Chapter 928: Everyone is waiting to see the Li family make a fool of themselves

The nylon gill net was very sturdy, so Li Long pulled the net line back with confidence.

He could feel a very powerful struggle, and Li Long had a hunch that this fish might be quite large.

The net was pulled taut, and because the rocket head of the net-dragging device was stuck in the ice and snow—likely frozen in place—it was quite strenuous to pull now.

Li Long didn't dare to use brute force to pull it; he could only pull a little and then slacken it. His eyesight was excellent, and he could see that there was ice and snow where the rocket head was stuck. As he pulled, snow was falling into the water, so it should be possible to pull it through.

If he pulled hard, it might come through, but there was a chance the net would snap or the dragging device would be damaged.

There was no need for that.

After five or six minutes of pulling and slackening, the dragging device was finally pulled out of the ice and snow. Li Long felt his hand go slack, and the fish on the net didn't seem to be struggling as hard anymore.

But he still didn't dare to relax. This single-layer net was different from the triple-layer gill nets of later generations; although it could snag fish, if the fish hadn't been snagged for long, or if it was large enough, it might break free from the net.

Whether in his previous life or this one, fish breaking free from the net was something that happened more than once, and in his view, it was quite normal.

The net was finally pulled up, and Li Long saw the large fish snagged on it—a big silver carp weighing at least four or five kilograms was struggling on the net. Having left the water, the biting cold outside made it very uncomfortable, and it struggled desperately, but its movements grew weaker and weaker—soon, it was frozen stiff.

Although silver carp are better than white carp, in Li Long's eyes, they aren't as good as common carp or Amur ide.

He had hoped there might be better fish in the Manas River, such as the cold-water fish he had eaten in Ili, or others.

Silver carp were a bit too ordinary.

Still, having a catch was better than having none.

It was a four-finger mesh net, so small fish couldn't get snagged. Aside from this silver carp and a few pieces of driftwood, there was nothing else on the net.

Li Long's hands were covered in water and freezing cold. He hurriedly packed the net and fish into a urea sack, carried it, and dashed toward the jeep, then drove back.

After returning to the courtyard, Li Long carried the sack into the kitchen.

Sister Yang had already finished breakfast. Seeing Li Long come in, she asked:

"Uncle, did you retrieve the net?"

"Yes, I caught a big silver carp. Let's make fish head soup for lunch." It's better to eat fish fresh; if you freeze it and eat it later, the taste is different.

"Alright." Sister Yang smiled. She opened the sack and saw the big fish, and was taken aback: "It's so big? We won't be able to finish it."

"It's fine. I'll chop off a section and send it to Xiao Sun later," Li Long said. "We'll mainly eat the fish head."

That was settled.

After breakfast, Li Long waited for Sister Yang to take over watching Mingming and Haohao, then carried the half-section of fish and went to the acquisition station.

Gu Bo Yuan was checking a bag of melon seeds brought by a seller, while Sun Jia Qiang was pouring the seeds onto a round sieve at the side, letting Gu Bo Yuan rake through them for inspection.

Seeing Li Long arrive, Gu Bo Yuan asked while inspecting: "You retrieved the net, how was it? Did you catch anything?"

"A big silver carp, five or six kilograms, I'd say. We can't finish it all, so take this piece to Xiao Sun, and you take the rest home," Li Long said to Sun Jia Qiang. "It's best to cook it today; don't freeze fresh fish."

It was still early, and there were only two people there to sell goods, not many. Sun Jia Qiang took the fish Li Long handed over and thanked him with a smile.

"Rest tomorrow," Li Long said to Gu Bo Yuan. "Take two days off. The regular customers know, right?"

"They all know," Gu Bo Yuan nodded. "I told them, and it's written on the blackboard too."

"That's good."

There was nothing else to do there, so Li Long went back to the courtyard. He planned to buy some things since he was going to the production team tomorrow.

