Educated Youth in the Countryside: She is the Village's Embroidery Queen!-Chapter 418: Always Grabbing Cheeks

The wait lasted for over half an hour, and as the driftwood began to rise and fall on the water’s surface, Uncle Yaozi gave a command, prompting Wen Shi and the others to spring into action, whether squatting or standing.

This time, Yi Chichi and the others understood; they were hauling in the net.

As they slowly gathered the net that had sunk, lifting it bit by bit towards the hole, both Yi Chichi and Mu Da’s hearts were gripped with anticipation.

"Chichi, do you think there’re any fish?"

"Definitely!"

The tightening of the net disturbed the fish trapped within, causing a continuous crackling noise as they began to thrash about.

This was the sound of fish struggling.

"Hold on tight, now’s not the time to let go."

The catch was quite heavy, and the combined weight of the fishing net and driftwood was burdensome. Yaozi and the others were struggling with the haul, worried that Wen Shi and the others might let go and release the fish, so they issued a reminder.

Liu Chen’s face was flushed red from exertion, but he still managed to jest, "We won’t let go for sure, but Uncle, you better put in some effort too."

After all, age is catching up.

Though he left it unsaid, both Yaozi and the village secretary caught the implied meaning.

But no one had time to lecture the kids; instead, they turned to Yi Chichi and Mu Da, "Chichi’s wife, the two of you, bring over the big scoop nets quickly."

"Oh."

The two responded, picked up the large scoop nets from the side, and ran over to them.

By this time, the fishing net had already been pulled out of the water, teeming with fish.

Because the netting was wide-meshed, any fish under half a pound had slipped through long ago; only the big fish remained.

"Wen Shi, Dongzi, you two scoop out the fish; Chichi, Old Mu, you two pick the fish."

"Got it."

A single sound echoed an enthusiastic response.

Quickly, Wen Shi and Dongzi, each with a large scoop net, stood at the hole and began fishing out the catch.

Before getting down to work, they even took off their cotton-padded jackets. Yi Chichi was about to stop them, but Wen Shi had already scooped out a large bighead carp.

He then lowered his waist, flicked his arm, and gracefully flung the bighead carp out of the scoop net.

A bighead carp weighing over ten pounds made a splash in the air, creating a rainbow-like arc as the water droplets it carried refracted in the sunlight.

Then, with a thud, it landed with a plop onto the icy surface.

Seemingly knocked unconscious by the impact, the bighead carp only flicked its tail once before becoming motionless.

"What a big fish!"

Yi Chichi quickly went over to pick up the fish, the joy of a good harvest written on her face.

"A good omen, Chichi, hurry up, don’t let it recover and get away."

Uncle Yaozi urged, Yi Chichi responded, placed the basket aside, picked up the fish, and tossed it in, covering it with a lid.

She had just finished up when Dongzi tossed another fish up.

With sharp eyes and quick hands, Mu Da pounced on it, and Yi Chichi watched as Mu Da deftly grabbed a big silver carp struggling on the ice.

The village secretary was stunned for a moment, then turned to Yaozi, "When your wife scolds you, does she grab your cheeks like that?"

Mu Da’s cheek-grabbing was so practiced, it was as if she had done it countless times before.

Even he, a veteran at catching fish, wasn’t as swift with the cheek-grabbing as Old Mu.

A silver carp weighing five or six pounds was subdued without resistance.

Yaozi’s mouth twitched slightly as he loudly defended himself, "It’s your wife who keeps grabbing your cheeks, my wife treats me well, she’s very caring."

The village secretary remained noncommittal, while Yi Chichi ignored them, as Wen Shi tossed another fish onto the ice.

This was a big black fish, known for its vigour.

The problem was it wasn’t knocked out, and it was so slippery that it was impossible to grab.

"It’s no use, I can’t get a hold of it."

Yi Chichi was so anxious she was almost sweating, and she didn’t have the right tools at hand to knock it out.

Wen Shi and the others couldn’t free their hands to help either.

At that moment, Mu Da’s voice rang out like heavenly music, "Step aside, I’ll handle it."

Without waiting for a reply, she pushed Yi Chichi aside and struck the black fish on the head with a chunk of ice she had picked up.

With a thud, as the ice shattered, the black fish, which had been desperately trying to escape capture, rolled over twice and lay still on the ice.

"There, that’s done."

Mu Da picked up the fish, tossed it into the basket, and looked up to see Yi Chichi staring at her with sparkling eyes. Just as she was about to speak, another grayish-black arc came flying over, revealing another bighead carp.

Forget it, enough talking, catching fish takes priority.

"Quick, pick them up. If a fish isn’t knocked out and still struggling, use the ice blocks to stun them."

Leaving those words behind, Mu Da charged at the fish with the ferocity of a warrior marching into battle.

Yi Chichi nodded vigorously; lacking experience previously, she hadn’t thought to use big ice chunks to stun the fish. Now with experience, her handling of the fish became more skilled.

As the net was pulled tighter and tighter, more and more fish began to leap, trying to break free from the net’s confines and reclaim their freedom. However, Wen Shi and the others wouldn’t let this chance slip by.

The haul would not be wasted.

Soon, scattered all over the ice were fish, over ten bighead carps weighing over ten pounds each, not to mention silver carps, carps, big black fish, and more.

None were smaller than half a pound, the smallest was one to two pounds.

They had brought six large willow baskets, and two were now filled.

Yi Chichi and Mu Da were drenched in sweat as they loaded fish into the empty baskets.

Initially, their pace in collecting fish could match that of Wen Shi’s scooping speed, but eventually, they couldn’t keep up with the speed of the fish being scooped up.

Every arm lift sent a fish flying out.

Fish that were stunned could be picked and placed directly in the basket, while those still conscious would use the ice’s momentum, their own strength, and their slippery scales to slide everywhere.

At that point, the strategy was to stun them with ice before picking them up.

The two were running here and there, their bodies steaming from the heat, and they were terribly thirsty.

Luckily, Wen Shi and the others had emptied the net and could now help out.

Ten minutes later, four of the large willow baskets were filled.

The remaining two lay empty.

With steam rising from his head and a cigarette in his mouth, the village secretary circled the baskets and said, "Let’s grab a bite and then set another net; we should at least fill these two empty ones."

Dongzi and the others were overjoyed, and they hurried to the sleigh to bring over wine, oil, salt, firewood, and other supplies.

"Let’s cook up some fish."

Liu Chen was brimming with excitement, eagerly looking at the village secretary.

He took a puff on his cigarette and nodded, "Let’s do it!"

Fish is best enjoyed fresh, and the taste straight from the water is exceptional.

Rolling up his sleeves, he said, "I’ll handle the fish, you get the fire started."

"Alrighty."

The group sprang into action.

Yi Chichi and Mu Da acted as overseers; without pots or stoves, having them work was out of the question.

Neither had the skills to start a fire on the ice, let alone cook fish.

Wen Shi and the others were seasoned hands; they positioned logs secured from the sleigh above and below, ensuring that the straw didn’t touch the ice, then lit the fire, which burned brightly.

The flames leapt upwards, and the bark on the wood caught fire.

By this time, Wen Shi and the others quickly skewered the fish the village secretary expertly prepared with finely whittled sticks, placing them over the fire to roast slowly.