Chapter 17: An Unexpected Gain at Night
"Sweetheart, you go ahead."
After resting for a while, the three of them stood up and continued on their journey.
Lin Heng's legs were sore and weak, but there was no choice; they had to keep walking. There was nowhere to rest except home.
They crossed another mountain, and it was now completely dark. Strange sounds could be heard from the forest, making the atmosphere uneasy.
The rustling of small animals moving around, the crickets and grasshoppers were calling loudly.
The sky was filled with bright stars, the stars densely packed together, the Milky Way hanging upside down, making it look somewhat dreamy.
"Woo woo~"
Xiong Ba howled, seemingly trying to scare off any animals that might approach.
Lin Heng, holding a flashlight, walked with his wife and father deep into the mountain, his heart calm and at peace.
Xiu Lan occasionally looked back at Lin Heng, seemingly worried about him falling behind, or perhaps seeking a sense of security for herself.
Lin Father walked at the front, humming a flower drum tune, in a happy mood.
Before long, they came to a small river. This river was three meters wide and connected to the larger Huangtan River.
The Huangtan River, more than 20 meters wide, was a major river that flowed down from Huangtan Town.
Pata!
Pata!
A sound from a small pool of water in the distance splashed against the surface.
It had been a tiring day, and with the bow and arrows, Lin Heng didn't feel like moving. But after thinking about it, he decided to take a look.
"What's wrong?"
Noticing Lin Heng's movements, Xiu Lan turned around immediately.
"There's some activity in that pool, let's go check it out."
Lin Heng pointed to the pool where the water splashed earlier.
"Be careful, it's hard to see the depth at night," Lin Father reminded.
"It's fine, I'll be careful."
Lin Heng held the flashlight and walked ahead. He soon reached the spot where the water had splashed.
It was a small pool connected to the river, about three or four square meters in size. The water level had receded, and it seemed that fish were trapped inside.
"Grass carp, two grass carp!"
Xiu Lan spotted the two grass carp first and said excitedly.
The two grass carp weren't large, probably weighing around three to four pounds, but it was still a pleasant surprise.
"Very normal. This is the time of year when fish lay eggs. We might have an unexpected gain today."
Lin Heng smiled. In these deep mountains and forests, very few people came. When the water rose, the current was strong, making it an ideal spot for grass carp to spawn, so it wasn't surprising that the fish came here to lay eggs.
"What unexpected gain?" Xiu Lan didn't understand.
Lin Heng didn't answer. He took off his shoes and handed them to her before stepping into the water.
When he carefully looked at the water's edge, Lin Heng immediately smiled. "As expected, it looks like they've been here for two or three days. The eggs are almost ready to hatch."
"You mean the grass carp eggs?" Xiu Lan understood.
"Yes, this is the real unexpected gain. Go and bring over the plastic bucket we bought. I'll collect the eggs."
Lin Heng was a bit excited. With these grass carp eggs, he could dig a small pond at home and start raising grass carp.
It might not earn much at first, but with the right resources, he could gradually manage it. It would also be a source of income.
Lin Heng grabbed a bit of the eggs to examine. They were grayish-white with a black dot inside. This meant they had been fertilized and developed for a while.
Grass carp eggs that are not fertilized are white. Once fertilized, they develop a black dot, turning transparent and eventually turning light yellow, then grayish-white.
"I've got it!"
Xiu Lan brought over the bucket, and Lin Father followed.
"You shine the flashlight for me. I'll collect the eggs," Lin Heng handed the flashlight to Xiu Lan and began carefully collecting the fish eggs.
It took nearly twenty minutes, but Lin Heng managed to collect most of the fish eggs into the bucket.
"Not bad, we probably have several hundred thousand eggs," Lin Heng estimated. Grass carp can lay over a million eggs, but most of them don't survive. Lin Heng estimated that after all the handling, many would die, and maybe only a few thousand fish would hatch.
"So, what about these two fish? Should we drain the water?" Xiu Lan asked.
The pool was a bit large, and they had failed twice at catching the fish. Xiu Lan thought they could just drain the water.
"Bring the bow and arrows..."
"Wang Wang!!"
At that moment, Xiong Ba barked and jumped into the pool.
With a few splashes, Pata Pata, it swam back out, holding a grass carp in its mouth and ran to Lin Heng.
"Good, good, good! Good dog!"
Lin Heng couldn't help but pat Xiong Ba's head. This dog was truly remarkable—it jumped into the water without him even asking and brought the fish to him.
"Wow, this dog is incredible!" Lin Father also looked at it with admiration.
This was the smartest dog he had ever seen.
Lin Heng grabbed the fish, tied it with a rope, and thought that even if they put it in the water bucket, it wouldn't survive, since they still had a long way to go home.
"Xiong Ba, you did a great job! Here's your reward!" Lin Heng took out a steamed bun and gave it to Xiong Ba.
"Woo woo!!"
Xiong Ba rubbed its head against Lin Heng's hand, ate the bun in one bite, and jumped back into the water.
This time, it made several attempts before biting the fish's tail and swimming back out.
"Well done, my good Xiong Ba!"
Lin Heng patted Xiong Ba's head again and gave it another bun.
"Woo woo woo!! (^▽^)"
Xiong Ba happily jumped up. After Lin Heng took the fish, it ran a couple of meters away and began shaking off the water.
"This dog is too smart. I was about to chase it away to shake off the water, but it left on its own."
Lin Father's eyes widened.
"Such a good dog," Xiu Lan said, holding the two grass carp, feeling overjoyed.
It had already been a wonderful day, and now they had found two fish—it was incredibly lucky.
"Alright, we're done. Let's continue. The road is still long."
After calming down, Lin Father spoke.
They crossed the small river and continued on their way. With the water bucket in hand, Lin Heng moved slower.
By the time they returned to Huangtan Town, it was already midnight. The streets were empty, with only a few wild dogs roaming.
"Such a pain, we still have to walk a few more kilometers!" Lin Heng sat down with exhaustion.
At that moment, a light appeared in the distance, and a tall figure walked over.
"Dad, Lin Heng, Xiu Lan, you're finally back! I've been waiting for so long. Did you really go into the city?"
As the figure came closer, Lin Heng saw his older brother Lin Yue, who asked excitedly.
"Big Brother, come help carry the stuff. It's so heavy."
Lin Heng, seeing his savior, passed the backpack and water bucket to Lin Yue.
"You bought grass carp? These are fish eggs?" Lin Yue asked, looking at the bucket of eggs and the two fish Xiu Lan was carrying.
"Of course not. I caught them on the way," Lin Heng smiled.
"Why did you buy so many things? And there's a dog too?" Lin Yue expressed his confusion while helping Lin Father and Xiu Lan carry some of the load.
He guessed that his father and brother had gone into the city, but he hadn't expected them to buy so many things.
There were clothes and shoes as well—this wasn't the New Year, so why buy these? Didn't they agree to build a house? Why waste money? He had a lot of questions in his mind.
"Let's talk while walking, let's head back quickly." Lin Father was too tired to explain.
On the way back, the three of them told Lin Yue what happened in the city.
"That bastard Liu Qicheng really is so greedy!" Lin Yue couldn't help but curse when he heard that the ginseng sold for 900 yuan.
"Old bro, your education wasn't wasted. Just keep living well with Xiu Lan, and things will get better." Lin Yue patted Lin Heng's shoulder and praised him.
He had been a bit resentful towards Lin Heng for not being more ambitious, but now, that resentment had lessened considerably.
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(End of this chapter)