1983Fishing and Farming between Mountains and Seas

Chapter 61 Before the Storm
Fortunately, the harvest of the trip to Fox Bay Island that day was only a small part of the chicken claw snails. The majority were mussels, yellow-legged crabs, and red crabs...

Things like mussels and crabs are usually sold in large quantities, so there is nothing to worry about in terms of prices.

If you really calculate it, the amount of money Liang Ziqiang lost from that tiny bit of chicken claw snails was not that big.

Just don't take any valuable treasures to Zheng Liu from now on.

"What do you think, Qiang? Since you can collect the conches, would you like to bring them over to Yuehai Restaurant one day? If you go, you can just go and see Manager Du."

Lu Feng continued speaking on the phone.

Liang Ziqiang originally thought that the sooner he took action, the better, such as tomorrow.

But then I realized that there would be a storm tomorrow, so I better not get soaked on the way. Anyway, it would be fine to keep those good things for another day.

"How about the day after tomorrow? I'll take my stuff to see Manager Du the day after tomorrow. I don't know which car to take to get to Yuehai Restaurant?"

"You decide the time yourself. He works there anyway. If you take a bus, you can go to Yanghai Bus Station, and then there is a bus that goes to Yingbin Road. You can get off at the Department Store Station and walk a few steps to see Yuehai Restaurant!"

"Okay, then it should be easy to find."

Liang Ziqiang thanked him again. After the conversation, Lin Baixian took the microphone, said a few more words to his cousin Liu Yu, and then hung up.

It would not be a good idea to disturb Zhong Yongrui's family any further, so the two of them exchanged a few polite words with Xu Ping and his wife and then said goodbye.

Walking on the road in the village, Liang Ziqiang said:

"The day after tomorrow morning, find two large barrels, put all the stuff in them and take them to the city. Just go straight to Manager Du of Yuehai Restaurant!"

Lin Baixian asked in some surprise:
"Wouldn't it be better if we went tomorrow? Why wait another day?"

Liang Ziqiang was too lazy to think of excuses. To him, the person who least needed to make excuses was Lin Baixian.

He simply said:
"The day after tomorrow is an auspicious day, suitable for doing business. Any problems?"

Lin Baixian was confused for a moment, then said, "Since I'm not going to the city tomorrow, I'll go to Xiaolang Village."

"Oh, then you'd better go there and come back quickly in the morning. I think there's something to talk about with your second uncle's boat! It's obvious that the rudder blade was definitely not damaged by us. There was something wrong with it. You just wait and see what your uncle says first!"

The reason why Lin Baixian was asked to go there and come back quickly in the morning was because tomorrow's storm would not happen until after noon. Xiaolang Village was only that far away, so a round trip in the morning would be enough.

Liang Ziqiang expressed his opinion and then went home separately from Lin Baixian.

When he got home, he saw that his parents were still awake and he didn't know if they were waiting for him.

"Dad, are you going to help others pick salt from the salt fields tomorrow?"

Liang Ziqiang saw his father happily changing the water in the bamboo tube, so he walked over and asked.

In fact, he had already heard his father mention this during dinner, but he was still worried and wanted to confirm it again.

"Why not dry the salt? I'll go burn incense to Mazu early tomorrow morning, and then go to the salt fields. We can't go fishing in the next five days, so I can only help people pick up salt. Every penny I earn is a penny I earn!"

"Five days, it's just a blink of an eye! By the way, even if someone asks you to help out and go out to sea together, you must not go!"

Liang's father finally lost his patience and almost hit him on the head with a bamboo tube:

"What's wrong with you tonight? You said you won't go out to sea, and you won't go even if someone invites you. You promised Mazu, and you can't change your promise? You keep talking too much, and you're worse than a woman!"

Seeing his father's firm words, Liang Ziqiang's inexplicable uneasiness finally subsided. Although he was scolded, he had never felt so relieved when being scolded.

My father went to work in the salt fields, and my eldest and younger brothers also went there to help.

They will be in the salt fields tomorrow and will probably be soaked to the skin.

But it doesn't matter. As long as the three of them don't go out to sea, the whole family can sit together and have dinner at night without anyone missing. For Liang Ziqiang, this is a great joy.

As for trying to persuade his father not to go out to work tomorrow to avoid getting wet in the rain, forget it. Just like more than ten days ago, his father would definitely not believe him.

Liang Ziqiang woke up early the next morning and walked out the door.

