Zhang An opened the door and led everyone to the backyard.
At this time, Zhu Yuliang discovered that the backyard of Zhang An's house was no worse than the front yard.
And there is also this big fish pond, which is just a few steps away from the river. You can completely see the scenery of the river. It is a great place.
"Director Zhu, I didn't put the giant salamander directly in the fish pond. Instead, I put it in a fishing net. The main reason is that the fish pond is a bit big and it's difficult to find it."
Zhang An told a few people while walking to the edge of the fish pond and pulling up the net bag.
A three-foot-long giant salamander in a fishing net appeared in front of everyone.
"Director, this giant salamander is so big. We haven't seen one this big before."
As soon as Zhang An raised the water surface, Bai Xue saw it.
"It is indeed the biggest one we have encountered. Wang Tao, Xiaoxue, you two go record the information."
The final measurement showed that the body length of the giant salamander in front of me was more than one meter, 113 centimeters long, its head was nearly 20 centimeters wide, and it weighed more than 30 to almost 40 kilograms.
This is longer than the three feet that Zhang An had visually estimated before.
"We have never encountered such a big giant salamander. Judging from its physical characteristics, this one should have lived for more than thirty-five years, just a lot longer."
Zhu Yuliang said to everyone, while Bai Xue and Wang Tao on the side kept recording information.
"Actually, this one is not that big. We saw a bigger one in the ditch behind the village many years ago. It was much bigger than this one."
"Is there a bigger one? When was it discovered and how big is it exactly?"
Upon hearing Zhu Yuliang's questioning, the old village chief Zhang Jianwen took a puff of his leaf cigarette and then began to recall the past.
"This is a long story. I was only a teenager at that time. It rained heavily all day. It stopped when it was almost dark. We went out to drain the fields, and ended up in Leizi Cave.
I met that big guy at the door. It was lying on the road below the Leizi Cave. The one was longer than the pole and it was so big. I was scared when I saw it. I didn’t recognize it at that time and thought it would eat it.
The people ran back quickly."
"When I went back to the village and called people to go with me, I found no trace of it. From then on, even if the water rose, I didn't seem to see any trace of it again. The old people said that I had encountered a leper.
We rarely go to Leizi Cave. But after I came back from the army, every year when it rains heavily, I see many of these four-legged snakes in the river ditch, but they are not big, and the largest one is usually only one or two pounds."
"Oh? Did you have a lot of giant salamanders here before?"
When Zhu Yuliang heard what the old village chief said, he asked curiously.
"It was a lot, especially on rainy days at that time, but it has been less in the past two years."
"It seems like your place is very nice, with good mountains, water, and beautiful scenery. Things like this are usually not found in places with poor water quality."
At this time, Zhang An remembered a place in the village.
"Uncle, this is the leprosy hole where our children cried, right?"
"Yes, it's the Leizi Cave where sounds often come from time to time."
Lezi Cave is a cave not far from Changqing Village. In the past, there would often be sounds inside from time to time, like bursts of babies crying.
Therefore, it used to be called Leizi Cave. Because it has the homophonic sound of "child crying", it was also called "Haier Cave".
"Hearing what the old man said, I suspect that the thing in the hole is not a leopard, but other giant salamanders living in it. I guess even the one that the old man encountered before that is longer than the pole must be in the hole.
"
The length of the shoulder pole in rural areas is basically more than 1.5 meters. If it can be clearly seen that it is longer than the shoulder pole, it is more than 1.5 meters.
Hearing what Zhang An said, Zhu Yuliang was intrigued and began to inquire into the details.
"How to explain it, Zhang An, please explain it carefully."
Zhang An’s comment is not just a guess. The Lezi Cave not far from the village was visited by a dedicated adventurous team in later generations to explore the cave and take pictures.
Now everyone was chatting about this topic, and Zhang An remembered this place.
In the past, he didn't know that the old village chief met such a big giant salamander at the entrance of Lezi Cave when he was young, otherwise he would have been sure of it.
Because of the scary sound like a child crying, no one usually likes to get close to this leprosy cave.
The old people all say that there are leprous and dirty things in the cave.
