Chapter 6: I've never seen so many fish before

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  "Two Leng... Jade Lin... Your fish, is it really like that... stabbed to death?" someone asked incredulously.

  "Uh-huh." Zhang Zhun nodded.

  "How is it possible? The fish are swimming so fast!" someone exclaimed.

  "A man can be faster than him!" Zhang Quan replied with a poker face.

  "But... every time we use a fishing spear, we're slower than the fish..." someone muttered.

  "That's because you haven't trained enough!" Zhang Zhun's reply was still stiff and expressionless.

  Some new warriors of the Marine Corps also asked such questions when they watched the performance of pole vault for the first time, and Zhang's standard answer was like this.

  A man can run faster than a fish!

  If your movements are slower than fish, then your training is not enough!

  To hit the fish, you have to train desperately!

  Otherwise, why would fish fall into your hands and be eaten by you?

  There's nothing easy in this world!

  Seven fish weighed almost forty catties, Zhang Zhun felt it was enough.

  It's probably because too many military households came to fish, and the places where you can obviously see that there are fish have all been netted. However, precisely because of this, in those shallow bays where it's impossible to lay nets, the schools of fish are particularly numerous. Once my level recovers, I should be able to catch five with one throw without any problem. In short, as long as I'm still alive, eating fish is absolutely no problem at all.

  "Go back!" Zhang Quan stirred his long spear in the seawater, washing off the bloodstains on it.

  "Good!" Haozi replied with a smile.

  Seven big fish, Haozi and Zhang Quan carried them with great difficulty. They used grass roots to string the fish gills together, one by one, hanging on a long spear. The two of them lifted it from both ends, carrying it back to their home. When they entered the city, many military households looked at them with admiring eyes, looking at the seven big fish they were carrying. Haozi felt the admiring gaze and puffed out his chest high, like a victorious general returning from battle.

  The two returned to the shantytown, where Yang Yinghua was standing at the door collecting the herbs she had picked. Seeing the two return, she took a glance and didn't react, but suddenly felt something and looked again. This time, her eyes couldn't move away. Zhang Zhun and Huozi were carrying seven big fish, lined up in a row, which was quite spectacular.

  Just then, Little Sister Yang Lingxue came out from inside and saw so many fish at a glance. She suddenly exclaimed exaggeratedly: "Wow! So many fish!"

  Yang Daren also ran out from inside, saw so many fish, and rushed over with joy, watching the seven big fish up close. The two siblings looked left and right, as if they couldn't get enough of it. Yang Daren even reached out to touch the scales on the fish's body.

  After a long while, Yang Yinghua asked suspiciously: "Did you two catch this?"

  Hao Zi said proudly: "These were all pierced by Er Leng with a long spear. One stab, one fish, one stab, one fish, it's really amazing!"

  He then exaggeratedly demonstrated Zhang Zhun's previous action.

  This kid, really can't catch fish, but imitating Zhang Zhun's movements is quite standard, even the posture has a 30% resemblance.

  Yang Yinghua said incredulously: "Yulin, it's really you..."

  Zhang Zhun knew what she was wondering about, and nodded slightly without making a sound. He said warmly: "I was hit once, and it seems like I've opened up a lot. This skill of catching fish with my bare hands is as if it's something I was born to do. With just a casual stretch of my hand, I can pierce the fish in the seawater."

  Yang Yingwan said with a smile: "That's good, that's good, I was worried..."

  Haozi looked at Zhang Zhun, then at his own sister, and smiled in a very strange and ambiguous way.

  Yang Yinghua's face turned red as she lifted the curtain and went into the house.

  Yang Gan Sheng and Yang Ling Xue, the two siblings, proactively took over the long spear's two ends, lifting the seven big fish back to the kitchen with a swaying motion.

  Zhang Zhun caught a total of seven fish, which added up to about forty catties, filling up a large wooden bucket.

  There were so many fish that the Yang family couldn't finish them. Huang obtained Zhang's consent, took three of them, and distributed them to the neighbors next door, leaving four for his own family. Those three neighboring families had all lost someone who was beaten to death, and their bodies hadn't been buried yet - it was really miserable. The fellow villagers in Yangjia Village wanted to help them, but they were all so poor that they couldn't even afford to cook a meal, and didn't have the ability to do so. These three fish could be considered a token of goodwill.

  Huang's plan is to eat two tonight and two tomorrow at noon. The two fish together weigh over ten catties, cut into pieces and stewed with wild vegetables and rice, making for a very sumptuous dinner. It has been a long time since the whole family had such a sumptuous dinner, last year's New Year's Eve was just eating a few pieces of fried dough, thinking about it makes one's eyes well up with tears.

  Yangjiatun had three military households beaten to death, and many more were injured. Those who went with Yang Kaidi to make trouble that day were all injured to varying degrees. Yang Kaidi and others suffered external injuries, while five neighbors suffered internal injuries, bleeding profusely, and were still vomiting blood last night. Fortunately, the doctor said there was no immediate danger to their lives, but it's best to take care of themselves and eat nutritious food. However, the military households are so poor they can't even afford to buy cooking oil, let alone eggs, where would they get nutritious food?

