Chapter 238: The Importance of a Good Facade

“Then we’ll help with the cleaning,” Father Lin and Elder Brother said in unison.

“Alright.”

Lin Heng took the dagger and crouched down, starting with the largest mandarin fish. Naturally, the first step was to remove the scales and gills.

Xiao Xia, Lin Wei, and the others all came over to watch, asking questions nonstop. Father Lin also took a knife and began cleaning fish beside him.

After Lin Heng finished processing the large mandarin fish, he slit open its belly and saw it was filled with roe.

“This fish is a pity; its belly is full of roe,” Lin Heng shook his head. He had originally planned to bring it back alive for breeding, and when he caught it, he had guessed it was a female.

“All of mine are females too, but it’s fine, the roe is quite tasty,” Father Lin showed the roe he had extracted.

Lin Heng nodded. The roe from his large mandarin fish weighed nearly half a catty, so much that one hand couldn’t hold it all.

“Awoo~”

After placing the roe and swim bladder in a bowl, Lin Heng was about to throw the entrails on the ground when Xiong Ba’s big head stretched over.

“I’ll cook them for you in a bit, don’t be impatient,” Lin Heng patted its big head. He still cared deeply for Xiong Ba and was afraid parasites might harm it.

“Woof woof!”

Xiong Ba seemed to understand and sat down beside him, panting with its tongue out. It was already fully grown now, sitting a bit taller than Lin Heng crouched. Panting no longer gave it that Samoyed smile feeling; instead, it looked very majestic and imposing.

“Awoo awoo~”

The two small Xiquan Dogs, Feng Shou and Lai Fu, came trotting over eagerly to sniff the fish entrails. But as soon as they approached, Xiong Ba pushed them away. No other dog could covet its fish entrails.

Soon, all the fish were cleaned. Lin Heng went to check on the fish in the secondary reservoir. Three half-catty mandarin fish had survived, but that Qinling fine-scaled salmon still hadn’t made it.

Lin Heng had no choice but to scoop it out and clean it too; its belly was also full of roe.

After cleaning, Lin Heng asked his father to take the fish to the kitchen while he tidied up the ground, washing away the bloodstains.

“We can’t finish so many fish. At most, we can cook three small ones or one large one tonight,” Xiulan said as she saw Lin Heng enter the kitchen.

“Then just cook all the fish, and make fewer other dishes. We’ll all just eat fish,” Lin Heng blinked and said.

“You really want to stuff everyone until they burst,” Xiulan glared at him, then slapped him lightly and added, “Do you know about stinky mandarin fish?”

“I’ve heard of it. Do you know how to make it?” Lin Heng asked curiously.

Xiulan nodded proudly. “Of course. In my early years, there was an aunt from Anhui who fled to our village. She knew how to make it, and I learned from her. It tastes pretty good.”

“Then make it. I’d love to try it,” Lin Heng reached out and smoothed the stray hairs in front of her eyes.

Xiulan explained, “I was afraid you wouldn’t eat it, that’s why I asked.”

“Since you’ll eat it, then I’ll take one large and one small mandarin fish and pickle them into stinky mandarin fish. Then I’ll call mom, dad, and Elder Brother to come eat.”

“Alright,” Lin Heng nodded, then watched curiously as Xiulan pickled the fish.

Pickling stinky mandarin fish was quite simple. Just make some cross-hatch cuts on the fish, marinate briefly with scallions, ginger, garlic slices, and baijiu for a few minutes.

Then remove these ingredients, rub salt all over the mandarin fish inside and out, put it in a plastic bag, and press it lightly with a stone to ferment.

Generally, it ferments for four to five days in summer, but takes over ten to twenty days in winter.

While preparing it, Xiulan also applied a bit of fermented bean curd paste, saying it would speed up the fermentation.

As Lin Heng watched her work, he boiled water to cook the fish entrails, then took them outside to feed Xiong Ba.

After Xiulan finished pickling the mandarin fish, she marinated the remaining five fish. All four Qinling fine-scaled salmon were steamed plain. The remaining salmon was made into a soup, while the roe and swim bladder were used to make a braised roe dish.

Xiulan was born in Lushui County, which had a well-developed water system, so she was quite skilled at cooking fish.

After preparing the fish, she stir-fried some garlic sprouts with pork and sliced some pre-cooked marinated dishes, and dinner was ready.

“This steamed Qinling fine-scaled salmon is truly delicious,” Caiyun said.

“This fish isn’t fishy at all, and the meat even has a slight sweetness,” Lin Yue remarked.

Mother Lin also nodded. “Most importantly, it doesn’t have a single bone. Xiao Xia and the others can eat it freely.”

At the dinner table, everyone greatly enjoyed the steamed Qinling fine-scaled salmon. The texture of this fish was far superior to ordinary freshwater fish.

Lin Heng gave Xiao Xia some and took a bite himself. Eaten plain, it had a sweet taste; dipped in soy sauce, the flavor became more complex.

“I plan to raise this Qinling fine-scaled salmon,” Lin Heng said, looking at everyone.

