Chapter 140: Cat Industry

Yang Qing afterwards didn't go back to catch frogs, just stayed by Chen Hong's side.

Frogs are beneficial insects; catching a few is enough, catching them for too long easily gets harmonized.

The couple were responsible for shining the flashlight, while five people were responsible for searching and catching.

To escape the devil's grasp sooner, the five searched especially carefully.

By midnight, they succeeded in filling Yang Qing and his wife's basket.

Yang Qing threw their flashlights to them.

Then he took Chen Hong home.

The remaining five almost cried.

They returned home with their swollen, bread‑like buttocks puffed out, taking a breath with each step.

When they got home, the family saw that many spots had been rubbed raw from walking, bloody and raw.

After hearing their account, sympathy turned into congratulations.

Yang Qing and his wife's basket was pasted with oiled paper, inside which they kept some water.

Cicadas soaked in water won't turn black.

This is a little trick.

After arriving home, the couple dealt with things, then went to sleep.

The next day, after getting up, Yang Qing was startled as soon as he stepped into the courtyard.

He saw the old lady staring wide‑eyed at that snake, each looking at the other.

Yang Qing feared it might hurt the old lady, so he wanted to go over and grab it.

The old lady stretched out her hand to stop him.

"Don't move; this snake is very spiritual, it's a Cai Shen Ye."

"From now on, our family is not allowed to eat snake."

"This snake, I will keep it from now on."

Amazingly, as the old lady's words fell, the snake actually swam over to her.

The old lady also had a tacit understanding; she reached out her hand, and the snake coiled along it onto her arm.

This made the old lady overjoyed, the corners of her mouth turning up to the sky.

"Good, good; from now on our family has gained another member."

Seeing the old lady happy and the snake also miraculous, Yang Qing agreed to her adopting the snake.

A pound of meat is no big deal.

Chen Hong, who got up later, heard this and was a little surprised, but not too strange.

Yang Qing looked at her doubtfully.

Chen Hong began to explain to him.

"In our village, snakes and hedgehogs are both gods of wealth."

"Snakes bring abundant grain; hedgehogs attract wealth and treasures."

"During the New Year, we make offerings from flour, placing the snake in the rice and flour bins, the hedgehog at the door god's spot and on the lintel, symbolizing the invitation of wealth."

"Normally, we do not harm them."

Yang Qing looked at her doubtfully, wondering why he hadn't said before when he used to catch snakes.

Chen Hong gave him a reproachful look.

"In a famine year, who has the luxury of being so particular?"

"Besides, this snake is so spiritual; it might be out of the ordinary."

"Sometimes having a few taboos isn't bad."

Upon hearing this, both agreed, and Yang Qing nodded.

"Alright, from now on our family won't bring in any more holy objects."

These cicadas and frogs are enough to keep their family well‑off for several days.

Early in the morning, Yang Qing fried the cicadas.

The rich aroma made the children in the compound tug the adults out to go catch more.

Yang Qing didn't go out again; this stuff isn't good to store, it's best to catch and eat fresh.

Frogs could be kept, but Yang Qing hadn't thought of eating them all at once.

At night he set up the lowest‑wattage bulb in his room and placed it above the frog's basin.

He made a simple mosquito killer.

The experimental effect was not bad.

After two nights, the mosquitoes and flies visible to the naked eye inside the house had noticeably decreased.

Thus Yang Qing decided to keep a few lively, strong frogs, putting them in his room today and in the old lady's room tomorrow.

Recycling repeatedly, the mosquito killing never stops.

The only trouble is that snake is a bit hard to Household Chores, always staring at those frogs in a daze.

That night, Chen Hong came back holding a fluffy thing in her arms.

It seemed Chen Hong loved it dearly, holding it very carefully.

"Yang Qing, come quick, look what I brought back."

Yang Qing put down the vegetables in his hand, wiped his hands, and walked over.

At a glance, he didn't quite know what to say.

A cat.

Our family has a snake, and it's even the old lady's treasure; now another cat has come.

They're both dueling arena fighters, and they love to fight.

Yang Qing asked cautiously.

"Wife, does this cat eat snakes?"

Chen Hong froze; she also noticed the crucial point.

She glanced cautiously at the old lady's room, then asked carefully.

"It's so small, it probably doesn't eat, right?"

Yang Qing continued asking cautiously.

"You say, does the snake eat cats?"

Chen Hong was stunned.

"Do snakes also eat cats?"

Yang Qing shook his head.

"I don't know, that's why I'm asking you!"

Keeping a snake at this time is too unusual.

Keeping cats was promoted as part of the Four Pests elimination campaign that began with the three-year disaster, and there's no shortage.

Moreover, it is also currently the main means of exterminating rats.

Chen Hong held the little cat, reluctant to let go.

"It's very well-behaved, very spirited, and doesn't harm vegetables."

"It's the masterpiece of the master responsible for cat training."

Upon hearing 'cat trainer', Yang Qing immediately became energized.

"Have you already started training cats?"

"How effective is it?"

Chen Hong handed the little cat to Yang Qing.

"The little cat is obedient; those mischievous big cats, after a period of training, also don't harm vegetables much."

"But the time is still too short; it hasn't yet formed a scale."

Yang Qing cares a lot about this.

"How do you charge?"

Chen Hong looked bewildered.

"Charge, what fee?"

Yang Qing said matter-of-factly.

"The training fee."

Chen Hong exclaimed.

"Do we still have to pay?"

"Of course, if there's no money, what do the cats eat during training? How does the cat trainer make a living? How do we breed good stock?"

"You wouldn't bring in the cat-training expert, use them, then kick them out, would you?"

"Since we want to give them a proper job, we must naturally turn cat training, cat breeding, and cat disease treatment into an industry."

"Only then can it develop healthily."

Chen Hong simply couldn't understand; raising cats, who cares about those things? They're just wild kids, yet you spend money on training and medical care? You're overthinking.

"Who would be willing to waste that money?"

Anyway, she wouldn't.

Yang Qing tapped the cat in her arms.

"This cat is so obedient; if it's still a mouse-catching expert, very well-behaved, you say if it gets sick, you'd just watch it die?"

Chen Hong looked at the cat in her arms; the little cat, seeing her look over, licked her hand to please her.

After licking, it also rubbed against her hand.

The little guy was so cute, it instantly softened Chen Hong's heart.

"Then, it should be treated."

Yang Qing continued.

"If someone's cat is very aggressive, often causing trouble and even biting people; while her neighbor's cat is very well-behaved, not only can it catch mice, but it can also warm hands and blankets in winter, you say whether we should have the cat trainer train it?"

"That depends on how much money is spent."

Yang Qing sighed; the price in this era is too high, and others really aren't willing to pay.

But nowadays people's demands are also low; giving them something little can satisfy them.

"Then let's set a price that everyone can accept."

"Earning a little is still earning; earning more reduces the burden on the Jiedao a bit."

"Moreover, don't forget that although ordinary people aren't willing to pay for cat training, what about grain stores? Grain warehouses? Those markets? Many supply-and-marketing stores?"

"These are all potential cat-training customers, and also cat-buying customers."

"You can, while in the Jiedao, train pet cats, perform sterilization, and treat illness."

"You can also, meanwhile, adopt unwanted cats, breed superior varieties, and sell cats."

"Earning from both ends, while also serving the public and the organization, reduces the Jiedao's burden."