Reborn back to 1984

Chapter 13

As long as she doesn't pay out, Shen Heying can mess with Zhang Xiuqing as she pleases, but she doesn't like it at all.Sunan is a well-known land of fish and rice. Eight out of ten men know how to fish. If they could make money, the people in the village would have been rich long ago. It would be Zhang Xiuqing's turn.

Zhang Lingen was actually not very optimistic about it, but Zhang Xiuqing had just failed the college entrance examination, and finally adjusted his mentality. He couldn't bear to hit her again, and decided to agree to her request first, regardless of whether he could sell it or not.

Hearing is believing, seeing is believing, even though Zhang Xiuqing is full of confidence, Zhang Xiuhong is still uneasy, but other than that, she has no choice but to hold on to this life-saving straw, hoping that sister can create a miracle .

Zhang Xiuqing couldn't tell what they were thinking, and she was not discouraged, but instead strengthened her determination to make money.

During the busy farming season, people were exhausted. After Zhang and his wife sat in the yard for a while, Zhang Lingen stood up, took two benches, and placed them side by side under the eaves of the corridor, with a distance of about two meters between them; A bamboo couch was placed on top of the stool, and straw mats were spread and mosquito nets hung up. After a while, a simple bed was set up.

In the early 80s, few families in rural areas could afford electric fans. There were only two ways to cool off, one was the cattail fan, and the other was natural wind.

In midsummer, although the temperature at night is not as high as during the day, it is still unbearable. Even if you sit still, you will sweat all over your body. I have prickly heat all over my body, but if I sleep under the eaves of the corridor and enjoy the natural wind, it will be much cooler.

In this era, social security is very good. Almost every household does not lock the door, and the courtyard walls are very low. Some people do not even have courtyard walls. Whether they sleep inside or outside the house, there is not much difference in terms of safety. , but men and women are different after all, and the folk customs are not very open, and older girls and younger daughters-in-law are relatively more restrained.If they dared to sleep outside the house with their arms and legs exposed, they would be drowned by the spittle of the villagers.

After washing up, the four of them rested without waiting for Zhang Xiaofeng to come back.Zhang's couple slept under the eaves of the corridor, and Zhang's sisters went back to sleep in the house, but their house was on the west side, and the windows were not open, so it was stuffy, and when the windows were opened, all the mosquitoes flew into the house.

Zhang Xiuhong found a match in the dark, lit a kerosene lamp, put it on a windproof glass cover, and carefully carried it inside the grass cloth tent.At this time, synthetic fibers had already entered the lives of ordinary people. There were already nylon and polyester tents on the market, but they were not yet popularized. Many people still used cotton or linen tents at home.

Zhang Xiuqing remembers that in a year or two, nylon mosquito nets will enter thousands of households. As long as she can save enough capital by the end of the year, she will be able to go to Shanghai to buy a batch of nylon mesh cloth and come back next spring, and then find someone to make mosquito nets for sale. Make a fortune.If you miss this opportunity, you can only eat other people's leftovers.

Relatively speaking, the cotton tent is a little better, but the grass cloth tent is horrible, thick and airtight, and sleeping in it is like sleeping in a steamer.Because of the poor light transmission, it is impossible to see whether there are mosquitoes in the tent with the naked eye.I don't know who was the first to come up with a good way, and actually thought of using a windproof kerosene lamp to catch it.

Zhang Xiuqing was lying on the bed, watching her sister kneeling on her knees, holding the lamp with both hands. When she found a mosquito on the net, she moved the lamp under the mosquito. In the blink of an eye, the mosquito was blown away by the heat. , fell soundlessly into the lamp, and burned to ashes.

After catching the mosquitoes, Zhang Xiuhong turned the adjustment knob to the left to turn off the kerosene lamp.In the darkness, the two sisters were sleeping side by side, shaking cattail fans in their hands.Zhang Xiuhong was worried, but she couldn't hold it back: "Sister, what if my father can't sell the fish and shrimp after hunting them?"

