ryethenovel Chapter 4: A Bountiful Harvest
Chapter 4: A Bountiful Harvest
Before Li Xiangdong's exclamation had even faded,
Then several more crucian carp, shimmering with a silvery-gray light, swam up from the bottom of the lake to breathe.
Li Xiangyang reacted quickly, picking up a nearby net and laboriously reaching into the ice hole to stir it.
All the crucian carp were scooped into the net.
With a powerful thrust of his waist, he threw the fish, along with the ice shards, onto the snow.
Several crucian carp were startled and thrashed their tails, but they froze solid after only a few thrashings.
The temperature on the snow, which is over -30 degrees Celsius, is much lower than the temperature of -1 or -2 degrees Celsius below the lake surface.
The fish naturally couldn't stand it either.
"Brother, forget about the fish for now. Use a shovel to widen the ice hole a bit, otherwise it will be difficult to put the net in."
Li Xiangdong wanted to collect the fish, but Li Xiangyang's shout made him turn back and start chiseling holes in the ice.
Bang bang bang.
Li Xiangdong gripped the shovel tightly with both hands and began to vigorously chisel at the bubbling ice hole, quickly expanding its diameter to over 40 centimeters.
Li Xiangyang compared the net to the others, but it wasn't big enough, making it difficult to reach inside.
Li Xiangdong understood and continued to chisel furiously.
He had just been a little skeptical that simply carving a hole in the ice on the lake would actually attract fish...?
So even before I'd put in much effort, I saw that there really were fish.
That would greatly increase their motivation.
In no time, the diameter of the ice cave had expanded to over 60 centimeters. Li Xiangyang compared it with the landing net:
"Yes, you can come and go as you please."
Unexpectedly, in just a short while, several more crucian carp and some other small fish swam up to get some fresh air.
"Brother, that's enough. I'll scoop these fish out first, and you can rest for a bit."
Seeing that Li Xiangdong was panting heavily from chiseling ice holes, Li Xiangyang wanted to tell him to rest, but he refused.
"No, no...no, I'll take this one."
Li Xiangdong grinned, his eyes lighting up when he saw several more fish in the ice cave, and he no longer cared about being tired.
His ideas are very practical.
Although the fish isn't as delicious as beef or mutton, it's free! You can easily catch over ten kilograms by digging a few ice holes.
Raising a lamb from birth to over ten pounds requires at least a month and a half of grazing, and the ranch charges rent for that.
Scooping fish only takes a little more effort, and the one thing he has in abundance right now is strength.
of course,
If he knew that he could not only eat the fish himself, but also sell it on the black market for money.
I wonder how crazy he must have become?
Seeing Li Xiangdong's enthusiasm, Li Xiangyang handed him the net.
Li Xiangdong then cast his net several more times, catching all the carp and more than twenty crucian carp that had surfaced for air before stopping.
Whew~ Whew~ Whew~
Li Xiangdong asked, panting heavily.
"Brother, how did you know that you could catch fish by drilling a hole in the ice of the lake...?"
"Hehe, I'm not just messing around when I'm out here all the time. I heard all this information from my friends outside."
Li Xiangyang can lie without batting an eye now; he can just spout off without batting an eye.
The phrase "old age brings wisdom" probably best describes people like him.
"Hehe, so you heard it from outsiders. No wonder I didn't know. It seems that interacting with outsiders isn't necessarily a bad thing."
Li Xiangdong chuckled and suddenly realized that his younger brother was actually quite something.
What exactly is that? I can't quite put my finger on it right now, it's just... something.
"Alright, brother, come here quickly."
While Li Xiangdong was fishing, Li Xiangyang lit a small pile of reeds that he had just built and called Li Xiangdong over to warm himself by the fire.
In Inner Mongolia, the days are very short in winter; it gets dark almost as early as 3 or 4 pm.
Herdsmen typically eat only two meals a day.
We eat one meal around 9 a.m. and a second meal around 4 p.m. before nightfall.
Moreover, for breakfast, I usually just drink some milk tea and have some brown rice and steamed buns. I don't eat much. I just worked so hard to break the ice and fry the fish.
I'm starving now.
When a person is hungry, their body temperature drops very quickly, so they need to warm themselves by a fire as soon as possible, otherwise they can easily catch a cold.
When Li Xiangdong was breaking the ice to catch fish, he was so excited that he didn't feel cold. But now that he has stopped, he is surprised to find that his body is shivering slightly from the cold.
Hurry up and get closer to the fire.
"Hehe, luckily my brother is thoughtful and lit some reeds for me to warm myself by the fire."
