Chapter Eighteen: Gathering Fish

  After seeing off the villagers, only Chu Jiaqiang, Ershu and Tang Pangzi were left in the orchard.

  Tang Baozi looked at the fruit trees that had been picked clean, now only two unripe jujubes and some mandarins the size of fingers were left.

  "Little brother, Fat Brother has already told you! The remaining two large jujube trees and those citrus fruits are also included." Tang Baozi felt a bit regretful, the fruit from Chu's family was good but not in large quantities.

  "Fat brother, don't be so ruthless! Can't you leave some for us to eat?" Chu Jiaqiang was somewhat dissatisfied. Earlier, he wanted to keep half of each fruit tree for himself, but Tang Baozi contacted his second uncle to pressure him, resulting in not a single ripe fruit left.

  Tang Baozi hadn't spoken yet, when Second Uncle spoke up: "Can we eat that much? Don't worry, Little Tang, the fruit will be left for you. Once it's ripe, I'll get Ah Qiang to notify you right away."

  Tang Baozi smiled complacently at Chu Jiaqiang: "Then thank you, big brother!"

  The Chu family was left speechless and helpless, defeated. He knew that Second Uncle would speak up, the three or four pieces of fruit were something that Second Uncle wouldn't spare for himself to eat.

  "Right, this land is still quite empty! Younger brother, you have the space to fill it up, and it should be possible to plant two or three times more fruit trees. Otherwise, this precious land will go to waste." Tang Baozi didn't forget to ask Chu Jiaqiang to expand his planting until the very end.

  Chu Jiaqiang shook his head and said, "Those empty places, I plan to plant some melons and vegetables." Then he pointed to a small valley not far away and said, "See? I'm going to grow fruit there. The place is big enough, it should be able to grow a lot, so you don't have to keep chattering in my ear, Brother Pang."

  Tang Pangzi looked back and found that the valley was indeed quite large, planting one or two thousand fruit trees would not be a problem. He nodded in satisfaction and asked again: "Younger brother, what kind of fruit are you planning to plant? I'll give you some advice, you can plant peach trees, your peaches are very good, you have experience. You can also consider cherry and grape, these two fruits are expensive on the market, just don't know if Lao An can grow high-quality ones."

  The Chu family was moved in their hearts, this is indeed a good choice, can try.

  "I used to specialize in studying the growth patterns of various plants, cherries and grapes shouldn't be a big problem, but fruit seedlings are not easy to handle! We need to find some good varieties, this is also the key to planting." Chu Jiaqiang frowned.

  "This is easy, I have a way, I'll introduce you to some people from the nursery, and when the time comes, just pick the good ones." Tang Baozi immediately patted his chest to guarantee.

  "Thanks a lot, Brother Bao!" Chu Jiaqiang was just about to go to the Yu Miao Orchard, preparing to bring back several more varieties of fruit.

  Second Uncle and Second Aunt immediately thanked Tang Pangzi, they now realized that their nephew's previous choice seemed to have a hopeful dawn. This fruit garden alone earned over 100,000 yuan, if the mountain valley was also planted, it would exceed one million per year. It was hard for them to imagine, never thought that in rural areas, you could earn more than one million per year. They mentally prepared and tried to manage the fruit trees on their own mountain land.

  "Huh? There are so many fish here! You didn't release them to raise, did you, little brother?" Tang Pangzi had just discovered the fish in the water ditch and they were incredibly dense.

  "No, they came in from outside the Chu family river. They're all wild, we caught some two days ago, and now so many more have run in." Chu Jiaqiang shrugged his shoulders.

  Tang Baozi's eyes lit up as soon as he heard it.

  "Little brother, catch a few quickly and take them back to stew. Wild ones, damn it's too good! Oh yeah! What a big yellow croaker, great stuff, great stuff!" Tang Baozi stared straight at the fish, shrimp and crabs in the ditch.

  Second Uncle immediately went back to fetch fishing gear, preparing to serve Fatso, this big rich man.

  Tang Baozi held a net, running back and forth, but couldn't catch a single fish. Instead, he caught several river crabs that provoked him, these guys didn't care what kind of big creature you were, as long as you got close, they would swing their big pincers over.

  "Damn it! It's really wild. Ran too fast! I'm exhausted!" Tang Baozi squatted down, panting heavily, and everyone looking at him felt tired.

  "Let me do it! You're so clumsy, you won't even catch enough for one meal by nightfall." Chu Jiaqiang took over the net and moved with lightning speed, instantly scooping up a 20-centimeter-long black fish as big as a palm.

  Fat boy stared blankly for a long time, his mouth opened and closed, and finally let out a sigh. He had been messing around for half a day and only caught a few worthless crabs, while Chu Jiaqiang caught a big fish with just one throw of the net.

