Chapter Eighteen Something Happened Again

  The long net, slowly sinking into the river water under the ice surface. This is the time to test the skill of the person responsible for guiding the direction of the pole. Think about it, under the nearly one-meter-thick ice layer, there's still a thick layer of snow on top, and you can't see anything. Heaven knows where the pole has gone? It all relies on experience, this is a technical job that also requires patience and strength. Shan Hu is controlling the pole at the net entrance, hey! I didn't expect this guy to have such skills. This job isn't something that can be done with just more people, others can't even get involved!

  The mountain tiger took off his hat and sheepskin coat, slightly arched his back, and stood firmly on the ice hole, with sweat on his forehead and his eyes rolling around. He used the fork in his hand to sense the direction of the guide rod's advance, and from time to time rushed to the next ice hole, where Autumn Brother was standing in the same posture: "Did you hit it?" "No", "Did you hit it this time?" "Not yet!" The voices were loud, echoing back and forth on the empty river surface. Why is that? Can't they see the guide rod under the ice? It's all relying on the person at the next ice hole, using the fork in their hand to stretch into the river water, waiting for the guide rod to hit the fork, and then repeating the same action, back and forth, like a relay race.

  Everyone stopped laughing and joking, quietly watching Shanhu and Qiusheng's operation. These two have become the focus of attention now. They probably felt a sense of admiration in everyone's eyes. Qiusheng was fine, calm and composed, but Shanhu was slightly pleased with himself, making even more noise than before, shaking everyone's eardrums. He occasionally swept his gaze over the crowd, implying: "Don't worship me, I'm not a legend, this is just a technical skill." Ugh, this little guy has become arrogant and self-satisfied, even sticking out his tail. This kind of pride must be severely criticized and cannot be tolerated or indulged.

  I walked up to Mountain Tiger and said, "Tiger, aren't you tired? Why don't we switch hands and let someone else do it? You take a break?" With my seemingly smiling but actually sinister and cunning expression and tone, Mountain Tiger shivered and his big mouth opened wide: "Little Autumn! Not tired, not tired, you go ahead and busy yourself!" His voice immediately dropped eight degrees, his body slumped down, and he gave me a flattering smile. However, this smile looked awkward, like a bitter smile. The people around us burst out laughing, and my older cousin Autumn Spring laughed and said: "Tiger, in our village, only Little Autumn can tame you. Sometimes you even dare to be disobedient in front of your dad, but in front of Little Autumn, you don't have any temper at all! This is called 'one thing subdues another'." Everyone laughed even harder, and the joyful atmosphere spread out over the cold river surface. Mountain Tiger chuckled foolishly and didn't say a word, only working more diligently with his hands. Ling sister whispered to me: "You always bully the honest ones." I rolled my eyes and was speechless at that moment. You're such a clever and beautiful woman, how can you also be dishonest? Tiger is truly honest, but you don't seem like it. And, you still haven't forgotten what happened earlier! Here comes the counterattack!

  "Stop, it's touched!" came the excited voice from Autumn Brother's side. It turned out that Autumn Brother's fork had finally touched the guide rod of the Mountain Tiger in the water. Everyone cheered, and this task was not easy in the flowing river water. Everyone's attention was immediately drawn to that side, and I took advantage of the opportunity to get a break. Otherwise, who knows what else Sister Ling would have said?

  The mountain tiger retracted the fork, and hurriedly ran to the next ice eye. Autumn-born brother repeated the action of the mountain tiger just now. After the first ice eye passed through the guide rod, the following ones were easy to handle. The guide rod continued to advance, passing through one ice eye after another, rushing towards the exit of the net. The guide rope became longer and longer, and at each ice eye, a thin wooden stick was used to pull the guide rope out of the water surface. Everyone pulled the guide rope, dragging the net, and the hook continuously moved forward towards the exit of the net. This was absolutely a laborious task. The long hook sank in the water for a while, and soon the people pulling the hook were sweating profusely. Finally, the guide rod emerged from the exit of the net, and everyone quickly pulled it out, placing it horizontally on the ice eye at the exit of the net, turning the guide rope over and tying it to the guide rod. This hook was finally laid down.

