mtl008 Chapter 248 Fishing with Clips
Chapter 248 Fishing with Clips
Before long, Li Xiaoyun also grasped the essentials.
The little golden eagle responded to her whistle, though not as sensitively as it was to Wang Ergou, it still spread its wings and circled.
"Wow, Sister Xiaoyun, you learn really fast!" Wang Ergou couldn't help but praise.
Li Xiangyang glanced at the sky and laughed, "Alright, stop practicing. The fish's getting cold. Er Gou, let's eat."
Li Xiaoyun hurriedly went to the kitchen to get the food. The fragrant braised mandarin fish was soon served, making everyone's mouths water.
"Ergou, try this mandarin fish." Li Xiangyang put a piece of fish on Wang Ergou's plate.
Wang Ergou didn't stand on ceremony and took a bite. The fish was tender and fragrant.
"Mmm, it smells delicious! Xiangyang's cooking skills are getting better and better."
During their meal, Li Xiangyang mentioned his recent plans: "The weather is getting hotter and hotter, and the game we hunt spoils easily. I'm thinking of going into the mountains less often and fishing in the river more frequently."
“Yes, it’s summer, and a lot of people are going into the mountains. Even if we catch some, they probably won’t sell well.” Wang Ergou nodded repeatedly. “Catching fish is a good idea though. We can keep them in water for a while, and even if we don’t sell them, they won’t go to waste.”
Li Xiaoyun added rice to their bowls and said with a smile, "That's right, Xiangyang dug a pond at the old house; you can raise the fish you catch in there."
Hearing this, Wang Ergou's eyes lit up: "That's great! Brother Xiangyang, let's do it right away, how about we go tomorrow?"
“Okay,” Li Xiangyang nodded. “I’ve checked, there are plenty of fish in the river. Let’s bring our tools tomorrow and have a good catch.”
After the meal, Wang Ergou took his leave with the little golden eagle.
Li Xiangyang and Li Xiaoyun cleaned up the dishes and sat in the courtyard to cool off.
A gentle night breeze brought a refreshing coolness.
Li Xiaoyun leaned on Li Xiangyang's shoulder and whispered, "I feel more at ease now that you don't have to go to the mountains so often. You've gotten quite tanned lately."
Li Xiangyang smiled and hugged his wife: "Don't worry, even when we go into the mountains, I'll be extra careful. As for getting a tan, it's not to make you look fairer when we stand together."
"You're just being cheeky," Li Xiaoyun chuckled softly, her cheeks slightly flushed.
She nestled in her husband's arms, her voice soft: "It's getting late, let's go inside."
Li Xiangyang put his arm around his wife's waist, and the couple got up and went back to their room.
Moonlight streamed through the window paper, casting a hazy glow inside the room.
Li Xiangyang reached out to unbutton his wife's clothes...
The next morning, Li Xiangyang and Wang Ergou arrived at the riverbank with their tools.
The rising sun wasn't too harsh yet, and the river surface shimmered with golden light.
The two found a river bend with abundant aquatic plants and began setting up fish traps.
"Brother Xiangyang, look here," Wang Ergou pointed to a dark shadow underwater, "There's a big guy over there."
Li Xiangyang looked in the direction he pointed and indeed saw a rather large fish swimming around.
"The fishing looks good. The current is slow and there's a lot of vegetation at the bend, so the fish should gather there. Let's set our net there."
While observing the water level, Li Xiangyang and Wang Ergou set up a fishing net.
The two worked together seamlessly, one using a pole to drive the fish in, and the other waiting downstream to haul in the net.
After working hard for half a day, the harvest was not satisfactory, with only a few small crucian carp and chub.
"What happened? There seemed to be quite a few fish." Wang Ergou looked at the sparse catch in the net with some disappointment.
"The water level has risen a bit since yesterday, and the water temperature is also higher. The big fish are all hiding in the deeper water." Li Xiangyang squatted by the river, poking at the water with his fingers, feeling the change in water temperature. "Given the current situation, if you want to catch fish, there's an old method in the south called 'cage fishing.'"
"A jib fishing line?" Wang Ergou, who was tidying up his fishing net, stopped what he was doing upon hearing this. "What's that?"
Li Xiangyang didn't answer immediately, but instead went to Wang Ergou's side to help him put away the net: "Put these away first. This method sounds simple, just find some suitable reeds."
The two worked together to retrieve the fishing net and carried their tools to the reeds on the riverbank.
In the morning light, a patch of green reeds swayed in the wind.
Li Xiangyang reached out and parted the reeds to examine them carefully.
“Look,” he pointed to a green reed for Wang Ergou, “you need to choose this kind, about the thickness of a pencil, not too young, not too old. Too young and it breaks easily, too old and it's not tough enough.”
Wang Ergou, mimicking Li Xiangyang, carefully examined each one: "How about this one?"
He picked one and handed it to him.
Li Xiangyang took it and pinched it with his fingers: "Hmm, this is just right. Let's cut more."
The two worked for a while and cut a large bundle of suitable reeds.
Li Xiangyang then took Wang Ergou for a stroll in the willow grove by the river.
“In the south, bamboo is used to make clips, but we don’t have that here,” Li Xiangyang said as they walked. “Willow branches will do, though, but you have to choose thin, long ones with good resilience.”
He reached out and broke off a willow branch, peeled off the outer bark with a knife, tested its elasticity, and nodded in satisfaction: "This is not bad, a little worse than bamboo, but it's alright."
"Brother Xiangyang, how exactly do you use this clip?" Wang Ergou asked while helping to find a suitable branch.
Li Xiangyang found a flat spot to sit down, took out a knife, and began carefully trimming the branches: "Watch closely. First, cut the branches into small sections four or five centimeters long, and sharpen both ends."
His hands didn't stop moving as he continued explaining, "Later, I'll cut the reeds into small loops, put the 'U'-shaped branches inside, and then put the bait in them. When a fish bites, the reeds will become brittle from being soaked in water and burst open, causing the branch to suddenly straighten and get stuck in the fish's mouth, thus hooking it."
"So ingenious!" Wang Ergou exclaimed. "We should make more of these!"
“Yes, make a few more and see how it goes.” Li Xiangyang handed Wang Ergou a trimmed branch. “You try it too; once you get the hang of it, it’ll be easier.”
The sun gradually grew harsher, and the two sat in the shade of a tree, intently pruning the branches.
Occasionally a gentle breeze would blow by, bringing a refreshing coolness from the river.
“Once we’ve got all this done, let’s try it out in some deep water,” Li Xiangyang said, checking the clips in his hand again. “If we’re lucky, the harvest shouldn’t be bad.”
As the sun rose higher, Li Xiangyang took a cornbread from his basket, broke it in half, and handed one half to Wang Ergou: "Eat something first, then rest for a while."
Wang Ergou took the pancake and ate it while examining the finished clips.
More than twenty pieces were neatly stacked on the ground, each one meticulously crafted.
Seeing that it was almost time, Li Xiangyang began packing up his tools: "Let's go, first boil the reeds in water and let them air dry, then find a good fishing spot."
The two walked along the riverbank for about a mile and came to a bend in the river.
"That'll do. Let's boil the reeds first, then air-dry them. While we're at it, we can tie them with thread," Li Xiangyang said, adding, "If it works well, we can make a large batch using locally available materials."