sjar Chapter 250 Spectacular Harvest of Winter Fishing
Chapter 250 Spectacular Harvest of Winter Fishing
This was the first time Li Ju'an had ever seen such a spectacular winter fishing scene.
Hezhe fishermen, fishing and drying their nets, welcomed the busiest fishing season of the winter with joyful songs. He Shangguo shouted a call, and mountain songs rose from the riverbank as the fishermen returned home laden with their catch.
"Fish frolic at the Beginning of Summer, fish come in abundance at Grain in Ear, fish spawn at Grain in Ear, and the river is blocked at the Summer Solstice..."
"During Lesser Heat, chubby heads jump; during Greater Heat, carp leap..."
The children hummed Hezhe folk songs, clapped and laughed as they gathered around the small mound of fish, giggling and having a great time.
The fish are plump and the water is beautiful, and it's still winter. If we wait until spring when the river thaws, I wonder how bountiful the catch will be for this fishing village.
He Shangguo laughed and shouted, "Let's run an ice floe!"
Ice floes are the sound of footsteps on ice. Locals hum that familiar melody in Hezhe language, accompanied by the lively sounds of ice floes running. Fish are distributed from house to house, smoke rises from chimneys, and the rich aroma of fresh fish wafts from the kitchens of each household.
Song Desheng grinned excitedly, "We'll have to treat ourselves to a good meal. We've been working hard for two days. Fishing is much more tiring than running up the mountain."
Li Ju'an laughed and said, "Running in the mountains is like being chased by prey, and you still have to chase the prey. Fishing is like casting a net, casting it out, and then you can take your catch to the county town to sell."
Song Desheng said, "Then hurry up! Li Ju'an, you still have a chance. Hurry up and come to Humatun to be a son-in-law. We don't have a chance. If we dare to have even the slightest thought, the tigress at home will grab my ears and tear them off."
The people around him burst into laughter, and Lu Zhiqiang teased him, saying, "So what if you're not married? You still need to find a girl who's interested in you."
Song Desheng was quick to speak, and he didn't like what he heard. He immediately said, "Hey, who can compare to you? Lu Jinyang, you don't need to wait for your brother to go back to the village. Just leave him here and let Old Master Lu jump up and down."
He winked and made faces, amusing everyone around him. Yang Tingting's bright, almond-shaped eyes shone as she stared at Lu Zhiqiang. Taking advantage of the moment when no one was looking, Lu Zhiqiang glanced at her, then quickly looked away, and immediately snapped, "What nonsense are you spouting! You're just rambling on and on without any seriousness."
Before Li Ju'an had even started dividing the fish, the hunting dogs at his feet were already excited. Iron Hammer, Little Cannon, and White Egg sniffed the fish intensely, showing great interest in the small mound of fish with its strong fishy smell. Flower Ear and Big Tiger, on the other hand, were much calmer. Their feet were frozen on the ice, and the two hunting dogs stood on the pigskin slipper, looking down aloofly at this fishing and hunting land.
Suddenly, He's young nephew asked Li Ju'an, "Li Pao, can your dog go into the water?"
Li Ju'an was taken aback. He looked at the icy Huma River, its surface riddled with ice holes, and said, "They don't like water, they've never been in it. Even the dogs in your village can go in the water."
Sun's little nephew proudly looked up and smiled, shouting, "Of course! Our Wangcai is so clever; he can even pull me across the river in the summer!"
He Shangguo doted on the child and said with a smile, "When the child was little, he didn't know any better. In the summer, he would sit in that wooden tub and play in the river, which scared his old woman so much that her heart would ache. It was thanks to Wangcai that when we called, Wangcai would jump into the river, grab the rope of the tub, and pull the child up. Otherwise, the child would have been offered up to the Dragon King."
Rivers and mountains all have their gods; rivers have their Dragon Kings, and mountains have their Mountain Gods. Li Ju'an looked at his young nephew, who was grinning foolishly with his head up, and chuckled along, patting the child's head.
He said, "The dogs in our mountains can't swim. A dog that can swim has to be one that grew up by the river from a young age."
My little nephew looked up and asked innocently, "Li Pao, don't you have a river there? What if it floods and the river is full of fish? What are you going to do but watch them swim by without catching them?"
Song Desheng blurted out, "You little brat, you're worrying about adults' business now? What, you want to give us your dog?"
