Return to the small mountain village in 1983

Chapter 37 The long worm and the old turtle
  "What happened?"

Lin Yue ran over first and asked.

"A predator just got into the house, and dad just caught it and was about to let it go." Sister-in-law Liu Juan replied.

"This yellow man weighs at least four kilograms. He is really fat." Father Lin was holding a big snake with yellow patterns. The snake was one to four to five meters long and thicker than an adult's wrist. It was wrapped around Father Lin's shoulders.

Huanghan is the local name here, and its scientific name is Wang Jinshe, also called cauliflower snake.

"Dad, give me the snake, and I'll take it to the river and release it to prevent it from running back home." Lin Heng looked at his father and suddenly said.

A male child in the countryside herds cattle in the hills and dares to catch snakes in his teens. Except for the superstitious people, others are not very afraid of them.

"That's fine!" Lin's father nodded and gave the snake to Lin Heng without much thought.

"Then I will shine the flashlight for you." The eldest brother Lin Yue said and was about to go with him.

"No, just let Xiulan take the photo for me. You can take the eel back and raise it first." Lin Heng shook his head.

"That's okay." Lin Yue nodded and didn't care about it.

Xiulan took a flashlight and walked up to the river with Lin Heng, while her elder brother Lin Yue and others returned to the house.

Others rushed to ask Lin Yue how many eels he had caught tonight and wanted to see the goods.

After walking a certain distance, Xiulan suddenly said: "Are you going to secretly pack up the snake and sell it?"

Hearing this, Lin Heng was surprised: "How did you know?"

He didn't expect his wife to guess it. Indeed, he had this idea when he saw the snake. It's just that his parents were superstitious and said that selling snakes was not good and would lead to retaliation.

But he doesn't believe this at all. In his opinion, making money so that his family can live a good life is the right thing to do.

The purchase price of Huang Han and the others here is three yuan per catty. This yellow Han can be sold for at least ten yuan, which is equivalent to half a month's salary of others.

"If you had no other ideas, you wouldn't take the initiative to take on this kind of job."

Xiulan looked at him and said, a little scared: "Why don't you let it go? It wouldn't be good if Dad knew about it. They all said that this thing has spirituality and cannot be sold."

"It's at least ten yuan, don't worry about it, I'll sell it quietly." Lin Heng's attitude was very determined. He was in urgent need of start-up capital now.

Besides, he had never sold a snake in his previous life, so he was not unlucky, and nothing happened to those who sold snakes.

In order to accumulate original capital, he would sell hundreds of snakes, not to mention one snake.

The reason I didn't catch the water snake before and sell it was because they wouldn't accept it. The vendors here only accept three types of snakes, namely Huang Han (Wang Jin Snake), Ma Han (Black-browed Jin Snake), and Black Tip Snake.

Other snakes are of no use to you unless you eat them yourself.

When Xiulan heard about ten yuan, she was silent. If she picked herbal medicine, it would take two months to earn so much money.

"Then do you have a bag?" Xiulan finally acquiesced.

"No, let's go to other people's homes to find one." Lin Heng shook his head and said. He could only find a way to find a bag at this late hour. Snakes can't be killed, and dead ones can't be sold.

"I have a bag. I shot pigweed today and put a bag in the ground. I'll get it for you." Xiulan said and went to find the bag.

"Be careful." Lin Heng warned, then squatted down and waited.

Looking at the yellow snake in my hand, I saw that such a big thing is rare, because in recent years, people have often caught snakes, and the big ones have been caught so hard that they can no longer be seen.

"The bag is here." Xiulan brought over a cloth bag. This was a bag she sewed with rags. After putting the snake in, Lin Heng sealed its mouth and hung it on a tree stump in the forest. He would bring a basket to put it in the next morning.

"Okay, let's go back." Lin Heng smiled slightly and pulled Xiulan back.

When they got home, everyone else had already rested, and the eels were kept in a wooden barrel. Xiulan took a look at them and said in surprise: "So many."

"It's the first time I've caught them this year. Of course there are more, but there won't be so many in the future." Lin Heng said with a smile.

After taking a look at the eel, Lin Heng went to look at the eggs. Today, most of the fry hatched in the eggs began to tremble slightly, and they would be completely hatched in two days at most.

"Wash your feet quickly and have a rest." Xiulan brought Lin Heng foot-washing water and said softly.

Lin Heng nodded, washed his feet and went to bed. His whole body was sore these days, but he had no choice, he had to work hard to make money.

Early the next morning, it rained, not heavily, but drizzle.

This kind of rain is a good time to plant sweet potatoes. Mother Lin, Caiyun and Xiulan went to plant sweet potatoes at [-]:[-], while Father Lin was still helping Carpenter Liang.

Lin Heng didn't get out of bed until almost six o'clock. He ate half of the pickled cabbage soup left in the pot and fed half to Xiong Ba.

"Get up, then go to the town with your brother to order terracotta tiles. Order [-] terracotta tiles first. If it's not enough, we'll wait."

Father Lin saw Lin Heng getting up and said quickly.

"I know, I'll go to the river to take a look first."

Lin Heng said something and ran out with a bamboo basket.

First, he went to the woods where the snake was hidden and checked to make sure that the snake was okay. Lin Heng put it in the basket and pulled out some pigweed and put it on top.

Then he hurried to the river. If he was late and his things were taken away, it would be a big loss.

Lin Heng ran hurriedly for one kilometer to the river. He didn't even have time to wipe off the sweat. Lin Heng looked at the place where he set the fishhook last night.

Whoa! !
  There was only a sound of splashing water, and a big turtle was struggling wildly in the water. Lin Heng didn't even take a breath, and he pulled the cotton string and flew it to the shore.

Only when you step on it with your feet will you feel at ease. Only when you are sure that you have it, it is yours.

"It's really big, it must weigh three pounds." Lin Heng looked at the giant turtle that was frantically flipping its limbs and stretching its neck to bite him.

As expected, it ate the creek grouper that was on its hook last night. After all, it is too difficult to catch an uninjured fish. It would definitely not be able to resist an injured fish that cannot swim fast.

Facts have proved that as a senior fisherman, Lin Heng had a good grasp of the turtle's psychology. The fishhook accurately penetrated its chin, preventing it from breaking free and escaping.

Pulling the cotton thread, Lin Heng grabbed his head, took out the fishhook and put it into the big bag he had prepared and took it away.

On the way back, Lin Heng was excited
  The so-called soft-shelled turtle is also the turtle, and the turtle that people often call him is also him. Wild turtle is a great tonic, and a farewell to my concubine can be sold for dozens of dollars.

This soft-shell turtle can be sold to a restaurant in town for three yuan a pound, which is fine. It is very rare and difficult to catch.

If you can get it from a hotel in the city, it can be sold at a higher price.

Seeing Lin Heng coming back, his eldest brother Lin Yue quickly came over and asked, "Have you gained anything?"

Father Lin and Carpenter Liang also looked over. They had just heard from Lin Yue that Lin Heng set a fishhook in the river last night, hoping to catch the turtle that escaped yesterday.

Both of them had little hope for this, but when Lin Heng came back, they couldn't help but look at him.

(End of this chapter)