Reborn in a small village in the 1990s

Chapter 162

Zhao Tingming wanted to say something more, but Zhao Da'e stopped him, saying, "Alright, alright, Grandpa. Don't mention my grandparents. I'm afraid you'll say I'm unfilial. This isn't my fault, and it wasn't me who asked my grandma to go to the police station and say I stole money. Wasn't that her own doing? She made trouble for herself, and she deserves it."

Besides, my grandma wasn't in there for a year or two. It was just half a month, what could she possibly get? She got food and drink, and didn't even have to cook. If I had that kind of treatment in my life, I'd be laughing in my sleep. Grandpa, why don't you try to pull some strings and get me sent to Balizi for a few days too?

Zhao Tingming was visibly taken aback: ? ? ?

Guo laughed and scolded, "You silly goose, you're so irresponsible. What a great place! You...you still want to stay there. Really."

I've never been there, but I've heard it's a terrible place. Putting everything else aside, you have to listen to me, right? There, you have to get up at six in the morning and eat cornbread. And it's not like the cornbread we have at home, where they heat it up for you, or at least give you some pickled vegetables. Do you think they'll heat it up for you?

Those were frozen, clattering cornbread buns. They were so hard they could be used as stones. With your teeth, you'd chip them all away.

Zhao Da'e smiled shyly: "It's okay. I'm just being stubborn."

Guo laughed too: "Big Goose, you really are..."

It's a long story.

"Grandpa, use the loudspeaker to shout a slogan or something. Tell everyone not to go up the mountain to catch rabbits or pheasants lately. And don't go to Jurenzhangzi Village to buy chickens, ducks, or geese. It'll bring disease to our village."

If you want to eat chicken or duck, just kill your own. You can also buy some at the market. As long as you stay away from the chickens, ducks, and geese that are being punished, you should be fine. This needs to be made very clear; nobody should take chances. It's not a small matter. If someone brings back sick chickens or ducks, our village's livestock industry will be severely damaged. I still have about ten old hens; I'm counting on them for eggs.”

Zhao Tingming rubbed his hands together and went to find the microphone.

Because Zhao Tingming was the village head, he also had a loudspeaker at home so he could make announcements when he wasn't at the village office. Especially in winter, Zhao Tingming would only go to the village office to report in the morning, and then he basically wouldn't go there anymore.

It's really cold over at the village office. The village is so poor they can't even afford to cook. After they used up the little coal they bought on credit last time, they haven't had any more coal to light the stove. It's freezing cold here; it's definitely not as warm as being at home.

So, in winter, Zhao Tingming would use the loudspeaker at home to broadcast some things happening in the village.

Telephones were rare in those days. Although mobile phones and pagers were becoming common in the south, having a landline phone was a luxury in remote and impoverished villages in the north.

In Dongtaizi Village, although it's a bit far-fetched to say that communication relied mainly on shouting, most of the time, communication in that era depended on shouting through loudspeakers or the village gossips spreading the word; there were no other methods.

The loudspeaker was on the roof, quite large. It was connected by an electric wire, with a microphone covered in red cloth at the bottom, forming the "most advanced" tool for transmitting instructions in Dongtaizi Village.

Zhao Da'e had always thought how wonderful it would be if she could use a loudspeaker someday. Unfortunately, she never got to.

So Zhao Tingming took the microphone and tested the sound: "Hello, hello, hello~"

"Cough cough cough..."

"Attention all villagers! Attention all villagers! I am Zhao Tingming, the village chief. I have some instructions to convey. Please listen carefully and pass them on to each other."

Due to a suspected outbreak of disease among chickens, ducks, and geese in Jurenzhangzi Village, and to prevent unnecessary economic losses for the villagers of Dongtaizi Village, the village leadership has decided that, until the outbreak in Jurenzhangzi Village is completely eradicated, all villagers are prohibited from purchasing chicken, duck, or goose meat from Jurenzhangzi Village. This includes both dead and live meat. In short, not a single chicken, duck, or goose from Jurenzhangzi Village is allowed to enter Dongtaizi Village. If anyone is found violating this rule, trying to save money, or deliberately causing trouble, we will hand them over to the veterinary station. Whether they are fined or imprisoned in the freezing cold, I will not plead for them.

Folks, young and old, let me make this clear from the start. This is no joke; I, Zhao Tingming, mean what I say. If anyone disobeys and causes trouble, bringing disease to all the chickens, ducks, and geese in Dongtaizi Village and killing them all, then not only will I not forgive you, but the villagers who suffered losses will not forgive you either. Think carefully before you act.

