The children were so frightened that they took a few steps back, and only stopped when they were a meter or two away from the ice cave.
Duofu stared intently at the cave entrance: "Uncle, the water here is so deep, are there many big fish inside?"
The deepest part of the river in Shangfen Brigade is only a few meters deep, yet it can still raise fish weighing several kilograms. In a river that is tens of meters deep, it can definitely raise even bigger and bigger fish.
Gao Guojing boasted, "Of course there are many big fish. I've seen people drive boats to the middle of the river to catch fish, and they bring back a lot of big fish, some weighing hundreds or even thousands of kilograms."
The country bumpkin Duo Le, who had only ever seen fish weighing a dozen kilograms, couldn't help but exclaim, "A fish weighing over a thousand kilograms! That's equivalent to several uncles!"
Gao Guojing: "Of course, but we can forget about catching fish that big. With the equipment we have, we can only catch fish weighing about ten kilograms at most."
Duo Shou asked, "Uncle Guo Jing, are we just going to wait like this?"
Gao Guojing: "No, we need to lie on the ice and listen to the movements in the water. When a fish comes, we'll put the fishing rod down."
As he spoke, he lay down on the ice, and several children followed suit, lying down on the ice to listen to the sounds below.
A minute or two later, Gao Guojing stood up and said softly, "A fish has come. Let's cast our lines."
Duofu took the fishing rod he had prepared earlier and cast it into the water. Soon there was a movement. He deliberately lowered his voice and said, "Uncle Guojing, a fish has taken the bait."
Gao Guojing: "No rush, take a few steps back..."
Gao Guojing, who is usually unreliable, is quite serious this time.
Under his guidance, Duofu quickly caught a fish weighing seven or eight pounds.
Duo Shou examined it carefully for a few moments and said, "This fish is different from the fish we usually see."
Gao Guojing proudly shared, "This is a grass carp. The Shangfen Brigade doesn't have any. Grass carp tastes better than the fish you usually eat. Most importantly, it has large but few bones, so you don't have to worry about getting hurt by fish bones. We've made a fortune today."
In Shangfen Brigade, the common fish are grass carp, common carp, and crucian carp. They have many small bones that can easily prick your mouth.
When they cook fish, they use the part with the most bones to make soup, and then use a strainer to remove the bones after the soup is ready.
Only fish fillets are used for braising without removing the bones.
Duole: "Can it be used to cook pots?"
Their family's New Year's Eve dinner is usually served in a hot pot, and this year is no exception.
Gao Guojing: "Yes, you just wait and see, I guarantee it will make your tongues tingle."
After a successful start, the group caught seven grass carp, five common carp, and eight small whitebait. They also caught a crucian carp, which weighed only half a pound, and threw it back into the water.
The total weight was over 100 kilograms, a truly bountiful harvest.
Gao Guojing packed up his fishing gear, still feeling unsatisfied, and said, "Let's stop fishing here for today. Fish need to be eaten fresh. We can come back to fish again if we want some more later."
The three mischievous monkeys have already learned to ice skate under Xia Jingrong's tutelage, and Du Le's envious eyes are practically popping out of his head.
Xia Jingrong patted the little guy's head and chuckled, "I'll be with you for the next few days and teach you how to ice skate. Don't envy your older brothers."
At the Xia family home, Gao Xiujuan and Xia Taishun were frowning at the pile of vegetables in front of them. Normally, these vegetables would be enough for them to eat for a month.
However, since Yu Rujia's family was all here, they had gained a deep understanding of how rich and fulfilling the eldest son's family's daily life was, based on Gao Guojing's previous accounts and their interactions over the past few days.
Xia Taishun frowned: "I only managed to buy a dozen or so pounds of meat today. With so many people in my family, it's not enough for one meal. I wonder how much fish Guojing can bring back."
It's not that people are reluctant to spend money on coupons, it's just that the supply is limited. Plus, today is Lunar New Year's Eve, and every family wants to have a good meal, so the competition is even fiercer.
The two men took a bunch of meat tickets and went to several places, but they only managed to get this little bit of meat back, most of which was offal that others would disdain.
A dozen or so pounds of meat, barely enough for a regular stir-fry meal.
When the eldest son's family came over, they learned that their New Year's Eve dinner in previous years was cooked in a pot, so they decided to have the pot cooked for today's New Year's Eve dinner.
The main ingredient in the hot pot is vegetables. Winters are cold here, unlike in Shangfen Brigade, where vegetables can survive on the ground even in the dead of winter. You can easily pick more than a dozen kinds of vegetables.
In Jiangcheng, most of the vegetables we eat in winter are Chinese cabbage and potatoes stored from earlier in the season.
It's rare for the whole family to get together like this, and it's the most sumptuous Spring Festival of the year, so we can't just eat cabbage and potatoes for every meal.
Gao Xiujuan looked at the meat in her hand, equally dissatisfied: "Many people go to get fish, and everyone is counting on this for the New Year. I'll go over to my brother's place later and see if he has a lot of meat. I'll take some back to eat first."
These days, nobody's rich, and we're just relying on these free fish to improve our lives.
There are usually many people going to the river to catch fish, and now that people who work are on holiday, there will definitely be even more people going to catch fish.
Whether Gao Guojing will be able to catch any fish is hard to say.
Gao Xiujuan had a good relationship with her brother Gao Tianmu. When the Xia family was in trouble, Gao Tianmu did his best to help Xia Taishun, which enabled Gao Xiujuan to successfully get a fake divorce from Xia Taishun with her two sons.
When Gao Guojing was a child, he often went to Gao Tianmu's place. Besides playing with his cousins, he would also pester his uncle, Gao Tianmu.
Gao Guojing once had a pocket watch that he particularly liked. It was a prized possession of Gao Tianmu, which he hadn't even been willing to give to his own son. Gao Guojing managed to get it back from him.
Gao Guojing was overjoyed to receive the pocket watch. When he returned to his old house in the capital, he took it out and showed it off to a group of people with the character "Jing" in their names. The original owner of the body saw this and naturally snatched the pocket watch away.
Gao Guojing held a grudge against the original owner of this body for several years because of this incident.
In other words, when the Xia family encountered trouble, Yu Rujia came to take the place of the original owner. She helped the Xia family with her actions, which changed Gao Guojing's attitude towards her.
Xia Taishun had no hope: "The situation is pretty much the same for everyone. I don't think they have enough vegetables to share with our family."
Gao Xiujuan glared at her: "How will you know if you don't try? It's still early. Go out and run around this afternoon or go for a walk in the mountains. Bring back whatever you find."
The couple looked worried and distressed, while Yu Rujia and her group went home happily.
As soon as he entered the courtyard, Gao Guojing shouted triumphantly, "Dad, Mom, we brought back lots of fish! Come out and see!"
Gao Xiujuan's voice came quickly from inside: "How many fish?" As soon as she finished speaking, she opened the door and walked out of the house quickly, followed by Xia Taishun.
Gao Guojing: "There are one or two hundred catties, including grass carp, common carp, and whitebait. That's enough for several whole fish banquets."
Gao Guojing had eaten a whole fish feast several times in Shangfen Brigade, and he still remembered it.
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