pjbooks Chapter 60
Chapter 60
As soon as the jar was lifted, a sweet and sour fermented smell wafted out.
The straw turned yellowish-brown, became soft and crumbly, and smelled somewhat like distiller's grains.
Zhang Jianguo grabbed a handful from the jar.
He held it under his nose and smelled it, saying that he would want to eat it even if it wasn't fish.
Chen Zheng mixed the ammoniated rice straw with a small amount of wheat bran and soybean cake powder, kneaded it into fist-sized balls, and threw them into the shallow water area of Pond No. 1.
The dumpling landed on the water's surface, floated at first, and then slowly sank.
After a while, a few grass carp swam over, tentatively took a bite, and flicked their tails.
He took another bite, and then wolfed it down.
Other grass carp, drawn by the smell, also gathered around, creating ripples on the water's surface.
Ammonized rice straw feed is ready.
In mid-September, someone Chen Zheng never expected knocked on his courtyard gate.
The visitor was Wang Laoliu.
Several months have passed since the ownership dispute over that piece of land was completely resolved.
Wang Laoliu finally signed the property rights clarification agreement, and the land was officially registered under Chen Zheng's name.
Wang Laoliu continued to cultivate the land by leasing it out, paying 10% of his annual harvest as rent.
But Wang Laoliu came today not for land-related matters.
He stood at the gate of the courtyard, wearing a cloth shirt.
The sleeves were rolled up to the elbows, revealing a section of forearm tanned dark by the sun.
There was a burlap sack at his feet, bulging and full.
He saw Chen Zheng, his lips moved several times, and finally he managed to utter a sentence.
"Zhengwa, I want to learn how to raise fish from you."
Chen Zheng was stunned for a moment.
He looked Wang Laoliu up and down.
This old man used to squat at the village entrance smoking, and he would speak sarcastically whenever he saw him pushing a manure cart.
The expression on his face today is completely different from before.
"Sixth Uncle, weren't you doing just fine fishing and farming?"
"Fishing, farming..." Old Wang squatted down and untied the burlap sack.
"What can you possibly accomplish?"
Take farming, for example.
Last year, the wind blew down a lot of crops, and this year there was a drought for half a month, so one mu of land can't even yield 400 jin of rice.
Your fishpond yields 2,000 catties of fish per mu (unit of land area) per year, and each catty sells for a little over one yuan.
One acre of water is worth several acres of my land.
He opened the sack, revealing it was half-full of cornmeal.
He said it was ground at home and that Chen Zheng could accept it if he didn't mind.
Then she added, "I know I used to be a gossip and said a lot of unpleasant things, but don't take it to heart."
I just... I just want to learn something. Will you teach me or not?
"teach."
Chen Zheng took the sack.
"Teach anyone who wants to learn, no matter who they are."
Go to the town's promotion station tomorrow and find Li Quan. Ask him to give you some training materials.
The next rotifer breeding class starts next Wednesday. Please attend the class first, and feel free to ask me any questions you may have.
If you really want to raise fish, try digging a small pond next to your own plot of land first.
Wang Laoliu readily agreed, but before leaving, he turned back, hesitated for a moment, and said:
"If you still want to raise pigs in your pigsty, my old sow will give birth in a few days, and I'll save one for you."
Chen Zheng stood at the gate of the courtyard, watching Wang Laoliu's hunched back turn around the corner of the village road, and a feeling he couldn't quite describe welled up in his heart.
Wang Laoliu is indeed a gossip and has indeed bullied him, but ultimately it's because he's afraid of being poor.
In recent years, the lives of the villagers have been gradually improving, but Wang Laoliu's family has been getting worse year by year.
Wang Laoliu himself knew that if things continued like this, his family would become the poorest household in Lutang Village.
The fact that he was willing to swallow his pride and beg him shows that this person genuinely wants to change.
Two days later, Wang Laoliu chose a less scorching afternoon, carrying two hoes,
He took his half-grown son, who had just returned from his uncle's house, and they started digging a fishpond on the edge of their own land.