August 8th is here.

It was just like any other calm morning. The sun was rising and the sea breeze was pure and refreshing.

"Why are you up just now?" Father Liang had already washed up and was waiting there:
"Go wash your face and rinse your mouth. Don't eat breakfast yet. Come with me to the Mazu Temple. We'll have time to eat breakfast after we come back from burning incense!"

Liang Ziqiang was chased away by his father and hurried to wash his face and rinse his mouth.

When he was gargling with foam in his mouth, a small figure came over and scared him.

"Brother, are you going to worship Mazu with Dad? Please help me persuade Dad to take me with him to worship Mazu!"

The younger sister Liang Lizhi looked eager to try, as if she was going to a big fair.

Before Liang Ziqiang could speak, his father's warning came:

"Go and weave your net! You're just going to make incense. There's no fun in that! With your mouth, you won't know how to talk nonsense when you get there!"

Liang Lizhi shrank her neck, and quickly slipped away as she had started off badly.

Liang Ziqiang finished washing up in no time under the urging. His father had already come over with a few incense sticks, a bag of oranges, a bag of peanuts, and a small bucket of water in his hands.

The peanuts must be from our own family, but I don’t know where my father bought the oranges from.

I guess my father could only find these two fruits as tribute after searching everywhere.

There are still some watermelons and cantaloupes picked from Chen Xiangbei's house, but these definitely cannot be used as tributes.

Watermelon is not a good name. As for cantaloupe, Liang Ziqiang's mother told him when he was a child that cantaloupe is hollow and cannot be used as tribute.

As for the small bucket of water, its purpose is obvious. It is used to wash hands clean before entering the temple to burn incense.

As the saying goes, clean hands lead to a pure heart. Only when the hands are clean can the heart be pure.

Liang Ziqiang helped his father carry the bucket, and the father and son came to the Mazu Temple in the village. Although the temple is not big, it is well maintained.

When they were about to enter the temple, Liang's father grabbed Liang Ziqiang, fearing that he would forget to wash his hands.

Liang Ziqiang was very conscious. He put down the small bucket in his hand and washed his hands thoroughly with the mountain spring water in the bucket outside the temple gate.

After washing his hands, Liang's father placed oranges and peanuts neatly on the table. After the incense was lit, each person held three sticks in his hand.

Liangfu was the first to burn incense. He was very respectful, holding the incense with his right hand and inserting the incense with his left hand. This meant respecting the heaven and earth first, and then the gods.

After burning incense, Liangfu knelt three times and bowed nine times in front of the statue of Mazu.

When it was Liang Ziqiang's turn, he also held the incense with his right hand and inserted the incense with his left hand. During this process, he silently chanted the name of Mazu and silently reported his name, birthday, and home address.

After reporting, it is normal to pray, but Liang Ziqiang first thanked Mazu for her great kindness, and then prayed for Mazu's blessing, so that future fishing trips would be smooth and safe.

After offering incense, he knelt down and kowtowed three times, then stood up, knelt down again, and kowtowed three more times.

He repeated this kneeling three times, and kowtowed nine times in total, which is the standard three kneelings and nine bows.

I only started eating breakfast when I got home.

After finishing his meal, Liang's father immediately went to the salt fields with Liang Tiancheng and Liang Zifeng to work for others.

The reason why Liang Ziqiang was not invited to go together was that the three of them had been arranged by the owner of the salt field long ago, and Liang Ziqiang was not included. If they were suddenly added now, they might not necessarily need so many people.

The weather was still sunny and there was nothing unusual.

While his father and two brothers went to the salt fields, Liang Ziqiang helped the family carry back a few loads of water. Then he took a hatchet, a shoulder pole and a rope and went to the mountains to chop firewood.

Last night my mother kept nagging that the firewood was almost burned out, and if she didn't chop some firewood, she wouldn't know what to use to make a fire to cook.

Liang Ziqiang walked all the way to the forest behind the house.

He was not worried about the storm. After all, it was still a long way from noon. There was enough time for him to chop two or three loads of firewood.

If the storm comes, it's still not too late to run home. We're in the mountains, not in the sea.

After passing some sweet potato fields and sugarcane fields, and walking past the clear, cool pond, Liang Ziqiang walked up the mountain, listening to the gurgling sound of mountain spring water.

He chose a bush area on the hillside, swung his hatchet and started chopping wood.

