After a busy day, Zhang Ran was extremely tired, and after a hurried dinner, he planned to go home early to rest. But unexpectedly, at this time, Sankui didn't know which tendon was wrong, so he had to go to the river at night to guard the fish cage and catch the fish thief by the way.

Regarding Sankui's idea, Zhang Ran actually didn't agree with it. In Zhang Ran's opinion, Qingshui River is a public resource after all, not the private property of him and the Sankui family, even if it is opposed to the wilderness, it is an extremely normal thing, and it would be a good thing if the thief could be caught.

But just to catch the fish thief, squatting by the river day and night is extremely outrageous, and this kind of behavior will also affect normal life, involving a lot of energy, and the benefits are not proportional to the benefits, so Zhang Ran doesn't want to go at all, it's too stupid.

But Sankui insisted that it was not easy for poor people to find a way to eat meat every day, and they couldn't just be destroyed by others. Moreover, they worked hard to chop bamboo, weave fish cages, and work hard to get some fish, so why should they give them to the thieves!

Therefore, Sankui insisted on going to the river to keep watch for one night, vowing to arrest the thief who stole the fish, beat him well, and then send him to the official!

Although Zhang Ran was a little reluctant, seeing that Sankui was emotional and insisted on going, Zhang Ran couldn't refute his face, so he could only pinch his nose, pack up his things and go to the river with Sankui.

The cold wind blew for most of the night, and until dawn, Zhang Ran and the others did not wait for the trace of the thief, but made themselves tired and groggy.

After the sky was bright, Zhang Ran, who was really a little unbearable, took the lead in proposing to return. Seeing that he waited all night and didn't wait for the fish thief, Sankui couldn't help but be a little depressed, so he could only agree to Zhang Ran's suggestion. Together, the two pulled the fish cage from the river to shore, collected the fish from the cage, and went home.

After yesterday, a whole day and a night of tossing, Zhang Ran was tired, and he really didn't have the energy to continue to go into the mountains to cut bamboo, so he could only hand over the task of cutting bamboo to Sankui himself, and he himself hurriedly went home to make up for sleep.

slept until the three poles of Rishan, Zhang Ran woke up leisurely, then got up, cooked a little millet porridge by himself, and after he was full, he walked slowly to Sankui's house.

"Huh? Everybody's there? ”

Pushing open the wooden door of Sankui's house, Zhang Ran was surprised to find that the courtyard was full of a large number of people, including not only Zhang Ran's mother and little sister, but even Zhang Meng and his wife, who had been busy working in the field and did not show up much.

Seeing Zhang Ran pushing the door in, Sankui's mother Zhang Wang's eyebrows raised, took a few steps forward and took Zhang Ran's hand, and asked very affectionately: "Hey, it's Brother Ran!" You finally woke up, Sankui, this kid is really getting more and more ignorant, knowing that Xiao Ran's illness is just right, your body is weak, and he dragged you to the river to blow the wind in the middle of the night, what a bastard! Brother Ran, my aunt has already taught him a good lesson for you. If you want to go to the river to guard in the future, let him go alone! What do you think? Have you eaten? If you haven't eaten, your aunt will make it for you now! ”

Aunt Zhang's enthusiasm made Zhang Ran a little flattered, and when she saw this, she waved her hand again and again and said, "Auntie, aunt, I have already eaten!" Don't be busy! And you can't blame Sankui for this, after all, he also wants to catch the fish thief early! ”

As he spoke, Zhang Ran hurriedly turned his gaze to Zhang Meng, who was calm on the side, and asked, "Uncle Zhang, how is it?" Have you found out who the suspect is? ”

When Zhang Meng heard this, he immediately shook his head and said with a wry smile: "When the fleas were eating (breakfast), I went around the room with Sankui, and I didn't find anyone cooking fish. Brother Ran, are you mistaken? Could it be someone else who stole the fish? ”

Zhang Ran pondered for a moment and replied, "I can't rule out this possibility!" But no matter in terms of the time, place, and motive of the crime, we still have the greatest possibility in ourselves. Therefore, the focus of the investigation should also be on the inside. Although we haven't been able to find out who did it now, I believe that as long as this person is still around, he will definitely continue to commit crimes! ”

Speaking of this, Zhang Ran suddenly changed his words and said, "Uncle, speaking of which, we have also caught a lot of fish and shrimp in the past few days, in addition to our own food." There are at least more than 300 catties (Han catties) when it is full, and I can't fit the water tank at home, so I plan to go to Xinfeng County tomorrow to lie down, sell all the fish, and buy some salt and other things by the way. ”

"Hmm!" Zhang Meng nodded and agreed: "There are indeed a lot of fish accumulated at home, if you find a way to deal with it, I'm afraid you will die a lot." Well, how about I go to the city with you tomorrow and sell the fish for money? ”

When Zhang Ran heard this, he hurriedly said: "Uncle, Xinfeng County is only a dozen miles away from us, and I will go with Sankui, where do you need to bother Uncle Lao's father to go out by himself!" Moreover, there is also a need for someone to sit in the family here, what if the uncle goes to the county seat and the thieves take the opportunity to steal the fish again, I am afraid that Sankui alone will not be able to control it! ”

Sure enough, after hearing Zhang Ran's words, Zhang Meng's expression was a little hesitant, but after thinking about it, he still shook his head and said: "The fish thief may not dare to come during the day, just let your aunt go to the river occasionally to take a turn." As for me, I'd better go with you! Let's go early tomorrow and get back before dark. ”

"Oh well! Just do as my uncle says! Zhang Ran saw that what Zhang Meng said also made a little sense, so he agreed.

After determining the people who will go to the county seat to sell fish tomorrow, the next step is to discuss the specific details of selling fish tomorrow. Because the road to Xinfeng County is more than ten miles, the ancient road is not as full of road networks as in later generations, and it is very difficult to walk.

Moreover, neither Zhang Ran's family nor Sankui's family had any livestock to provide convenience, and only Sankui had a deer cart (wheelbarrow) to use. In this case, Zhang Ran was worried that more than half of the fish would die before they reached the county seat. Therefore, I asked Zhang Meng to find two larger wooden barrels for easy use of fish.

Compared with the water tank at home, the wooden bucket can not only hold water, but also has a stronger ability to resist bumps, and most importantly, it is not so easy to break, as long as it is covered with a wooden lid and then tied up with a rope, even if it is overturned, the fish will not spill. This can be much stronger than a pottery tank.

Therefore, after hearing Zhang Ran's idea, Zhang Meng immediately agreed to Zhang Ran's method, and vacated two wooden barrels from home that were supposed to be used to hold water, and gave them to Zhang Ran to use to hold fish...