Return to 1983 Hunting Xing'an Mountains

Chapter 481 Fishing, Going to the Market to Buy Copper Coins
Yellow chrysanthemum is a medicinal herb. In later generations, people specialized in growing yellow chrysanthemum, but its medicinal effect is indeed very poor. It is not as strong as the wild ones grown in the mountains. Moreover, its texture and taste are also very poor. It tastes like dry grass and has no flavor at all when chewed.

The reason lies in the soil and environment. Just like vegetables grown in greenhouses in winter, they certainly don't taste as good as those grown in one's own garden in accordance with the season.

Of course, there are also reasons for the variety, but the environment has a greater impact. For example, the same variety of cucumbers, grown in the same way, taste very different in the north and south...

The next day, around 5 o'clock in the morning, Sun Lianyu, the Hong brothers and the three boys came to Old Sun's house. On the round table in the west room were steamed buns, fried dough sticks, soy milk, tofu pudding, and leftovers from last night. Everyone had a quick bite and then hurriedly packed up and threw their things into the car.

Xu Ning, Sun Jiwei and Lian Fang sat in the passenger seat while Sun Jiye drove straight to the large reservoir. In the back car sat Yu, Hong, Jun, Xu and three other young men of the same age. Next to them were piled fishing rods, fishing lines, reed floats, ground traps, net bags, as well as rain boots, rain pants, casting nets, and so on.

Dahe Village has a very favorable geographical location, with mountains, water and forests. In this mountain village, as long as you are a little wealthy, you can basically live a comfortable life.

At nearly 6 o'clock, the car stopped in a small woods in the middle of the large reservoir. Then everyone jumped out of the car, each carrying a net bag and other things, and went into the woods. After walking about meters, they reached the shore of the reservoir.

Someone built an open space of more than 30 square meters here, with a fishing spot made of stones. Sun Lianhong pointed at the fishing spot stutteringly, indicating Wei and Ye to occupy the fishing spot, and he was looking for a good spot for Xu Ning.

Sun Jiye waved his hand and said, "You guys stay here and play. We'll go fish on the sunken ship ahead."

Sun Lianyu smiled and said, "Hey, Uncle San, let me help you move all your things over."

"Now is the time for you to be diligent. Just use those two fishing rods and a stool."

After Sun Jiwei finished speaking, he saw three guys quickly take out two fishing rods and bait, a stool, and a water tip. Sun Jiwei said with a stern face: "You three go over first."

He walked up to Xu Ning and gave him some advice, saying bluntly, "Don't believe anything Lian Yu says. Just treat it as his fart, okay? He lies all the time, what can he say?"

Xu Ning smiled and said, "I understand, Second Uncle, come over and play with my Third Uncle."

After Wei and Ye left, Sun Lianyu, Hong, Jun, Xu and others all relaxed. Sun Lianfang mixed the bait and tilted his head and said, "Brother, can you fish?"

"Whether you know how to fish or not depends on the fish conditions."

Xu Ning glanced at the fishing rods on the ground. The equipment was a bit simple, and the fishing rods were all made of thin bamboo. However, the fishing rod in Sun Lianhong's hand was more interesting. It was an old bamboo pole with a spinning wheel, the lead weight was made by himself, the float was cut out of a dry poplar branch, and the fishhook was made by burning a knitting needle and then breaking it with pliers. All in all, it had a bit of the flavor of lure.

Sun Lianjun was holding a fishing line board, but no fishing rod. The lead weight on the fish hook was very heavy, which was convenient for casting.

"Brother Xu, try the hand pole first. I'll let you take a look at the iron pole I developed myself later!"

Xu Ning took the fishing rod handed to him by Sun Lianyu and asked with a smile: "What kind of iron rod?"

Sun Lianfang interrupted, "My brother Yu made his own fishing rod out of welded iron pipes. It's very heavy!"

"Oh, I was thinking of keeping it a secret."

