Chapter 18: What A Huge Fish

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Jiang Hu was very good at working. In just a day, he made the bed. He took it back to his room and placed Mimi and Bruiser inside it. The size was very suitable, and it could last the siblings for at least six or seven months.

“Dawa, I’ll place this bed in front of the stove. Be careful when you light the fire.”

“Don’t worry, Dad. I know.”

Dawa was playing with Bruiser. Recently, Bruiser had been staying awake for a longer time. Although he was still much quieter than Xiaomi, Dawa was excited.

There were only a few days left until the full moon, but he had yet to play with Bruiser. He was in high spirits.

Jiang Hu put down the bed and called for Dawa and Erni to follow him to the river. Dawa hurriedly put down Bruiser and jogged after him with Erni.

Jiang Hu planned to go to town tomorrow. It would be best if he caught more fish today. Big fish or small fish were fine. The restaurants in town would probably accept them.

The restaurant was rich. They had oil and spices. Big fish braised in soy sauce and small fish cooked in soup tasted much more delicious.

Their family had a lot of fish recently. When the weather was clear, they could even catch birds. Other than sparrows, there would also be other larger birds, such as magpies and crows.

“Today, let’s go to a deeper part of the river. There are big fish there. Dawa, look after your sister. Be careful not to fall into the river.”

He knew how to swim, as did Dawa. The river was not particularly rapid, but if falling into the river would frighten the children.

“Don’t worry, Daddy. I’m holding Erni’s hand. I won’t go too close to the river.” Dawa was not naughty and knew how to take care of his younger siblings. He just wanted to see his Daddy catch fish.

The insects that Dawa dug up were all wrapped in a large leaf. Jiang Hu crushed them all and threw them into the bamboo basket. Then he placed the bamboo basket in the river with a rope.

The place he had found today happened to be a river bay. The water was relatively calm, but the river was deep. It was a little scary to stand on the riverbank and look down.

There were usually big fish in such places, but this place was relatively far away. In addition, it had rained previously, so he did not dare to bring his children here and waited until now.

After putting down the bamboo basket and tying the rope to a tree by the river, Jiang Hu waved his hand and picked up Erni. “Let’s go to the fields and take a look. We’ll come back later.”

It rained less than two days after planting the crops in the fields. He had yet to go to the fields to take a look.

“Okay!” Dawa quickly followed.

Erni lay on Jiang Hu’s shoulder and looked at the river, then at Jiang Hu. Finally, she looked at Jiang Hu in admiration. “Dad, will we be able to catch the fish later?”

How magical. Daddy is so powerful!

Without waiting for Jiang Hu to answer, Dawa nodded hurriedly. “That’s right, that’s right. Every time I see Daddy, he catches them like this. The fish eats insects and so it enters the bamboo basket.”

Because the pressure on Jiang Hu had decreased greatly recently, he had become cheerful. He always had a smile on his face. Coupled with the admiration of the children, he felt even more refreshed.

“Brother is right. When Daddy goes to town to sell big fish tomorrow, he can buy more salt. In the future, cooking will taste even better.”

“Thank you, Daddy!”

The two children spoke in unison. Looking at the children’s smiling faces, Jiang Hu felt that he had to work harder.

When he arrived at the fields, he realized that a lot of weeds had grown in the wasteland that was first opened. He put Erni down and described to them the crops, wild vegetables, and weeds.

The weeds left behind in the past germinated when they encountered water. In the past year or two, the weeds thrived. As long as anyone slacked off, the weeds would grow stronger than the crops.

It was only spring and the weather was still relatively cold. Actually, it was not the best time to plant seeds. It was most appropriate to wait for another month or so.

However, the situation at home did not give them time to wait. Even if the crops planted were growing slowly now, at least there was hope in their hearts. When it was warmer, they would naturally grow faster.

“Dad, when these are harvested, we don’t have to go hungry anymore, right?”

Dawa carefully avoided the newly sprouted crops and uprooted almost all the weeds that had grown. When he came across edible wild vegetables, he placed them aside.

“Yes, when I go to town tomorrow, Dawa, you stay at home and take care of your siblings and mother. Dig for more insects. I’ll go to the mountains in the afternoon and see if I can catch some pheasants.”

When he went to cut the bamboo in the morning, he saw a few pheasants flying back into the mountains. It seemed that animals were more forgetful than humans. They returned so quickly.

“Dad, do pheasants eat insects too?” Erni was slow at work, but she was also very diligent.

“I know, I know,” Dawa answered quickly. “Erni, pheasants are also a kind of bird, a kind of big bird. Birds will eat insects.”

“Oh.” Erni nodded as if she understood, then smiled sweetly. “Big Brother, I’ll dig for worms with you tomorrow. Daddy will catch pheasants.”

Jiang Hu listened to the children’s childish words and thought about his wife and children waiting for him at home. He felt that the future was filled with hope.

The father, son and daughter had been pulling weeds in the field. During this period, they encountered other people who came to work. Everyone greeted Jiang Hu warmly. Everyone was beaming and their eyes were filled with vigor.

Clearly, everyone gained a lot from the insects that Jiang Hu asked Dawa and his friends to catch today.

In the evening, almost two hours passed before Jiang Hu hurriedly called the two little ones down the mountain.

Erni walked slowly. Jiang Hu picked her up and ran down the mountain in large strides. Dawa had followed his father to many places over the past few days and was already used to his father’s speed. Now he followed him very closely.

The three of them first came to the river. Jiang Hu put down Erni and asked Dawa to take good care of his sister. Then he rolled up his sleeves and went forward.

Erni was the most nervous among them. She grabbed Dawa’s arm with all her might and kept poking her head out. However, she remembered that her father had told her not to go too near, so she did not move her feet.

Dawa was also very nervous. After all, it’s about catching big fish!

However, when he saw Erni’s expression, he immediately sounded experienced. “Erni, don’t be anxious. Look carefully later. There will be fish!”

As long as there were fish, it didn’t matter if they were big or small fish. Anyway, there were still many at home.

Jiang Hu was already holding the rope. Actually, he was looking forward to it too.

He took a deep breath. “Dawa, Erni, watch closely!”

Then he exerted strength in his hands and quickly lifted it.

In just a few breaths, the bamboo basket was lifted out of the water. Water flowed out of the bamboo basket. Before Jiang Hu could see it clearly, Dawa jumped up.

“I saw it, I saw it. Dad, what a big fish! It’s bigger than those in our home!”

Erni was too excited to speak. She simply nodded vigorously. “Yes, it’s huge. What a huge fish!”

Jiang Hu saw it too. He quickly pulled up the bamboo basket and ran further away from the river, afraid that the fish in the bamboo basket would jump back.

Then he picked up a big fish longer than his forearm from the bamboo basket and exclaimed, “What a fat fish!”

“Dad, let’s go home and put the fish away” Dawa quickly reminded him.

Jiang Hu reacted and put the fish back into the bamboo basket. He picked it up and left. “Dawa, you take your sister and walk slowly. I’ll go back first!”