Fortunately, this hole is not far from the village, but it is not close either, otherwise everyone would have thrown everything into it.
Whether it's an animal that dies after birth, or a chicken or duck that dies of illness.
This kind of thing is very common in the mountains. Leizi Cave is not the name of a specific cave, but a general name.
There are places called Leizi Cave in many places.
Not to mention it is far away, there is a leprosy hole in Zhang An's grandmother's house, and the people in that village throw everything into it.
In later generations, it has become a cave filled with garbage. As soon as you get closer, you will smell a foul stench.
But people in the village often use it to scare their children and keep them away.
The caving team of later generations was well prepared and brought many people with them.
Before they went down to the cave, the old people in the village were kind enough to persuade them.
But when I finally came up, I made it clear to everyone that there was indeed something inside.
But it's not the leprous that everyone calls, but a large group of giant salamanders, which are everywhere in the cave, and their footprints can be seen everywhere.
And there are several very large ones in the deepest part, and the largest one is just about the same size as the one my uncle just mentioned.
And there are not only giant salamanders inside, but also many cave fish and other creatures that cannot be seen under the bright sky.
Otherwise, so many giant salamanders would have starved to death long ago, how could they have bred such a large population?
As soon as the city heard the news, it sent a large number of personnel to investigate.
Finally, it was shown that the underground of this cave is connected to an underground river, so there is water in it all year round.
There are many giant salamanders living in this cave, and they feed on fish and shrimps swimming out of the underground river.
And everyone hears strange noises coming from the cave from time to time, which are coming from them.
"Many people have heard the strange sound coming from the cave. I heard it often before, but I have grown older these days, but I found that the sound was very similar to the one we found last night, but it was a bit ethereal.
It’s scary, but if it’s in a cave, it makes perfect sense because there are echoes in the cave.”
"Also, every summer during the high water season, water comes out of Leizi Cave. At that time, there will be many small salamanders in the river ditch."
When Zhang An said this, Zhang Jianwen was immediately impressed.
"Yes, every time we find four-legged snakes appearing in the river ditch, it is when water comes out of the Leizi Cave. Why didn't we think that these four-legged snakes all came out of the Leizi Cave."
Hearing Zhang An and Zhang Jianwen, the old village chief, say this, Zhu Yuliang felt that this statement was quite logical.
"Zhang An, I think your conjecture is very reasonable. If there are really giant salamanders living in it, it would be too important, especially the biggest one that Lao Zhang just mentioned. No, I have to report this matter immediately.
Go up."
Although in Zhu Yuliang's heart, he is not sure whether this is correct, but if it is really the case, then this will be the first future giant salamander sanctuary in the county.
So he decided to report this matter quickly. No matter what, he should at least go down and see what it was like inside.
Even if it's not what Zhang An guessed, it doesn't matter.
The more he thought about it, the more he felt that this matter was very feasible, so Zhu Yuliang proposed to return to the county on the spot.
"Director Zhu, what will this big guy do if you go back now?"
Zhang Jianwen heard that Zhu Yuliang was in a hurry to go back, and quickly asked what to do with a giant salamander.
Originally, the village asked people from the county to come here just for this guy, but if they want to leave now, this matter has not been dealt with yet.
After hearing this, Zhu Yuliang calmed down and remembered that there was another big guy here.
"Why don't you take it back together? I really don't feel comfortable leaving it here with us."
"No, we can't take it back. Because of the water quality problem, the county doesn't have a special place to put it, and it's too delicate and can't withstand the tossing on such a long journey."
Before Zhu Yuliang could speak, Bai Xue next to him raised objections.
The environment in the county is indeed not very good, because the county was founded on coal mines, so how can the environmental and water quality be better?
Later generations have a saying that it takes thirty years to dig coal and one hundred years to clean up the environment.
The money was left to others to earn, and when the coal reserves were exhausted and people left, in the end the county itself had to spend a large sum of money every year to clean up the environment.
"Let's do it this way, Zhang An. It will be placed at your house first, directly in your fish pond. You can help take care of it every day and feed it some food. Later, I will apply for one from the department for you."
A subsidy, do you think this will work?"
Zhu Yuliang thought for a while and expressed his thoughts to Zhang An.
