Chapter 73

"This brat is actually causing trouble for himself."

This time, Li Dong was determined not to take a loss. He really decided not to take the red-crowned crane, thinking it might bring trouble if he took it home.

When he arrived at the place, Li Dong was completely baffled.

"Why is it this place again?" The same place, but the swan had been replaced by a red-crowned crane.

What kind of luck does this kid have? Lucky six plus six, not only did he catch a swan, but now a red-crowned crane, and in the same place. This luck made Li Dong a bit scared. That day, the kid brought a little tiger cub to his house, and if the mother tiger came, it would be a disaster.

Li Dong shivered, vowing not to speak recklessly next time, as he couldn't handle the trouble.

"It really is a red-crowned crane."

Although it was his first time seeing one in person, Li Dong had seen pictures and videos. The crane was mostly white, with a bright red crown and black throat and neck.

"Uncle, will you take it?"

"I'll take a hammer."

Li Dong couldn't help but tap Han Xiaohao on the head.

"Can you eat this thing? Eating a crane will give you sores, and your grandpa will beat you."

"Why can't I eat it?"

Han Xiaohao muttered, thinking it was so big and had a lot of meat. Li Dong wondered how to deal with it. He definitely couldn't eat it, and taking it back to the farm was out of the question. If someone reported it, he would be in trouble.

The red-crowned crane is not like a swan; it is a first-class protected animal in the future, while swans are only second-class. The level of protection is completely different.

"Uncle, you promised, I caught a big bird, and you said you'd let me ride your bike."

Han Xiaohao saw that Li Dong really didn't want it and got anxious.

"Ride, ride, ride. I'll sell the bike to your grandpa, and you can ride it every day."

What to do with this bird? If he just left it to fend for itself, he might as well untie it first. Li Dong was helpless. Since it was Han Xiaohao who caught it, he should let Han Guofu handle it. But as soon as he untied it, the half-dead red-crowned crane immediately jumped up and gave Li Dong a wing.

Fortunately, Li Dong dodged in time. The crane, seeing it missed, started pecking at Li Dong's back. Han Xiaohao was scared; this bird was more aggressive than a swan.

"What are you looking at? Run quickly."

The two were chased by the red-crowned crane out of the reservoir. That was it; no more thinking.

"Consider this as me buying it from you. Here are two yuan. Don't look so down. Go talk to your dad and I'll teach you to ride the bike after school."

"Uncle, you're really a good person."

Two yuan and a chance to learn to ride a bike made Han Xiaohao very happy. He took the money and ran off.

Li Dong glanced at the flying red-crowned crane and shook his head. This thing is really fierce, pecking so hard. After being hung up all night, it will end up being stewed.

Back home, Xiaojuan had already prepared breakfast. Li Dong quickly washed up, ate, and sent Xiaojuan to school before rushing to work.

"We need to clean the reservoir again. I say, we should clean it all at once and catch some fish and shrimp."

"Cleaning it bit by bit, the fish and shrimp are all eaten by the water birds. This morning, I saw many water birds feeding in the reservoir."

"Right, I saw them too."

"Why don't we talk to Uncle Guofu?"

"Let's go, let's go, let's talk to him."

Han Guofu listened to the young people's suggestions and discussed it with Han Guobing and Han Guohong.

"Let's try it. If there are some fish and shrimp, we can dry them for winter food."

"Uncle Guobing, the supply cooperative might buy dried fish and shrimp. Even if they don't, I'll buy them. Dried fish for 30 cents, dried shrimp for 50 cents."

Li Dong thought about bringing wild dried fish back to the farm. It would be great for his family to eat.

Thirty cents and fifty cents, everyone's enthusiasm was high. One pound of dried fish could be exchanged for two pounds of salt. If each family got ten to twenty pounds of dried fish, it would be a significant income.

"Li Dong, don't talk about this casually."

Han Guofu glared at Li Dong. "Your second uncle has already been transferred, why are you acting like a big shot?" "Isn't your second uncle no longer working at the supply cooperative?"

"Uncle Guofu, although my second uncle has been transferred, his two apprentices are still there, responsible for purchasing. Don't worry."

"Let's try it."

A large group set out, went to the warehouse yard, which was a large courtyard with five main rooms and three side rooms on each side. It used to be a landlord's courtyard, now owned by the collective and used as a warehouse for tools.

Everyone got their tools, and dozens of people went to the reservoir to clean the mud, which had been going on for a while. This time, they were also catching fish.

"What is this thing?"

"A water skimmer."

"With it, you can move freely on the mud."

