Reborn in 1984, fishing and hunting in Jiangnan

Chapter 66

After leaving the county agricultural research institute, Chen Zheng stood at the entrance for a while.

This tall, thin bacterial expert had spent half his life holed up in the lab; he had an eccentric temper and a sharp tongue.

But he has a good eye for people.

Chen Zheng said that only when everyone works together can the industry truly take off.

Zhou Jimin's gaze lingered on her face for several seconds.

That was an old-school intellectual's perspective on young people.

Only after getting past him did I get that "good" rating.

He took out the note written by Zhou Jimin and read it again.

In addition to the phone number, there was another line of text on the note.

Use strain P-8, maintain a temperature of 22-25℃, and use Masson pine as the best log material, but pine sawdust can also be used.

This slip of paper is the admission ticket for the artificial cultivation of Poria cocos.

Chen Zheng folded the note and put it in his pocket, next to the letter of recommendation written by Zhao Deming.

Then, walking towards the bus station, while passing the county department store,

I remembered that when Chen Feng came back from the provincial capital trade fair last time, he kept asking me what the provincial capital department store looked like.

That kid has never seen an elevator before.

I heard from a classmate that there are metal boxes in the department store in the provincial capital that can go upstairs by themselves, and I'm incredibly curious about them.

Chen Zheng went inside and stood in front of the stationery counter for a while.

The glass cabinet contained fountain pens, bottles of ink, and several boxes of colored pencils.

He asked the sales clerk to bring him two Hero brand fountain pens, one for Chen Rong and one for Chen Feng.

I picked out another box of watercolor paints.

When Liu Jiawang painted the Baiyang Lake water area last time, he used art paints borrowed from the school, and they were almost all used up.

After leaving the department store, he turned and went to the county supply and marketing cooperative.

Sister Deng was taking inventory behind the counter when she saw him come in, and she stopped using her abacus.

"Xiao Chen! You've come at the right time. I was just about to ask someone to pass on a message to you."

Sister Deng pulled a brown paper package from under the counter.

"I sliced ​​up the pieces of oak mushrooms you gave me last time and soaked them in water to drink for more than half a month. I slept much more soundly at night."

Several of the women in our supply and marketing cooperative heard about it and want some. Do you have any left?

"There are a few more pieces, but they're not as good as the last one."

"It doesn't matter if the quality is a little poor, they're not giving it away, they're using it themselves."

Sister Deng moved closer.

"If your oak mushrooms can be mass-produced, I can help you sell them through the supply and marketing cooperative."

Many people in the county are having trouble sleeping at night, and sleeping pills are hard to find. This is better than taking medicine.

Chen Zheng kept this information in mind.

The wild oak mushroom grows in deep mountains and forests, and only a few pieces can be harvested each year; mass production is almost impossible.

But if Zhou Jimin can isolate Poria cocos strain, can he also isolate Ganoderma lucidum strain?

The thought flashed through his mind, and he kept it to himself, planning to have a good talk about it next time he saw Zhou Jimin.

After leaving the county supply and marketing cooperative, Chen Zheng boarded a bus back to Baiyang Town.

There weren't many people on the bus, so he found a seat by the window and placed the bamboo basket at his feet.

Inside the bamboo basket was a packet of brown sugar that Sister Deng had given him.

She said Zhang Cuihua's stomach problems had just healed, and that drinking brown sugar ginger tea in winter was good for her stomach.

There were also two workbooks for Chen Rong and Chen Feng.

They said it was a sample book from the supply and marketing cooperative's stationery cabinet, which they were giving to them because they no longer needed it.

The bus swayed and rattled as it drove out of the county town. The rice paddies on both sides of the road had already been plowed.

Several fields have been irrigated, and a thin layer of ice has formed on the surface of the water.

Several farmers were repairing irrigation ditches on the ridges of the fields, their shovels making a slapping sound as they dug into the mud.

Chen Zheng leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, but his mind was racing with the new road he had brought back from the county agricultural research institute.

Artificial cultivation of Poria cocos.

Fungal strains, logs, temperature control, humidity, and pest and disease control.

