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

Chapter 28 Night Fishing
Lin Yi curled his lip, "What luck! One big fathead fish a day! And it was a kid who caught it! I've lived most of my life and I've never caught such a big fish!"

If you ask him to believe in luck, he'd rather believe that he's just overweight and, after living for decades, he's not even as good as a child, something he'd find shameful to admit.

The two children were so happy they danced with joy.

Liu Yaya was about to loudly announce the good news to Chen Wenjun when Lin Qin stopped her, saying, "Don't shout it from everywhere. What if people find out we caught a big fish and try to steal it?"

Liu Yaya was startled and quickly covered her mouth, shaking her head frantically, "I won't say it, I won't say it!"

The little fish amused Lin Qin. She put the bighead carp back into the bucket, covered it with the wooden basin, and asked, "Want to play some more?"

"Yes! Yes, yes, yes!" The little guy nodded emphatically.

Lin Qin quickly helped her tidy up the fishing line and put on the bait.

He then followed suit and cast his line.

This time, Lin Qin made the first move, pulling up a river eel weighing about eight ounces. Lin Yi didn't look closely and thought it was a spicy worm, and his face turned pale.

Lin Qin almost threw her fishing rod away.

Lin Qin burst into laughter, "Dad! It's river eel, it sells for two yuan and fifty cents a pound!"

Lin Yi rubbed his eyes, and after seeing clearly, he sat back down with relief. "Young people still have better eyesight. Dad's eyesight isn't what it used to be!"

Lin Qin didn't contradict him; she moved the river eel to another bucket and continued fishing.

At this moment, Liu Yaya's fishing rod also started to move.

Having learned from her previous experience, Lin Qin decisively stepped in to help this time, and as soon as she pulled the rod, she knew it was another big fish.

Without saying a word, I went to the plagiarism net.

When they pulled it out, they found it was a silver carp, estimated to weigh about three pounds.

At first glance, silver carp looks a bit like bighead carp, but it is lighter in color, more brownish. Large silver carp heads are also very fragrant when stewed with tofu.

Looking at Liu Yaya's harvest, Lin Yi was itching to try it himself. "Girl, let me try it too."

Lin Qin refused without even thinking, "Dad, stop joking. Your ribs haven't healed yet. It would be troublesome if you accidentally injured them again. Anyway, we're on a fishing boat, so we can go fishing whenever we want. We'll talk about it when you're better."

Lin Yi was quite disappointed, but he didn't insist any further.

Lin Qin thought that Liu Yaya had caught about two big fish, but she didn't expect that the girl was blessed with good luck. Every time she cast her line, she caught a fish weighing more than three pounds. Just as Lin Yi said, big fish were everywhere, otherwise she wouldn't have had such a harvest.

Worried about the children's safety, Lin Qin put away her fishing rod and fished specifically for Liu Yaya and Chen Ping'an.

As evening fell, Chen Wenjun boarded the ship, and Chen Ping'an immediately reported the day's achievements with great excitement.

"Daddy, Yaya is so amazing! She caught so many big fish!"

"How big is the big fish you're talking about?" Chen Wenjun coaxed the child, picking out today's catch and counting it carefully.

"I caught thirteen bamboo shoots and a turtle weighing over two pounds. The supply and marketing cooperative sells them for 2.2 yuan a pound. They're not always available, so they sell well even without a price reduction. I also picked up a bucket of river snails. The snail meat is starting to get plump right now, and I see a lot of elderly people and children from the village coming to collect them."

This is a sign that summer is just around the corner.

Liu Yaya was eager to try, but secretly glanced at Lin Qin and didn't dare to speak.

Lin Qin knew what she was thinking but didn't expose her. Instead, she said to Chen Wenjun, "It'll really get hot in another half month. Ping An's hair needs a cut, and their clothes are all too small. I'm thinking of buying some fabric to make them some new clothes." After saying that, she remembered Lin Yi, "Dad! Did you bring your summer clothes on the ship? Why don't I just make you a couple of outfits too?"

Lin Yi immediately refused, "Why waste that money? If you didn't bring it, just go back and get it. You still need to save money to buy land, so be careful!"

He gets distressed whenever money is mentioned. It's fine with the kids, but he's almost in his grave, why would he need new clothes?
Lin Qin didn't argue with him.

Chen Wenjun, who was standing to the side, said, "You should also make yourself a couple of sets of clothes."

Lin Yishen agreed, his eyes slightly reddening. "You've lived like a complete wretch in the Liu family all these years. You need to make yourself a couple of new clothes to get rid of the bad luck!"

"Let's make money first, then we'll talk about other things!" Lin Qin changed the subject.

After finishing his own tasks, Chen Wenjun went to check on the children's catch. Seeing the large fish in the three buckets, he exclaimed in surprise. He counted them carefully and gasped, "My God! Three bighead carp, four silver carp, two black carp, and also some crucian carp and eels! Wow! This catch is even better than what the old fishermen make!"

Lin Qin pointed at Liu Yaya, "Don't look down on me, these were all caught by the kids. I just figured out, these fish can sell for a lot of money!"

“That’s right! I think it’s still early. Let’s light a kerosene lamp tonight and cast our lines to catch more. We can go to Xiatian Market Street again tomorrow,” Chen Wenjun said thoughtfully, stroking his chin.

His usual practice is to save up the fish he catches for a few days, and then sell them all at once when he has accumulated enough.

Although there are fewer fish today than yesterday, most of them are large fish, which are valuable and easy to sell. They can fetch a good price while the fish are still fresh.

Lin Qin thought so too. She had been so busy taking care of her child today that she hadn't fished much herself. Whether her luck was temporary or permanent remained to be seen.

The two quickly prepared dinner, and after the children finished eating and rested for a while, Lin Qin took them to the back cabin to make up their beds and sleep.

The two little ones were exhausted from playing all day, and they practically fell asleep the moment their heads hit the pillow.

Lin Qin waited until they were sound asleep before going out. As she passed by Lin Yi, she deliberately lowered her voice and instructed him, "Dad, Wenjun and I are going fishing for a while longer. You go to sleep first, and call me if the children wake up."

"Go ahead!" Lin Yi moved aside to let Lin Qin go over.

When Lin Qin got to the deck, she found that the boat was far away from the riverbank and surrounded by water.

Chen Wenjun lit the kerosene lamp, hung it on the side of the fishing boat, and threw in some crushed apple snails.

This stuff has a really strong fishy smell and can be used as bait.

After pouring the golden apple snails into the water, Chen Wenjun took out his fishing rod and earthworms, and squatted on the deck to work at a leisurely pace.

A gentle river breeze made people drowsy.

Lin Qin leaned against the cabin and casually took the fishing rod that Chen Wenjun handed her. Seeing that there was already bait on it, she immediately cast the line.

She couldn't see the surface of the water clearly in the darkness, but she immediately perked up when she noticed something unusual about the fishing line. "It's on the hook! It's on the hook! And it's a big one!"

Chen Wenjun immediately went over to help. He was clearly more efficient than Lin Qin, holding the fishing rod in one hand and the landing net in the other, without being busy or flustered.

Lin Qin couldn't see clearly underwater, but after a while she saw Chen Wenjun bring up the net. By the light of the kerosene lamp, the two of them could see the big, jumping fish—it was another fathead! It weighed another five or six pounds.

Chen Wenjun grinned from ear to ear and handed over his fishing rod, saying, "Here, have some. I'll catch this fish first."

We have to handle this big fish carefully. If we let it slip away, it will fall back into the river in no time, and all our efforts will be for nothing.

(End of this chapter)