Back to my 1980s

"Brother, where are we going now?" Zhao Ru asked, rowing the boat and looking at the fish trap on the boat with a bored yawn.

Zhao Hua sat on the side of the boat, tapping and washing the fish traps in the river, cleaning away the water plants and fish scales inside. Hearing Zhao Ru's words, he tilted his head towards the desolate island and said, "Let's go over there first, let the fish traps dry in the sun, and then come back to collect them later."

"Oh, we have to go to this place again." Zhao Ru agreed and found a shallow beach to dock.

Zhao Hua unloaded the fish traps from the boat and arranged them neatly. Returning to the boat, he teased Zhao Ru, "Still remember that snake?"

Zhao Ru raised her beautiful eyebrows and pursed her lips, saying, "It hasn't been that long, how could I not remember?"

Zhao Hua casually wiped his hands on the tattered rag he had brought: "Let's go, let's go somewhere else."

Seeing that the boat had slowly moved away, Zhao Hua sat at the bow, facing the river. The wind carried a slightly damp and cool smell of the river, which felt fresh on his face.

Zhao Hua sniffed twice and smiled at Zhao Ru, "I once came across one when my parents took me to the fields to pull weeds. My parents were far ahead of me, and I was the only one lagging behind. I was quite startled when I saw it."

Zhao Ru asked with some surprise, "You've even pulled weeds before?" After her initial astonishment, she pressed, "And then?"

Zhao Hua ignored her sarcastic tone and said, "Then I called them 'Dad' and 'Mom,' I think I was only a teenager then?"

Seeing that Zhao Ru was listening quietly, Zhao Hua continued, "They all came and looked for it, but couldn't find it. They told me it had been scared away. I was young, so I believed whatever they said. I had just squatted down to pull some grass when I saw it again, so I called my parents back. Then my father threw the snake away."

Zhao Ru praised Zhao Hua, "You're quite lucky; you were able to discover it ahead of time both times."

Zhao Hua smiled and said, "That's what my parents said too. They even praised me, saying that if it were them, they would have been bitten."

Zhao Ru asked curiously, "Brother, how come you weren't bitten?"

"Because they pull weeds by the handful, while I pluck them one by one, of course I can spot them earlier!"

Zhao Ru rolled her eyes. Was that a compliment? She wouldn't even pull out a single weed!

We didn't set off any traps today, so once we were a little further away from the desolate island, we had Zhao Ru stop and get busy.

The wind was light on the water, and the two worked until evening before returning home, carrying the fish they had caught that day to the dock.

After the last basket of fish was carried to the purchasing station, Zhao Hua looked at the sky and said to Zhao Ru, "Go and call Mother over. Tell her where to sell that turtle."

Zhao Ru was standing at the door when she heard this. She looked up and asked in confusion, "What's wrong? Aren't you selling here?"

Zhao Hua turned his head to look at the sign at the entrance of the purchasing station, shook his head and said, "No, it's just that the purchase price here is generally lower. It doesn't matter if it's fish or shrimp, it's easier and faster to sell them here. For more valuable items, the price difference can be significant. Go and call your mother over to ask her what she says."

Zhao Ru nodded: "Okay, I'll go now." After saying that, she turned around and ran home quickly.

Seeing that Zhao Ru had already gone back to call her mother, Zhao Hua took the crucian carp, catfish, and other fish that he had just caught that day to weigh them. There were also a few silver carp today, but although they were heavy, they were not as expensive as the crucian carp.

After weighing the turtles, he pulled out a cigarette and offered it to the man, tentatively asking, "Comrade, have we received any soft-shelled turtles here?"

The purchasing agent took the cigarette, tucked it behind his ear, and asked, "What's wrong? You know how to catch people?"

Zhao Hua quickly waved his hand and said, "I have heard that some people know how to catch them, but I don't know how."

