Siheyuan: Bringing Warehouses to 1959

The name "toad" is actually not rigorous. It should originally refer to the toad, but what Zhang Xiuzhi wanted to catch was not this, but the frog. It is called differently in different places, and some places call it Koma (ma, the first tone).

Frogs are good things. Their meat is white and tender, rich in protein, delicious and has little earthy smell. At present, there is no such thing as a protected animal.

Zeng Wangcai caught up with Zhang Xiuzhi and walked beside her: "You catch toads like this? Without any tools?"

"Do you need tools to catch toads?" Zhang Xiuzhi asked back.

Zeng Wangcai saw Zhang Xiuzhi was barefoot and said: "At least wear shoes. What if you encounter a snake?"

"You..." Zhang Xiuzhi gave Zeng Wangcai a look. "In your words, this is called being pretentious. Even if there are snakes in the fields, they are water snakes, not poisonous. If you encounter a water snake, it would be even better. You can catch it and eat it, or sell it for money..."

Um, don't you have anything to fear?

Zeng Wangcai was stunned. He was afraid of snakes to his core, even though he knew they were non-venomous.

"Actually, you can understand what I said as my concern for you."

"Ok?"

It was Zhang Xiuzhi's turn to be speechless.

The sky is very clear at this time, not full of dark clouds, and you can see many stars.

The weather is nice tonight, not too hot and windy. The moonlight shines down and I can see the road clearly. The corn and other crops in the fields are dimly visible, and their leaves rustle in the breeze.

The two men walked towards the river in silence. If they wanted to catch frogs, they had to go to the paddy fields and the river. The rice planted in the paddy fields was about to mature. There were also militia patrols at night, but the focus of the militia patrols was on the fields, and there were fewer patrols in the paddy fields.

The toads at this time are at their fattest. One can grow to 2 taels, some large ones can reach 3 taels, and four or five of them can make up a pound.

Zeng Wangcai and Zhang Xiuzhi were passing by a cornfield when they suddenly saw a field of corn swaying in a regular pattern.

"Wild boar?" Zeng Wangcai stopped and stared at the cornfield.

It’s a pity that I didn’t bring a gun. If it was really a wild boar destroying the crops and stealing food, I would have shot it to death and eaten it.

"It might be a wild boar. I'll go call for help and ask Xiaohu and Xiaobao to come over." Zhang Xiuzhi whispered.

Zeng Wangcai listened carefully and stopped Zhang Xiuzhi: "Wait, let me throw a stone to ask for directions first."

He found a clod of earth at his feet, aimed at the corn, and threw it with all his strength.

"Ouch!"

"Eh......"

Damn, that’s not a wild boar, it’s a human, or the voice of two people, a man and a woman.

Zeng Wangcai hurriedly pulled Zhang Xiuzhi and ran away, and only stopped to catch his breath when they reached the river.

"Just now, it seemed to be the village chief's voice..." Zhang Xiuzhi said breathlessly.

Village chief? Zeng Laosan?

Zeng Wangcai roughly understood it. He thought that it was probably someone who was doing the job secretly. He went to the cornfield instead of being at home to do the job so late at night. It must be something bad.

"What is the village chief doing in the cornfield at night? Who is the other person?"

"Don't ask, just pretend it never happened." Zeng Wangcai replied, touching his chin.

Zeng Laosan, the village chief of Zengzhuang, is the third child in the family with two older brothers and a younger brother and sister. He belongs to a large family. Not only is he the village chief, he also serves as the team leader of the production team. He is considered to be a powerful person in Zengzhuang.

Don't underestimate the power of these two positions in rural areas. They are very great. You have to do whatever they tell you to do.

Zeng Wangcai did not intend to expose Zeng Laosan, not because he was afraid of him. The Zeng family in the village were not easy to mess with. He just didn't want to get involved. The most important thing was that he might need Zeng Laosan in the future, so he would not miss the evidence that was delivered to him.

