Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 18 Even pigs would dislike it
"It doesn't say you can't arrest them."

Accountant Liu looked at the turtle with disgust. "This thing has too strong a fishy smell. Nobody eats it. We only catch it when we clean the fishpond in the spring when we release fish fry. We chop it up and feed it to the pigs. Sometimes the smell is so strong that even the pigs won't eat it."

The warehouse keeper, Mr. Huang, also laughed and said, "This stuff was made back in the old days when there were beggars. When beggars craved meat, they would go to the water's edge and pick up a couple of pieces to satisfy their craving. Actually, there was no oil or fat in it at all. No normal person would eat this."

Hearing him say that, Chen Fan also remembered that when he was a child, he vaguely heard his grandfather say that this kind of thing was only eaten by beggars in the past. Ordinary people who had food to eat would not even look at it.

Captain Yang chuckled, "Little Chen had never seen one before and thought we'd caught something valuable, which is understandable. But we've already caught it, and it's such a big turtle. Who knows how many pounds of fish fry it ate? We can't let it get away with this. Let's chop it up and cook a pot of it to feed the pigs today, and then slaughter the New Year's pig the day after tomorrow and give it a meal."

Chen Fan blinked blankly, finally understanding. In their eyes, this stuff wasn't for human consumption, but for pigs, and even pigs would reject it!
He looked down at the large turtle that was still struggling desperately, then looked up and whispered, "Captain, it's not against the rules if I catch this and take it back to eat, is it?"

"What?"

Captain Yang stared blankly at Chen Fan, then at the large turtle at his feet.

If I heard correctly, this kid, who looks like he's from the city, actually wants to eat soft-shelled turtle, a food that even pigs would avoid?
He couldn't help but say, "Why are you eating this? Are you craving meat? Just bear with it a little longer. We'll slaughter the pig the day after tomorrow and make a pig-killing feast. There will be enough for you to eat then."

Chen Fan chuckled twice, offering no explanation, "It's nothing, I just wanted to give it a try."

Before Captain Yang could say anything more, Accountant Liu, who was standing next to him, laughed and said, "If he wants to try, let him try. He'll understand once he experiences the consequences."

Captain Yang seemed to have thought of something, shook his head and smiled, and said to Chen Fan, "Okay, you can try it if you want. Anyway, there are plenty of these things in the ditches and ponds. If you want to catch them, catch as many as you want. Nobody will care."

The warehouse keeper, Mr. Huang, kindly reminded them, "If you really want to eat this, you can catch loach or eel instead. Although they have a fishy smell, you can still eat them even without oil. I really can't bring myself to eat this."

The best time to catch loaches and eels is of course autumn, but you can also catch them in winter. It's just that eel burrows and loach burrows are a bit hard to find, and you can hardly catch them unless you're an expert.

Ignoring the loaches and eels, Chen Fan grinned and nodded mindlessly when he heard that the turtle was edible, "Thank you, thank you."

Then he picked up the giant turtle and ran away.

Accountant Liu got up and closed the door, then turned back and laughed, "He's just like those half-grown kids in the village, stubborn and determined to try it."

Captain Yang shook his head with a smile, "Who hasn't been through this? We were like this before. I still remember back in the 60s, when there wasn't enough food and our stomachs were growling, we still ate turtles that we couldn't bring ourselves to eat."

Upon hearing this, Accountant Liu's face changed, and he quickly waved his hand, saying, "Don't bring this up. If I can't eat later, it'll all be your fault."

Captain Yang laughed heartily, "That'll save you a meal."

……

Chen Fan, carrying the large turtle, hurried back to the educated youth settlement, just in time to see Jiang Lili packing up her tripod. He was taken aback and asked, "You're packing up so early?"

He was planning to come back and collect it himself, but now the young girl has done it all for him.

Jiang Lili stared blankly at the turtle in his hand, pointed to the sky, and said, "I saw the weather was changing, and the blankets were dry, so I put them away in case it rained."

Then, pointing at the large turtle, he asked, "Why are you catching this?"

Chen Fan chuckled, picked up the turtle and shook it, "I'll make something delicious tonight."

Jiang Lili quickly said, "You can't eat this. It has a very strong fishy smell, and the pot you use to cook it will also have a fishy smell. Two years ago, a young intellectual who was sent to the countryside refused to believe in superstitions, caught one, cooked it, and ate it. As a result, he couldn't eat anything for the next two weeks. Really, I'm not lying to you."

Chen Fan laughed, "I know, but he did it wrong." Seeing that Jiang Lili was still terrified, he could only say helplessly, "Okay, then I won't use the pots from the kitchen. Are there any other pots here?"

Jiang Lili thought for a moment, then pointed to the backyard and whispered, "There's another big pot in the back, but it used to be used to cook pig feed."

Is it for cooking pig feed?

Oh well, as long as it's a pot, it's fine. I can always sterilize it with fire.

It's just that Jiang Lili didn't know what he was thinking, otherwise she would be worried to death. Doesn't he have any common sense about rural life? Doesn't every household have a big iron pot that is used for cooking rice and pig feed?!
Chen Fan then asked, "Do you have any earthenware pots?"

Jiang Lili nodded. "There's a clay pot."

"A clay pot is better."

As Chen Fan walked inside, he said with a smile, "Help me boil a pot of water, and we'll have a big meal tonight."

Jiang Lili looked at his retreating figure, her face contorted with bitterness.

Chen Fan took a few steps, then suddenly turned around and asked, "By the way, do you have any scallions or ginger here?"

Jiang Lili pointed to the backyard, "There are some in the vegetable garden."

Chen Fan laughed and said, "Okay, now get me a big pair of scissors too."

He then carried the turtle to the backyard, where he finally saw the whole backyard. There were two rows of vegetable plots planted with cabbage and radishes, and along the edge of the field, there were also a few clumps of scallions, ginger, and garlic. Most of these vegetables had been harvested, with only a small portion still growing.

However, unlike the previous villagers whose vegetable gardens were only two or three meters away from their houses, the vegetable gardens here were at least fifteen or sixteen meters away from their houses. Perhaps some of the educated youth were afraid of the smell, so they placed their vegetable gardens so far away.

Anyway, this is the end of the village, and there are no other houses behind it, so I'm not worried about taking up too much space.

In the far corner, there are two toilets separated by wooden boards, with the words "male" and "female" written on the hanging bamboo curtains with a brush.

In another corner, against the wall, there is a semi-open shed, which is a place enclosed by a canopy on top and a wall that is only one meter high.

Remembering what Jiang Lili had said before, he guessed that it was the old pigsty.

Upon closer inspection, it was indeed as expected. A one-meter-high earthen wall enclosed a long, narrow space, which was deliberately divided into two sections. At the base of the earthen walls of each of the two pigsties was a stone feeding trough.

This place must have been unused for a long time; the thatched roof is damaged in some places, and you can still see the skylight through it.

There were two pigsties, one empty and the other used as a woodshed, piled with cotton stalks and thick branches over a foot long. With so much firewood, there shouldn't be any problem burning in the winter.

He looked inside and saw that it was fairly clean and the wooden fence was sturdy enough. He then placed the large turtle in the stone trough in the pigsty, and went to the front to fetch a bucket of water, which he poured into the stone trough.

The giant turtle thrashed about in the water a couple of times, then lay motionless on the stone trough wall.

Without stopping, Chen Fan ran outside again, grabbed a carrying pole and two baskets, and greeted Jiang Lili as he passed the kitchen, "I saw a few big ones in the pond earlier, I'm going to check if they're still there, I'll be right back."

(End of this chapter)