[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-reborn-in-1981-fishing-and-hunting-in-the-northw":3,"chapter-reborn-in-1981-fishing-and-hunting-in-the-northw-reborn-in-1981-fishing-and-hunting-in-the-northw-chapter-142":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Reborn in 1981: Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1934023,2572,"Chapter 142: Try a Different Place","reborn-in-1981-fishing-and-hunting-in-the-northw-chapter-142",142,"\u003Cp>The next day, Li Long and Tao Daqiang got up before dawn to retrieve the nets.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Long planned to go to Shicheng today to sell fish. Shicheng was nearly an hour's ride by bicycle from Maxian, so he needed to leave early.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As usual, Li Long sat on the tire to retrieve the nets. Tao Daqiang had originally wanted to try it himself, but Li Long wouldn't let him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although Tao Daqiang had demonstrated his dog-paddling skills when retrieving the cast net in the water, the spot where the nets were set was quite deep, and Li Long still wasn't entirely at ease.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He felt that once things slowed down, he should have Tao Daqiang practice paddling the tire on his own first.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By then, he could watch from the side, providing at least some safety assurance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Having learned from yesterday's lesson, Li Long brought three urea bags today. He packed two nets into one bag, tied the mouth shut with rope, and dragged them behind the tire; at least this way, they didn't occupy the buoyancy on top of the tire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After collecting all six nets, Li Long dragged three \"tails\" behind his tire, but paddling wasn't as exhausting as it had been yesterday.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he collected the nets along the way, Li Long felt the mesh size he bought was still too small. Two carp, each weighing three or four kilograms, had only been caught by a tiny bit; when Li Long hauled in the nets, the disturbance scared them, and they escaped. Not only did they escape, but they also tore a hole in the net.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Well, he didn't catch the fish, and the net got torn instead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, Li Long was quite content. The fish he caught today, once sold, would be enough to replace all the nets.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, he only thought this to himself. If he voiced this idea now, his older brother Li Jianguo would surely scold him for being a spendthrift.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The tradition of these times was \"new for three years, old for three years, patched and mended for another three years.\" Who would replace nets after using them just twice?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Many families in the brigade wanted to catch fish but lacked nets, so they could only wait for irrigation time, when fish would follow the canal water into the fields, and then go catch them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the previous life, during the eighties, whose \"fisherman\" family didn't use their nets until they were rotten and tattered before finally throwing them away?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, the saying \"old and rotten nets catch more fish\" had spread. Actually, everyone knew that new nets, lacking the scent of fish blood, were the best for catching fish.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was just that they lacked the means to replace them with new ones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before Li Long even got ashore, Tao Daqiang jumped into the water, grabbed the rope on the tire, and dragged it toward the bank. Li Long simply handed him the three urea bags to place on the shore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Brother Long, there seem to be more fish today than yesterday,\" Tao Daqiang said happily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yeah, there are more crucian carp,\" Li Long said while climbing up, \"and some carp and half-grown silver carp. I don't know if they'll sell well.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>People in this village, when eating fish, would rather eat palm-sized crucian carp than half-kilogram carp or silver carp, because they thought the larger ones tasted bad and weren't fully grown.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time, Tao Daqiang draped all three bags over his shoulders, one in front and two behind, and strode toward the Li family home.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Long followed behind, carrying the tire on his shoulder, inwardly marveling at how strong Tao Daqiang was!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But it seemed his own height had increased again; was he almost as tall as Daqiang now?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Back at the Li house, Li Jianguo had already spread out a plastic sheet, and Liang Yuemei had cleared out a laundry basin and placed it nearby. Li Juan was eating; seeing Li Long and the others return, she brought her bowl over. Li Qiang, who attended kindergarten in the village, didn't need to rush, so he had just gotten up, rubbing his eyes, and came to the laundry basin, squatting there waiting to watch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although they saw this every day, they were still curious each time. \"The biggest one today was under three kilograms, not as big as yesterday's,\" Li Long said while emptying the nets and fish. \"They're quite uniform.