This path is much more complicated and takes longer than fish farming, but it has great potential.

Old Jin from the provincial medicinal materials company once said that the quality of artificially cultivated Poria cocos is declining.

It is susceptible to many diseases and pests, and its medicinal effects are not as good as those of wild plants.

However, Zhou Jimin's P-8 strain was isolated from wild strains, and it has a fast growth rate and a high sclerotium formation rate.

If this fungal strain could be combined with the local Masson pine logs of Baiyang Town...

The quality of the produced Poria cocos is likely to be close to that of the wild variety.

It has both the yield of artificially cultivated Poria cocos and the medicinal effects of wild Poria cocos.

This is a blank market.

Whoever fills it in first gets to set the price.

But having bacteria alone is not enough.

Poria cocos cultivation requires a suitable location.

Logs should be stacked in a cool, well-ventilated place, and inoculation with microorganisms should be carried out in a sterile environment.

The sclerotium stage requires burying the bacteria in the soil and maintaining a constant temperature and humidity.

The backyard of the promotion station has enough open space, but it needs to be renovated.

A simple inoculation room can be added next to the training room.

Several sclerotium culture trenches can be dug at the base of the backyard wall.

In terms of manpower, Li Quan manages the daily operation of the fishponds and the extension station, while Liu Jiawang teaches at the county's No. 1 Middle School.

Song Changhe had just taken over the hydrological data recording and was not yet proficient.

Poria cocos cultivation requires a dedicated person to monitor temperature and humidity; this person must be meticulous and patient.

Chen Zheng mentally went through all the people he knew in the area.

Zhang Jianguo is strong but has a quick temper, making him unsuitable for delicate work.

Sun Xiaozhu is a down-to-earth person, but his father Sun Maocai's land is in Zhaojiadu, which is too far to travel back and forth.

He suddenly thought of someone.

Wang Laoliu.

This is the old man who used to squat at the village entrance, smoking and making sarcastic remarks.

Ever since he swallowed his pride and begged him to teach him how to raise fish, he's been like a completely different person.

The small fishpond next to his land was dug for almost a month.

The father and son dug, hoe by hoe, until they encountered a large rock halfway through.

Wang Laoliu stubbornly refused to back down, and spent three days painstakingly prying the stone out of the pit with a steel hoe.

Villagers passing by saw him squatting at the bottom of the pit, sweating profusely as he pried stones, and they all found it fascinating.

When has Wang Laoliu ever worked this hard?

His son, Wang Jianshe, is just like his father—quiet, hardworking, and skillful.

Last time, when Zhang Jianguo's cart wheel broke, it was Wang Jianshe who helped fix it.

They used wire to rewrap the broken spokes, making them even stronger than before.

If the father and son are willing to help with the cultivation of Poria cocos, they would be a suitable candidate.

The bus stopped at Baiyang Town Bus Station.

Chen Zheng got off the car carrying a bamboo basket and turned towards the town government compound.

The promotion station's office was located at the west end of the courtyard, and a handwritten duty roster was posted on the door.

Li Quan's handwriting was crooked and messy as he filled in the date below today.

He's on duty today.

Pushing open the door, I saw Li Quan hunched over a table filling out a survey form for fish farmers issued by the county aquatic products company.

He held the pen and wrote carefully, stroke by stroke, until sweat beaded on his forehead.

Chen Zheng glanced at it; one column on the survey form was the aquaculture water area.

Li Quan filled in "three and a half mu", and the character "mu" was written particularly large, taking up two lines of space.

"Brother Quan, could you make that 'mu' character smaller? There are still several columns to fill in after it."

Li Quan looked up and scratched the back of his head: "This form is too hard to fill out, harder than raising fish."

Last time, Teacher Ma gave me pH test strips, and it took me several tries to figure out how to read the colors.

I don't recognize half of the words on this table.

Chen Zheng sat down next to him and read through the questionnaire from beginning to end.

The forms were printed uniformly by the county aquatic products company, and they used only formal written language.

Records of physicochemical indicators of aquaculture water, frequency and ratio of feed feeding, and disease occurrence and treatment.

