Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 45 Why not kill them and keep them alive for the New Year?

Accompanying Chen Fan were Zhang Wenliang and the guard dogs.

The dogs followed him from outside the woods, running a few steps and then stopping, looking at Chen Fan as if he were a monster.

Once inside the road in front of the mud-walled house, many dog ​​owners came running out, drawn by the smell.

The big yellow dog immediately got excited, rushed over and barked wildly, "Woof woof woof... (This person can speak dog language)"

The dogs behind it barked too, "Really, really, I heard it all."

In an instant, all the dogs ran over, barking incessantly.

"really?"

Why doesn't he speak?

"Let him say a few words."

Chen Fan's lips twitched slightly. Even dogs are this gossipy?
When Zhang Wenliang saw so many dogs rushing over, he couldn't help but feel a little strange. Even when outsiders came to the village, the dogs weren't this noisy.

He tilted his head to look at Chen Fan, then at the dogs, and became increasingly puzzled.

It's hard to say whether the dogs are hostile to Chen Fan. When he used to take the dogs to catch thieves, they were incredibly fierce, baring their back teeth and looking like they wanted to pounce on people and tear them to pieces.

The scene before them resembled the dogs encountering something they were curious about, all crowding around and tilting their heads to look.

Feeling dizzy, Zhang Wenliang waved his hand to shoo the dogs away, "Go away, all of you, go away."

He then looked at Chen Fan and smiled, "Don't worry, with me here, they won't bite."

At the same time, he secretly admired this young man. He looked fair-skinned and thin, but he was surprisingly brave. If an ordinary person were surrounded by so many dogs, they would change their expression even if they didn't cry. But Chen Fan still had a smile on his face. Just based on this courage, Zhang Wenliang felt very good about him.

Chen Fan was no longer afraid. The dogs were all looking at him, hoping he would talk to them.

So he replied to Zhang Wenliang, "It's okay, it's okay, these dogs are all very well-behaved and cute."

Then I barked at the dogs a few times, "Woof woof woof... (Quiet down, the best behaved dog gets a bone tonight)"

In an instant, the dogs stopped barking, but their eyes were filled with intense longing as they looked at him.

Zhang Wenliang was surprised again upon seeing this, "Wow, you're really good at training dogs!"

Chen Fan chuckled, "No, no, I was just joking."

He then changed the subject, asking, "Brother Sanhu, raising so many dogs in the village must take up a lot of food, right?"

Zhang Wenliang laughed heartily, "What's the point of feeding them? They can be fed with just some leftovers. There's plenty of food in the countryside, and the dogs can find plenty of food on their own outside. If they're lucky, they might even catch rabbits. Of course, you can't raise too many, one or two is still very easy."

He paused for a moment, then said, "I can tell from your accent you're a local. Have you never been to the countryside before?"

Chen Fan exclaimed "Ah," and said casually, "I don't know if I've ever been to the countryside, I've forgotten."

Zhang Wenliang then remembered what the captain had said: this person was pulled from the river by Captain Yang of Team 6. He had mental problems and couldn't remember many things. Zhang Wenliang couldn't help but feel a little sad.

If he's not mentally unstable and has a good background, with his looks and the skill to cook turtle dishes, wouldn't he be a perfect match for my youngest sister?

What a pity. Just then, a group of children ran over and stared at Chen Fan from afar.

Zhang Wenliang waved his hand, seemingly calling to someone, "Zhang Xuejun, go tell them that Master Chen has arrived."

No one responded, and the group of children immediately ran back noisily, still unaware of who Zhang Xuejun was.

As Zhang Wenliang walked, he said, “If you’ve ever been to the countryside, you’ll know that our place is a land of fish and rice. Farming in the countryside is really hard work, but as long as there are no floods, we can harvest two crops a year, and we’ll basically have enough to eat.”

