Reborn in 80: Starting with hunting in the mountains to get rich

Chapter 244 The Pretty Girl in the Fishing Village

He Shangguo led Li Ju'an and a few others to walk on the frozen surface of the Huma River. Several local fishermen, including an old man named Lu, saw them and greeted them in a friendly manner, saying, "Hey, Boss He, you've brought the kids out to fish again."

He Shangguo smiled and nodded, then called out, "Our Weimin is back! Let's bring Weimin and his friends to see ice. The children in the mountains have never seen ice before."

Old Lu laughed heartily, understanding the implication: "On the other side of the mountain are all gang leaders with guns. Their kids have never seen ice before."

"Your son Weimin didn't come?"

"Don't even mention that kid. He's a teenager with a terrible temper. He sits inside warming himself by the fire and looks down on us little fish."

In the mountains there are cannons, and in the fishing villages there are fishermen.

The fishing village foreman, who could live off the river and its resources, didn't care about the mountain foreman who risked his life fighting wild beasts every day. The risks of fishing and hunting were nowhere near as great as the risks of hunting bears. A mountain foreman might lose several hunting dogs on a single hunt, but you never heard of a fishing village foreman losing many of his men while ice-breaking for hunting.

The villagers who had gathered around the fishing village all loved to watch the hunting dogs that Li Ju'an led. As the head of the fishing team, they knew how to raise horses and mules so that when it came time to unleash the nets, they could use horses to pull out the large nets with a winch. Two good horses would pull with great force from the left and right, and the large net would be full of the caught fish. The net would carry the cold air from under the ice, bringing out a large number of fish, creating a scene of fish leaping out of the ice on the frozen lake.

Old Lu glanced at Li Ju'an with a sidelong smile and said, "Young hunter from the mountains, don't be greedy for a moment. Take the big ones and leave the small ones. Make sure the mesh of your net isn't too small."

He Shangguo also lit a pipe, nodded while smoking it, and said, "Don't worry, it's not like the kids brought the net. Our nets are all 6 inches big."

The fishing net in his hand was an old, patched-up net, worn down over many years. It was two kilometers long, and it took a lot of effort to tie it. Even with so many family members who knew how to tie nets, it would still take half a year to make a large net with a mesh size of six inches. Li Ju'an casually slipped his hand through the mesh; his hand could easily pass through. This meant that only the big fish could be caught, while the smaller fish would be released.

This is similar to the principle of hunters who hunt the big ones and leave the small ones; by keeping the small ones, they can have a good harvest every year.

Li Ju'an replied, "Okay."

Lu Zhiqiang and Song Desheng rubbed their hands together, even more excited than Li Ju'an. One was from a family of hunters for generations, and the other was from the city; neither had ever seen fishing or hunting before. The fish feast they had enjoyed at the fishing village at noon was a real treat. Lu Zhiqiang excitedly pulled Lu Jinyang along, ready to go with He Shangguo to cast the nets.

Li Ju'an put his hands in his pockets, stared at the ice surface for a while, and said, "Headmaster He, this depends on the ice."

He Shangguo laughed heartily, exhaling warm white breath, and shouted, "You all know how to identify ice. Look at you, running in the mountains and fishing, you're good at everything!"

In the mountains, winter snow frog harvesting requires observing the ice surface. You can't see what's beneath the ice from above, but experienced fishermen can spot any unusual patches at a glance. The same principle applies to fishing and hunting in fishing villages.

Identifying the ice, breaking up the ice, setting up the net, and releasing the net are the four most important steps in winter fishing on the Huma River.

He Shangguo led four young hunters to inspect the ice and said, "If you want to catch fish, this is the first step. When we were young, we followed our elders to the river. Putting aside everything else, just looking at the ice and testing our eyesight took us five or six years."

Identifying ice is a true test of a fisherman's eyesight and fishing experience. If the skill is passed down well within the family, and the fisherman has a keen eye for ice, then the first step will be precise and sharp, which is the most important first step in fishing.

Sunlight streamed onto the frozen surface of the Huma River. In the distance, several fishing foremen led their teams, chiseling away at the ice. This area is dotted with villages, and the villagers rely on fishing and hunting for their livelihood. So, each group would bring their relatives and family members out, exchanging greetings and asking each other how their catch was. Then they would familiarize themselves with the ice, find suitable spots to cast their nets, and avoid any potential conflicts.

Standing on the ice of the upper reaches of the Huma River, Lu Zhiqiang stomped his foot hard on the ice, his hands, covered in mittens, were tucked into the sleeves of his sheepskin coat. Shaking his dog-skin hat, he said, "This thing is really hard. It must be two meters thick. You could drive a car on it."

The frozen rivers of the Xingan Mountains are a truly awe-inspiring sight. In the coldest months of January, the ice on the rivers can reach over 1 meter in height, and sometimes even 2 meters, thick enough to support the weight of an adult.

Lu Jinyang looked in the direction Lu Zhiqiang was looking and indeed saw several children sitting on ice sleds, laughing and playing on the ice of the river. There were also young people wearing homemade ice skates, which are basically foot skates, playing happily in groups of three or five on the ice.

Then their elders came over with pots and pans, grabbing their ears and scolding them: "What's wrong with you? You're already this old, you won't go on blind dates, you can't find a job, and you won't learn how to fish. You're just playing around like a cat. Go home and eat."

The remaining companions on the ice laughed heartily, gloating as they watched their friend being dragged home by the ear, before continuing their ice skating adventures in small groups. This place was also a gathering spot for young men and women from various hamlets of the fishing village, where they bonded over ice skating.

He Shangguo shouted to the crowd of young people, "Hey kid, come help!"

A young woman was playing with children pushing an ice sled when she heard the shout, looked up, and came over on her sled.

"Grandpa, call me. Why are you calling me before we've even drilled the hole?"

He Shangguo said, "You just like hanging out with kids all day long. What's the point of hanging out with kids? You should go out and meet some young people. Come help out when you have nothing else to do."

Li Ju'an looked at the young woman and felt that she looked familiar, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

He glanced at Lu Zhiqiang and suddenly noticed that Lu Zhiqiang's expression was somewhat complicated, his eyes were shifty, and he seemed hesitant to look up at people.

He Shangguo pointed to his granddaughter and said, "This is my little granddaughter, Yang Tingting. When Weimin was little, he loved to play ice sleds with his youngest son on the ice. I reckon that rascal has forgotten all about it."

Yang Tingting's beautiful almond-shaped eyes widened as she saw Lu Zhiqiang. She covered her mouth and giggled, saying, "So it's you! I heard from Grandma that some hunters who run the mountains came to our house today. I was wondering why, but it really is you."

Lu Zhiqiang scratched the back of his head, looking very reserved and awkward. Lu Jinyang, a cautious man, suspected something was going on between the two, but too embarrassed to ask. Song Desheng, however, was very outspoken and asked him, "Your lover?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Zhiqiang immediately jumped up, wishing he could slap Song Desheng on the back of the head, and shouted.

"What the hell? You can't just say whatever you want! Watch your mouth, you've only met them once. Li Ju'an has met them too."