"The results are all here, it's so frustrating, I feel like we can't possibly finish eating all of this," Zhang Yu's underlings exclaimed dramatically.
It's not that we can't finish them all. We've already filled two sacks with river snails, enough to fill half a water tank. Who can eat them all?
“We can catch more. It’s rare to see the river so shallow. This is a rare opportunity. I’ll come back this evening too,” Lin Xiazhu said to Zhang Yu after thinking for a moment. “There are too many river snails. Why don’t we take the bus to the restaurant in the county town tomorrow and sell them? We can make some money that way.”
"Anyone want some?" There are so many of these in the river. If people want to eat them, they can just pick some and take them back to stir-fry or make soup. To be honest, they're not very tasty. They have little meat and are quite fishy. Zhang Yu doesn't think city people are that stupid. They wouldn't like to eat river snails, would they?
Lin Xiazhu could tell what he was thinking from his expression, so she didn't explain further. "Don't dawdle like a girl. Someone will definitely want it. Just go ask and you'll see."
Since she said yes, Zhang Yu believed her and said, "Okay, then we brothers will go to the county town to sell tomorrow."
In the past six months, Zhang Yu has not only made a lot of money collecting scrap, but he has also earned enough to buy a two-wheeled motorcycle. He rides the motorcycle around the area every day, so the scrap yard business is not bad.
Having a car makes everything convenient. They can just scoop up several sacks of river snails, throw them onto a three-wheeled motorcycle, and take them to the county town to sell. With so many people like them, there's no shortage of people to run errands and do small business.
There are other things we can do if the opportunity arises.
At 4:30 pm, the sun was still blazing, but the river was already full of people, playing in the water, collecting river snails, fishing, and doing all sorts of other things.
Lin Xiazhu also took the fishing net she had bought earlier and joined the group of people playing in the water with Xiao An and her three younger sisters.
The river was shallow and full of small fish. Everyone was trying their best to catch fish. Those who had fishing nets used them to catch fish. Lin Xiazhu asked Xiao An and Cha Cha to watch the two little ones while she ran to the deep pool to see if she could catch more fish.
Although the drought has caused the river to become shallower, the deep pool is still very deep. It is said that when the river is full, the water is nine to ten meters deep. Now the water level has dropped by more than half, and it is estimated to be three meters deep. Most people would not dare to come here.
Apart from those young men who are strong swimmers and fearless, such as Zhang Yu, they soaked in the water for five or six hours, their skin was dried out, and their skin was wrinkled and dry all over.
At noon, Lin Xiazhu took Xiao An back, but Zhang Yu and the others didn't even eat lunch and stayed there playing, really playing like their lives depended on it.
Seeing Lin Xiazhu run towards the deep pool, Zhang Yu and Zhang Shengli both dived over. Zhang Yu said, "Xiaozhu, the water is deep here, and the fish are all at the bottom of the river. Fishing nets are useless unless you use a cannon."
"I'll just take a look. If it doesn't work, I'll go to the shallower areas to net it," Lin Xiazhu said nonchalantly.
"Xiaozhu, don't be fooled by the calm water. There are whirlpools underwater that can easily sweep people away. Please don't go down." Zhang Yu knew the river very well; he knew exactly where the whirlpools and reefs were.
Some people don't realize that if they jump directly from the riverbank, they might accidentally hit their head on a rock and die on the spot.
Lin Xiazhu nodded in deep agreement. In her previous life, Taozi was swept away and drowned by the whirlpool at the bottom of the deep pool. Although she was mentally challenged, she grew up playing in the river and was a good swimmer. If she hadn't been attracted by a fish in the deep pool and jumped in to retrieve it, she wouldn't have lost her life.
Seeing that Lin Xiazhu was still reluctant to leave (actually, she was lost in thought), Zhang Yu thought she wanted to catch a big fish and said, "How about I go buy a three-shot firecracker?"
