Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Chapter 1182 Electric Fishing Was Just a Minor Incident—Adding Some Species to the Little Lake
Deng Shilei just wanted to catch some fish during the off-season to earn some extra money, but he never expected to end up in jail.

What bad luck!

He used to catch fish in the small lake. Whether casting nets or using gillnets, it was always done secretly on the south side of the lake, behind everyone's back.

He would occasionally encounter shepherds, but they wouldn't bother him, so he stopped caring.

He has a bicycle and has been to many reservoirs nearby. The day after he sets his nets, he doesn't even take the fish out of the nets when he retrieves them; he goes straight to Shicheng Old Street to set up a stall and sell them.

The elderly men and women would come over and buy the fresh fish that were still on the net.

It turned out that the fish from the small lake sold best, and there were many repeat customers. Some people had a keen eye and could recognize the fish from the small lake at a glance. If he went to other places to catch fish to sell, some stubborn old men would not buy his fish.

Over time, Deng Shilei realized that Xiaohaizi was his treasure trove.

He's been eyeing other people's tractors lately, but his farm isn't generating much profit, and he also has a habit of gambling small amounts of money.

So I decided to go for something big.

After spring, the number of fish in the lake increased, especially the fish eggs laid out last autumn, which have grown into small fish about ten centimeters long after half a year of growth, and have also started laying their eggs.

It's a lot of trouble to prepare such a big fish, but some people really enjoy eating it.

He tried to blow it up once before. He got some ammonium nitrate sticks, attached fuses and detonators, threw them into water and set them off. He made quite a lot of damage, but the noise was too loud and attracted several people.

If he hadn't run fast, he might have been caught.

I later asked around and found out that electrofishing is quieter, at least it doesn't make as much noise.

So he got an old battery, fully charged it, and then made two conductive rods. Wearing waders, he went into the water.

Electricity is really great; when the two conductive rods were extended downwards, a group of fish floated to the surface.

In less than half an hour, half a bag of fish had been electrocuted.

He was a little tired and was just about to go ashore when he saw a few sheep come up the embankment. He thought it was the same old man from last time and didn't pay any attention. After getting ashore, he was about to put his equipment down when he saw an old man walk up.

It's different from last time.

The old man looked rather sinister. Seeing Deng Shilei's attire, his face darkened, and he asked:

"What are you doing? Catching fish, huh? Who let you come here? Which village are you from? What's your name?"

Deng Shilei, though not exactly tall and strong, looked much stronger than this skinny old man. He said with a grin:
"Old man, what business is it of yours where I am? This reservoir isn't yours, is it? Why are you meddling so much? You're just being nosy and acting like a busybody!"

Deng Shilei is no pushover. If this old man really messes with him, he can knock him down, ride away on his bike, and there's nothing the old man can do about it.

So he wasn't afraid at all.

Unexpectedly, upon hearing this, the old man stopped talking and started to take action!

A whip lashed out, and Deng Shilei, caught off guard, was struck on the back. The pain ignited his anger, and he threw down his gear, intending to grab the old man and give him a beating.

Unexpectedly, when he got close to the old man, he tripped and fell to the ground. Then the old man straddled him and beat him.

He didn't think the old man was particularly powerful at first; instead, he thought it was just a coincidence, or that he was simply having a bad day.

But that old man was really ruthless!
After taking several hits and seeing stars, Deng Shilei knew he couldn't fight back and had to run away quickly. He waited until the old man had finished hitting him and stood up, then hurriedly got up to run away. At this point, he didn't care about the fish or his equipment; he just wanted to get away first!
Unexpectedly, after running only two steps, he tripped over something and fell down again. The old man stepped forward and tied him up with a whip rope.

Old Man Yang was well aware that Xiaohaizi was contracted by Li Long.

Li Long also made it clear that the team should let them catch fish and cast nets as they pleased, and not worry about it.

Yang Laoliu remembered this.

The ground around the reservoir is damp, and the reeds grow well—not the kind that grow two or three meters long like in reed ditches, so cattle and sheep love to eat them.

Old Yang grazes his cattle and sheep here, and also checks on the grass to see if it's good; if so, he cuts some to dry. The old man can't sit still; he's healthy, eats well, and always wants to do more work.