Li Xiangyang smiled knowingly, and while his brother was warming himself by the fire, he took some reeds, strung up six carp, and threw them into a burlap sack he had prepared beforehand.
I weighed it in my hand and estimated it to be more than 20 kilograms, which would be about 2 yuan at 1 cents per kilogram.
鲫鱼贵一点，1毛2一斤，有个十几斤，就是1块5、1块6那样。
Um……?
It adds up to less than 4 yuan?
Li Xiangyang was surprised... and suddenly realized that this money was not easy to earn.
"I was planning to finish this round and come back tomorrow, but it looks like that won't work. At this rate, when will I ever have enough for 50 yuan?"
then,
He threw the sack full of fish onto the sled, then picked up a shovel and a spade and found a reed patch to start shoveling snow and chiseling holes in the ice.
He figured that it would be faster and he could retrieve more fish by taking turns scooping from the two ice holes.
"Brother, what are you doing... trying to dig a hole in the ice to catch fish?"
Li Xiangdong was puzzled.
He didn't even consider selling fish.
I felt that the crucian carp and carp we just caught weighed more than 30 jin (15 kg) together, which was enough to feed the whole family for a month or so.
It's getting dark, we should head back soon; there's no need to catch so many fish.
Li Xiangyang knew what he was thinking, so he explained while shoveling snow.
"Brother, I'm not only getting these fish to eat, but also to sell."
I did the math.
According to the supply and marketing cooperative's prices, crucian carp is 12 cents a pound and carp is 10 cents a pound. Even if all those fish were taken to sell, they would only fetch a little over 3 yuan, which is far too little.
Li Xiangyang spoke casually, but Li Xiangdong was shocked.
"What? These fish... can sell for more than 3 yuan???"
His eyes widened, shifting between the ice hole in the lake and the fish in the sack.
Can't believe it.
"Brother, are you sure? These fish can really sell for 3 yuan!"
Li Xiangyang nodded.
"Yeah, after you've caught them, just sneak them to the black market in town and sell them. You'll get 3 yuan, no less."
Before Li Xiangyang could finish speaking, the shovel in his hand was snatched away by Li Xiangdong.
"Brother, you go and rest, I'll chisel this ice hole!"
Li Xiangdong's facial features were contorted with excitement.
The thought of earning more than 3 yuan in just two hours made his eyes burn with greed.
In my mind,
They all yearn for the desire to break through the ice and catch fish.
"I just made more than 3 yuan from that one time, and if I do it again now, I'll make at least 2 yuan. That'll make more than 5 yuan this afternoon."
Even if my brother stops coming, I can work hard and come once in the morning and once in the afternoon every day, and that will earn me 10 yuan.
"If we do this for five days, we'll have enough money to pay next year's ranch lease fee!"
Li Xiangdong smiled.
Once I got excited, I stopped feeling hungry and cold, and the shovel made a loud thumping sound as it chiseled across the ice.
that's it,
The two brothers spent another hour and a half fishing, catching more than 60 jin (30 kg) of carp, crucian carp, and other miscellaneous fish.
Finally, after Li Xiangyang's repeated persuasion, Li Xiangdong reluctantly packed up the fish and went home.
On the way back, even the wind and snow felt warm on my face.
"Dad, Mom, my brother and I are back."
Before even stepping into the courtyard, Li Xiangdong shouted that he was very proud of the many fish he and his younger brother had caught that afternoon.
In the eyes of his neighbors, he was an honest and simple man, but in the eyes of his parents, he was an obedient and filial eldest son of the Li family.
As for Li Xiangyang, let's not even mention him.
He idles away his days, causing trouble. At noon, for some unknown reason, he went to break the ice and catch fish.
As a result, Xiang Dong had just finished feeding the sheep and hadn't even had a chance to rest before having to run out to find him again. He only just got back now, and all the important matters at the ranch were delayed.
Upon hearing Li Xiangdong's voice, Li Zhenshan grumbled inwardly.
Five-year-old nephew Li Chunsheng put down his beloved shaga and rushed out first.
Shaga is also called sheep's knucklebone.
It is made from sheep's ankle bone, and is usually carved or dyed. It can be grabbed, tossed, or used for guessing numbers.
It is the most classic Mongolian game.
"Dad, Uncle, are there fish in this sack?"
Li Chunsheng pointed to the sacks on the sled and asked curiously.
Li Xiangdong chuckled.
He cut the reeds that were tying the burlap sack shut and proudly showed the dozens of kilograms of fish to his son.
"Wow, wow... Grandpa and Grandma have so many fish!"
Li Chunsheng was also seeing so many fish for the first time, and he jumped and shouted with joy.
The other family members also came out of the mud-brick house upon hearing the noise.