Back to my 1980s

Hongguang Brigade.

The Song Family Courtyard.

After Zhao Hua returned home in the morning, the people in the courtyard gradually dispersed. However, after only lunchtime, even more people came to visit. They came to drop by, ask for advice, or ask for some soy sauce or matches. But after visiting, they didn't leave immediately; they started asking about Zhao Hua...

Previously in the courtyard, Zhao Hua didn't dare to say he had taken a liking to Song's daughter in front of Song's father, and naturally he didn't dare to vaguely say that he had a sweetheart in front of Song's father. So the villagers knew that he was single, and now they all flocked to Song's house.

You can't blame them for being unreserved. Before 1982, the brigade only gave each person enough food to eat for nine months each year. It was difficult to even fill their stomachs, let alone anything else, until the land was distributed in the first half of 1982.

However, the village cadres were observing and dared not distribute the land directly, so the grain in the land still belonged to the collective at that time. The land was distributed but the grain was not, and the settlement was delayed. It was not until the second half of 82 that the land was truly in their own hands.

However, in the second half of 82, the brigade headquarters said that soybean planting would be promoted. The village would provide seeds and some fertilizers and pesticides for free, and also reward the resale of grain. If people did not plant soybeans, they would have to buy seeds and fertilizers themselves, so they had to live a tight life for another year.

The money earned from growing soybeans was used to buy wheat seeds, fertilizer, pesticides, and food for our own consumption at the end of last year. It wasn't until the wheat harvest this winter that we had a little surplus. Although we had a little surplus, we were still hungry last year, and the days of hunger are still fresh in our minds.

Moreover, the village has little land; each person was allocated only eight and a half fen (a unit of land measurement). They roughly calculated that, barring droughts, floods, favorable weather, and illness, and with enough to eat, the family's total income would only amount to a maximum of 20 yuan surplus by the end of the year.

Suddenly, a single young man of marriageable age with a bicycle appeared in the village. The key point is that he also has a rural household registration. If he marries into the village, he won't have to worry about being looked down upon by his in-laws or owing favors. Most importantly, he is ambitious and has ways to make money. How could they not go crazy?

At first, people just came with the intention of asking around. If it worked out, great; if not, they wouldn't lose anything. But as everyone came together, it turned into a situation where "I must succeed." Eventually, it became a situation where "even if I don't succeed, I still want to join in and get involved, just in case I do succeed..."

At this time, Song's parents and Song Zhiqiang were trapped at home. Even those who had joined in the commotion were worried that the Song family would snatch the opportunity away and wanted to arrange a marriage for Song Xueping first.

Unexpectedly, this suggestion changed the Song family's mind. When Zhao Hua first came to their door, he didn't have a bicycle yet. In their memory, he was always the young man who brought two cans of food when they first met.

Moreover, their own son had been preventing Xueping from finding a husband, and was determined to marry Song Xueping off to someone in the city. So they had always treated Zhao Hua as a close young man and hadn't thought of anything else. But now that someone had mentioned it, they suddenly remembered that they had a daughter of marriageable age.

……

……

Qinghe.

Xu Qian bent down and peered out, her eyes full of anticipation as she watched the net Zhao Hua had just retrieved.

Here it comes again! Zhao Hua sighed inwardly. He knew he shouldn't look around, so he kept his eyes fixed on the fishing net in his hand, pulling it out of the water little by little. Once the net was completely out of the water, he immediately threw it into the hatch.

Xu Qian exclaimed and ran to the front of the hatch, craning her neck and bending down to look. Jiang Yue could hardly bear to look, but with Zhao Hua in front and Zhao Ru behind, whispering to someone would only make things more awkward.

She decided to simply pretend she didn't know. Although she was also curious about how much they had gained from this operation, and it looked like quite a lot when it was brought up, she wasn't going to be foolish enough to go over there after Xu Qian's experience.

Zhao Hua poured all the fish into the live tank. Although he didn't do it on purpose, he was standing too high up, like a teacher standing on a podium. You don't even need to look for them; you can tell at a glance which student is daydreaming.

He jumped into the cabin, coughed twice, swallowed hard, and said softly, "Shall I take you ashore to play for a while?"

He paused, glanced at the shore, and saw a few old willows scattered along the bank. His eyes lit up, and he pointed at the old willows and laughed, "We can use the willow branches over there to make flower wreaths. It's quite boring to stay on the boat all the time. I've been fishing here all afternoon and won't go far."

Upon hearing this, Xu Qian straightened up, glanced in the direction Zhao Hua was pointing, wrinkled her nose, and said, "Making flower wreaths? That's something I played with when I was little. I'm all grown up now!"

Zhao Hua remained silent, thinking to himself that if he didn't stand on the bow of the boat, who would be able to tell that he had really grown up? Jiang Yue, however, thought the suggestion was excellent, otherwise Xu Qian would have been suffering in silence, but she couldn't say anything.

