Reborn in 1984, fishing and hunting in Jiangnan

Chapter 52

"This diagram was drawn by Teacher Ma when he was conducting experiments in Danjiangkou. I'm giving it to you for reference."

Chen Zheng took the blueprints and examined them carefully.

Just then, the sound of a bicycle bell came from the other side of the village road.

Li Quan rode over on his bicycle, with a bulging snakeskin bag strapped to the back seat.

"Ah Zheng!" Li Quan called out from afar, "Have the provincial experts arrived yet?"

Chen Zheng gestured towards the edge of the pond.

Li Quan leaned his bicycle against the wall and walked over quickly. He was a little reserved when he saw Ma Yuanchao and Qin Shulan.

"Teacher Ma, Comrade Qin, this is Li Quan from Lijiawan, also a fish farmer."

His family has three fishponds, covering about ten acres of water, and they've been raising fish there for several years.

Ma Yuanchao stretched out his hand: "From Lijiawan?"

Old Zhou told me that your village cured this year's branchial fungus with a salt water soak? How effective was it?

Li Quan grasped Ma Yuanchao's hands with both of his and shook them vigorously: "It's healed! It's completely healed!"

In previous years, grass carp would start turning belly up in the fall, but this year not a single one died!

Old Zhao's fish downstream were also saved!

Seven or eight fish farmers in our village all use this method, and the survival rate of diseased fish exceeds 80%!

Ma Yuanchao's eyes lit up: "The survival rate is over 80%? Old Zhou, did you record this data?"

Zhou Haiming nodded: "I've got it."

Li Quan's pond had a total of 120 sick fish. After soaking them in salt water for three days, less than 20 died, and more than 100 were cured.

Preventative soaking was also carried out on several households downstream, and so far there have been no new cases.

Ma Yuanchao scribbled a few notes in his notebook, then looked up at Chen Zheng:

"Did you come up with this method yourself?"

"The principle was explained by Zhou, the technical expert."

The training course said that the pathogenic fungi of gill rot cannot survive in a salinity of more than 0.3%, so I wondered if I could just soak the diseased fish in salt water.

I tried it when I got back, and it really worked.

"And then you taught this method to the fish farmers in Lijiawan?"

"Yes. As Dr. Zhou said, diagnosis should precede medication, and medication should be prescribed according to the symptoms."

The symptoms of gill mold are very obvious; white spots appear on the gill lamellae, which is different from water mold.

"As long as the diagnosis is correct, and the saline soaking method is free, anyone can use it."

"Old Zhou." He turned around and looked at Zhou Haiming.

"You told me last time that the Baiyanghu area lacked a grassroots technical extension station, were you referring to him?"

Zhou Haiming smiled: "It's him."

I've already helped him apply for a position as a special technical extension officer at the seafood company. The appointment letter has been issued, and the subsidy will begin next month.

Ma Yuanchao looked at Chen Zheng again.

"Xiao Chen, I have a question for you."

After you expand your fishpond next year, besides the four major freshwater fish species, what else do you plan to raise?

After thinking about it, Chen Zheng decided to tell the truth.

He took out the provincial fisheries research institute's briefing that Zhou Haiming had given him this week and turned to the page about the mandarin fish experiment.

"I want to try artificially breeding mandarin fish."

The briefing stated that the survival rate of the pilot-scale fish fry in Danjiangkou exceeded 20%.

Although it's still low, the direction is right.

The body of water near my home is on the shore of Baiyang Lake. The water quality is similar to that of Danjiangkou Reservoir, and the wild mandarin fish resources are abundant.

If the problem of finding the right first food for mandarin fish fry can be solved, the survival rate should be able to be improved.

Ma Yuanchao took the briefing and glanced at it:

"Artificial breeding of mandarin fish is a difficult problem. It took the provincial institute three years to increase the survival rate from 10% to 20%."

If you want to make further breakthroughs, you need to solve three key technical challenges.

He counted on his fingers.

"Mandarin fish are ferocious fish. In artificial environments, the gonads of parent fish are difficult to develop naturally and require the injection of oxytocin."

Secondly, the first food for mandarin fish fry must be live zooplankton; they will not eat artificial feed.

Furthermore, the lighting and water flow in the nursery pond must simulate natural river channels; any slight error will cause the fish fry to die from stress.

