Reborn in 1994: Starting from the Autumn Harvest

If you walk three miles west from the north bridge, you'll see a small sluice gate with a relatively rapid current, and there aren't many people fishing around there.

Chen Mian looked around and saw that the nearest fishermen were on the slope below the sluice gate on the opposite side. Judging from their location, they were probably from other villages.

After carefully descending the steps, Chen Mian observed the water ripples for a while.

The water level is high now, and I can't even see the big underwater rock that I remember. If I didn't vaguely remember its location, it would be hard to find.

He then took the lure out of his pocket, attached it, and then lowered the rod vertically, rhythmically twitching it.

But no fish took the bait for the next half hour. The best time to catch fish is in the morning and evening. Chen Mian estimated that it was only around three o'clock now, so she wasn't in a hurry.

Less than two minutes later, Chen Mian's eyes lit up. A fish had taken the bait, and it was quite a large one.

Chen Mian's casting of the rod quickly caught the attention of the angler opposite, but because they were some distance apart, they couldn't see what kind of fish it was and didn't pay much attention to it.

"Why is it a upturned beak?"

Chen Mian held the fishing line and circled around, looking at it. She couldn't help but rub her chin. It seemed that the position of the bait needed to be adjusted.

Less than ten minutes after rebaiting, Chen Mian noticed that she had caught fish again. She had a strong feeling that it must be mandarin fish.

As the fishing line flew out of the water, a closer look revealed a mandarin fish that was frantically thrashing its tail.

I lifted it up and it felt heavier than the last one; it definitely weighed more than two pounds.

Two fish were caught in ten minutes, immediately drawing a shout from the other side: "Hey bro, what kind of fish did you catch?"

Chen Mian laughed and responded loudly, "Pouty lips!"

The other party immediately responded, "That's good, you can sell them. They're only a couple of yuan a pound at the market."

They started chatting, one sentence after another, and Chen Mian learned that the person opposite her was named Liu Jun and was from Yanqu Village.

Since they were related by marriage, Chen Mian affectionately called him "Uncle".

As time went by, Liu Jun figured it was time to go home. He glanced at the half-bucket of fish—carp, crucian carp, mandarin fish, and a big catfish—and couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction.

Looking up, I saw that the other side was still waiting for fish. After sitting for so long, it seemed like they had only caught three or four fish. It was a bit pitiful. I still need to practice my skills.

Then I thought I'd go over and take a look to say goodbye, since we're related by blood. If necessary, I'd take two of his things back with me.

"Nephew, how are things?" Liu Jun said as he came down to the bank. He noticed that Chen Mian's bucket was covered with a straw hat, and guessed that she was feeling embarrassed. "Uncle has to go back now. We can't possibly eat all these fish. Take two back with you."

"Uncle, no need, I have enough here..." Chen Mian quickly declined.

These days, there aren't many ways to deal with fishy smells, and there aren't conditions for transporting live fish, so they basically die after a short time.

In addition, people prefer to eat meat. Although there are many fish resources in the river, they are not very popular. If they cannot eat them all, they can only be given away or pickled.

Although Chen Mian loves fishing, he doesn't like eating fish. He always feels that it's not as satisfying as eating pork, beef, or mutton, and he also doesn't like taking things from others.

"That's not enough, why are you being so polite with your uncle?" Liu Jun thought Chen Mian was just being modest, so he bent down and grabbed the straw hat from her hand. "You only caught that much..."

"..."

Senseless.

I'm totally confused.

I froze, staring at the three mandarin fish in the bucket, their gills constantly closing as they breathed.

The joy of today's catch vanished instantly, and all the words on the tip of my tongue were swallowed back down.

Chen Mian felt a sense of forced helplessness. "I've been so low-key, yet I still managed to be exposed unexpectedly."

After thinking about it, I realized the guests should be arriving soon, and it was indeed time to go home.

"Uncle, it's time for me to go back too."

Liu Jun suddenly snapped out of his daze, grabbed the bucket, squatted down, and glared at Chen Mian: "You're taking this fish home to eat?"

"Uncle, do I look like a spendthrift fool?" Chen Mian pouted. This uncle was acting like a child. "Of course, you should sell the mandarin fish."

