sbdcsierra Chapter 12 Catching Lotus Fish
Chapter 12 Catching Lotus Fish
On a sweltering summer day, the hardworking and honest villagers gathered at the pond, ready to show off their fishing skills. Before them lay bamboo baskets, fishing gear, bait, stools, and sun umbrellas. Su Yuning also came along this time, intending to supervise and urge everyone to finish their task as soon as possible.
The lotus leaves in the pond resembled large green umbrellas, arranged closely together to form a verdant sea. Su Yuning wanted to pick a lotus leaf, but her skirt restricted her movements. Just then, Kai, a young man from the village, quickly picked a lotus leaf and gave it to her, not for any other reason than to win the beauty's favor.
Amidst the lotus leaves, delicate and vibrant lotus blossoms dot the landscape. Some are still buds, like shy maidens; others are in full bloom, their petals layered upon each other, resembling exquisite pagodas. The lotus flowers come in various colors—pink, white, pale purple… Each blossom exudes a unique fragrance, attracting bees and dragonflies to gather nectar and frolic.
Sunlight dappled the water, creating shimmering reflections of the lotus leaves and blossoms. A gentle breeze rustled the leaves, and the lotus flowers nodded softly, filling the pond with life and vitality. Fish swam freely, occasionally leaping out of the water to nibble at the lotus blossoms, creating a particularly beautiful scene.
The village chief and his neighbor were also fishing. The village chief's wife and children originally wanted to participate as well, but since the elderly, women and children were not included in the plan, they could only watch from the sidelines.
"Village Chief, welcome to the fishing activity! Please tell everyone the story of the pond and the characteristics of the lotus fish," Su Yuning said expectantly.
The village chief smiled and nodded in agreement, then paced back and forth by the pond, explaining at a leisurely pace.
“Our Xinghua Village is a beautiful place nestled against the mountains and beside the water. There is a river and a pond in front, and majestic mountains behind. Originally, the river and the pond were connected. Later, some villagers suggested planting lotus roots, so the men and women of our village surrounded the pond with stones. Later, the villagers went out to work and didn't take care of it anymore, so the pond was abandoned. But, there are fish and shrimp in the pond, so it is still a good place for everyone.”
"The village chief spoke well!" The villagers applauded and cheered, and for a moment, the village chief blushed and became a little shy.
Su Yuning asked with a smile, "Village Chief, you grew up in this village, so you must know the origin of the lotus fish, right? Can you tell me about it?"
The village chief nodded and smiled, then continued to explain, "Lotus fish is the name given to it by the villagers. All the fish here originally came from the river. Because there are all kinds of food in the pond, the fish eat a lot and grow very well. The flesh of lotus fish is very tender. It can be used to make soup or fried. Adults and children from all around love to eat lotus fish."
Su Yuning squatted down with a smile to try and catch fish by the water, but the fish were very cunning and slipped away from her hands in an instant. Although Su Yuning was a little angry, there was nothing she could do.
Afterwards, Su Yuning continued to ask questions.
"Village chief, I see that there are not only carp, but also grass carp and crucian carp in the river. Which one is the real lotus fish?"
At this moment, the village chief's wife came over and interrupted, replying with a smile, "Seeing the lively lotus fish, everyone is impatient. Miss Su, why don't you let everyone go fishing? I'll tell you the story of the lotus fish."
Su Yuning then realized her rudeness and quickly apologized to the villagers, "I'm sorry, folks, I was so busy asking my own questions that I left you all out. Please forgive me."
The villagers responded nonchalantly, "It's nothing."
"Seeing that everyone has come prepared, let's start fishing. Please be careful during the fishing process!" Su Yuning kindly reminded.
"Alright!" everyone agreed in unison, and then took out their fishing gear and started fishing.
Shi Tou's fishing gear consisted of a net. Considering that fishing from the shore was inconvenient, he simply pushed his fishing boat into the pond as well. He then rowed to the center of the pond, enthusiastically cast his net, and patiently waited for his catch.
Seeing Shi Tou's super equipment, everyone was filled with envy. Some could only look on with envy, while others chose to fish in other ways. For example, Da Zhuang, the tall and strong man in the village, simply took off his shoes on the bank, rolled up his trousers, and went to the pond to catch fish.