Zhang An also thought about it and decided that it didn't really matter. After these people left, he would put this guy in the space and usually didn't bother to care about it.
And by establishing a good relationship with Zhu Yuliang, the animals in the family may need his help in the future.
"No problem, just put it here first. I promise to keep an eye on it and nothing will happen to it."
After getting Zhang An's consent, Zhu Yuliang took Bai Xue and Wang Tao back to the county.
Before leaving, they paid Zhang An their lunch money, but Zhang An wouldn't ask for it because his family didn't lack these dozens of dollars.
But in the end, Zhu Yuliang said that they would be given allowances for going out, and asked Zhang An not to be polite.
To be honest, this made Zhang An a little uncomfortable. County staff went to the countryside for business and even took the initiative to pay for meals. This would be absolutely impossible in future generations.
It is absolutely impossible for me, the King of Heaven, to come.
"Zhang An, this four-legged snake won't cause any problems if you keep it here."
The old village chief Zhang Jianwen is still a little worried.
"Uncle, it's okay. Not many people know about this. Moreover, this guy is usually afraid of light and stays underwater. No one can find it. And if you don't tell me, and I don't tell you, who will know that it's still there?"
In our village."
Zhang An comforted the old uncle who was a little worried, and the two of them walked out of Zhang An's yard.
When we walked to the drying area, we found Zhang Yan and her children playing with some fruits on the ground.
Zhang An looked familiar, but didn't think of it.
After walking a few steps into the village, he noticed something was wrong. Zhang An remembered what the children were playing with just now.
He hurried back. When Zhang Jianwen saw Zhang An running back, he thought something had happened and followed him.
"Anzi, what's wrong?"
The old village chief asked while panting.
"The thing that Yan Zi and the other dolls were playing with just now may be poisonous. I have to go take a look."
After finding Zhang Yan, Zhang An saw a small group of them, each holding a large bunch, playing happily on the ground.
"Brother An."
When Zhang Yan saw Zhang An coming, she shouted sweetly.
Zhang An picked up the fruit on the ground and took a look. It was a fruit from pokeweed, but just based on this bunch, Zhang An couldn't tell whether it was a native pokeweed or an exotic pokeweed.
The native pokeweed, also called wild radish, is not poisonous and can still be seen today.
As for the exotic pokeweed, the entire plant is poisonous, from the roots to the fruits.
Zhang An saw someone eating this stuff and eating it to death.
So when he saw Zhang Yan and the others playing this just now, he didn't dare to be careless.
But after more than ten years, the native pokeweed and prunella vulgaris will no longer be seen in the village.
"Yanzi, where did this thing come from? Can you take me to find it?"
"Xiao An, you also want to find Hei Guoguo. It's just behind Grandma Si Gu's house. I'll take you there."
It's rare for this little girl to see her elder brother doing things for her, so she can talk like an adult.
Zhang An followed them all the way down to the village, and finally came to the back of the fourth aunt's grandmother's house.
This is an old homestead that has been laid for many years. It should have been left by the fourth aunt's grandmother's family to her son to build a house.
But it's not covered yet, and Grandma Si Gu has planted some vegetables on it.
Crossing the path, Zhang An walked inside. There were also birch trees planted by Si Gu's grandfather for many years.
There is a lot of live hemp growing underneath, which Zhang An hates the most, because as long as you touch it, you will be covered in scars.
In the past, Zhang An was disobedient when he was a child and went diving in a big river. When Wang Fang found him back, he was very angry.
I chopped down a long live hemp tree on the roadside and whipped it directly towards Zhang An's legs without pants. The strength was not very strong, but Zhang An's legs were all covered with big weeds from the live hemp.
Bag.
Many adults in the village educate their children in this way, because this thing is not poisonous and will not hurt the body if beaten. However, the scarred bumps on the body will last longer and become larger than 100 million points.
It was itchy and painful, and it was really uncomfortable.
Since then, Zhang An has not dived into the river again, but he still regrets falling in love with live hemp.
To be fair, anyone of Zhang An's generation who knew live hemp was basically smoked with live hemp by an adult in his family when he was young.
Those younger than Zhang An were beaten more often.
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