Keep an eye on Xiao Haizi—people from the old society always have that mentality of being loyal to others even when they're eating their food.

Since Xiaohaizi was contracted by Li Long, he, as Li Long's employee, has an obligation to help take good care of Xiaohaizi.

That's when I met Deng Shilei.

Yang Laoliu knows everyone from Team Four. This person looks unfamiliar, so he's not from Team Four.

If Deng Shilei had responded politely and kindly, Yang Laoliu would have at most confiscated his fish and equipment.

Having been a colonel and seen the world, he knew this thing was for electrofishing—Yang Laoliu did recognize what an electric battery looked like.

This thing is insidious!
I never expected this guy to not only do such arrogant things, but also say such arrogant things.

Then we can't let them off easily.

Having not fought anyone for a long time, Yang Laoliu was quite cautious when he first started, using two underhanded tricks. Unexpectedly, his opponent fell down without even noticing.

Hey, that was a really satisfying beating!

At this point, Yang Laoliu began to doubt himself, wondering if he had a tendency to bully others, and how he could beat people so satisfyingly.

Even after beating him, he couldn't let him off easily. After tying him up, Yang Laoliu dragged him down the embankment, then called out to Tao Daqiang, who was working in the fields—yes, Tao Daqiang's family had a piece of land not far from Xiaohaizi.

This land was planted with rice this year, and the seedlings were only recently transplanted.

Tao Daqiang's car was nearby, so he drove Yang Laoliu to the police station and told his father to go find Xu Chengjun—he didn't know Li Long had come.

But Xu Chengjun knew this, so he found Li Long before going to the police station.

Li Long originally thought that since the other party was fine and he was fine, he would just take the goods and pay a token fine and let it go.

Upon arriving, he was immediately displeased to hear that the other party was demanding punishment for Yang Laoliu. Since Li Long was unhappy, he naturally wanted the other party to pay a price.

He hadn't studied law much, but he knew that if the losses reached a certain level, the other party would face more than just a fine.

Although he was listening to what that person was saying when he entered, the first person he saw was Yang Laoliu.

Yes, Uncle Liu is alright, that's good.

Although he usually jokes around with Yang Laoliu, Li Long still calls him Uncle Liu in his heart.

"Sixth Uncle, thank you so much this time. I knew you would be alright. Why don't you take a car back first?" Li Long also saw Tao Daqiang, smiled at him, and gestured for him to take Yang Laoliu back.

Li Long's words made Yang Laoliu feel quite comfortable. Hey kid, you know your sixth uncle's skills!

By this time, he had forgotten that Li Long had mentioned the person who had sacrificed his life, and he was quite pleased with himself.

"He can't leave!" Deng Shilei immediately disagreed upon hearing Li Long's words. "He hit someone, how can he leave?"

Li Long smiled at Yang Laoliu, but he was much less polite to Deng Xianlei, saying coldly:
"As I just said, you caused me a lot of losses at the reservoir I contracted! Uncle Liu only took action to protect my interests, the interests of our team, and to stop your illegal and criminal activities!"

Before he could finish speaking, someone entered and asked:
"Comrade Li Long, what are you doing here? What happened?"

Jiang Zhiyu.

The two police officers stood up immediately when they saw Jiang Zhiyu approaching and said:

"Committee Member Jiang, hello, hello."

Although the police station and the township are not officially under each other's jurisdiction, the police station is under the jurisdiction of the county public security bureau.

But in this small corner of the countryside, it would be a lie to say there's no connection.

"Oh, what's going on?" Jiang Zhiyu came over after seeing Li Long's car. She thought that Li Long, being such a law-abiding person, would definitely be fine.

As for what she came here for, she naturally had to ask. If she could help, she would lend a hand. She couldn't always expect others to help her, could she? It's about exchanging favors; she felt uncomfortable owing too many people favors.

"Here's what happened..." The middle-aged policeman recounted the events, and Li Long remained silent throughout. It was Deng Shilei who kept interrupting, which annoyed the younger officer.

Look at them over there, they've received reinforcements but haven't said anything, unlike you.
The young policeman got annoyed and secretly gave Deng Shilei a shove, which immediately made Deng Shilei behave.

Before Jiang Zhiyu could say anything after listening, the director came over.

