Chapter 9 9
After the rice is harvested, the double harvest is not over yet. The fields still need to be plowed, harrowed, irrigated, rice seedlings transplanted, and late rice planted.
During this period, the pumps of the hydropower station pump water non-stop around the clock, and continue pumping for several days and nights. The pumps will only stop when the paddy fields of several nearby brigades are filled with enough water.
As soon as the pump started, the crayfish in the ditches in the fields were washed away, and the rushing water supplied water to the surrounding farmland day and night.
The children in the village will not be idle either. Almost every household will bring fishing nets and go to the ditches to catch fish.
The closer to the source of the hydroelectric power station, the more fish you can catch.
There were some whole fish, but most of them were dead fish with heads and tails missing, crushed by the pump.
When the pumps are pumping water, the river side of the hydropower station is very dangerous. Anyone who falls into the river will be sucked away by the huge pumps in an instant and crushed into pieces. Therefore, many brigade cadres are standing on the embankment outside the hydropower station. They have to guard there at all times and never let naughty children fall into the river.
Most of the children who came to fish had been told by their families to fish in the ditch at the hydropower station end.
Grandpa Jiang is also fishing.
He made fish baskets out of straw and placed them beside the fast-flowing ditch. From time to time, live fish would leak down from upstream or dead fish would be washed down and be caught by him.
The ditch was right next to the rice field. While taking care of the fish basket, he also had to prevent sparrows from stealing the rice. He ran back and forth from time to time, sometimes to check on the fish basket and sometimes to drive away the sparrows. Although he was sweating from exhaustion, the old man was fishing very enthusiastically.
When Jiang Ning came to bring him food, he picked up the fish he had caught and showed it to Jiang Ning as if he was presenting a treasure: "Ning Ning, look, Grandpa caught so many fish!" He lowered his voice, as if afraid of being heard, and whispered in Jiang Ning's ear: "Take it to the mountain and pickle it. Don't let your parents know. When school starts, I'll cook it and bring it to school for you to eat."
Grandpa Jiang smiled with satisfaction.
"Wow, there are so many fish!" Jiang Ning looked at the fish in the basket with heads and tails missing, raised her head and looked at her grandfather, her eyes sparkling: "Grandpa, this is it!"
She gave Grandpa Jiang a thumbs up, which made Grandpa Jiang laugh so hard that his teeth almost popped out of his mouth, and his hunched back seemed to straighten a little.
"Go and get me your brother's fishing net. That net is big and can catch more fish!" Grandpa Jiang was full of enthusiasm, as if he could already see himself catching a basin of fish and bringing it back, enough to fill three large cans for his granddaughter!
"Yeah!" Jiang Ning ran home happily carrying the straw basket.
As she ran, she was thinking about how to make money.
If you want to escape from Jiang Ma's control, you must first become financially independent.
At present, the simplest and most direct way for her to earn her first pot of gold is to roast crayfish and sell them, even though crayfish are everywhere and locals have no habit of eating crayfish. But even if she sells them cheaper, she can still make a few dollars.
Without money, you can't move an inch. It is not just a saying here, but a real situation where you can't move an inch. Because if you want to go to the town from here without taking a boat and just walk, you have to cross a ferry in the middle, and the ferry costs one cent per trip.
She doesn't have a dime.
If you take the boat to town, it costs one dollar for a round trip.
Whatever you want to do, first you have to go to town.
Jiang Ning stopped cooking crayfish in the next few days. All the caught crayfish were sent to the cottage on the mountain for raising.
Lobsters are very hardy and will not die if left on the mountain for a few days. Just feed them some snail meat.
Dad Jiang hadn't eaten lobster for several days and thought that the pump had washed away all the lobsters in the ditch. She didn't want to burn it because she couldn't catch lobsters, so she picked up a basket from the ditch and went to the pond to wash them.
While brushing, he called Jiang Ning to come and help him.
It was hot in the summer and Jiang Ning was too lazy to cook, so she blanched kelp, lettuce slices, potato slices, cucumbers, fungus... in boiling water, then took them out and rinsed them with cold water. She then put chili powder, white sesame seeds, pepper powder, thirteen spices, minced garlic, shallots, and chili peppers in a bowl, poured hot oil on them to stimulate the aroma, then poured it on the boiled cold dishes, added vinegar, soy sauce and other seasonings and mixed well to make a sour and spicy appetizing cold dish.
It's a big enamel basin.
After cooking, I put a large pot of bath water in the pot.
"Ning Ning! Bring me a pair of scissors and teach me how to deal with the shrimp heads." After seeing Jiang Ning come out, Jiang's father muttered, "It's a pity that your eldest brother and second brother are not here, otherwise the two of them could eat a whole pot each!"
"After this busy period, I will catch more lobsters and bring some to your second brother when you go to register." Jiang Ning was admitted to the best high school in their county, and Jiang Bai also studied there.
Father Jiang said regretfully: "If your eldest brother wasn't so far away, I could send some to him as well."
Jiang Song went to work in the provincial capital. There was no phone at home, and his father didn't know where to find him. School was about to start, and he refused to come back even when he was asked to.
