Chapter 37: The Long Worm and the Old Turtle

"What happened?"

Lin Yue ran over first and asked.

"A yellow fox just came into the house. Dad just caught it and was about to let it go," replied sister-in-law Liu Juan.

"This yellow snake weighs at least four kilograms. It's really fat." Father Lin was holding a large snake with yellow patterns. The snake was about 1.45 meters long and thicker than an adult's wrist. It was wrapped around Father Lin's shoulders.

Huang Han is the local name here. Its scientific name is Elaphe dione, also known as Rape Snake.

"Dad, give me the snake and I'll take it to the river and release it so it won't run back home again." Lin Heng looked at his father and suddenly said.

Boys from the countryside, who used to herd cattle in the hills, dared to catch snakes when they were in their teens. Except for superstitious people, no one else was afraid of them.

"That's good!" Father Lin nodded and gave the snake to Lin Heng without thinking too much.

"Then I'll shine the flashlight for you." Big brother Lin Yue said as he was about to go with him.

"No need, just let Xiulan take the photo for me, and you can take the eel back and raise it first." Lin Heng shook his head.

"That's fine." Lin Yue nodded, not caring about it.

Xiulan took a flashlight and walked up the river with Lin Heng, while her eldest brother Lin Yue and the others returned to the house.

Everyone else couldn't wait to ask Lin Yue how many eels he had caught tonight, wanting to see the goods.

After walking for a distance, Xiulan suddenly asked, "Are you planning to secretly pack up the snake and sell it?"

Hearing this, Lin Heng was shocked: "How did you know?"

He didn't expect that his wife could guess it. Indeed, he had this idea when he saw the snake, but his parents were superstitious and said that selling snakes was not a good thing and that he would suffer revenge.

But he doesn't believe these at all. In his opinion, making money so that his family can live a good life is the real thing.

The purchase price of Huang Han here is three yuan per catty. This piece of Huang Han can be sold for at least ten yuan, which is more than half a month's salary for others.

"If you don't have other ideas, you won't take the initiative to take this kind of work."

Xiulan looked at him and said something, a little scared: "Why don't you let it go? It's not good if Dad finds out. They say this thing has spirits and can't be sold."

"It's at least ten dollars. Don't worry about it. I'll sell it quietly." Lin Heng was very determined. He was in urgent need of start-up capital.

Besides, he had never sold snakes in his previous life, so he was just unlucky. Those who sold snakes didn't get into any trouble either.

In order to accumulate initial capital, he would sell not just one snake, but hundreds of snakes.

The water snake was not caught and sold before because no one would buy it. The vendors here only buy three kinds of snakes, namely the yellow-necked snake (king snake), the mah-necked snake (black-browed snake), and the black-necked snake.

There is no use in catching other snakes unless you eat them yourself.

When she heard the price of ten yuan, Xiulan fell silent. If she collected herbs, it might take her two months to earn that much money.

"Then do you have a bag?" Xiulan finally acquiesced.

"No, let's go find one at someone else's house." Lin Heng shook his head. It was so late that he could only think of a way to find a bag. The snake could not be killed, and the dead one could not be sold.

"I have a bag. I left a bag on the field when I was cutting grass for pigs today. I'll get it for you." Xiulan said, and went to look for the bag.

"Be careful." Lin Heng reminded, then squatted down and waited.

I looked at the yellow snake in my hand. Such a big thing is really rare. Because people have been catching snakes frequently in recent years, the big ones have been caught and are no longer seen.

"Here's the bag." Xiulan brought over a cloth bag, which she had sewn with scraps of cloth.

After putting the snake in, Lin Heng sealed its mouth and hung it on a tree stump in the woods, and would bring a basket to put it in the next morning.

"Okay, let's go back." Lin Heng smiled slightly and pulled Xiulan back.

When they got home, everyone else had already rested. The eels were kept in a wooden barrel. Xiulan took a look and said in surprise, "So many."

"This is the first time we catch them this year, so of course there are more. There won't be so many in the future," said Lin Heng with a smile.

After taking a look at the eels, Lin Heng went to look at the fish eggs. Today, most of the fry hatched from the eggs began to tremble slightly, and they would be completely hatched in two days at most.

"Wash your feet quickly and take a rest." Xiulan brought Lin Heng some foot washing water and said softly.

Lin Heng nodded, washed his feet and went to bed. He had been sore all over these days, but there was nothing he could do as he had to work hard to make money.

The next morning, it rained, not heavily, just a drizzle.

This kind of rain is a good time to plant sweet potatoes. Mother Lin, Caiyun and Xiulan went to plant sweet potatoes at 5:30, while Father Lin was still helping Carpenter Liang.

Lin Heng didn't get up until almost six o'clock. He ate half of the remaining sauerkraut soup in the pot and fed the other half to Xiongba.

"Now that you're up, go to town with your eldest brother to order some tiles. Order 5,000 tiles first, and we'll come back later if you don't have enough."

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When Father Lin saw Lin Heng got up, he hurriedly spoke.

"I see. I'll go check in the river first."

Lin Heng said this and ran out with a bamboo basket.

He first went to the woods where Huang Han was hiding and made sure that the snake was okay. Then Lin Heng put it in the basket and pulled some pig grass on top.

Then he hurried to the river. If he was too late, the things on the river might have been taken away by someone, which would be a big loss.

After running a kilometer to the river in a hurry, without even having time to wipe the sweat off, Lin Heng looked towards the place where he had cast the fishing hook last night.

Splash! ! With a splashing sound, a big turtle was struggling frantically in the water. Without even taking a breath, Lin Heng pulled the cotton thread and flew it to the shore.

I won't feel at ease until I put my foot on it. Only when I'm sure I have it, it's mine.

"It's really big, it must be three pounds." Lin Heng looked at the giant turtle that was flipping its limbs wildly and stretching its neck to try to bite him.

As expected, it ate the brook grouper that it had caught on its hook last night. After all, it is very difficult to catch an uninjured fish, and it would definitely not be able to resist catching an injured fish that could not swim fast.

Facts have proved that as a veteran fisherman, Lin Heng understood the turtle's psychology very well, and the fishhook accurately pierced its chin, preventing it from breaking free and escaping.

Pulling the cotton thread, Lin Heng grabbed its head, took out the fishhook, put it into the prepared large bag and took it away.

On the way back, Lin Heng was excited. The so-called turtle is a soft-shelled turtle. The turtle that people often refer to is also a turtle. Wild soft-shelled turtle is a tonic. A dish called Farewell My Concubine can be sold for dozens of dollars.

This turtle can be sold to a restaurant in town at three yuan per pound, which is no problem. It is a rare creature and difficult to catch.

If we can get it to a restaurant in the city, it can be sold at a higher price.

Seeing Lin Heng coming back, the eldest brother Lin Yue hurried over to ask: "Did you get anything?"

Father Lin and Carpenter Liang also looked over. They had just heard from Lin Yue that Lin Heng had put a fishing hook in the river last night, trying to catch the turtle that escaped yesterday.

Neither of them had any hope for this, but when Lin Heng came back, they couldn't help but look at him.

(End of this chapter)