Although coal briquettes are available these days, people in rural areas are still generally accustomed to burning firewood.

There are many fishing villages that are close to the sea but not close to the mountains, so burning firewood is a problem. Since they cannot go up the mountain to chop firewood themselves, they can only exchange the fish they catch at sea for firewood from the mountain people.

Liang Ziqiang felt somewhat fortunate as Changwang Village was nestled in the mountains and by the sea, with picturesque scenery.

There are fish to catch, clear spring water to drink, sugar cane, sweet potatoes and peanuts to grow, and firewood to chop. In a sense, he feels that this village is actually a blessed land.

After chopping about half a load of firewood, I looked up and found a familiar bunch of wild fruits just a few steps away.

It was ground mulberry. Seeing this reminded me of the embarrassing memory of being forced to eat ground mulberry every day on the island.

But for some reason, my younger sister Liang Lizhi seems to have a unique taste. She has liked eating ground mulberry since she was a child. Although there is not much meat or juice, Liang Lizhi likes its taste.

The two bundles of firewood were almost chopped. Liang Ziqiang picked some ground raspberries and put them in his pocket, intending to take them back to make Liang Lizhi happy.

He carried the firewood back home and put it in the woodshed. Then he walked up to his little sister and took out a handful of groundnuts:
"Lizhi, look what I brought you from the mountain?"

When Liang Lizhi saw the ground crab, she let out a roar, dropped the net in her hand, and grabbed the ground crab from his hand to eat.

Liang Ziqiang was amused and angry:

"Can't you bring a bowl or a small basin or something to hold it?"

Liang Lizhi quickly stuffed a few more into her mouth, ate while walking, and went to find a bowl. She took out all the ground apples from Liang Ziqiang's pocket and put them in the bowl.

On one side of the house, nephew Liang Xiaohai was leading a few chickens and ducks, returning from a wandering trip from somewhere unknown.

The ducks walked swayingly, and the three-year-old Liang Xiaohai also walked swayingly. At first glance, it seemed as if he had successfully integrated into the flock of chickens and ducks.

Liang Ziqiang was delighted when he saw it and shouted:
"Xiao Hai, you can do it! A while ago I saw you hanging out with the chickens and ducks, but now it's different, you've become their leader!"

Liang Xiaohai was praised, and he walked even more recklessly until he came to Liang Lizhi.

When he saw there was something to eat, his mouth almost fell into the bowl, and he said flatteringly:

"Aunt, is it delicious? Give Xiao Hai a little, just a little?"

Liang Lizhi was very considerate. Xiao Hai said a little, so she really only gave him a little...

Liang Xiaohai took the pill and put it in his mouth, but he vomited it out the next second:
"It's sourer than dog shit, Litchi, you really don't know how to eat!"

He thought it didn't taste good, so "Auntie" simply became "Lychee".

If Liang Ziqiang hadn't held him back, the lychees would have nearly filled the entire bowl.

Seeing that he could still chop two more bundles of firewood before noon, Liang Ziqiang drank a bowl of herbal tea and went back into the mountains.

This time, I chose some thicker firewood and finished it in one go. I saw that I had almost finished chopping down another load of firewood.

Suddenly, in the dense woods, there was a snapping sound.

He quickly turned his head and found that what fell at his feet was a bird's nest of quite a large size!

There were several crying young birds in the nest, and they were all broken after the fall...

He quickly looked up and saw that it was an extremely tall tree.

How could the big bird's nest that was firmly placed on a high branch suddenly fall down?

The next second after I thought about it, I saw the tree moving again. There was a sudden and violent shaking, accompanied by a slight "whoosh" sound.

Damn! There really was no sign at all!
Just as he picked up the firewood and hurried down the mountain, the bright sun suddenly dimmed.

The dark clouds seemed to appear out of nowhere.

The wind and clouds changed color, the trees swayed and the grass flew. That unforgettable storm came just like that...

Book friends, please note: After posting these two chapters last night, I felt that it could be more compact in the middle of the night. I couldn't sleep and got up at 6 o'clock this morning to read it again. I felt that it could be more compact (some book friends felt the same way), so I condensed it a lot in the morning, deleted and merged the two chapters into one chapter. The original "Chapter 62: The Storm Changes" will be replaced with the new content "Chapter 62: Family Portrait in the Storm". If it still shows "Chapter 62: The Storm Changes", please refresh it.

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(End of this chapter)