The father and son dug with hoes, their sweat dripping onto the dry mud, creating small pits.
People passing by stopped to look, and someone asked Lao Liu, "Why did you dig a fishpond too?"
Without even looking up, Wang Laoliu replied, "What? You're allowed to raise fish, but I'm not?"
When the news reached the village, it caused a minor stir.
Wang Laoliu has lived in Lutang Village for almost decades, and this is the first time anyone has seen him take the initiative to learn something from someone else.
The news also reached Zhang Jian's family.
Old Zhang was repairing a cart wheel in the yard. After listening, he remained silent for a long time, then put down his wrench.
He said it had changed, and it really has.
He never mentioned the sow that was poisoned last year again.
October 1st is National Day.
This day was the most important day since the establishment of the Baiyang Town Promotion Station.
Representatives from more than sixty livestock farming households across the town gathered in the town government compound.
Participated in the first Baiyang Lake Aquaculture Technology Exchange Conference organized by the extension station.
The exchange meeting was held in the courtyard, which had been covered with a new roof.
Chen Zheng had a makeshift platform set up in the courtyard beforehand, with several rows of long benches arranged around it.
The walls were covered with posters promoting aquaculture and charts on fish disease prevention.
On the table next to the podium were stacks of mimeographed technical manuals.
It is the Baiyang Lake Freshwater Aquaculture Technology Manual compiled by Chen Zheng and Li Quan.
One hundred copies were reprinted, and they were prepared to be distributed free of charge to the farmers who attended the conference.
The content of the exchange meeting was very substantial.
The morning session included a technical lecture, where Zhou Haiming discussed the latest methods for water quality management.
Ma Yuanchao gave a remote presentation over the phone about the progress of artificial breeding of mandarin fish.
In the afternoon, there was an experience exchange session, where Li Quan, representing the aquaculture farmers in Lijiawan, shared his experience in preventing and controlling gill rot.
Sun Xiaozhu took the stage on behalf of his father, Sun Maocai, to introduce the newly dug terraced fishponds in Zhaojiadu Village.
The station chief of Baiyang Town Agricultural Machinery Station also came; he stood in the last row and listened for the entire afternoon.
After the meeting, he found Chen Zheng and said that he had a batch of unused cement pipes and bricks left over from last year's irrigation canal repairs.
They'll just gather dust in the warehouse. If the farmers at the promotion station need them, we can sell them to them at half price.
In late October, the water level of Baiyang Lake began to slowly drop.
The reeds in Nanwan have turned golden yellow, their plumes swaying in the autumn wind, and white reed fluff drifting everywhere.
The fish in Chen Zheng's family's fishpond have grown to more than two pounds, and the smaller ones are about one and a half pounds.
According to the harvesting plan he had discussed with Guo Changlin.
The first batch of adult fish were harvested at the end of October, starting with the No. 1 pond where the fish were growing the fastest.
Then, the No. 2 and No. 3 ponds will be opened.
On the afternoon before the fish were harvested, Chen Zheng went to the pond for his final inspection.
Chen Rong and Chen Feng, who were returning from school at the county's No. 1 Middle School, happened to arrive at the embankment.
Zhou Haiming, from the aquatic products company, was also sitting on a stone stool, writing something down in his notebook.
He looked up and saw the two brothers, beckoned them over, and pointed to the water, saying...
The grass carp has neatly arranged fine scales on its gill covers, bright red gill filaments without any white spots, clear eyes, and intact fins.
If you take a car of this quality to the provincial capital, you can get the highest price.
Chen Feng lay on the bank of the pond, reaching his arm into the water to try and catch fish, but Chen Rong pulled him back.
Chen Feng pouted and asked his brother how many kilograms the first batch could produce.
Chen Zheng raised his hand to measure the distance from the pond embankment to the water surface, and silently calculated for a moment.
I recalled the cautiousness I felt when pulling the first net around this time last year.