Even during the three-year drought, our grain production wasn't significantly affected. It was just that the higher authorities were drastically requisitioning grain; seven or eight tenths of the grain had to be handed over. Also, a few years ago we ate in communal canteens, which depleted our grain reserves, so we went hungry for three years. We shared the hardships with the rest of the country, but no one starved to death.

He pointed to the mud-brick houses by the roadside, "After the three years of famine, grain production recovered immediately. This row of houses was built during those years, so raising two dogs is nothing unusual."

He turned to look at Chen Fan and laughed, "You don't know, but during those three years we ate soft-shelled turtle every few days, as well as loach, eel and crab. The others were okay, although they weren't oily, we could still eat them. It was the soft-shelled turtle that really gave us a headache. If it weren't for the fact that there was a lot of meat in the soft-shelled turtle and that one meal could keep you full for a day, no one would eat it."

"I never expected that soft-shelled turtle would be such a delicious dish. If you had come 18 years earlier, not only would the people of Lujiawan be treating you like royalty, but the entire county would be worshipping you. Gufeng County is full of ditches and ponds; you could easily find a ton of soft-shelled turtles just by turning over a few leaves. There would be more than enough to eat, so how could anyone go hungry?"

Chen Fan smiled but remained silent.

Can't finish it?
Ever since the Ma Family Army endorsed soft-shelled turtles in the 90s, and the Xiao Ri Zi laboratory spread the news that soft-shelled turtles could fight cancer, this thing became popular all over the country overnight. A simple home-cooked meal would immediately become much more valuable just by adding a soft-shelled turtle pot.

As a result, wild giant soft-shelled turtles disappeared within just a few years. Occasionally, someone would catch one and sell it for several thousand yuan, and the price remained high for almost twenty years without falling.

Once foodies set their sights on it, there's no chance it won't be eaten!
As the two talked, they soon reached the edge of the pond.

It was only then that Chen Fan realized that almost the entire village was gathered here to clean the turtles. Baskets filled with turtles were placed by the pond, and men, women, and children were all using straw to scrub them.

Seeing Chen Fan's gaze, Zhang Wenliang smiled and said, "After your Captain Yang arrived yesterday afternoon, we organized people to dig. We dug another batch this morning, and they're all here. They've just started cleaning, but with more people, it should be done quickly and won't delay anything."

After he finished speaking, he called out to the crowd who were looking in his direction, "This is Master Chen, who is here to teach us how to cook soft-shelled turtle. Everyone, please welcome him!"

Those who didn't have a turtle clapped their hands, while those who did shouted, "Welcome, welcome!"

It won't interfere with the work I'm doing.

Chen Fan grinned and waved to everyone, "Hello, hello."

This way of welcoming people is quite unique.

After greeting him, he quickly tugged at Zhang Wenliang's clothes and whispered, "Brother Sanhu, kill them all?"

Zhang Wenliang was taken aback. He looked at the turtle over there, then turned back to look at him. "Aren't you going to kill it and keep it for the New Year?"

Chen Fan was both amused and exasperated. "Yesterday we only caught seven or eight large ones, which was enough for the whole village to have one meal. You caught hundreds of turtles. If you kill them all and cook them, can you finish them all?"

Zhang Wenliang was stunned. "Seven or eight big ones are enough for the whole village to have one meal?"

Chen Fan patiently explained, "The meat yield of soft-shelled turtles is about 60%. As long as these large soft-shelled turtles are cleaned, almost the entire turtle is edible. One large soft-shelled turtle weighs 15 or 16 jin (7.5-7.5 catties). If you get ten of them, it's equivalent to a pig. How many pigs would you eat in one meal?"

How many more pigs will we eat?
Make more side dishes; half a pig is enough for the whole village to have a good meal. We've already cleaned almost half of the turtles. Are you really planning to eat meat until you're full?!
Zhang Wenliang quickly shouted, "Stop, stop! Master Chen said that's enough. Save the rest for later."

When Zhang Wenliang spoke, everyone stopped, tidied up a bit, and then most of them followed the two men up the slope to the brigade headquarters.

(End of this chapter)