“That’s a good idea. This fish is only found around here. Raising it should sell well, as the ones in the river will only get fewer and fewer,” Father Lin nodded.

“A fish without bones will definitely be popular. Even people who don’t usually eat fish will want to try it,” Lin Yue also nodded in agreement.

Having no bones was an overwhelming advantage for a freshwater fish. Just this selling point alone could attract a large number of customers.

“The question is whether it’s difficult to raise or not,” Xiulan pointed out the key issue. No one had ever seen farmed Qinling fine-scaled salmon before, so the difficulty was likely not small.

Lin Heng smiled and said, “Let’s try raising it. Come on, let’s eat,” he said, then picked up another chopstickful of roe for Xiao Xia. Eating roe could boost immunity and was very good food for children.

Xiao Xia liked eating the Qinling fine-scaled salmon, but after tasting the roe, she ate two bites and didn’t want more. She felt it wasn’t as tasty as the salmon.

Lin Heng also tasted it; it had a feeling like eating egg yolk and was quite delicious.

Everyone ate this meal quite slowly, chatting as they ate, otherwise they wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight.

When Lin Heng had eaten his fill, he went to scoop some rice and ate it with the stir-fried garlic sprouts and pork. It was so fragrant he felt like swallowing his tongue.

By the time they finished dinner, it was already past eight o’clock.

Lin Heng tidied up, went to feed the two small puppies, and covered his motorcycle with a tarpaulin.

Early on the eighth day of the lunar new year, a light rain fell from the sky, but it didn’t turn to snow.

At dawn, Father Lin hitched up the ox and plowed a field below the road, then prepared with Elder Brother to carry manure in preparation for planting potatoes.

In the morning, Lin Heng drove to town to pay New Year respects to Old Man Gao, and also went to find Wang Zhou to tell him to come to work tomorrow.

However, to Lin Heng’s surprise, when he went down, Wang Zhou had already come to town and was already wiping down the counter.

“You’re quite diligent,” Lin Heng walked inside and said with a smile.

Wang Zhou laughed heartily. “Brother Lin, you gave me such a big year-end bonus, of course I need to come to work properly.”

“Don’t worry, there will be a year-end bonus again this year, and even more,” Lin Heng said with a smile, then took his things to find Old Man Gao.

The three of them drank together, and at noon they went fishing for a while, but ended up happily achieving “air force” (catching nothing).

In the afternoon, Lin Heng went to the credit union to withdraw five hundred yuan in cash for Wang Zhou. Tomorrow, the ninth day of the lunar new year, was market day.

During the 1980s, the Spring Festival holiday was only five days, ending on the fifth day of the lunar new year. Therefore, the town’s credit union had long since opened for business.

Returning home, he leveled a piece of land on the back hill and also built an enclosed pen for the male forest musk deer. This fellow was now basically unafraid of people and didn’t think about escaping anymore.

The good life of eating and sleeping every day had corroded its heart yearning for freedom. But even so, Lin Heng still carefully tied a rope to it, just in case it ran away and his grand plan for forest musk deer farming went up in smoke.

After moving the forest musk deer, Lin Heng shoveled up the forest musk deer droppings from the backyard ground and took them to the front yard for vegetable planting. By the time he finished washing the ground clean, it was already dark.

Tonight, Xiao Xia suddenly wanted to sleep with Xiulan and Lin Heng. No matter how much they tried to persuade her otherwise, it was useless. They could only put her in the middle of the quilt, and the three of them rested together.

After Xiao Xia fell asleep snoring, Lin Heng and Xiulan were still awake.

“I’m going down to the city tomorrow to arrange for a truck to go to Ancheng to buy fruit trees and some Chinese medicinal seeds. I’ll also see if there are any dairy cows and maybe get a couple,” Lin Heng said, lying on the bed, looking at Xiulan. Their daughter lay between them, and not leaning against each other felt a bit strange.

Actually, if possible, Lin Heng really didn’t want to go to the city at all. But to make money and develop, going to the city was unavoidable.

As the saying goes, a speck of dust from the times falling on a person can be heavier than a mountain. Even though Lin Heng was reborn, he still had to follow the course of history; it was impossible to try to reverse the tide of history.

Just like this small mountain village, no matter how hard Lin Heng tried, he couldn’t turn it into a city. He also had to follow the trajectory of history to change his own fate and that of his entire family.

“Do you want me to come with you?” Xiulan asked.

“You stay home and take care of the child. I’ll take Elder Brother with me,” Lin Heng shook his head. He was going to discuss business with people; there was no need to bring his wife along.

“Alright then, be careful,” Xiulan nodded.

They looked at each other, and in the flickering light of the fireplace, they peacefully drifted into dreamland.

That night, Lin Heng suddenly dreamed of a different future. When he woke up on the morning of the ninth day, he still felt a bit dazed.

After washing up and changing into clean clothes, Lin Heng went to call his elder brother. He had told his elder brother yesterday afternoon, so naturally there were no issues today.

“We’ll set off after breakfast,” Lin Heng said to his elder brother with a smile. He also wanted to bring his elder brother along to discuss business. The family business would definitely need manpower in the future, so he had to start cultivating it early.

