batting an eye. "I saw them today."

Yes, it exists, but the content doesn't include these elements.

He only thought of it after seeing it; people nowadays have a natural awe of supply and marketing cooperatives, making it easier for his mother to believe him.

Xu Xiulian immediately turned to look at her eldest daughter.

Zhang Fengxia stared wide-eyed, scratched her head, and said, "It seems so, but I didn't look closely."

"It's nothing."

"I only know those few words, so it's pointless for me to look at them."

"I told you the persimmons were a bit wilted this year." Xu Xiulian looked down at the bucket of grayish-brown paste. "This stuff will do?"

Furnace ash mixed with water can cure crop diseases.

That's really strange.

"The supply and marketing cooperative's post is definitely correct. Soak it for half a day, drain it twice, and it's ready to water. The persimmons are just setting fruit, two inches off the ground..."

Zhang Wenshan gave a long and detailed explanation of the precautions.

"There are so many tricks to it." Xu Xiulian scratched her head, repeatedly asking but still couldn't remember. Her face scrunched up, and she kept sighing.

"I'll write it later..."

Zhang Wenshan couldn't bear to see his mother go through all that trouble, and was about to say that he should write it down, but he changed his mind before he could finish.

"I'll come with you, and you'll get it after two tries."

"Sigh..." Xu Xiulian sighed, patting her grandson's head, "You'd better study hard in a couple of years, don't end up like your grandma, blind as a bat."

Zhao Qiang nodded, then looked up in confusion: "Grandma, can studying make me as good as my uncle and get meat to eat?"

Xu Xiulian was taken aback.

In recent years, everyone rolls their eyes when their youngest son is mentioned. The grandson may not say it, but his words and actions don't lie.

Unexpectedly, in just a few days...

Zhang Wenshan became Zhao Qiang's role model.

She couldn't help but look at the busy figure, her eyes slightly moist, feeling even more comfortable than when she had just eaten meat.

"Sister, you need to process the willow twigs. First, weave a funnel, about two inches long."

After assigning the tasks, Zhang Wenshan brought over two stones.

Large stones are placed at the bottom, and small stones are just the right size to hold, which is used to handle wire.

I couldn't buy pliers today. The brigade has some, but it's too much trouble to borrow them, so I'll have to make do for now.

Anyway, I bought gloves.

The construction of fish traps is basically the same, mainly consisting of the frame, the body, the inlet, the bait cage, and the retrieval opening. The rest are just adjustments to the details.

In order to adapt to different regions and different aquatic products.

"Sis, why aren't you wearing gloves?"

After Zhang Wenshan finished setting up the skeleton, he noticed that Zhang Fengxia was still weaving by hand, with her cotton gloves lying beside her, pure white and brand new.

"Wearing that thing makes it difficult to work efficiently."

"We're not short of money." Zhang Wenshan picked up the gloves and put them on his older sister without saying a word. "Don't take them off."

Zhang Fengxia flipped through her hands, stubbornly saying, "Whether the supply and marketing cooperative will accept it or not is another matter, and even if they do, there are different levels."

We catch about a pound a day, and if we can sell even four ounces, we'll be burning incense in gratitude.

Xu Xiulian also worriedly said, "Those creatures are very cunning; they don't congregate in groups, making them harder to catch than fish!"

"Don't we have a fish trap?"

"Even the old-timers in the fishing team used to fish in cages, and they could only catch a maximum of two catties a day," Xu Xiulian couldn't help but give a heads-up.

I'm afraid my son won't be able to handle it if there's no harvest tomorrow.

"Just you wait and see," Zhang Wenshan grinned, offering no further explanation.

I can understand my family's attitude.

Just as people in ancient times couldn't understand telephones, airplanes, and cars, I can only rely on my experience for reference.

She never imagined that the earth traps developed over countless generations would be several times more efficient than they are now.

After a busy afternoon, two fish traps were completed.

Zhang Wenshan calculated the time and realized there was still some time before he could finish working in the fields, so he simply picked up his tools and headed straight for the river.

It was clear that they were going further and further astray.

Zhang Fengxia, who had come to help, couldn't help but remind him, "Young man, the shallows are teeming with crabs, and there's that patch of overgrown seaweed..."

She mentioned several locations in a row.

These are all places that are well-known in the villages and are easy to sell.

"Sis, the temperature has been high these past few days. Crabs are cold-blooded creatures, so they'll seek out shady places."

Zhang Wenshan smiled as he explained the science, confidently stepping through the mud to select a spot and steadily sinking the trap into the water.

My past life experience as a wilderness survival streamer, combined with location marking information from an intelligence system.

Can't go wrong.

Seeing this, Zhang Fengxia had no choice but to go into the water and help.

I've already started thinking about how to comfort people when there's nothing for them tomorrow.