  "Wow! Didn't this bowfish just pop up at night? How come it's so bold now, even daring to run out and swim around in the daytime?" Second Uncle immediately caught the black fish.

  The locals call it the "bow fish" because its body resembles a bow, and the grayish-white belly also has some patterns that resemble the curved bow.

  This fish is very timid and doesn't dare come out during the day, only coming out at night to eat small fish and shrimp.

  Soon, Chu Jiaqiang threw two more into the ground, one big and one small. Originally, Chu Jiaqiang wanted to catch that grass carp of over 2 catties, but when he cast his net, he also caught a carp beside it.

  "That carp is too small, throw it back!" said Second Uncle after taking a look.

  Fatty was in high spirits again, and immediately enthusiastically wanted to put the carp back into the water ditch. Just as he was about to take action, a bird flying overhead swooped down and snatched the carp away in an instant.

  "My god!" Tang Baozi stared blankly for a moment before blurting out an obscenity.

  Others couldn't help but laugh. This fat man, although a city dweller and quite wealthy, didn't have the air of superiority that city people usually had. He could chat with anyone freely, and his speech wasn't as refined as a typical city gentleman; sometimes he even sounded like a street thug, either clapping shoulders or using foul language nonstop.

  "I'll catch a few more, and take them away when I leave this afternoon. Wild river fish are not easy to find now, these are top-grade stuff." Tang Pangzi was quite unceremonious, wanting to pack them up and take them back. What he said wasn't false though, in the city, it's really hard to get a taste of wild game.

  At noon, Baozi ate a big meal and loosened his belt several times. The chopsticks moved so fast that half of the carp ended up in Baozi's belly. He patted his stomach and said: "This fish is not bad, it's my first time eating it! Are there many in this river? Brother Shengmin, take note for me, I can also help collect them in the village, this fish is 100 yuan per catty. Hmm! The river crab is also good, it's 150 yuan per catty. I want these non-polluted wild fish too, the price is three times that of the market. In three or four hours, I'll take them back.

  Second Uncle agreed as soon as he heard it. There were many remaining labor forces in the Chu family village, and except for the busy farming season when everyone was busy, they had a lot of free time. They would also catch fish from the river from time to time and bring them back to eat. Now that someone is buying, he certainly won't decline. Moreover, he can also make some money himself, Fatso offers 100 yuan per kilogram, and he will collect 8 or 9 kilograms, the villagers still believe it's a good deal.

  Second Aunt and Chu Yatou were stunned for a long time, never thinking that the fish they used to eat frequently would be so expensive. Pork was only around 10 yuan per catty, and there were also people selling fish in town, but it was only six or seven yuan per catty, which was even cheaper than pork.

  Second Uncle didn't hesitate, and immediately went to the village chief's house to discuss this matter. The village chief listened, his eyes lit up, and immediately broadcasted a notice: Shengmin will purchase river fish on behalf of others, Zhanggong fish 85 yuan per catty, river crabs 120 yuan per catty...

  The villagers heard it and people who were working in the fields all ran into the river.

  "Fat brother, I'll let my second uncle buy the river fish, there might be a lot later, can you finish them?" Chu Jiaqiang couldn't help but worry about this problem. It's well known that: where there is great reward, there must be brave men! At such a high price, the villagers will definitely fight for it.

  "Don't worry! Later, you guys get me a few large water tanks and put the received fish in them. If there are many, I'll have someone drive in to transport them away. If not, we can use that small truck from your village to take them out." Tang Pangzi waved his hand, he wasn't planning on selling these fish, but rather taking them back to dig a fish pond and raise them for food.

  It's actually, he took it out to sell, and there must be a profit, that kind of Zhang Gong Yu, he dared to say 150 yuan per catty, definitely many people are willing to buy, it must be in short supply. But good things are better left for oneself to enjoy, he doesn't lack money either, isn't making money just for enjoyment?

  Two or three hours later, villagers came to Ershu's house in twos and threes, carrying water buckets. Erjie had already found two large water tanks, but didn't fill them up immediately. Ershu was busy weighing the fish, with more people getting 200-300 yuan and less people getting tens of yuan. Everyone was thrilled today, earning so much in just two hours, usually they would be exhausted and only earn 50-60 yuan a day.

  The one who earned the most was Chu Jiaqiang's second uncle. In just two hours, he earned over 1,000 yuan, simply by helping to weigh and pack goods.

  Because there aren't many fish, they were divided into two water tanks. The fat man directly gave the village chief's son 200 (yuan), and transported them to the town.

  Sorry about that! I didn't update for the past two days because of computer issues.