Back to my 1980s

"Because there are many aquatic plants and insects on the shore, and there are large fish in the deep water that eat them, these small fish like to come to the shore."

"Oh! Why doesn't the big fish come to the shore? There are so many seaweeds." Zhao Ru covered the wooden board and sat down.

"Because the big fish are so big and the water is shallow near the shore, they can't swim around or turn around, and they are easily stranded and stuck. The mandarin fish we caught before was stranded and couldn't go back into the water because it was too big." Zhao Hua rowed his boat closer to the place where the fish traps were placed.

"Okay, but there are just too many fish! I think we should just keep casting nets from the bank from now on, and we won't need to go into the middle of the river anymore."

"Didn't you notice that we caught the most fish in the first net, and even though we kept casting our nets as we went, the number decreased, but then it would increase again when we started over?"

"Yes! I think our first catch was from a particularly good spot; we caught the most fish there both times. There should always be schools of fish there!"

"Hehe." Zhao Hua gave a forced smile.

"What? Isn't that right? Wasn't it the place with the most fish both times?" Zhao Ru didn't understand why "hehe" had become a sarcastic tone in later generations, but she could tell from Zhao Hua's expression that something was wrong with that "hehe"!

"Yes, have you ever thought that the noise I make when I cast the net will scare away other fish? If I keep casting the net from the shore, those fish aren't stupid, why would they still run to the riverbank? In the end, the fish I can catch will only get smaller and smaller."

"That should be enough for us to fish for a while!" It got a bit chilly by the river in the evening, and the evening breeze made it even cooler. She sat obediently at the bow of the boat and didn't put her hands into the river anymore.

Upon reaching the spot where the fish traps were placed, he stopped responding to Zhao Ru, reduced the force of his rowing, and let the boat glide slowly over by its own momentum.

Zhao Ru squatted into the cabin, reached out and picked up the float on the fish trap. Cool water droplets dripped down her wrist as she pulled the fish traps out of the water and put them into the cabin.

He watched Zhao Ru's movements quietly, gently controlling the oars to prevent the boat from being carried away by the current. After she had put away a string of fish traps, he steered the boat toward the next buoy. Once the oars stopped, only the sound of gentle waves lapping against the side of the boat remained, creating an exceptionally peaceful atmosphere.

"Hey! Zhao Ru!"

"What's wrong, bro?"

"You row the boat, and I'll collect the fish traps." In 1983, there were no fine mesh fish traps; they were all handmade fish traps woven from bamboo strips. Fine mesh fish traps only started to become popular after the 1990s.

Nowadays, you can't see what's inside the fish traps. Every time you empty one, it's like opening a blind box; you have no idea what's inside.

Previously, Zhao Ru would pick up the fish trap and pour it into the cabin, and several times a water snake or a water snake would suddenly be poured out and slither around in the cabin.

Although it wasn't poisonous, it still scared her so much that she almost jumped into the water. Now she doesn't dare to pour it into the cabin anymore. She collects it all up and takes it to the shore to process it, and also to dry it in the sun.

But now that the traps are collected at night, there's no longer a need to gather them on the shore for processing.

She threw the fish trap into the water and was about to come over and replace Zhao Hua.

"...Why don't you lift this trap up first and then I can take my place? You've already lifted it halfway up."

She turned back to prepare to pick up the cage.

"Oh, stop messing around, come on." This younger sister still occasionally acts a bit silly.

"Didn't you ask me to lift it? I thought you were tired and didn't want to move." She stepped over and took the oar.

"Okay, it wasn't for nothing that I treated you well." Hearing this, Zhao Hua was very pleased and no longer thought of her as a silly little sister.

They quickly emptied the fish traps into the boat hold and then threw the traps back into the water. After collecting all the fish, Zhao Hua sorted through the catch while Zhao Ru rowed the boat towards Shuanghuai Village. The afterglow of the setting sun dyed the river water a warm gold, which then shimmered and sparkled at the edge of the reed beds.

Previously, Zhao Hua would bring the fish directly to the dock, which was somewhat eye-catching, but most people didn't have a direct experience of it. These past two days, people have been bringing the fish home, so the direct experience is much stronger.

As soon as Zhao Hua carried the fish into Shuanghuai Village, people could be seen pointing and whispering about them from afar. Xiao Ting's father even followed them, glanced into the two buckets Zhao Hua was carrying, and laughed, "Not bad, you two siblings! So many fish, they must be worth a lot of money, right?"

He couldn't just make up a lie, and besides, he had caught them openly in the wild river, so there was nothing wrong with that. As he walked home, he laughed and said, "It's alright, there are quite a lot of fish, but they're not easy to sell. The prices at the dock are really too low right now."

"Wow! These two buckets of yours must weigh at least sixty or seventy pounds, they're piled high. At two cents a pound, that's over ten dollars, and you still think the price is too low?"

Xiaoting's father stroked his chin again and laughed, "But it is indeed a bit cheaper than at the market. No wonder they made our Xiaoting come along. If we don't sell them separately, we'll definitely be targeted."

Zhao Hua glanced at him. It seemed that Zhao Ting had told him why she had asked him to come when she got home, but she probably hadn't mentioned how much money they made. Otherwise, he wouldn't be spouting nonsense like saying that the purchasing station also made a good profit.

"Yeah, it's quite troublesome. If we catch too few, it's not worth the trip. If we catch too many, we'll have to worry about selling them." Zhao Hua replied casually, eager to get home, as it was getting dark.

"Hey, more is better than nothing. We want to learn how to catch fish to sell, but we can't. A fishing net costs only a few dollars, and we don't have a boat. There are only small fish by the dock. We can only catch enough for our own consumption. We don't know when we'll be able to recoup the cost of the fishing net."

Seeing that he was still following him, Zhao Hua thought for a moment and wondered if the old man was implying that he wanted to hitch a ride.

Bringing him along wouldn't be difficult, but Zhao Ru is still on the ship with me, so how could I possibly bring him? If anything goes wrong, it would all be my responsibility. Xiao Ting is helping me now, but she's not doing it for free.

Zhao Hua ignored his question and laughed, "Uncle, where did you go just now? Are you going home now?"

"Yeah, I came out for a stroll. I didn't have much to do at home, so I came out to play cards. I saw you were back, so I came over to take a look. I'm going home now."

The three of them fell silent. Seeing that he was quiet and just walked beside him, Zhao Hua was now somewhat certain that the old man might really want to hitch a ride. Luckily, he had just changed the subject.

I hurried to the front door, greeted the people, and went into the yard to pour the fish into the water tank. It was a bit late today, so I didn't go to the river to fetch water. I just used the water from the ditch outside, a thin layer that just covered the fish.

The house was filled with the aroma of food, and a few laughs could be heard from outside the yard.

He covered the water tank with a wooden board, leaving a gap for air to get in, then placed a brick on top. After checking the water tank thoroughly and confirming everything was in order, he turned and went back inside.

Zhao Hua sighed softly to himself, deciding that he couldn't be so conspicuous when picking fish for his family in the future.