Chapter 687 Digging for Barracuda
Upon hearing that they were going to break the ice to dig for fish, Fu Wan became interested. The last time she had done this was in her previous life. Just thinking about the thrill of breaking the ice to find fish made her eager to set off immediately.
"Mom, is it dawn yet?"
Fu Ling yawned, rubbed her eyes, and asked Fu Wan in a low voice.
Fu Wan gestured for her to be quiet, "You sleep a little longer, don't wake Mingzhu and the others, Mom is going to the beach."
Fu Ling had just woken up and was still groggy. She instinctively nodded obediently, then watched Fu Wan put on her thick cotton-padded coat and go out.
As soon as she stepped out of the room, a blast of cold air hit her. Fu Wan rubbed her hands together, just as Ye Xiaocui found two axes in the storeroom.
"Father, Mother, has the sea frozen over?"
Upon hearing his daughter's voice, Boss Fu hurriedly responded, but then, seeing that Fu Wan had just woken up, he felt a little embarrassed.
"Hey, did I just wake you up?"
"I told you to keep your voice down, but look, it's just a few barracudas, why are you getting so worked up?"
Ye Xiaocui couldn't help but complain about her husband. The children had been very busy lately, and it was rare for them to get a good night's sleep on a snowy day, but he had ruined it all.
Barracudas aren't exactly expensive fish, so she couldn't understand why Boss Fu was so agitated.
Boss Fu coughed twice and said stubbornly, "What do you know? The last time the sea froze was when Amin and the others were young. It's rare to have such heavy snow, there must be a lot of people on the beach."
I'm so excited because I just want the kids to go to the beach!
Wow, Fu Wan couldn't help but give him a thumbs up for what he said.
Of course, she didn't forget to speak up for Boss Fu, "Mom, it's okay, we'll have plenty of time to sleep in a few days. Our task now is to go to the beach to dig for mullet!"
Just you wait, the bucket's bound to overflow again!
Seeing her daughter so enthusiastic, Ye Xiaocui didn't say anything more. In just a short while, Fu Ming heard the noise and came out sleepily.
The group put on thick cotton-padded coats and waterproof rubber boots. To prevent any accidents, Boss Fu even put on the waders he usually wears when going into the water.
Carrying buckets and tools, Fu Wan and the others quickly headed towards the beach. They had only taken a few steps out of their house when they ran into Fu Liang, who had come to call Fu Ming.
"Amin, Uncle, hurry up, there are lots of mullet on the beach!"
Fu Ming was wide awake by now. What a joke! With the north wind howling, all his sleepiness vanished as soon as he stepped out of the house.
"Really? Are there a lot of people at the beach? Is the sea frozen solid?"
"It's not a lot, otherwise I wouldn't have had time to come and call you. As for the ice, I just tested it, and it's quite solid."
After several days of snowfall, the roadside was covered with a thick layer of snow, and Fu Wan and the others walked on it, their feet crunching and making a loud noise.
Their house wasn't far from the sea, and everyone walked quickly. In just a few minutes, Fu Wan saw an unfamiliar sea surface that looked different from usual.
The sea, which usually ripples constantly, is now still. The boundless ice sheet, like a giant mirror, reflects the gray sky, making it appear even more vast and empty.
There were also a dozen or so small black dots moving around on the mirror; these were the villagers breaking the ice to dig for mullet.
As Fu Wan and her group approached, some villagers stood up to greet them.
"Doggy, are you here digging for fish too?"
"Yes, it's been years since we've had such heavy snow. Let's bring them out to see the world. We can't let our fish-digging skills be lost!"
Upon hearing this, the older men digging for fish nearby all burst into laughter.
When Boss Fu arrived, he didn't rush to look for fish. Instead, he took out cigarettes from his pocket and gave one to each of the men who were nearby.
These uncles didn't refuse; the weather was so cold, having a cigarette would at least ward off the chill.
Boss Fu himself doesn't smoke, but he always has a cigarette on him. That's just how social interactions are; offering someone a cigarette makes people speak to you with extra politeness.
Just now, the group was feeling a bit uncomfortable. They thought that since everyone, including Elder Fu, was already wealthy, they were still coming to the beach to compete with them for resources.
The moment that cigarette was offered, their thoughts immediately changed.
Hey, Boss Fu really hasn't forgotten his roots, he's even giving them such expensive cigarettes.
The uncles and elders were all smoking, and Fu Wan pulled Ye Xiaocui to an open space to the side.
The ice on the sea was so thick that it wouldn't budge even if you stomped on it. Standing on their side, they couldn't see how thick the ice was in the distance; they could only see the ice stretching all the way to the horizon, with no end in sight.
"Hey, Wan, look! There are two mullet in here!"
Before coming, Ye Xiaocui disliked the cheap price of mullet, but upon arrival, she was the first to look for fish. She didn't care about the distant scenery; as soon as she arrived, her eyes were like searchlights, searching the ice surface.
Upon hearing this, Fu Wan looked in the direction she pointed and saw that the ice surface in front of her was not smooth, and even had some bumps and unevenness.
Fu Wan crouched down and looked into the ice. Her breath hit the ice surface and immediately froze into white frost.
But this did not prevent Fu Wan from discovering the gray shadows hidden in the ice. The two barracudas were still the same as when they were alive, with their mouths slightly open and their eyes as bright as when they were alive.
"Pike? Where are the pike?"
Upon hearing Ye Xiaocui's words, Fu Ming picked up his axe and walked over.
Honestly, he doesn't even smoke, yet he has to sit there with his dad and smell that awful cigarette odor.
"Here it is."
Fu Wan pointed to the mullet in the ice, and Fu Ming was immediately delighted.
"Mother, Awan, step aside, I'll break the ice."
"Okay, keep an eye on it, don't get ice splattered on your face!"
Fu Wan pulled Ye Xiaocui aside. When the ice shards flew out, they were no different from sharp hidden weapons. Fu Ming was going to be a groom in two days, and he couldn't be disfigured.
Fu Ming didn't care about any of that. He raised his axe and started chopping at the ice.
In less than two minutes, he used an axe to pry the two barracudas onto the ice.
Upon seeing this, Fu Wan and Ye Xiaocui hurriedly stepped forward, lifted the fish by its tail, and shook off the ice shards from its body before throwing it into the bucket they were carrying.
"Haha, not enough! Let's do it again!"
Finding no challenge at all, Fu Ming picked up his axe and started looking for the next barracuda.
Seeing that his son had already started working, Boss Fu stopped chatting with his brothers and came over carrying his axe.
“Mom, let’s divide the work. You’ll go with Dad to collect the scavenging, and I’ll go with my brother.”
Digging through ice is hard work, so Fu Wan and Ye Xiaocui were only responsible for picking up the mullet that the father and son had broken through the ice to catch.
Fu Laoda and Ye Xiaocui, a couple married for decades, worked together very well. Fu Wan and Fu Ming were also quite good. Fu Wan was incredibly fast at finding barracuda, and Fu Ming was equally ruthless when smashing ice blocks.
In less than an hour, the buckets on both sides were filled with more than half a bucket of mullet.
Meanwhile, more and more villagers are appearing on the ice, all carrying tools to dig through the ice and search for fish, hoping to catch as many fish as possible to take home for the New Year.
However, with a large number of people, arguments over territory are inevitable.
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