Chapter 28: Night Fishing

Lin Yi curled his lip. "What kind of luck is it to catch a big bighead carp every single day? And it’s the kid doing the catching! I’ve lived more than half a lifetime and never caught a fish that big!"

If he had to believe in luck, he would rather believe that bighead carp were simply swarming. Having lived for decades, feeling outdone by a mere child made him feel quite ashamed.

The two children danced with joy. Liu Yaya was about to announce the good news loudly to Chen Wenjun, but Lin Qin stopped her. "Don't go shouting it everywhere. What if people find out we’ve caught big fish and try to steal them?"

Startled, Liu Yaya quickly covered her mouth and shook her head frantically. "I won't say anything, I won't!"

Her adorable reaction amused Lin Qin. She placed the bighead carp into a bucket, covered it with a wooden basin, and asked, "Want to keep playing?"

"Yes! Yes, yes, yes!" the little one nodded vigorously.

Lin Qin hurriedly readied the fishing line and baited the hook for her. She then cast her own line as well.

This time, Lin Qin’s line was the first to show movement. When she pulled it up, it was a river eel weighing about 0.4 kilograms. Lin Yi, not looking closely, thought it was a parasitic worm and turned quite pale. He nearly made Lin Qin drop her fishing rod.

Lin Qin burst into laughter. "Dad! It’s a river eel. It can sell for 2.5 yuan per jin!"

Lin Yi rubbed his eyes. Once he saw clearly, he sat back down, relieved. "Young people really do have sharper eyes. My eyesight just isn't what it used to be!"

Lin Qin didn't call him out on it; she moved the eel to another bucket and continued fishing.

Just then, Liu Yaya’s rod began to twitch. Having learned from the previous experience, Lin Qin stepped in to help decisively. The moment she pulled the rod, she knew it was another big fish. Without a second thought, she grabbed the landing net.

Once hauled up, they discovered it was a silver carp, weighing about 1.5 kilograms. At a glance, the silver carp looked similar to the bighead, though its color was lighter and slightly brownish. A large silver carp head stewed with tofu was also quite delicious.

Watching Liu Yaya’s haul, Lin Yi felt restless. "Lassie, let me have a go too."

Lin Qin refused without a second thought. "Dad, stop messing around. Your ribs haven't healed yet. If you accidentally get hurt again, it’ll be a real problem. Besides, we’re on a fishing boat; you can fish whenever you want. Let’s wait until you’re better."

Lin Yi felt quite regretful, but he didn't insist.

Lin Qin had thought two big fish were enough for Liu Yaya, but it turned out the girl was like a lucky charm. Every cast brought in a fish over 1.5 kilograms. It really was as Lin Yi said—the river was overflowing with big fish; otherwise, they wouldn't have had such a harvest.

Worried about the children, Lin Qin stopped fishing herself and focused entirely on netting fish for Liu Yaya and Chen Ping'an.

By dusk, when Chen Wenjun boarded the boat, Chen Ping'an excitedly reported the day’s achievements. "Dad, Yaya is so amazing! She caught so many big fish."

"How big is this 'so many' you’re talking about?" Chen Wenjun coaxed the child as he sorted through the day’s catch, counting them one by one.

"Thirteen gudgeons, and we caught a soft-shelled turtle weighing over a kilogram. The supply and marketing cooperative pays 2.2 yuan per jin, and it’s a rare item, so it’ll sell easily without needing to lower the price. We also picked a bucket of river snails. The meat is starting to get plump now; I’ve seen plenty of village elders and children out gathering them."

It was a sign that summer was approaching.

Liu Yaya was eager to try, sneaking a glance at Lin Qin but not daring to speak. Lin Qin understood her thoughts but didn't expose her. Instead, she turned to Chen Wenjun and said, "It’ll really heat up in another half month. Ping'an’s hair needs a trim, and their clothes are getting too small. I want to buy some fabric to make them new outfits."

Only then did she remember Lin Yi. "Dad! Did you bring your summer clothes onto the boat? If not, I might as well make you a couple of sets too."

Lin Yi immediately refused. "Why waste the money? If I didn't bring them, I’ll just go back and get them. You two need to save money to buy land, be frugal!"

The mere mention of spending money made his heart ache. As for the kids, fine, but he was nearly in the grave already—what need did he have for new clothes?

Lin Qin didn't argue with him.

However, Chen Wenjun, who was standing nearby, chimed in, "You should make yourself two sets of clothes as well."

Lin Yi agreed wholeheartedly, his eyes slightly reddening. "You’ve spent these years in the Liu family living like a shadow of a person. You really should make yourself some new clothes to wash away the bad luck!"

"Let’s earn money first; we can talk about that once we have some!" Lin Qin steered the conversation away.

Only after processing his own haul did Chen Wenjun look at the children’s harvest. Seeing the big fish in the three large buckets, he gasped, "My goodness! Three bighead carp, four silver carp, two snakeheads, plus crucian carp and eels... Not bad! Even veteran fishermen couldn't match this!"

Lin Qin pointed at Liu Yaya. "Don't look at me; the children caught all of these. I just did the math, and these fish will fetch a good price!"

"That’s for sure! I see it’s still early; let’s light a kerosene lamp tonight and cast our lines again to catch some more. Tomorrow, we’ll head to the Xiatian vegetable market." Chen Wenjun mused, rubbing his chin.

His usual habit was to accumulate the fish for a few days until he had a sufficient amount before taking them to sell together. Although the haul today wasn't as large as yesterday’s, most of them were big fish—valuable and easy to sell. It was better to sell them while they were still fresh and lively to get the best price.

Lin Qin felt the same. She had spent the day hovering over the children and hadn't fished much herself, so whether this streak of luck was temporary or permanent remained to be seen.

The two of them hurried to prepare dinner. Once the children finished eating and rested a while, Lin Qin took them to the stern cabin to set up the beds. The two little ones had played hard all day and fell asleep almost as soon as their heads hit the pillows.

Lin Qin waited until they were sound asleep before heading back out. Passing by Lin Yi, she lowered her voice and instructed, "Dad, Wenjun and I are going to fish for a bit longer. You go ahead and sleep; if the children wake up, just call me."

"Go on!" Lin Yi shifted his position to let her pass.

When Lin Qin reached the deck, she found the boat had drifted away from the riverbank and was surrounded by water on all sides. Chen Wenjun lit the kerosene lamp, hung it on the edge of the fishing boat, and threw some crushed golden apple snails into the water. The pungent smell of these snails was perfect for baiting the area.

After dumping the snails, Chen Wenjun took out the fishing rods and earthworms, squatting on the deck and working in a relaxed, steady rhythm. The river breeze blew gently, making one feel drowsy.

Lin Qin leaned against the cabin, took the rod Chen Wenjun handed her, and seeing it was already baited, cast it immediately. She couldn't see the situation in the water clearly in the dark, but as soon as she felt a tug on the line, her spirits lifted. "It’s hooked! It’s hooked! And it’s a big one!"

Chen Wenjun immediately came over to help. He was noticeably more agile than Lin Qin, holding the rod in one hand and the landing net in the other, moving without any rush or confusion.

Lin Qin couldn't see what was happening underwater, but a moment later, she saw Chen Wenjun pull up the landing net. By the light of the kerosene lamp, they saw the large fish thrashing about—another bighead! And it weighed at least two and a half to three kilograms.

Chen Wenjun grinned from ear to ear and handed her his rod. "You play with this one; I’ll get this fish secured."

A fish this size had to be handled carefully; if it slipped away, it would be back in the river in a heartbeat, and all their hard work would have been for nothing.