Li Ju'an looked at the yellow dog, Wangcai. The dog's lower abdomen was quite large, with six bulging lumps, clearly indicating it was producing milk. The little nephew was silent for a moment, then actually ran back home on the icy sleds. When he returned, he was carefully holding a small puppy in his arms; it looked round and chubby, clearly well cared for.
When the fishermen around saw the little nephew bring the dog, they understood what he was thinking, laughed, and said, "His father doesn't allow him to keep the dog. He wants to send it to the market to sell, but this little fat boy can't bear to part with it."
If we really send it to the market to sell, who knows who it will end up with. The little nephew chuckled and picked up the chubby dog, blinking at Li Ju'an as he said, "Li Pao, this is Wangcai's first litter of puppies. This one is called Fatty, that's the name I gave it. From now on, Fatty will live a life of luxury with Brother Li, catching lots of fish in the river."
The child's innocent words terrified the He family. They quickly pulled their nephew aside and said, "The child doesn't know any better. What can this little dog do?"
Well-trained hunting dogs are valuable, while ordinary puppies are given away, and that means another mouth to feed. In the past decade or so, a fishing village family was lucky to keep even one dog, used for guarding the house. They saw the ten hunting dogs at Li Ju'an's feet, each one strong and powerful, and thought they would treat them well. But puppies were worthless, generally used for guarding the house and property.
He Shangguo glanced at Li Ju'an, then took the yellow puppy from his nephew's arms and handed it to Li Ju'an, saying, "Li, the dogs in our village can swim. This dog will be a very fast swimmer when it grows up. Our village has a lot of fish, and your village has a lot of meat. We've eaten so many meals of your elk meat, so you can take this puppy and keep it as a pet for fun."
He laughed heartily and shoved the yellow puppy into Li Ju'an's arms. The fluffy little chubby dog was very lively, wagging its tail in Li Ju'an's arms and kicking its hind legs, trying to climb onto his shoulder, making everyone around laugh.
Li Ju'an said, "Thank you, Captain He. We'll come back to the village again later. We'll trouble you to save some spots for us then, so we can do some odd jobs and experience the fun of fishing."
The villagers cheered loudly. This rural area, still without a main road, seemed isolated. Li Ju'an and his companions had shared the elk meat they had caught over the past few days with the villagers, creating a grand feast of fish for several days. A large quantity of river fish was cooked into delicious dishes, gracing the heated kang table.
Carp, wrasse, rabbitfish, whitefish, mandarin fish... a variety of fish dishes made them thoroughly enjoy their meal.
When Li Ju'an left, the dog sled contained not only the remaining elk meat and bones, horns, but also a large number of fish.
In addition to the fresh river fish that were distributed, there were also large fish that the He family dried and made into dried fish, as well as fish bone products and fish skin clothing.
He wore a fish skin garment and made an appointment with He Shangguo to come and help when the river thawed. At that time, He Shangguo would teach him how to fish using the "cut hook" method.
He Shangguo lit his pipe and said to him, "When the autumn fishing season comes, we'll go catch salmon, sturgeon, beluga, and carp, as well as some other fish."
"Okay! I'll definitely come."
The river is currently frozen over, with steam rising from the ice. Pike, taimen, and other fish species float to the surface. Li Ju'an, laden with his winter catch, bids farewell to He Shangguo. In temperatures of minus twenty or thirty degrees Celsius, the entire river brings life and hope to the people.
As Li Ju'an left, he saw the village head leading a diesel engine, talking loudly with the driver, as they walked together towards the ice. He knew that in later years, in two or three years, the government would distribute new diesel engines to the Hezhe people.
Once diesel engines are installed on the fishing boats, the improved tools used throughout the fishing village will greatly increase fishing efficiency. The Hezhe people will no longer rely on manual labor for fishing and netting; they will bid farewell to the era of manual rowing. With a greater catch, they will also need larger channels to sell their fish.
He stepped forward and became acquainted with the village's headman.
The village head had heard that a hunter who frequented the mountains had been visiting the village these past few days; he was a friend brought by a relative of the He family. Since everyone in the village was like family, the head of the village was very hospitable, and he hadn't expected the hunter to be so young.
"Li Pao, come in and sit down. It's cold outside."
Upon hearing Li Ju'an's purpose, he smiled broadly and said, "More cooperation and communication, no problem. We're all family, please give my regards to your Captain Yang."