  Everyone was exhausted from the busy activity, their hands were numb with cold, and after finishing, they all sat in the snow, wiping sweat and panting heavily. I wasn't too tired, mainly because everyone was concerned about me and didn't let me do much, citing my recent injury as the reason. This is the kind of treatment a giant panda receives! So, I had the energy to get up and walk around, occasionally lying down on the ice to look into the ice hole, but of course, I couldn't see anything. I have a small trick: when everyone has free time, if that quick-witted girl were to retell what happened earlier, I would immediately become the center of attention. I can handle it, with my thick skin and stable mental state, having just taken advantage of the situation. At most, I would just argue a few sentences or change the subject, and I think I could get away with it. But Ling sister wouldn't be able to handle it, being a girl with thin skin, she would definitely feel embarrassed. Unlike some girls I've seen in my past life, who are like fierce sea creatures, but in the end, they still can't help but take it out on me. Although I'm not really angry, it's also not good to make Ling sister feel embarrassed behind her back and scold her a few times. It's not worth it. Also, I couldn't call Ling sister over and say "stay away from everyone, so they won't tease you", that wouldn't be right either. First, it would deprive everyone of a topic to talk about, and second, if Ling sister suspected me of wanting to do something else, it would be a loss. So, I decided not to give them the opportunity, and if I weren't around, they also wouldn't dare tease Ling sister. This is what's called being wise and clever at the same time, with a sharp mind and cunning, high IQ!

  After waiting for almost an hour, I was getting a bit bored with my own wandering. Autumn Brother stood up and said: "Alright, let's lift the net!" He shouted, and we started lifting the net. I quickly ran to the exit of the net and finally lifted it. Everyone gathered around the ice hole at the exit of the net. "Don't be in a hurry, Tiger, Autumn Spring, you few pull the net, remember to pull the rope slowly, don't rush! The rest of you, pick up the fish, be careful not to mess up the net!" Autumn Brother arranged loudly.

  The net was slowly being pulled out of the water, and it had already come out about four or five meters long. Not a single fish could be seen. Could it be that this net had come up empty? I felt uneasy at heart, and everyone else also turned to look at Autumn Elder Brother. "Don't stop, keep pulling," Autumn Elder Brother calmly ordered in an unchanged tone.

  I quickly fixed my gaze on the hook, and suddenly, under the sunlight, a silver light flashed, "Fish, look at that fish", a one-foot-long Jiangbai fish was struggling on the hook, I was so excited, this is the result of our labor, and it's also the first time we've caught a pure, non-polluted Songhua River whitefish in an organized winter fishing event under my leadership! How can I not be excited?! My feet were jumping wildly, my hands pointing at the fish, my voice changed, what's going on? It's like I'm doing some kind of crazy dance, huh? Why is everyone so quiet? Where's the cheering I was expecting?

  "What's wrong, everyone is looking at you!" It was Ling sister reminding me in a low voice, while poking my lower back twice. I calmed down and took a look, oh dear, except for a few who were too afraid to walk away, the others looked at me with rich meanings in their eyes. "Right, that's fish, we didn't say it was a dinosaur! A fish, bro, do you have to be like this? It seems like you've never seen a fish before!" Everyone saw me staring at them with wide eyes and turned back to busy themselves with their work. A few of them exchanged knowing glances, implying: "See that? He fell from the mountain and hit his head, that's why he's like this! Remember, always protect your head, don't hurt other parts, we have a model right here!" Ah, I'm so embarrassed! My image as the big brother is ruined! I'm the whole village's number one handsome guy, but now I look like an idiot!

  As they spoke, one after another white fish was pulled up, and it was continuous. Everyone was busy picking fish from the hook and throwing them directly onto the snowy ground. The live fish were exposed to the cold air, constantly jumping around on the snowy ground, but after a few jumps, they froze stiffly and lay motionless on the snowy ground, one by one like silver bars. How cold it was! Good fellow, this net has now picked up over 200 catties of fish. The hook was continuously pulled out of the water, and fish were constantly being picked off.

  "Do you guys know why I was so excited just now?" Seeing that everyone wasn't too busy, I took the opportunity to salvage the situation. This matter required a proactive attack. Everyone looked at me with wide eyes, but didn't say a word. It couldn't be said that this was a manifestation of aftereffects, right? "I knew you guys wouldn't understand, because..." I unfolded my eloquent tongue, using rich language and a large number of parallel sentences to talk about the significance of this team action, the purpose we wanted to achieve, the importance of organization, and the joy after achieving it. It was truly like a river flowing from my mouth, unstoppable, with words flying everywhere, overflowing with passion.