Father Jiang sighed: "As a younger sister, you should also persuade your elder brother more. Working part-time has no future. The only right way is to go to college."
Jiang Ning didn't say anything.
In fact, her eldest brother wouldn't listen to anyone's advice.
Oh, that’s not right. He only listens to people outside. It seems that his family members will harm him and only people outside are truly good for him.
It's amazing.
Under Jiang Ning's instruction, Jiang's father quickly learned how to do it and started to handle it skillfully. While handling the crayfish, he asked her about her studies: "How have you been preparing for your high school textbooks these days? Is there anything you don't understand? If you don't understand, come and ask me and Dad will teach you."
Jiang's father graduated from high school and took the college entrance examination together with other educated youth when he was in the third batch. In their era, it was really a multi-millionaire exam, with 5.7 million people taking the college entrance examination, but only 270,000 were admitted. The following year, more than 6 million people took the college entrance examination, but only 400,000 were admitted.
Not getting into college has always been the deepest regret in Jiang's father's heart, so he is determined to let his children go to college, just like making up for the unfulfilled dream when he was young.
Over the years, he has never given up learning.
Jiang Song and Jiang Bai were very annoyed by this aspect of Jiang's father's. They thought that he was imposing his unfulfilled dreams from his youth on them, hoping that they could complete them.
Jiang Song, who was placed high hopes by Jiang's father, was especially rebellious. Jiang's father hoped that he could repeat his senior year, get into a good university, and become a civil servant after graduation and eat public food. But he refused to do that. He went to work and even did business with others.
Basically, no matter what Jiang's father asked him to do, he would do the opposite.
Jiang's father and mother are very concerned about Jiang Song, and 110% of their concern is on him. On the contrary, Jiang Bai and Jiang Ning, who are often ignored, never make anyone worry and arrange their lives very clearly.
Maybe that's just how people are. The more time, money and energy you spend on someone, the more you will love that child.
This is how Jiang's father and mother treat Jiang Song.
Perhaps this is not only true for children, but also between boyfriends and girlfriends, and between couples. The more time, money, and emotion invested, the greater the sunk cost, the more you can't let go, and the more you care.
As the saying goes, where the money is, there is love.
Facing Jiang's father, Jiang Ning was silent. She didn't know what to say to him. She just answered whatever Jiang's father asked. She didn't have much desire to talk or chat.
Father Jiang thought she was always like this, and continued with great interest: "Your eldest brother is smart, but he just doesn't focus on studying. You and your second brother are not as smart as your eldest brother, but you are better at studying hard. Let me tell you, girls are different from boys. Boys' grades are not so good at the beginning, but they will improve after a hard work in high school. Girls start to work hard in junior high school, but they can't do well in high school..."
The more Jiang Ning listened, the more annoyed he became: "How do you know that girls can't do well in high school? Have you seen any girls who can't do well in high school? How many girls have you seen in high school? Most of them didn't even graduate from elementary school and went out to work!"
"Boys don't do well in middle school, but they can do well in high school." Jiang Ning sneered, "Boys don't have to do anything when they get home, just study, so of course they can do well. But what about girls? Take me for example, when I get home I just sweep the floor, cook, feed the pigs and chickens, wash dishes, and clean the pigsty. What do my brothers do when they come back? They don't have to do anything! My family is still relatively good, but girls from other families have to do more. After finishing their housework, they have to do other things outside. How can their grades not drop?"
She laughed sarcastically again: "You always praise my brother, but belittle me and beat me every day. Now I haven't even entered high school, and my grades haven't dropped yet, but you're already telling me that girls can't do well in high school."
Father Jiang was stunned.
He had never heard his daughter speak to him like that before.
In his impression, his daughter has always been gentle, introverted, quiet, shy, obedient and well-behaved.
Being scolded, Jiang's father frowned slightly: "Why do you talk to Dad like this?"
"Is what I said wrong? How do you know that girls can't do it in high school? I haven't even entered high school yet, and you're talking like this. Shouldn't you encourage me?"
"Okay, okay, I was wrong." Father Jiang laughed, "It's Dad's fault. Ningning, don't be angry. I'm also worried about your grades. High school and junior high school are like a watershed. There's a saying that the early bird catches the worm. Aren't you preparing for high school textbooks now? That's how you should do it. Work hard! Study hard! The path to a mountain of books is made through diligence, and the boat to a boundless sea of learning is made through hard work!"
The early bird catches the worm.
Since she was a child, they have instilled in her the idea that she is stupid, as stupid as a goose, and as stupid as a donkey, and they have been nagging and insulting her in this way day and night for many years.
This made her feel stupid deep down in her heart even though she had become a successful person in the eyes of others.
Looking at Jiang's father's earnest advice, she smiled helplessly, with deep sadness in her eyes.
A person can either be extremely bad and make people hate him, or he can be extremely good and make people love him.
The most frightening thing is being like Dad Jiang. He has 100 points of love, but he gives you one point. However, he feels that he has divided it equally among the three of you siblings.
He gave all his time, money, energy and praise to his brother, but he loved you.
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