Chapter Forty-Six: Delivering the Turtle

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During these days, Le’er has been busier than ever. The snakes need to eat, so during the day he goes out to the fields to catch loaches and eels, or nets small fish in the river, and at night he hunts frogs with a flashlight.

And this is only for the hundred or so snakes he currently has. If there were more, and he continued feeding them this way, he’d exhaust himself and still be unable to keep up. Thus, he’s considering digging a pond to raise fish, loaches, eels, and frogs. Snakes can’t just eat one kind of food; in Foshan, Jiahao Corporation has large breeding facilities for white mice and quails—both are snake feed.

But Le’er truly doesn’t know how to raise white mice, and he has even less experience or knowledge about raising quails. Big snakes eat chicks, and he does have some experience raising chickens—he’s currently keeping a dozen or so, but those are for his own family to eat at New Year. The chicks, at this moment, are circling around him.

He lets the dozen chicks roam freely in the bamboo grove; he doesn’t need to feed them grain, nor does he need to supervise them. They forage in the bamboo grove by day and return to the coop in the garden at night. However, for feeding snakes in larger numbers, this method is clearly impractical.

If only his cousin Li Ying were here. Whenever he’s overwhelmed by these matters, he thinks of Li Ying. She’s Boss Hong’s assistant and is highly skilled in all these things.

Walking from the bamboo grove into the vegetable garden, he notices that the peanuts will be ready to harvest in a few days. Once harvested, he plans to dig a pond on this plot. The peanut field is about an acre—turning it into a pond for fish and frogs, he wonders how many snakes it could sustain.

“Le’er, you keep pacing back and forth. What’s on your mind?”

Luo Yinxian, busy with her own tasks, notices Le’er wandering between the bamboo grove and vegetable garden, frowning, and asks him with concern.

“Can’t you mind your own business? I’m just pacing... Damn, I’m so worried I could die.”

“Like a dog biting Lü Dongbin, unable to recognize a good heart.”

Luo Yinxian gives him a look and heads into the yard. The carpenter is still working, and Le’er has invited a renowned bamboo craftsman, accompanied by several apprentices, specializing in bamboo furniture—bamboo recliners, bamboo cooling beds, bamboo sofas... Their reputation extends not only to the surrounding villages but also to the county town.

There’s an abundance of bamboo here, of all sizes and conditions. Le’er thinks, now that he has a house, he needs furniture. Buying furniture would be expensive and wouldn’t match the style of his house, so he plans to commission a set of bamboo furniture.

The bamboo craftsman, still called a basket maker in the countryside, is surnamed Liu and has six apprentices. This means another spell of busy days ahead. Originally, Le’er wanted Luo Yinxian to go home, but she’s stubborn as an ox and insists on staying, refusing to leave. With so many craftsmen needing meals, and since someone has to cook anyway, Le’er decides to tolerate her presence.

Just then, a car can be heard from across the road. It’s a remote area, so vehicles rarely come by. Luo Yinxian hears the car, which stops by the bamboo grove, and stands on tiptoe to look. She sees Teacher Feng leading two men toward them, her expression turning a bit sour. Nevertheless, she raises her voice and calls out to Le’er.

“Le’er, Teacher Feng is here.”

Le’er hears her and walks out of the vegetable garden. Teacher Feng is already approaching with his companions. Sha Le’er goes to greet them, smiling warmly at Feng Shuya. One man is a short, stout middle-aged fellow, the other a bespectacled young man.

“Teacher Feng, what brings you here...?”

“Sha Le’er, we’ve come to see your snake farm. We heard you’re raising snakes now.” Feng Shuya smiles as well. “Let me introduce you—this is Secretary Huang, Party Secretary of Shuangqiao Town, and this is Secretary Luo from the county committee.”

Le’er is startled—he hadn’t expected such distinguished visitors. Though he’s a local of Shuangqiao Town, he’s never seen the Party Secretary, and to him, a county committee secretary is an even greater figure.

“Secretary Huang, Secretary Luo, welcome.”

Le’er manages to remain calm, smiling politely.

“You’re Sha Le’er, right?” Secretary Huang smiles, extending his hand to Le’er. “I heard from Teacher Feng that you’re a promising young man and decided to come see for myself.”

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“Sorry, Secretary Huang, I was working just now and my hands are filthy,”

Le’er says awkwardly, not daring to shake hands. Secretary Huang sees the yellow earth on Le’er’s hands and smiles, retracting his hand.