Zhang Xiuqing immediately understood that her younger sister's thinking was still limited to the traditional business model, and smiled and said, "Did you think that after Dad caught fish and shrimp, we would go to the vegetable market to set up a stall and wait for the business to come? What if No one patronizes, so we can only take it home or throw it away?"

"Isn't it? How else would you sell it?"

"Of course not. Today I will teach you another lesson. You have to remember that business is dead, but people are alive. If we want to sell short-supply goods that are in short supply, it is natural that the wine is not afraid of deep alleys. If not , then you can’t use this method, otherwise, I’m afraid you won’t be able to sell dozens of catties a day. Think about it, besides waiting for business to come, what else can you do to sell fish and shrimp?”

Zhang Xiuhong lived to be 15 years old, and it was the first time she heard the saying that "doing business is also a matter of knowledge". She couldn't help opening her eyes wide in the dark, and said in surprise and joy: "Do you want to walk the streets like those popsicle sellers?" Hanging around alleys, door-to-door to sell?"

Children can be taught, Zhang Xiuqing said happily: "The idea is right, but the goal is wrong. We want to sell door-to-door, but not to the general public, but to restaurants, restaurants, food stalls and other eating places."

Zhang Xiuhong couldn't help hesitating: "This, can this work?"

"It's up to man, if you don't try it, how will you know it won't work!" Zhang Xiuqing said in an unquestionable tone: "You believe in sister, we will definitely succeed. Well, don't think so much, we have to get up early tomorrow, let's do it early After finishing the farm work, you can go to earn money earlier.”

"Okay, sister, go to sleep, I won't disturb you." Zhang Xiuhong finally gained some confidence, thinking that she would be able to go to school after earning money, the more she thought about it, the more excited she became. This night, she tossed and turned until late at night before going to sleep. with.

Because of the hope, the Zhang sisters worked harder. The work that would have taken at least seven days to finish was completed in less than five days with their participation.

Zhang Lingen was a man of his word. Once his homework was done, he lent the cart to the old carpenter and the family who came to help that night.

Fishing is a physical labor as well as a technical one. Zhang Xiuqing was afraid that his father would be exhausted, so he thought it would be good to rest for two days, but Zhang Lingen was a person who couldn't take time off. Taking advantage of his free time, he dug out all the shrimp nets that had been shelved in the shelving. I cast the nets in the small river in front of my house at night, and collect the nets in the morning. Half of the caught river prawns are eaten by myself, and the other half are raised.

The Zhang sisters were not idle either. Every morning and evening they went to the nearby ditch to pick up snails, and at other times they touched snails in the river, and they all gained a lot.After so many years, Zhang Xiuqing can still remember the riddle that Grandma Li next door asked her to guess when she was a child: There is a square field, and there is a small house in the field. There is no one in the house, and the door is closed when someone walks by.

Shen Heying was pessimistic in her heart, and she kept saying discouraging words, but she showed her support in action. She brought two catties of river prawns back to her natal home and borrowed a fishing net.Before Zhang Xiuqing was happy, grandma came to the door, not to share family happiness, but to scold her.

The old lady heard from the villagers that Shen Heying took things back to her natal family. After entering the door, she first scolded Shen Heying for disregarding the child's life and blindly subsidizing her natal family, and then scolded Zhang Lingen for not being filial to her old mother and blindly listening to her mother-in-law.Zhang Xiuqing stroked his forehead helplessly, and Zhang Xiuhong stepped forward to call "Grandma", and handed over a bamboo basket containing at least three catties of river prawns, but instead of a good one, they got two curses: "Prodigal, Goblin!"

As soon as the old lady left, Shen Heying, who had a bad temper, immediately complained, from the living to the dead of Zhang's family, not missing a single one.Zhang Xiuqing was afraid that his father would get angry, so he secretly looked at his face, but instead of seeing the black face, he saw a look of pain.

Zhang Lingen has an older brother, an older sister, and a younger brother. The relationship between them is not harmonious and they often quarrel.

