Liu Qingsong was surprised that the large grass carp had taken the bait so quickly, but he didn't dwell on it. He leaned into the pull, gripped the Fishing Rod, and focused on reeling in the large grass carp.
As far as he was concerned,
If he could catch this large grass carp,
Then lunch could feature some delicious grass carp meat.
No, they'd get to eat delicious wild grass carp meat.
After all, in 1978, all the fish in the river were wild.
Little Mochi, both nervous and excited, saw Liu Qingsong nearly get dragged into the river by the large grass carp several times, and hurriedly went with little sister to grab onto Liu Qingsong's right leg and pull him back. Their faces flushed red with effort, as if they were using every ounce of strength they had.
Unfortunately,
Their good intentions ended up backfiring.
Why is that?
While they strained, they accidentally yanked down Liu Qingsong's pants and nearly tripped him.
If not for Liu Qingsong's quick reaction, freeing one hand to pull up his waistband even as he stopped them from making things worse, he would have ended up in quite an embarrassing scene.
After tussling with Liu Qingsong for more than ten minutes, the large grass carp finally surfaced, exhausted, and flipped belly-up.
Liu Qingsong saw this and pulled the Fishing Rod back.
Soon Liu Qingsong dragged the large grass carp to the riverbank.
Looking closely, Liu Qingsong saw that the large grass carp weighed at least seven or eight jin. Though it was belly-up, its pale yellow fins still struggled in defiance.
To be safe, Liu Qingsong didn't immediately lift the large grass carp ashore. Instead, he pulled a fishing net out of the worn fishing tackle box, straightened and secured the folded handle, and only then carefully scooped toward the large grass carp.
Not far away, Liu Delei watched with unbearable envy and jealousy, cursing inwardly: "Run! Large grass carp, run! Don't let that dog of a Liu Qingsong catch you."
Unfortunately,
Cursing was useless.
Because before rebirth, Liu Qingsong had been a fishing expert.
When the net reached the large grass carp's head, Liu Qingsong scooped it up with lightning speed and hauled it ashore.
The large grass carp was still struggling in the net.
But by now it was at its last gasp.
This let Liu Qingsong breathe a sigh of relief.
Little Mochi and little sister clapped and cheered.
Seeing that the wooden bucket they'd brought couldn't hold the large grass carp, little sister suggested, "Third Brother, should we go back and get a big bucket for the fish?"
"No need." Liu Qingsong pulled the Fish Keepnet from the Worn Fishing Tackle Box, put the large grass carp inside, and drove its iron fork into the riverbank mud to secure it.
By 1978, Fish Keepnets and fishing nets were nothing new; some fishing gear shops in the city even sold them.
So Liu Delei didn't question where they came from. Instead, he wondered how Liu Qingsong's family, who could barely eat their fill, had afforded such high-end fishing equipment.
But thinking about it was one thing — he didn't feel it was his place to ask too much.
He put the thought aside and began fishing.
After all, he was an adult. He couldn't let a fifteen- or sixteen-year-old like Liu Qingsong outfish him.
Yet the thought had barely settled when
When the bamboo fishing rod in Liu Qingsong's hands had another bite.
And this time, two wild Diaozi Fish had taken the bait.
The two Diaozi Fish were small, weighing only about half a jin each.
But Liu Delei's eyes lit up, and he nearly drooled.
Half-jin Wild Diaozi Fish were a delicacy; it was no exaggeration to say they tasted better than pork.
Liu Qingsong had caught two at once.
It would be a lie to say Liu Delei wasn't tempted.
But tempted as he was, Liu Delei didn't act on it.
The reason was clear: he knew he had made an enemy of Liu Qingsong's family.
If they hadn't become enemies, his status as a member of the Liu Family would have made it easy to ask Liu Qingsong for a Wild Diaozi Fish to take home and eat.
After all, in the seventies and eighties, people considered Wild Diaozi Fish "nuisance fish" and they were worth little in the countryside. Only in the city could they fetch a good price.
But now, that was out of the question.
At the thought, Liu Delei regretted offending Liu Qingsong's family over a mere five yuan.
Seeing that he couldn't let things continue, Liu Delei pushed the thoughts aside, picked up his Fishing Rod, cast it, and began fishing with focused determination.
