High tide today was at around 1:30 in the afternoon.
Wei Donglai and Li Changfeng ate lunch at about eleven, then followed Li Guowang to the mangroves to catch mud eels.
But when they arrived, there were suddenly quite a few more people in the mangroves, and even the number catching mudskippers on the mudflats had grown.
The sight left the three of them a little dumbfounded.
Li Guowang sighed helplessly. "Looks like everyone's probably heard that mud eel prices have gone up lately."
Li Changfeng chimed in, "I heard my dad say last night that mudskippers have gone up by four mao too."
Wei Donglai watched the figures moving through the mangroves from time to time, then looked at Li Guowang. "Uncle Guowang, are we still going to catch them?"
"We're already here. Are we supposed to go back empty-handed? Let's see how many we can catch today."
Hearing that, Wei Donglai stopped worrying about it.
The three of them then split up and started catching mud eels.
Wei Donglai plunged into the mangroves, intending to find a secluded spot to start, but he seemed to run into people no matter which way he went.
He decided to head straight into the depths of the mangroves.
After walking for about five or six minutes, he found there were indeed far fewer people here.
Wei Donglai found a tidal channel and started looking for mud eel holes.
After several days of hands-on practice, he was fairly experienced at finding them.
Most mud eel holes were usually a little over a meter above the nearby tidal channel.
He could hardly go wrong searching along that line.
Sure enough, before long, Wei Donglai found a mud eel hole.
Tobacco in, hole sealed.
He was now extremely practiced at that combo.
After dealing with the hole, Wei Donglai continued forward while he waited for the tobacco to choke the mud eel out.
Before long, another mud eel hole appeared ahead, and Wei Donglai prepared to unleash his combo again.
He had just put in the tobacco when a figure as skinny as a monkey appeared nearby.
On seeing Wei Donglai, the man approached with a big smile.
"A Lai, I heard you've made quite a bit of money catching mud eels lately. Want to go over to A Guang's place and play tonight?"
Wei Donglai looked at his mouthful of yellow teeth with disgust.
The man was He Jiahao, another village layabout who loved women and gambling and had absolutely no scruples.
He especially liked teaming up with others to cheat at cards. He knew to show a little restraint with people from his own village, but plenty of people from other villages had fallen for his tricks.
So Wei Donglai had never thought much of him.
Now, seeing him act as though they were close, Wei Donglai turned him down flat.
"Not interested."
He Jiahao acted as though he hadn't heard and kept droning on to himself.
"A Lai, I'm telling you, there'll be plenty of people tonight. If we work together, we're guaranteed to make a fortune."
Wei Donglai wasn't about to indulge him in the slightest.
His expression instantly turned cold. "Are you deaf or blind? Don't you understand the words 'not interested'? Can't you see I'm really sick of you right now? Get away from me, and stop holding me up from doing what I came here to do."
He Jiahao's face fell.
"A Lai, don't be so ungrateful..."
"Get lost, and don't make me use force!"
Looking at Wei Donglai's tall, imposing frame, He Jiahao hesitated for two seconds before slinking away.
Wei Donglai's ears were finally at peace, and he continued onward.
But his luck seemed to take a turn for the worse.
The next two mud eel holes he came across had both been visited already. Seeing that it was about time, Wei Donglai hurried back to collect the catch from the first two holes he had put tobacco in.
When Wei Donglai reached the first hole, he saw no movement and immediately felt a little discouraged.
Today had indeed gotten off to a bad start. Not only had he run into an aggravating person, but his first mud eel hole had come up empty too.
He then made his way toward the second mud eel hole.
About five or six minutes later, Wei Donglai drew close to the second hole. He glanced at it from a distance, and his heart sank.
No way. Is this one empty too?
Two holes in a row without a catch left Wei Donglai genuinely frustrated.
Just as he turned to leave, a thought flashed through his mind: something wasn't right.
He turned back, walked up to the second hole, and carefully examined the area around it.
Damn it, something's wrong.
There had been a mud eel in this hole, but someone had caught it.
From the messy footprints all around and the marks at the entrance, Wei Donglai was certain someone had stolen his catch.
No wonder there had been no movement at either hole. It wasn't that his luck was bad-someone had gotten there first.
The first hole might not have been empty either.
Whoever had done this had absolutely no scruples.
Wei Donglai already had a pretty good idea who it was, but he needed to catch the thief with the stolen goods. He had a plan.
He then continued forward without betraying anything.
About twenty minutes later, he found another mud eel hole and went through the same routine.
Once he was done, Wei Donglai didn't linger and continued onward.
After about five or six minutes, Wei Donglai circled around and headed back. When he was close to the mud eel hole where he had just put the tobacco, he found a spot nearby and hid.
Another five minutes passed, and Wei Donglai didn't see anyone come by. Instead, a mud eel weighing about a jin began to emerge from the hole.
Didn't he follow me?
Another minute passed, and still no one appeared. Wei Donglai decided not to wait in hiding any longer and prepared to collect the mud eel first.
Just as he was about to step out, a shifty-looking figure appeared.
Even from a long way off, Wei Donglai recognized him at a glance as He Jiahao, the man who had tried to get him to play cards earlier.
He Jiahao looked around furtively for a long while, and when he saw no one, he made his way with practiced ease toward the mud eel hole where Wei Donglai had just put the tobacco.
Clearly, he was very familiar with Wei Donglai's route.
After approaching the hole, He Jiahao took a long tube from his back, with a noose attached to the end.
After catching mud eels with Li Guowang for several days, Wei Donglai knew this was another tool used to catch them.
The noose could be placed at the entrance to a mud eel hole in advance, or, when the mud eel came out, it could be looped around it and tightened with a slipknot to hold it against the end of the tube.
This method was neither better nor worse than using a mud eel fork; it was simply a matter of personal habit.
He Jiahao was clearly not particularly skilled with the tool. He spent ages trying without managing to loop it around the mud eel, making Wei Donglai so anxious that he wanted to go over and help him.
Fortunately, the mud eel had probably been thoroughly choked by the tobacco, and it didn't flee even after He Jiahao had tried to snare it twice.
As he pulled the slipknot tight, it caught the mud eel around the head, and he yanked it out of the mud in one pull, head and body together.
As He Jiahao put the mud eel into the fish basket hanging at his side, Wei Donglai stepped out without hesitation and crept up behind him.
He Jiahao was immersed in the joy of his catch and didn't notice someone creeping up behind him at all.
Once he was close enough, Wei Donglai burst forward and drove his big foot viciously into He Jiahao's backside.