Compared to the pond he now knows so well that he knows which ditch and embankment is where the fish hide the most, he has come a long way this year.
Chen Zheng got up at four o'clock the next morning.
He pushed open the courtyard gate and went out. The moonlight shone on Baiyang Lake, and the reeds swayed in the night breeze.
In the distance, Nanwan Bay is shrouded in a thin mist, where the water and sky blend seamlessly.
Zhang Jianguo was already waiting at the gate of the courtyard, carrying a bundle of newly woven netting on his shoulder.
Li Quan also arrived, with half a steamed bun in his mouth and a lantern in his hand.
The embankment was crowded with people.
Chen Laosan, Zhang Cuihua, Chen Rong, and Chen Feng also rushed back from the county.
Liu Jiawang and Song Changhe also arrived.
Liu Jiawang held a notebook and pen in his hand, ready to record the data on the pond's discharge.
Sun Maocai from Zhaojiadu came, Old Zhao from Lijiawan came, and Director Fang from Baiyang Town also came.
The scene of pulling the net was much larger than the small-scale scene of about 300 kilograms last year.
Chen Zheng, Zhang Jianguo, and Li Quan each pulled one end of the net, which slowly sank into the water.
The moment the net hit the water, splashes of water erupted on the surface, and countless fish leaped from the bottom.
The scales shimmered with golden light in the morning sun, and the splashing water droplets were illuminated by the sunlight, falling like shattered silver.
The net was pulled tighter and tighter, and the fish thrashed about in the water, their tails splashing water everywhere.
People on the embankment gasped in amazement.
The nets were pulled in from morning until noon, and a total of more than 1,800 catties of fish were caught in Pond No. 1.
Nearly 80% of them were in good condition, according to the long-term supply contract signed with Guo Changlin.
All the high-quality fish in this batch were purchased by the Jiefang Road Market, and the price was set at the highest grade.
The fish of slightly lower quality were sent to Master Qian's seafood processing point to be made into fish balls and smoked fish.
Some of them were taken by Director Ding to the county government canteen.
Zhang Cuihua said she would keep the few dozen kilograms of the worst-quality small fish for her own family to eat.
Chen Laosan said he would take it to the village and distribute it to the neighbors who had helped him.
When it was time to weigh the items, Guo Changlin came in person.
He was wearing a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up high.
Holding a calculator, he stood on the edge of the pond, calculating everything one by one.
After settling the accounts for Pond No. 1, he looked at the fish jumping around in the net and smacked his lips repeatedly.
The harvest from Pond No. 2 was scheduled for early November, and there were even more buyers that day than from Pond No. 1.
Director Meng from the Jiefang Road vegetable market in the provincial capital came again, and this time he brought news that surprised everyone.
"The largest aquatic product wholesale market in the provincial capital."
The Chengbei Aquatic Products Wholesale Market will be re-tendering suppliers for six major categories next year.
"If we can gather enough supply from Baiyang Lake, I can help you register."
Chen Zheng quickly did some mental calculations.
The threshold for suppliers in the Chengbei Market is that the supply volume must be more than 50,000 jin per quarter.
There are now nearly eighty livestock farmers under the Baiyang Town Extension Station.
If each household's average output from the pond reaches 1,000 jin, the total output will be 80,000 jin.
If this is spread over each quarter, it amounts to 20,000 jin.
We are still more than 30,000 jin short of 50,000 jin.
He asked a crucial question.
Director Meng did not hesitate and stated his requirements directly.
Suppliers not only need to have production scale, but also need to provide water quality test reports for each batch of fish.
Fish disease prevention and control records and quality grading table.
In other words, only breeding groups that have established a complete set of standardized production records are eligible to enter the large-scale wholesale system in the provincial capital.
After Director Meng left, Chen Zheng called Li Quan and Liu Jiawang to the promotion station office.
The three of them analyzed the list of aquaculture farmers around Baiyang Lake one by one.
We need to expand the coverage of farmers.
Baiyang Town has six villages, and four of them have now joined the technical system of the promotion station.
