1980: I have a spiritual spring

Chapter 4 A small test of one’s skills
"Second brother, you're back. Did you find out the price of the chicks?"

Upon seeing Qiao Erhe return, the impatient Qiao Sihai immediately inquired about his whereabouts.

Qiao Erhe nodded and said, "I've found out."

Qiao Sihai asked, "How much is one?"

"One cent each."

Qiao Erhe replied, then looked at his elder brother and asked, "Brother, are timber and bamboo expensive?"

Qiao Dajiang sighed and said, "Second brother, this timber costs fifty or sixty yuan per ton. I've already asked the people at the forest farm. According to their estimate, if we buy timber or bamboo to fence off this three-acre plot of land and build a few simple chicken coops, the 300 yuan we have won't be enough at all."

Qiao Sihai blinked and said, "How about we ask Fatty Ba again and see if she has any money left?"

Qiao Dajiang and Qiao Sanduo were somewhat tempted upon hearing this, but Qiao Erhe, who knew his mother's personality well, shook his head and said, "There's no need to ask. Regardless of whether she has any money left, she's unlikely to give it out. Let's figure out a solution ourselves!"

Qiao Sanduo said, "Second Brother, if it really doesn't work, we won't fence off such a big area. Let's fence off a small plot first, raise a few laying hens, and expand later when we make money."

Qiao Erhe said, "I've already negotiated with the poultry farm and paid the deposit for the first batch of 1000 laying hens."

Qiao Dajiang frowned and said, "Second brother, why are you in such a hurry? We can't even fence off the area. How are we going to raise these laying hens?"

“Just like Sanduo just said, we can fence off a small area of ​​two or three-tenths of an acre first. That would be enough to raise 1000 laying hens. It would just mean that the hens would have a smaller range of movement, but it wouldn’t really affect their growth.”

Qiao Erhe said, "Besides that, there is another way that saves the most money. We can dig a ditch around the house site instead of bamboo fences and wooden fences. This way, we can not only raise laying hens, but also divert water into the ditch to raise fish. It's a win-win situation."

Qiao Sanduo couldn't help but praise, "Second brother, you are so smart, you even came up with such a method."

Qiao Sihai asked with some concern, "Second Brother, if we dig a trench to divert water, won't those chicks jump into the trench and drown?"

Qiao Erhe laughed and said, "No, animals know how to avoid danger. It's very rare for them to jump into the water and drown. Even if they accidentally fall into the water, it's just an isolated case. But if we do it this way, we can't prevent people from drowning."

Qiao Dajiang asked, "Second brother, are you worried that someone will come and steal the chickens and eggs?"

Qiao Erhe nodded and said, "We have to be careful about this kind of thing, after all, there's never a shortage of petty thieves in this world."

Qiao Dajiang said, "That's easy. I'll go and get a few dogs to raise. With the dogs helping to guard the place, anyone who wants to steal chickens or eggs will have to think twice."

Qiao Erhe nodded, then asked, "Big Brother, Sanduo, Sihai, now that we've come up with a plan, do you think it's better to buy timber to fence off a small plot of land, or to dig a trench directly?"

Qiao Sanduo said, "Second Brother, I think digging trenches is better; it saves money."

Qiao Sihai agreed, saying, "I also think digging trenches is a good idea; raising fish there will be a source of income."

Qiao Erhe looked at his elder brother and asked, "Brother, what do you think?"

Qiao Dajiang pondered for a moment and said, "Then let's dig trenches. That way it will definitely save money."

Qiao Erhe made the decision: "Then it's settled. Starting tomorrow, we'll start digging trenches along the homestead line. We'll dig them a dozen centimeters wide and a dozen centimeters deep first, then go to the forest farm to buy a ton of timber to build a few simple chicken coops. Once that's done, I'll have the poultry farm send the chicks over first, and then we can gradually deepen and widen the trenches."

……dinner.

Looking at the bland soup on the table, Qiao Erhe had no appetite at all.

This is the third day since he was reborn, and he hasn't eaten a single meat dish yet. These days are really hard to endure. After all, as the saying goes, it's easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality!
Although he wasn't doing very well in his previous life, he still had 300,000 to 500,000 yuan in savings. Plus, he had no financial pressure and enjoyed drinking three times a day, so he lived a carefree life. His only regret was that his daughter married far away to another province, and he had no children or grandchildren by his side.

Now that I've been reborn, I haven't even eaten a single egg; my mouth is so bland it's practically tasteless.

Qiao Erhe, who had no appetite, ate a few bites and then put down his chopsticks, saying, "You guys eat, I'm going to take a walk by the river and see if I can catch a few fish to eat."

Qiao Sihai also put down his chopsticks and said, "Second Brother, I'll go with you."

Qiao Erhe shook his head and said, "You don't need to follow me. If you have nothing to do, you can dig a trench after you've eaten. Remember to dig along our house's baseline, and don't dig into someone else's house to avoid trouble."

Upon hearing this, Qiao Sihai replied sullenly, "I know."

Huang Hongmei put down her chopsticks and asked, "Digging a trench? What kind of trench are you going to dig? What's it for?"

Qiao Sihai replied, "Our family plans to raise 1000 laying hens, but we don't have enough money to buy timber to fence off our land right now, so we're digging a trench around our land..."

While the fourth son was answering his mother's questions, Qiao Erhe walked out of the kitchen, grabbed a basket, and headed toward the Lotus Canal not far away.

The Lotus Canal is the main drainage canal of Cenhe Commune, with a total length of about 13 kilometers. Although the water is not very deep, there are still quite a few fish in it. However, it is normally impossible to catch fish without any fishing tools.

However, Qiao Erhe has a spiritual spring by his side, and today he wants to test the power of this spring water to see if he can attract the fish in the lotus canal.

Soon, we arrived at the Lotus Canal.

In those days, the water quality in most parts of the country was not yet polluted and could be described as crystal clear. When you came across the Qiao Er River, you could see many fish swimming around in it. These fish were of all sizes and some even swam in groups, so the fish resources were quite abundant.

Qiao Erhe walked along the canal and found a spot with the most fish. He tiptoed over there and slowly lowered the basket he had brought into the water, with the opening of the basket facing upstream.

Then, Qiao Erhe had a sudden thought, and the spiritual spring water dripped drop by drop onto the opening of the basket.

As he dripped the spiritual spring water, Qiao Erhe observed the reactions of the fish in the water.

At first, the fish didn't react at all, but after just two or three seconds, the nearby fish seemed to be stimulated and swam frantically towards this side, then rushed into the basket.

The scene was just like tourists feeding ornamental fish in a park, but these fish were even ten or a hundred times more frantic than those ornamental fish.

In an instant, Qiao Erhe's basket was filled with fish. He lifted the basket with force and stared at the fish weighing at least several dozen kilograms. Even though he was mentally prepared, he was still stunned.

A small test revealed the terrifying power of this spiritual spring water.

……

P.S.: The protagonist definitely won't use the spiritual spring water carelessly; you'll find out as you read on.

(End of this chapter)