Chapter 8

That night, Lu Dong was jolted awake several times, but fortunately, the life-threatening emergency gong did not sound again.

With matters on his mind, Lu Dong got up before five o'clock and started hitting the sandbag in the courtyard of the old house.

He didn't know any professional techniques; it was just a crude form of boxing, purely for exercise.

After hitting the sandbag for a while, he washed up briefly and found a stool to sit down and think.

Since the night before last when he returned to 1998, he had been busy with flood control and hadn't had time to think about many things, especially the future.

In the past, after 1998, Lu Dong lived a hazy life for a long time. He mixed on the streets, was obsessed with online games, and the money he earned barely sustained his living. He often needed help from his mother and his cousin, until after 2010, when he finally woke up.

He couldn't follow the old path anymore; he needed to get rich!

Happiness has many standards, but wealth is the foundation.

However, Lu Dong was unclear about what specific opportunities there were in the next two years.

The only thing that left a deep impression was the university town.

If he wanted to do something, he had to first conduct a site survey.

Without a survey, there is no right to speak.

Then there was money.

Society is very practical.

He couldn't rely on his family; Lu Dong knew the family's situation without asking.

It was July 12th, and the public grain had just been paid. The apples in the orchard hadn't ripened yet, and the family wouldn't even have 500 yuan.

The orchard covered more than twenty acres, but it didn't produce grain. The public grain was borrowed, and the debt would be repaid after the apples were sold.

The public grain couldn't be delayed, or the consequences would be severe.

His mother had a hard life, and he couldn't add to her burden. As an 18-year-old adult, he had to take responsibility for himself.

His uncle had helped him countless times over the years, and he didn't know how to repay him.

Even with close family ties, he couldn't take it for granted.

The future still depended on his own efforts and struggles.

A small person's hard work and struggle might not guarantee success, but without hard work and struggle, there would be no hope of success.

The reality was that he was poor, and the people around him were also poor. Who could help whom?

In the countryside, many people were exhausted just maintaining a basic living.

The most urgent thing was to first support himself and earn enough money to stand on his own feet.

This was the most practical goal for the current stage.

In the end, money was the foundation! Lu Dong was preoccupied with the idea of making money.

He locked the door and went to the orchard for breakfast. On the way, he checked the river embankment. After a night, the water level had dropped by more than two meters and was almost level with the road outside the embankment.

This flood was about to end, and as long as there was no sudden heavy rain upstream, there would be no problem.

Breakfast was a bowl of clear soup noodles, cooked in water with soy sauce, aged vinegar, and sesame oil as seasonings, and garnished with chopped coriander. It was simple and convenient.

While Lu Dong was eating the noodles, Hu Chunlan started her usual nagging: "I went to the village early to exchange noodles and heard that the troops will leave in the afternoon. They've done so much for us, but our fruit and vegetables haven't ripened yet, and we have nothing to give them. Dongzi, go borrow a net from your Uncle Seven and see if you can catch some big fish to give to the troops."

"Okay, I'll go after I finish eating," Lu Dong glanced at the east side of the crematorium, where bundles of wheat straw were piled after the harvest, and a temporary vegetable garden had been opened, with loofah and cucumber vines just starting to climb.

The family really had nothing to offer.

He couldn't give wheat straw; the troops weren't a paper mill.

This flood had brought a lot of fish from the reservoir.

After breakfast, Lu Dong returned to the village to borrow a fishing net from Uncle Seven. When he entered the house, he was startled.

Uncle Seven was leaning on a spade, and Aunt Seven was holding a fish spear, the two of them facing off in the courtyard.

At the door of the main room, a boy of about eight or nine years old was sitting on a bamboo chair, throwing peanuts into his mouth and watching the drama with great interest.

"What's going on?" Lu Dong was headache: "What's happening again?"

Though it was a common occurrence for Uncle Seven and Aunt Seven to argue, the fish spear was truly frightening.

