Back to my 1980s

Qinghe.

On the edge of a desolate island.

The small boat glided towards the willow shade on the shore, gently docked, and Zhao Hua leaped ashore, tying the rope to a rock.

It's not yet the hottest time of July, but it's still quite a sight. There's a layer of cool, damp air floating on the river, and when the wind blows, it's much better than the riverbank.

Zhao Ru leaned against the gunwale, stretching out her body to gently splash the river water.

"Stop playing around, get to work!"

"Huh?" She looked up and around. "Brother? Are you casting a net here? I think the water's shallow; there shouldn't be anything there, right?"

"Then you're wrong. In our village, people can catch a lot of fish just by casting nets on the riverbank. Nobody comes here all year round, so who knows how many big fish that have been growing for many years are hidden here." Zhao Hua bent down and picked up the net from the bow of the boat to tidy it up on the bank.

"But didn't you say there are a lot of dead branches and leaves here, making it easy for things to get caught on the ground?"

He looked out at the river, where the emerald green water met the lush trees on the opposite bank, and the faint scent of aquatic plants lingered in the air. He narrowed his eyes slightly and smiled, "I'll just go into the water and walk a little further towards the center of the river."

"Oh, you don't need a boat? Then I'll tie it up more securely."

She got up and jumped off the boat, found a thick tree branch on the bank, and forcefully inserted it diagonally into the soft mud of the riverbank. After testing its sturdiness, she pulled the rope over and tied it firmly to the fork. She then subconsciously glanced at the boats moored on the water.

After securing the ropes, Zhao Ru returned to the boat, picked up a bucket, and followed Zhao Hua along the shore.

He swaggered ahead, casting his net, casually patted his pocket, and suddenly exclaimed, "Holy crap!!!"

Zhao Ru was startled and quickly chased after him, asking, "What's wrong? Did you forget something important?"

"I didn't bring any cigarettes!!!" He squeezed the pockets on both sides again carefully.

"..." Zhao Ru slumped her shoulders and gave a speechless "oh".

"Go wait under the shade of the tree over there, and give me the bucket." He waved behind him.

"What do you need the bucket for?" Zhao Ru asked, somewhat puzzled, and handed the bucket to Zhao Hua as instructed.

He walked into the river, tilted the bucket and submerged it, filling it about halfway with water. He handed it to Zhao Ru and said, "I'll fill it with some water. You can take the bucket and hide under the shade of a tree later, otherwise I'm worried the fish will die from the sun."

"Oh." Zhao Ru took the bucket, glanced back at the shade behind her, and moved the bucket to the shade of the treetop, not daring to get too close to the roots.

Seeing that Zhao Ru had already avoided the sunlight, he slowly waded towards the center of the river, stopping after the icy water soaked his calves.

He shook the fishing net in his hand, bent down and took a step forward, stomping hard on the mud beneath his feet. With a little force, he threw the fishing net hard into the deep water in front of him.

With a splash, the fishing net entered the water. He and Zhao Ru watched as the net sank into the water. The current was a bit fast today, so they waited a little longer. He felt the net rope in his hand being pulled slightly by the current, and he slowly pulled the net rope back.

The net rope in his hand only felt heavy and dragging, without the faint jolt he used to feel after hooking a fish. Zhao Hua was somewhat disappointed and sighed to himself that there were still fewer fish near the riverbank than in the deeper parts of the river.

He listlessly pulled in the net rope, looked around, and felt the river wind rustling the reeds on the barren islet.

Just as the fishing net was about to be pulled out of the water, the rope in my hand suddenly sank, water splashed up, and a bright white light shone in the net.

"Wow! Bro! There really are fish on the shore! I thought you were bragging!" Zhao Ru jogged over and stood on the shore, her eyes gleaming with gold—they were practically real money! Having been to the market once before, she felt a special connection to these fish!

Zhao Hua hadn't expected the fish to play dead with him, only thrashing about when they reached the surface. He quickly roused himself, pulled the net back, and with a sudden effort, dragged the net ashore.

"Brother, why are there loaches? Aren't loaches supposed to burrow in mud? How come you can catch them in the river?" Zhao Ru stepped forward and bent down to check what was in the net.

"You're here to go to the river market, aren't you? You're crazy. You're surprised there are loaches in the river?" Zhao Hua shook the fish out of the net onto the ground.

"You're the one who's crazy. If I'm crazy, then what are you?" Zhao Ru glanced at Zhao Hua sideways.

"What does it matter to me if you're mentally ill? Mental illness isn't contagious."

Zhao Ru rolled her eyes and glared at him, trying to show that she was angry, but she broke down in a couple of seconds and happily put the bucket in front of Zhao Hua and started picking fish out of it with him.

"Brother, there are quite a lot of fish here. This net of crucian carp must weigh five or six pounds, right?" She said as she picked up the fish.

"Yes, and they're all quite big, but there are also a lot of whitebait, more than crucian carp."

"Only these two types of fish? And a few loaches, but no big fish."

After picking up the fish from the ground, Zhao Hua stood up, gently kicked the bucket, glanced inside, and said, "Pretty much. That's how it is by the river. Small fish huddle together, while big fish don't come close to the bank much. There's also a catfish; I threw it in a while ago."

"Hehe, so one net can sell for six or seven yuan?" Zhao Ru's eyes sparkled.

"Hmm, I just don't know if they'll sell well. Wait here for a bit, I'll pour the fish into the fish hold. If we put so many fish in the bucket, half of them will die in no time." Zhao Hua picked up the bucket and walked towards the small boat.

"Brother! How about I row behind you? Otherwise, running around like this will exhaust me!" Zhao Ru stood up and caught up with Zhao Hua.

He turned to look at Zhao Ru, who had followed him, and laughed, "No need. It's fine if I stand on the shore, but if you row the boat across the water, won't all the fish be scared away?"

He then gently waved his hand and said, "We'll throw the net in the opposite direction of the fish trap. Once we've gone a bit further, we'll just steer the boat a little this way. You don't need to stay on it. The sun is so bright, you don't need to come with us."

Zhao Ru stopped, looked up at the sky, and thought that what he said made sense. She then squatted back down under the shade of the tree.

Zhao Hua rowed the boat over and stopped it directly in front of Zhao Ru. He also brought the tree branch over and threw it to Zhao Ru.

Zhao Ru picked up the tree branch from the ground and fixed it again. Seeing that the bucket was empty, she lifted the wooden plank of the fish hold at the bow of the boat and peeked inside. All the fish that had just been caught had been put in. Zhao Ru's action of lifting the plank caused them to splash high in the water.

"What are you doing? You're so clumsy." Zhao Hua jumped off the boat carrying a bucket of water.

"Hehe, I just wanted to take a look. Let's go, let's go." She covered the wooden board with the bucket and turned around to take the bucket from Zhao Hua's hand.

"Brother, if we go to the market tomorrow, should we invite Zhao Ting and Zhao Xiaoran along?"

"Go ahead and call out, how can you manage alone?" Zhao Hua picked up the fishing net from the ground and walked along the riverbank.

"But aren't there only small fish on the shore? Do we have to sell them separately even though they're all small fish?"