Chapter 113: The Big Catch!

The next day, Zhou Sinian had breakfast ready early and called out to Ming Dai through the door to wake her up, managing to rouse all her morning grumpiness with his loud voice.

After breakfast, the two began to wait.

Soon, Zhou Sinian grew impatient, frequently stepping outside to look around, almost as if trying to see through the walls.

“Ming Dai! Do you think they forgot to call us?” Zhou Sinian asked with suspicion.

Ming Dai shook her head. “No, they won’t. You knit for a while; they’ll call us soon.”

Reluctantly, Zhou Sinian handed the ball of yarn to Ming Dai. She pulled the thread while he knitted, but his ears remained alert, listening carefully for any sounds outside, ready to check out even the slightest movement.

Ming Dai understood Zhou Sinian’s eagerness well—the winters in Heilongjiang Province were incredibly boring!

After the heavy snow sealed the doors, every household stayed indoors through the cold season. Only restless children ventured outside occasionally. Even the educated youth in the front yard behaved unusually well, cutting down on their usual mischief. It had been a long time since any ruckus was heard from that direction.

Such collective activities were rare and even more so since Zhou Sinian had been in the countryside for three years without ever participating.

It wasn’t until around ten in the morning that Aunt Huang came over to call them.

Zhou Sinian, unable to wait any longer, snatched the yarn ball from Ming Dai’s hands and stuffed it into the basket. As he jumped down from the kang—the heated brick bed—he pulled Ming Dai down with him.

By the time Ming Dai realized what was happening, her cotton boots were already on.

Alright then.

Ming Dai donned her thick cotton coat, while Zhou Sinian put on his military overcoat. Both had sheepskin knee protectors that Ming Dai had sewn tied around their legs, covered by an extra pair of trousers for warmth without standing out.

Fearing the biting wind on the ice, Ming Dai wore a woolen hat and wrapped her face tightly with a scarf.

Zhou Sinian wore a hat with ear flaps and wrapped a red headscarf around it. Unwilling to let go of the new red silk scarf he had, he asked Ming Dai, “Can’t I wear this one too? Like you.”

Ming Dai shook her head firmly. “No, that’s a gauze scarf, not a wool scarf. Gauze scarves let the wind through; it won’t help. Just wear the mask I sewed.”

Disappointed, Zhou Sinian put the silk scarf back into the kang cabinet and tied the black cotton mask over his ears.

“I want one with floral prints. This one’s ugly!”

Ming Dai rolled her eyes. “If you want one, sew it yourself!”

Zhou Sinian murmured softly, “I’ll sew it myself! Dazheng knows how! I’ll learn from him! Then I’ll make you the ugliest one ever!”

Ming Dai didn’t hear this; she probably would have been even more exasperated if she had.

Zhou Sinian carried the basket, while Ming Dai carefully held a closed bamboo basket.

This was Ming Dai’s idea, made by Zhou Sinian and Liu Dazheng. Inside was a fireproof ceramic pot wrapped in woven bamboo, fashioned into a carrying basket to keep warm in their hands.

Ming Dai placed burning charcoal inside and brought some extra charcoal to ward off the chill on the ice, fearing they wouldn’t endure the cold.

At Zhou Sinian’s repeated urging, they locked the door and stepped outside, meeting the Liu family waiting for them at the alley’s entrance.

It was a rare pastime, and everyone was going. The sled was packed full.

Though the horses and sleds were public property, every year they offered free rides to those going ice fishing on the Jade Ribbon River.

Because Liu Dazhu was the team leader, the Liu family was always the first to go each year—an unspoken perk.

Ming Dai and Zhou Sinian were simply hitching a ride.

Along the way, Ming Dai noticed several people following behind on dog sleds. Nowadays, most families only kept one dog, and these sled dogs were usually shared among several households. They weren’t as fast as the horse sleds but were quite convenient.

The closer they got to the Jade Ribbon River, the livelier it became. Many people were already drilling holes in the ice.

“Let’s walk a bit further, so we don’t get mixed up with them,” Ming Dai suggested.

In previous years, disputes had broken out between villages over fishing holes.

After a while, they finally arrived.

Liu Dazhu surveyed the area for a moment, judged it suitable, and called everyone to get off the sled.

Other dog sleds from Liu’s Bay also stopped behind the horse sled.

Master Liu sat on the sled, hands tucked in his sleeves, watching without intending to get off. As the dedicated driver for Liu’s Bay, he knew that whoever caught fish wouldn’t leave him out—so why get cold?

Zhou Sinian was restless, grabbing the newly offloaded Ming Dai and sliding down sharply, making her clutch the basket tightly in fright.

Once safely on the ground, Ming Dai’s back was soaked with sweat. She took a deep breath and scolded Zhou Sinian fiercely.

She finally understood why some parents had ended up in the hospital from being driven mad by their children in the past!

Those unruly kids were truly impossible to manage!

She was holding a charcoal stove! What if it tipped over and burned them both?

Ming Dai’s scolding made Zhou Sinian’s ears droop; he promised repeatedly it wouldn’t happen again before she let him off.