The rest is easier. The electrofishing equipment is still there, and so are the fish. According to Yang Laoliu, there are still quite a few small fish in the lake that haven't been caught yet, some as big as a thumb. It's a pity.

In fact, if Deng Shilei had confessed earlier and hadn't been so stubborn, he would have just been fined and the matter would have been over.

After all, the apparent loss is at most a hundred or so yuan, which isn't a big deal.

However, the guy kept denying it and had a bad attitude, so Li Long finally decided not to settle. The police station acted swiftly and put him in detention.

Five days.

Of course, the fine wasn't arbitrary, nor was it imposed because Li Long and Jiang Zhiyu knew each other or because Li Long was a celebrity. As the township's propaganda committee member, Jiang Zhiyu was quite familiar with some laws and regulations concerning rural grassroots areas. Administrative regulations had been issued in China as early as 79, explicitly prohibiting activities that damage fishery resources, such as electrofishing.

Moreover, Deng Shilei was electrocuting a privately contracted waterway—that's tantamount to theft!
The behavior was also extremely egregious!

As for Deng Shilei's claim that Yang Laoliu beat him, the police station's explanation aligns with the common people's simple worldview: If you go to someone's waters to illegally fish with electricity, can't they beat you? This is a legitimate act of retaliation!

At this point, no one would file a countersuit. The idea that someone could sue a homeowner for compensation after being attacked in their home would be laughable.

Although Li Long did not ask for compensation, the police station's handling of the case also included a fine.

After interrogation, it was discovered that this wasn't the first time Deng Shilei had caught fish in the small lake. He also confessed that he had encountered shepherds there, but they hadn't interfered.

Li Long immediately realized who the other shepherd was.

The matter was settled like that.

"Sixth Uncle, you're as imposing as ever!" Li Long joked.

Upon hearing Li Long mention the past, Yang Laoliu immediately waved his hand: "No, no, no, I dare not mention the past again. Things are very good now, very good indeed. Back then, even when I was a colonel, the food and things I had weren't as comfortable as they are now! Hey, it felt really good to beat him up just now!"

All right, just be happy.

Before leaving, Jiang Zhiyu suggested that Li Long put up a sign at Xiaohaizi saying that the water surface was privately contracted and illegal fishing was prohibited, in order to prevent similar incidents from happening again.

Xu Chengjun said he would take care of the matter.

Li Long didn't really want to trouble the team, as it would be owing them a favor. However, Xu Chengjun had said it in front of Jiang Zhiyu, implying there were other considerations involved, so Li Long didn't refuse.

Back at the team, Yang Laoliu asked Li Long to take him to Xiaohaizi, where the sheep were still.

At this point, there's no worry about them getting lost. This is the largest flock; there aren't many families in the village that still raise sheep, so it's easy to find them.

However, when they arrived at Xiaohaizi, they found Uncle Luo there watching over the cattle and sheep. After seeing them, Uncle Luo said that after Tao Jianshe reported to Xu Chengjun, he went to Lao Ma Hao to tell Uncle Luo, and Uncle Luo quickly came over to watch over the cattle and sheep.

This is property they're managing for Li Long; they can't afford to let anything happen to it.

Well, they're all more attentive than Li Long.

Li Long hadn't seen Xiao Haizi for a while either.

Once he reached the embankment, he saw the area where people were electrofishing. There were also a few dead fish scattered on the bank, which hadn't been collected yet.

But there was a layer of pale white fish floating on the surface of the water, covering an area of ​​twenty or thirty meters in radius. It was quite heartbreaking to see.

Fish die in the ditch, they dry up; that's one way they die, a testament to the power of nature.

But on this water, being electrocuted is a different kind of death; it's a man-made disaster.

The current gently carries these small fish toward the sluice gate, where they will be swept downstream.

It won't pollute the water surface.

Li Long had been thinking that five days of detention might be a bit long, since the food in the police station's detention room was supposedly quite appetizing.

Looking at these dead fish now, he felt that five days was a bit short, ten days would be more effective!

That was the end of the matter. Uncle Luo gave Yang Laoliu a good compliment, saying that he would get a five-yuan bonus on his salary this month.

