Back to 1984: Earning Money, Raising Kids, and Keeping the Household Busy

Chapter 25: Good Luck
Lin Qin could tell from Chen Wenjun's eloquent speech that he had already planned ahead and taken into account all the follow-up matters.

In this way, she really doesn't need to worry about it.

After the two finished talking outside, they went into the cabin and told Lin Yi about the situation on the deserted island.

Lin Yi had spent his entire life farming and had a deep attachment to the land. Upon hearing that there were dozens of acres of land on the island that could be reclaimed, he didn't say anything at first, but simply asked, "How much would it cost to buy this deserted island?"

Chen Wenjun honestly shook his head, "I'll fish for the next couple of days, and when I have some free time I'll go to the city to sell the fish and then inquire at the Land and Resources Bureau."

In his past life, he would avoid government offices and institutions. In this life, he has been to the police station several times. There is no place he dares not go.

When Chen Wenjun was about to go down into the cage, Lin Qin lent him a hand, and the two worked together seamlessly.

Lin Yi watched this with a sense of awe.

Chen Wenjun's fish traps can only catch small fish, shrimp, and crabs. If he's lucky, some small fish like snakehead fish and eels might get in, but not many.

Catching big fish can only be done by fishing, and catching valuable snakehead fish requires even more skill.

We need to use a fishing net with clips.

The so-called clamp fishing net consists of two bamboo poles, each three or four meters long, and a crescent-shaped net. Each end of the net has a rope, one or two meters long, connecting the tops of the two bamboo poles.

The opening of the fishing net is fitted with a float on one half and a sinker on the other. When using it, hold both rods, with the bottom of the bamboo rods resting on a wooden board (with grooves) tied to your abdomen. Then, turn your body slightly to the left, making the bamboo rods form a V-shape, and then gently cast it straight forward. The fishing net will fall steadily into the water due to inertia.

The sinker descends rapidly, and while dragging it, the bamboo pole is used to strike the water, driving the fish into the net. Startled, the fish dart about in all directions. Then, the bottom of the bamboo pole is braced against the groove, the body leans back, and both hands grip the pole tightly, pulling it up quickly. A splash is heard as the fish, now in the net, struggle and thrash about.

This method can be used to catch bamboo shoot fish hiding in the crevices of rocks.

After Chen Wenjun set up the fish trap, he actually planned to use the fishing net to catch bamboo shoots.

Lin Qin couldn't figure out how to do this, so she asked, "Where's the fishing rod? Get me some earthworms, I want to fish."

In her past life, this was how she passed the time on the boat. However, she was unlucky and usually only caught a few palm-sized carp or crucian carp after a whole day.

She often heard stories of people catching huge fish weighing dozens of kilograms in Nanxi, but she thought it was all nonsense. She had never seen one, or rather, the god of fortune had never smiled upon her in her past life.

Upon hearing this, Lin Yi looked for a fishing rod for her while advising, "Just treat it as a game, don't get carried away, or you'll end up frustrated."

"You're making fun of me!" Lin Qin glared angrily.

Lin Yi immediately shut up and obediently prepared things for her.

Lin Yi, who was in the cabin, was very worried. "Girl, are you sure you can handle this? I've never seen you fish in my life. If you can't, don't bother. You'll just break all of Wenjun's things!"

Even a poor family can be worth a fortune; in Lin Yi's eyes, even a piece of broken copper or scrap iron is a treasure.

"Dad! You're just like Wenjun! This time I really have to show you what I'm capable of!" Lin Qin clenched her fists fiercely.

Chen Wenjun shook his head secretly, not daring to say anything more.

They quickly disembarked with their fishing nets and buckets.

He was catching fish not far away, and everyone could see what he was doing, so he wasn't worried about anything happening.

Lin Qin glanced at Chen Wenjun as he walked away and secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She always felt inexplicably nervous when that guy was around, but she calmed down as soon as he left.

The first step in fishing is to bait the hook.

Seeing the wriggling earthworms, Lin Qin didn't even flinch. She twisted them off, hooked them, and cast the bait—all in one smooth motion.

At that moment, she felt incredibly strong.

The two children were intimidated by Lin Qin's imposing presence and climbed out of the cabin to sit beside her, whispering among themselves. "Brother Ping An, my mom is amazing," Liu Yaya said, her eyes filled with admiration and respect for Lin Qin.

Chen Ping'an nodded earnestly, "Auntie is amazing!"

Lin Qin: "."

What should I do? With two kids watching like this, the pressure is immense. What if I don't catch anything? Wouldn't that be incredibly embarrassing?

Lin Qin was filled with anxiety. Just then, Chen Ping'an suddenly pointed excitedly at the water and said in a low voice, trying to contain himself, "Auntie, the fish has taken the bait."

Lin Qin looked closely and it really was! Her heart, which had been hanging in suspense, inexplicably relaxed, and she quickly pulled the rod.

Unexpectedly, the underwater object suddenly exerted force, almost causing her to lose her grip.

Lin Qin quickly gripped the fishing rod tightly and shouted excitedly, "It's a big fish! It's got some strength! Ping An, get the net, I'm worried the line isn't strong enough!"

Although Chen Ping'an was paralyzed on one side, with his limbs on one side not functioning properly, the other side was normal. Because he used his other side of his limbs for a long time, his posture looked strange, but he was not slow. He quickly delivered the net to Lin Qin.

Lin Qin held the fishing rod with one hand and played the fish until it was almost out of the water. She immediately put down the net to make sure the big fish was in the net. She then handed the fishing rod to the two children, held the net with both hands, and hauled the big fish onto the boat.

At this moment, Lin Yi was also attracted by the noise and carefully moved over. When he saw the big fish, he immediately gasped, "Good heavens! It's a fathead! I reckon it weighs four or five pounds! Good job, girl! You caught a big fish as soon as you got on the boat, what a good omen!"

The old man believed in this, and Lin Yi laughed heartily.

Chen Ping'an had already shouted at Chen Wenjun to come back.

Lin Qin was even more excited than they were, but she didn't show it.

When Chen Wenjun boarded the ship and saw the fat man, he gave Lin Qin a thumbs up and said, "Your bad luck from your past life has all run out, and good luck has arrived!"

"Get out of here!" Lin Qin snorted haughtily and continued to focus on fishing.

Chen Wenjun watched with a smile for a while, and was completely surprised when he saw another fish take the bait.

Although this time the fish caught was a crucian carp weighing seven or eight ounces, it was still incredibly impressive compared to Lin Qin's previous achievements.

Chen Wenjun patted Lin Qin on the shoulder with satisfaction, "Keep up the good work!"

After saying that, he got off the boat again to catch fish.

Lin Qin stayed at this "auspicious spot" and fished until dark before packing up.

We caught seven or eight crucian carp, five or six carp, and a big fathead carp.

Chen Wenjun also caught more than a dozen bamboo shoot fish.

This surprised Lin Qin greatly.

"Are snakehead fish really that easy to catch?"

Chen Wenjun shook his head. "It's not that bamboo shoots are easy to catch, it's just that I've been lucky lately. It seems like I always have a good catch every time I try to catch fish. No, it's not just me, you're the same."

The two looked at each other, instantly understanding what was going on, but said nothing.

It is said that those who live near mountains eat from the mountains and those who live near water eat from the water. On the fishing boat, they eat things from the water, such as snails in soy sauce water, small fish in soy sauce water, and everything can be made into soy sauce water.

Besides this, there are only pickled vegetables.

Such a meal was considered quite lavish in those days.

(End of this chapter)