"Oh dear, it's a stone sculpture, but it's a pity it's not very big," Mingjing said, glancing at the lively fish on the ground.
Ming Dahai bent down, picked up the fish, and placed it in a shallow puddle to keep it alive, then continued digging.
"There must be more here, let's keep going."
Mingjing felt tired, turned her gaze to the sea, and picked up the simple fishing rod from Minglei's hand.
He replaced the fishing hook he had just picked up, then picked up some moon shells and clams from the ground, smashed them, hung them on the hook, and threw them into the sea. "Brother Bai, stop doing this and come fish instead."
When a rich man's son comes to visit, how can you make him work all the time? Giving him an easy job is not disrespecting a guest.
Bai Xiaoye stopped what he was doing and walked over. "Can you really do this without baiting the nest?"
"Okay, you can take it. There will be fish soon."
Mingjing's luck score is so high today, she guesses it covers the entire island, she's sure to catch some fish.
Unexpectedly, as soon as Bai Xiaoye got the fishing rod, he felt it shake.
"A clear mirror reveals a fish."
Mingjing turned around when she heard the sound and saw Bai Xiaoye pulling hard on the fishing line.
"This fish must be quite heavy."
The fishing line was pulled very straight, while the bamboo rod in Bai Xiaoye's hand kept bending. Because he had no reeling equipment, he could only rely on the strength of his wrist to move the fishing rod.
"Move back a little," Mingjing reminded him.
Bai Xiaoye took a few steps back, his fishing rod trembling incessantly. Mingjing couldn't bear to watch any longer, so she grabbed the fishing rod and pulled it up. In no time, the fish was brought up.
"It's a lotus tip."
The lotus tip is small and flat, with two round eyes, and is very cute. It can usually grow to 150 millimeters, but the one in front of us is at most 50 millimeters, a little bigger than a syringe.
"It's a bit too small, you can continue."
Mingjing picked up the lotus tip and threw it back into the puddle.
"Never mind, you do the fishing, I'll go help my uncle."
Bai Xiaoye handed the fishing rod to Mingjing, rolled up his sleeves, and went to dig for water again.
He didn't want to make an exception and give Ming Dahai the impression that he was being cunning and deceitful, leaving a bad impression.
Mingjing took the bamboo pole and was glad she had chosen a thick one, otherwise it would have definitely broken. Since there was no float, she picked up a plastic bag from the shore, tied it to the fishing line, baited it, and cast it into the sea.
While fishing, she asked over there if anyone wanted to switch fishing spots, but no one paid any attention to her. Everyone knew that Mingjing was lucky, and they wouldn't catch much even if they tried.
Suddenly, the fishing rod in her hand sank sharply, and the instant noodle bag sank to the bottom of the water, with the fishing line sinking by more than half.
"Wow, this fish is quite big," Mingjing muttered.
The fish kept pulling the line down, and seeing that she didn't have much line left, she knew that if she waited a few more seconds, she would definitely be pulled down and baited the spot. She quickly pulled the line and struggled with the fish.
The bamboo rod in his hand wasn't a professional fishing rod, and Mingjing was really afraid of breaking it, so he took a few steps forward to loosen the line.
Just like last time, Mingjing dealt with the fish one after the other, which seemed somewhat comical to Minglei.
"Grandpa, Auntie is doing the Yangko dance over there, but she's a little ugly at it, hahaha."
Ming Dahai glanced in that direction and asked, puzzled, "Mingjing, did you catch a fish?"
After saying that, Mingjing felt the fish loosen its grip, so he picked it up and carried it ashore. Only then did he realize that it was a tigerfish, weighing six or seven pounds, but its pulling force was like that of a fish weighing more than ten pounds.
Tigerfish came ashore, and Mingjing was so exhausted that she collapsed on the ground.
"Wow, this tigerfish is quite big. It's valuable." Ming Dahai walked over and carefully picked up the tigerfish, putting it into the puddle.