Yes, now Uncle Luo manages the wages of the old folks at Old Horse's Den. He controls the money from selling wool and harvesting deer antlers, the money for buying donkeys comes from here, and the wages also come from here.

"Let's slaughter two sheep," Li Long said. "Watching Uncle Liu beat up Deng Shilei today felt so satisfying!"

Yang Laoliu smiled, though it wasn't a pretty smile, but you could tell he was genuinely happy.

His skills have finally found a place to be put to good use.

Li Long meant that Old Ma would eat one sheep and give the other to his elder brother. Of course, they couldn't eat the whole sheep; Xu Chengjun would get a leg, and Da Qiang's family would get a leg too.

Uncle Luo said that the old men couldn't eat that much. Li Jianguo's group had more people, so a whole sheep might not be enough. They'd get Captain Xu Chengjun's leg and one leg from Tao Jianshe's sheep.

Li Long didn't think much of it. He had plenty of beef and mutton in the county, so he didn't think to mention it. But when he left the fourth team, there was still an extra leg of lamb in the car. According to Yang Laoliu, it was his own sheep after all, and he couldn't let others eat it and then not eat it himself.

The news that someone had been beaten by Yang Laoliu for electrofishing in the small lake quickly spread throughout the fourth team. Yang Laoliu was already a semi-legendary figure in the team, and this incident solidified that notion—just imagine, a sixty-year-old man beating a thirty-year-old strongman until he was bruised and swollen; that's quite an achievement!
Many parents privately advised their children to stay away from Yang Laoliu to avoid being beaten.

This has been causing Yang Laoliu some distress lately, as some children avoid him whenever they see him.
The other members of the fourth team also knew that the fish in the small lake were only for team members to catch; outsiders were advised not to. Someone spread the rumor that Ma Jinbao had been watching outsiders fishing in the small lake without interfering.

While Ma Jinbao was drinking at the store, someone confronted him and asked him questions. He explained that he didn't know the person was a fisherman and thought he was someone's relative.

The explanation was essentially meaningless; in any case, I was ridiculed by the team for a long time.

The four teams are still quite united. It's normal that they don't get along well in private. But Xiao Haizi is part of the team. Although Li Long has contracted the fishing, he has never prevented the other team members from catching fish.

Now that outsiders are using nets and even electrofishing, and you, Ma Jinbao, are turning a blind eye, that won't do.

Therefore, Ma Jinbao had a difficult time for a while.

Li Long didn't care too much. He would come to the team every two days to check on the cotton and the condition of the high-horsepower tractors.

Then I received a call from Huang Lei, asking about the current situation of the wild mushroom purchase and when he could come over.

Li Long went to the purchasing station and asked his father. Li Qingxia flipped through the ledger and said:
"There are currently over 700 kilograms of mushrooms in the warehouse."

If it weighs over 700 kilograms, then Huang Lei could definitely make the trip. After all, this stuff is light; a few dozen kilograms make up a large sack. They'd have to be careful transporting it over there; too much wouldn't be good.

When Huang Lei heard from Li Long that there were so many, he said he planned to come as soon as possible.

"When you come over, see if you can help me buy some crab and shrimp larvae, and see if you can bring them over alive," Li Long said. "I have a reservoir here, I'll put them in and see if we can raise them."

"Is that really possible?" Huang Lei said from the other end. "This thing needs a specific environment. It's too cold where you are in winter; it won't survive."

"Then don't worry about it for now, just give it a try," Li Long said with a smile.

Indeed, whether it's the people in the region or the locals in northern Xinjiang, who could have imagined that thirty or forty years later, northern Xinjiang would become a major production area for hairy crabs, shrimp, and rainbow trout?

Crabs are incredibly adaptable. Although about 80% of them might not survive the winter, the remaining 20% ​​will dig deep burrows, survive the year, and then reproduce...

Every two years, introduce a batch of crab larvae into the water, and then there will be plenty of delicious food in the water.

One-year-old crabs are too small; crabs that are two years old or older, hey!
It was just a random arrangement anyway; if it works, great, but if it doesn't, that's fine too.

Huang Lei naturally had no objections. Anyway, he could handle these things quite easily. He would just ask the crab seedling seller for advice when buying them, and as for whether they would survive, he would leave it to fate.

Why not do something that's easy to do?

(End of this chapter)