The buyer lit a cigarette, took a drag, exhaled the smoke, nodded, and said, "Hmm, they even specialize in catching this kind of thing. I wonder where those people find it."

Seeing that they hadn't gotten to the point yet, Zhao Hua interrupted, "Comrade, what's the price of soft-shelled turtles around here?"

"Small ones are 1.5 yuan, those over one jin are 1.9 yuan, and we don't want anything too small."

Zhao Hua nodded upon hearing this, understanding the situation. After taking the money, he tidied up the basket and bucket and went to wait at the door. The turtle was kept in the bucket by the door, along with the water bottle and casting net.

A moment later, Zhao Ru arrived with her mother. Zhao's mother also saw Zhao Hua, waved to him, and called him to the roadside, asking, "Did you sell it? I heard from your younger sister that she caught a turtle?"

Zhao Hua looked at Zhao Ru, who was panting as she ran behind her mother, and smiled, saying, "Not yet. They say it's 1.9 yuan per jin here. Do you know what the price is at the market?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao's mother looked at the buckets and baskets in the house and asked, "Where did you put them?"

After showing it to his mother, Zhao Hua asked, "What do you think? Can it really sell for that price?"

Zhao's mother shook her head and said, "I'm not too sure either, but last time Ganzi's mother said that her turtle sold for three yuan a pound. I heard that yours weighs more than three pounds, so it should be worth more than that. Take it home first, and then go to the market to ask. It's three or four yuan less per turtle. Ask first. These things are easy to raise and easy to sell. You won't have to worry about selling them at the commune restaurant."

After saying that, he went to get the buckets and baskets to help carry them home. Zhao Hua followed behind and nodded, saying, "That's what I was thinking too, but I'm not sure about the price outside, so I wanted to ask you. If the price difference isn't much, I won't bother. My arms are almost worn out from throwing nets all day."

Seeing that the two decided to take it home, Zhao Ru stepped forward to help them pick up the kettle and some leftover fish. Zhao Hua stuffed the change he had for the day into her hand, bent down to pick up the turtle, and followed his mother and sister home.

After returning home and finishing his meal, Zhao Hua looked at the turtle scratching the bucket, making it squeak. After a moment's thought, he said to his mother, "Mother, let's leave the turtle here for now. It's too late and there's not much of a crowd. I'll take it back to check on it tomorrow morning."

Zhao's mother paused in clearing the dishes, and after Zhao Hua finished speaking, she casually raised her chin and said, "Whatever you want. It won't die if you leave it there for a day or two anyway, but it's better to get it sooner rather than later. Don't let it go hungry and lose weight. Losing an ounce or two will cost you two or three cents."

Zhao Hua chuckled and said, "It's not that easy to lose weight. It's okay! I'm not going to leave it for a long time. I'll just go there tomorrow morning. It won't take much time."

Zhao's mother didn't respond further and took the bowls and chopsticks to the stove to wash them.

Seeing that her mother had left, Zhao Ru ran over and asked softly, "Brother, how much did you make from the fish today?"

Zhao Hua turned and glanced at her, saying, "What? Didn't I already give you your money?"

Zhao Ru retorted playfully, "Oh! I was just curious!"

Zhao Hua thought for a moment and said, "How much is there? It's about the same as before. The crucian carp sold for a little over six yuan, the silver carp for a little over three yuan, and there were quite a lot of catfish today, so they sold for a little over one yuan. The remaining odds and ends sold for about three yuan each, so it's close to fifteen yuan today."

Zhao Ru was incredibly envious upon hearing this, and clicked her tongue, saying, "If you add the turtle to your earnings, wouldn't you make over twenty yuan today?"

Zhao Hua smiled and waved his hand, saying, "That's about right. Don't tell anyone, okay? Go to sleep, I have to get up early tomorrow to sell turtles."

Zhao Ru nodded obediently, and the brother and sister went their separate ways. After Zhao's father returned, Zhao's mother bolted the door.