"...Why bother with the cannons? I'll just go to the shallower, less crowded area and cast my net a few times. Stop messing around." A few years ago, people often used cannons to catch fish, and nobody cared.
Later, some people misused explosives, resulting in fish being blown off their hands or disfigured... The town government and police station stepped in to stop them, forbidding the use of explosives or firecrackers to blast fish.
Zhang Yu is incredibly audacious; he's still thinking about fishing at this point, isn't he afraid of getting caught and imprisoned?
After being glared at and scolded in a low voice by Lin Xiazhu, Zhang Yu gave up and felt a little embarrassed. He just wanted to make her happy and hadn't thought much about it. Only after she reminded him did he realize that he had almost done something foolish again.
"Oh no, Brother Yu, my brother has sunk! Quick, pull him out!" Zhang Longfei, who was collecting river snails on the rocks by the riverbank, suddenly shouted in alarm.
Zhang Yu was startled and turned around to look. Sure enough, he couldn't see Zhang Shengli. Just a moment ago, this kid was less than a meter away from him. How did he suddenly sink?
"Did they dive down on their own?" He thought it was impossible for anything to happen to them, as they were all good swimmers.
"He sank, and I saw him struggle a few times." Zhang Longfei was very certain, and without even bothering to look for river snails, he swam over to save him.
Many people have drowned in the river in Shanhe Town. They are usually not good swimmers. If a good swimmer drowns, it is because he suddenly cramped up or was swept away by the whirlpool.
"Stop babbling nonsense and hurry up and get them out of here, or else..." The person who was just a moment ago could be seen, but now they're nowhere to be seen.
The entire river is clear, except for the deep pool, which is bottomless and has an invisible murky quality. No one can see what's below unless they dive to the bottom.
Zhang Yu dared not joke anymore, and the young men all rushed into the deep pool. Lin Xiazhu also threw down her fishing net and jumped into the deep pool.
You can see underwater, but Zhang Yu and the others couldn't spot Zhang Shengli. They would grope around in the water for a few minutes before surfacing for air and then diving back down.
Twenty minutes passed, and they still hadn't found the person. Zhang Longfei was crying, and Zhang Yu and the others were pale. At this point, they all knew that the person was probably beyond saving; suffocation could kill someone in just a few tens of seconds or at most a few minutes.
Those nearby who knew how to swim, knowing that someone was in trouble, all joined in the rescue effort.
Xiao An was anxious and uneasy. He saw Lin Xiazhu also rescuing people from the deep pool and had already taken several breaths. He wished he could go and help, but his personality wasn't very good, and he was afraid that if he joined in, he would be a hindrance.
"Xiao An, we're keeping a close eye on Xiao Xue and Tao Zi." Lin Chacha gripped his arm tightly; she was strong, and Xiao An couldn't shake her off.
Her older sister had quietly told her on her way out of the house to keep a close eye on Xiao An and her two younger sisters, and that she must protect them well.
Xiao An pursed his lips and remained silent, a look of confusion flashing in his peach blossom eyes. He was afraid. He didn't care who was in trouble, as long as she was alright.
At this moment, at the bottom of the deep pool, Lin Xiazhu used her superhuman strength to break through the swirling eddies and dive to the bottom. She saw that there were lush aquatic plants on the riverbed, and countless small and large fish swimming leisurely back and forth.
Zhang Shengli was trapped in a whirlpool with his eyes closed, head down and feet up, unable to move. Lin Xiazhu was feeling restless and needed to act quickly, otherwise she would not only fail to save him but also perish at the bottom of the pool herself.
When rescuing someone in the water, you must grab their feet and not give the drowning person a chance to restrain you. The strength that a dying person can unleash is terrifying, and you might not even know who will die in the end.
Although Zhang Shengli was probably already dead, Lin Xiazhu calmly rushed forward and grabbed his foot, trying to pull him out in one fell swoop, only to find that the vortex was so powerful that it was about to suck her in as well.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
