140: Find resources

Chapter 140

Dreams!!!

Yang Qi felt a bit emotional. He realized that before he got his Golden Finger, he had no dreams, only daydreams.

When a person is still struggling for survival, how can they talk about dreams? If you insist on saying you have some grand ideals, it only means you are overly ambitious and daydreaming.

You can't just talk idly and say, 'My dream is to become a boss worth hundreds of millions.' That's about as likely as you building an atomic bomb with your bare hands.

Only when there's a possibility of achievement through one's own efforts or the help of others, then it's a true dream.

When a dream elevates to a certain height, it becomes a belief.

Recalling our revolutionary martyrs of yesteryear, even under severe torture by the enemy, they steadfastly refused to yield or surrender. What sustained their fearless spirit was their belief, their belief in communist ideology.

Otherwise, no one could endure such brutal interrogations.

Most people in society today actually lack beliefs. If it were wartime, most would probably surrender as soon as they were captured, even before severe interrogation.

My apologies, I've strayed too far!

Yang Qi greatly admired people with dreams. He was also very happy to be able to help his Uncle.

In the middle of the night, Yang Qi and his Uncle went to the reservoir again to collect soft-shelled turtles, because these creatures need to breathe air with their lungs.

If the rope gets tangled in water plants, branches, or rocks, and the soft-shelled turtle cannot surface to breathe, it will suffocate and die.

So, if conditions allow, it's better to retrieve the lines earlier.

Arriving at the reservoir, moonlight spilled onto the water, shimmering. Yang Qi and his Uncle quietly began to retrieve the lines, gently pulling on them.

If a soft-shelled turtle was caught, a slight tug would be felt as it struggled, or the line would be stuck and unmovable if it was tangled.

Before long, they had caught several soft-shelled turtles, and the Uncle's face was full of joy.

Suddenly, the Uncle slipped, almost falling into the water. Yang Qi, quick-witted, grabbed him.

"Be careful, Uncle," Yang Qi said.

As they continued to retrieve the lines, they found one section of rope seemed particularly tightly tangled.

It took them a lot of effort to pull up the rope, and they found a super large soft-shelled turtle, as big as a washbasin.

The Uncle's voice was excited, "This is truly a big one, it can sell for a lot of money."

Yang Qi also chuckled; it seemed their harvest tonight was exceptionally bountiful. After checking all the lines, they re-baited them with pork liver and put them back in the water.

The two returned home with a full haul of fifteen soft-shelled turtles, ready to sell them at the market for a good price the next day.

Back home, they poured the soft-shelled turtles into a large basin, leaving just a little water in the basin, not enough to cover their backs.

The next morning, the four people, plus his father, split into two groups. Yang Qi drove, taking his Second Uncle to nearby wild ponds and reservoirs to see if there were any soft-shelled turtle resources. The other three went to collect soft-shelled turtles.

Throughout the morning, Yang Qi, led by his Second Uncle, visited over a dozen reservoirs and many wild ponds within a ten-kilometer radius.

To cover up his Golden Finger ability, Yang Qi spouted a lot of nonsense about water color, geographical environment, and even seeing turtle footprints.

Looking at his nephew, who resembled a charlatan, talking eloquently, the Second Uncle felt a sense of bewilderment.

Yang Qi was very satisfied with the soft-shelled turtle resources in these reservoirs.

As the rural population dwindled and the 'Five Waters Co-Governance' policy was promoted, the fishery resources in these surviving reservoirs and wild ponds were gradually recovering.

(The Five Waters Co-Governance includes: treating sewage, preventing floods, draining waterlogged areas, ensuring water supply, and promoting water conservation.)

This policy, combined with the 'Five Waters Co-Governance' in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions, is beneficial to the country and its people. It has greatly improved the water quality of rivers and lakes and protected the ecological environment.

It supports the practice of 'Lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets.'

In short, private individuals are no longer allowed to contract rivers and lakes; the policy aims to protect water quality and restore the ecological environment.

Yang Qi meticulously recorded the names of each reservoir, wild pond, and river in his notebook, detailing the percentage of feasibility for each based on its resources.

For example, if a reservoir had many soft-shelled turtles, he would mark it with 90 to 100% feasibility. If soft-shelled turtles were not abundant but the individuals were large, he would mark 5 to 10% feasibility. If they were few and small, he would abandon it.

Although his Second Uncle didn't understand Yang Qi's charlatan-like operations, based on his trust in his nephew, he didn't raise any objections and chose to believe him.

When they returned home at noon, everyone gathered to discuss. They decided to buy two hundred soft-shelled turtle traps and fish for soft-shelled turtles in two waves, starting from the farthest locations and moving closer.

In the afternoon, Yang Qi took his Second Uncle and Uncle to the county town to sell soft-shelled turtles and buy equipment.

They caught 25 soft-shelled turtles this morning, plus last night's, making a total of 40.

It was fortunate that soft-shelled turtles don't die after being out of water for a while, otherwise, a Tiguan car wouldn't have been able to hold them all.

After much effort, they managed to load all the soft-shelled turtles into the trunk, and the three sped towards the county town.

They called Boss Ding, the restaurant owner who bought their soft-shelled turtles yesterday, in advance, explaining that they had 40 wild soft-shelled turtles of excellent quality and asking if he still wanted them.

Boss Ding's business had improved significantly yesterday because of those wild soft-shelled turtles. Some old customers praised the soft-shelled turtles and hoped to eat them frequently in the future.

He was already worried about the future supply of wild soft-shelled turtles.

Upon receiving Yang Qi's call and learning that there were more wild soft-shelled turtles, he immediately said he would buy all their stock, hoping they wouldn't sell to others, and offered to raise the price by 10%.

Yang Qi readily agreed, saying they would arrive at the restaurant in twenty minutes.

When they arrived at the restaurant, Boss Ding was already waiting at the entrance.

Boss Ding offered a round of cigarettes, and after some pleasantries, they got straight to business.

When Yang Qi and the others actually started taking out 40 wild soft-shelled turtles from the trunk, Boss Ding's eyes widened.

It wasn't that he hadn't seen so many soft-shelled turtles before, but wild ones were different; they were truly rare.

Anyone who could produce so many wild soft-shelled turtles at once must be extraordinary, and he definitely needed to befriend them.

This was what Boss Ding was thinking at that moment.

All the soft-shelled turtles were categorized and weighed. Since several of them weighed around five catties, plus the 10% price increase, they earned a total of 28,500 yuan.

"Boss Ding, will you still need these wild soft-shelled turtles in the future?"

Yang Qi looked at the payment information and asked.

"Yes! Definitely. As many as you have, I'll take them all," Boss Ding said eagerly.

"Alright! Boss Ding, these are my two uncles. We are sort of professional soft-shelled turtle catchers. You should exchange contact information. From now on, my Second Uncle and my Elder Uncle will handle the dealings with you."

Watching Boss Ding and his Second Uncle exchange contact information, Yang Qi continued,

"My Uncle and I are going to the coastal areas. I hope Boss Ding can go to my Second Uncle's house to pick up the goods. After all, him running back and forth, with many eyes along the way, is not ideal for either of you!"

....................

PS: The data has been slipping badly these past two days. I hope everyone can help with the data.

Please like, comment, urge updates, and 'power with love' for free.

Once again, thank you to all friends who read this book!