Although it was already afternoon, the sunlight still stung wherever it hit them, especially on exposed skin.
Only when they neared Little Haizi and the breeze carried moisture off the water did it feel a little cooler.
Up on the embankment, Li Long saw several people setting nets in Haizi, mostly in the shallows near the bank. Two had ventured out to where he had first set his nets. A channel led straight into the water there, with shallow edges suitable for walking.
"Looks like selling fish really does pay. Plenty of people have followed us into fishing," Li Long said with a smile.
"Several other households have been selling fish these past two days," Li Qingxia said proudly. "But none sell as well as we do. I take the fish to market early on the bicycle. Eight mao a kilo, and I'm sold out in less than an hour. They're only getting there when I'm heading back."
Only then did Li Long understand why Meng Zhiqiang had worn that expression yesterday.
"Dad, where are we setting the nets today?" Li Long asked Li Qingxia. He had come along to help, so he did not consider himself in charge.
"We'll go to the south side. The banks there are all reeds, so they can't set nets. There's a waterway leading inside. Since you're here today, paddling the tire out to set the nets is your job."
Li Qingxia had already shed his former role as a spectator and now seemed rather like a commander directing operations.
"Sure." Li Long naturally had no objections. One place was as good as another.
The three reached the south side of Little Haizi. Looking around, Li Long noticed that the wheat had also been completely harvested in the village to the southwest where Liang