Zhang Xiuqing's grandfather died long before she was born, and her grandmother was alive and healthy, but for some reason, the relationship with Zhang Xiuqing's parents was very rigid.During the holidays, her parents should give a lot of filial piety, but grandma never gave them a good face, and even Zhang Xiuqing and her three siblings were not welcome.No matter where other people's grandmas go as guests, they will bring their grandchildren with them, but Zhang Xiuqing's grandma never takes them with her on the excuse that her children are ignorant.

Zhang Xiuqing's uncle also passed away very early. It is said that the aunt did not want to stay in this sad place, so she moved to the town with her son and daughter. The mother and son opened a wonton shop, and the business was good. I only come back to see the elderly during the holidays.Every time they came, grandma would be very excited and scolded my aunt for being a villain, so that later, when the two children grew up, they never wanted to go to the country again.Auntie had no choice but to come because of her filial piety, and she stayed for less than 10 minutes before dropping her things and leaving.They never walked around with Zhang Xiuqing's house. To this day, Zhang Xiuqing only knows that they live in the town, and nothing else.

Zhang Xiuqing's eldest aunt married in a neighboring town, and she never came back to see the old man during Chinese New Year, and she also cut off contact with Zhang Xiuqing's family.

Zhang Xiuqing's uncle was a well-known handsome young man in eight villages when he was young. He married the daughter of a rich family in a neighboring village. His family was the only one in the village with a TV set. Compared with Zhang Xiuqing's family, his life was better than Zhang Xiuqing's.Her grandma lives in her uncle's house, and she praises her son for his filial piety when she meets everyone, and scolds her son when she mentions Zhang Lingen, wishing she had never had this son.

Zhang Xiuqing heard some rumors in her previous life, and once privately persuaded her mother to try her best to have a good relationship with grandma, so as not to make it difficult for her father to be caught in the middle.Shen Heying didn't get angry, but just shook her head and sighed: "The things here are very complicated, and you won't understand even if I tell you..."

Zhang Xiuqing wanted to ask what was the matter, but Shen Heying told her not to ask any more, and would not tell her if she asked, and repeatedly warned her not to mention this matter in front of her father, otherwise she would eat "stir-fried shredded pork with bamboo shoots".

In the anticipation of everyone, the busy farming was finally over. It was past two o'clock in the morning, except for Zhang Xiaofeng who was still sleeping soundly, everyone else woke up.People who have been fishing all year round know that fish cannot live without water, but they do not stay at the bottom of the water all the time, and sometimes come to the surface to breathe, so the best fishing time is from four to six in the morning.

Woke up at this time, not hungry, but Zhang Xiuqing still cooked porridge.The body is the capital of the revolution, and she doesn't want to ruin the whole family's body just to make money.

After finishing the porridge, Zhang Lingen moved a bucket of snails, a bucket of snails, and a few catties of river shrimp into the cart one by one, and then set off first, while Shen Heying walked behind him, and the Zhang sisters walked shoulder to shoulder at the end.

There are rivers everywhere in Zhang Xiuqing's hometown, and there are countless small fish and shrimps cruising in the rivers. It's not easy to catch, why do you have to catch them at your doorstep? It's laborious and enviable.

After discussion, the family of four unanimously decided to fish near the county seat. Zhang Lingen led the way, and the mother and daughter followed him. When he stopped, Zhang Xiuqing looked up and saw a curved arch bridge. , A picture of a boy hiding under the bridge and meditating on the river during a thunderstorm emerges in front of his eyes.

Until she was gray-haired, Zhang Xiuhong still remembered this summer night, the moon was round, the stars were bright, and the countryside under the night was like a flowing picture scroll, which was unbelievably beautiful.Countless bugs sang in the grass, accompanied by the footsteps of their family of four, it was the sound of the wheels rolling.The breeze blew, the leaves rustled, and her heart "plopped, plopped", as if she was about to jump out of excitement...

(End of this chapter)