Sun Lianyu quickly took out three iron pipes from the black cloth bag, inserted them into the bag according to their thickness, and then fixed them with nails inserted into the holes. He also inserted two welded sprockets from a 28-inch bicycle to serve as the textile wheels. This idea was truly amazing.

"Oh my god, Brother Yu, you are really good at it."

Sun Lianyu said proudly, "Of course I will. Didn't I say it before? I will obey anyone when it comes to doing serious work, but I won't obey anyone when it comes to having fun! You can try it later. This rod can easily catch a carp weighing more than ten kilograms..."

"Okay! Let's play first."

Sun Lianhong had already secured the fish and placed stools at the fishing spot, two or three meters apart. He then took out earthworms from a glass jar and placed them at each fishing spot, urging, "Slowly, slowly, slowly..."

"What are you talking about, brother? My second brother told you to go to that good fishing spot, put the earthworm on the hook and throw it out, and that's it."

Hong was a stutterer. When others heard him speak, they became anxious. He also became anxious, so the more anxious he became, the worse his condition became. Sun Lianyu was used to it. After he helped Xu Ning explain, he said, "Brother Xu, there are still buns in this pocket. They are not for us to eat. They are for feeding the fish."

"clear."

Fishing these days emphasizes low costs, unlike in later generations where there are all kinds of baits and equipment. Although anglers also want good equipment, technology cannot keep up with their brains, so they can only use their brains to make them.

After everyone was in place, they fell into the boring fishing. Actually, Xu Ning didn't like fishing very much. It would be very frustrating to sit there all day without catching anything. However, Sun Lianhong was quite good. He caught a two-jin crucian carp just after sitting down for more than ten minutes. As time passed, Yu, Jun and Xu Ning also caught a few fish, but they were not big, only three or four jin in weight.

This made Sun Lianfang very anxious. She sat on a mat with a straw hat on, scratching her head. Finally, she threw away the fishing rod, picked up the fish hook, called Sun Lianxu and went to the upstream of the reservoir. Then the two of them hung earthworms on the fish hook and threw the hook into the small ditch connected to the reservoir.

In less than five minutes, Sun Lianfang pulled out six fish, all of which were carp and silver carp weighing five or six kilograms, and even a croaker...

When the two of them went back to show off, Sun Jiye and Sun Jiwei also came over.

"Did you go to Old Wu's fish pond? It's in the ditch about 200 meters ahead."

"Ah? That's a fish pond. I thought it was a wild pond." Sun Lianfang's expression darkened visibly.

"Oh my god, you are really capable. Hurry up and send the fish back. I will take you on the boat to cast the net later."

Sun Lianfang handed the fish to Xu, and Xu Ning said with a smile: "It's more fun to use the fishhook on the boat. After you cast the hook, wait for half an hour before collecting it. Isn't it better than casting the hook on the shore?"

"I see you guys keep catching fish, and my head is buzzing."

"Hahaha, Lian Fang is really jealous. Oh, I laughed so hard that tears came out of my eyes."

Sun Lianfang nags Sun Jiwei, "Don't laugh! If you laugh again, I'll run away from home."

"Haha... Lianfang, you're playing with my fishing rod. I've already made a nest at this location. I'm going to take a break."

She took the fishing rod from Xu Ning, stood in front of the fishing spot, and soon caught a crucian carp. Only then did Sun Lianfang regain her energy.

At around 9 o'clock, everyone put away their fishing rods and went to the reservoir dock. After boarding the boat, everyone rested for a while, and when the boat reached the middle of the reservoir, they cast the net.

This boat belongs to Old Sun's family. It is usually docked at the dock. Whenever they have time, they go out to fish. The fish are then transported to the dock and unloaded directly into cars for transportation. They can make a lot of money from each net of fish. After all, fish resources are free of cost. The costs are mainly concentrated on the boat, cars and transportation.

There are many kinds of fish in the Sandaohe Reservoir, not to mention the common fish, there are also salmon, bigmouth bass, fine scale, arctic trout, etc.