The spines on the back of tigerfish are poisonous; a sting can cause serious injury, ranging from a few days of bed rest to death.
"Dad, you go fishing, I'll get you some water."
Mingjing thought digging in the water was easier than fishing.
"OK."
Seeing Mingjing catch a tigerfish, Mingdahai's hands also itched to fish, so he put down his bucket and went to sit on the rocks to fish.
"You even brought a fishhook?"
"I just picked it up from the shore." Mingjing rested for a moment and then headed towards the puddle.
The fishing tackle shop had water pumps, but they were expensive and electric, which weren't even produced yet. It would be difficult for her to explain if she brought them out.
It can only be done manually.
Ming Dahai sat on the rock for half a day, smoked all his cigarettes, and still didn't catch a single fish. He was so angry that he wanted to give up.
Just then, he heard a commotion underwater. Excitedly, with a pipe dangling from his mouth, he stood up and pulled up the line. "This fish is big!"
Mingjing stood up and straightened his back to watch Mingda fish being pulled up. After a while, the fish was pulled up, and he looked very displeased.
"Damn, these lotus tips are so small?"
The thumb-sized lotus tip bounced on his large fishing hook, and Ming Dahai immediately cast his line.
"Dad, the puddle is almost ready, come quickly."
Ming Dahai had the same idea. He broke his fishing rod and returned to the pond, frowning as he said, "Mingjing, this is too much trouble. When we get back, let's see if Old Wang's shop has a water pump."
Water pumps are not widely used nowadays. They are affordable, but there aren't many places to buy them. Having water pumps would make things much more convenient for people.
"I'll go back and take a look."
Mingjing stared at the waterway that was more than halfway down. "This pit is quite big. There should be a lot of cargo inside. We've used up all the fish traps. Give me that landing net."
"Hmm, I see there are quite a few things here too."
Ming Dahai turned around and grabbed an extra-long landing net. He hadn't originally wanted to bring it, but thinking he had a large catch, he grabbed one on a whim, and it actually came in handy.
Mingjing shoved the net into the puddle, but the water still overflowed halfway up the net, about a meter or more.
Mingjing swung the net around in the puddle a couple of times and felt that it had hit quite a few stones.
Suddenly, something bumped into her net. Mingjing reached out and scooped it up. The net was heavy and seemed to be moving.
There's something there.
"Bring it up for us to see," Ming Dahai said, helping to pull the net up.
The landing net emerged from the water, its red casing catching Mingjing's attention.
"Is it a lobster?" Ming Dahai asked in surprise.
"No, it's mantis shrimp head, tiger crab," Mingyue said with delight.
Mantis shrimp, also known as tiger crab because of the tiger-like pattern on its shell, and frog-like crab because it likes to squat like a frog.
Its shell is orange-red, its tail is short, its legs are thick, and it looks very similar to a water turtle when it grows out. The largest of these crabs can grow up to 14 centimeters long.
The one that Mingjing caught was at least eleven or twelve centimeters long.
"These mantis shrimp heads are so big, can we catch any more?" Ming Dahai urged anxiously.
Mingjing threw the shrimp on the ground, and the crab actually stood up and walked upright. Mingyue caught it and threw it into the bucket.
"Mingjing, I don't think this pit is very big. I'll go down and take a look," Ming Dahai said anxiously.
A frog-shaped crab costs at least tens of dollars in the market, how could he not be anxious?
"Wait a moment."
As Mingjing's landing net glided through the water, she suddenly felt a strong pull, as if something had crawled inside. When she lifted it up again, the net was empty.
"Dad, there's a big fish in here, but it got away. I'll go down and check." Mingjing had been scooping around in the puddle with a net for a long time without catching anything, so he decided to go down and feel for it.
The puddle wasn't very big, but it was deep. Mingjing braced her legs on the sides of the puddle, and luckily, the surrounding area was all rocks, so her feet landed right on the protruding rocks.
Wearing gloves, she bent down and groped in the water. Something was clinging tightly to her hand.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com