When the sunset was setting, the Huo family had dinner.
The afterglow was about to submerge into the water, and the four boats of Taoye Ferry all sailed into the Yangtze River Estuary.
Because they were going to fish at night, Huo Erhuai called for a feast, and the three families of Wan and Lu came together. The three families were very happy and thanked Huo Erhuai again and again. The Huo family had a big boat and all the fishing gear. They were willing to burn lamp oil and acted generously.
Everyone is willing to form a team with his family to hunt at night.
Huo Erhuai and Huo Xi had the same goal today, which was to stare at the whitebait.
Whitebait spawns before and after winter, and its reproductive capacity is amazing. After a winter of cultivation, it is the most sweet, fresh and plump when caught and eaten in late spring.
Silverbait is different from other freshwater fish in that it has a strong phototaxis. It usually lives in the middle and lower waters. It probably knows that big fish want to eat small fish and does not want to be eaten. It usually stays at the bottom of the water and does not float to the upper waters to bubble.
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So it is not easy to buy whitebait at the fish market.
As a result, whitebait, the bottom of the food chain, became a tribute in some dynasties.
Before nightfall, Yang took all the tung oil out of his boat and asked the women from three other families to prepare lamps and torches. Huo Erhuai and Yang Fu prepared fishing gear together with the men from the other three boats.
Huo Xi maneuvered on both sides and helped a little, while Huo Nian was running around on the boat excitedly, not having any peace of mind. He also called Lu Song from the Lu family. The two children wanted to jump into the river and swim a few laps, but Huo Xi pulled them away.
Living.
Although he has good water skills and has been swimming since he was a child, this is the Yangtze River, the Yangtze River at night! Although the wind is not high and the waves are not strong tonight, it is unfathomable and there are invisible undercurrents that sweep away the river, making it dark and dark.
Where to find it?
Pi Xiaozi, a newborn calf is not afraid of tigers, no one is afraid.
"Okay, let's wait until we grow up a few years before we come to the river to play." After being scolded by Huo Xi, Pi Xiaozi didn't care and even pulled Lu Song, who was one year older than him, to comfort him.
"Yeah, let's go back to Taoye Ferry and play in the water again." Lu Song was even more excited than Huo Nian.
Although Huo Nian didn't have many memories of night fishing, he was pampered by his family and could join in any excitement. But Lu Song was different. The few opportunities he had to go ashore were always following his parents into the city to sell fish.
There was nothing exciting to watch, and no memory of the night hunt.
"Dad, I want to use a dip net." Huo Nian still remembered Huo Erhuai's promise to teach him how to use a dip net to catch fish.
"Okay, just copy the net and give it to us for reading." Huo Erhuai agreed with him with a smile while arranging the fishing net.
Pi Xiaozi was very proud and raised his head towards Huo Xi.
Without looking, Huo Xi turned her face to the side. She didn't know whether to take it or not, so she wanted to grab it. She was afraid that she would snatch it from him.
The afterglow of the setting sun completely disappeared into the river, and night covered the sky.
The four ships chose a wide area of water and faced each other, forming a large circle.
The Huo family's boat and the Lu family's boat respectively pulled one end of the trawl net, and the net was submerged into the water. The windproof mast lights at the bow and stern of the boats were lit up. The torches were inserted diagonally on the inside of the circle of boats, illuminating the river surface in the circle.
Just like daytime.
"It's so bright, it's so bright!" Huo Nian clapped his little hands and jumped on his feet and yelled towards the river, and Lu Song also clapped his hands.
"Quiet, the fish have all been scared away by you." Huo Xi glared at them, and the two boys immediately covered their mouths with their small hands and shook their heads at her.
Seeing that they had stopped, Huo Xi looked around. The surrounding river was dark and nothing could be seen, which made people feel frightened. However, the surrounding river was as bright as day, like two worlds.
Not long after, under the illumination of torches, there began to be movement on the river surface.
