The place where they cut down trees was not far from the lake, and it took only a quarter of an hour to walk there.

Jiang Yue gave them the fishing net and taught them how to use it.

Tiezi and Zhuzi were indeed very strong, and they could throw the net farther than she could.

They were young and energetic. Seeing that the water was not deep, they jumped into the water without even lifting up their trouser legs, saying that it would make it easier to exert force.

Jiang Yue picked some grass that fish liked to eat, tore it into pieces and threw it down.

Few people come to this mountain, so the fish in the lake are not very alert.

Tiezi and Zhuzi went fishing for the first time. They stood in the waist-deep water, their faces tense and their arms tense. When they saw a fish swim in, they silently opened their mouths, wanting to laugh but not daring to, their faces grim.

Jiang Yue found it very funny when she saw this, and thought they were really simple and cute.

She gently reminded, "You can collect the first net first."

After receiving the order, the two men put away their smiles, tightened the rope with their arms, and began to pull in the net with gritted teeth.

When they were so exhausted that they squatted on the ground, panting, they didn't even complain because there were more than a dozen fish jumping around in the fishing net!

The two of them stared at the fish, as if they wanted to eat it raw.

Zhuzi smiled innocently and said, "This fish is as big as my palm! It's so fat! It must be delicious!"

Jiang Yue looked at the sky. The sun was about to set. The mountain seemed even quieter, with only the occasional bird calls.

"I'll string up all the fish, and you guys can go get another one."

"Oh, okay!"

Jiang Yue plucked a few handfuls of vines from the grass and randomly weaved them into strings with Jiang Nian, as long as they could string the fish together.

She heard a scream and looked over to see Tiezi slapping his thigh hard. Zhuzi was also distressed and explained that when they were picking the fish and water plants out of the fishing net, a fish accidentally jumped back into the water.

Tiezi was still in shock, regretting that he hadn't caught it, "That fish was huge!"

"Oh, that's enough. If we hurry, we can still fish it out before dark."

He grumbled, still hating himself for not catching the fish. But there was no way to regret it, so he and Zhuzi went into the water again.

Jiang Nian took a stone and hit each fish's head with it expressionlessly, knocking all the fish unconscious.

Jiang Yue couldn't help laughing, thinking of the words: I've been killing fish at RT-Mart for ten years, and I've become cold and heartless...

"why are you laughing?"

"It's okay, my brother's movements when killing fish are so beautiful."

Jiang Nian didn't respond. She looked up and saw that his ears were red.

She had discovered long ago that as long as he was praised, this person would feel happy and shy. He was so innocent.

When it got dark, Zhuzi and the other man finally got ashore.

The second net yielded more than the first.

This time, they had experience, so no matter how tired they were, they couldn't wait to collect the fish from the shore. They just tossed them in with all their might. Tiezi had suffered a loss, so he didn't dare to be so reckless again. If he lost another fish, he would be so angry that he wouldn't be able to sleep tonight.

Jiang Yue strung together all the fish, big and small, a total of thirty-six fish.

For her, throwing the fish back into the lake was the only sustainable way to go. But for the villagers, who hadn't tasted meat for hundreds of days and nights, they couldn't wait until then.

Small fish, shrimps, and mice—as long as they had meat, they would eat them. They even scrambled to eat locusts.

Jiang Yue said, "Find a place in the woods and hide the fishing net. But you have to dry it out. It will get moldy if it's wet, and it will break easily after a while. Then when you come back next time, you'll have something to catch."

This fishing net is not that strong. It will probably need to be patched after using it a few more times, and she won't be able to stay for long.

"good!"

The two men obeyed her every word.

The four men and the mule walked down the mountain in the afterglow. When they reached the middle of the mountain, the others rushed up, their mouths wide open, "So many fish!"

"My God, this fish is much bigger than the one in the creek!"

"Are there any more up there?"

"Yes, yes, yes! We have hidden the Jiang family's fishing net, so we can continue fishing in the future!" Zhuzi and the other man's faces were flushed, and they began to talk about fishing with others.

These woodcutters also had some gains, catching a few mountain rats.

Jiang Yue hates all kinds of mice the most. She gets goosebumps when she hears any squeaking sound.

She ignored it and reminded him, "Let's travel at night. We've gained so much, and we're worried about people getting jealous."

Everyone put away their smiles and their faces became tense.

"Okay, let's use some wild vegetables and weeds to cover the fish."

As for the wood, no one cares about it, and no one will come to steal it.

The mountain was thick with fallen leaves, making it slippery. Adding to the weight of the wood, they gritted their teeth and carefully pulled it down, occasionally falling over.

By the time they reached the foot of the mountain, it was completely dark.

The logs they chopped were large and long, requiring two or three people to carry one log, and they had to rest after each step. If you looked closer, the logs stretched out in a long line, like a line of ants carrying food.

Jiang Yue and the other man got on the mule and took the fish with them. "Let's go back first and have the villagers prepare and come out to welcome you."

"good."

They were walking on a small trail, and the mules had difficulty running, but they were still much faster than they could walk.

As they got farther away, Jiang Yue took out a flashlight to illuminate the road beneath their feet, and the mule walked more steadily.

It was late at night and the only sound was the tread of mule hooves.

When the two returned to Changle Village, the first major gate had already been completed. They went up and knocked on the door, using the village's code: knock once, pause, and knock twice.

The old man was in charge of guarding the gate. He felt that he was useful to the village and would listen at the gate every day. Even at night, he could not sleep deeply and would come out soon, leaning on a cane.

"Who's that outside?"

"Grandpa, we came back first. Let's ask someone to pick up the others."

Hearing Jiang Yue's voice, he was a little surprised. He didn't expect her to come back so soon, so he quickly groped over to open the door.

They didn't exchange much greetings, just said they would go find the village chief first.

The sound of the mule's hooves startled many people, and when they knocked on the village chief's door, everyone came out.

"Hey, it's a mule!"

In the moonlight, I looked at the young couple and the mule with excitement and envy. They are so talented!

Jiang Yue tied the remaining thirty fish into six strings, except for the six she wanted, and stuffed them into six bunches and handed them to the village chief.

"These are the fish we caught in the mountains. We found them first and we were the ones who used the net, so we got six fish."

She didn't hide anything and spoke frankly.

Everyone drooled at the sight of so many fish. Village Chief He also widened his eyes. After hearing Jiang Yue's words, he said, "Of course, of course. How about I give you two more?"

"No, six is ​​just right. Village chief, please find a few people to help the wood movers. They have cut some big logs, and they are very heavy."

After saying this, they led the mule home.

I vaguely heard the village chief starting to arrange for people to go out from behind.