Seeing this, Su Yuning, who was on the shore, was very worried. She put her hands to her mouth like a megaphone and shouted a reminder.
"Brother Dazhuang, the water in the pond is very cold. You'd better get out of the water quickly, or you'll catch a cold while trying to catch fish."
However, Dazhuang didn't care about any of that. He casually waved his hand and said it was nothing, then continued to fish in the pond. And surprisingly, this simple and crude method actually caught a big carp!
"Fantastic!" Su Yuning cheered for him from the shore. Dazhuang put the fish into the basket and, without hesitation, went back into the pond to catch more fish. In about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Dazhuang had caught two large carp, four grass carp, and one crucian carp. Everyone admired him and applauded him.
The people watching the spectacle on the riverbank were mostly women and children from the village. At this time, the village chief's wife was explaining the knowledge about lotus fish to Su Yuning.
“Miss Su, the carp in our lotus pond are truly worthy of the name ‘lotus fish.’ Not only is their flesh tender, but they are also very beautiful. In addition, grass carp, crucian carp, silver carp, and other fish are also called lotus fish. Everyone is used to calling them that, so ‘lotus fish’ has become a general term for all fish.”
Su Yuning nodded in response, "Okay, thank you for your explanation. By the way, has anyone fished for money before?"
The village chief's wife shook her head. "No, our area is remote and underdeveloped, and transportation is inconvenient. Nobody would travel far to sell fish for a few copper coins. It's just that occasionally someone catches lotus fish to cook."
Su Yuning smiled slightly upon hearing this, "I see. It seems I'm the first person to dare to try something new."
The village chief's wife was completely bewildered; she didn't understand what Su Yuning meant at all.
"What I mean is, I'm the first person in our village to make money from lotus fish." Su Yuning had to explain it to her in simple terms.
"You are one of the best young people in our village. You have a bright future ahead of you," the village chief's wife praised. Su Yuning could only smile and reply, "You flatter me."
Jun Dong, a young man from the village, brought his homemade fishing rod to fish. He simply placed his small stool on the bank, sat down, threaded an earthworm onto the hook, cast the rod into the pond, and leisurely waited for a fish to bite.
Just then, someone looked down on his equipment and deliberately mocked him.
"Dong, you're just showing off your skills in front of Guan Yu! You're overestimating yourself! If you can catch fish with a bamboo pole and a fishing line, then I'll drink the water in the lotus pond!"
The angler ignored him and continued with his usual routine: lifting the rod, reeling in the line, baiting the hook, and then skillfully casting the fish out. As luck would have it, Jun Dong actually caught a carp, leaving the man next to him speechless.
Then, Jun Dong showed off a half-pound, lively carp to the man, who could only keep offering compliments.
"Not bad, not bad! I knew you were a fishing expert! Congratulations! Hahaha!"
Jun Dong responded with a forced smile, "Just now, the stonemason said in front of everyone that if I catch a fish, you can drink the water in the lotus pond. A real man should be responsible for his words and keep his promises!"
"Huh?! You really want to drink it? Is this water suitable for raising fish and shrimp?" the stonemason replied somewhat embarrassedly.
"Drink up! Drink up!" The crowd booed from the shore. Helpless, the stonemason could only scoop up some pond water with both hands and drink it. Afterward, the stonemason felt unwell in his stomach and quickly ran home to rinse his mouth with water.
The stonemason's real name was Shi Tianlei. He was a craftsman who sometimes made handicrafts for the government. Although he didn't earn much, it was enough to live on. Because he loved to mock others, none of the girls from the surrounding dozen or so villages were willing to marry him. The stonemason was already in his thirties and still lived a life where he only had to feed himself.
As the sun began to set, people handed over their catch to Su Yuning, then packed up their gear and went home. Su Yuning didn't slack off either; she weighed and recorded the lotus fish from each household, carefully tallied the catch, and gently instructed Zhou Xi...
"Sister, lotus fish need to be fresh to cook well. I'll trouble you to make the trip and deliver the catch to a restaurant in the city this evening. The important thing is to do everything you can to keep the fish alive."
Without hesitation, Zhou Xi replied, "No problem!" Then, she carried two buckets filled with fish and slowly walked towards the city, while Zhou Dong carried a basket full of fish and followed her.
