Chapter 18: Even the Pigs Are Disgusted
"It's not that you can't catch them."
Accountant Liu looked at the soft-shelled turtle with disdain, "This thing smells too fishy, no one eats this. We only catch them when we clean the pond in the spring to release fish fry, chop them up and feed them to the pigs. Sometimes the smell is so strong that even the pigs won't eat it."
Keeper Huang also laughed, "This thing, only beggars used to ate them in the past. When beggars were hungry, they would go to the water's edge to pick up a couple to satisfy their hunger. There's no oil or fat on them, who would eat this normally?"
Hearing this, Chen Fan also remembered that when he was a child, he vaguely heard his grandfather say that only beggars ate this, and ordinary people wouldn't even look at it if they had something to eat.
Captain Yang chuckled, "Little Chen hasn't seen it before, so he thought he had caught a treasure. It's understandable. But since you've caught it, and it's such a big soft-shelled turtle, it must have eaten many pounds of fish fry. We can't let it go to waste. Let's chop it up and cook it to feed the pigs today. We're slaughtering a pig the day after tomorrow, so let it have some meat."
Chen Fan blinked blankly, and finally understood. In their eyes, this thing wasn't for people to eat, it was for feeding pigs. And even the pigs are disgusted?!
He looked down at the soft-shelled turtle, which was still struggling desperately, then looked up and said softly, "Captain, if I take this back to eat, it's not against the rules, right?"
"What?"
Captain Yang stared at Chen Fan, then at the soft-shelled turtle at his feet.
If he wasn't mistaken, this boy from the city actually wants to eat a soft-shelled turtle that even the pigs are disgusted with?
He couldn't help but say, "Why are you eating this? Are you hungry for meat? Just hold on, we'll slaughter a pig the day after tomorrow, and make some pig-slaughtering dishes, there'll be enough for you to eat then."
Chen Fan chuckled awkwardly, without explaining, "It's okay, I just want to try."
Captain Yang was about to say something, when Accountant Liu said with a smile, "If he wants to try, let him try. He'll understand after he experiences the consequences."
Captain Yang seemed to think of something, shook his head and smiled, and said to Chen Fan, "Alright, if you want to try, go ahead. There are plenty of these things in the ditches and ponds. If you want to catch them, feel free, no one will stop you."
Keeper Huang kindly reminded him, "If you really want to eat something, catching loaches or eels would be better. Although they also have a fishy smell, even without oil, you can still eat them. This one is really hard to eat."
The best time to catch loaches and eels is in autumn, but you can also catch them in winter. It's just that eel holes and loach holes are difficult to find. Unless you're an expert, you won't find them.
Chen Fan didn't care about loaches or eels. Hearing that the soft-shelled turtle was edible, he grinned and nodded foolishly, "Thank you, thank you."
Then he picked up the soft-shelled turtle and ran.
Accountant Liu got up to close the door, then turned back and smiled, "He's just like the half-grown kids in the village. They don't believe it until they try it themselves."
Captain Yang shook his head with a smile, "Who wasn't like that? We were all like that before. I remember back in 1960, when there wasn't enough food and our stomachs were rumbling, we ate soft-shelled turtles, even though they were hard to swallow."
Hearing this, Accountant Liu's face changed. He quickly waved his hand, "Don't mention that. I won't be able to eat later, it will be your fault."
Captain Yang laughed, "That will save you a meal."
...
Chen Fan, carrying the big soft-shelled turtle, hurried back to the educated youth dormitory. He saw Jiang Lili putting away the three-legged stand, and was stunned, "You're putting it away so early?"
He was planning to put it away himself, but now the little girl has done it for him.
Jiang Lili stared at the soft-shelled turtle in his hand, pointed to the sky and said, "I think it's going to rain. The blankets are dry. I was afraid of rain, so I put them away."
Then she pointed to the soft-shelled turtle, "Why did you catch this?"
Chen Fan chuckled, held up the soft-shelled turtle and shook it, "I'll make something delicious tonight."
Jiang Lili quickly said, "You can't eat this. It's very fishy, and the pot will smell fishy after cooking it. Two years ago, an educated youth didn't believe it, he caught one and cooked it. The food tasted bad for half a month. I'm not lying to you."
Chen Fan smiled, "I know, but he probably didn't use the right method."
Seeing that Jiang Lili was still terrified, he helplessly said, "Okay, I won't use the kitchen pot. Are there any other pots here?"
Jiang Lili thought for a moment and pointed to the backyard and whispered, "There's a large pot in the back, but it's been used for cooking pig feed."
Used for cooking pig feed?
Forget it, as long as it's a pot. I'll just sterilize it with fire.
It's just that Jiang Lili doesn't know what he was thinking, otherwise she would be worried to death. This guy doesn't know anything about rural life. Every household has a large iron pot, used for cooking both food and pig feed!
Chen Fan asked again, "Do you have an earthenware pot?"
Jiang Lili nodded, "There's a sand pot."
"A sand pot is better."
Chen Fan walked inside while smiling, "Help me boil a pot of water, we'll have a feast tonight."
Jiang Lili watched his back, her face filled with distress.
Chen Fan walked a few steps, then suddenly turned back and asked, "By the way, do you have any scallions and ginger?"
Jiang Lili pointed to the backyard, "There are some in the vegetable garden."
Chen Fan smiled, "Great, get me a pair of large scissors too."
Then he carried the soft-shelled turtle to the backyard. Only then did he see the full view of the backyard. Two rows of vegetable plots planted with cabbages and radishes. By the ridge, there were also several clumps of scallions, ginger, and garlic. Most of the vegetables had been harvested. Only a small amount was still growing.
But unlike the houses in the front village, the vegetable plot was only two or three meters away from the house. Here, the vegetable plot was at least fifteen or sixteen meters away from the house. Some educated youths may have been afraid of the smell, so they put the vegetable plot so far away.
Anyway, this is the end of the village, there are no houses behind, so it doesn't matter how much land is occupied.
In the farthest corner, there are two toilets separated by wooden boards. On the hanging bamboo curtains, the words "Male" and "Female" are written in brush strokes.
In another corner, by the wall, there is a semi-open shed. It has a roof, but the walls are only one meter high. This area was enclosed.
Remembering what Jiang Lili had said before, he guessed that this was the old pigsty.
He went over to take a look. Sure enough, a long, rectangular space was enclosed by one-meter-high earthen walls, specifically divided into two rooms. Each pigsty had a stone feed trough at the bottom of the earthen wall.
This place hasn't been used for a long time. The thatched roof has been damaged in some places, and you can see the sky.
One of the two pigpens is empty, and the other one is used as a woodshed. There are a lot of cotton stalks and thick branches more than a foot long. With so much firewood, they shouldn't be afraid of running out of firewood in winter.
He looked inside. It was fairly clean. The wooden fence is still sturdy. He put the soft-shelled turtle in the stone trough of the pigsty, then went to the front to fetch a bucket of water and poured it into the trough.
The soft-shelled turtle splashed around in the water, then lay half-submerged against the wall of the trough and stopped moving.
Chen Fan didn't stop. He ran outside again, got a carrying pole and two baskets. When he passed by the kitchen, he greeted Jiang Lili, "I saw some big ones in the pond just now. I'll go see if they are still there. I'll be back soon."
(End of Chapter)
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