The New Year was coming up soon, and Li Long intended to buy warm clothes and hats for his father and mother. There were ready-made clothes for sale in the department store now, and in Shi City as well. Li Juan and Li Qiang would be on break soon, and he thought their grades this semester should be good, so he needed to buy some toys as a reward.

As for his eldest brother and sister-in-law, he would buy them two pairs of cotton-padded leather shoes. They wore homemade cotton shoes on the team, or cotton-padded rubber shoes bought in the township; those didn't keep out water, and once the snow melted on them, it soaked right through, which was uncomfortable and made their feet sweat.

He didn't need to worry about his own family; he would just give Sister Yang and Sun Jia Qiang a year-end bonus.

Since it was the weekend, he would take the children to the Fourth Team, and let Sister Yang have a rest as well.

Li Long went to the department store to shop. Besides the planned items, he also bought snacks like sponge cakes and river noodles, as well as milk candies. These odds and ends filled a whole bag.

While shopping, he saw a somewhat familiar face, but he couldn't recall the name. Perhaps someone he saw often when buying things before? It was just that he had been running to Shi City and Wu City more often later on, and less at the county department store, so he hadn't seen her much, and didn't know her name.

It was a woman in her twenties.

Li Long carried his bags out of the department store, and the woman stared at his back for a long time.

Driving back to the courtyard, Li Long put the items away and sorted out the nets. This new net was easier to clean; there wasn't much debris in the Manas River water, so after picking off the fish, he only needed to remove the driftwood.

By the time he finished, lunch was almost ready. The smell of fresh fish soup filled the courtyard. Mingming and Haohao were already drinking it—Sister Yang had specifically scooped some out for the two children to cool down, and the two children couldn't wait to start drinking it while it was still warm.

"Hey, this tastes really good!" Gu Bo Yuan exclaimed while drinking the soup. "To be able to drink a bowl of fresh fish soup in the middle of winter, I wouldn't trade it for a township head position."

Li Long wanted to laugh when he heard this. In truth, with Gu Bo Yuan's education and level, if he had come out to work at the beginning of the reform and opening up, he could have easily become a section-level cadre.

But to be honest, maybe because it was winter, or maybe because they hadn't eaten fresh fish for a while, the fish soup today was truly fresh.

Thinking that it was fish from the Manas River, it was just different.

Since they could catch fish with this net today, if he wanted to eat fish later, could he just go to the river and catch two? Whether this net-dragging device could work under the ice of the Small Sea was uncertain, but at least it could work in the Manas River.

Before breakfast the next day, Li Long started the jeep and drove to the Manas River. He wanted to see if the net was still there, and if so, if there were any fish in it.

It was already the second nine-day period, and it was even colder by the Manas River than at the courtyard in the county. Although Li Long had anticipated this and was dressed quite warmly, with a leather coat on the outside, he still couldn't help but shiver when he got out of the jeep.

He carried the urea sack and hurried to the place where he had set the net. There was no one around, and Li Long found the stone he had tied the net to at a glance.

He went over, flipped the stone to find the end of the net line, untied it, and gave it a tug, feeling something struggling hard in the water.

There was a fish in the net!

The gill net was made of nylon rope and was very sturdy, so Li Long pulled the net line back with confidence.

He could feel a very powerful struggle, and Li Long had a hunch that this fish might be quite large.

The net was pulled taut, and because the rocket head of the net-dragging device was stuck in the ice and snow, it was quite strenuous to pull now.

Li Long didn't dare to use brute force to pull it; he could only pull a little and then slacken it. His eyesight was excellent, and he could see that there was ice and snow where the rocket head was stuck. As he pulled, snow was falling into the water, so it should be possible to pull it through.

If he pulled hard, it might come through, but there was a chance the net would snap or the dragging device would be damaged.

There was no need for that.

After five or six minutes of pulling and slackening, the dragging device was finally pulled out of the ice and snow. Li Long felt his hand go slack, and the fish on the net didn't seem to be struggling as hard anymore.

