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

Chapter 58 Catching River Eels

"Then we'll need to prepare more buckets to hold the fish!"

Lin Yi listened silently from the side, but couldn't help but pour cold water on their enthusiasm, "Fishing depends on God's blessing. It's not like you can catch as much as you want. The current is so strong now, the nets are not safe. You might end up not catching anything and just ruining the nets."

During floods, floating debris, wood, and branches are swept downstream along with the fish. Getting tangled in these things can be troublesome.

Chen Wenjun chuckled and said, "Dad! I'll get some bamboo poles to block it, so our fishing nets won't get damaged."

Lin Yi was curious about how Chen Wenjun operated it, so he decided to go and help.

After noon, the rain indeed subsided, and the water level of Nanxi rose at a visible speed.

Worried about Nanyu's condition, the couple quickly used their bamboo poles to go and check on him.

Upon arrival, it was discovered that the water level was still about 20 centimeters below the ground, and it had no impact on Nanyu.

The two men carried wooden planks to shield themselves from the rain and came to the island specifically to check the foundation.

The road leading to the homestead was all mud, wet and slippery, and the weeds on the side were all soaked in water. The two of them waded through the mud, and if they were not careful, they could do a split.

Chen Wenjun said with a serious expression, "Help me walk, don't fall."

Lin Qin didn't dare to be presumptuous and handed one hand to Chen Wenjun.

Chen Wenjun's strong and powerful arms supported her as she walked step by step toward the homestead.

The two breathed a sigh of relief once the foundation was in place.

Chen Wenjun stomped his foot on the cement ground several times, grinned, and said, "I was worried that the cement wouldn't dry after the heavy rain, but it didn't seem to have any effect!"

Lin Qin squatted down to examine it carefully and said, "Strictly speaking, the foundation was completed the day before yesterday, and yesterday was the finishing touch, when the ground was leveled. In this hot weather, the thin layer of cement slurry will dry completely in less than a day."

Alright! It seems Nanyu's terrain is quite high, at least we don't need to worry about flooding.

The two stood on the foundation and looked across the river. The terrain here was almost level with the road. Unless there was a super, super massive flood, they didn't have to worry about the water flooding their home at all.

If there really is such a big flood, the county town on the other side of the Nanxi River will probably be submerged as well.

And the fact that they can hide in the mountains shows that buying this island was definitely the right decision.

The couple returned to their fishing boat.

Chen Wenjun quickly fetched a bucket of water and first washed Lin Qin's legs and shoes clean. Watching the yellow mud being washed away in a few seconds was particularly relaxing.

Lin Qin chuckled and said, "I think we can go to a restaurant now and sell all the fish and shrimp. That way, we won't be stuck with any more fish we catch later."

Luckily, we had a lot of bags of cement left over from buying cement. We saved them all up, draped them over ourselves, put on a straw hat, and we were ready to go out.

Lin Yi said worriedly, "The rain hasn't stopped yet, and the restaurants might not even have any business. Why are you making such a fuss!"

Lin Qin persisted.

Chen Wenjun had no choice but to comply with her wishes and load all the fish, shrimp, and wild duck eggs onto the cart.

There aren't many people on the road on rainy days. These days, not many people drive, so you can push your bike right in the traffic lane and nobody cares.

The two waded through the water for an hour before finally arriving at the Guoxing Hotel.

Upon entering, I found the restaurant packed with customers, but each table only had two or three simple dishes.

Chen Wenjun ran to the kitchen. Zheng Guoxing was so excited when he saw him that he almost dropped the big iron ladle. "Good brother! You still came to deliver fish to me in this weather? I knew I didn't misjudge you!"

He ran outside excitedly as he spoke.

Seeing the things on the cart, he couldn't stop smiling. "Great! I'm saved! You guys are my saviors!"

"Boss Zheng, what are you saying?" Lin Qin asked with a forced smile, her eyes filled with confusion.

