After that, the fish that came out weren't as big anymore; most of them were broadfin bream that were about two fingers wide, and some small fish called yellow cottontails or cowtails.

After fishing for more than an hour, the sun gradually sank behind the mountains, leaving only a red glow reflecting scattered light on the babbling brook.

It's time to go back and cook. I picked up the small fish I had threaded through its gills with a vine and examined it.

The small fish I caught today probably weighed around three or four pounds. I just don't know if that harpy eagle eats fish.

I called out to Top, who was still not far away, and I couldn't tell if he was catching crabs or shrimp.

"Top, we need to go back and cook."

"Squeak!"

When Top heard me call it, its monkey face immediately lifted up, and it looked around to find my location.

When it realized I was still waiting for it, it carried its little basket ashore and ran towards me like the wind.

"You little brat, what are you dawdling about? Look what you've gotten!"

As I spoke, a look of smugness on my face, I waved the fish in my hand in front of Top's eyes. Especially that big fish, which weighed over three pounds, was almost touching Top's mouth.

For a qualified angler, showing off is also a necessary skill; some experts catch big fish but never go in even after passing by the fishing spot three times.

If you don't take a fish to the market and wander around a couple of times, earning the envy of others, you'll never find your way home.

Now that there's no one here to brag to, I can only show off my catch to the monkey that's been following me around.

When Top saw how many fish I had caught, he naturally grinned, genuinely happy for me. He then took his small basket off his back and waved it in front of me as well.

I looked at Top with some suspicion. This kid knows how to collect good things now? When I looked into Top's basket, I was still surprised by what was inside.

This time, Top really impressed me. Although the items inside are a mixed bag, many of them are definitely high-quality.

There were quite a few of the water centipedes that I had found with Top using a maze fishing method last time, as well as an oval-shaped, smooth-skinned black-shelled insect.

This is the complete form of the water centipede: the water beetle. In Guangdong, it is also called the "urine-shooting turtle." This creature is highly nutritious and has a unique flavor, making it popular among gourmets and at one time in short supply.

I've never fed Top these insects before, and I don't know why he picked them up. I guess he thought they looked interesting and wanted to show them to me.

Besides these, there were also some crabs whose legs had been broken off by Top. It's estimated that Top got pinched while catching crabs, so he broke off all the crabs' legs.

Hmm, that's a good idea, but the other crabs are a bit unlucky to be dragged down with it.

What surprised me most was that there were also quite a few transparent river shrimp inside, some as thick as a thumb and over 15 centimeters long.

These river shrimp are a real delicacy. Wild river shrimp in our area would sell for tens or even hundreds of yuan per kilogram, but here in Top, there are at least two kilograms of them.

These river shrimp are generally different from crayfish; they are very alert and will immediately jump away if a person gets too close. Even if I wanted to catch them with my bare hands, it would be very difficult.

These river shrimp have the opposite walking habits; they usually hop backwards. So, the only way to catch them is to go around their rear ends.

Even so, their unpredictable movements make them difficult to catch by hand unless you suddenly attack from very close range.

I'm very curious about how Top did it; perhaps it's because monkeys' hands are more dexterous than human hands.

I'll have to learn a lot from Top next time I have the chance; if I go back, this will be another skill for showing off.

Going fishing for a while made me feel much happier, both physically and mentally. It seems that some appropriate entertainment is necessary to achieve a better state of mind and body.

Back at our lodging, I gutted all the fish by the stream, cleaning out their internal organs. Top helped me the whole time, and we finished cleaning all the fish, shrimp, and crabs in no time.

As for water centipedes and water beetles, no treatment is needed; just heat oil in a pot.

Today's haul was, I must say, quite plentiful. I mentally prepared a recipe and said to Top, "Top, help me out, we're having an extra meal today!"

Top loves it when I make weird and wonderful things to eat; it gets really happy whenever it gets something new to try.

Upon hearing this, it quickly washed its hands and followed behind me, ready to obey my commands.

Before eating, I planned to feed Pat, the hungry new family member, who hadn't eaten all day.

I planned to feed it the small fish, and if it didn't eat them, I would feed it the soaked dried meat. I had just brought a small fish close to the harpy eagle when it stretched its neck and came over to reach for the fish in my hand.

The fish wasn't big; a harpy eagle could easily swallow it whole. I fed it a little more until its food pouch was full, then I stopped feeding it.

Feed them only until they are about 60% full; if they are too full, they will become less affectionate.

After feeding the harpy eagle, it was Top's and my turn to prepare dinner.

I have plates available today, so I've decided to have a little of everything. Any leftover fresh fish will be smoked and dried for preservation.

There's a lot of food today, and I was worried we wouldn't be able to finish that big fish. So I only cut it in half to cook, and I'll use the rest to smoke it with the smaller fish later.

The main thing is that Top catches all the river shrimp, water centipedes, and mantis turtles, and they need to eat them all. Otherwise, they won't taste good if dried, and they won't keep for long if not dried.

First, I decided to start with stir-frying. I started by heating the oil. When the oil was hot enough, I put the water centipedes and water beetles in and fried them together.

Once they are all fried until golden brown, remove them from the oil and place them on a plate. Sprinkle a little salt and rosemary on the water centipedes, and the dish is done.

Another stir-fry dish is stir-fried fish and crab.

Fry the small fish until golden brown on both sides. While you're at it, remove the crab shells, cut the meat into pieces, and fry until it's bright red and fragrant.

Then add a little galangal powder and perilla leaves and stir-fry together. Finally, season with salt and it's ready to serve. It's just a pity there are no chili peppers, otherwise this dish would be complete.

I boiled a small pot of water and then poured the remaining turtles into it to simmer for a while until the broth turned a light golden color.

Next, add the prepared river shrimp and stew together. Finally, add some lichen rich in vitamin C and cook until the soup becomes thick and flavorful. Then, it can be served in a soup bowl.

Finally, all that was left was the half-fish. I first sautéed the galangal, perilla leaves, and crab roe I'd dug out of the river crab shell in oil until fragrant.

Then transfer the fish to a clay pot, add half a pot of water, bring it to a boil, add the fish pieces and some taro, cover the pot and let them simmer for about fifteen minutes.