Fishing and Hunting 82, Starting with Three Sisters Who Overprotect Their Brothers

Pushing open the wooden glass door, the light dimmed.

Within the vast space, goods are arranged in different areas according to category: stationery and books, hardware, knitwear and fabrics, cooking oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar...

A dark brown wooden cabinet, over a meter tall, has a glass display case inside, where small items are displayed.

Larger items and more goods were piled on top of the upright containers at the back.

The prices on the cardboard below are mostly blurred.

Look up.

On the wall directly opposite, there are various slogans such as "Develop the economy and ensure supply" and "Serve the people," with faded and worn characters.

There were two shop assistants leaning against almost every counter, but there was no such thing as a warm welcome.

Some were yawning, while others were eating sunflower seeds and chatting...

Zhang Wenshan led his older sister in, and several pairs of eyes looked them over. The gazes weren't exactly friendly, but they weren't deliberately trying to cause trouble either.

He walked past several counters without making a sound, inquiring about prices.

Most items require tickets; those that don't are mainly local agricultural products, daily necessities, and farm tools.

Simply put, anything related to industry is subject to purchase restrictions.

Naturally, those ready-made fishing and hunting tools were no longer available for purchase.

In the seafood section, there were several baskets of river crabs, fish, and shrimp. After asking a couple of questions, the staff became impatient and didn't even mention buying them.

Zhang Fengxia's face clearly showed her disappointment.

Zhang Wenshan did see through the situation and didn't argue unreasonably.

My mind raced through the items that didn't require coupons, and I sorted out the ones I could use.

"Since we can't buy fishing and hunting tools, we have to keep making them ourselves."

Ten large sewing needles cost two cents and can be used to weave nets.

A bundle of thick nylon rope costs eight cents; two bundles should be enough.

Thin hemp rope costs five cents a meter; prepare three meters for later use.

Whetstone, comb, burlap sack, matches... and a sickle handle too, to replace the net handle.

"Seventy-eight cents."

In the farm implements section, the man guarding the counter yawned, his fingers clicking rapidly on the abacus as he announced the numbers.

Zhang Wenshan had enough money in his pocket, but he wasn't in a hurry to pay. He gently nudged the older sister with his arm.

"Oh, I'll do it." Still a little dazed, Zhang Fengxia snapped out of her daze and hurriedly took out money from her pocket.

She instinctively tried to hide the ten-yuan note and took out her own one-yuan note to pay the bill.

Zhang Wenshan swiftly snatched it away and slammed it onto the counter.

"Whoa!"

The man had just reached out to take the money when he suddenly froze when he saw the amount.

He rubbed his eyes in disbelief, held the money up to the light and examined it closely, before hurriedly rummaging through the change box.

"Young man, you're generous! You're paying such a large sum for something that costs only eight cents."

The fellow villagers queuing behind to pay couldn't help but strike up a conversation.

"Just some change." Zhang Wenshan smiled honestly, and he wasn't lying.

Without tickets, we'll have to try our luck at the market later.

Making fishing and hunting supplies by hand is possible, but you need materials and tools, right?

Who can stand being bitten every day?

Besides, it's not durable. It might work for one or two times, but it definitely won't last long.

Showing off large sums of money in public is too conspicuous.

He wasn't even worried about whether the other person could find the money; he was more afraid that the other person would snatch it and run away.

"Judging by your posture, are you two in the fish business? Did you catch something good this time?"

"No, it's just something I did for the team."

"The collective, no wonder..."

Zhang Wenshan took the change, pulled the still bewildered woman out of the house, and stuffed the money back into her hand: "You can pay for it when you buy something later."

"Ah, I can't." Zhang Fengxia instinctively refused, then quickly realized, "What else are you buying?"

"You don't want to eat the meat?"

"I want to, but no, it's okay if I don't eat it."

As they spoke, the siblings arrived at the market, which was an open space at the entrance of the town.

Scattered farmers squatted on the ground, selling mainly agricultural products, handmade daily necessities, and secondhand goods, with basically nothing of value.

Many people asked about the price, but not many bought anything.

Almost everyone was arguing over a point or two, and no one was willing to give in.

Zhang Wenshan looked around but couldn't find what he wanted, so he could only continue walking inwards, heading towards the legendary black market.

