American Farmers: Facing a Cutoff at the Start

At this moment, the cast iron pot hanging on the tripod also boiled, making the lid rattle loudly.

Fett lifted the lid, and a plume of white steam rose into the air, appearing especially warm and inviting in the cold wilderness.

He rummaged through Leila's yellow backpack, took out two Lipton tea bags from the side pocket, threw them into a cup, and prepared to make two cups of hot tea to warm himself up.

suddenly!

Suddenly, a chilling sound of ice cracking came from the riverbank, followed by a loud splash.

Fett's heart skipped a beat, and he looked up abruptly.

Just a dozen meters away on the riverbank, Leila had somehow jumped into the shallow water near the shore.

The murky, icy river water reached above her calves, and the thin ice on the bank was shattered under her feet, with white ice shards floating on the murky surface.

She was gripping a large fish that was still struggling to swim and had a bluish-black sheen. She was so strained that she was tilted backward and almost fell into the water!

"Lyra!"

Fett threw down his teacup and rushed towards the river!

Leila, however, seemed completely oblivious to the cold. She clutched the large fish tightly to her chest and waded through the muddy water towards the shore, her face glistening with water droplets, but she smiled like a child who had received candy.

"Fett! Look! I caught one! It's a huge black bass!"

Fett rushed over, pulled her ashore, looked her up and down to make sure she wasn't hurt, and then breathed a sigh of relief. Immediately, a surge of anger rose within him:

"What are you doing! Why did you jump into the water for a fish?!"

"It's so cold! What if they get frostbite!"

Leila wrung out the water from her trousers, proudly swinging the three-pound bass in her hand, laughing carefree:

"I said I'd let you eat fish, and I meant it! This time, I didn't let it get away!"

Seeing her hands, red from the cold, and her trouser legs still dripping wet, Fett didn't bother to complain. He snatched the fish from her hand, threw it on the grass, and pulled her towards the camp.

Back by the fire, Fett pressed her down onto the warm wool bed:

"Sit down! Take off your shoes and socks!"

Leila plopped down, feeling the softness and comfort of the pine branches and wool blanket beneath her, and couldn't help but exclaim in amazement:

"Wow! Fett, you're amazing! You've made the campsite so nice in such a short time! It's even more comfortable than the sofa at home, like a little nest."

Fett didn't respond. With a gloomy face, he knelt down in front of her, helped her untie her muddy shoelaces, and took off her soaking wet boots and socks.

Leila's once fair feet were now frozen solid, like two blocks of ice, with a bluish-purple tinge and a chilly feel.

Fett shoved the freshly brewed hot black tea into her hand:

"Have a sip of hot tea to warm yourself up first."

He looked up at Leila, his tone serious:

"Why didn't you call me to help net the fish when you caught it? It's too dangerous to go into the water and catch it yourself!"

"What if you slip and fall into the deep water? You're wearing such thick clothes, you won't be able to swim back!"

Layla, holding the hot tea, glanced cautiously at Fett's expression, afraid he might be truly angry. She shrank back slightly and explained in a low voice:

"I...I was just afraid that shouting would scare the fish away!"

"And last time, the line was cut by the ice because it was dragged on for too long."

"This time I saw it swim to the shallow water area, and the water wasn't deep near the shore, so I didn't think much of it..."

Please forgive me~~

Fett sighed, looking at her pitiful expression, and couldn't bring himself to really blame her.

He placed Leila's soaking wet shoes and socks on a rock by the fire to dry them, unzipped his dark blue windbreaker, unbuttoned his shirt, and tucked Leila's icy little feet directly into his warm embrace, close to her thermal underwear.

"Ugh—"

The sudden warmth made Leila gasp softly, her toes curling slightly.

"So comfortable..."

She squinted contentedly, her feet shifting restlessly in Fett's arms, as if trying to find a more comfortable position.

Fett pressed down on her ankle, glared at her irritably, but his tone softened:

"Alright, stop moving. If you move again, I'll throw you in the water."

He warmed her feet for a while, and when he felt that her little feet had finally regained their temperature, he took them out and wrapped them in a wool blanket.

"Just stay put by the fire and don't wander off again."

Fett stood up and glanced at the large fish still hopping around on the grass:

"I'll cook this fish."

"Oh~"

Leila, wrapped in a blanket, looked at him with wide, curious eyes.

"Fett, you can cook? I remember you used to burn even when you fried an egg?"

"The past is the past, the present is the present." Fett pulled a kitchen knife wrapped in old newspaper from the side pocket of his backpack, smiled confidently, and said, "Just wait and see!"

He carried the knife and walked to the riverbank.

This black bass was as long as a forearm, with a bluish-black back and silvery sides. Its large mouth opened and closed, still making its last struggle.

Fett crouched down, grabbed the fish's gills with his left thumb, and pressed the fish onto a smooth, flat rock that had been washed by the river.

Hold the kitchen knife in reverse with your right hand and slam the blade against the fish's head.

"Snapped!"

The fish twitched for a moment, then stopped struggling.

He used the back of his knife against the fish's tail and gently pushed against the scales.

A cold glint flashed from the mirror-polished blade.

"Snap, snap."

As the blade passed, the hard fish scales bounced off without damaging the fish skin in the slightest.

This kitchen knife has an excellent center of gravity, and it feels so light in the hand that it's almost invisible. The smoothness brought by its sharpness made him handle this big thing as if he were a master butcher carving up an ox.

After scraping off the scales, Fet gently taps the fish's belly with the tip of his knife at the vent, making a neat incision upwards all the way to the lower edge of the gills.

He reached in and pulled out the fish's internal organs, then casually picked out the white fish bladder and tossed it onto a nearby rock.

This stuff has a soft and tender texture when stewed; it's the essence of the fish, so it's a shame to throw it away.

As for the other gallbladders and intestines, they were simply tossed into the water.

The knife tip probed into the gill cover, twisted along the semi-circular arc, severed the connection, then hooked the bright red gill with a finger and pulled hard, pulling out the throat bone along with it.

Make another cut at the head and tail of the fish and pull out the white fishy line.

After rinsing away the blood in the icy river water, it only took less than two minutes to prepare a clean and firm bass.

When Fett returned to the camp with the fish, he saw that Leila had wrapped herself up even tighter, curled up in a wool blanket like a meditating Guanyin, with only half of her upper body showing.

"Are you cold?"

Fett put the fish down:

"Then I'll add some more firewood and make the fire bigger."

Leila shook her head, her face as red as a ripe apple.

She hesitated for a long time before finally sticking a hand out from under the blanket, clutching a pair of wet waterproof pants, and handing them to Fett:

"F...Fett, could you hang my pants up to dry them in the sun?"

Fett was taken aback, and instinctively took the pants.

Layer upon layer of thermal pants, wool pants, and waterproof pants, they feel cold and heavy to the touch.

His gaze swept over the blanket that Leila was wrapped tightly in. So you mean?

Underneath this blanket...

"What are you looking at!"

Laila noticed his gaze, and filled with shame and anger, she pulled the blanket up to cover half her face, leaving only her large, indignant eyes glaring at him:

"Fate!!"

"Hurry up and cook! We're starving!"