He refused to believe it.
That he would lose to a mere kid like Liu Qingsong.
As Liu Qingsong put the Wild Diaozi Fish into the Fish Keepnet, he looked up and saw Liu Delei cast his rod. He guessed what Liu Delei was thinking.
But he didn't mock Liu Delei for it.
Instead, he threaded another bamboo fishing rod with bait brought out from the Myriad Realms Garbage Dump, then handed it to little sister beside him: "Just fish near the shallows, don't go into the deep water. If you go there and catch a big fish, you won't be able to pull it up. Got it?"
"Got it." Little sister happily took the Bamboo Fishing Rod and cast it toward the shallows.
Little Mochi bit her index finger, then hugged Liu Qingsong's right leg and tilted up her little head to plead, "Uncle, I... I want to fish fish too."
"You want to fish too??" Liu Qingsong felt a headache coming on.
The bait on the hook came from the Myriad Realms Garbage Dump. The large grass carp and two Wild Diaozi Fish he'd caught showed that it was exceptionally effective.
Under such circumstances, with Little Mochi also wanting to fish, what if she ran into danger?
"Mm, I want to fish fish too." Little Mochi confirmed, her little face full of seriousness.
"Aren't you afraid a big fish will pull you into the water?" Liu Qingsong asked, both amused and exasperated.
"Not afraid, I'm very strong." Little Mochi replied in her babyish voice, "Besides, isn't Uncle here?"
"I... if I can catch a big fish fish, I'll take it home for Mommy to eat. She hasn't gotten to eat meat meat in so long."
"Is that so?" Hearing this, Liu Qingsong felt comforted, while also feeling a pang of sympathy for Eldest Sister and Little Mochi.
Eldest Sister hadn't eaten meat in a long time, and Little Mochi was probably in the same situation.
No wonder Little Mochi had wolfed down the stewed wild hare earlier — she'd been going hungry at home!
To prevent this from happening again, Liu Qingsong handed Little Mochi the baited Bamboo Fishing Rod. "Fish with Maternal Aunt in the shallows. Remember! Don't go into deep water."
"Mm, mm." Little Mochi nodded her little head, then took the bamboo fishing rod and cast it out with a "hey!" Because she was too short and too weak, the cast didn't reach the shallow water, and she nearly tripped herself instead.
Not far away, Liu Delei watched and nearly burst out laughing like a pig.
Liu Qingsong chuckled too. To keep Little Mochi safe, he cast the hook into the shallows and handed the Bamboo Fishing Rod back to her.
Just as he was about to sit down and rest.
Little sister shouted, "Brother, Brother... a fish is biting!"
"Then pull the rod up!" Liu Qingsong reminded her.
He didn't help because the bite frequency and the depth of the Fishing Float showed him that the fish wasn't large. Little sister should be able to reel it in if she was careful.
Sure enough.
Little sister gave the rod a hard tug upward.
Little sister gave the rod a hard tug, and a Wild Diaozi Fish weighing three or four liang came out. Its scales glinted silver. Liu Delei stared, dumbfounded, as the mocking smile he'd worn at Little Mochi's expense froze on his face.
After all, he really hadn't expected little sister to be able to catch a fish too.
And a wild Diaozi Fish at that.
Yet that thought hadn't even finished settling.
When the rod in Little Mochi's hands also stirred.
Afraid Little Mochi might have an accident, Liu Qingsong helped pull the rod up.
Well, well — it turned out to be a wild Diaozi Fish about the size of a palm.
Judging by its weight, it probably weighed over a jin.
A one-jin Wild Diaozi Fish was extremely rare throughout the Huajiao Production Brigade and could fetch a good price even in the city.
Once he got a clear look, Liu Delei could no longer hold back — he grabbed his fishing rod and small stool and hobbled over.
He clearly assumed that Liu Qingsong, Little Mochi, and Liu Hongxia had found a good spot, which explained why they were catching so many Wild Diaozi Fish.
So, he wasn't about to miss such a good opportunity.
"What are you doing?" Little sister, hearing footsteps, turned and eyed Liu Delei warily: "Trying to steal the fish we caught?"
……