"Alright."
After Xie Fuya agreed, Xiaomi ran over directly: "Grandmas and aunties, you all have to raise field fish next year too."
Xiaomi’s voice was quite loud, almost instantly drawing everyone’s attention to herself.
Erniang secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
When Jiang Hu was around, everyone would ask him about things, and she could just busy herself, occasionally picking up a word or two.
Jiang Hu noticed it was getting late and took a cartload of fish to the city, leaving her and Aunt Yang Qixi behind, and everyone suddenly focused on her.
Clearly, there weren’t that many people around yesterday.
"Xiaomi!" Xiaocao heard and quickly waved at Xiaomi: "Hurry, co over, I found a big fish!"
Xiaocao was also helping, barefoot, with her pants rolled up, weaving directly through the paddy field.
Now the rice plants were dense in the field, and only small children could walk through it; adults who were too strong might bend the stalks.
Moreover, all the kids knew how important the grain was, so they were careful not to damage the rice plants while moving around.
"Really? Wait for , I’ll co with you into the field."
Xiaomi also forgot to bring her water boots, so she simply followed Xiaocao’s example, took off her shoes, rolled up her pants, and grabbed a bamboo clip from the edge of the field to go down into the water.
At the sa ti, she didn’t forget to call out to the onlookers: "Uncles and aunties, these fish were also caught with everyone’s help. Once we’re done, everyone can pick two fish to take ho. They’re delicious!"
"That’s right, the fish my husband brought ho yesterday was so tasty. I’ve lived half my life and never knew fish could taste that good!"
A woman chid in eagerly. Xiaomi didn’t know her but guessed she must be Yang Shulin’s wife, as only Uncle Yang had helped yesterday and her father had given him quite a few fish.
"Really? We have to give it a proper taste, but hey, Xiaomi, you say you’ll give us fish; can we count on that?"
Soone teased, worried that the child’s words might not hold and wanting Erniang to confirm it.
Erniang quickly said: "Of course, Xiaomi’s words represent our grown-ups’ intentions. When Jiang Hu left earlier, he also said to give each household in the village a fish."
Just then, Yang Shulin returned with more fish, nodded, and added: "Jiang Hu did ntion that earlier. He also said that next year everyone could raise fish together."
This wasn’t Yang Shulin lying or forcing the Jiang family to teach them; Jiang Hu really had said this.
Everyone looked at Erniang in unison, and she nodded repeatedly: "He did say that. Raising paddy field fish is actually pretty simple; you just put so half-grown fish into the fields."
After planting the seedlings, in about seven or eight days when they are fully rooted and won’t be uprooted by swimming fish, you can start raising fish.
You can’t use fish that are too small, as they won’t grow large enough in half a year. With crucian carp, you can put the small ones that are two fingers wide; for other fish like grass carp, you can use ones that are palm-length.
So people had casually asked Erniang about this, and she had explained it already.
By now, fish had been mostly caught from another acre of the paddy field, with only Xiaomi and Xiaocao still weaving through the fields to find those fish that hadn’t swum out with the current and were stranded within the fields.
With many people helping to catch fish, they quickly moved to the last paddy field, and soone rembered another issue.
"By the way, Erniang, in our village, we only have a few ponds with fish. This year your family had to catch fish from them for a long ti to have enough for raising field fish. If everyone wants to raise fish next year, where will we get so many fish?"
The water from the paddy field was drained through the irrigation channels, and the very small fish and eggs had no chance to stay and grow.
So raising fish next year would indeed be a challenge.
Yang Shulin was waiting for this question and imdiately said: "What are you worried about? My brother-in-law fishes in the lake, you know the lake north of the city, right? You wouldn’t believe how many fish are in there!"
Yang Shulin’s wife quickly nodded: "Yes, yes, Shulin told yesterday that Erniang’s husband said they would buy young fish from my brother next year."
When fishing, it’s impossible to select only big fish, so the small ones are usually released back into the lake. If villagers buy them, that could be a significant source of inco.
Yang Shulin’s wife was delighted inside. Her parents were old now and lived with her brother, who had several children.
If they could sell a batch of small fish every year, they could earn quite a bit.
And her brother didn’t just rely on fishing to make a living; he also fard. Couldn’t he raise fish himself?
The more she thought about it, the better it seed, and her smile grew wider, feeling that the Jiang family had co at just the right ti!
They had earned quite a bit working on Jiang’s pigsty and during the busy harvest by bringing in her brother to work alongside her husband. Now they were being taught to raise field fish, and who knows how much more they could earn next year!
"Really? That’s great, let your brother sell them a bit cheaper. After all, the restaurant doesn’t take small fish, so sell them to us for less, and we’ll buy a lot."
Sharp-minded ones were already haggling and negotiating a deal.
As for freeloading? Except for those unreasonable ones, hardly any villagers had this idea. Every family exchanged favors, like gifting a cabbage and receiving a few fruits in return.
But with so many families in the village and quite a few paddy fields, if everyone buys, even if it’s a bit cheaper, they could earn quite a bit.
Yang Shulin’s wife patted her belly, her face blossoming with a smile,
"Of course, we’re all neighbors, so we won’t charge high prices. I’ll talk to my brother and sister-in-law personally; we’ll just earn so hard-earned money. It’s a long-term business."
If field fish could be sold, then next year, the year after that, and every year thereafter, they would need to buy young fish!
Reviews
All reviews (0)