Although fishing is rather boring, it is very fulfilling. Looking at the bountiful harvest, everyone had a smile on their face.

After transporting a net of fish to the dock, they squatted down and picked out more than 30 fish, including grass carp, silver carp, salmon, croaker, and crucian carp.

Throwing it into a sack, Sun Jiye asked the people waiting to unload at the dock to weigh the remaining fish. He took out a notebook, recorded the accounts, and got into the car, ready to return to the village.

Originally, Sun Lianyu planned to catch fish later, but Xu Ning was not in a good mood. He had a good catch on the boat, so there was no point in continuing fishing. So everyone went home after a discussion. It was only 3 o'clock anyway, and they could cook the fish after they got home! The car was driving on the dirt road along the river. Sun Jiye, who was holding the steering wheel, turned his head and asked, "Erning, Lianyu asked you to go fishing. Didn't he tell you anything?"

Xu Ning was stunned for a moment and shook his head: "You didn't say anything."

Sun Jiwei asked: "Did he ask you for anything? For example, did he ask you to help him come up with a plan to find a job where you can earn money while lying down?"

"No, we just talked about how Xiao was playing in the mud a few days ago. He didn't tell me anything else."

"Oh, that's fine." Sun Jiwei nodded and said, "This kid is a little unstable. I'm afraid you might drag him into the ditch."

Xu Ning laughed broadly: "Hahahaha...Second Uncle, I'm full of ink, how can he beat me? I'm lucky I don't push him into the fire pit."

Sun Lianfang grinned and added: "Brother, the ink is black, so you must have bad intentions."

"Children should not interrupt when adults are talking!" Sun Jiwei said with a squinting look.

But Sun Lianfang didn't buy it at all, and said with a smile: "Brother, when you have time, please teach me how to treat the little stone."

"Didn't I tell you all this? Just talk to him. Shitou is a man who cares a lot about his reputation. You should give him enough reputation outside and coax him to work at home. He is more diligent than anyone else."

Sun Jiwei was very curious and asked, "How did you coax her? I'll coax your second mother too."

"Hahaha, Dad, you and my mom are already an old married couple, do you still need to be coaxed? My mom knows what to do with just one look from you."

Sun Jiwei was quite satisfied after hearing this. His daughter's words entered his ears and his heart, making him feel a little itchy. He couldn't help laughing and said, "You are getting better at chatting now. You used to be a little stiff, but now you are more natural."

"It's not that bad, second brother. Lianfang praised me yesterday and I blushed. Oh..."

Sun Lianfang laughed: "Haha... you're blushing because of this compliment? I only used 30% of my strength!"
-
The next day, at around 7 o'clock, just after breakfast, Sun Lianfang, Jun and Xu were ready to go.

When Sun Jiwei heard that they were going to the market, he wanted to join in the fun, but his daughter squeezed 50 yuan out of him. He gave up after thinking about it, otherwise when they got to the market, his daughter would definitely have to ask him for anything she wanted to buy. It's not that he was unwilling to pay, but if his daughter acted like a spoiled child in public, it would easily make him blush.

Besides, Guan Lei, Xu Laonian, Wu Zhouquan and others were coming over at noon, so he had to clean up at home and couldn't rely on his wife for everything.

Neither Sun Jiye nor Third Aunt came this morning. The couple was cleaning the room. They had to wipe the floor, ceiling, kang mat, windowsill, and any dusty place twice. After Lao Chai's family left two days ago, they took off the quilt covers and dried them again. Third Aunt also had to re-stretch the mattress and prepare the washbasin, soap, and other things.

There are town markets and village markets in Sandaohe. Dahe Village holds a market on every fifth day. The big market is at the east end of the village, and people from the surrounding villages come to have a look.

It takes more than ten minutes to walk northeast from Lao Sun’s house to reach the place. Standing at the entrance of the market and looking inside, there are really crowds of people.