In two other villages, farmers are using traditional farming methods, resulting in lower yields.
If the farmers in these two villages can also be included in the technical training system, the output of each household can be increased by at least 40%.
Moreover, each fish farmer must keep written records of water quality testing and quality grading, and cannot rely solely on experience for judgment.
This is a huge undertaking, and the current staff at the promotion site is far from sufficient.
Even after considering all factors, the gap is still significant.
Unless one or two more large-scale aquaculture bases can be added around Baiyang Lake.
Three days later, Chen Zheng pushed open the glass door of the Baiyang Town Credit Union.
The previously received special support funds from the Agriculture Bureau, along with several months' worth of personal savings, were transferred to the newly established aquaculture consortium account.
In total, the available funds amount to nearly 20,000 yuan.
In Baiyanghu in 1985, 20,000 yuan was a sum of money that could change the industrial landscape of the area.
With this money, Chen Zheng decided to do three things.
The first thing to do is to build a branch aquaculture base in Liulin Village and Zhaojiadu respectively.
Each base is equipped with a technician and an information officer, and the fish fry, feed and fish medicine are provided by the extension station.
The second thing is to unite the various aquaculture sub-bases and jointly establish the Baiyang Lake Aquaculture Consortium.
Standardize product quality and sales channels.
The third thing is to rent a plot of land next to the Baiyang Town wharf to build a primary seafood processing point.
Fish that don't meet quality standards are made into fish balls, smoked fish, and dried fish, and sold to factory canteens and supply and marketing cooperatives in the county.
At the end of November, the promotion station accomplished another major task.
The county branch of the Agricultural Bank of China approved a collective loan of 12,000 yuan specifically for the Baiyanghu aquaculture consortium.
The interest rate is reduced by another half percentage point compared to ordinary agricultural loans, and the repayment period is extended to five years.
The guarantor for this loan is the Baiyang Town government, and the recommenders are the county aquatic products company and the agricultural bureau.
For this consortium,
This not only signifies financial support, but also represents official recognition of this non-governmental organization.
The day the news was released,
Farmers from Liulin Village and Zhaojiadu spontaneously organized themselves and set off a string of firecrackers at the entrance of the promotion station.
Red confetti exploded all over the ground.
One morning in December.
Chen Zheng rode his bicycle back to the village from the Baiyang Town promotion station, his back warm from the sun.
More than half a year has passed since the promotion station was established.
During this period, he did a lot of things and met a lot of people.
Some people came and went, while others stayed and became his companions on his journey forward.
Chen Rong and Chen Feng studied at the county's No. 1 Middle School for a full year.
Chen Rong's grades have consistently ranked among the top three in her grade.
His chemistry teacher has already told him that he will be recommended to participate in the provincial junior high school chemistry competition next semester.
Although Chen Feng's grades weren't as good as his brother's, they had improved from near the bottom to the middle of the class when he entered school.
His math teacher said he was smart enough, but careless. He said that as long as he corrected this flaw, getting into a vocational school wouldn't be a problem.
When the two brothers went home for the weekend, they helped Chen Zheng with a lot of chores.
Chen Rong set up a small table by the fishpond and used the circuit diagram from that chemistry lab manual.
I made a simple water electrolysis device, connected it to a battery, and passed electricity into the water several times.
Although the amount of oxygen produced is not yet enough to replace an aerator.
But he wrote down the data on the changes in current, voltage, and dissolved oxygen in water for each experiment in his notebook.
He said he wanted to try making a larger device during the winter break.
Liu Jiawang's auditing period at the county's No. 1 Middle School has expired.
He ranked third in the class in the final exam and was officially admitted as a full-time student at the county's No. 1 High School.
He worked at the promotion station for a few months when he returned to his village for summer vacation.
He taught Song Changhe how to record phased hydrological data.
Before returning to school, he handed over all the data recording work of the promotion station to Song Changhe.
On the day he left, he told Chen Zheng that he wanted to go to a university in the provincial capital to study water conservancy engineering.