The original owner had been here a few times before, so he was quite familiar with the place.

There were almost no stalls in the alley; the vendors all had their goods tucked into their coats, their eyes alert, their ears listening to every sound, as if they were ready to run at any moment.

Even worse, some transactions are conducted through a small hole in the wall facing the street, with the buyer and seller never even meeting in person.

The selection here is much richer.

They have fried dough twists, biscuits, peanuts, cigarettes, and alcohol, and you don't need tickets; you can even barter.

It seems to be a case of "if the people don't complain, the officials won't investigate."

How much is the wire?

"One yuan per pound."

Zhang Fengxia shuddered in fright, completely stunned, and muttered under her breath, "The supply and marketing cooperative only gives you four mao (0.4 yuan)."

"Give me a pound." Zhang Wenshan made the decision without much hesitation.

While slowly accumulating industrial vouchers might save money, there's not that much time involved.

The supply and marketing cooperative is definitely purchasing fish and shrimp, but the quantity is limited, and it is undoubtedly for foreign trade purposes.

We don't know how long this will last, so we must hurry.

Besides, once the fish get fatter, the fishing teams will be out in force, and then the seafood won't fetch a good price.

My own periods of being single are actually not that long.

Only yarn gloves?

Well, I'll buy it; it's better than nothing.

Oil-soaked linen is a good thing, damn, three cents a foot, are you robbing me?

There's no other way but to buy it!

Fruit candies? Ten of them, please!

Zhang Fengxia initially tried to persuade her, but later fell completely silent, constantly muttering the supply and marketing cooperative's prices and calculating the price difference.

"How much are the Spring Festival snacks?"

"Sanmao".

"Take two packs, what about Daqianmen?"

"Sixty-five cents."

"Give me a pack."

After Zhang Wenshan finished speaking, he looked at his eldest sister.

Zhang Fengxia understood what her brother meant, and with trembling hands, she took out some money from her pocket and handed it over.

It felt like my heart was bleeding.

Another dollar and sixty cents! What's so great about cigarettes?

Adding what I spent before, it's already three yuan and ninety cents.

No, we also have to include the pile from the supply and marketing cooperative, that's more than five yuan?

When she did the math, she felt dizzy and almost couldn't stand up.

"What's wrong, sis?" Zhang Wenshan reached out to help her. "You've got heatstroke. Buy two popsicles."

"No need, I'm fine." Upon hearing this, Zhang Fengxia immediately stood up straight. "Little brother, shouldn't we be heading home soon?"

She forced a bitter smile, not daring to speak directly, and could only offer advice indirectly.

"That's true." Zhang Wenshan looked at the sky. "We still have to go back and weave cages."

Zhang Fengxia breathed a long sigh of relief.

It's finally over...

But when I looked up, my younger brother was already squatting in front of the meat stall asking the price.

"How much is the lean meat?"

"No skinny cuts!" Zhang Fengxia practically lunged at the stall owner, shouting, "Fatty meat, the fattier the better!"

Why buy lean pork jerky? You can't render it into oil and it'll just get stuck in your teeth!

Zhang Wenshan was about to say that the fatty meat was too greasy, but he saw his sister suppressing her anger, looking like a tigress.

The words were on the tip of his tongue, but he swallowed them back.

The siblings didn't delay and headed back under the blazing sun.

As soon as I entered the village, someone greeted me: "Hey, you've come to town?"

"Yeah, I'm going to buy some things." Zhang Wenshan didn't hide anything. The fish basket was only so big, and even if he tried to fill it as much as possible, he still had to carry a lot of materials in his hands.

"Judging by this, you've really learned how to fish and hunt in town?"

Many people were startled when they saw the various materials the siblings were holding.

"Learn a little bit and give it a try. We have to find a way to deal with our family's situation." Zhang Wenshan gave a vague reply and continued walking forward.

Hunting and fishing can't be kept secret.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have needed to ask the team leader for a note and hand over the toad pond, all to shut people up.

"Shanzi has really learned his lesson."

"I think he's just showing off blindly. What else is there around our village?"

"It's better than gambling."

"That's right, Dongzi just doesn't learn good things, and he got bitten by a snake."

Zhang Wenshan heard the faint whispers behind him and a smile appeared on his lips.

These past two days of hard work have finally paid off.

Its reputation is slowly improving!