Liu Jun smacked his lips and couldn't resist reaching into the bucket to toss the mandarin fish one by one. The largest one was estimated to weigh almost three pounds. He couldn't help but calculate in his mind that three mandarin fish would cost at least a hundred yuan.

"Hiss." He couldn't help but gasp as he realized he'd only earned a hundred yuan in a few hours.

When Liu Jun saw Chen Mian packing up to leave, he thought of asking him how to fish for mandarin fish. But when his eyes fell on the fishing rod, he was dumbfounded.

I thought my fishing rod was ordinary enough, but I never expected there would be people more skilled than me, and there are always experts out there.

Examining the broken bamboo pole closely, he couldn't help but turn to look at Chen Mian, his eyes filled with disbelief. How could this broken thing catch mandarin fish, and three of them at that?

Could it be technology?

Can a nineteen-year-old really have this skill?

Was it luck?

Isn't that a bit too lucky?

Unlike Liu Jun's brainstorming session, Chen Mian simply smiled faintly and quietly stuffed the bait into her pocket.

No matter what questions the other party asked, he always attributed it to luck, but he also understood that this position was probably gone.

……

Chen Mian, wearing a straw hat, walked straight home, looking a bit bewildered from afar.

Why is there a crowd gathered in front of my house? Adults and children are making a lot of noise, but I can't understand what they're saying.

As they drew closer, they noticed a white Alto parked at the entrance; Zhuang Changhe had arrived in his car.

Although people were surrounding the car, they all consciously kept a distance. Some children couldn't resist touching it, but their hands were immediately slapped away by adults.

"Zhanguo, you've seen a lot and know a lot. What's the brand of this car?"

Surrounded by people, Yang Zhanguo stood with his arms crossed, chest out, head held high, and back straight.

Wearing a blue polyester short-sleeved shirt and navy blue trousers, he looked clean and neat, making him stand out in the crowd.

He was about to speak when Zhang Lianzhu interrupted him, saying, "This is called a Xiali, right? I saw it once in the countryside, and I heard it costs tens of thousands."

These days, it's rare to find a family in the village with a motorcycle, let alone such an expensive car; you can't even tell the brand from the logo.

"This car is called Alto, and even with the depreciation of the currency, it would still cost around 60,000 to 70,000 yuan to buy one now."

Hearing Lian Zhu insist on comparing the Alto to the Xiali, Yang Zhanguo immediately refuted him seriously.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Lianzhu's expression visibly changed, and he scratched his head, forcing a smile, before shrinking further into the crowd.

People burst into laughter, praising Yang Zhanguo while also teasing the man from before, enjoying the spectacle.

As one of the few knowledgeable people in the village, Yang Zhanguo really regretted coming to watch the spectacle and associating with such bumpkins.

Normally, few things can catch his attention, but today this Alto was too eye-catching. It caught his eye as soon as it entered the village. He never expected that it was a relative of Chen Hongguo. It was really unexpected.

He knew how impressive it was to drive a car worth 60,000 or 70,000 yuan these days, and he really wanted to find an opportunity to get to know him and become familiar with him.

Thinking of this, he looked at the two old men who were staring blankly at him not far away: "Uncle, Second Uncle, what kind of relatives are these? I've never seen them before?"

Chen Tiejun and his companion suddenly came to their senses, their deeply lined faces darkening.

They were hoping this person was a relative so they could benefit from the connection, but unfortunately, while they knew the person, the person didn't know them, and they couldn't help but regret joining in the fun.

Seeing that the two old men didn't speak, Zhao Dahe from the crowd responded: "This is Zhuang Changhe's car, the owner of the plastic factory at the intersection. He's the husband's uncle."

Yang Zhanguo stared at the Alto car, his mouth slightly open as he nodded repeatedly. Zhuang Changhe was very famous in Lianhua Township, but he never expected that he would have such a relationship with Chen Hongguo.

The fact that they personally came to visit means our relationship is definitely not ordinary. We should get to know each other better in the future; maybe we can make connections someday.

"So, the husband's uncle is really rich."

"Incredible! The Red Nation is about to rise up."