Aunt Seven was short and slender, and she planted the fish spear on the ground: "Dongzi, you're here." She pointed at Uncle Seven, almost jumping: "You come and judge, drinking in the morning, how can you be sober for the rest of the day?"

Lu Jianren stretched his neck: "Without a drink, how can I have the energy to work? You say I'm ignorant, but you won't admit it!"

Lu Dong then saw a porcelain gourd wine bottle broken at the kitchen door on the west side of the yard, with a brown wine box next to it. From his angle, he could see the famous line on the box.

"Last night, the wind was light and the rain was heavy, and even after a deep sleep, the wine's effect remained..."

Qingzhao wine.

"Uncle Seven, didn't you say you were going fishing yesterday?" Lu Dong didn't try to mediate; these two argued all the time, and it was useless to try to stop them: "Let's go, take two nets, and we'll go together!"

He then said to the boy: "Dingzi, go comfort your mom! I'll catch some fish for you to eat later!"

"Not interesting!" Dingzi, eating peanuts, went into the main room: "They didn't fight..."

Lu Jianren threw down the spade, called out to Lu Dong, and took two fishing nets and a few homemade water bags, heading straight for the northern embankment.

The two chose the section of the river that almost breached the night before.

On the triangular dam, Lu Jianren, who had years of experience in fishing and catching rabbits, pointed to the gentle slope on the north side: "The water flows slowly here, there must be fish! It's fine if the net is empty, just wait and put it down again. I'll go north, and you stay here."

Lu Dong looked down and saw that the water level had dropped significantly. The north side was covered with countless sandbags, and the iron chicken cages inside were completely invisible.

The shore was almost empty, and the lights and cables had been taken back by Uncle Tie, leaving only two long bamboo poles.

There were many water hyacinths in the gentle area. After Lu Jianren went north, Lu Dong took the bamboo pole and pushed the water hyacinths away. As he moved the pole in the water, something jumped out of the water, which looked like a carp or a grass carp, and it was quite large.

Perhaps there were too many leeches on the water hyacinths. When Lu Dong retrieved the bamboo pole, he brought up two small leeches.

Lu Dong took off his thousand-layer sole and kicked them into the sun to dry.

It was said that during the famine years, the villagers dried these things and cooked them as food.

Compared to places where people ate crabs, it was even harder.

Lu Dong straightened the fishing net and waited patiently. After removing the water hyacinths, he might have disturbed the fish below.

The water was very turbid, and he couldn't see what was underneath. After waiting for seven or eight minutes, Lu Dong stood up and cast the net.

Although he had been fishing with Uncle Seven since he was twelve or thirteen, he hadn't done it since he returned. This net didn't fully open, but the aim was still good, and the net landed in the gentle area.

After the net sank to the bottom, Lu Dong grabbed the rope tied to his wrist and slowly pulled it up. When the rope tightened, the feeling in his hands told him there was something!

He pulled the net up inch by inch. When it emerged from the water, Lu Dong's eyebrows raised. Mixed in with the lead weights were fish!

Lu Dong pulled the net ashore and opened it to pick up the fish, first throwing away the stones and trash, then taking the fish.

The largest was a grass carp, which he estimated to weigh more than two pounds; there were two yellow catfish with three sharp spines on their sides, which could be very painful if they pricked you.

There were also a few leeches.

Lu Dong put the fish in the water bags and left the leeches on the embankment to bask in the sun. He tied the water bags to trees on the outside of the embankment and put them in the water on the south side of the dam.

He straightened the net, sat on the dam, and waited again.

At this time, two soldiers patrolling the river walked over and stopped to watch Lu Dong fishing, curious.

One of them, with a dark complexion, poked the leeches basking in the sun with his foot and then squatted down to pick one up and look at it.

Lu Dong smiled and greeted them: "Hello, soldiers."

This unusual greeting made the two soldiers smile and politely replied: "Hello."

The one with the dark complexion, speaking with a southern accent, asked Lu Dong: "Drying them for medicine?"

"For medicine?" Lu Dong hadn't thought of that: "Can they be used for medicine?"

