Riding the wind of rebirth

"Can the baby really go swimming?" Mai Xiaomiao hugged Xiao Shunzi. "Was that an idea from Zhouzi?"

"No," Feng Xueshan said with a smile, "It's part of the infant health care program. He usually takes a bath in the bathtub at the maternal and child health hospital every week."

"Oh, then we'll take the baby into the water after breakfast."

"Haven't you eaten yet?" Feng Xueshan said. "Then come and eat with us quickly."

"We've actually already eaten," Zhou Zhi laughed. "But we were in such a rush to go into the water that we didn't get a proper meal, so this is just the warm-up before we officially begin."

"Then I'll reheat the skewers from yesterday and fry some more pancakes. Is there enough porridge?" Feng Xueshan asked.

"I'll make the porridge. The way I cook pork knuckle is pretty good; cooking porridge outdoors is super fast," Yang He said.

“Okay, I’ll go get two surf rods. I just saw a lot of fish underwater,” Zhou Zhi said.

There were many earthworms under the humus soil. Using an empty milk carton as a container, Zhouzhi dug up a carton in no time.

To increase the chances of catching fish, Zhou Zhi added a leader line with multiple hooks to the end of the line, moved the sinker to the bottom, and had three or four hooks on one surf rod. Then he cast the line towards the outer edge of the area where the cold and hot water meet, towards the dense area where fish swim.

I prepared two fishing rods, and as soon as I cast the second one, the bell on the first one rang.

So Zhou Zhi hurriedly stuck the second fishing rod into the ground without even having time to tighten the fishing line before grabbing the first fishing rod to hook the fish.

The fish that was pulled up wasn't big; it was a crucian carp about the size of a palm.

After casting the surf rod back down, Zhou Zhi then tightened the line on the other surf rod.

As I kept shaking the rod, I felt a tremor, and the bell at the tip started ringing. It meant I had hooked a fish.

"Salt rat! Salt rat!" Zhou Zhi shouted.

"What?!" Yan Xiao also came ashore and was eating skewers by the barbecue grill.

"The fish's here!" Zhou Zhi shouted. "This place is perfect for you to have a good time."

"Really?!" Yan Xiao shoveled the meat off the skewer into his mouth and hopped over in a few quick steps: "Give it to me! I'll fish it!"

This kid is the kind of fishing enthusiast who's bad at it but really addicted. He needs someone else to prepare his fishing gear and get it in the water, and then he's just there to reel in the fish.

"Wow, this fish is quite big! What kind of fish is it?" Yan Xiao took the fishing rod and shook it a couple of times, immediately feeling the considerable force coming from it.

"It's probably a carp," Zhou Zhi said with a smile. "We just caught a crucian carp; I'll go get the fish basket."

By the time Yan Xiao retrieved the fish basket, the fish had already been swung to the shore. The large carp lay on the sand with its gills bulging, seemingly having exhausted its strength in the struggle, and its body remained motionless.

"Damn it, you're waiting for me to come and get it? You're so lazy."

"I'm mainly worried about not catching the fish properly and letting them escape, which would be a shame," Yan Xiao said. "Do you have any other bait? I don't like earthworms."

"A grown man like you is afraid of earthworms?" Zhou Zhi found it funny: "Then let Yang He make a grass trap later, and you can use grass to fish for grass carp. I just found some grass carp in the water."

"How do we set up the grass nest?" "You don't need to worry about that. You just need to keep an eye on the poles for a bit."

The carp weighs about three pounds. Its tail and the tips of its fins are reddish, and its scales are pale yellow with a hint of grayish-green. This is a unique skin color of fish that grow up in clear water, and it is very beautiful.

However, the size was beyond Zhou Zhi's expectations. He thought the fish would weigh at least five pounds, but he didn't expect it to be because the wild fish in the mountain streams and lakes were so strong.

"We have grilled fish, but whether you get a taste or a full meal depends on your fishing skills," Zhou Zhi said to Yan Xiao.

"As long as you guys handle the fishing gear, I'll be fine fishing," Yan Xiao said with a smile.

To successfully fish in a grassy area, you need to be quiet. This requires not only changing your fishing gear but also finding a different fishing spot.

However, one of the characteristics of teenagers with delusions of grandeur is that they never find things troublesome when they're having fun.

The grass nests were easy to capture; the key was the location. Zhou Zhi finally chose the horse farm across the lake as the location.

There are many reeds near the water in the horse farm. Zhou Zhi only just discovered that the reeds near the water's edge grow very neatly because the parts that grass carp can reach have been completely eaten clean.

So making a grass nest is simple: find a place with deep water near the bank and reeds, trample the reeds down so they lie flat in the water.

To enhance the effectiveness of the fishing spot, Zhouzhi also gathered a bundle of crabgrass and tied it to the tip of the reeds, making the spot even larger and preventing it from being washed away by the water or dragged away by the fish.

Fishing tackle is even simpler: use a large float as a bobber, hook a large hook with tender leaves from a reed core, cast it into the water, and place it near the edge of the fishing spot.

These tender leaves, slightly deeper than the feeding area, are the grass carp's first choice for food. Unless no fish come, once they do, they basically can't escape.

The only problem is that guarding the grass carp requires quiet, and I don't know if Yan Xiao can sit still.

"No problem!" Yan Xiao patted his chest and assured him, "With food, drink, and a reclining chair, I'll just consider it continuing my cultivation."

"Oh, right, braid the tender grass shoots for the hooks for me. I don't know how to make those. Also, tell Shiqing I'm here when she wakes up later."

"No problem. I'm just waiting to eat your big fish." There are actually some tricks to making the tender grass shoots for the hook, such as folding and weaving. Otherwise, they are easy to tear off when you cast the hook again. So Zhou Zhi and Yang He prepared a few more tender grass baits for him and then returned to the camp.

As soon as they returned to the camp, Liang Hong and Yang Honghui waved to Zhou Zhimeng: "Zhouzi, Yang He, come down quickly! We've discovered a strange sight."

By this time, sunrise had arrived, and a magnificent rosy dawn began to appear in the sky. The colorful forest also began to change, revealing various colors. The birds also began to get excited, flitting and chirping among the trees. It was truly a spectacular sight.

"It's not sunrise!" Liang Hong waved anxiously, "Come down quickly!"

Zhou Zhi leaped into the water like a fish, then popped his head out again: "Damn! What's going on?!"

When Zhou Zhi dived back into the water, the amazing sight that appeared truly astonished him.

Because the lake is exceptionally clear, sunlight can penetrate the water. However, the problem is that the sunlight in the sky is currently red, yellow, and purple, which makes the underwater light appear magical as well.

Moreover, perhaps because water molecules scatter light much more strongly than air, the color of the entire lake has changed, from the deep blue of the deep and shaded areas to the red of the surface and shallow areas, and then to the pale purple in between, making the whole lake resemble a light-colored piece of carnelian, with added cool tones, making it extremely beautiful. (End of Chapter)