How do you plan to solve these three difficulties?

Chen Zheng pondered for a moment.

"To induce spawning in the parent fish, the county aquatic products company has oxytocin. We can ask Technician Zhou for help."

For initial bait, Baiyang Lake is rich in rotifers and brine shrimp, which are in their peak breeding season after the start of summer. As long as you master the techniques of catching and purifying them, there should be enough for you.

The briefing described the water flow and lighting in the seedling nursery, and mentioned the circular pond design being tested in Danjiangkou Reservoir.

I can refer to that design to build a small seedling nursery, first to verify it with a small-scale experiment, and then gradually expand it.

Ma Yuanchao nodded slightly.

"Your line of thinking is quite solid; are you serious?"

"Seriously."

Ma Yuanchao took off his baseball cap and twirled it twice in his hand.

"How about this?"

When you finish digging the new pond next spring, I'll bring Shulan over so we can build a small mandarin fish breeding experiment pond next to it.

The province provides the technology, and you provide the site and labor.

If the experiment is successful, the Baiyang Lake area will have a demonstration site for the artificial breeding of mandarin fish.

This has significant implications for mandarin fish farming throughout the province.

Chen Zheng's heart skipped a beat.

The province provides the technology, while he provides the site and manpower, which means that the core technology for mandarin fish fry breeding will be directly implemented at his fishpond.

In the rural areas of 1984, such an opportunity was unthinkable.

"Thank you, Teacher Ma."

"Don't thank me yet." Ma Yuanchao waved his hand. "Breakthroughs in mandarin fish breeding can't be achieved in just one or two years."

Focus on raising the four major freshwater fish species first, and take your time with the mandarin fish. Don't rush to expand the scale.

First, lay a solid foundation, and then increase the scale once the seedling cultivation technology is mature.

This person has worked in the seafood industry for twenty years and has seen too many people who start out aggressively but later fail because of their lack of skills.

You've already secured your position this year; take your time next year, there's no rush.

When Ma Yuanchao said goodbye to Chen Zheng, he took out a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to him.

"This is my office phone number. If you encounter any technical problems in the future, just call me."

There are several colleagues at the provincial institute who specialize in diseases and breeding. If you have any problems you can't solve, I can ask them for help.

Chen Zheng took the piece of paper.

The piece of paper contained only a string of numbers, yet it felt heavy in my palm.

Ma Yuanchao got on the motorcycle, and Qin Shulan sat in the sidecar with her folder in her arms.

The motorcycle sputtered to life and sputtered as it drove along the dirt road toward Baiyang Lake.

Before leaving, Zhou Haiming took out another cloth bag from the truck bed and handed it to Chen Zheng.

"Here are some documents on winter fishpond management, as well as a book titled 'Atlas of Freshwater Fish Diseases' compiled by the Provincial Fisheries Research Institute."

The atlas contains color illustrations of symptoms and prevention methods for dozens of common fish diseases, which is more detailed than the lecture notes in the training course.

The motorcycle disappeared at the end of the dirt road.

Chen Zheng tucked the cloth bag under his arm, stood at the gate of the courtyard, looking at Baiyang Lake in the distance, and remembered that there was still one thing he hadn't done.

Back at the courtyard gate.

I looked at the transplanted ginseng and fleeceflower plants.

He squatted down and touched the ginseng leaf.

The leaves of the sand ginseng have turned yellow, which is a normal phenomenon during winter dormancy.

The rhizomes gather strength in the soil and will sprout again next spring.

The vines of the Polygonum multiflorum have withered, but the roots and stems are still sturdy.

He pressed his finger on the soil and could feel that the tubers were still there.

He stood up, walked to the base of the wall, and looked at the small medicinal herb garden he had specially cultivated.

In addition to ginseng and fleeceflower root, he also transplanted several wild honeysuckle vines from the mountain.

I planted it at the base of the wall, watered it, and applied some base fertilizer.

Honeysuckle is easy to grow; it will grow as soon as you stick it in the ground.

By next summer, it will have climbed half of the courtyard wall, providing both beautiful flowers and medicinal value—a win-win situation.

After finishing these tasks, Chen Zheng washed his hands and returned to the house.

Under the kerosene lamp, Chen Zheng turned to Chapter 3 of the "Freshwater Fish Aquaculture" book that Zhou Haiming had given him.

