Back to my 1980s

As the small wooden boat slowly sailed away from the shore, the oars cut through the cool river surface, and the outline of Shuanghuai Village gradually became blurred.

The river beneath the boat is called the Qinghe River. Its source is on the summit of a very, very distant mountain. It started as a spring, and the spring water flowed underground to the foot of the mountain, forming a stream less than a meter wide.

Along the way, mountain streams, brooks, rivers, and groundwater continuously join in, making it wider and larger as it travels. In the middle reaches, it becomes a river, and in the lower reaches, it becomes a wide river. Eventually, half of it flows into the Yangtze River and the other half into the Yellow River.

It's amazing...

Although the stream beside Shuanghuai Village is only a tributary, it is still over 600 meters wide, and in open areas it is nearly 800 meters wide. Looking out, the water is vast and misty, and the opposite bank cannot be seen at a glance because there are several long river islands in the middle of the river. These islands are covered with weeds and reeds, which obstruct the view and make it impossible to see clearly...

However, a waterway has been artificially opened for ships to navigate between the two banks, and people and ships on the opposite bank can still be barely seen from the dock.

Zhao Hua steered the boat toward a sparsely populated area. The riverbank was overgrown with weeds, some of which were taller than his knees.

The morning breeze is slightly alluring...

Surrounded by complete darkness, Zhao Hua really wanted to calm down and enjoy the feeling of absolute silence, if it weren't for the gusts of cold wind that were biting straight to his head...

Half an hour later, Zhao Hua approached a river island and dropped the fish traps one by one into the water along the island.

After setting the traps, they didn't rush to cast the nets. Instead, they rowed the small boat around the river island and found a shallow spot where it was easy to get a foothold before mooring to shore.

They tied the boat to a large rock on the shore, jumped off, and climbed onto the island in the middle of the river. It was a bit steep, but only about a person's height, and they climbed up in no time.

I was curious about what was on the trap when I first set it up. I'd never been to this place before, and since I was already here, I felt itchy to take a look.

Looking left and right, the surface was quite flat after I climbed up. I unzipped my pants to relieve myself, and urinated as I walked. After I finished, I shook myself off, fastened my belt, and dodged to the side to avoid the holy water before continuing on. After walking a few steps, I discovered that there were still traces of people living there.

A simple wooden hut built from a few pieces of wood, though it looked a bit rotten.

It was still a while before dawn, and the surroundings were still shrouded in a gray haze. Zhao Hua stood there for a moment, stunned, when suddenly a flash of inspiration struck him, and he shuddered.

Being alone in a quiet place already feels a bit unsettling, especially when it's still dark and my mind is wandering a bit.

Although I grew up in a privileged environment, there are many things in this world that are hard to explain, such as how I was given a second chance.

Thinking this, Zhao Hua quickly turned around and went back to the boat. He decided to wait until dawn to satisfy his curiosity; he just wanted to go fishing, there was no need to cause such a big mess…

Zhao Hua pulled back the rope, propelled the boat, and temporarily left the desolate island. Only when he returned to the center of the river did he feel somewhat safe. He looked back again, pursed his lips, and thought to himself, "When I'm alone, I always tend to overthink things..."

After moving away from the waters where he had previously set the fish traps, and making sure that casting nets around the area wouldn't affect the catch from the traps, Zhao Hua stopped, tidied up the fishing nets, and began casting them.

They didn't set off for Shuanghuai Village until it was almost lunchtime.

The worthless IOUs were casually tossed into the cabin; the smaller ones were released, leaving only the larger ones behind.

We caught thirty or forty crucian carp, seven or eight of which weighed over half a pound. We also caught a few catfish, black carp, and catfish. There wasn't anything particularly rare today.

Upon arriving at Shuanghuai Village, we moored the boat and headed straight to the dock for purchasing. We sorted the items briefly and weighed them one by one.

There are more crucian carp. Small crucian carp are 3 mao per jin, and those weighing more than half a jin are 5 mao per jin.

The crucian carp sold for five yuan and fifty cents, and the remaining miscellaneous items sold for two yuan, for a total of seven yuan and fifty cents.

With the money from selling the fish in his pocket, Zhao Hua returned to the boat, scooped the remaining small fish from the hold into a bucket, and tidied up the fishing net, preparing to take them all home.

I walked and thought about it the whole way. It was really boring to be alone. Hiring someone to do the work wasn't worth it. Asking friends for help was not a good idea, as I didn't know how much to give them.

As I was thinking, I saw my own yard. The group of children who usually played around the gate were not there; they must have all gone home for dinner.

"I knew the sun was high in the sky and you should be back by now. I was just about to go to the dock to see if you were back." As soon as Zhao's mother saw Zhao Hua, she rushed to greet him.

Zhao Hua poured the small fish into the basin of water in the yard and replied, "I'm not a child. I'll naturally come back to eat when it's mealtime. I'll starve if I stay out all the time. Why do I need you to watch over me?"

Zhao's mother followed behind with a smile and said, "How could I be so at ease on my first visit?"

He then asked, "How was it today? Why are there only some small fry?"

"The bigger ones were sold at the purchasing points, and the smaller ones were kept at home to eat."

Zhao's mother then asked, "What time did you leave this morning? I got up early to call you, but there was no one in the house."

"It was still dark then, Mother, I want to discuss something with you."

Zhao's mother was startled by what she heard and looked at Zhao Hua in front of her: "What is it? Do we need to discuss it?" She thought Zhao Hua was up to something again.

Zhao Hua paused, then looked at his mother speechlessly: "Mother, why are you reacting so strongly? I just wanted to discuss with you whether I can bring my little sister along in the future."

"If you want to take her, then take her. You don't see her often at home anyway," Zhao's mother readily agreed.

When Zhao Ru heard that she was also involved and that she was to be taken along, she got excited and tried to crawl out of the house to ask if it was true. However, she stopped halfway through and turned back.

Is going to the river to play the same as going to work? Going to play is fine, but going to work is a no-go. Moving and lifting things is exhausting, and if you're slow, you might get yelled at. I don't know what got into me before I insisted on going.

The more Zhao Ru thought about it, the more she realized it made sense, and she felt that she was becoming smarter and smarter.

Seeing Zhao Ru's reaction, Zhao Hua quickly realized what was going on. He left his mother and went to his younger sister's side, asking in a low voice, "Do you remember the money you got from that mandarin fish?"

Zhao Ru panicked upon hearing this. Did she think she had to ask for the money back if she didn't go? Why should she? That was money she earned through her own hard work!

Before Zhao Ru could speak, Zhao Hua continued, "I sold the fish I caught this morning for seven yuan and fifty cents. You come with me, and I'll give you the change from the sales." The boat is his, and the tools are his, so it's perfectly reasonable for him to take the lion's share!

Zhao Ru couldn't hold back her laughter any longer. She pursed her lips, then pursed them again, and finally burst out laughing.

Dockworkers toil away all day for just over a dollar! And they don't even get work every day! They don't get paid for working at home! Thinking about it makes it all the better.

Seeing Zhao Ru's fluctuating moods, Zhao's mother knew that the little girl had been dealt with. She felt a bit tired, wondering who she took after to be so naive.

She rolled her eyes inwardly and shouted, "Go call your dad back for dinner! The young ones are such a worry! And the old ones are even more of a worry! He lost him while watching cards! He's such a grown man, how can he just stand there and not come back!"