Chapter 124: Fish King

Both brothers-in-law widened their eyes and shouted at the same time, "Holy crap, really?"

"What a long snout — is this really a Chinese sturgeon?"

Ye Yaodong's face lit up. "Should be, right? Let's pull it up first and take a look."

Every year between September and November, Chinese sturgeons swim upstream from the river mouth along the Yangtze to the Pingshan section of the Yangtze to breed.

Every autumn, when the Chinese sturgeon makes its upstream spawning migration, fairly large numbers of them can be caught in every stretch of the river.

Ye Yaodong felt it looked no different from the Chinese sturgeons he'd seen in his memory and on phone news — and it was super big — so for now he'd just treat it as a Chinese sturgeon.

Both brothers-in-law were overjoyed. Whether or not it was a Chinese sturgeon, netting such a huge fish was worth celebrating.

What if it really was one? It should fetch a good price!

After Ye Yaodong dragged the net ashore, he smiled and nudged the still-twitching fish with his foot. "Looks like it's about a meter long, and it's pretty heavy. There are quite a few river shrimp inside too — pretty big ones at that."

"Yeah, there are plenty of river shrimp in this river. We come over every couple of days to catch some to improve our meals. Whatever we can't finish, we take to town to sell — that brings in some money too," Lin Xiang Hui said, rubbing his palms excitedly. "Adong, now that you've caught this fish, take a good look — is it a Chinese sturgeon?"

Lin Xiangrong also looked at him expectantly.

Ye Yaodong coughed dryly twice, a little embarrassed. "Well… actually I've never seen this fish either. I've only heard about it. It just looks like one to me!"

"Huh?"

"You sounded so sure just now — I thought you actually knew!"

The two brothers were a bit speechless. They'd thought he really knew — turns out he was just guessing!

"I think it probably is one. Hurry and fetch a bucket of river water. While it's still alive, put it in the bucket to keep it. Even if it's too big to fit properly, at least let it catch its breath. It's already dark now, and it's not convenient to take it to sell. We'll have to keep it till tomorrow morning."

Better to believe it exists than not. What if it really is a Chinese sturgeon? If it dies and sits overnight, it won't be fresh anymore — that would be a huge loss.

Lin Xiang Hui, full of anticipation, went and fetched a bucket of river water and put the still-struggling big fish into the bucket by itself, consoling himself: "Even if it's not a Chinese sturgeon, we can still sell it for some money. It's just so huge — you rarely see one this size around here."

"Let's keep it overnight first, and tomorrow take it to the farmers' market in town to see if anyone can recognize it?" Lin Xiangrong suggested.

Ye Yaodong pointed at the shrimp trap in his hand. "Still want to set it? I reckon there are over ten jin of river shrimp in the bucket, plus plenty of small fish. You two just got in the water and caught nearly half a bucket too."

Lin Xiang Hui shook his head. "No more. Let's head back. This fish is too big and the bucket is too small. If we delay any longer, it might die. Let's hurry home and keep it in the water vat."

"Then you two put your clothes on — let's head back early."

Ye Yaodong spoke as he gathered up the shrimp net. Both buckets he'd brought out were full. If he kept setting the shrimp trap, the catch could only go inside the trap to be carried back. Anyway, they already had more than enough to eat, so better to head back early — the bucket space was too small, and he didn't want the fish to die.

Once the three of them had packed up, they walked and discussed how much money the fish might fetch.

"Let's get up early tomorrow and go to the farmers' market. Mid-Autumn is coming up, so the market will be really busy. This fish will definitely sell well."

Ye Yaodong said with a cheeky grin: "Whether it is or not, you just insist that it is a Chinese sturgeon. Someone who knows the stuff will naturally make an offer. Don't be dumb and say you don't even know what fish it is — that way people will lead you by the nose."

Lin Xiang Hui and Lin Xiangrong both froze.

"But we're not even sure if it is one!"

"Then you just insist that it is! You haven't seen it before, but that doesn't mean others haven't either."

"But… but isn't that lying to people?"

Ye Yaodong rolled his eyes. "How is that lying? Maybe this fish really is a Chinese sturgeon — you just don't recognize it. I'm not sure, but that doesn't mean it isn't one, right? If I say it's one, then it is one, okay?"

The two were talked into a daze by him, but it did sound reasonable.

Lin Xiangrong laughed awkwardly. "Well… when it comes to talking and selling things, we're not really good at it. How about you come with us tomorrow morning?"

Lin Xiang Hui quickly nodded too. "Right, right, right — you're the one who netted this fish, so you've got a share. Come with us. Don't let us sell it cheap. We're not as good at talking as you — we're afraid we'll just sell it off in a few words."

It wasn't like they hadn't been lowballed before. At the farmers' market, there were tons of aunties who really knew how to haggle.

Many times when they went to sell fish and shrimp, those aunties would haggle them into silence in just a few words. It was clearly five mao per jin, but the moment someone bought two jin, it became eight mao — they'd just shove eight mao at you and walk off. You couldn't exactly leave your stall and chase after them, so you'd just lose two mao for nothing! Two mao was no small amount!

"Once it's sold, I get a third, right? No problem then. What time tomorrow morning? I'll go with you." Once it was confirmed he had a share, of course he had to pitch in.

If they got greedy and wanted to take it to sell themselves and split the money without including him, he couldn't really say anything — after all, he was the one who asked to go along, and they were both his brothers-in-law.

"That's only right. It's because you set the shrimp trap in a good spot that we caught it. If it were us setting it, we definitely wouldn't have put it here — and we definitely wouldn't have netted it."

"Mm, mm. If this fish is worth money, then it definitely has to be split three ways. Big brother and I always set the shrimp traps together and sell and split the money together."

"It's fine — we're all family. Split it however you want…"

Even blood brothers should keep clear accounts, but the words still had to be said nicely.

The big fish in the water moved, splashing a sheet of water onto Lin Xiang Hui. In high spirits, he asked: "Adong, if this one really is a Chinese sturgeon, how much do you think it could sell for?"

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"Several dozen yuan?"

He didn't really know freshwater fish prices to begin with — he only knew the common ones. Besides, it was 1982 now.

To find someone who knows the stuff, it would have to be either a boss or an official. Maybe tomorrow morning he should just take it straight to the town government building? Save the hassle of wasting time at the farmers' market entrance.

"That much?" Both brothers-in-law blurted out in surprise at the same time.

"Not that much. If it's a Chinese sturgeon, it's extremely rare — that's why they call it the King of Yangtze Fish. It's huge, and every part of it is treasure."

Its liver can be used to treat sores and scabies; its meat can be used to tonify deficiency and boost Qi.

Its bone marrow contains anti-cancer factors. There's a saying: "Shark fin, sturgeon bone — eat them to lengthen your years, nourish yin, and strengthen yang."

Its swim bladder is called "sturgeon maw" — rich in collagen, it can be used to make top-grade lacquer and also as medicine.

And the most precious part of all is the roe of the Chinese sturgeon. The caviar made from sturgeon roe is extremely high in fat and is regarded as one of the three great delicacies of the world.