1980: I have a spiritual spring

Chapter 6: Support the bold to death, starve the timid to death

"That's great! Since Deng Xiaoping has said so, then we can raise more chickens and ducks without any problem."

"Reform and opening up is great. Now we have land, and we can raise as many chickens and ducks as we want. There is really hope for the future."

"Yes, this is great news. I need to go back and discuss it with my husband. We'll go to the commune tomorrow to buy a dozen or so chicks to raise."

"I want to buy one too, let's go together tomorrow."

"..."

After receiving Qiao Erhe's approval, the brothers, uncles, and aunts present cheered and started discussing going to the commune to buy chicks to raise.

Amid the murmurs of the crowd, Third Aunt couldn't help but advise, "Dajiang, Erhe, even if there's no limit to how many chickens and ducks you can raise now, you brothers should take it slow. Don't go all out at once. If something goes wrong, you'll suffer huge losses."

Qiao Erhe smiled and said, "Third Aunt, we know what we're doing, you don't need to worry."

Third Aunt didn't want to dampen her nephew's enthusiasm, so she nodded and said, "As long as you know what's going on, just ask me if you don't understand anything."

……

Soon, the neighbors all went home. For rural people in this era, being able to raise more chickens and ducks was a great joy, so they naturally had to go back to their families as soon as possible to discuss it.

Meanwhile, the Qiao brothers continued digging trenches along the baseline of their house.

Because they only dug a few centimeters wide and deep at the beginning, the three brothers dug the ditch very quickly. In just one hour, they dug a long ditch. They estimated that if they dug for another one or two hours tomorrow morning, they would be able to complete the initial ditch digging work.

Just then, Qiao Sanduo came over and called out, "Big brother, second brother, Sihai, the fish is ready."

Qiao Erhe hadn't eaten much for dinner, and his stomach was already growling with hunger. Upon hearing this, he immediately stopped working and said, "Let's stop here for today and hurry up and go home to eat fish."

Upon hearing this, Qiao Dajiang and Qiao Sihai carried their tools and headed towards the brightly lit kitchen without saying a word.

Back in the kitchen, I saw Qiao Qitan standing in front of the dining table, drooling over the big pot of fragrant stewed fish.

No sooner had Qiao Erhe and the others entered the kitchen than Qiao Liuduo and her mother, Huang Hongmei, followed them in.

Thus, apart from Qiao Wuhu, who was studying in the commune, the whole family was present.

We're all family, there's no need to stand on ceremony, so everyone picked up their bowls and chopsticks and started eating.

"Ah, this fish smells so good!"

"Third sister, the fish you cooked today is really delicious."

"It's really delicious! I've never had such delicious stewed fish before!"

"..."

Qiao Erhe ate with shining eyes; he hadn't had such delicious stewed fish in a long time.

Even Huang Hongmei, unusually, praised, "Sanduo, the fish you made today was really delicious."

Upon hearing this, Qiao Sanduo couldn't help but glance at her second brother. Her cooking skills were already quite good, and this time, following her second brother's instructions, she added extra oil when frying the fish. In addition, the wild fish had excellent meat quality, so it would be hard for the stew to be anything but delicious.

However, thinking about the little oil left in the tank, Qiao Sanduo couldn't help but feel a little worried.

Next, the whole family ate the fish in silence, their mouths glistening with oil. Only after they had eaten most of the pot did Huang Hongmei say with a touch of regret, "Alright, stop eating. If we finish it all now, what will we eat tomorrow?"

By this time, Qiao Erhe had eaten about 70-80% of his fill, so he put down his chopsticks and said, "Let's save this for tomorrow!"

Upon hearing this, the other siblings also reluctantly put down their chopsticks.

They really enjoyed their late-night snack.

……

The next morning.

It took the Qiao siblings almost two hours to finally dig a trench around their homestead. Although the trench was only a dozen centimeters deep and wide, it was enough to keep out the chicks.

After the work was completed, Qiao Erhe said, "Brother, go to the brigade's forest farm now and buy a ton of timber to build a chicken coop that is big enough. If there is any timber left over, use it to make some egg-laying boxes and such, which will be useful when the hens lay eggs."

Qiao Dajiang nodded and said, "Okay, I'll go to the brigade's forest farm right now."

Qiao Erhe said, "The three of us shouldn't be idle either. Sanduo, you stay home and cook. Sihai, go and borrow a bicycle from your second uncle. Then go to Wanjiawan, Wangjiatai, Lishutai, Fujiatai, and Xiaojiatai to inquire which production team has extra corn. Ask about the price and then come back and tell me."

"Okay, second brother."

Qiao Sanduo and Qiao Sihai responded and went about their respective tasks.

Qiao Erhe wandered around his own land, looking at where the chicken coop would be best located. After much deliberation, he decided to build the chicken coop opposite the pigsty. This way, the chicken coop and the kitchen would be at a sufficient distance, and he wouldn't have to worry about smelling the strong stench of the chicken coop when he ate.

Although building these chicken coops was simple, it still required a lot of work. For the four siblings, who were novices, it would take at least several days to build those chicken coops. Time was money, so Qiao Erhe naturally wouldn't waste his time on something like this.

So, after choosing a good location for the chicken coop, Qiao Erhe went to his second uncle's house.

Upon arriving at the backyard, Qiao Erhe saw his second uncle and aunt busy at work and immediately greeted them, "Second Uncle, Second Aunt, are you repairing the chicken coop?"

Second Aunt said with a smile, "Yes, what you said yesterday has already spread throughout the village. I also went to buy more than a dozen chicks to raise today, so your second uncle and I built a small shed for these chicks."

Second Uncle hammered the nail in and looked at Qiao Erhe, saying, "Erhe, I heard your family is going to raise 1000 laying hens?"

Qiao Erhe nodded and said, "Yes, I came here to ask if you have time this afternoon to help us repair the chicken coop?"

Second Uncle said, "It's no problem to help you repair the chicken coop, but it's really too risky for you to raise so many chicks all at once. After all, your old man is no longer here, and you siblings have no experience in raising chickens. If something goes wrong, the losses will be too great."

Qiao Erhe smiled and said, "Second Father, don't worry, we know what we're doing."

Second Uncle sighed and said, "Alright, anyway, you and Dajiang have always been bold, so I can't say anything to you. Just be careful in everything you do. This afternoon, your second aunt, Xiangdong, Xiangnan, and I will go over to help you build the chicken coop."

Qiao Erhe smiled and thanked him, then said, "Second Uncle, Second Aunt, you go ahead with your work, I'll go call Third Uncle and Third Aunt."

Second Uncle nodded and said, "Yes, go ahead."

After Qiao Erhe left, his second aunt said, "Dajiang and Erhe are too bold. They raised 1000 chicks right away. It's really scary."

The second uncle, who had read many books, watched his nephew walk away and couldn't help but sigh, "He is indeed bold enough, much better than their old man. Anyway, they are still young. Even if they fail this time, they will still have a chance to make a comeback. And once they succeed, they will not be far from becoming millionaires."

(End of this chapter)