Chapter 929: Old Gu, Little Gu, and Little Gu

Li Long's kick sent that large carp flying directly, landing on the ice more than two meters away. The fish's vitality was remarkably tenacious; after landing on the ice, it vigorously flicked its tail twice, thrashing its body as it searched for water.

Only then did the others react, all turning to look at Li Long. But Li Long smiled and said to Li Li Qing Xia:

"Old Dad, this net of yours isn't bad! Look at this big carp, red-headed and red-tailed, with whiskers so long it resembles a dragon—a very auspicious sign!"

"Hey, if it weren't for you, this fish would have slipped through the net and escaped!" Li Li Qing Xia was also quite happy, and while pulling in the net, he said, "Even if not a single more fish comes up now, it's fine."

The others gathered around to look at the big carp, and indeed, after that, not a single more fish came up in Li Li Qing Xia's net.

Although he spoke words of contentment, Li Long knew he still felt slightly dissatisfied.

Nevertheless, it was truly excellent; this exceptionally beautiful carp was not the red-headed, red-tailed variety raised in parks, but a native carp. Having grown large, its head and tail naturally turned yellowish-red; its belly looked very plump and wide, far more handsome than silver carp, grass carp, or common carp.

Li Juan and Li Qiang circled the fish, occasionally using reed stalks to poke at the big carp's whiskers. Pity that the carp, which possessed tremendous strength in the water, now had no energy left at all; its mouth opened and closed weakly, looking as though it would soon perish.

"It must weigh at least five kilograms!" Xie Xie Yun Dong said. "Such a large and beautiful carp—we really haven't seen much of these in our team over the past few years."

Although carp was always served at the team's banquet feasts, those carp were basically one or two kilograms each, deep-fried whole and then braised to look presentable.

But to speak of one this large, it was indeed rarely seen.

While organizing the net, Li Li Qing Xia smiled proudly. He had been slightly dissatisfied just moments ago, but now he truly felt content; such a huge carp could provide talking material for two months.

Li Jianguo's net was comparatively ordinary; hauling it up yielded two carp weighing over a kilogram each, two snakehead fish weighing over a kilogram each, and one large crucian carp weighing nearly half a kilogram.

Finally came Li Long's net. While hauling it, Li Long had been quite expectant, but when pulled up, there was only one bighead carp on it, not very large, weighing over three kilograms, even slightly smaller than yesterday's.

Yesterday's bighead carp head could make an entire basin of soup; today's fish head could only make a large plateful.

"It's sufficient," Xie Xie Yun Dong concluded finally. "It's only been a few hours? To catch this many fish is by no means a small amount. Think about it: smashing ice holes all day to get two or three kilograms of crucian carp isn't even as good as this one fish."

This was the truth; some people liked eating crucian carp, while others preferred large fish. Large fish also sold well at the market; as for taste, the Li family liked crucian carp, but others might not.

"Let's go back; we'll cook this big carp tonight!" Li Li Qing Xia said heroically. "The whole family will eat!"

Because Gu Gu Xiaoxia had to work the next day, Li Long needed to drive her back tonight. As for Mingming and Haohao, they could stay here, but most likely Gu Gu Xiaoxia would take them back with her.

The purchasing station would rest for two days, so Gu Gu Bo Yuan was definitely staying tonight; he still wanted to eat fish and drink wine.

The fish were retrieved; since there were quite many, the Li family decided not to set this net again. Tao Daqiang and the others borrowed the net, along with the net-dragging device, intending to set it tonight and retrieve it early tomorrow morning to see the results.

Li Li Qing Xia and Li Long naturally had no objections. According to Li Long's idea, he wanted to share some fish with the others, but Tao Daqiang and his group refused, instead giving Li Long two kilograms of crucian carp they had dug out that afternoon. Knowing Li Long liked crucian carp, Tao Daqiang had packed all the larger ones they caught today into Li Long's fish bag.

As the Li family returned home, Tao Daqiang, Xie Xie Yun Dong, and the others began dividing up the net-dragging device. When leaving, Li Li Qing Xia instructed Tao Daqiang to return it to him after use tomorrow, as he would need it later.

Li Li Qing Xia had grown fond of this new toy.

After returning home, seeing so many fish brought back today, both Liang Yuemei and Gu Gu Xiaoxia were quite surprised; Du Chunfang, however, was not surprised at all, feeling it was perfectly normal for Li Long to do something astonishing.

As soon as the Li family returned, Sister Lu came over. Seeing these large fish, she was even more excited than the Li family; taking a silver carp given by Liang Yuemei, she went back, handed the fish to Lu Yingming to process, and then eagerly went off to spread the news—the Li family was truly formidable, catching so many large fish at once; what could anyone else say?

Some villagers did not believe it, some were half-believing and half-doubting, while others fully accepted it.

"Which thing has that young man Li Long attempted that he hasn't succeeded in? Just think, in these past few years, has he ever failed at anything? You're thinking he has no way to catch fish? Think again! The person who first started catching fish to sell for money was him! That Little Little Haizi was contracted by him; how could he have no method?"

Immediately, Li Long gutted that big carp; the oil inside its belly was very rich.

A fish this large could not be stewed whole; better to chop it directly, not just into a few sections, but into over a dozen pieces, as smaller chunks absorb flavor more easily.

When stewing, add plenty of water, focusing mainly on drinking the soup. After all, it was evening; adults were fine, but children should not eat too much; drinking some fresh fish soup was very nourishing.