They rushed over, finally managing to deliver the lotus fish to Young Master Zhao just before the restaurant closed. Although Young Master Zhao paid them for the ingredients, he didn't look well, as if something was on his mind.
"Is it because the lotus fish isn't very fresh, so Young Master Zhao isn't very satisfied with the goods this time?" Zhou Xi asked, puzzled.
Young Master Zhao went straight to the point, asking, "Why didn't Su Yuning come? Why were you sent to deliver the goods?"
"Well, it's like this, Su's younger sister was supervising the work at the pond today, and she was exhausted after harvesting the fish, so I came to deliver the goods for her," Zhou Xi replied.
“It was clearly you…” The younger brother next to her couldn’t help but interrupt her.
At this moment, Zhou Xi quickly gave him a wink, signaling him not to reveal the truth, but how could her little tricks escape Zhao Gongzi's eyes?
Young Master Zhao replied with a serious expression, "Young Brother Zhou, just tell me the truth, and I will protect you."
"It was my sister who insisted on coming to deliver the goods. She said it was to earn a delivery fee, and she also said that she would be the one delivering the goods from now on." Zhou Dong told Zhao Gongzi everything. Zhou Xi, who was standing next to him, was dumbfounded.
"It's already dark, what are you going to do? Can't you use your brains before you act?" Young Master Zhao reprimanded them with displeasure.
The siblings kept their heads down, not daring to say a word.
"In that case, you should rest in the hotel rooms for the night. It's not safe to travel after dark, and besides, I'm worried about you," said the sharp-tongued but kind-hearted Young Master Zhao.
"Okay, thank you, young master!" The siblings thanked each other in unison, then looked at each other and smiled.
In the village, Su Yuning sat with her mother on a bench by the door, chatting and fanning themselves to keep cool.
The woman asked her, "Daughter, you received so many lotus fish this time, why didn't you deliver them yourself, instead of having Zhou Xi help with the delivery?"
"Sister Zhou usually helps me a lot, and now that she's offered to help with deliveries and earn some extra money for running errands, I can't very well refuse," Su Yuning answered truthfully.
The woman was both amused and exasperated. "You're so young and you already know how to be shy? Let me tell you, there are some things you should refuse. Don't let shyness ruin your future. I think that Zhou Xi is very cunning; she's probably trying to steal your love away."
"Mom, what do you mean by that? I don't understand at all!" Su Yuning was completely confused.
“Young Master Zhao has been very kind to you, but he is too dazzling. Zhou Xi has long had her eye on him, you just don’t know it,” the woman replied.
"So, under the guise of delivering goods, she wanted to spend time alone with Young Master Zhao and eventually make him her boyfriend?" Su Yuning asked curiously.
"That's right, the real intention isn't in the wine, but in the scenery. From now on, you must do things yourself and not let others take advantage of you," the woman reminded her.
Su Yuning nodded in agreement, but in her heart, Zhou Xi wasn't that kind of person, and she still wanted to get along well with him.
"I've been through this myself, and everything I'm saying is for your own good, silly girl," the woman earnestly advised.
Su Yuning immediately covered her ears with both hands, "I don't want to listen, Mother is too long-winded, I don't want to listen anymore."
The woman stormed off, not forgetting to throw down the words, "Those who don't heed the advice of their elders will suffer the consequences. Believe it or not!"
The next morning, as the first rays of sunlight touched the earth, people were pleasantly surprised to find that there were many more lotus flowers in the pond!
From afar, the lotus leaves in the pond are crowded together, layer upon layer, resembling a green ocean. The blooming lotus flowers, some pink and some white, sway gently in the breeze, truly a beautiful sight.
Some lotus flowers were still in bud, like shy young girls; some were half-open, like beautiful women hesitant to speak; and some were in full bloom, revealing tender yellow stamens and emerald green seedpods, emitting a delicate fragrance. This beautiful scene was breathtaking, as if one were in a fairyland.
Su Yuning was incredibly lucky; she actually found a two-colored lotus among the many lotus flowers. She was about to pick it, but then she thought better of it. It's better to avoid trouble; let the villagers enjoy this beautiful lotus together.