  "Otherwise, all these fish can be given to neighbors to nourish their bodies. There is still time now, and I can go catch a few more back."

  Huang hesitated and didn't speak. She thought it was hard to catch fish, but Haizi often went to the seaside to play, and in the end, he didn't bring back a single fish.

  Yang Kaidi leaned on his crutches and struggled down from the kang, excitedly saying: "Good! Let's do it this way! Yulin, thank you for your hard work!"

  "There's nothing much, just doing what I can."

  Huang's family thanked repeatedly and then asked Yang Yinghe, Yang Daxian and Yang Lingxue to send the fish separately.

  Zhang Zhun carried a hatchet and went out of Yangjia Village with Haozi, to the nearby bamboo forest, cut down a handy green bamboo, carved it into a bamboo spear shape, and came back to Hongshitai again. This time, the two were in a mood for a big harvest, so Haozi brought a carrying pole and two buckets, preparing to carry fish.

  The two arrived at Red Stone Beach and immediately got to work. Haozi was in charge of smashing stones and sorting the caught fish, while Zhang Zhun focused on finding fish and catching them.

  At this time, the Red Stone Beach was even more desolate. The three young people from earlier had already left. With no one competing, Zhang's efficiency increased. Every time he stabbed with his bamboo spear, he didn't miss. In about an hour or so, Zhang caught over thirty large fish and filled two wooden buckets to the brim. By weight, there were at least 178 pounds.

  The wooden bucket was so heavy that Zhang Wan couldn't lift it, and after trying several times, the bucket didn't budge. In the end, Zhang Wan had no choice but to carry it himself. When he carried the two buckets full of fish back to the village, the whole Yangjia Village was in an uproar. Every household sent a representative to gather around Zhang Wan and watch. Seeing the two buckets filled with big yellow croaker, the neighbors were amazed.

  "Everyone look, these are all brought back by Erlang! How's that? Amazing?"

  "I drove the fish out, Er Lang stood outside, just one scoop, one lift, one swing, and with a 'slap' sound, a fish appeared beside me!"

  "Look closely, it's like this... one grasp! One lift! One swing!"

  "Look at you guys catching fish with such difficulty! You've been trying for half a day and haven't caught a single one!"

  "Haozi, your skills don't seem to be great either, I've never seen you catch a fish with your own hands."

  "That's... I don't want to catch..."

  ……

  On such occasions, it's usually the time for Hua Zi to show off his skills. This guy's mouth is as smooth as if he had applied fish liver oil, and he added flavor to demonstrate Zhang Zhun's fishing skills to everyone, leaving all the neighbors stunned, saying that Zhang Zhun might be a god from the heavens. Otherwise, how could such agile fish be pierced by a long spear in one go?

  Those young military dependents were even more bewildered, unable to comprehend Zhang Zhun's incredible abilities. Among them were the three young men they had seen before. Yangjiatun had several hundred people, and Zhang Zhun's memory was not good, so he really couldn't recall who these three people were.

  "Countrymen! Listen to me!"

  Yang Kaidi walked out of the house with a cane, trembling.

  His prestige in Yangjiatun was quite high, and the noisy neighbors immediately quieted down.

  "Listen up, everyone! Yesterday's injured folks aren't few in number, we need to make it up to them. The fish Yu Lin caught will be shared among all the injured. For our unfortunate brothers who met with difficulties, double portions, double portions! Don't worry, don't rush, everyone gets a share, everyone gets a share. As long as I, Yang Kai De, have food to eat, everyone else will too!"

  Yang Kaidel laughed and said.

  He took charge and distributed most of the fish to the surrounding neighbors.

  The neighbors received the fish, and Yang Kaidi was naturally grateful, while Zhang Zhun was also praised by everyone, saying that although Zhang Laosan left early, there were successors. The three households who had died at home even came to thank him in person. Before, everyone called Er Leng, now they all call Yu Lin. In the end, Yang Kaidi only kept two fish.

  Zhang Zhun glanced at the sky and said, "Yang BoBo, shall I go pick some more before the sun sets?"

  Yang Kaidi patted his shoulder and said gratefully, "That's enough, that's enough, Yulin. Don't work too hard. The injured neighbors have already been given fish. If you want to distribute more, wait until tomorrow."

  Zhang nodded and said: "Okay, I'll also make some more tomorrow, ensuring each neighbor gets one."

  "Alright, alright, just don't overexert yourself."

  Zhang Zhun said: "It doesn't take much effort, it's just that Haozi needs to cooperate, as long as he doesn't feel tired."

  Yang Kaidel laughed and said: "That's his good fortune, he still thinks it's tiring."

  Hao Zi said repeatedly beside him: "Not tired, not tired, Yu Lin Ge, I am now full of energy all over my body, and I don't feel tired at all! Really, I'm so excited, I've never seen so many fish before!"