Xu Ning is tall. Looking around, he saw a crowd of people. Some were carrying green military bags, some were wearing green military caps, and there were also many women wearing colorful headscarves to protect themselves from the wind and sand.

Amid the noise, one can clearly hear the hawking of vendors and the cries of children playing with donkeys.

At the entrance of the market, people sell fried cakes, fried meatballs, and rice cakes. Most of the food is sold there. Going further in, people sell mountain products, such as Ganoderma lucidum, ginseng, and owls. But these things are basically unsalable, so there are also people selling badgers, roe deer, deer, and wild boar meat. There are even people selling bear paws and big cat fangs...

Sun Lianfang only ate a few bites in the morning. She was waiting to buy rice cakes to taste the saltiness, so she spent two yuan to buy four pounds of rice cakes. It tasted sweet when dipped in sugar, but she couldn't eat too much as it would cause heartburn.

As for the fried cakes, fried meatballs, fried sweet potato strips and potato strips, she didn't even look at them. Usually, Third Aunt liked to fry something and she provided them with enough.

Xu Ning squeezed through the crowd and came to the large section, where they sold farm tools such as baskets, brooms, shovels, pickaxes, and foot pikes. What is a foot pike? It is an indispensable tool for climbing trees and picking pine cones.

Things like baskets and brooms are sold less frequently, as people nowadays can make their own, so why spend money to buy them? Of course, some people will buy them to save trouble.

After finally finding someone selling ancient copper coins, Xu Ning was a little dumbfounded as soon as he squatted down, because there were so many types of copper coins and he had no idea what they were!
"Do you have Five Emperors' Coins?"

The stall owner gave a thumbs up and said, "Brother knows what he's talking about! Do you want the Great Five Emperors or the Qing Five Emperors?"

"Look at the Five Emperors of the Qing Dynasty."

"Hanging on the beams, pressing the door threshold? Oh, then you don't need to have a very good set, this set is enough!"

Xu Ning glanced at the stall owner who handed him the string of copper coins and asked, "How are they sold?"

"5 yuan."

Sun Lianfang stood by and said, "I wouldn't even take this broken copper coin for free, how dare you sell it for 5 yuan? Brother, let's go for a walk."

"Let's go."

Xu Ning also wanted to leave, because he didn't know whether the copper coins were real or not, let alone whether they were good or bad. But asking for 5 yuan for a copper coin of such quality was really like asking for a sucker.

"Hey, brother, you can talk! You're still a chatterbox. Chat more and I'll open a shop."

"My sister said she doesn't want it for free, can you give it to me for free? We are not destined to be together, you can try again."

After saying that, Xu Ning was about to leave. The stall owner hurriedly shouted, "Two yuan! One yuan! No less! Fifty cents is not enough? Oh my god, two cents! Brother, two cents will let me open a shop..."

Xu Ning turned around and asked, "Do you often set up a stall here?"

Sun Lianxu said: "Brother, this man is from the Zhao family in Hedongtun. His eldest brother and my father used to be classmates."

The stall owner was stunned when he heard this and said, "Are you from Old Sun's family? Oh my god, then just tell me the truth, and I won't lie. This stall was set up with the help of Brother Ye! Brother, I'll give you this string, and I'll get you a set of better quality ones, still 20 cents, how about that?"

Xu Ning shook his head: "Whatever happens, you give me six sets and four sets of Qian Daojia, and I'll give you two dollars in total."

"Six sets? I have to match them now. Qian Daojia is easy to arrange. If you give me two, you will lose money. In this way, I will give you two more to spend money. Is that ok?"

"Okay, send it directly to Old Sun's house after you finish it."

Xu Ning held two yuan in his hand and handed it to the stall owner. He took it, glanced at it, and said, "No problem! You have to wait until the market is over at noon. Don't worry, I will match you with a few sets of good quality ones, and they will definitely not be sloppy."

The Sun family has already moved out, how dare he do anything?

(End of this chapter)