Chapter 35 – Fishing

Xiao Zheyu and Su Ran used 80 ducks to trade for a box of salt, along with some rice, flour, and beans. Sun Qing traded only for salt—she was planning to stockpile some in case she raised salted fish later.

It was already late, so Wen Jianfeng cooked the duck blood and portioned it out. Xia Xiaoman took her share and returned to her room.

She stored all the ducks piled up in the living room into her space, had a quick bite to eat, and fetched a bucket of rainwater from the balcony to boil for processing the ducks.

Xia Xiaoman didn’t intend to smoke all the ducks. She hung 40 of them in the living room for smoking and cleaned the rest to store in her space. She would cook them as needed.

The ducks weren’t particularly fat—washed away by the flood before they were ready for market—each processed duck weighed maybe only around 2 jin (1 kg).

She worked until dawn before she finally finished handling the 40 ducks. She couldn’t be bothered to pluck every last bit of down, so she just singed it off with fire. She didn’t eat the skin anyway, so she could just cut it off later.

The next morning, Xia Xiaoman sat on the balcony, washing the duck intestines and gizzards from the day before with rainwater. Around 10 a.m., she got up and headed to Unit 1501.

As she opened the door, she was greeted by three panda-eyed faces. Xia Xiaoman asked, “Did you guys go out thieving last night?”

Su Ran yawned. “No, we were plucking duck feathers. It took us until 4 a.m., then we had to hang the ducks, light the fire for smoking, clean the innards, wash the feathers… We’ve been working nonstop.”

Seeing the ducks hanging neatly in the living room, smooth and spotless, Xia Xiaoman was full of admiration. “You guys really had time on your hands. These feathers are plucked way too clean. How about this—I’ll pay you in supplies to help me pluck mine?”

Xiao Zheyu shook his head frantically. “Forget it, no way. This kind of work is not worth the hardship. I don’t want to see another duck feather for the rest of my life.”

“By the way, we handled those six extra ducks yesterday. What do we do with them?”

All six had been salted. Xia Xiaoman picked out two. “I’ll use these to make beer duck. For the rest, ask the coach—he’s better at cooking.”

Speak of the devil—Wen Jianfeng walked in and immediately saw the neat row of white, plucked ducks. “Who plucked these? They’re so clean.”

Xiao Zheyu puffed out his chest with pride. “Clean, right? The three of us spent the whole night on them.”

Wen Jianfeng patted his shoulder and smiled. “Young folks really can pull an all-nighter. But next time, don’t be silly—use fire to singe the fluff. Saves a lot of time.”

“Huh? Fire? Won’t that cook the duck?” Xiao Zheyu looked confused.

Xia Xiaoman couldn’t help but laugh. “You silly goose. He said to singe the fluff, not throw the whole duck into the fire.”

Xiao Zheyu, lacking in common sense: “…”

For the six ducks, two were made into beer duck, two into spicy marinated duck, one became duck soup, and the last into three-cup duck. The innards were stir-fried.

They had all the seasonings they needed. Some ingredients were missing, but that didn’t affect the flavor much.

The two newly rich goofballs (Xiao Zheyu and Su Ran) took responsibility for everyone’s rice. The group gathered in Unit 1501 for a full duck feast, eating to their heart’s content.

They weren’t worried about the smell wafting to others. There were no neighbors above, and the floors below were two or three levels down. Before the aroma could drift down, it would be dissipated by the humid air.

“When the smoked ducks at home are done, we should make another trip to the mountain. Who knows, we might find some ducks that slipped through the cracks.”

Xia Xiaoman teased Xiao Zheyu, “Didn’t you say you’d never want to pluck another duck in your life? Now you’re ready to go chase them again?”

Xiao Zheyu: “…”

He really hated people who killed the vibe.

“Even if we don’t catch ducks, we can go dig up some wild veggies. There’s all kinds of edible stuff in the mountains—we’ll never come back empty-handed.”

Sun Qing asked, “You know how to recognize wild vegetables?”

Xiao Zheyu nodded. “Sure! I’ve watched tons of videos of people picking wild greens—wild scallions, water celery, shepherd’s purse, dandelion, I know them all.”

He’d even spotted a patch of wild scallions while chasing ducks yesterday but had been too busy to pick any.

Wen Jianfeng chimed in, “Then let’s go tomorrow. Two people can stay behind to keep watch and continue smoking the ducks.”

“I’ll stay,” Xia Xiaoman volunteered. “I’ve still got ducks in my space to deal with.”

“I want to go,” Zhou Qiuyang said.

He’d been recovering for half a month, living off stockpiles. As a normal person, he couldn’t help but envy Xia Xiaoman and the others when they brought back so many ducks.

His wound had scabbed over, and as long as he was careful, it shouldn’t reopen.

Sun Qing seemed to understand how he felt. “Then I’ll stay. I’m not feeling too well anyway—could use a couple of days to rest.”

…

The next day, Wen Jianfeng led the group out. Sun Qing stacked the firewood for smoking the ducks, packed a small bag of duck innards, and went downstairs to fish.

Xia Xiaoman stayed home to process the ducks in her space. Around noon, Sun Qing came knocking. “Xiaoman, don’t cook. Come to my place—we’re having fish.”

Xia Xiaoman agreed, cleaned up the mess on the floor, and brought over a box of self-heating spicy hot pot.

When she arrived at Unit 1503, she stared in shock. “You caught all these fish?”

Three large basins were in the living room, each holding seven or eight thick grass carp. The twins were playing next to one of the basins.

Sun Qing nodded. “Yeah, they’re super easy to catch. Just toss in a duck intestine, and within two minutes you’ll have a fish on the hook.”

Xia Xiaoman’s eyes sparkled. “I’m going fishing this afternoon, too!”

“Then go early. Someone saw me catching fish this morning and didn’t even bother scavenging—just grabbed a stick and started fishing from the fifth-floor windows. When I left, the good fishing spots were almost all taken.”

“What are they using as bait if they don’t have duck intestines?” Xia Xiaoman asked.

“Some use rat meat, others rice balls.”

“Do the fish eat that stuff?”

“Nope. I fished all morning, and only two other people managed to catch anything.”

Sun Qing had been wondering why nobody in the neighborhood was fishing—it turned out no one had the right gear or bait.

Fishing was a gamble, but at least scavenging guaranteed some return.

“Xiaoman, do you know how to clean fish?” Sun Qing asked, staring helplessly at the grass carp.

Xia Xiaoman picked up a cleaver and chopped straight at the fish’s head. The fish instantly went limp and laid still, waiting to be gutted.

She scraped off the scales, sliced open the belly, and removed the guts. Then she scored the fish on both sides with a few diagonal cuts.

But as soon as she cut into one side, something felt off.

“Do grass carp… have stink lines?” Xia Xiaoman asked.

Sun Qing looked confused. “What’s a stink line?”

Just as Xia Xiaoman was about to explain, something red-black and wormlike began wriggling its way out of the slit in the fish’s back…