Let alone Li Quan, who only has an elementary school education, even ordinary cadres in the town would find it difficult to fill out the form.

"Brother Quan, I'll fill out this form. But you can't always rely on me."

Chen Zheng took out his notebook, flipped to a blank page, and wrote a few lines on it with a ballpoint pen.

"I've written down these difficult terms in plain language, so you can fill in this table next time you need to fill out a similar form."

He wrote in his notebook.

Physicochemical indicators of aquaculture water include pH, transparency, and dissolved oxygen.

Feeding frequency and ratio = How many times a day to feed, and what is added to the feed?

Disease occurrence and treatment record = What disease did the fish get and what medicine was used?

Li Quan's eyes reddened as he looked at these lines of text.

He looked down and rubbed his hands together; his hands were covered in calluses and cuts from fish scales.

"Zhengzi, I wish I had studied as much as you."

"Your experience in raising fish is more valuable than a hundred books."

Chen Zheng tore off the comparison chart and handed it to him.

"Professor Ma Yuanchao mentioned on the phone last time that the 'Collection of Cases on Grassroots Technology Extension' compiled by the Provincial Fisheries Research Institute..."

Your photo and story have been printed in.

That book was printed on coated paper in full color, so that all the farmers in the province could see it.

"Brother Quan, you're now a provincial-level role model."

Li Quan folded the comparison chart and put it into his breast pocket.

He wanted to laugh but was too embarrassed to.

"Then...then I'll go back and let my wife see it too."

The two talked for a while about promoting the website.

After taking over the hydrological data recording, Song Changhe redrawn the topographic map of Baiyang Lake that Liu Jiawang had previously drawn, adding the water level change curves and dissolved oxygen data for the four seasons this year.

The county aquatic products company took the map, saying it was for reference in the county's aquaculture planning.

Li Quan spoke with a face full of pride, as if he had drawn it himself.

"And also," Li Quan said, pulling a manila envelope from the drawer.

"Director Mo came this morning."

They said the loan for the cascade fishpond irrigation facilities you applied for last time has been approved. It's 2,200 yuan, with half the interest rate of a regular agricultural loan and a five-year repayment period.

This is a notification letter; you need to go to the Agricultural Bank to sign something.

Chen Zheng took the notice and read it over.

This loan, together with the 3,000 yuan special fund previously allocated to provincial family farming demonstration sites, will be used to support this project.

In addition, the existing working capital in the promotion station's account has more than 6,000 yuan available.

In Baiyang Town at the end of 1985, six thousand yuan was a sum that could make a lot of a difference.

"Brother Quan, there's something I'd like to discuss with you."

Chen Zheng recounted the story of artificial cultivation of Poria cocos.

"This matter requires someone to oversee it; temperature and humidity control cannot be neglected even for a day. I'm thinking of getting Wang Laoliu and his son to do it."

After listening, Li Quan remained silent for a while.

Although he and Wang Laoliu were not from the same village, they knew what Wang Laoliu had done last year.

The story of how Zhang Jianguo was ambushed at the village entrance and his family's sow was poisoned had already spread throughout several villages around Baiyang Lake.

"Old Six was definitely not a decent guy in the past," Li Quan said.

But people can change.

I've seen his little fishpond; it was dug very neatly, with the inlet and outlet designed according to the blueprints from the promotion station. He didn't cut corners at all.

If you can use him, it will give him a way out.

"That's exactly what I mean." Chen Zheng stood up.

"If he's willing to do a good job, I'll hand over the sclerotium culture work to him and his son."

The extension station pays them as temporary workers, and once they learn the techniques, they can grow Poria cocos themselves.

After leaving the promotion station, Chen Zheng returned to Lutang Village.

It was already evening when he got home.

Pushing open the courtyard gate, the aroma of rice mixed with lard wafted through the air.

Zhang Cuihua was cooking in the kitchen, while Chen Laosan was squatting on the doorstep sharpening an old pair of scissors.

Chen Zheng recognized the scissors.

It was the tool his grandfather used to trim fish fins, but it rusted and had been sitting in his toolbox ever since.

