Chapter 812 - 418: Encounter in the Wilderness

Chapter 812: Chapter 418: Encounter in the Wilderness

By the Little Qing River, Huai Zi and Liu Heizi were casting their nets. Even little Heipi was darting around beside them, waving a shrimp net.

A pair of buckets hung from a carrying pole on the grassy bank. Every time a net was hauled up, it was a clean sweep—whether big fish, small fry, shrimp, or loaches, everything was scooped up and kept alive in the buckets. Once they had collected enough, Liu Heizi would carry them off to release into the fish pond before returning to catch more.

Juhua, Aunt Liu, and Pu Pao sat on the grass, enjoying the spectacle. Each of them held a nursing baby in their arms.

In the distance, Qingmu was also out casting nets with Uncle Ma.

"Uncle Liu, we’re not catching anything in this spot anymore. Let’s move somewhere else," Huai Zi said to Liu Heizi as he dragged his dripping wet net ashore, finding only a few small minnows and carp inside.

Liu Heizi grunted in agreement. Holding two bamboo poles, he gave a forceful swing. The net tied to the front of the poles unfurled, descending through the air onto the river’s surface. The upper layer of the net floated along the water, held up by a string of buoys along its edge, while the bottom layer sank deep beneath the surface, weighed down by several thin iron rings threaded through the hem.

Tucking the two bamboo poles under his armpits, he gripped their lower ends with both hands and pumped them up and down. The poles slapped the river water with a loud SPLASH, driving the fish toward the center of the net. As he pulled the net toward the bank, he gradually brought the two poles together, finally hauling the catch ashore.

"Ha! Caught a big carp!" he shouted excitedly, seeing a large, shimmering fish thrashing its tail wildly inside the net.

Huai Zi was thrilled at the sight. "Whoa! It really is! We managed to pull up a big one right before leaving. We won’t release this one. Let’s cook it for lunch."

Rather than rushing over to the fish, he went to Juhua’s side and took Cong from her. Then, he took Banli from Pu Pao’s arms. Cradling the two babies against his chest, he smiled at the women. "You go take a look. I’ll hold them."

Juhua and Pu Pao gleefully ran over to Liu Heizi.

Liu Heizi first tossed all the smaller fry from the net into the bucket. Then, lifting the large carp with both hands, he showed it to Juhua and Pu Pao. "This has got to be two or three pounds. Mother of my children, take this fish back with you in a bit." The last sentence was directed at Aunt Liu.

Seeing the big fish, little Jing’er laughed and shrieked, reaching out with his tiny hands to grab it.

Aunt Liu hurriedly hugged him tight, shooting him a glare. "Keep acting up and I’ll throw you into the river." The little toddler couldn’t care less; he just kept staring at the fish with a joyful grin, babbling away.

Pu Pao poked the fish’s golden back with her little finger and looked up at Liu Heizi in delight. "Dad, this fish is so pretty."

Noticing that the fish’s belly was bulging, Juhua said to Liu Heizi, "Uncle Liu, I’m afraid this fish is full of roe. We’d better let it go. This one fish is worth as much as that whole bucket of fish over there."

Liu Heizi nodded in agreement. "I was so caught up in the excitement, I completely forgot about that. We really should release it. Once it spawns, there will be countless little carp."

Huai Zi had walked over by then. Hearing this, he took a closer look and nodded. "It is a female. It’ll probably lay its eggs in a few days. Best not to eat it. Let’s let it go."

Heipi came bounding over, grinning widely. "I’ll go release it. Dad, let me do it."

Huai Zi chuckled. "Those two buckets of fish and water must weigh sixty or seventy pounds. Can you even carry that on a pole? And even if you can, you shouldn’t—if the weight presses down on you too hard, it’ll stunt your growth."

Liu Heizi gave his son a stern look as he dropped the carp into the bucket. "Stop messing around. Help the young master carry the nets and head further upstream. I’ll take these two buckets back to release the fish and then catch up."

No sooner had he spoken than Banli and little Jing’er shrieked at the same time. Seeing Liu Heizi toss the fish into the bucket, they threw a fit, squirming and struggling to get down so they could play with the carp.

Huai Zi managed fine, simply tightening his grip to keep his son from moving. Aunt Liu, however, had a harder time. Flustered, she cried out, "My little ancestor, what’s so great about a fish? Keep squirming and you’ll fall on the ground! See if I don’t spank you!" Pu Pao hurried over to help her mother hold her brother steady.

"Heipi, help your mother hold your brother," Juhua said quickly. "We’ll carry the nets."

Huai Zi laughed. "Do you think fishing nets are light? They’re dripping wet and incredibly heavy. Uncle Liu, hurry up and carry the buckets away, and they won’t have anything left to fuss over!"

Liu Heizi hurriedly grabbed the carrying pole, hoisted the buckets onto his shoulders, and set off. The two babies fussed for a little while longer, but seeing him walk away, they eventually gave up.

Heipi shouldered the two fishing nets, Juhua picked up Heipi’s shrimp net, and together they followed Huai Zi further upstream along the Little Qing River.

The further they walked, the closer they got to the mountains and the further they strayed from the village. The willow and peach trees grew sparser, leaving only a scattered few.

"No one comes out here to plant," Huai Zi told Juhua as they walked. "Qingmu and I planted these few trees that one year. We planted quite a lot at first, but many of them died. We got busy later and never had the time to come back and replace them, which is why there aren’t many trees over here."