Chen Kai didn't argue. He only knew the theoretical knowledge and had never raised fish before. Whether they could survive was up to fate. Chen Kai was thinking of raising fish in his family's rice paddies, but he didn't know if his parents would agree.
Raising fish in rice paddies is an ecological agricultural farming model that combines rice-fish symbiosis, rice-fish complementarity, and integrated farming. This model allows for multiple uses of water and land, and multiple harvests in a single season by planting rice and raising fish in the same paddy field.
Rice-fish farming offers advantages such as increased grain production, increased fish populations, reduced fertilizer and resource consumption, and increased income, aligning with the requirements of environmentally friendly, circular, efficient, and resource-saving agricultural economic development. Developing rice-fish farming can improve rice growing conditions, promote rice growth, and achieve the goal of a double harvest of rice and fish.
Rice paddy fish farming typically selects species such as carp, grass carp, catfish, snakehead, and tilapia.
Zhou Kai put Chen Kai down, then carried the fish in one hand and the wild rabbit in the other.
Suddenly, Zhou Kai exclaimed excitedly, "Look! There's a porcupine over there, it's so cool!"
Zhou Yu was also very excited when he heard that there were porcupines. He looked around and he especially liked porcupines because they looked very majestic.
As soon as Zhou Kai and Zhou Yu saw the porcupine, they ran over to it. Boss Chen also excitedly led Chen Kai and Xiao Tian over as well.
Chen Kai looked at the spiky thing. "Isn't that a porcupine? What's so interesting about it?" But the stall owner was quite capable of catching such an animal.
Porcupines feed on roots, tubers, bark, herbs, and fallen fruit. Although they don't "shoot" their quills, when threatened, they can retreat and then powerfully pounce on their enemies, embedding their quills into their bodies.
The porcupine at that stall was chained up, its quills, like clusters of arrows, were trembling. When threatened, the porcupine would shake its tail quills to make a sound, and would also snort and stomp its feet.
The porcupine, also known as the arrow hog, literally means "pig covered in quills." However, it doesn't actually resemble a "pig" at all, as its entire body, from back to tail, is covered in quills resembling arrows, unlike any other pig. The quills on its rump are particularly long and numerous, some as thick as chopsticks, and others nearly half a meter long. Each quill is strikingly black and white. Besides its quills, the porcupine also has a stout body, sharp teeth, and a rat-like snout, thus classifying it as a rodent.
Chen Kai had once heard a story about porcupines. When the weather is cold, porcupines huddle together for warmth. However, if they get too close, their quills will prick each other, and the pain forces them to separate. But after separating, they are forced to huddle together again because of the cold, only to separate again because of the pain. This cycle repeats itself until the porcupines gradually find the optimal distance—the distance that provides the greatest warmth with the least pain. This distance is used as a metaphor for the best distance in love, family, and interpersonal relationships.
However, while the story is heartwarming and philosophically rich, it's not entirely logical. Porcupines aren't stupid; when they feel cold, they return to their burrows and don't foolishly harm each other. In other words, replacing the protagonist with a hedgehog, sea urchin, or even a cactus wouldn't affect the core message: the porcupines in the story are not real porcupines.
Porcupines are burrowing animals. Besides digging their own burrows, they also seek out natural rock caves to live in. Additionally, they will find termite nests, eat and drive away the termites, and take over the nest. These rock caves, which serve as nests, also provide insulation; when they feel cold, the porcupines simply need to return to their burrows to stay warm.
Zhou Kai's eyes lit up as he said, "This porcupine looks really majestic!"
Xiao Tian smelled the fragrance of roses, glanced up at the porcupine, and said, "It's alright!" He's really ignorant; he likes this kind of thing. He prefers more imposing animals.
They browsed around for a while longer, but seeing that there was nothing they wanted to buy, they went back to their family's stall.
Just as Chen Laoda and his group returned to their stall and put down their purchases, Zhou Shi and his group arrived shortly after.
Sanya said happily, "Uncle, Xiaotian, we bought kites. We'll fly them when we get back."
Seeing that Da Ya and the others' hair was all messed up, Chen Kai asked worriedly, "Da Ya, did you guys get into a fight?"
Daya straightened her hair and said, "No, it was just a few shoves."
Er Ya also said, "It's too crowded, we can't even move around properly."
Chen Kai asked speechlessly, "Then how do you see the flowers?"
Sanya said, "Climb a tree!"
Daya said excitedly, "The flowers they grow are so beautiful! I want to grow such beautiful flowers in our yard too."
Suddenly, Xiao Bao exclaimed excitedly, "Wow! Rabbits! There are so many little rabbits!"
When Da Ya and the others heard that there were rabbits, they excitedly gathered around to see the little rabbits.
Sanya exclaimed excitedly, "The little bunny is so cute!"
Er Ya swallowed hard and said, "Wow! There are snakes and fish! Our family can eat meat now!"
Old Man Chen looked at the pile of small animals with a worried expression. Buying these animals would definitely cost a lot of money. Although he didn't have to pay for them himself, he still felt a pang of heartache.
What's the point of buying a rabbit if it dies after only a few days?
Why buy a snake? If you want to eat it, just catch it yourself.
And those fish! They actually bought so many, and they even picked the most expensive ones. His youngest son even spent money to order fish fry. Are fish so easy to raise? If they were, they wouldn't be so poor.
Chen Kai saw his father staring at the group of small animals with a worried look on his face, so he ran over, opened his arms, and let his father pick him up.
Chen Kai whispered in his father's ear, "Dad, I read about raising fish and rabbits in a book. They won't all die. We can try it out. Maybe we can even make money from meat in the future!"
Upon hearing this, Old Man Chen happily said, "Okay! But if we can't raise them this time, you can't spend money on this again in the future."
Chen Kai nodded with a smile. He figured he could get away with it this time; he'd deal with the future later.
Xiao Bao ran up to Chen Kai and said excitedly, "Uncle, let's go see the opera this afternoon! It's so lively! I heard the stage is open-air, so we can see it from a higher vantage point."
Chen Kai said, "I'm not going, you guys go have fun!" He didn't want to experience the crowded subway again; it was just too uncomfortable.
There were so few forms of entertainment in ancient times; watching a play could make someone this happy.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com