Chen Wenjun also found it inexplicable.

Zheng Guoxing gestured with his chin, pointed at the customers in the store, and said in a low voice, "On rainy days, several canteens said they couldn't buy any vegetables. They either didn't cook or there wasn't enough to eat. Everyone braved the rain to come out. I haven't stopped since 10 o'clock. Fortunately, there are still some fish and shrimp left from the ones you delivered yesterday afternoon. Customers who come before 11:30 can still get some to eat."

After 11:30, all I could cook was scrambled eggs with tomatoes, taro rice, sweet potato porridge, and pickled vegetables! I was even down to half a box of tomatoes. Sending you all this was a lifesaver! What do you have today?

Lin Qin quickly pointed to the buckets and said, "There are thirty-eight bamboo shoots, seven grass carp, nine silver carp, four bighead carp, and quite a few crucian carp, but they are not very big, each one probably weighs only three or four ounces. There are also quite a few carp, I caught a whole basket of snails, and there are about fifty pounds of river shrimp! There are also more than half a bucket of wild duck eggs."

Some of these fish were caught using fish traps. We don't dare use fish traps in this weather, and we don't know if we'll have a similar catch tomorrow.

Zheng Guoxing breathed a sigh of relief, grinned, and helped carry the things inside, saying, "We'll talk about tomorrow's problems tomorrow. This is enough for me today!"

As soon as he entered the restaurant lobby, he shouted at the top of his lungs, "Fresh crucian carp, carp, grass carp, silver carp, bighead carp, bamboo shoots, and snails, all just arrived! Shrimp cakes are ready to be fried too. What do you want to eat? Order now!"

The drowsy diners instantly perked up, with almost every table ordering a plate of river snails, several tables specifically requesting bamboo shoot and fish tofu soup, and others ordering steamed fish in soy sauce.

Chen Wenjun and Lin Qin moved all the items to the back kitchen and called a waiter over to help weigh and record them.

After the statistics were completed, Chen Wenjun approached Zheng Guoxing and asked, "Take a look and see if this number and price are correct."

Zheng Guoxing glanced at it only once and immediately told the waiter to go to the cashier to get the money for Chen Wenjun.

Seeing that Chen Wenjun was about to leave, Zheng Guoxing quickly reminded him, "If you catch anything good, remember to send it to me first. My brother-in-law's birthday is the day after tomorrow, and he wants to have three tables here. He needs a few main dishes, and fish is a must."

Chen Wenjun and Lin Qin exchanged a glance, their faces lighting up with joy, and Chen readily agreed.

The two took the money and left the restaurant, only to find that it was just drizzling outside. They figured they could hurry back and row a boat to catch the nets.

Many Tanka people share the same idea as the two of them.

When they returned to Nanxi, they found a group of fishing boats heading upstream.

Chen Wenjun, disregarding his own meal, also used his bamboo pole to keep up, trying to avoid areas with many fishing boats.

Halfway there, they encountered Chen Yongding's fishing boat, and Chen Wenjun greeted them.

Seeing the fishing net on the deck, Zhou Shuifang said enviously, "The net will definitely have a bumper harvest later!"

"Thank you for your kind words, Auntie!" Chen Wenjun grinned and strained even harder on the bamboo pole.

The couple found a spot with a fast-flowing current, where no one had set up fishing nets yet.

Chen Wenjun quickly took down several long bamboo poles from the boat, threaded them onto the fishing net, and pieced them together.

Two bamboo poles touch the bottom, and a long bamboo pole on each side and in the middle is deeply embedded in the river to secure the fishing net.

After the fishing net was set up, Chen Wenjun moved the remaining bamboo poles to a distance of about one meter in front of the net and secured them.

Bamboo poles can hold back large logs and branches. He sets fish traps nearby, and if he finds large debris stuck there, he goes over to clear it away in time. Other small debris won't have much of an impact even if it gets into the fishing net.

(End of this chapter)