In the future, when we return to Baiyang Lake, we will build a more comprehensive hydrological monitoring system.
Chen Zheng said okay, he'll wait for you to come back.
Li Quan has been working at the promotion station for almost a year, and his skills are becoming more and more proficient.
He went from being a fish farmer with only a primary school education to a technician capable of independently conducting water quality testing and diagnosing fish diseases.
Ma Yuanchao specifically mentioned him when he called.
It is said that Li Quan's photo and story were included in the "Collection of Cases on Grassroots Technology Extension" compiled by the Provincial Fisheries Research Institute.
When Li Quan received the case collection, he held the book in his arms and remained silent for a long time.
His wife was picking vegetables at the kitchen door when she saw him like that, and she lowered her head and wiped the corner of her eye.
In addition to continuing to help Chen Zheng manage the fishpond and harvest fish, Zhang Jianguo did something Chen Zheng hadn't expected.
He dug out the old net that his father had passed down and spent half a year repairing it.
I also learned from Chen Laosan about the pattern of fish crowding towards the water's mouth during the spring flood.
Surprisingly, during last year's spring flood season, a single net hauled up several bream.
When these fish were delivered to Dongfeng Hotel.
Master Qian considered it and said that if there were any spring harvest goods in the future, he would deliver them and set a separate price.
December 15th marks the first anniversary of the establishment of the Baiyang Town Aquatic Technology Extension Station.
On this day, Chen Zheng hung a newly made wooden nameplate at the entrance of the promotion station.
The words "Baiyang Town Aquatic Technology Extension Station" are engraved on it in several black regular script characters.
The nameplate was carved by an old carpenter from the town's woodworking shop, who didn't charge any money.
He said that Baiyang Town only produces such a promotion station in decades, and he felt proud to be able to do something here.
Director Fang came over carrying two bags of pastries.
He placed the snacks on the table.
They said the county had approved the compensation for the two plots of land in Baiyang Town that were expropriated, totaling 320 yuan.
The money was transferred to Chen Zheng's account before the Lunar New Year.
He also said that the county land administration bureau is currently conducting a systematic rectification of agricultural land property rights throughout the county.
The property rights clarification case in Baiyang Town was selected as a typical example and needs to be written up and submitted to the city.
Zhao Deming also came along.
He held a calligraphy brush in his hand and wrote a Spring Festival couplet for Chen Zheng.
The first line reads: "Cascaded ponds raise fish in flowing water, enriching the region"; the second line reads: "Joint management brings benefits to thousands of families as golden fish leap in the waves."
Chen Zheng felt that these two sentences were too grandiose; he hadn't achieved that much yet.
Zhao Deming, however, simply pasted the Spring Festival couplets on both sides of the door frame of the promotion station, saying as he did so, "They're not very big."
That afternoon, Chen Laosan also arrived.
He was wearing the new cotton-padded jacket that Zhang Cuihua had made for him, and he had a pipe in his mouth.
He strolled around the courtyard of the promotion station and then walked around the three fish ponds.
Finally, I squatted down beside the circular nursery pond, looked at the mandarin fish fry swimming in the tank, and asked:
"Will this fish be able to be sold next year?"
"Yes. We'll urge another batch next spring, and by autumn they'll be raised to about a pound each."
Chen Laosan took the pipe out of his mouth and tapped the ash off on the sole of his shoe.
He stood up and said, "Tell your grandfather."
That evening, Chen Laosan led Chen Zheng to the Chen family ancestral graves at the foot of the back mountain.
The grave mound was covered with withered grass. Chen Laosan squatted down and pulled some out of it. After pulling it out, he lit the paper money with a lighter.
He opened the wine jar and poured three cups of wine in front of the grave.
Chen Laosan stood up, tucked his pipe back into his waistband, and said to Chen Zheng:
"Your grandfather once said that it wasn't worth risking his life for a box of gold and silver that might not even be left."
He was right.
But if he saw what you did today, he'd have to say his grandson is better than him.