Moreover, apart from being lustful, Zeng Laosan had a good reputation in managing the village. Zengzhuang had a high status in the commune, and the villagers lived better than those in other villages.

Continue walking forward and you will reach the edge of the paddy field, where you will hear the croaking of frogs everywhere.

Zeng Wangcai was too lazy to roll up his trouser legs and simply took off his trousers. He was wearing shorts underneath, so he was not afraid.

Zhang Xiuzhi chuckled: "You want to go down and catch a toad too? Don't let the toad carry you away. Do you know how to catch a toad?"

There is a science to catching toads. It seems simple and anyone can catch one, but how many can be caught is another question.

Toads are agile, have powerful thighs, and are very sensitive to sound. They will jump away at the slightest noise. However, people cannot move around easily in paddy fields and it is impossible to chase them. The more you chase them, the louder the noise they make, and eventually all the nearby toads will jump away.

"I know a little bit, but I can't say about the rest. But it's certain that I can catch a few more pounds than you." Zeng Wangcai said with a smile.

Zhang Xiuzhi thought Zeng Wangcai was bragging and laughed so hard that she couldn't straighten her back. "Boasting is not taxable. I am an expert in catching frogs in our village. I can catch at least five or six kilograms a night. If I'm lucky, I can catch ten kilograms."

"Well, if you don't believe me, let's make a bet on who can catch more frogs tonight."

"I will definitely beat you, but I don't gamble and I don't have any money."

"Why bet on money? That's so meaningless."

"What's the bet?"

"If you lose, you have to listen to me about making money later."

"Why should I listen to you? You idiot..."

"If I lose, I'll listen to you. If you don't dare, forget it."

"It's a bet!"

You are still young. You don’t eat onions or garlic, but you eat ginger.

The bet was settled, Zeng Wangcai and Zhang Xiuzhi high-fived, and he looked at Zhang Xiuzhi's unconvinced face and laughed.

"What are you laughing at? You're really stupid. Do you think you're going to win for sure?" Zhang Xiuzhi said unhappily.

"You will know who Haer is in a while." Zeng Wangcai did not explain and went down to the field along the ridge.

Seeing that he was full of confidence, Zhang Xiuzhi became a little unsure. Listening to the sound of frogs croaking, she went down into the field two meters away from him.

When you go to the field, there is soft mud under your feet. When the air is squeezed out, it makes a sound, which will alarm the nearby toads and cause them to jump around.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Zhang Xiuzhi quickly locked onto her target, an adult green-skinned, black-spotted toad lying in the shallow water, puffing up its cheeks and chirping.

There are some moons in the sky, but not much light shines into the paddy fields. The rice leaves and millet block most of the light. In fact, the most challenging thing about catching toads at this time is eyesight.

Zhang Xiuzhi kept her legs still, slowly bent down, stretched out her hand and touched the toad's back, then reached down like lightning, and then a toad croaked in her hand.

"What do you think? See if you want to regret it or not. It's not too late to regret it now!" Zhang Xiuzhi waved at Zeng Wangcai, who was watching her catch the toad, and showed him the trophy.

Zeng Wangcai saw Zhang Xiuzhi's mentality and became playful. He pretended to be surprised and said, "That's amazing, but a man should keep his promise. Don't be so proud. I'll catch one for you to see."

After saying this, he bent down and reached down with one hand. He didn't catch the toad, but his hands were filled with mud, and his face was splashed with water from the field.

"Haha, hahaha, you Haha..." Zhang Xiuzhi laughed happily, and her soft voice startled the croaking of frogs.

After half an hour, the bamboo basket around Zhang Xiuzhi's waist became heavy, but Zeng Wangcai's bamboo basket was empty. He had only caught two or three frogs so far.

After being laughed at by Zhang Xiuzhi again, Zeng Wangcai used his magic weapon. He reached into the tool man's backpack and took out a short cylindrical thing.