Using the information provided by Ma Yuanchao, I began to organize the key points of winter fishpond management.

When the water temperature is above 5 degrees Celsius, feed the fish small amounts of high-energy food to maintain their physical strength.

When the water temperature is below 5 degrees Celsius, stop feeding, reduce human interference, and allow the fish to enter a semi-dormant state.

After the water surface freezes, ice holes are chiseled in the deep water area, with a diameter of no less than one foot and a spacing of two zhang (approximately 6.6 meters).

A layer of straw was laid on the ice and secured with bamboo poles to prevent the ice holes from freezing solid.

The water transparency should be maintained between 30 and 40 centimeters, and the alkalinity should be controlled below 7.2.

If the transparency exceeds 40 centimeters, it indicates insufficient algae reproduction, and appropriate fertilization is necessary.

If the alkalinity exceeds 7.5, the amount of water changed should be increased.

He wrote these key points down one by one in his notebook.

Turning the page, he wrote down his plans for the next day.

I went to the county agricultural supplies company to buy pH test strips and a thermometer, and picked up some local mountain products along the way.

When I returned to the fishpond, I doubled the opening of the inlet and measured the alkalinity changes for three consecutive days.

Sun Maocai said he would send over the written agreement today, and if he came, the two families would compare the land deed and the written agreement together.

After confirming that everything was correct, we went to the Land Administration Bureau together to sign the lease agreement.

I also need to go to Teacher Zhao's house to deliver the latest disease atlas from the Provincial Fisheries Research Institute.

Teacher Zhao's old edition is already worn out from reading it so many times.

He closed the notebook and blew out the kerosene lamp.

The moonlight in the courtyard was cold and clear.

The black cat had somehow slipped out of the kitchen and was squatting on the edge of the water vat, its eyes gleaming green.

The calls of wild ducks echoed from Baiyang Lake in the distance, their quacking breaking the silence of the late autumn night.

The next morning, Chen Zheng reorganized the mountain produce.

The mushrooms harvested last time have been dried in the shade, and the caps have shrunk a bit.

However, the product is intact, and no spores have fallen off.

He gently swept away the surface dust with a soft brush.

He picked out the best-looking piece, about the size of his palm, and prepared to give it to Zhao Deming.

The remaining three pieces were wrapped in straw paper and prepared to be sent to the county pharmacy.

The dried sand ginseng slices were divided into small packets, and the he shou wu (Polygonum multiflorum) was also packaged.

When I sold the tea tree mushrooms to the county pharmacy last time, the old shopkeeper said they were of good quality and asked me to continue sending good quality mushrooms in the future.

He packed the mountain produce into cloth bags, tied them tightly, put them into bamboo baskets, and covered them with burlap.

Upon arriving in the county town, he first went to the county agricultural supplies company to buy pH test strips and a thermometer.

The agricultural supplies company's store is located in the east of the city, next to the agricultural machinery factory.

The shelves were filled with all sorts of bottles and jars.

The saleswoman was a middle-aged woman, taking inventory next to the shelves.

When he asked for pH test strips, I was taken aback for a moment, then turned around and rummaged around in the back room for a long time before finally finding a box.

"Nobody usually buys this stuff, and this is the only box left. Do you want anything else?"

Chen Zheng bought another rod thermometer, which can measure temperatures from minus ten degrees to fifty degrees Celsius.

The glass tube is encased in a metal protective shell, making it much sturdier than a regular thermometer.

After leaving the agricultural supplies company, he went to the county pharmaceutical company's store.

The old shopkeeper's eyes lit up when he saw the oak leaves he took out.

He picked up the largest piece and examined it under the magnifying glass for a long time.

Then I turned the cap over to examine the texture of the tubes and gently pressed the cap with my finger to feel its elasticity.

"These pieces of acorns you've given me are in better quality than the last one. Especially these two."

He pointed to the two pieces with the most intact caps and the clearest patterns.

"There's not a single scratch on the edges, and the spores are well preserved. I'll give you three of these big ones. The other two are 2.5 yuan each. The three smaller ones are 2 yuan each. That'll make a total of twelve."

Chen Zheng did some mental calculations.

Last time, that piece of oak sold for 1.5 yuan, but this time, the one in better condition is selling for 3 yuan.

