1980: I have a spiritual spring

Chapter 12 The Pace of Making a Fortune
in the afternoon.

Qiao Dajiang and Qiao Sihai stared at the long trench in front of them, both with expressions of disbelief.

Qiao Sihai said with a shocked expression, "Second brother, how did you dig such a long distance in half a day? My eldest brother, third sister, and I combined couldn't even dig half of your distance. I feel exhausted, but you're like nothing happened. Your strength is terrifying!"

Qiao Dajiang was equally shocked. He was a tough guy, and he had never been inferior to anyone in the entire Qiaojiawan area. But after seeing the second brother's "achievements", he was truly ashamed of himself. He was really too amazing.

Qiao Erhe laughed and said, "I've always been this good. Before, when I worked in the production team, no matter how hard I worked, I got the same number of work points, so I didn't have to work so hard. Now that I'm working for my own family, I don't have to hide anything anymore."

"I see, it seems you have superhuman strength by birth, Second Brother!"

Qiao Sihai suddenly realized, and then looked at the trench that had already been partially dug, and secretly estimated: "At our current pace, it should take another two or three days to finish digging this trench."

Qiao Dajiang looked at the second brother and said, "Second brother, once we've dug the trench, where will the water come from? We can't exactly go fetch water, can we?"

Qiao Erhe smiled and said, "After the trench is dug, I will dig a few small ditches around it. When it rains, we can divert all the rainwater from the village here until the trench is full. Anyway, the purpose of digging this trench is to raise chickens. Raising fish is just a side thing, so there is no need to rush."

Qiao Dajiang nodded, agreeing with this statement.

Just as the three brothers were talking, Qiao Liuduo ran over and called out, "Big brother, second brother, fourth brother, dinner's ready."

"understood!"

Qiao Sihai responded and then went home to eat with his two older brothers.

Today, Fatty Ba went to visit relatives and hasn't come back yet. Fifth Brother is at school and hasn't come back either. Only the six siblings are eating at home.

Because Qiao Erhe brought back 20 jin of oil in the morning and told Qiao Sanduo to use it as she pleased, and to buy more when she ran out, the Qiao siblings enjoyed a delicious spicy stewed fish for dinner tonight. They ate with gusto, their mouths greasy and their hearts filled with indescribable satisfaction.

As Qiao Sihai ate, he exclaimed, "This is so delicious! I wish I could eat such delicious stewed fish every day from now on."

Qiao Erhe laughed and said, "No matter what kind of dish it is, you'll get tired of eating it every day. It's only delicious if you eat chicken, duck, fish and meat in different ways."

Qiao Sihai naturally longed for such a life, but he still shook his head and said, "Second brother, with our family's conditions, having fish to eat every day is already a life of luxury, let alone having chicken, duck, fish and meat to eat in different ways. How is that possible!"

Qiao Erhe swallowed the food in his mouth and said, "What's impossible about that? Our family is having a bit of a financial hardship right now, but once those 1000 chicks grow up and start laying eggs, our good days are coming."

Hearing this, Qiao Sanduo asked with sparkling eyes, "Second brother, when a hen reaches its egg-laying period, it can lay one egg a day. We have 1000 laying hens, so wouldn't that mean it can lay 1000 eggs a day?"

Qiao Erhe nodded and smiled, "That's right. Once these hens start laying eggs, our family can harvest 1000 eggs a day. Even if each egg only sells for 4 cents, we'll still have an income of 40 yuan a day. At that time, will we still be worried about not being able to afford chicken, duck, fish, and meat?"

Qiao Sihai exclaimed in shock, "I didn't know raising laying hens was so profitable?"

Qiao Dajiang interjected, "The cost of feed needs to be deducted from this 40 yuan, so it's actually not that much."

Qiao Erhe said, "Actually, if we can retail the eggs, selling each egg for 5 cents shouldn't be a problem. That way, 1000 eggs would bring in an extra 10 yuan in income, which should basically cover the feed costs during the laying period." Although Qiao Sihai wasn't very good at studying, he could still do basic arithmetic. He silently calculated in his mind before excitedly saying, "So, once these 1000 hens start laying eggs, our family can earn at least 1000 yuan a month?"

Qiao Erhe nodded and said, "More or less!"

Upon hearing this, the other siblings couldn't help but feel excited.

In those days, the average worker's salary was only thirty or forty yuan. The shock of earning over a thousand yuan a month was no less than earning over two hundred thousand yuan a month in later generations. For rural people, this was the pace of making a fortune.

Although this has not yet come to fruition, it does not stop the Qiao siblings from dreaming about it.

Seeing this, Qiao Erhe couldn't help but instruct, "This matter is still far from settled. Just keep it to yourselves and don't go out and tell anyone else, so as not to cause unnecessary trouble, understand?"

"Understood, Second Brother."

Qiao Sihai, Qiao Liuduo, and Qiao Qitan all responded.

Qiao Erhe looked at his elder brother and said, "Brother, you said before that you wanted to bring back a few dogs to raise. After dinner, ask around and see if anyone has puppies. We need to bring them back as soon as possible, otherwise the dogs will be useless."

Qiao Dajiang nodded and said, "Okay, I'll ask my friends about it later."

Qiao Erhe added, "If there are no puppies, we can also buy dogs that are a few months old or adults if their owners are willing to transfer them. In fact, these dogs are even better; once we buy them, they can help guard the house."

Qiao Dajiang shook his head and said, "Dogs are intelligent and understand human nature. It's best to bring back puppies to raise. Even if you buy puppies that are only a few months old or even adults, you may not be able to tame them. Once you let them go, they are likely to run back to their original owners."

Qiao Erhe smiled and said, "Don't worry, big brother. I know how to raise dogs. Even if it's an old dog, I can make sure it's obedient and won't leave no matter how hard I try."

This is no joke. With a powerful weapon like the Spirit Spring Water, what animal can't he tame?
Although Qiao Dajiang didn't agree with Lao Er's words, seeing how confident Lao Er was, he replied, "Okay, if there are no puppies, I'll ask my friends to see if any dogs are willing to be sold. But all the money I have has been used to buy feed, so I don't have any money to buy another dog."

Qiao Erhe said, "It's alright, I'll go fishing in the river later and take the fish to the commune to sell tomorrow."

In order not to expose the existence of the spiritual spring water, Qiao Erhe has been using a fishing rod as a cover when he goes to the river to catch fish these past two days. After all, fishing itself is a mysterious activity, and no one will suspect anything, no matter how much or how little he catches.

Qiao Sihai's eyes lit up upon hearing this, and he said, "Second Brother, I also want to go fishing. I'll go with you!"

Qiao Erhe said with a look of disdain, "With your fishing skills, you should just give up. If you want to fish, go somewhere else. Don't bother me."

Qiao Sihai: "..."

……

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(End of this chapter)