Little Haizi was still a little chilly in the early morning. Li Long watched Tao Daqiang haul back the eight nets, then bent down at the water's edge and lifted the two sacks.
"Not that many fish today."
"Not bad." Tao Daqiang smiled. "It's been like this ever since April. Getting forty or fifty kilos out of eight nets is already pretty good. You basically don't see catches like last year, ten kilos or so from a single net, anymore."
Li Long thought about it and agreed. Last year alone, he had taken several tons of fish out of Little Haizi himself. Quite a few villagers had also kept catching fish throughout the winter. However many fish there were in the lake, they still needed time to grow. They couldn't be caught endlessly.
"Not bad. They look fairly big, too." Li Long opened a sack and looked inside, smiling. "They should fetch a few dozen yuan."
"Mm." Tao Daqiang grinned guilelessly.
"Let's go. We still have to untangle the fish when we get home," Li Qingxia urged. He hadn't been idle, either. While Tao Daqiang retrieved the nets, he had fetched his own "net," scooping up several kilos of burbot with a basin. These fish were always popular at the market, and Li Qingxia used them to get sales going every time.
The three carried the sacks and shouldered the tire back to the courtyard. Everyone was there, and they began untangling the fish.
Li Juan and Li Qiang had already eaten and were reading aloud. Gu Xiaoxia had suggested this way of studying the last time she came back: when they got up early, they should read their lessons aloud several times, and it would help. Liang Yuemei took this seriously. Every morning, if the food wasn't ready when