Li Guowang
Seashore Foraging: Back in '82, I Start Setting Sail and Hauling Nets
Biodata
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Name | Li Guowang (李国旺) |
| Alias(es) | Uncle Guowang; Second Uncle, as addressed by Li Changfeng 10 27 |
| Gender | Male |
| Residence | South side of Moon Bay Village; his house is recognizable by the tractor parked outside 10 27 |
| Occupation/Role | Experienced mud-eel catcher; teaches Wei Donglai, Li Changfeng, and He Dongliang tidal-flat harvesting techniques 27 29 30 |
| Family | Zhang Xiufen (wife); Li Changfeng (nephew) 28 32 |
| First Appearance | Chapter 10, “A Chance Encounter With a Brother on the Way to Town” 10 |
Background / History
First Meeting with Wei Donglai
Li Guowang first appears driving his tractor to town with his nephew, Li Changfeng. They give Wei Donglai a ride, allowing him and Li Changfeng to discuss the breakup with He Lijuan and their plans for the future. After Wei Donglai buys him cigarettes, Li Guowang praises the young man and urges his nephew to take his advice about changing his life seriously 10.
Teaching the Mud-Eel Trade
When Wei Donglai, Li Changfeng, and He Dongliang visit to learn how to catch mud dragons, Li Guowang agrees to take them out the following morning. Already experienced in the trade for more than ten years, he makes two additional forks and prepares shredded tobacco mixed with chili peppers for their lesson 27.
During the visit, he learns that restaurants are paying 4.50 yuan per jin, while He Yougui has been paying him only 3.70 yuan. Angry at the eighty-fen difference, he decides to transport his catch directly to town rather than continue selling to He Yougui 27.
On the tidal flats, Li Guowang teaches the three young men to recognize burrows, apply the tobacco mixture, and extract mud eels with a fork. He also sets old gill nets among mangrove roots to catch crabs 29 30.
| Outing | Li Guowang’s Results | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| First teaching trip | Five mud eels and three large mud crabs 31 | His five eels sell at Full of Fragrance for 18.80 yuan 33. |
| Following day | Five mud eels, including one weighing about one and a half jin 34 | The three men weigh and combine their catches; Wei Donglai and Li Changfeng take them to town by bicycle 34. |
| After competition increases | Two small, skinny mud eels, estimated to total less than one jin 36 | He decides to keep trying for another couple of days because even a small catch remains valuable 36. |
Although Wei Donglai surpasses his catch on the first outing, Li Guowang openly acknowledges the result and scolds Li Changfeng for blaming luck rather than admitting that his friend learned the technique better. He then hosts the three young men for lunch before driving them to town to sell their catch 32 33.
Adapting to Competition and Transporting the Boat
As news of rising seafood prices spreads, more villagers begin working the mangroves and mudflats. Li Guowang initially continues catching mud eels despite declining returns, then starts weaving mudskipper traps to broaden his sources of income 35 36 44.
He later drives Wei Donglai and Wei Guoqing to Zhou Huaimin’s home in River Source Village to collect Wei Donglai’s purchased boat. After hauling it back, he takes it directly to the village pier, where workers lower it into the sea. Wei Donglai pays him for the transport and persuades him to attend a celebratory dinner 45 47.
Personality
Li Guowang is blunt with his nephew and quick to challenge excuses. He encourages Li Changfeng to learn from Wei Donglai’s newfound ambition, rebukes him for refusing to accept defeat, and warns him to consider the hardship of fishing offshore before buying a boat on impulse 10 32 36.
His gruffness contrasts with his hospitality. Despite threatening to serve only noodles, he has his wife prepare several good dishes for the young men. He is also frugal: when Wei Donglai offers an eel for lunch, he insists on using the smallest one and complains about eating such a valuable catch 32.
He particularly enjoys liquor and is visibly pleased by gifts of Jiujiang Double Distilled. Nevertheless, he asks what the young men want before accepting their bottles, and later tries to refuse Wei Donglai’s cigarettes and liquor given in thanks for the tractor rides 27 34.
Abilities & Skills
Mud-Eel Harvesting
Li Guowang has more than ten years of experience catching mud dragons, also called mud eels in the passages 27.
- Burrow identification: Looks in small tidal channels and mangrove intertidal zones, especially near roots or stumps. Round entrances, slime, and nearby whitish mud help identify promising burrows 29.
- Driving eels out: Places shredded tobacco mixed with chili into a burrow; the teaching sequence also demonstrates sealing the opening with mud 29 30.
- Fork extraction: Pins the emerging eel with the fork’s teeth, twists the tool so its side hook catches the animal, then pulls it free 30.
- Multiple entrances: Warns that a burrow usually has more than one opening, requiring the catcher to check where the eel emerges 30.
Toolmaking
He fabricates mud-eel forks and explains their components to his pupils 27.
- Heats, flattens, and splits rebar to form a semicircular crossbar with a gap of roughly five or six centimeters.
- Welds two short central teeth to hold the eel in place.
- Adds iron pieces approximately seven or eight centimeters long and bends them downward to form hooks 27.
Other Fishing and Practical Skills
- Crab trapping: Reuses discarded gill nets around mangrove roots; his first teaching-trip catch includes three large mud crabs 29 31.
- Trap weaving: Makes small traps for catching mudskippers when mud-eel returns decline 44.
- Tractor operation: Transports passengers and seafood to town and hauls Wei Donglai’s boat to the village pier 10 33 47.
Relationships
- Li Changfeng — Nephew and pupil. Li Guowang regularly teases and disciplines him, while urging him to improve himself and think realistically about work 10 30 32 36.
- Zhang Xiufen — Wife. She welcomes the young men at breakfast and prepares the lunch Li Guowang offers after their harvesting trip 28 32.
- Wei Donglai — Pupil and harvesting companion. Li Guowang approves of his changed attitude, teaches him mud-eel catching, and provides transport for his catches and newly purchased boat 10 30 33 47.
- He Dongliang — One of his three mud-eel pupils and a guest at his home after the lesson 27 30 32.
- He Yougui — Seafood buyer who pays him below the restaurant price. Once informed of the difference, Li Guowang resolves to sell directly in town 27.