“Alright, your sister-in-law is cooking now. Do you want to eat together?” Lin Yue asked with a smile.

“Xiulan is cooking too,” Lin Heng said, then turned and walked towards Village Party Secretary Tian Dongfu’s house.

He took two bars of soap Xiulan had made, not for Tian Dongfu, but for Wang Qin.

He discussed the matter of the hunting license with Tian Dongfu, who readily agreed and directly issued a certificate. With this, he could go apply for a gun license.

Holding the certificate, Lin Heng returned home. After finishing his meal, he asked Xiulan to take out two hundred yuan in cash.

“Be careful,” Xiulan gave him the money, then straightened his collar and hair.

“Don’t worry,” Lin Heng lowered his head and gave his wife a peck on the cheek, then took his helmet and went out.

He tossed a helmet to his elder brother and drove off. The two men got in the motorcycle and sped towards the city.

Since it was just two grown men, Lin Heng drove very fast, reaching the city in less than an hour.

The first stop was in front of the tailor shop where he had ordered custom clothes.

Lin Yue asked puzzledly, “Little brother, aren’t you here to discuss business? Why are we at a tailor shop?”

Lin Heng patted his elder brother’s shoulder and said with a smile, “I ordered a fifty-yuan Zhongshan Suit here before the New Year. I’m here to pick it up now.”

“A fifty-yuan Zhongshan Suit? Why are you buying such expensive clothes?” Lin Yue’s eyes widened, feeling it was completely unnecessary.

Lin Heng smiled slightly and said to his brother, “Elder Brother, when discussing business, the first thing to pay attention to is presence. If you dress poorly, people will subconsciously think your business isn’t doing well, and it’ll be hard to even discuss business.”

“So these things can’t be skimped on. You have to puff yourself up even if it hurts.”

It’s like a shop: no matter how luxuriously it’s decorated inside, if you skimp on the signboard, it won’t work. When discussing business with people, your attire and demeanor are your own signboard. This signboard must be bright enough.

Once Lin Heng said this, Lin Yue suddenly understood. “So that’s how it is. I would never have thought of it myself.”

He turned his head and looked again. On the street, any shop with an unremarkable signboard had poor business.

Lin Heng didn’t say anything more, smiling as he led his elder brother into the shop. He took out the previous deposit receipt, and soon the clerk brought out his Zhongshan Suit.

It was a gray Zhongshan Suit. After Lin Heng put it on, his entire demeanor changed. His handsome face paired with a pair of bright, spirited eyes, his tall and straight figure, mature temperament—standing there, he looked like a leader, a successful person.

“Boss, you are the most handsome person I’ve ever seen wearing a Zhongshan Suit,” the female tailor in the shop couldn’t help but praise.

Lin Yue also couldn’t help but nod. The feeling of wearing formal attire versus casual wear was indeed different.

Lin Heng took out forty yuan and handed it over, smiling slightly. “Your craftsmanship is excellent.”

“Thank you, boss. A fine suit needs the right bearing to be worn properly.” The shopkeeper beamed with delight as he took the money, then proceeded to pack up Lin Heng’s old clothes and shoes.

Fifty yuan hadn’t just bought him a Zhongshan suit. The purchase included two dress shirts, two pairs of leather shoes, and a briefcase as well.

With his new acquisitions in hand, Lin Heng walked out.

He wasn’t in a hurry to go to the transport company to find a truck. Instead, he first went to look for the wholesaler, Li Chengguo.

Some of Li Chengguo’s employees were busy loading goods. Seeing Lin Heng arrive on that rare Sidecar Motorcycle, they thought some important official had come and hurried inside to report.

Just as Lin Heng reached the main entrance, Li Chengguo came out. He was about to bow and scrape in greeting when he took a closer look and froze.

Li Chengguo let out a breath and exclaimed with feeling, “Brother Lin Heng, you’ve changed dramatically since the New Year.”

Lin Heng smiled slightly. “I’m going into business, after all. Changed my outfit, bought myself a ride.”

“That ride of yours is no ordinary thing. Must have been quite expensive, I imagine?” Li Chengguo said with a smile.

“It’s alright.” Lin Heng smiled back, then introduced his Elder Brother, Lin Yue.

Once inside the room, Li Chengguo poured a cup of tea for both Lin Heng and Lin Yue, then asked with a smile, “Have you come this time to discuss new business?”

“Not exactly new business. I wanted to ask if you’d have time to go to Ancheng with me, use your truck to haul a load of goods for me,” Lin Heng said with a smile.

Besides that, he also planned to have him haul some fertilizer up there.

“That won’t work. I only have the one truck. If it goes to Ancheng, I won’t be able to make my deliveries here.” Li Chengguo shook his head, wondering what Lin Heng wanted to do in Ancheng.

After taking a sip of tea, he added, “But you’ve come at just the right time. I have something to discuss with you as well.”

(End of Chapter)

#### Translator’s Notes

Ancheng: A city known for its agricultural products, particularly fruit and medicinal herbs, significant for local farming.