She nodded, took Xu Qian's hand, and smiled at Zhao Hua, "Then take us to the shore. It's been a long time since I've made flower wreaths. We're just keeping you from working. We can come back when it's time to leave."

Xu Qian didn't mind. She was fine anywhere; she could see Zhao Hua fishing even from the shore. She was just unhappy that Zhao Hua seemed to be treating her like a child without her noticing.

Zhao Hua gave Zhao Ru a wink. Zhao Ru had heard their conversation the whole time, and now that she had received Zhao Hua's signal, she and the others held onto the gunwale and rowed the small boat directly toward the shore.

Once the small boat reached the shore, Zhao Hua jumped off first. He quickly checked the shore to make sure it was safe before returning to the boat. Xu Qian and Jiang Yue had already disembarked. He looked at them and said with a smile, "You two can play here. I've checked the area; it's very safe. The grass on the shore is quite shallow."

He stepped onto the boat, paused, and turned to the two men, saying, "Don't go too far. Call me if you need anything."

Jiang Yue secretly gave Zhao Hua a thumbs up in her heart. Since their first meeting, he had always seemed to be very organized in his work. Despite his young age, he was never impatient or irritable. He was not only calm and composed, but also good-looking.

She swung her arms, gazed at the river, took a deep breath, turned her head to look at Zhao Hua's handsome face, and smiled lightly, "Okay, you go ahead and get busy. I'm sorry to have troubled you."

Zhao Hua smiled slightly, waved his hand without saying a word, and jumped into the cabin in two steps. Zhao Ru slowly pushed the boat away from the shore. The two girls watched their boat row to the confluence of the river and ditch, and then turned around and ran to pick willow branches.

"Brother, do you know them?" Zhao Ru, who had kept quiet the whole way, finally seized the opportunity to ask the question that had been weighing on her mind, now that they had left the shore.

"I know him, but we're not close," Zhao Hua replied casually and lazily.

"You don't even know them, yet you come all the way here to investigate? Don't think I'm easy to fool just because I'm young! Does that mean we'll have to send all our fish to the Commune Restaurant from now on?" Zhao Ru thought he was lying to her and didn't believe a word he said, so she simply asked the question that concerned her the most.

Zhao Hua couldn't help but laugh at the mention of this. He chuckled and said, "Inspection my foot! They're just delivering fish to the commune restaurant. It was something that was already arranged. They can hardly finish all these fish anyway. We can't just switch to selling fish all the time. At most, we can deliver thirty or fifty catties a day. They just want to come out and have some fun, so this is just a pretext."

He stroked his chin, pondered for a moment, and said softly, "The fish they have are enough for us to catch a few extra days to meet our quota. However, it's possible that the commune restaurant needs local specialties. Unlike us, the town's cadres don't need ration coupons to eat at restaurants. People from other townships and counties are entertained at restaurants. There are also many cadres, teachers, and clerks who aren't from our township, and they all eat and drink at restaurants. You might not be able to underestimate the amount of food consumed by the commune restaurant."

He suddenly clapped his hands, looked at Zhao Ru, and said, "They should have enough fish from us. What do you think, if I harvest the vegetables grown by the villagers and sell them to restaurants, would that be feasible?"

Zhao Ru was startled. Forgetting everything else, she gripped the oar nervously and said, "Brother, we're harvesting vegetables to sell, will we get you arrested?"

Zhao Hua rolled his eyes at her. In his heart, he never took speculation and profiteering seriously. Even if he were arrested, he would be released in 1984. He just didn't want to be arrested and waste time making money.

Zhao Hua laughed and said, "No, I haven't even left the village. Besides, how many vegetables can those people in the village grow? With just their small plots of land, it's considered very good if each family can harvest two or three catties. But they should be able to harvest quite a lot of chicken and duck eggs."

He thought about it more deeply, but the more he thought about it, the less promising it seemed. Selling it in the county town might make him some money, but selling it in the town only made him four or five cents a pound of cabbage. Even if there was only a one-cent difference, he would only make one dollar from selling 100 pounds, which was not even as good as selling two pounds of fish...

He shook his head and stopped talking about it. He straightened his fishing net and prepared to catch fish. He sighed inwardly. If he could only make money from agricultural products, nothing was as profitable as fishing.

Zhao Ru's tension eased considerably. Seeing him suddenly stop talking, his face expressionless and seemingly listless, she couldn't help but feel puzzled. They were just talking fine a moment ago, why did he suddenly stop? Zhao Ru couldn't help but ask, "Brother? What's wrong? Aren't you going to harvest the vegetables?"

Zhao Hua rolled his eyes and said, "Buy my ass! I just did the math. Buying a hundred or two hundred pounds only earns you a dollar or two. That might be pretty good for others, but what's the point for us? Would you go buy it yourself?"

