This net haul wasn’t filled with small fish.
Considering the migratory birds gathered here, Song Wei had specifically requested a large net when she telegrammed Song Jing.
They had to leave some food for the birds.
Big fish were fine—birds couldn’t eat them, and smaller birds might even get dragged underwater and eaten by larger fish.
They dragged the net a bit farther away. The haulers were exhausted but exhilarated, with excitement outweighing their fatigue.
“Quick, open it up!”
As the net was opened, fish spilled out onto the ice.
“Hahaha… so many big fish! Really, so many!”
Everyone was thrilled. Some even ran over to hug the large fish, measuring them with their arms.
“This one’s almost as long as my arm, and so plump!”
“Brigade Leader, let’s cast the net again! The lake is huge—there must be more in there.”
“What’s this?”
Someone dug something out from the pile of fish. Everyone gasped—good heavens!
“It’s a softshell turtle!”
A turtle the size of a basketball—who knew how many years it had lived in the lake.
“Such a huge softshell turtle—really rare!”
People had caught softshell turtles in the river before, but none this big.
Turtles were nourishing and much harder to come by than fish.
This discovery had everyone grinning from ear to ear.
“Quick, bring buckets! Let’s load these fish up.”
“Throw the small ones back—let them grow so we can catch them next year.”
Although the net had large mesh, some small fish still got tangled and hauled up.
With so many big fish now, the brigade leader was almost dismissive of the smaller ones.
Men, women, young, and old—all beamed with joy, bending down to gather fish despite the cold.
What a bountiful harvest.
“There must be at least a hundred jin of fish here!”
Lin Zhen said, “More than what we caught in our net.”
He’d taken a glance earlier and estimated at least a hundred jin.
“Quick, let’s cast the net again!”
Strike while the iron is hot.
No one complained of tiredness—everyone was brimming with energy.
“Daniu, step aside and let me pull the net this round. You had your turn last time—let your uncle have some fun too.”
“Gouzi, move over. Let your dad have a go at pulling the net.”
“Dad, it’s so cold—you should just watch from the sidelines. This is a job for us young folks.”
“What, you think your old man is too aged? Scram! I’m still strong and sturdy!”
Similar exchanges happened among many of the young men.
The enthusiastic young men were shooed aside by the middle-aged uncles.
The second net was hauled up amid excited and spirited shouts.
“Not as much as the first net, but still plenty of fish!”
“More big ones!”
“Hahaha… this is awesome!”
Fishing like this, with each net yielding at least seventy or eighty jin, was incredibly satisfying.
The third net had even fewer fish—perhaps the fish here had been scared away.
But it was enough.
“Alright, that’s it for today. Everyone, hurry up and take the fish back to be weighed!”
They carefully packed up the net and carried buckets of fish back.
No one minded the cold—they eagerly watched as the total weight was calculated.
“Two hundred and fifty jin in total.”
“Some of you will take fish home today. Tomorrow, we’ll go net fishing again!”
Two hundred and fifty jin sounded like a lot, but since the fish were large—each weighing at least two jin—the quantity wasn’t overwhelming.
Each household received about five jin of fish, mixed between large and small ones.
The bigger fish, weighing over ten jin, were chopped in half or split between two friendly families.
Not every household could get fish today, so distribution was based on work points, starting from the highest.
“The softshell turtle isn’t included in the distribution. It goes to Lin Zhen’s family since they lent us the net. Any objections?”
“None at all! With so much fish, how could anyone complain?”
Thus, the nearly five-jin softshell turtle went to Lin Zhen’s household.
Lin Zhen said, “We’ll take the turtle, but we don’t need any fish.”
Turtles were nourishing—he’d take it home to make soup for his wife to eat and drink.
If they wanted fish, they could always cast the net at the lake anytime.
Song Wei agreed.
After the fish were distributed, those who received them happily dispersed.
Those who hadn’t gotten any looked forward even more to the next day.
As long as it didn’t snow, the brigade leader would organize net fishing trips to the lake.
The next day, they changed locations and caught quite a bit more.
After two days of net fishing, nearly every household had received fish.
Song Wei also got to taste the softshell turtle soup Lin Zhen had prepared.
The turtle was large, so Lin Zhen split it into two batches for cooking.
The whole family enjoyed it, and the wolves and foxes also had a meal of turtle soup mixed with cornbread.
Besides meat, they occasionally ate leftover grains and meals.
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