1980: I have a spiritual spring

Chapter 5: Take precautions before they happen

"My goodness, in less than half an hour, you've already caught three fish this big! That's amazing!"

"This carp must weigh at least seven or eight pounds, and those two grass carp are even heavier. They must taste delicious."

"I never expected there would be such a big fish in the Lotus Canal."

"Second brother, how did you catch these three fish?"

"..."

When Qiao Erhe returned home carrying a basket, his younger siblings exclaimed in surprise upon seeing the three large fish inside.

The reason there were only three large fish in the basket was that Qiao Erhe had released all the other fish back into the Lotus Canal and then caught the three largest fish using the same method. Although this was still unbelievable, it was at least easier to explain than carrying a full basket of fish back home.

With the help of the spiritual spring water, he could catch fish in the lotus canal whenever he wanted, so there was no need to bring back so many fish at once.

Hearing his younger siblings' excited questions, Qiao Erhe chuckled and said, "I was lucky today. When I got there, I happened to see these three silly fish fighting over food. I just scooped them up with a basket."

Although this sounded like a fantasy, there was no other explanation. Qiao Dajiang hurriedly urged, "Second brother, quickly put this fish in the water tank to keep it."

Qiao Erhe said, "Why raise them? Sanduo, just kill them all now, then stew a big pot of them. Remember to add plenty of oil, otherwise they'll smell fishy and won't taste good."

At this moment, Huang Hongmei also saw the fish in the basket. She glared at her second brother and said, "Second brother, what nonsense are you talking about? We've already had dinner. Even if we want to stew fish, we should do it tomorrow. Besides, even if we want to stew fish, we can only stew one at a time. We can eat the other two in a few days. How can we stew all three together? That would be a waste!"

Qiao Sanduo chimed in, "Yes, Second Brother, we should save this fish to eat slowly. Stewing three such big fish at once is such a waste."

"It's all going into our stomachs, so what's the waste? Besides, I caught these fish, so you can eat them however you want. I'll just catch more after we finish eating them. Anyway, with me around, our family will never lack fish to eat."

At this point, Qiao Erhe waved his hand and said, "It's settled then. Let's go dig the trench. Sanduo, hurry up and get the fish to kill them."

Since things had come to this point, Qiao Sanduo nodded and said, "Okay, then I'll go kill the fish."

Seeing this, the others stopped trying to stop them.

After all, the family hadn't eaten meat for several days, and everyone was really craving it.

As for Huang Hongmei, she is the laziest and gluttonous one in the family. The reason she stopped them earlier was not because she didn't want to eat fish, but because she felt that stewing three fish together was too wasteful. Dividing them into three portions would allow them to last longer. However, since the second son said that the family would not lack fish in the future, she would not stop them anymore.

So she took a fan and went to visit other people's homes and chat.

Meanwhile, Qiao Dajiang, Qiao Erhe, and Qiao Sihai took shovels and hoes and dug trenches along the base of the house.

By this time, the neighbors had all finished their dinners and came out to cool off and chat about everyday matters.

From afar, seeing the three Qiao brothers digging the ground with shovels and hoes, they curiously gathered around to watch the spectacle.

As they approached, a middle-aged woman couldn't help but ask, "Dajiang, what are you brothers doing digging here? Are you planning to plant trees?"

Qiao Dajiang shoveled a handful of soil and replied, "Third Aunt, we don't want to plant trees."

Third Aunt said, "If you're not planting trees, then what are you digging here for?" Qiao Dajiang replied, "We want to dig a ditch along the baseline of our house."

Third Aunt was even more puzzled: "Dajiang, everyone basically knows where the homestead line is. Why would you dig a ditch for no reason? To mark it?"

Qiao Dajiang laughed and said, "Third Aunt, it's like this. Our family is planning to buy a batch of chicks to raise. We're digging ditches along the house site to keep these chicks out of the village so they won't run around and we won't be able to find them later."

A neighbor, an older woman, chuckled and chimed in, "Dajiang, I think you three siblings are confused. If you buy chicks, just raise them in the backyard. Why bother digging a ditch?"

Qiao Sihai chuckled and said, "Our family is planning to raise 1000 chicks, but there's no way we can fit them all in the backyard!"

Upon hearing this, everyone who had come to join the fun was stunned.

Third Aunt was even more shocked and said, "Sihai, what nonsense are you talking about? Don't you want to die?"

The other neighbors also began to offer their advice with serious expressions:
“Yes, Dajiang, Erhe, Sihai, you brothers mustn’t do anything reckless. If you secretly raise a few chickens and ducks at home, everyone will turn a blind eye. But if you raise 1000 chicks, then it won’t be a secret anymore. At that time, not only the brigade leaders, but even the commune leaders might come to cause trouble for your family.”

"Dajiang, you brothers are really confused! Raising 1000 laying hens, are you trying to start a capitalist business?"

“Dajiang, listen to your aunt’s advice and stop right now. If this gets back to the brigade leaders, you and your brother will be in big trouble.”

"..."

Hearing his neighbors' advice, Qiao Erhe stopped what he was doing and said with a smile, "Brothers, uncles and aunts, thank you for your concern for us, but this is not as serious as you think. Now that the country has reformed and opened up, everything is different from before. What we are doing is in accordance with the regulations."

Because when Deng Xiaoping inspected Guangzhou, he said that it's legal for us farmers to raise chickens and ducks, no matter how many we raise; it's all part of socialism. So, brothers, uncles, and aunts, you don't need to worry about us.”

Qiao Erhe didn't keep the information about getting rich to himself; instead, he openly shared it with his neighbors.

However, he did not persuade his neighbors to follow his family in raising chicks on a large scale. It was best to let them decide for themselves, since raising chickens was risky. If he persuaded his neighbors today and they made money later, everything would be fine. But if they lost money or something went wrong, they might resent him.

Qiao Erhe would naturally not do something so thankless and exhausting.

Auntie asked with a hint of disbelief, "Erhe, you're not lying to us, are you? Did Deng Xiaoping really say something like that?"

The other neighbors also focused their attention on Qiao Erhe, all wanting to know if Deng Xiaoping had said such a thing.

Qiao Erhe nodded very seriously and said, "Deng Gong did say such a thing. I don't remember the exact time, but I remember that when he was inspecting Guangzhou, he visited a farmer's house. The old lady there was raising chickens and ducks that clearly exceeded the prescribed number. You can probably guess how she reacted when she saw Deng Gong. She was almost scared out of her wits."

However, to the old lady's surprise, Deng Xiaoping not only apologized to her, but also said in person that no matter how many chickens and ducks our farmers raise, it is all socialism.

This news made the news back then, and many people knew about it. It's just that our local information network wasn't efficient enough, so we didn't know about it until now.

Originally, Qiao Erhe planned to say these words on the spot when someone came to cause trouble, so that the other party would not dare to do anything to him.

But thinking about it, I decided against it. Preventing a problem before it arises is better than dealing with it on the spot. I'll spread Deng Xiaoping's words first. Those who want to cause trouble for him will definitely try to verify the truth of his words. And once it is confirmed that his words are true, unless they are crazy, no one will dare to touch him.

(End of this chapter)