I know many families have relatives in Jurenzhangzi Village, and we have a tradition of visiting relatives in winter. We usually bring two chickens and a large goose to cook a stew in an iron pot. However, I've already emphasized that this is not allowed. I don't object to your visiting relatives, but I can't object to or control this.

However, if you bring any kind of chicken plague or disease to our village because of this, then it's really unnecessary, isn't it? You can visit relatives anytime, but recently when you do visit relatives, don't bring chickens, ducks, or geese from their village, and not just chickens, ducks, and geese. I want to emphasize one point: pheasants are also not allowed.

Not only can't you bring back pheasants, pigeons, doves, or sparrows from Jurenzhangzi Village. Basically, anything with feathers is forbidden. This disease is very strange; many people in that village hunt and often sell those kinds of things. Nobody can say for sure if there will be any problems. So, don't bring them back, and it's best if you don't eat them either. If you get sick from eating them, you'll have to go to the hospital, right? For your own good, for everyone's good, let's not be too selfish.

Finally, I want to emphasize one point. Although not many people in our village hunt, there are still a few who set rabbit traps, catch pheasants, snare sparrows, and steal pigeons. You all need to keep quiet lately; wild game is not an option. It's almost the New Year, so let's all have a peaceful holiday. Nobody should cause trouble for anyone. Okay, I've said my piece, and I won't reiterate some points. This is a serious matter, so don't try to sabotage me. My family doesn't have any chickens or ducks anyway; I'm doing this for everyone's benefit. Please pass this on to each other. Nobody should make a mistake.”

Zhao Tingming's loudspeaker broadcast the message throughout the village.

The villagers of Dongtaizi Village were shocked to learn that the neighboring village of Jurenzhangzi had been struck by chicken plague.

Although most of the villagers in Dongtaizi Village didn't know what chicken plague was, they knew that anything with the word "plague" in it must be bad, so they took Zhao Tingming's words to heart.

Some disagreed, thinking Zhao Tingming was exaggerating. Others were just watching the spectacle, while still others were talking nonsense.

After hearing the news, the villagers had very differing opinions.

The villagers gathered in twos and threes, chatting and gossiping.

Take, for example, two members of the Zhao family: Zhao Tieqing and his son Zhao Yongdong.

"Did everyone hear that? What does my great-grandfather mean?" Zhao Yongdong asked, pursing his lips. "What does he mean? Does he mean we can't even kill chickens for the New Year? Good heavens, has he had enough of being the village chief? Why does he have to control everything? He's meddling in everything, and now he won't even let us kill chickens for the New Year? Tomorrow he'll probably say we can't eat eggs either."

Zhao Tieqing was also very angry: "He's making things up. I'm also puzzled. If it were that someone in the other village is sick, and we can't buy chickens, ducks, or geese from their village, that would be one thing. But now they won't even let us go up the mountain to catch pheasants? The mountain belongs to them. The mountain belongs to everyone. If we can't go up the mountain to catch pheasants, fine. But wait, we can't even catch rabbits? What law says catching rabbits is illegal? Catching pheasants isn't illegal either."

"Exactly, exactly." A group of people echoed. "They're meddling too much."

In Dongtaizi Village, Zhao Tieqing and his son Zhao Yongdong were famous for their long legs.

It's not that they're tall or have long legs. It's just that they like to wander around aimlessly. They often go for a stroll in the mountains when they have nothing to do.

To catch a rabbit or a pheasant.

In this era, catching pheasants and rabbits was no one's concern. Moreover, in the vicinity of Dongtaizi Village, rabbits and pheasants were actually showing signs of becoming somewhat overpopulated.

Near Dongtaizi Village, many people grow sorghum, as well as millet, sorghum and sesame.

The vast majority of food here is outside. This makes it very convenient for rabbits and pheasants to steal food to survive the winter. This provides a significant foundation for the survival of those wild creatures.

Moreover, in that era, the price of grain was not high, and the people were not very enthusiastic about growing grain. Although the people here had been picking up beans in the furrows for generations, the vast majority of them did not have a strong love for grain.

Like Zhao Tieqing and his son, they preferred to catch rabbits and pheasants to sell. This was a business with no capital investment; the only cost was a pair of legs, and the harvest depended entirely on luck—if you were lucky, you'd catch something.

There are also people buying pheasants and rabbits at this market. A rabbit costs twelve yuan, and a pheasant costs fifteen yuan.

That's a lot of money.

In this era, food and clothing are no longer a problem; people crave meat. However, meat production is low, so the meat of small animals has become a supplement.

This is different from later generations, where catching rabbits is illegal.

In 1996, laws and regulations were specifically enacted to protect wild animals.

But not yet. Many people occasionally go up the mountain to catch these things, partly to eat themselves and partly to sell for money.