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Removing the fish was second nature. One by one, the fish were taken off and gently placed into the laundry basin—since they were going to be sold, they tried not to cause them secondary injury, ensuring that most would still be alive when it was time to set up the stall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once the fish were removed and sorted, while Li Jianguo and Tao Daqiang packed them into the urea bags, Li Long changed his clothes and then began helping Li Juan pack her things.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Juan needed to arrive at school early today. Although it was just barely dawn, she was already ready.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fish were divided into two urea sacks—one sack held twenty-seven or twenty-eight kilograms of fish, very heavy. Water dripped down the corners of the urea bag, quickly wetting a large patch on the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These six nets had caught over sixty kilograms of fish; when Li Long hauled them in, the fish on top were almost continuous. Besides the ones he needed to take away to sell, the family still had seven or eight kilograms of fish left, half of which Tao Daqiang would take back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Jianguo tied the poles and strips Li Juan used for weaving carrying frames onto the rear seat of the bicycle, so Li Juan could only sit on the front crossbar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Long let Li Juan get on first. Once she was seated and holding on, he pushed the bicycle out of the yard, used the small downhill slope to pedal onto the bike, and then rode out of the village.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arriving at the primary school, Li Long rode straight in and stopped only at the fourth-grade area. Li Juan skillfully got off the bike and, together with Li Long, untied the bundle of poles and strips.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Juan, when are you weaving the carrying frames?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This afternoon, after regular classes are over.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>!.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Alright, I'm off.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Goodbye, Little Uncle.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Long mounted the bike and sped away. Although the road was gravel and not smooth, there was little traffic. Although there were students, hearing the bicycle from afar, they would hide to both sides of the road. Thus, Li Long reached the county town in forty minutes. He turned into the large courtyard, took the scale and basin, tied them to the rear seat, then turned west toward Shicheng.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Traffic increased on the Wuyi Road; vehicles passed by from time to time, but the road was much easier to travel. Li Long sighed that youth was good while pedaling hard. By the time he reached the Old Street, the sun hadn't risen yet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Old Street had a huge flow of people. While not exactly packed shoulder to shoulder, it was at least four or five times the crowd of the county town's morning market.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Long felt he had come to the right place!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Setting up a stall here was more casual; unlike the county town's morning market where everyone lined both sides of the road—because the Old Street was a T-intersection, and buses passed through here from time to time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Long looked around. The best spot in the center of the T-intersection was already taken, so he chose a slightly less ideal one: the roadside opposite the Old Street entrance. This spot faced the bus drop-off point directly. Although one had to cross the road, there were fewer stalls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Long stopped the bicycle, propped it up, and locked it. He spread out the plastic sheet, set up two large enamel basins, and poured the fish in. Since there were so many fish, they wouldn't all fit in the basins, so some remained in the urea bag. Then, lifting a large white silver carp, he shook it while shouting loudly:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Selling fish! Selling fish! Authentic Xiaohaizi wild carp, crucian carp, silver carp, and Wudaohhei—delicious and nutritious! Selling fish!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Among those setting up stalls here, some did shout, but their voices were generally not loud, audible only to those within three or five meters. After all, none of them were professionals at this, and they cared quite a bit about face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Long was different. Selling the fish and making money was the real business. As for face—poor people didn't care about face at this time. Besides, in this place, who knew whom?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Long's loud shouting immediately attracted the attention of many. Seeing the fish in Li Long's hands, some took an interest and crossed the road from the Old Street entrance to come over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1496,"2026-06-14T06:06:39.549Z",1,"Qwen3.5 122B","89cfbec1fc23d1d0481284e8270b0e3db4c15b680d4c60687c4c01ceea8548b0","reborn-in-1981-fishing-and-hunting-in-the-northw-chapter-143","reborn-in-1981-fishing-and-hunting-in-the-northw-chapter-141",180,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Freborn-in-1981-fishing-and-hunting-in-the-northw-cover.jpg"]