Fishing and Hunting 82, Starting with Three Sisters Who Overprotect Their Brothers

Chapter 120 Sting

Only then did everyone realize that the net was full of finger-length willow root fish and palm-sized catfish.

"You can't sell this thing for money, can you?"

The smiles of the crowd, who had just been beaming with joy, instantly froze.

The willow root is about the length of a finger and covered in thorns.

The gudgeon is not very big, but it has poisonous thorns on its back. If you get pricked, it will cause swelling and pain, and it's a real pain to deal with.

Let alone selling them for money, it's too much trouble even for us to eat them ourselves.

The town's supply and marketing cooperative and state-run restaurants simply don't accept this kind of miscellaneous fish.

Seeing everyone hesitate, Zhang Fengxia gritted her teeth and stepped forward: "Little brother, what should we do?"

"Pack them up." Zhang Wenshan smiled slightly. "I'm here to catch them."

"what?"

The group exchanged bewildered glances. Zhang Fengxia cautiously reminded them, "Little brother, this stuff really won't fetch any money, and it's a pain to eat."

"Just make sure it's easy for it to eat," Zhang Wenshan said decisively, waving his hand. "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

He didn't explain further.

This actually involves a planned economy issue.

In the past, after the supply and marketing cooperatives collected goods, they had to redistribute them in various regions.

Fish that are difficult to handle and have little meat, such as willow root and gudgeon, are naturally excluded from this category.

Now that the household responsibility system has been implemented and the economy is more open, as long as you can create variety and solve the problem of how difficult it is to eat, you can still make money.

Ultimately, it's just that times have changed.

In the past, people were always hungry, so who would bother to put effort into these two types of fish that have little meat, wasting time and seasonings?

"What's wrong with Liu Gen Ga Ya Zi? It's not a fish."

"Exactly, you've been spoiled rotten by the team leader. In previous years, if you could get this many people into trouble, wouldn't you be jumping for joy?"

The members of the fishing and hunting group came to their senses and all spoke up to support Zhang Wenshan.

The aunt who had spoken earlier waved her hands repeatedly, saying, "That's not what I meant. I was just afraid—afraid of working for nothing. I didn't think the fish was bad."

"Alright, let's get to work."

At Zhang Wenshan's command, everyone immediately sprang into action.

Cast the net, scatter the bait, lift the net —

One bucket, two buckets, three buckets —

Soon, all the containers they brought were full, and they had to send someone back first.

"Willow roots and gagazi are usually so hard to catch, I never thought there would be times when they're caught in buckets."

While taking a break, Ge Ergui squatted down, reached out and poked at the small fish in the bucket, and couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement.

Lin Cuihua leaned closer, her eyes full of admiration, and nodded repeatedly: "The team leader is really amazing, she has a solution."

"How do you think the team leader should make money from this?"

"Sell it to another village?"

That's utter nonsense.

Several women gathered around, discussing among themselves, unable to understand how these bony, miscellaneous fish could be sold for money.

"That's enough, let's go back now."

"Sister, go and get all the seasonings."

"Qiuping, get two big rocks. Ge Ergui, you take some men and scrub the basin clean—"

Seeing that the number of fish was about right, Zhang Wenshan immediately directed everyone to proceed to the next step.

"What exactly is the team leader supposed to do?"

"Using seasonings to cook?"

Upon hearing this, one of the older women was so surprised that she stopped calling him "team leader": "Shanzi can cook?"

"Why can't the team leader cook?"

Lin Cuihua instinctively replied, about to say that the stir-fried snails were prepared by the team leader, but then she changed her mind.

"Just trust the team leader."

With a lot of doubts, everyone completed the preparations.

Zhang Wenshan didn't waste any time; he rolled up his sleeves and immediately started demonstrating.

Remove the top and internal organs from the willow root, rinse it clean, and drain the water.

Next, place the fish in a basin, cover it with coarse salt, and then sprinkle with seasonings such as Sichuan peppercorns, dried chilies, scallion segments, and ginger slices.

Then repeat the process, layering fish, seasonings, and finally drizzling rice vinegar and weighing it down with a stone.

"Pickled vegetables?" An older woman, who seemed to have figured it out, couldn't help but ask, "You can sell this for money?"

"Of course." Zhang Wenshan straightened up. "Soaking the fish in vinegar softens the bones, making it easy to eat. Why can't we sell it?"

"Hmm, that makes sense."

"But... but will this pickled fish taste good?" someone still wondered.

"With all these seasonings, even shoe insoles would taste delicious, right?"

The members of the fishing and hunting group were all from impoverished families. Their cooking skills were barely passable, and they couldn't tell the quality of marinated fish at all, so they could only offer their opinions based on guesswork.

After listening for a while, Zhang Wenshan realized it wasn't very helpful, so he shook his head and said, "Next, you'll learn from me. This method is the key to whether you can make big money."

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately focused their attention and crowded around, afraid of missing a single detail.

Zhang Wenshan picked up a gnawing stone and smashed it to his death.

Make a diagonal cut below the gill cover, removing the fish head and internal organs along with the cut. Then, make a cut along the spine from the back.

Pinch the sides of the fish with your fingers and squeeze gently; the spine will protrude directly.

Finally, pinch it and pull it outwards, and the entire main thorn is pulled out completely, without a single crumb falling out.

"Wow, team leader, you're amazing!"

"How did you do that?"

"You can do that to a gagazi?"

The crowd erupted in a frenzy, crowding closer together, their eyes wide as they stared intently at the fish and the intact spine in Zhang Wenshan's hand.

They weren't sure how to make pickled fish, but they immediately recognized how skilled they were at removing bones.

What's the difference between willow root and catfish without their bones and normal fish?

"It's not difficult at all, you'll get used to it."

Zhang Wenshan nodded in satisfaction as he looked at the shocked expressions on everyone's faces.

Under the intense gazes of the crowd, he picked up another piece of gizzard, slowed down his movements, and demonstrated it again.

Every step was done clearly, as if afraid that others wouldn't see it clearly.

"Let me give it a try!" Ge Ergui couldn't resist and reached out to pick up a piece of gaga.

He imitated Zhang Wenshan, first killing the fish by smashing it, then cutting off its head.

But as soon as the blade touched the fish's back, his hand trembled uncontrollably, and with one stroke, he cut the fish through.

Another aunt was even more unlucky. The moment she pinched the fish with her fingertips, she was pricked by the poisonous barb of the catfish. She grimaced in pain and dropped the fish on the ground.

"Hey, what happened? Why can't I pull it out?"

"I'm too clumsy for this kind of delicate work!"

"Team leader, could you demonstrate it again? I didn't see how you sculpted it clearly."

After several failed attempts, the members of the fishing team were all dejected, and the fish in their hands were in a mess.

Zhang Fengxia managed to succeed twice, but her technique was not up to standard and she was slow.

"strangeness!"

Zhang Wenshan couldn't help but scratch his head.

The aunties are all very capable workers, but how come they can't seem to figure out how to clean a fish?

He became anxious, and his tone of instruction became a bit harsher.

After all, this might be the most suitable business for fishing and hunting groups at this stage.

"Young man, I'm thinking that everyone is afraid of breaking the fish apart and ending up with nothing to eat, which would be a waste."

Just as Zhang Wenshan was frowning in distress, his older sister leaned over and whispered something.

He fixed his eyes.

It really is.

Everyone handled the fish with extreme care, afraid of ruining it.

In an instant, all of Zhang Wenshan's impatience vanished.

There's no way around it; these are habits formed from living through hard times.

It's a thrifty instinct that's been ingrained in our bones for a long time.