Not everyone had what it took

"Someone's been here in the past couple of days," Li Long said, looking at the footprints in the snow. "They probably came to scoop up fish too."

"Little Haizi is public property. If you can fish here, so can everyone else. It'd be nice if we caught another Water Rat," Li Jianguo said with a smile.

"That won't be easy." Li Long shook his head. "Those things hide in the weeds underwater in winter. Some even hibernate. They're hard to catch."

"We can try our luck."

Tao Daqiang said nothing, but his eyes shone. He was hoping to catch a Water Rat too. One of those was worth several fish.

When they reached Little Haizi, sure enough, they found several holes in the ice.

But a thick layer of ice had already formed over all of them. Since water expanded as it froze, the ice over those holes was actually thicker than elsewhere.

"Do we have to cut new holes?" Tao Daqiang asked, adjusting his hat.

"No. Didn't we fill our old holes with snow? We just need to clear it out now." Li Long found the holes they had made before and started shoveling away the snow.

"Juan, Qiangqiang, go gather some of that Reed." Li Jianguo assigned the two children their task.

Li Juan and Li Qiang were bundled up so thickly they looked like little balls. They had begged for ages to be allowed to come along, so they eagerly went looking for Reed that had been cut but not hauled away.

They soon found a large pile. Li Jianguo had them divide it into two heaps, one a short distance from each ice hole.

By then, Li Long and Tao Daqiang had cleared the snow out of the holes. A layer of ice had formed underneath, but it wasn't very thick.

With the Iron Crowbar and the Pickaxe, they soon broke the holes open.

Li Long used the Scoop Net to remove the floating ice from the water, then said:

"Let's wait a bit. Some fish should come over soon. We've broken these holes open a few times, so there probably won't be many at first."

"As long as we get some." Li Jianguo wasn't greedy at all. "It beats eating pickled vegetables every day."

"That's true."

Tao Daqiang still said nothing. He bent his tall frame over the hole and stared intently at the water.

"You won't be able to see them, Daqiang," Li Long said with a laugh. "The hole's too small. If you're impatient, take the Scoop Net and give it a few tries."

"Won't that affect the fish coming over later? Wouldn't scooping now scare them away?" Tao Daqiang hesitated.

"No. Any movement will disturb the fish anyway, so it makes no difference whether we do it sooner or later." Li Long handed him the Scoop Net. "We've got two holes. Just try them in turn."

"Try it! Try it!" Li Qiang shouted from the ice. Whether they were five or six or eighty or ninety, there wasn't a man who didn't enjoy catching fish and shrimp.

"Stop shouting!" Li Juan gave her little brother a smack. "What if you scare the fish away?"

His sister's inborn authority silenced Li Qiang at once. He even held his breath as he watched Tao Daqiang.

Li Long didn't pay much attention. It didn't feel too cold, so he hadn't lit a fire.

He was thinking about going to the Fishery in spring to see if he could get some old fishing net and make a few more Scoop Nets. During the spring floods, some water would spill out over the side of Little Haizi, carrying fish down into Reed Lake below. That would be the perfect time to catch them.

As for the saying about not shooting birds in spring or catching fish in April-crucian carp really were full of roe in April, but if no one caught the ones washed out of the lake, they would only die when the water dried up.

Crucian carp bred remarkably fast. There had been a time when, during spring irrigation, once the water was shut off, the pools formed by water rushing through the sluice gates could be half-filled with palm-sized crucian carp.

If someone picked them up, they took them home. If no one did, the water would dry up in a few days, and the fish would become lunch for the flies.

Tao Daqiang had done this once before and knew what to do. He climbed halfway down into the ice hole, planted his feet on the ice steps they had deliberately left, then bent over and lowered the Scoop Net into the water. He swept it around hard in a circle, quickly leaned back to pull it out, then flipped it over and slapped it down against the ice.

Sharp-eyed Li Qiang immediately shouted:

"Fish! There are fish! Live ones, and Ditch Fish too! Wow! That's a big fish!"

It wasn't really all that big: a broad-bodied crucian carp a little larger than a palm. There were indeed several Ditch Fish that looked much like loaches, flopping furiously on the ice before the cold gradually stilled them.

"Juan, Qiangqiang, pick up the fish and pile them together."

There weren't many fish in that netful. The biggest was the broad-bodied crucian carp, which weighed around three hundred grams.

Twenty years later, fish like this would fetch twenty-five yuan a kilogram. Now, that one would sell for less than half a yuan.

Li Juan and Li Qiang gathered all the fish together, not even leaving behind the tiny crucian carp just two or three centimeters long.

Seeing the fish excited Tao Daqiang, but he still wasn't satisfied. He immediately bent down for another scoop.

This haul was even smaller than the first: just two finger-long Ditch Fish and three palm-sized crucian carp.

"Try the other hole," Li Long said. "The fish haven't come over here yet. We need to give it some time to air out."

Tao Daqiang was reluctant to stop, but he knew there was nothing for it. He climbed out and handed the Scoop Net to Li Long.

Li Long went down into the other hole, secured his footing, and slowly lowered the Scoop Net into the water.

His movements weren't as forceful as Tao Daqiang's. He swept the Scoop Net underwater in a slow, wide circle before suddenly pulling it back.

"Wow! A big fish! Uncle's got a big fish in his net!" Li Qiang was already shouting before Li Long had tipped the net onto the ice.

From the weight in his hands, Li Long could tell there really was a sizable fish inside. He dumped the fish onto the ice, and a Grass Carp about a foot long immediately began flopping around.

Li Qiang rushed over to grab it, but the Grass Carp was still full of life. Its tail slapped him straight across the face!

Li Qiang's face turned red from the blow, but he stubbornly refused to let go, gripping the Grass Carp's gill covers tightly.

"All right, all right, you caught it." Li Jianguo hurried over and took the fish from Li Qiang.

"Well done, Qiangqiang!" Seeing the tears gathering in Li Qiang's eyes, Li Long knew the slap had really hurt. He hurried to distract the little boy. "Pick up the other fish and put them in the sack too."

"Qiangqiang really did great," Tao Daqiang added. "That Grass Carp's strong!"

Oh no, Li Long thought. It would have been better not to praise him now. If they had acted as though nothing had happened, Li Qiang would have gotten over it.

But those extra words of praise brought all his hurt feelings rushing to the surface, and he burst into tears:

"It hurts! Dad, Uncle, that fish hit me so hard!"

"Don't cry, Qiangqiang!" Li Long said hastily. "When we get home, we'll have your mom cook it for you to eat. That'll be your revenge! Make sure you remember this fish!"

"Okay, I'll remember it!" Li Qiang wiped away his tears and gave the fish a long, hard look.

Well, that fish would probably end up in someone's belly today.

They went on scooping up fish.

Thanks to Uncle Awen for the monthly vote, and thanks to everyone for the recommendation votes.

(End of chapter)