Chapter 8: Caught a Big Fish

The Third Sister Wan was clutching her abdomen, crying out in pain.

Upon closer inspection, there was blood flowing from beneath her legs.

The Fourth Sister Wan  immediately panicked. She quickly got up and called out to the nearby households, “Help, someone, help!”

After a while, a few passing farm women came to assist, and together they helped the Fourth Sister carry her  Third Sister back home.

Not long after they brought her inside, the heart-wrenching sound of Third Sister Wan’s cries filled the air.

The farm women, who had helped bring her in, glanced inside. Upon realizing what had happened, their faces turned pale, and they hurriedly left without a word.

Old Tan had originally set out to catch loaches despite the rain, but as the downpour intensified, he had to turn back and grab a bamboo hat.

When he made his way to the pond again, he ran into the group of pale-faced farm women on the road.

One of them was Aunt Chen from the neighboring village.

“Old  Tan, your wife’s sister has had an accident,” Aunt Chen said.

“Which sister?” Old Tan stopped and asked.

Aunt Chen’s expression brightened as she replied, “It’s that Third Sister Wan.”

Old Tan was stunned. “Didn’t she just come to my house to visit my wife today? What happened?”

Aunt Chen leaned in closer and whispered, “It’s tragic. On her way back, the heavy rain made the road slippery, and she slipped and fell. The baby, which was already over two months along, was lost.”

“What? What did you say?” Old Tan thought he had misheard. “Third Sister Wan lost her baby?”

Aunt Chen furrowed her brow and whispered again, “Yes, yes. I heard it was a hard-won pregnancy, and now, just like that, the baby’s gone. The Zhang family is really upset, blaming her for running around in the rain.”

Old Tan sighed deeply. He had just seen her at his house, boasting and acting proud. Who would have thought that in the blink of an eye, the baby would be lost? Truly bad luck.

Every family has its own troubles, and Old Tan wasn’t one to get involved. He adjusted his bamboo basket, ready to leave. “Ah, we shouldn’t meddle in other people’s business. I’m off to the pond to catch some loaches to help my wife recover. I’ll be going now.”

Aunt Chen heard this and smiled with a knowing look. “Old Tan, you really know how to care for your wife.”

Old Tan scratched the back of his head and laughed heartily. “If I don’t care for my own wife, who will?”

“Alright, alright, go ahead,” Aunt Chen said. “But you know, there’s probably nothing in the pond behind your mountain!”

Her tone carried a hint of mockery.

Old Tan paused for a moment, gave her a sidelong glance, and then continued on toward the pond at the back of the mountain.

That so-called pond was really just a few patches of marshy land.

The land no one in the village wanted was left to them.

The wasteland had several large pits, and whenever it rained, water would collect and form ponds, making it impossible to plant anything.

They had always hoped to raise some small fish or shrimp when there was water in the pond, but unfortunately, nothing ever survived. All they could rely on were a few wild loaches to catch and eat.

Old Tan rolled up his pants and waded into the pond, sinking the wooden basket into the water. He waited in the muddy area where the water plants were thick.

Soon, ripples spread across the still surface of the water.

Something had caught in the basket.

Old Tan immediately felt a surge of excitement. He quickly lifted the basket and found a large, lively carp wriggling inside.

This carp was at least five or six times bigger than the ones he usually caught, enough to feed their family of three for quite a while.

“Well, I’ll be damned! This fish is huge!”

Old Tan grabbed the basket, ready to head back to shore.

But just as he turned around, a grass carp weighing over ten pounds leaped out of the water. Its scales glistened in the sunlight, shining like oil.

Old Tan was so stunned by the sight that his vision blurred. With a blink of his eye, the wooden basket in his hand sank deeper into the water.

He quickly looked down and saw the massive grass carp had landed right into the basket behind him.

Now, he was overjoyed. Though he wasn’t a greedy man, he quickly looked around, saw no one, and hurriedly carried the basket back home.

“Wife, dear, look what I brought back!” he puffed, entering the house, out of breath.

“What is it?” Wan Chunmei asked, puzzled.

Wan Chunmei sat up, leaned in to look, and saw the two large fish. She couldn’t help but smile. “Where did you get these from?”

Old Tan grinned from ear to ear. “I caught them in that wasteland behind the mountain.”

Wan Chunmei was incredulous. “That muddy, stinky place has fish?”

“Yep, it’s a real surprise,” Old Tan said, pulling out the carp. “But who cares? As long as there’s fish to eat.”

Wan Chunmei thought it was just good luck and didn’t think too much about it. She began to divide the fish. “The carp can be cooked in four meals. Leave the meat for the eldest and the others, and I’ll take the soup.”

Old Tan replied cheerfully, “Alright!”

Wan Chunmei looked at the large grass carp and added, “This fish is really big. After you kill it, wash it clean and hang it out to dry to make dried fish.”

Old Tan chuckled. “Okay, okay, I’ll make dried fish, make dried fish.”

With that, he hoisted the fish and headed toward the well in the front yard.