The mountains around Dongtaizi Village aren't very large, and there's not much wild game. People usually go to the mountains in front of Jurenzhangzi Village to hunt rabbits. Those mountains are even bigger. There are even large animals like wild boars and wolves there.

Of course, very few people have actually caught a wild boar. Anyone familiar with rural areas knows that wild boars are incredibly fierce. Not only do they bite, but they are also incredibly strong fighters. Most importantly, they are extremely fast runners and have thick hides.

One person can't beat a wild boar, and wild boars are incredibly fast climbers. They're impossible to catch.

Zhao Tingming's announcement over the loudspeaker effectively cut off Zhao Tieqing and his son's income before the New Year. Zhao Tieqing was even planning to catch more pheasants and rabbits to sell for more money so they could have a proper New Year. Then, Zhao Tingming delivered this announcement.

Zhao Tieqing grew angrier the more he thought about it. But he couldn't say it directly: "Tomorrow, let's just not let anyone eat eggs anymore. Let everyone tie their necks and not eat anything. Eating eggs might give you chicken disease. Don't eat chicken, duck, or goose either, then we can't eat goose or duck eggs either. With what he said, you think we can just not eat or touch anything? Then sparrows will fly all over the sky, who can stop them?"

"Yeah, that's a bit much. Doves and pigeons, always flocking together, and cuckoos and stuff, feathered ones everywhere, all over the ground. If these things flew into my house, damn it! Would I be breaking the law?" a villager said, his eyes wide.

Some villagers, more open-minded, said, "I guess the village chief meant to suggest eating and touching them as little as possible recently. Your argument is a bit stubborn. No one said we couldn't let the doves and pigeons fly in, right? If they fly in, it's not our problem. As long as you don't eat dead ones, there shouldn't be any problems. But you know, it's still better to be careful."

Since it's been clearly stated that there's chicken plague, then we shouldn't eat chickens, ducks, or geese. We just shouldn't buy them from Jurenzhangzi Village. If we have any at home, we can just secretly slaughter a couple for the New Year. I don't think it's that serious, but the village chief's point is to be extra careful. Don't buy dead chickens or ducks from Jurenzhangzi Village; it wouldn't be good if someone died from eating them.”

Upon hearing this, Zhao Tieqing retorted, "This thing can kill people by eating chicken, duck, or goose? I've never heard of that before. This morning I saw that the goose seemed to have gone to the village chief's house. She lives in Juren Zhangzi Village every day, and according to the village chief Zhao Tingming's wishes, Zhao's goose can't stay there either. What if it brings back some disease?"

Zhao Tiesheng, standing in the crowd, became uncomfortable: "What's wrong with my girl living over there? Is it illegal? Besides, Uncle was talking about chickens, ducks, and geese, why are you bringing it up as people? You're always catching rabbits and pheasants. That's the real problem."

"Hey, Second Brother, what do you mean by this? What's it to you if I'm catching rabbits?" Zhao Tieqing said, dissatisfied. "I'm not stealing or robbing. I'm catching rabbits and pheasants. I'm not afraid of getting tired. I'm happy to do it. You can't buy happiness with a thousand pieces of gold."

I'm going up the mountain to catch some pheasants later, and I'll eat them. I'll just see if anything goes wrong.

Zhao Tiesheng was also dissatisfied: "Then you eat it. Who's going to take food from your mouth?"

……

As tensions rose, the others quickly intervened to break up the fight.

"Say less, and don't cause trouble," Zhao Tingjun said. He was of a higher generation and older, so his words carried weight: "You two brothers, stop arguing. If your uncle says no, then no. What are you two babbling about? It's one thing for others to cause trouble, but why are you two making a scene? Aren't you afraid of being laughed at?"

"We're the village chief. If I say no, then none of you should go. We're not short of meat. Not eating chicken, duck, or goose won't kill anyone. It's not a big deal. Let's see in a few days; maybe this storm will pass. But if something serious happens, just because you're greedy and eat some chicken, and kill all the chickens in our village, who can afford to compensate us?"

After hearing Zhao Tingjun's words, the crowd dispersed. Although many were dissatisfied, they dared not say too much. After all, if something went wrong, they really couldn't afford to pay the damages.

Fortunately, it doesn't mean that forbidding people from eating their own chickens, ducks, and geese means they're completely cut off from any connection to wild game from the village of Juren Zhangzi. In reality, it has almost no impact on most people. And since there's no explicit ban on eating eggs, ducks, or geese, the impact shouldn't be significant. While people are dissatisfied, their discontent isn't particularly strong.

Of course, there will definitely be some people who are particularly dissatisfied, but with so many people, they are all too embarrassed to say it.