A small plot of land in a mountain village

Chapter 17: Pioneering and Black Fish

Zhang Niu bought a lot of cheap pork at the market, intending to give his dogs, Jin Gang and Bao Tu, a little extra food. As the saying goes, good news makes one feel refreshed. That perfectly describes his current mood.

That evening at home, I explained what had happened. I only mentioned that I had sold the ginseng I had picked in the mountains a few days earlier for tens of thousands of yuan in the county town. My father was overjoyed to hear this. At that time, tens of thousands of yuan was a huge sum of money in the countryside, and he even drank a few extra bowls of rice wine to celebrate.

In the days that followed, Zhang Niu's life entered a period of land reclamation.

They recruited about twenty of the more diligent villagers to work, and also called my father up to help. The foot of the mountain suddenly became lively, scaring the ducks that had come ashore into quacking and running back to the pond.

The thugs forced Zhang Niu to stay in the water and not come out to scare people. Keeping a crocodile at home is hard to explain to others, after all, this guy is more ferocious than King Kong.

Right next to the pond, near the fly gnats, Zhang Niu planned to dig a pond there, since eels prefer shade and dislike sunlight. This spot with the fly gnats would be good for now. Later, he'd plant some willows and then cut down all the unsightly fly gnats. For now, it was just recycling waste.

With the help of the fruit seedling owner, Zhang Niu quickly found a place that was well-known for its excavators. Several bulldozers, excavators, and old-fashioned Dongfanghong brand bulldozers were parked on the open ground, and many people were repairing the equipment.

The boss knew early on that someone needed his help today, so he stayed in his office instead of going out. After a few words of discussion, he got to the point. Zhang Niu mentioned he needed to dig a pond and explained the difficult road conditions. He asked if he could help, explaining that these days, heavy equipment like bulldozers are a lucrative business, almost always booked out, especially for construction sites and land reclamation.

The boss readily agreed. He immediately sent a driver in his early thirties to go back with Zhang Niu to familiarize himself with the route before transporting the machine there.

After saying goodbye to his boss, Zhang Niu got into the car with the driver. He then realized that getting things done wasn't so easy after all; now, connections were crucial. If he hadn't had an introduction, his boss probably wouldn't have even given him a second glance at such a remote mountain village. He certainly wouldn't have sent someone with him like this. However, this would save him a considerable amount on the return trip.

After a bumpy ride, we arrived back at Zhangjia Village. The driver simply said a few words and drove off, telling Zhang Niu to wait at the village entrance the next morning, where the machines would then begin transporting the goods.

After a short rest, Zhang Niu ran to the village chief's house. The village chief still vividly remembered what had happened a few days ago. Seeing Zhang Niu come in covered in sweat, he quickly invited him into his house.

After sitting down, Zhang Niu didn't stand on ceremony and picked up the teapot on the table. He poured a large bowl of water and gulped it down before feeling much better. He then said to the village chief, "I'd like to widen the small mountain path leading up the mountain. Do you think that's feasible?"

The village chief thought it was something important. Turns out it was just about widening the mountain road.

"Alright, even if you hadn't told me, I would have come looking for you anyway. The road is a bit narrow. I heard you've been busy working on that wasteland again!" the village chief replied, puffing on his pipe.

"I have some spare cash on hand recently, so I'm planning to invest it. Tomorrow, an excavator needs to go up the mountain, but the mountain road is difficult to clear, so I came to ask you how to handle this." Zhang Niu was in a hurry about this matter.

"The mountain road belongs to the village brigade. I remember there's not much on either side of the mountain road! The mountain road can't be widened too much, just enough for a rear-wheel drive car to pass through, so consider it a discount from the village to you." After a moment of reflection, the village chief said with a smile.

"Thank you so much! But I'm just wondering, the brigade should have paid for this trip, right?" Zhang Niu said happily.

The village chief's chuckle made Zhang Niu feel a little tricked.

"This road was built for you by the village. However, you still have to pay for the road shoveling and repair yourself, since not many people use that mountain road except you. The village's funds are also insufficient, so please understand our village's difficulties."

Zhang Niu inwardly scorned the old village chief. A village without money was truly a case of "a hundred-year-old iron tree blooming, even pigs would fly."

However, Zhang Niu still said, "I'll figure out a solution myself! We need to drive it in tomorrow, so it would be best if you could come and give me some pointers."

"Okay, no problem. I'll wait for you at home tomorrow. Just call me at the door when you arrive."

Walking out onto the road, Zhang Niu was a little angry. Angry as he was, he figured he'd have to build a dirt road himself. Anyway, not many people would use it. Although it was difficult to walk in the rain, that was only true for the light drizzle of the first month or so of spring.

The road construction reminded Zhang Niu of what he often read in the newspapers: if the village wants to get rich, build roads first, and wealth will come before cars even arrive at their homes. That's quite true.

In the evening, Zhang Niu herded the ducks back to their shed. He noticed that the ducklings had already shed their fluffy feathers, and many fine white feathers had sprouted from the tips of their wings. He couldn't believe how quickly the ducks had grown.

The thugs were also called out to Zhang Niu from the water. One of the thugs climbed up to Zhang Niu and opened his mouth wide, spitting out two black carp, each weighing over eight pounds. The carp, still wriggling and jumping on the ground, continued to thrash about.

Zhang Niu was surprised that the thugs in the water could actually catch a blackfish. He guessed it must have been left behind before, and that's why it grew so big.

Snakehead fish have very tender flesh, but they grow very slowly. Inside their skull is a piece of cartilage. The larger the snakehead, the larger the cartilage. When I was little, if a child had a fish bone, a group of other children would follow, wanting to see and touch it. I don't know who said it, but children with fish bones in their heads rarely get sick and are much healthier throughout the year.

Looking at the two large black fish in front of him, Zhang Niu didn't forget to praise the thugs.

Tie the blackfish together with grass vines so they can be taken back.

I left one piece of black fish bone in a large basin to take home to my younger sister tomorrow. I'm sure she'll love it.

Remove the scales and gut the fish. Take out the soft bones near the head. The bones are dark red, heart-shaped, and slightly translucent. The freshly removed bones have a fishy smell, which is unique to blackfish.

The blackfish was cut into pieces and arranged on a plate. Homemade pickled cabbage was taken out of the pickling vat to prepare a large pot of boiled fish.

If it tastes good, add more chili peppers. The spicier the better.

The large black carp has relatively few bones; after the fish is cooked, remove the bones. This makes it much easier to eat. As soon as it was placed on the table, the little one jumped up and squeaked. King Kong could only watch from below. Not to mention the thug could only grunt a few times.

Looking at the creature waiting to be fed, the dog picked out a few pieces of fish and some soup, placed them in a bowl, and pushed it in front of the little one, indicating that this was its dinner. King Kong and the thug below also each received a portion equally. The fish head was given to the thug, the great contributor. The little one grabbed the fish with both paws and started gnawing on it, while King Kong and the thug didn't know how to enjoy the meal. They quickly finished it off in less than a minute. King Kong even turned the bowl of fish upside down.

It seems that being big has many advantages; the speed at which it eats is quite frightening.

Second update. I hope everyone can offer some feedback. Good or bad, I hope it helps me write more to share with everyone; the recommendations are pitifully few. Please recommend and favorite! I'm so sorry, I was going to upload yesterday, but the telecom company suddenly cut off my internet. I only found out I was in arrears then, and I had to rush to pay it first thing this morning. I'm truly sorry everyone.