Zhao Ru shook her head vigorously. Selling fish these days earns several yuan a day! But even a yuan or two isn't a small amount! She thought for a moment and asked, "Brother, how long does it take to collect a hundred or two hundred catties of vegetables?"

Zhao Hua, who was about to cast his net, almost threw out his back when he heard this. He turned to Zhao Ru in surprise and said, "What's wrong? You have an idea? You're really thinking of harvesting vegetables?" Before Zhao Ru could reply, he cast his fishing net down.

"I think one or two yuan is pretty good. If others provide meals, Dad's daily wage is only one or two yuan, and yet many people envy Dad for having a skill."

As soon as Zhao Ru finished speaking, Zhao Hua silently pulled in his net. He used to have the right to be idle, not only because he could hunt for food, but also because his father's carpentry profession had given him confidence. Children from ordinary families who were idle would have starved to death long ago...

He clicked his tongue, seemingly agreeing with the suggestion. After a moment's thought, Zhao Hua smiled and said, "Gathering a hundred or two hundred catties is quick. Just go to the vegetable garden and harvest three to five catties from each household. It can be finished in less than two hours."

"That's not bad, is it? You can earn a dollar or two by working for two hours?" Zhao Ru scratched her head, feeling that it seemed like quite a good income.

With no one in the cabin, Zhao Hua confidently tossed the fishing net into the hold, then shook the fish into the live hold. He didn't look up, but he didn't ignore Zhao Ru either, saying, "Harvesting vegetables only takes two hours, but it takes time for the vegetables in the fields to grow. There's only so much land, and there aren't always vegetables available. After visiting one village, we have to find the next one, and all the time is wasted on the road."

Talking didn't stop him from doing his work. He shook all the fish into the live hold, then glanced down at the net. This net had clearly more fish than the last one.

He sighed inwardly. This fish was a common fish that would die as soon as it was taken out of the water. If you weren't careful, it would swim on its back. The fish market wouldn't buy it, and it was sold at the market for a few cents a bunch, regardless of weight. It wasn't fit for a proper meal; it was just a dish for people who were short of money to eat with their drinks.

Despite his initial dislike, Zhao Hua still decided to take the fish home. Giving it away would be a good idea, as these fish could reproduce in five or six months and each one could lay tens of thousands of eggs, making them impossible to catch completely. They would also eat fish fry, shrimp, and fish eggs, so it would be a way to rid the other freshwater fish in the river of pests.

The two chatted casually for a few minutes. Talking too much about things that had nothing to do with each other was not interesting. Even if they could harvest vegetables, it wouldn't be as profitable as catching fish. Seeing that Zhao Hua had given up the idea, Zhao Ru shrugged indifferently.

About half an hour later, the two people on the shore wove a ring out of willow branches, put the ring on their heads, and walked hand in hand to the shore to watch him catch fish with his net.

Zhao Hua was fishing with his net, glancing at the shore every now and then.

The willow twig wreaths they wore were quite pretty, making them look like fairies descended from heaven, but the color of the willow leaves was just too vibrant…

However, it was his suggestion to make flower wreaths, so he didn't dare laugh. Normally, when others make flower wreaths, they would insert a few flowers inside, but who would have thought that these two girls would make plain flower wreaths...

Xu Qian and Jiang Yue watched him catch fish, but they didn't find it boring at all. Every now and then, they would catch a slightly larger fish, and Xu Qian was even more excited than he was.

About three hours later, Zhao Hua glanced at the fish in the live fish hold and the boat hold. It wasn't as good as the last harvest, but it was still a little over 100 to 200 jin. He shook the fishing net in his hand, turned to Zhao Ru and said, "Let's go ashore, pick them up, and go home."

Zhao Ru had no objections. She was just an accessory anyway, so what objections could she possibly have? Of course, she would do whatever Zhao Hua said. She nodded and rowed the boat to the shore.

Seeing the boat approaching, Xu Qian and Jiang Yue quickly walked to the shore. Once the boat docked, Jiang Yue asked with a smile, "What's wrong? Why are we docking?"

"We're home. I've come to pick you up." Zhao Hua jumped off the boat, walked to the side of the boat, and helped the two of them onto the boat.

On the return journey, Zhao Hua handed over the rowing to Zhao Ru. He sat at the bow, while the two girls sat on the central deck. Xu Qian turned her head to look at the waves the small boat made as it cut through the river, while Jiang Yue glanced at the fish in the cabin and said, "This trip looks like a good catch. What are you planning to do with it? Take it all to the market to sell?"

She hesitated for a moment, then continued, "There's no market in town tomorrow, so it'll be difficult to preserve the river fish, won't it?"

Xu Qian, who was watching the ripples on the river, heard Jiang Yue's words and, before Zhao Hua could speak, turned her head to glance at the fish and said, "Preserve what? He has a bicycle, didn't you forget? When I ran into him today, he had just returned from selling fish in the county town. These fish will probably still be sent to the county town later."