Chapter 10: Making a Dip Net

The air inside the cabin wasn’t good. Early in the morning, after the Su family finished their meal, they locked the cabin door. Su Laosan, Su Laowu, along with members of the Yan family—Yan He, Wu Chunhe, and Zhang Xiaolan—went to report to Manager Zhang. They met their respective foremen and were led off to work.

Su Lao’er and Su Laosi led the dairy goats, while Liu Yingying and Li Sumei took their needlework and brought Yan Qi and Yan Xing out for some fresh air.

The ferry had been sailing all night. They were now outside the jurisdiction of Wukou County. The farther they went, the broader the view became. It was no longer raining outside. The golden morning sun was warm and dazzling in just the right way. The wind stirred up waves that slapped against the boat with a splashing sound.

Perhaps because of last night’s rain, patches of green had started to appear on the previously dried-up riverbanks, and even some fresh buds had sprouted on the bare trees.

Old Madam Su stood in front of the railing holding little Su Huan, her face full of satisfaction as she took in the scene.

The revival of all things signaled the end of the drought.

At that moment, Yan Qi and Yan Xing came out of nowhere with a three-meter-long pole and some discarded, broken ropes, cheerfully saying, “Grandma, let’s make a dip net and catch some fish!”

Old Madam Su asked in surprise, “Where did you get the rope and pole?”

Su Yanqi explained, “It was a rope that broke yesterday when the sailors were moving things, and this extra pole was lying around. They were thrown on the ground. When we went to see Eldest Brother and Second Brother just now, they asked the foreman and told us we could bring them back to make a net and catch some fish to eat.”

Even if they didn’t eat them, the fish could be sold to other disaster victims—another source of income. Plus, the pole was long enough to reach into the water from the deck. It might just work!

Old Madam Su laughed and handed little Su Huan to Li Sumei. “Great idea! When it comes to net weaving, no one in our family can beat me. I’ll make the dip net. Qi-ge’er, Xing-ge’er, come help Grandma.”

“Okay!”

Yan Qi and Yan Xing eagerly grabbed the broken ropes and helped her sort them out.

Once they finished making the dip net, Su Huan tugged on Li Sumei’s sleeve and pointed at the water. “Yiya~”

Li Sumei looked down and gasped. At some point, several fish had surfaced on what had just been a calm river!

Their scales were shiny, their swimming energetic. They began to gather into a group, leaping out of the water. Just watching them, one could tell they were fresh and lively.

Li Sumei was overjoyed and quickly lowered her voice to say to Old Madam Su, “Mother, there are fish here!”

Old Madam Su glanced at the water and beamed with joy. She quickly urged Su Lao’er to lower the net.

Su Lao’er licked his lips, focused intently on the fish, and moved extremely gently, afraid of startling them.

Splash!

Suddenly, one of the fish sensed danger and tried to escape. Su Huan immediately raised her hand as if grabbing the fish out of thin air. The fish actually struggled a bit and then swam obediently into the dip net.

Yan Qi and Yan Xing were astonished by what they saw. “Grandma, the fish listened to Little Sister!”

Su Lao’er scooped up the fish from the net and started a second dip. Laughing, he said, “Then ask your sister to bless us with more fish. If we dry them and sell them in the capital, we’ll make a good bit of money!”

He was just saying it casually, but Yan Qi and Yan Xing took it seriously. They dropped what they were doing and ran over to Li Sumei, speaking to the baby in her arms. “Little Sister, can you call out more fish for us?”

Li Sumei couldn’t help but laugh. “She’s still a baby. We can’t even understand her. How can the fish?”

Yan Qi disagreed. “Fifth Auntie, Grandma said Little Sister is special. Her arrival is a blessing to our family. If she talks, fish must understand her! I saw her catch a fish just now! Just like this—she stretched out her hand and the fish that tried to escape swam back into the net.”

As he spoke, he seriously imitated Su Huan’s motion of grabbing fish in the air—utterly adorable.

“Gigglegiggle~”

Su Huan burst into laughter in Li Sumei’s arms. Instantly, the fish that had started to disperse regrouped, and this time there seemed to be even more of them!

Seeing this, Yan Qi and Yan Xing clapped excitedly and cheered, “Just like that! Little Sister’s amazing! Laugh again, Little Sister!”

Afraid the fish would swim away, the two little boys tried everything to keep Su Huan laughing.

Li Sumei was stunned. Could this be real? Could her daughter really talk to fish?

The thought had barely formed when she quickly shook her head, embarrassed by her own childish imagination. It must just be coincidence…

Old Madam Su was overjoyed and immediately gripped the pole tightly. “Lao’er! Now’s the time, pull it up!”

If this net came up full, they wouldn’t have to worry about meat for the next three days—and there might even be extra!

Standing at the front, Su Lao’er immediately rolled up his sleeves and exerted all his strength. His sturdy muscles bulged as he pulled hard on the net. “Heave! Heave!”

Soon, his face turned red and veins bulged on his temples, but the dip net was still heavy in the water, unmoving.

Liu Yingying and Su Laosi, seeing this, ignored their seasickness and rushed over to help pull the net.

Finally, bit by bit, the net was lifted and with a loud thump, it crashed onto the deck.

The sheer number of fish shook the boat slightly. Thankfully, the vessel was stable and quickly regained balance. It felt like the boat had been hit by a big wave—but no one paid it any mind.

Liu Yingying stared at the pile of fish in shock. “My heavens, that’s gotta be 300 to 400 jin (150–200 kg) of fish, right?”

Su Lao’er, catching his breath, laughed. “Not quite that much, but at least 200 jin. But look, a lot of places in the net got torn by the fish. I don’t think it’ll survive a third use.”

As he spoke, he regretfully picked up the now hole-riddled net.

Su Laosi poked around inside and saw that the catch included all sorts of fish: grass carp, snakehead, silver carp, perch, crucian carp, softshell turtles, eels, and a huge pile of crabs and river prawns—and even a few freshwater mussels!

The scene was eerily similar to when they were fishing in the ditch two days ago. He couldn’t help but turn and exclaim, “Mother, are we destined to strike it rich? Blessed by water?”

Old Madam Su beamed. “What are you talking about? It’s all thanks to our clever little Fifth Girl. She noticed the fish first—otherwise, even fishing for three hours might’ve gotten us nothing!”

Hearing this, and seeing how little Su Huan couldn’t take her eyes off the crabs—almost drooling—everyone burst out laughing.

Yan Xing, who had been resisting the urge to drool, seemed to understand his sister’s look and quickly said, “Grandma, Little Sister wants to eat crab. How about we make some crab meat porridge for her?”

Su Laosi immediately gave his silly son a smack on the head. “What nonsense! Your sister can’t eat anything but goat milk right now. If she gets a stomachache, are you going to take responsibility?”

“But…”

Yan Xing still wanted to argue on his sister’s behalf, but Old Madam Su smiled and promised, “Alright! Grandma agrees—once your sister is weaned, she’ll eat crabs with you brothers!”

Hearing this, Su Huan, who had been craving the crabs, immediately swallowed her saliva and clenched her chubby little fists in secret determination: I’ll wean early!