Li Li Qing Xia, Gu Gu Bo Yuan, Li Jianguo, and even Du Chunfang, who were drinking wine, were in the east room. Li Long had to drive, and Gu Gu Xiaoxia had to return to work, so neither of them drank. Gu Gu Xiaoxia was somewhat worried her father might cause trouble if he drank too much, but Li Jianguo told her not to worry, saying he would keep an eye on him.

Li Long, however, was at ease; although Gu Gu Bo Yuan wanted to drink today, this father-in-law of his possessed extremely strong self-control; he had never seen him drunk. Basically, after drinking slightly more and feeling a bit dizzy, he would stop. The fish soup was truly extremely fresh, especially the rich fat beneath the fish belly, which crumbled at the touch of chopsticks; all the nutrition and flavor were in the soup. Both Mingming and Haohao each drank a large bowl.

That evening, Li Long drove Gu Gu Xiaoxia, Mingming, and Haohao back to the big courtyard; he simply didn't return home, choosing to rest there instead. Sister Yang and Han Fang, having stayed in the courtyard today, felt quite comfortable and had a good rest.

The next day, when Gu Gu Xiaoxia went to work, Li Long, after eating, brought Mingming and Haohao back to the Fourth Squad, essentially giving Sister Yang another half-day off.

Gu Gu Bo Yuan had slept in Li Long's room the previous night; he wasn't completely drunk, but Li Jianguo feared he might fall ill from the cold if he returned to his own courtyard, so he simply left him in Li Long's room.

When Li Long arrived, Tao Daqiang and the others were there too; they had come to return the net-dragging device to the Li family. They brought not only the device but also several fish.

"We set the net yesterday and retrieved it this morning; after freezing all night, one net froze to the ice. We pulled hard for a long time before getting it down; the net was nearly ruined," Tao Daqiang said. "However, quite a few fish were caught, even more than what you caught yesterday. There weren't any large carp like yours, but there were a few bighead carp, as well as grass carp and snakehead fish."

What they delivered included large crucian carp, snakehead fish, and some small crucian carp; Li Long guessed that Tao Daqiang and the others had used a net with small mesh.

After breakfast, quite a few people came to visit the Li family; some simply came to see the fish and satisfy their curiosity. Li Jianguo and the others had sobered up and, after eating breakfast, began processing the other fish, so whenever others arrived, they could see the Li family gutting fish, which truly confirmed the evidence.

Tao Daqiang and the other families also had guests; mostly, they were similar, coming to see the fish. Others couldn't catch large fish, but Li Long could; that was skill. Some came to see something novel, while others came hoping to learn this skill.

They simply wanted to see how the net-dragging device was made.

Li Li Qing Xia did not show them—it was Li Long's indifference that was Li Long's intention; Li Li Qing Xia's intention was: until I haven't caught enough, you all shouldn't even think about it.

In the afternoon, Li Long drove Gu Gu Bo Yuan, Mingming, and Haohao back to the county town; the purchasing station would open tomorrow.

The following days remained uneventful, continuing until mid-January.

Gu Gu Bo Yuan continued living at the purchasing station; he only went to his small courtyard once when it snowed, to clear the snow together with Li Long.

Thinking about it now, having too many courtyards wasn't good; with so few people living in them, they could only lie abandoned.

On this day, a guest came to the small courtyard. She wore a thick down jacket and only discovered the door was locked upon reaching the entrance.

Not knowing where to find Gu Gu Bo Yuan, the girl went to ask the neighboring residents.

"You mean Old Gu? Old Gu is at the purchasing station now; he's extremely busy, unable to return once every ten days or half a month," the old neighboring resident said upon hearing someone was looking for Gu Gu Bo Yuan. "The purchasing station is making money now; people come to sell things all day long. Hey, he's struck it rich this time!"

Struck it rich? How much could one make rich in this small county town?

Gu Gu Xiao Yu pondered this matter, then asked for the location of the purchasing station.

"Go south along the road, reach the crossroads, then turn east; keep going for two hundred meters, and the big courtyard is there. A sign for the purchasing station hangs on the courtyard gate; there should still be people selling things inside the courtyard now; you'll see it at a glance," the elder said, enthusiastically giving directions.

After learning the location, Gu Gu Xiao Yu went to find it. Indeed, four or five people holding bags and baskets were queuing in the purchasing station's courtyard to sell goods; a stove was lit in the courtyard, allowing those who couldn't get in line to warm themselves outside.

Since it was currently busy, Gu Gu Xiao Yu looked around outside for a while before returning to the guesthouse. Now that she knew where her father was staying, finding him would be easy. She planned to return after Gu Gu Bo Yuan finished work.

However, when Gu Gu Xiao Yu came over at noon when work ended, she found the purchasing station's door locked; presumably, her father had gone somewhere to eat.

Considering they would be purchasing goods again in the afternoon, Gu Gu Xiao Yu thought it better to wait until after work in the evening to come; that way, there would be more time, making it easier to clarify certain matters.

Gu Gu Bo Yuan constantly felt uneasy; after dinner in the evening, when the sky had already darkened, he walked back slowly with his hands behind his back, sorting through the day's events as he walked, wondering if there was any oversight somewhere.

However, the accounts were without problem, and the quality of the goods received was certainly without issue.

Then what matter was troubling his heart?

Lost in thought, he arrived back at the acquisition station; just as he was about to take out his key to open the door, he suddenly felt a stir in his heart and looked to the right.

Not far away, a girl was looking at him; that figure—how could she resemble Gu Xiaoxia so closely? (End of Chapter)