“Haha... No worries. Shall we take a look at your snake farm first?”

“Of course, it’s right over there.”

He leads the three to the snake farm. Since people are afraid of snakes and reluctant to enter, Le’er doesn’t let them inside. There are ladders built along the outside wall for visitors to climb up and observe. The three climb separate ladders and look in, seeing more than a hundred snakes moving about in their respective areas, visibly intrigued.

“What do you feed these snakes?” Secretary Huang asks with a cheerful smile.

“I’m troubled by that right now. With so few snakes, I spend every day catching loaches, eels, and frogs for them—it’s exhausting.” Le’er frowns. “Next year, this won’t work. I plan to dig a pond for fish and frogs, but even that won’t be enough. I might have to raise chicks or white mice.”

“White mice can be snake feed?” Secretary Huang asks in surprise. The three climb down from the ladders and regroup.

“Snakes love mice above all. It’s the best feed for them,” Le’er says, an expert in this domain.

“Looks like you really have a knack for raising snakes,” Secretary Huang praises him as he continues asking questions. “Where will you sell the snakes later?”

“There are venomous and non-venomous snakes. The flower snakes I have are non-venomous—they’re only good as meat snakes. The black snakes can be dried and sold to pharmaceutical factories. Venomous snakes are mainly used for extracting venom, which sells for a fortune on the international market, even more than gold.”

“Oh...”

Just then, five or six people, led by Secretary Tao, come over.

“Secretary Huang, you didn’t let us know you were coming. If Secretary Liu hadn’t told me, we’d still be unaware,”

“Haha... Secretary Tao, you’ve got a real talent in your village,” Secretary Huang says after shaking hands with Tao, looking at Sha Le’er. “You must support him well. If he prospers, he can lead others to prosperity. Snake farming is an excellent path to wealth.”

Secretary Tao agrees enthusiastically, repeatedly praising Sha Le’er.

“Well, Sha Le’er, we’ve seen enough. Very impressive. Keep up the good work!”

“Secretary Huang, are you leaving already?” Le’er is inwardly delighted but doesn’t show it. “Stay for a meal—I’ll cook right away.”

“Haha... We’ll eat next time.”

They walk toward their car. Le’er suddenly calls out to Feng Shuya.

“Teacher Feng, I’ve got something to give you.”

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“Something for me? What is it?”

“Come with me and you’ll see. It’s absolutely a treasure,”

Feng Shuya laughs.

“So mysterious,” she says as she walks. “Okay, I’ll come. Secretary Luo, wait for me.”

“I’ll go with you,” Secretary Luo, who has been silent, speaks up. “Secretary Huang, we’ll be right back.”

Sha Le’er leads Feng Shuya and Secretary Luo into the courtyard and opens the door to the bathing room.

“Le’er, your house is really beautiful,” Feng Shuya says, instead stepping into the main hall to admire the house. “Wow, the decor is so lovely—better than mine.”

Le’er laughs bashfully, then brings out a red plastic bucket from the bathing room and lifts the lid. Inside, a large turtle paddles its four limbs in shallow water.

“A softshell turtle... What a huge one!” Secretary Luo exclaims first. Feng Shuya leaves the main hall and sees the giant turtle as well.

“You’re giving this to me?”

“I caught this in a wild pond a few days ago—definitely an old turtle. It couldn’t have grown this big in less than ten years,” Le’er says with a silly grin. “I’m not giving it to you, but to your father. Such a wild, old turtle is rare in our area. It was pure luck to find this one—it’s an incredible tonic.”

Secretary Luo looks at Sha Le’er in surprise, nods appreciatively, and says with a smile,

“I didn’t expect you to be so thoughtful.”

“We young people have no use for it, so I’ve kept it all this time.”

“Sha Le’er... Let me pay you for it,” Feng Shuya says, delighted.

“Teacher Feng, you’d embarrass me if you did. We country folk may not be wealthy, but we never take money for gifts—people would scold me.”

“Well... Alright, you have the skill to catch these anyway,”

Feng Shuya laughs and accepts the gift. Secretary Luo pats Sha Le’er on the shoulder and says with a smile,

“Sha Le’er, keep up the good work.”

He even secretly gives him a thumbs-up. Le’er smiles, watching them leave.

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