It was just an oval-shaped wooden board. Li Dong muttered, but once he got into the reservoir, he realized it was like a sled, just used in a mud reservoir instead of snow.

"There are really a lot of fish and shrimp."

"Teach me quickly."

Li Dong saw the fish and shrimp jumping in the water and got excited. However, the mud was too deep, and he would sink in it. He needed the water skimmer.

"Brother Li, follow me. It's simple, just lie on it and use your hands to slide forward."

It was simple, but he got covered in mud. Li Dong didn't care; he saw Han Weijun had already caught a three- to four-pound carp. Li Dong joined in and caught two crucian carp, but before he could be happy,

A black shadow swooped down. Li Dong yelled, "What is this?" It was the red-crowned crane, trying to snatch the fish.

"Red-headed ghost."

Everyone laughed, but no one wanted to harm the crane. It had a mystical aura, and people rarely hunted it unless they were starving. Besides, it didn't taste as good as wild chickens or geese.

Li Dong grunted. It was definitely the one from this morning, coming for revenge.

Sure enough, as soon as Li Dong caught a fish, the crane flew over. "Sir, you're really a big shot."

Seeing the crane staring at him, Li Dong directly threw the fish to it. The crane didn't hesitate and started eating.

After a few times, Li Dong was numb. "Go ahead, eat until you burst." The others were laughing so hard, and the red-headed ghost was making a fuss with Li Dong.

If he didn't give it food, it would peck him. Li Dong realized this thing held a grudge. "I'll stew you sooner or later, thinking you're a national treasure now?"

In the morning, Li Dong caught all the fish and shrimp and fed them to the crane. In the end, the crane didn't leave and stood by, waiting for Li Dong to catch more fish, which dampened Li Dong's enthusiasm.

"You're really shameless."

Li Dong had never encountered such a shameless animal. Swans were either proud or timid, but this one was violent and a glutton, thinking Li Dong was easy to bully and staring at him all morning.

Of course, when Han Weiguo and others caught fish and shrimp, the crane also joined in, but they wouldn't be so polite. A few whacks with a stick, and the crane would fly away, but it would just keep staring at Li Dong.

Most frustratingly, in the afternoon, the crane came back, landing next to Li Dong, looking at him, as if saying, "Hurry up."

"Ha ha ha, Brother Li, your bird is back."

Li Dong rolled his eyes. This thing really thought he was a bird keeper.

Finally, the work was done. The production team caught over a thousand pounds of fish and shrimp, which surprised Han Guofu. There were even over ten soft-shelled turtles, all of which Li Dong took.

There were too many fish, so he took a few large grass carp and bighead carp to try raising them. If they survived, he would take them back; if not, he would eat them as spicy fish slices, grilled fish, or fish head soup.

"Fish will be distributed at the threshing ground tonight."

"Uncle Guofu, I won't go."

He was embarrassed because most of the fish he caught went into the crane's stomach, and he had already bought a lot. He wasn't interested in the small fish.

"Alright. By the way."

Han Guofu took out 260 yuan, ready to buy the bike. "Uncle Guofu, are you really buying it?"

"Buying it."

"Uncle Guofu, I need the bike tomorrow morning. I'll wash it and bring it to your place at noon."

"Okay."

Li Dong wrote a note, as 260 yuan was a significant amount. He handed the note to Han Guofu, noting the date as September 26, 1978.

"Uncle Guofu, I'll go back now."

With 260 yuan in hand, Li Dong was happy. He checked the screen and saw he had been there for six days, accumulating nearly 50 hours of sun value.

189:45:54

250

2018.9.14

He needed at least one more day to accumulate 200 sun values to increase his carrying capacity. He planned to buy tiger bone wine tomorrow and return the day after.

"260 yuan."

Before going to bed, Li Dong thought about what to buy. He didn't plan to bring more alcohol, as selling a few bottles was fine, but selling too many could cause trouble if someone opened a bottle and found the taste off.

He decided to buy something else, like stamps, as his daughter said they were valuable.

Unfortunately, he didn't know much about coins. A complete set of the third series of coins, with over twenty pieces, could sell for tens of thousands of yuan.

"Let's buy some furniture instead."

Antiques were beyond his expertise, and there was no place to buy them. Valuable old items were always expensive, and only high-ranking officials or wealthy merchants could afford them, and they were in big cities. Li Dong didn't dare to go there.

Without an introduction letter and with the wrong timing, safety was his top priority. He fell asleep thinking about it.

The next morning, Li Dong was woken up by the commotion in the yard.

"What is it?"

The piglet was squealing pitifully. Li Dong quickly got up, opened the door, and was stunned. "What is this thing doing here