"Dad, these scissors have been rusted for years, why are you sharpening them?"

Chen Laosan didn't even look up:

"Your teacher Zhao said that after harvesting Poria cocos, you need to trim off the roots and dirt, and it's easier to do it with scissors than with a machete."

"These old scissors have good steel blades; once sharpened, they work better than new ones."

Chen Zheng felt a surge of warmth in his heart. His father never said anything, but he had taken the matter of Fuling to heart.

Not only did they listen, but they are already making preparations for next year.

Zhang Cuihua's voice came from the kitchen: "Zhengwa is back? Quickly wash your hands, we're making dumplings tonight."

Chen Zheng was taken aback: "What day is it today? Why are we making dumplings?"

"Your eldest sister wrote a letter."

Zhang Cuihua peeked out from the kitchen, her face beaming with an undisguised smile.

She said your brother-in-law's salary has increased to twenty-six yuan.

She also said that when you visited her last time, she brought back some cured fish and dried mushrooms, and she couldn't bear to eat them.

Save it to entertain relatives during the Chinese New Year.

Your brother-in-law said it was delicious, so he asked her to write to you to ask how to make the preserved fish.

Chen Zheng placed the bamboo basket on the stone platform and took out the brown sugar and exercise book that Sister Deng had given him.

"What else did your older sister say?"

"She said she wanted to come back and stay for a few days during the Chinese New Year this year. Your brother-in-law is coming too."

"She hasn't been home for Chinese New Year for several years."

Chen Zheng did the math.

My eldest sister, Chen Fang, has been married to a man in Chengguan Town for seven years. She came back to visit him for the Spring Festival for the first two years.

Later, her husband was busy with work, and she became pregnant, so she never came back.

In her previous life, Chen Fang returned to Lutang Village for the last Spring Festival before his accident.

She never went back to her parents' home after that.

With my parents gone and my younger brother gone, the family fell apart.

This life is different now.

Zhang Cuihua's stomach ailment was cured, and her family's life got better day by day. Fish were harvested from the fishpond, and money was made from selling medicinal herbs.

My two younger brothers attend the county's No. 1 Middle School.

This home is worth returning to.

"Mother, when is eldest sister coming back?"

"They said it would arrive on the 28th of the twelfth lunar month."

Zhang Cuihua served the dumplings to the table; they were filled with pork and cabbage, and the dough was made by herself.

One by one, plump and white, they were crowded together in the rough porcelain plate.

"She said she brought her child back. Your little nephew is three years old this year and has never met his uncle before."

Chen Zheng sat down at the dining table.

Chen Laosan sharpened the scissors and sat down as well.

Chen Zheng poured half a bowl of rice wine for his father.

The jar of old wine that Grandpa buried last time has long been finished. This bowl is made by Zhang Cuihua herself using glutinous rice. It doesn't taste as mellow as the old wine, but it's sweet and easy to drink.

"Dad, I went to the county agricultural research institute today, and Professor Zhou Jimin agreed to give me the Poria cocos spawn."

Chen Laosan paused for a moment while holding the wine bowl.

He also said that he would come here for an on-site inspection after the Chinese New Year.

A microbial inoculation room can be added to the backyard of the extension station, and a sclerotium culture trench can be dug under the base of the wall.

I plan to hire Wang Laoliu and his son to manage this area.

Chen Laosan put down the wine bowl.

Chen Zheng knew what he was thinking.

Although Chen Laosan didn't say anything, he remembered what Wang Laoliu had done last year.

He never speaks harshly to his own family, but he doesn't easily forgive those who have bullied them.

"Lao Liu asked me to teach him how to raise fish last time."

Chen Zheng said,

"He dug a small fishpond on his land. The father and son dug for more than half a month. When they encountered a stone as big as a millstone, they didn't go around it. They used a steel pick to pry it open for three days."

I went to check it out. The fishpond was dug very neatly, and the inlet and outlet were dug according to the blueprints from the promotion station.

Chen Laosan picked up his wine bowl and took a sip.

"You decide what to do."

Just four words, but Chen Zheng sensed a loosening in them.

He got past his father's hurdle.