First there was a shallow layer of ripples, from the outside to the inside, and then there were dense water ripples. The entire water surface began to surge, from the outside to the inner circle, gathering towards the light, becoming more and more dense.
"Pull!" Huo Erhuai turned to Yang Fu and shouted loudly.
Yang Fu immediately started to row the oar board quickly. On the other side, Lu Song's mother also started to row the oar board. The two boats, Huo and Lu, began to row, while Huo Erhuai and Lu Ji held on to one end of the trawl net.
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As the boat rowed, the trawl began to outflank the fish approaching the light.
"Wow, so many fish! Sister, I want to catch fish!" Pi Xiaozi couldn't hold himself back. Seeing that Huo Erhuai had no time to pay attention to him, he rubbed Huo Xi.
"Then copy it. Just don't fall into the water."
"Then sister, hold on to me and don't let Nian'er fall into the water."
"Mom, come and catch us Nian'er."
"Mom, you are the best."
Yang smiled and touched his head. First, he circled him with a hemp rope and tied the other end to the iron ring that fixed the oar board. Then he stood behind him and stretched out one foot in front of him to support his foot.
Then he helped him stretch the net into the river.
"Wow!"
As soon as the net hits the water, it has a full pocket. The fish that come toward the light are still floating on the water and do not avoid being touched by foreign objects. Instead, they follow the movement of the boat and move forward with the light.
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The trawl shrinks all the way, and the whitebait is gradually included in the trawl.
For Huo Nian, there was no technical difficulty at all. Just like when he used a gourd to fetch water from a water basket in the morning, he could easily catch a bag of fish.
"Wow, mother, look, there are so many!"
If it weren't for his mother's support, he wouldn't be able to lift the net, which would be much better. Yang and Huo Xi stood on his side, holding on to the pole of his net and lifting it up. Soon the whitebait in the net was lifted up.
On to the ship's deck.
"Wow! Such a small fish. It's only as big as my little finger. It's white and looks so good! Lu Song, doesn't it look good?"
"Hmm, it looks good!" Lu Song's little head was shaking like a pound of garlic.
The two boys were screaming and excited. Huo Xi dragged a fish basket over, and Yang immediately poured the fish from the net into the basket.
"Wow! So small."
Two boys were squatting on the deck, holding the fishing basket and looking at it. They picked it up again and again with their hands, and kept shouting, "Is this a small fish? Why is it only so big?"
My parents usually release small fish when they catch them, so why do we catch such small fish?
"This is called whitebait, and it's only this big."
"Is it true? Are its parents only this big?"
The two boys squatting together looked at Huo Xi. Huo Xi wanted to roll his eyes, but seeing that they were very curious about knowledge, he nodded: "Yes, they will only be so big when they are old."
"Wow! The whole family is only this big."
"Are you still catching fish? Dad is going to close the net."
"Yes, I still need to fish." He stopped looking at the fish, got up, picked up the fishing net, and stretched it into the river.
It wasn't until the morning star rose the next day that the four boats put out their torches and rowed the boat loaded with whitebait toward the city.
The silverbait was delivered to the Huibin Building. Shopkeeper Wen heard the report and hurried to the kitchen. When he saw it, Huo Erhuai almost fell to his knees.
His face was full of disbelief: "This, this is whitebait? There are so many?"
"Our quantity is a bit large. I wonder if shopkeeper Wen can eat it? If not, we might as well sell it to the fish market while it's still fresh."
"I want it, I want it all in the Huibin Building! The price is negotiable." Shopkeeper Wen rubbed his hands excitedly.
Send two cars to the owner, and ask the owner to send some more to people he knows well. The remaining restaurants in Huibinlou can eat it. It’s not much. Isn’t it good to be a one-man business?
Soon people were arranged to weigh the money and collect silver coins.
Huo Erhuai took a heavy cloth bag and came out. The men from the Xi, Wan, and Lu families followed Huo Erhuai, figuring out how much money they could share. The smiles on their faces couldn't be suppressed.