Go back to the prosperous days and become a layman

Chapter 681 Human Touch

"Brother-in-law, we didn't bring any bait." Wang Jingmin came to the lake excitedly. Just as he took out his fishing rod, he suddenly discovered a problem.

"Really? I forgot about this." Tang Zhitong also scratched his head. He left in a hurry today and didn't prepare anything.

"What should I do?" Wang Jingmin was anxious. He had finally come out for this trip and he didn't want to go back like this.

"Just stand here and don't move. I'll be back soon." This question certainly didn't pose a problem for Tang Zhitong, but he was worried about his brother-in-law. Firstly, he didn't want him to discover his little secret. Secondly, the waterside was dangerous. What if he slipped... he wouldn't be able to explain himself when he returned.

"Okay!" Seeing that his brother-in-law had a solution, Wang Jingmin stood there and waited obediently, as if he was cast under a spell by Sun Wukong.

Tang Zhitong walked to the lake with a bucket, bent down and looked carefully underwater, trying to see if there were any small fish or shrimps.

The water here all flows from the reservoir and the water quality is pretty good. Tang Zhitong can see the situation underwater.

Although there are not many small fish and shrimps, there are still some.

As long as you have it, it's easy.

Tang Zhitong looked back at his brother-in-law and felt that they were still a little close, so he walked out another ten meters or so, then slowly pressed the bucket into the water, stayed there for a while, and then slowly lifted it up.

This way you can catch small fish and shrimp, but there is a trick here, the movements must be gentle and slow.

It would be better if there were some roasted bones or something that could sink to the bottom of the bucket. There are always some small fish and shrimps that try to get into the bucket for something to eat.

But it definitely won't work today. Firstly, there is no food in the bucket, and secondly, there are not many fish and shrimps, which would have been scared away by Tang Zhitong.

Tang Zhitong didn't mind at all. He bent down and pretended to put some of the small fish and shrimps he had caught in the river last time into the bucket. Those fish and shrimps were good, and a little bigger than the ones he had just seen.

Picking up the bucket, Tang Zhitong pretended to pour out most of the water, leaving only the bottom. This time, there were seven or eight small fish and shrimps in it.

In fact, earthworms are a good choice when it comes to fishing, but the weather is still too cold now. In another month or so, you won’t need to bring bait when fishing. You can find earthworms by digging a few times by the river.

"Brother-in-law, did you fish it out?" Wang Jingmin asked anxiously as he watched Tang Zhitong come back with the bucket.

"That's right, you don't even see who is doing it." After using cheating, Tang Zhitong had no sense of shame for cheating at all and showed off to his brother-in-law.

"Brother-in-law is awesome!" Wang Jingmin's immobilization spell was lifted and he couldn't wait to take a few steps forward. He leaned over the bucket and looked inside. Several small fish and shrimps were running around in panic under the bucket.

"Brother-in-law, if we use your method, can we catch a lot of fish and shrimp this afternoon?" Where are the fish and shrimp jumping around in front of me? They are the delicious stewed fish and shrimp!
In the past, Wang Jingmin looked down on these little things, but now he hasn't tasted meat for nearly a month, and his mouth is already watering.

No matter how small the mosquito legs are, they are still meat!
"It's not that easy. Once we pour the bucket in, there will be no fish or shrimp in that area for at least three to five minutes. Let's just fish honestly." Tang Zhitong put the bucket under his feet, found two relatively flat stones on the river bank, brought them over and placed them by the lake, using them as benches for the two brothers.

Although there were no five horses, Tang Zhitong still manually let the small fish and shrimp experience what it meant to be "dismembered by five horses" by tearing each fish and shrimp into five pieces with his bare hands.

"Come on, put on the bait and cast the rod twice." Tang Zhitong handed a piece of the torn meat to his brother-in-law, while he continued to torture the fish and shrimps on the side, and placed the "body pieces" of the fish and shrimps on the open space between the two of them for easy access.

According to the rules of anglers, two people cannot be too close to each other, both to prevent the fishing line from getting tangled and to allow each person to have more bites.

Tang Zhitong didn't care about this, and he also wanted to keep Wang Jingmin within his sight.

After finishing his work, Tang Zhitong grabbed a handful of soil from the ground, rubbed his hands together to remove the fishy smell, washed it in Houhai Lake, and then slowly put the bait on and swung the rod.

Wang Jingmin made greater progress this time. He didn't make any noises, and he was able to keep his composure even though he didn't catch any fish.

Tang Zhitong used a plug-in to take a look at the bottom of the water. Maybe it was because the fresh water from upstream kept sending fish here, the overall fish quantity was still okay, but there were fewer big ones.

After casting the rod twice, Wang Jingmin caught his first fish of the day. He then became excited: "Brother-in-law! I caught a fish!"