  At this time, the nets had all been pulled out, and the fish had all been taken off and piled together. What a great harvest! This one net alone had over 400 pounds of fish, a huge pile. Seeing such a large pile of fish, everyone was again drawn in by my words, and I became excited once more, but didn't jump up. In a loud voice, I said: "Do you see? This is the result of our labor! It shows that as long as we organize ourselves, we can accomplish great things. With many people working together, we have great power. The key is to be organized and follow rules." I didn't mention discipline, and for now, everyone still didn't understand. "Seeing all this, aren't you happy? Tell me loudly!" "We're happy!" Everyone responded in unison. "Great! Let's all shout together: We common people are truly happy today!" As soon as I shouted, the atmosphere became fervent, and everyone started shouting together. The noise was tremendous, echoing far out across the river, and it seemed like even the birds in the forest were startled into flight! Success! The situation had been turned around, with no negative impact, all problems resolved, our image restored, authority established. Ah, what a genius, born to be a leader, outstanding at mobilizing people, so talented, too talented! I smiled smugly!!

  "You're so cunning", and it's Xiaoling again, looks like I couldn't fool her. Dealing with smart girls is really a headache, but the words are full of admiration or relief, that's right, she wouldn't want the person she likes to be incompetent, perfect performance, full score, yeah!

  After this little episode, everyone's morale was boosted, and the second net went down quickly, much faster than the first time. Although it can be said that we are more skilled now, but it has a direct relationship with our mobilization on the battlefield just now, and our efforts are not in vain.

  After finishing the second net, I looked up at the sky and it was almost noon. This net took longer than the first one, just in time, let's light the fire and have lunch. As soon as someone shouted this out, my stomach suddenly growled with hunger, and I quickly switched from being a glorious hero to an ordinary person, thinking about what to eat.

  Everyone is busy carrying baskets, clearing the ground and sweeping away the snow. We can't just sit on a pile of snow, can we? Some are cutting fish, I'm holding a rabbit in my left hand and a wild chicken in my right hand, and looking at the white fish, wondering which one to roast first? They're all delicious, it's hard to choose, so let's just roast them all together!

  The bonfire was lit, and the birch bark crackled with a "crackling" sound, but the smoke was a bit thick. Just after it was lit, I heard a faint bell ringing from upstream on the river surface. It was the bell tied under the horse's neck, accompanied by the sound of horseshoes, although not very clear. I looked at everyone else, and they didn't react. Was I mistaken? Never mind, let's think about how to pluck the wild chicken first!

  After a little while, the ringing sound and the "clip-clop" of horse hooves came again, this time clearly. Not only did I hear it, but everyone else did too, and they all straightened up to look in the direction of the sound.

  Far away on the river, two rickshaws came paddling over. They were still far away and couldn't be seen clearly. Soon, the rickshaws drew near and could be seen clearly. The first one was a large rickshaw, with two sorrel horses pulling it. The horses were fat and strong, with copper bells jingling under their necks. The driver cracked his whip loudly, "crack crack". This big rickshaw even had a canopy, decorated with luxurious and elegant ornaments. It could be said that this was the Cadillac, Bentley, Rolls-Royce, Lincoln of rickshaws. Compared to it, other rickshaws were just inferior, cheap and shabby. Just one look at it, you could tell that its owner was a rich man!

  The crawler behind, although it's also quite big, isn't as good as the one in front, much worse. There were five or six people sitting on top of it, and at a glance, they looked like followers. We stopped what we were doing and watched as the two crawlers approached us. I looked around at my companions with searching eyes, but they all shook their heads, clearly not recognizing them. Oh, nothing to do with us, just passing by. But having money is good, in the era of cars, take a good car, in the era without cars, make a good crawler.

  Here is the translation:

  Look at this, these two rickshaws arrived in front of us and stopped. The people behind jumped down from the rickshaw without even looking at us. One of them walked to the luxurious rickshaw, bowed slightly, opened the door, and out came a person, ah! Only about 20 years old! His face wasn't bad, but his attire was something else... just his demeanor, with an evil glint in his eyes, I understood right away that this was a rich second-generation kid, or maybe a young master. No, back then we didn't have those terms, the children of wealthy families were all called "young masters". Oh, this is a young master! He got out of the car and scanned us with his eyes, saw Ling sister and the other girls, and his eyes lit up even more, with an even more evil aura. It seemed like he swallowed his saliva, and walked towards us with a swagger... this guy was definitely a bad egg, trouble has arrived...

  （）

  ;