Chapter 114 Catching Fish
Little Shitou was so amused that he laughed so hard that he showed a few snow-white teeth. His bright smile cheered people up.
Recently, Zhao Chunhua has been paying close attention to her child's dental health. She insists on wiping his gums and newly grown teeth carefully with a soft cotton towel every morning and evening. Now, his teeth are not only white but also neatly arranged.
"When the sun isn't so hot, I'll take you to the river to catch those clever little fish."
As she talked about her plans, she stroked her son's soft hair.
These days, digging a small fish pond in the backyard has become an important task in her life. No matter how bad the weather is or how tired she is, she will insist on digging for at least half an hour every day. Sometimes Shu Ziying will come over to help when she sees it.
After more than half a month of hard work, the two of them finally dug the fish pond.
They poured some water into the lake the night before. In order to provide the fish with a more natural living environment, Shu Ziying went to the river early yesterday morning and cut a lot of fresh aquatic plants and put them into the new lake.
When I went to check again today, I found that the water transparency was quite good. Although it was not particularly clear, it at least met the standards for releasing fish fry.
However, the fish fry in the river are extremely active and the amount caught each time will not be too much, which requires them to have enough patience to accumulate little by little.
As for the poultry raised at home, the situation is not very optimistic. Two of the chicks that Chen Mai had sent before unfortunately died for various reasons. Currently, there are only five hens and one rooster left.
Considering that the number was too small to meet daily needs, Zhao Chunhua once again asked someone to order ten newly hatched chicks from the village, which were expected to be delivered to her home in a few days.
Even though Xiao Shitou might not quite understand what she said at this moment, she still kept on telling her plans and expectations. This communication seemed to bring her endless fun and satisfaction.
In recent days, as the temperature continues to rise, the crops in the fields are showing a vibrant scene. It seems that every day one can see them growing at a speed visible to the naked eye.
However, under the same weather conditions, it is a big challenge for leafy vegetables in the vegetable garden. The strong sunlight causes the water accumulated on the leaves to evaporate quickly.
It was around four o'clock in the afternoon, and the villagers had already started to get busy. Many of them were carrying large buckets to water their vegetable plots.
Even though the shade had started to cool down at this time, it was still unbearably hot under the direct sunlight.
Everyone knew that it would be too late to take action until the evening, after all, there were many other things waiting to be done.
At this moment, Zhao Chunhua was walking slowly in the team holding her young child, and next to her was Shu Ziying who was carrying a bucket filled with various simple fishing tools.
There is one particularly eye-catching thing in the barrel: it is a pocket made of a piece of plain cloth, the opening of which is reinforced with a bamboo frame and fixed with a rope for subsequent operation.
Once the day's tasks are completed, the entire device can be disassembled and carefully cleaned for next use.
This material is also known as Shubu locally. On the surface, it appears to be a light white background dotted with scattered square patterns, and it does not feel very smooth and delicate.
It is generally used to make outerwear or daily necessities, such as filter cloth.
Such cloth is not only tough and suitable for daily work, but can also be used as an important tool in filtering food or brewing wine.
Apart from the vegetable garden at home, the rest of the land is used to grow staple food.
These staple food crops occupy most of the farmland, ensuring the villagers' food, clothing and survival needs.
The villagers work hard and grow a variety of food crops in different fields.
The rice fields are full of rice; the fields are neat and uniform, the rice grains sway in the wind, and the land is full of green.
Elsewhere, different types of land are distributed, and the most suitable crops for cultivation are selected according to soil conditions and climatic characteristics.
Elsewhere, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and corn are grown.
These three crops each have their own characteristics: potatoes are storable and easy to preserve, sweet potatoes have high nutritional value, and corn can be eaten directly or fed to poultry, providing a diversified and stable food source for the village.
The ears of corn have begun to become full and the leaves are gradually turning yellow, and they are about to mature.
As the summer progresses, huge corn cobs form on the tops of the corn stalks, and the golden kernels sparkle in the sun, heralding the coming bumper harvest.
After the crops in the fields are harvested, the remaining farm work will be handed over to Shu Erniu, who rents the land.
Villagers are usually only busy during the sowing and harvesting periods. On weekdays, they rent out their farmland to those who need more job opportunities to reduce their labor intensity.
It has been sunny and rainless recently, and the water level in the river has dropped a lot.
Several days of continuous good weather brought about drought, and the originally wide river became increasingly narrow, exposing many sandbars and flat riverbed areas, reducing the amount of irrigation water resources.
The children are not allowed to go to the deep water area, so they play in the shallow water area near the stone bridge. The river surface here has been treated and is very suitable for wading.
To ensure safety, adults will guard the shallows, and children will play in the clear river water with laughter, enjoying a cool moment in the hot summer.
You have to go further downstream to catch fish. In deeper waters the depth is about one meter, while in shallower areas it is only a few dozen centimeters.
Fishing is an exciting and fun experience for children, but adults are always there to supervise carefully just in case.
This river runs through the entire village. Its narrowest part is only five or six meters wide, and its widest part is more than ten to twenty meters.
Rivers are both a source of irrigation and part of the natural landscape, nourishing the land along their banks and supporting generations of people.
Unless there is a severe drought, the river flows continuously.
As the surrounding mountains and forests are well maintained and have strong water conservation capacity, the water flow will not be easily cut off even if there is a lack of rain in the summer, thus providing continuous and stable water supply security for local residents.
The fish fry in the river are clearly visible, and the adults in the village repeatedly emphasize that overfishing is not allowed.
For long-term considerations and the purpose of maintaining ecological balance, villagers consciously limit the amount of fish caught to avoid affecting the breeding and growth environment of fish.
Even mischievous children would not catch these small fish at will.
Despite curiosity
They are strong-willed and active, but under the strict requirements of their parents, the children have understood from an early age the importance of cherishing natural resources and learned how to coexist harmoniously with other creatures.
Someone saw Zhao Chunhua catching fish by the river and asked her curiously what she was doing.
"Catch him and try to raise him."
In response to inquiries from passers-by, the girl patiently explained that she was not planning to cook delicious dishes immediately, but wanted to observe whether it was possible to domesticate wild fish into family pets.
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