Rice Flower Marinated Fish could be prepared in larger quantities, stored in jars in the space or the yard to naturally ferment, but loaches are generally bought for stewing soup and must be fresh. The space couldn’t store live creatures, and dead loaches wouldn’t fetch a good price, so eventually, half of his rice paddy was devoted to Rice Flower Fish and half to raising loaches.
He no longer waited for them to grow before selling. Once the fish reached about half a pound, he’d start picking them to sell. When loaches grew to the length of a middle finger, that was about right. With this approach, he was able to sell both fresh and previously marinated Rice Flower Fish, creating a cycle.
Since fish and loaches could fetch a good price, sometimes he could make five yuan in a day, but usually, it was just one or two yuan.
The pickles he sold weren’t expensive either, ten cents could last someone at least a week.
Later on, he also began cultivating mushrooms in the west wing room and the storeroom. If the temperature wasn’t high enough, he would light a stove inside the house. You could buy these mushroom spores directly from the market, and in that era, mushrooms were still considered a novelty. Compared to other vegetables, they could sell for a good price, generally around 15 cents per pound.
Although there were quite a few Old Ladies selling wild mushrooms, you had to encounter them by chance. His were different; he could prepare five or six pounds every day for sale. Those who came early usually got some because that was as much as he could harvest each day; otherwise, he would earn even more.
In the beginning, he could make twenty to thirty yuan a month. When fish and loaches were added, he could make fifty yuan.
Of course, fish and loaches weren’t available every day, every month. When he didn’t have them, he would use mushrooms as a substitute and occasionally sold some steamed buns he made himself, wrapped in foam boxes and blankets to keep them warm.
When the chili was harvested, he would make some Chili Sauce and when early corn was ready, he also sold it...
In short, whatever he had at home, he would sell. Take sweet potato leaves, for instance; nobody in the countryside cared for them because they were abundant everywhere. Even in the impoverished 1980s, eating them every day would become tiresome. But in the city, he could sell them for two cents a bundle, and people would scramble to buy them. Such was the difference between the city and the countryside.
In the city, you had to pay for every single vegetable you ate; if you didn’t buy it, you had nothing to eat. But in the countryside, casually plant something, and you could have it in your mouth.
Because of vegetable cultivation, his days were even more fulfilling. Mornings were just for selling vegetables. He never ate outside anymore, and after selling, he’d leave. Early days meant returning home by eight or nine o’clock, on late days by Noon. After a nap at Noon, he would wake up and keep busy.
Life went on day by day . When it was the busy farming season, he wouldn’t go to sell vegetables. If it rained too much, he would ride his bike to sell at the entrance of the community, sheltered by the huge umbrellas he had bought in the future. He could still sell out, though it was quite tiring.
He was fortunate the weather here wasn’t very cold. Having lived in the Northeast, he thought wind and rain were nothing to fuss about.
Zheng Long was hardworking and industrious. Even with a disability, anyone who saw the way he lived would try to set him up for marriage. The source of this content ɪs NoveIＦire.net
This was what Zheng Long found most annoying. He had explained many times, but they just wouldn’t believe it, insisting on asking him over and over.
It irritated him so much that he simply posted a notice at his door: "I am aware of my flaws and am content with my children. I will not marry, not marry, not marry—stating it thrice for emphasis. Please do not disturb me on this matter again, thank you!"