"Well, not bad, not bad. Come, I'll teach you how to take the fish off the hook. Hold the gills with your hand, make sure to hold it firmly, then use your other hand to slowly remove the hook, be careful not to prick your hand." The fishhook has no barbs, so it is not difficult to take it off. Tang Zhitong slowed down and demonstrated to his brother-in-law.

"Okay! I want to get the next fish myself!" Wang Jingmin asked as he watched Tang Zhitong put the fish into the bucket.

"No problem, put up the bait and continue." Tang Zhitong put his hand under his nose and sniffed, there was a fishy smell.

Although he was a half-baked cook, Tang Zhitong always felt that his hands were unclean because of the fishy smell. However, he couldn't wash his hands all the time, so he just shook his hands and planned to wash them after fishing.

I don’t know whether Tang Zhitong’s luck was too bad or Wang Jingmin’s luck was too good. Wang Jingmin had caught two fish, but there was no movement from Tang Zhitong.

As an old driver who relies on plug-ins, how can I stand this?

So in the next hour or so, Tang Zhitong began his performance and caught six or seven fish.

In order to make the performance more realistic, only three of the six or seven fish weighed more than one kilogram, and the remaining ones weighed less than half a kilogram.

Tang Zhitong did not just cheat himself, but in order to take care of his brother-in-law's feelings, he also "fed" him two fish.

The fish and shrimp that had just been torn into pieces were long gone, and Tang Zhitong had to tear apart another small fish he had caught to make up for the shortfall.

"Okay, let's go back?" Tang Zhitong looked at the watch. Before he knew it, it was already half past five.

"Brother-in-law, can we come again next week? If we do this once a week, our family will never lack meat." Wang Jingmin took a look at the fish flapping in the bucket and felt that he was a man now and was capable of solving the problem of supplementary food for his family.

"It depends on the time. The prerequisite is that I'm free." Tang Zhitong did not give his brother-in-law a definite answer. Now the ownership of this fishing rod belongs to Gao Dashan. He can't lend it to him every week, right?

Besides, fish is delicious, but it can't compare to the meat that flies in the sky or runs on the ground. Tang Zhitong was thinking about going out for a hunt on the weekend.

Tang Zhitong was annoyed by the fish fluttering around in the bucket, so after putting away his fishing rod and fishing line, he grabbed the energetic fish one by one and sent them on their way.

Tang Zhitong had heard from his medical classmates that they could quickly calm fish in an experiment, without any drugs, just a steel needle, piercing the spine and gently stirring it. The fishmongers were more violent, pressing the fish directly onto the chopping board and chopping them with a knife, and no fish survived the second cut of the fishmonger.

It's different for fishermen, some of them like the fish to be lively and jumping around so that they can show others that the fish is fresh. The deeper meaning is that the fish is not bought.

Some anglers only enjoy the process of fishing. When a big fish is hooked, they will directly use the tools at hand to smash the fish head, such as stones, bricks, stools, pliers, anything will do, they are not picky.

Tang Zhitong hit the fish with a stone, and with a "bang", the fish flew back to the west.

Wang Jingmin just watched, not afraid, but asked Tang Zhitong with great interest how to cook the fish to make it more delicious...

After processing the fish, Tang Zhitong washed his hands, picked up the bucket, and walked to the roadside with his brother-in-law.

"Hey, comrade, are you going to sell this fish? The price is negotiable." When he was fishing, no one came to disturb him, but now that he was on the road and there were more people coming and going, some people began to become greedy.

"No, we don't want to sell it. There are many people in our family. If we stew it at home, each person will only eat a few bites." Every household is short of side dishes. Tang Zhitong understands this very well, so he speaks very politely.

"Alas!" The man looked at the bucket Tang Zhitong had hung on the handlebars with regret, and asked, "Comrade, where did you fish just now?"

"Look, it's right below, there are two stones." Tang Zhitong patiently pointed out the direction.

"Okay, thank you, comrade." He knew what was good for him, so he thanked Tang Zhitong and hurriedly ran home to get his fishing rod.

It was already this late, the grain store and grocery store were about to close, there were not many customers outside, and the roads were not as congested as when I got here, so I could ride my bike through smoothly.

When they arrived at the entrance of Yaer Hutong, Tang Zhitong stopped, tapped the ground with one foot, and said to his brother-in-law who was carrying a fishing rod behind him: "I have a friend here. We caught a lot of fish. I'll go over and give him some fish. How about you come with me?"

"Okay..." Wang Jingmin agreed reluctantly.

Tang Zhitong heard his brother-in-law's reluctance earlier, but he had no intention of blaming him.

In this age of material scarcity, no child would be willing to share the food in his mouth, not even with his brothers!