Their little dog quickly adjusted, curiously watching Liu Dazhu and the others drill the holes.

Liu Dazhu chose a spot downstream near the middle of the river, marking five holes spaced about ten meters apart.

Others generally avoided the areas they marked.

Liu Dazhu and his three sons took turns using ice chisels to break through the ice along the marked lines. Soon, the holes opened, with small ice fragments floating on the surface.

They scooped out the broken ice with sieves, clearing the holes for fishing.

Ming Dai looked at the cleared holes, a bit disappointed. She had thought the oxygen-starved fish might leap out of the water, but they didn’t.

At this time, the fish were mostly semi-dormant. When they sensed an increase in oxygen in any part of the water, they would rush over.

Because of the low oxygen, their vigilance was low, making them more likely to bite the bait.

Aunt Huang took out pre-cooked corn and tied it to the hooks.

In truth, worms or other meat baits were best, but they were hard to find now.

Liu Laifa and the children started fishing at the first hole.

Liu Dazhu and his two other sons smashed open the remaining holes.

Before Zhou Sinian’s group finished opening their holes, Liu Laifa’s side already had a fish on the line.

It was Gou Dan’s hook.

His excited face turned red as he tugged the fishing line. With his uncle’s help, he pulled up a fish.

Not very big, but enough to make Gou Dan proud—it was the first fish he had ever caught!

Seeing this, Zhou Sinian grew even more eager. He took the ice chisel from Liu Dazhu and broke open his hole with a few loud strikes.

This time, his hand was steady, and he didn’t crack the ice.

After scooping out the ice, he took the fishing line Aunt Huang handed him and cast it into the hole, patiently crouching and waiting for the bobber to sink.

Having just learned the fishing process from Liu Laifa, he was already adept.

Ming Dai took the corn and fishing line Aunt Huang gave them and crouched down alongside him.

With the fire stove and their thick clothes, it wasn’t cold—just the strong wind made it hard to keep their eyes open.

After casting the hook, Zhou Sinian became extremely patient.

He stared unblinkingly at the bobber in the water, making Ming Dai’s eyes ache from watching him so intently, but he didn’t move.

After more than ten minutes, the water finally stirred.

After the bobber dipped twice, Zhou Sinian quickly pulled the line up. A large fish flew out of the water and splashed onto the shore.

Compared to the fish Gou Dan caught, this one was much bigger and fiercer, struggling vigorously on the ice.

Zhou Sinian hurried forward, gripping the gills to lift the fish, thrilled by its size—it was almost as long as his arm!

“Ming Dai! Look! The fish I caught is big!”

He then ran over, holding up his fish alongside Gou Dan’s catch.

One large, one small; one long, one short—the difference was obvious.

He shook the two fish and clicked his tongue at Gou Dan. “So small!”

Gou Dan looked at their fish, eyes reddening, and burst into tears. Liu Laifa quickly covered the boy’s mouth.

Seeing Gou Dan cry, Zhou Sinian returned satisfied, while Ming Dai didn’t dare meet the Liu family’s eyes.

With his uncle’s silent intervention, Gou Dan clenched his fists and silently vowed to catch a bigger fish next time.

After that, the two began to compete.

Zhou Sinian was patient, steady-handed, and sharp-eyed, rarely letting a biting fish escape.

Gou Dan was young and impatient, often pulling the line before the hook was fully bitten, losing many fish and pouting with the urge to cry.

Finally, Liu Laifu comforted his youngest son, “Look, your brother hasn’t caught a single one yet!”

Gou Dan glanced at his empty spot and smiled through his tears.

Tiedan thought: You really are my father!

Ming Dai wasn’t in a hurry. She had never caught a fish before, and this time was no different.

At one hole, only Zhou Sinian’s hook was getting bites; hers was ignored.

So she handed her fishing rod to Zhou Sinian to hold two lines.

Sure enough, soon after, her line started biting. He pulled up a fairly large dogfish.

Ming Dai sighed—her unfortunate luck from the last life as an air force commander had clearly followed her.

They stayed on the ice until well past noon, only leaving around three in the afternoon.

Occasional cheers from the ice surface showed everyone was having good luck.

When it was time to leave, Zhou Sinian reluctantly packed up. With two rods, he had caught a half-basket full of fish—a very respectable haul.

Liu Dazhu’s family, with four holes, caught the most, drawing envious looks from those nearby.

Fortunately, everyone had caught something, and they happily headed home while the weather held.

Back home, Ming Dai and Zhou Sinian hurried into their space.

They stored the fish in the warehouse, then took a hot bath to revive themselves.

Still concerned, Ming Dai brewed ginger tea, and they drank it all.

Zhou Sinian’s enthusiasm for the fish far outweighed his dislike for the hot ginger tea; he gulped it down and went to the warehouse to fetch the largest fish.

“Ming Dai! Let’s eat fish!”

Ming Dai looked at the fish. “The pot in the space is small. Once you clean up, we’ll go outside to stew the fish!”

Zhou Sinian’s little dog nodded eagerly. “Good, good!”

After teaching him how to prepare the fish, Ming Dai went to start cooking the rice.

How could you have fish without rice!