But he still didn't dare to relax. This single-layer net was different from the triple-layer gill nets of later generations; although it could snag fish, if the fish hadn't been snagged for long, or if it was large enough, it might break free from the net.

Whether in his previous life or this one, fish breaking free from the net was something that happened more than once, and in his view, it was quite normal.

The net was finally pulled up, and Li Long also saw the large fish snagged on it—a big silver carp weighing at least four or five kilograms was struggling on the net. Having left the water, the biting cold outside made it very uncomfortable, and it struggled desperately, but its movements grew weaker and weaker—soon, it was frozen stiff.

Although silver carp are better than white carp, in Li Long's eyes, they aren't as good as common carp or Amur ide.

He had hoped there might be better fish in the Manas River, such as the cold-water fish he had eaten in Ili, or others.

Silver carp were a bit too ordinary.

Still, having a catch was better than having none.

It was a four-finger mesh net, so small fish couldn't get snagged. Aside from this silver carp and a few pieces of driftwood, there was nothing else on the net.

Li Long's hands were covered in water and freezing cold. He hurriedly packed the net and fish into a urea sack, carried it, and dashed toward the jeep, then drove back.

After returning to the courtyard, Li Long carried the sack into the kitchen.

Sister Yang had already finished breakfast. Seeing Li Long come in, she asked:

"Uncle, did you retrieve the net?"

"Yes, I caught a big silver carp. Let's make fish head soup for lunch." It's better to eat fish fresh; if you freeze it and eat it later, the taste is different.

"Alright." Sister Yang smiled. She opened the sack and saw the big fish, and was taken aback: "It's so big? We won't be able to finish it."

"It's fine. I'll chop off a section and send it to Xiao Sun later," Li Long said. "We'll mainly eat the fish head."

That was settled.

After breakfast, Li Long waited for Sister Yang to take over watching Mingming and Haohao, then carried the half-section of fish and went to the acquisition station.

Gu Bo Yuan was checking a bag of melon seeds brought by a seller, while Sun Jia Qiang was pouring the seeds onto a round sieve at the side, letting Gu Bo Yuan rake through them for inspection.

Seeing Li Long arrive, Gu Bo Yuan asked while inspecting: "You retrieved the net, how was it? Did you catch anything?"

"A big silver carp, five or six kilograms, I'd say. We can't finish it all, so take this piece to Xiao Sun, and you take the rest home," Li Long said to Sun Jia Qiang. "It's best to cook it today; don't freeze fresh fish."

It was still early, and there were only two people there to sell goods, not many. Sun Jia Qiang took the fish Li Long handed over and thanked him with a smile.

"Rest tomorrow," Li Long said to Gu Bo Yuan. "Take two days off. The regular customers know, right?"

"They all know," Gu Bo Yuan nodded. "I told them, and it's written on the blackboard too."

"That's good."

There was nothing else to do there, so Li Long went back to the courtyard. He planned to buy some things since he was going to the production team tomorrow.

The New Year was coming up soon, and Li Long intended to buy warm clothes and hats for his father and mother. There were ready-made clothes for sale in the department store now, and in Shi City as well. Li Juan and Li Qiang would be on break soon, and he thought their grades this semester should be good, so he needed to buy some toys as a reward.

As for his eldest brother and sister-in-law, he would buy them two pairs of cotton-padded leather shoes. They wore homemade cotton shoes on the team, or cotton-padded rubber shoes bought in the township; those didn't keep out water, and once the snow melted on them, it soaked right through, which was uncomfortable and made their feet sweat.

He didn't need to worry about his own family; he would just give Sister Yang and Sun Jia Qiang a year-end bonus.

Since it was the weekend, he would take the children to the Fourth Team, and let Sister Yang have a rest as well.

Li Long went to the department store to shop. Besides the planned items, he also bought snacks like sponge cakes and river noodles, as well as milk candies. These odds and ends filled a whole bag.