The soldier said: "Yes. There's a traditional Chinese medicine market near our base, and I've seen them there."

Lu Dong thought for a moment and asked: "Do they buy them?"

"Not sure." The soldier smiled: "I haven't asked."

Lu Dong guessed: "Can you tell me where your base is?"

The soldier said: "Near the Quannan West Market."

Lu Dong knew this place; it was the largest comprehensive wholesale market in Quannan City, and even in 2019, it was still the best in the surrounding area.

"Thank you." Lu Dong thanked him.

"You're welcome." The two soldiers continued their patrol.

Lu Dong cast the net again. The second net was a bit off and entered the rapid area, but he pulled it back in time.

Uncle Seven was indeed experienced; this place was a fish haven. The second net brought up a large catfish.

Unlike later when the price of catfish plummeted, at that time, catfish were popular, with plenty of meat and no small bones.

Because of what the soldier said, Lu Dong threw all the leeches he caught onto the sun to dry.

As the sun rose higher, more people with nets came to the river. From the east side of the sluice gate to where Lu Dong was, there were about seven or eight people fishing.

With the high water level and many fish, Lu Dong had a good harvest. By noon, he had caught about ten pounds of fish.

This was a special period; in normal times, such a catch would be a stroke of luck.

Before leaving, Lu Dong cast the net one last time. This net was also off and landed in the rapid area.

Although the water level had dropped, the current was still strong.

The net was swept away, and Lu Dong used his strength to pull it back.

When he pulled the net ashore, there were no fish, but there was a shallow dish the size of an apple. Lu Dong wiped off the mud, and the dish had an ancient and simple pattern, made of white porcelain, with flowers on the bottom.

He flipped it over, and the bottom had a mark with four traditional Chinese characters. Lu Dong, who was a poor student, only recognized the first character as "Wang."

Well, this character is the same in both simplified and traditional Chinese.

"An antique?" Being poor, Lu Dong couldn't help but fantasize.

Uncle Seven walked over with the fishing net: "What's that?"

Lu Dong shook it: "A dish came up in the net."

Uncle Seven took it and looked at it carefully, then threw it back to Lu Dong: "These vinegar dishes were common in the early years. I used them when I was a child. They were all smashed during the Cultural Revolution. Your Uncle Two hid one and sold it to a collector from Shunshan a few years ago for about 50 yuan."

Lu Dong, who had no money at all, was surprised: "50 yuan?"

Uncle Seven added: "They cheated people! The Shunshan cultural market is full of junk. I've been there a few times, and the stall owners specialize in collecting worthless old things and selling them as valuable items to make money."

In recent years, there were many people collecting antiques in the countryside.

Lu Dong knew the Shunshan cultural market, which was different from the West Market. This market specialized in flowers, birds, old books, antiques, and odd stones.

Maybe he could take it there to see? Even 10 yuan would be a lot to him.

Besides, what if it was valuable?

Lu Dong still needed to borrow the net, so he gave all the catfish to Uncle Seven to stew for Dingzi.

The fish was fresh and delicious, better than black fish.

The leeches continued to dry on the shore, and no one would pick up these things that even chickens wouldn't eat.

The rest he took back to the orchard and put in a basin temporarily. One was kept for his family to eat, and the other was taken to his uncle's house after lunch.

When he went to his uncle's house to deliver the fish, he learned that the troops were about to leave. Lu Dong ran back to the orchard to pack the fish and returned. The people of Lujia Village spontaneously gathered at the road in front of the primary school to see them off, holding steamed buns, eggs, fruits, vegetables, and other items.

The troops refused everything, even the instant noodles and bottled water from the village.

One by one, the解放trucks (Liberation trucks) drove south.

Watching the neatly dressed soldiers, Lu Dong thought of their bravery in blocking the flood the previous day. Lu Dong's neighbor, Lu Kun, cried to his father: "I want to join the army!"

For these young people who had been influenced by gangster culture, joining the army was actually a good path.

As the last解放truck (Liberation truck) passed, Lu Dong seized the opportunity and threw the bag of fish onto it.