The friend Tang Zhitong was referring to was Yan Xiongfei.

Someone just got me a wash basin two days ago, and I didn't spend a penny.

If this matter was just let go, even if Yan Xiongfei didn't find fault with him, Tang Zhitong would still feel uncomfortable.

Arriving at the yard where Yan Xiongfei lived, Tang Zhitong pushed the bicycle into the gate, asked Wang Jingmin to guard nearby, picked up the biggest fish, and walked in with it.

"Brother Yan, are you home?" Tang Zhitong looked at the smoke coming out of the chimney sticking out of the wall, knocked on the door, pushed it inside, and walked in.

"Hey, Xiao Tang, what a rare visitor!" Yan Xiongfei was resting today and was playing with his second child. He was very surprised to see Tang Zhitong, but when he saw the fish in his hand, he frowned again: "What are you doing? No matter what you say, I won't take it this time."

"Hello, sister-in-law." Facing Yan Xiongfei's complaints, Tang Zhitong ignored them and greeted Wang Huiru first, then touched Ningning's head who came over on her own initiative, and said to Yan Xiongfei: "Look at what Brother Yan said, can't I send some fish over to improve the food for my two nephews?"

"No, a fish like this costs several dollars. It's not easy to get one nowadays. You should take it back." This yard is right by the Houhai Lake. Wang Huiru chats with neighbors on weekdays and is very familiar with the price of fish. She refused before her husband.

"Sister-in-law, Brother Yan and I don't talk about money, it's vulgar!
I didn't buy this fish; I caught it myself.

I was lucky today and caught quite a few. I’ll share one with you.”

Tang Zhitong bent down and put the fish on the ground without saying anything. He knew the fish he had caught. This carp weighed nearly two kilograms and could still be sold for a few dollars.

"Xiao Tang, you don't have to take what happened the day before yesterday seriously. There's no such thing as us owing each other any favors. Just take care of your family first." Yan Xiongfei advised sincerely while bending down to get the fish while holding the child.

"Brother Yan, this is not a favor. This fish is a favor from me. If you don't keep it, you'll be slapping me in the face. Besides, I really didn't lie to you. There are still six or seven kilograms outside." Tang Zhitong first stopped Yan Xiongfei and helped him up. Seeing that he didn't believe it, he pointed outside and said confidently.

"Did you really catch so many?" Tang Zhitong had said this. Even though Yan Xiongfei was a little suspicious, he did not insist on not catching any more.

"Look at what Brother Yan said. I can cheat anyone else but I can't cheat you. Do you want to go out with me to take a look? This is the first time I've caught so many fish." Tang Zhitong leaned sideways, stretched out his hand, and let Yan Xiongfei check it.

"We can't leave it outside. What if someone steals it? Ningning, go out and bring it in for your Uncle Tang. We'll lend it to you and ask your Uncle Tang to stay at home for dinner today." Yan Xiongfei accepted the letter and made arrangements.

"No need, Brother Yan. My brother-in-law is waiting outside, and the whole family is waiting for me to go back for a snack. I have to go back. We'll get together next time." Tang Zhitong grabbed Yan Ningning, who was about to run out after hearing her father's order, and twisted his body and was about to go outside.

"Xiao Tang, listen to me and let your brother-in-law eat here with you. Let Ningning go and let him bring his uncle back." Wang Huiru echoed from the side.

"Hahaha, sister-in-law, then my brother-in-law is getting the upper hand. He is only about the same age as Ningning." Tang Zhitong ignored Yan Xiongfei and his wife's attempts to keep him, and said as he walked out.

Tang Zhitong insisted on leaving, and Yan Xiongfei's family had to see him off out of both moral and practical reasons. This time, they not only saw the brothers' fishing results, but also saw how great Wang Jingmin was.

The most miserable one was Yan Ningning, who was forced by her mother to hold her head and call Wang Jingmin "uncle".

Wang Jingmin blushed, and quietly tugged at Tang Zhitong, asking a very humane question: "Brother-in-law, do you want to give me New Year's money?"

Who doesn't like a humane person? Yan Xiongfei and Wang Huiru laughed after hearing this, but Yan Ningning felt offended and her face turned red.

"Sister-in-law, don't make things difficult for the child. Let's just talk about our own affairs." Tang Zhitong was not feudal at all. The two families had no relatives, so there was no seniority issue, and there was nothing wrong with letting them talk about their own affairs.

"Then I must be older than him, he has to call me brother!" Yan Ningning heard Tang Zhitong say this and shouted to try to turn the tables, but was hit on the head by her mother.

"Brother Yan, sister-in-law, you guys go back. I have to hurry back to cook." The children's little thoughts were very interesting. Tang Zhitong laughed, picked up the bicycle, and turned it around on the spot.

(End of this chapter)