While shopping, he saw a somewhat familiar face, but he couldn't recall the name. Perhaps someone he saw often when buying things before? It was just that he had been running to Shi City and Wu City more often later on, and less at the county department store, so he hadn't seen her much, and didn't know her name.

It was a woman in her twenties.

Li Long carried his bags out of the department store, and the woman stared at his back for a long time.

After returning to the courtyard, Li Long put the items away and sorted out the nets. This new net was easier to clean; there wasn't much debris in the Manas River water, so after picking off the fish, he only needed to remove the driftwood.

By the time he finished, lunch was almost ready. The smell of fresh fish soup filled the courtyard. Mingming and Haohao were already drinking it—Sister Yang had specifically scooped some out for the two children to cool down, and the two children couldn't wait to start drinking it while it was still warm.

"Hey, this tastes really good!" Gu Bo Yuan exclaimed while drinking the soup. "To be able to drink a bowl of fresh fish soup in the middle of winter, I wouldn't trade it for a township head position."

Li Long wanted to laugh when he heard this. In truth, with Gu Bo Yuan's education and level, if he had come out to work at the beginning of the reform and opening up, he could have easily become a section-level cadre.

But to be honest, maybe because it was winter, or maybe because they hadn't eaten fresh fish for a while, the fish soup today was truly fresh.

Thinking that it was fish from the Manas River, it was just different.

Since they could catch fish with this net today, if he wanted to eat fish later, could he just go to the river and catch two? Whether this net-dragging device could work under the ice of the Small Sea was uncertain, but at least it could work in the Manas River.

Before breakfast the next day, Li Long started the jeep and drove to the Manas River. He wanted to see if the net was still there, and if so, if there were any fish in it.

It was already the second nine-day period, and it was even colder by the Manas River than at the courtyard in the county. Although Li Long had anticipated this and was dressed quite warmly, with a leather coat on the outside, he still couldn't help but shiver when he got out of the jeep.

He carried the urea sack and hurried to the place where he had set the net. There was no one around, and Li Long found the stone he had tied the net to at a glance.

He went over, flipped the stone to find the end of the net line, untied it, and gave it a tug, feeling something struggling hard in the water.

There was a fish in the net!

The gill net was made of nylon rope and was very sturdy, so Li Long pulled the net line back with confidence.

He could feel a very powerful struggle, and Li Long had a hunch that this fish might be quite large.

The net was pulled taut, and because the rocket head of the net-dragging device was stuck in the ice and snow, it was quite strenuous to pull now.

Li Long didn't dare to use brute force to pull it; he could only pull a little and then slacken it. His eyesight was excellent, and he could see that there was ice and snow where the rocket head was stuck. As he pulled, snow was falling into the water, so it should be possible to pull it through.

If he pulled hard, it might come through, but there was a chance the net would snap or the dragging device would be damaged.

There was no need for that.

After five or six minutes of pulling and slackening, the dragging device was finally pulled out of the ice and snow. Li Long felt his hand go slack, and the fish on the net didn't seem to be struggling as hard anymore.

But he still didn't dare to relax. This single-layer net was different from the triple-layer gill nets of later generations; although it could snag fish, if the fish hadn't been snagged for long, or if it was large enough, it might break free from the net.

Whether in his previous life or this one, fish breaking free from the net was something that happened more than once, and in his view, it was quite normal.

The net was finally pulled up, and Li Long also saw the large fish snagged on it—a big silver carp weighing at least four or five kilograms was struggling on the net. Having left the water, the biting cold outside made it very uncomfortable, and it struggled desperately, but its movements grew weaker and weaker—soon, it was frozen stiff.

Although silver carp are better than white carp, in Li Long's eyes, they aren't as good as common carp or Amur ide.

He had hoped there might be better fish in the Manas River, such as the cold-water fish he had eaten in Ili, or others.

Silver carp were a bit too ordinary.

Still, having a catch was better than having none.

It was a four-finger mesh net, so small fish couldn't get snagged. Aside from this silver carp and a few pieces of driftwood, there was nothing else on the net.