Twelve yuan, plus slices of sand ginseng, he shou wu and dried tea tree mushrooms, this batch of mountain produce sold for a little over fifteen yuan in total.

The money may not be much, but it's stable.

The old shopkeeper counted out the banknotes one by one and handed them over, then took out a brown paper package from under the counter and handed it to Chen Zheng.

"Last time, there was a regular customer who specialized in buying wild ginseng."

I showed him the sand ginseng you brought last time, and he said that although it wasn't codonopsis, it looked good. He asked if you had found any clues about wild codonopsis.

This is the deposit he left, five yuan.

He said he would buy any wild ginseng that was in good condition, regardless of its grade, at a high price.

Wild ginseng that is five years old or older will fetch ten yuan or more per root.

A five-dollar deposit.

A single wild ginseng root that is over five years old costs ten yuan or more.

This price was not cheap in the rural areas of 1984.

He opened the brown paper package, inside were five one-yuan bills, neatly folded.

"Shopkeeper, where is this regular customer from?"

"Purchasing staff from Tongrentang in the provincial capital."

Every autumn and winter, they harvest a batch of wild codonopsis pilosula. In recent years, wild resources have become increasingly scarce, and high-quality specimens are even rarer.

The old shopkeeper adjusted his reading glasses.

"If you find it, just bring it to me. Tongrentang has a long-term contract with them."

Chen Zheng carefully put the brown paper package away, thanked the pharmacy, and left.

After leaving the county pharmacy, he went to the county agricultural supplies company.

He wandered around the agricultural supplies company's store and finally found a small aerator in a corner.

The impeller-type aerator is encased in a metal shell, with a label on it.

Manufactured by Danjiang Fishery Machinery Factory, with a power of 1.5 kilowatts, suitable for water surfaces of three to five mu, and a retail price of 120 yuan.

One hundred and twenty yuan.

In the rural areas of 1984, this amount of money was enough for a family to eat, drink, and take care of their basic needs for half a year.

He reached out and touched the outer casing of the aerator; the metal casing was cold to the touch, and the edges of the impeller were somewhat sharp.

The salesperson came over, saw him looking at the machine again, and smiled.

"Young man, you asked about this machine last time you came. Are you looking at it again this time?"

This thing has been sitting here for more than half a year, and only two have been sold in the whole county. One of them was bought by the county aquatic products company.

The other one was purchased jointly by large-scale aquaculture farmers in Lijiawan.

"As a self-employed individual, can you afford it?"

Chen Zheng withdrew his hand from the aerator.

He can't afford it now, but next year when the fishpond expands to five or six acres, it won't be able to function without an aerator.

Simply changing the water won't solve the problem. During periods of continuous rain, when atmospheric pressure is low, the dissolved oxygen level in the water will drop sharply.

If you try to buy it then, it will be too late.

"Comrade, can we order this oxygenator?"

"Ordering? You want to buy?" The sales clerk looked him up and down.

"I'll buy it next spring. I'll ask how long the ordering process will take first."

"Ordering will take half a month."

Shipments from Danjiangkou are transported by water to Baiyang Town Wharf, and then transferred to land transport to the county seat.

The salesperson said, "If you're sure you want it, pay a 20 yuan deposit and I'll place the order for you."

Chen Zheng took out twenty yuan from his pocket and placed it on the counter.

The sales clerk paused for a moment, then picked up the money, counted it, pulled out an order form from the drawer, scribbled a few lines, tore off a slip, and handed it to him.

"When you come to pick up the goods next spring, you can pay the balance with this receipt."

"The machine costs 120 yuan, with a 20 yuan deposit, and the remaining 100 yuan will be paid later."

Chen Zheng folded the order form and put it in his inner pocket. This was his first investment for expanding his fishpond next year.

After leaving the agricultural supplies company, Chen Zheng headed to the county's No. 1 Middle School.

Today is Saturday, and Chen Rong and Chen Feng have no classes this afternoon, so it's a good time for them to meet.

He first went to the junior high school dormitory to find his two younger brothers.

The dormitory supervisor was sitting in the gatehouse listening to the radio, which was playing Peking Opera, with its distinctive, guttural sounds.

Hearing that he was looking for Chen Rong and Chen Feng, the old man pointed to the end of the corridor: "The room on the second floor near the stairs."