1940s: I supported my wife and sister-in-law by hunting.

Temperatures rose considerably in early March.

However, in the deep mountains and forests of Nangoutun, the river surface is still covered with thick ice, showing no signs of thawing.

The older generation often says that the river thaws in the seventh nine-day period and the swallows return in the eighth nine-day period. But that's an old saying that's only for people living in the plains. It doesn't apply to this mountain valley at all.

The river is frozen solid, and it won't be until late March at the earliest, when the temperature slowly rises, that the ice on the river will gradually loosen, crack, and begin to thaw.

Before the river completely thawed, this winter fishing was organized by Second Uncle. Second Uncle is the village head of Nangou Village. He is always fair and decisive in his work. Once he took the lead, all the villagers, young and old, were present and packed their tools early to come over.

After all, winter fishing is a major event for the whole village. As long as they can catch fish successfully, every household will get a share of river fish, enough for the whole family to eat for several meals. Nobody wants to miss this rare opportunity.

Nangou Village is located next to a large river to the north, and there is also a sizable wild pond next to the village.

Living off the mountains and rivers, Nangou Village has always relied on fishing and hunting for generations, with the river and forests being the foundation of the villagers' livelihood.

The river is rich in aquatic resources.

Three flowers, five luo, eighteen sons, seventy-two miscellaneous fish, you can find them all in this river, not to mention the huge river sturgeon, which can grow to more than five meters long and weigh more than a thousand kilograms. If you are lucky enough to catch one, just one fish is enough for the whole village to share.

Moreover, the fish here are all pure cold-water fish, growing in the low-temperature river water all year round. Their flesh is firm and tender, and whether stewed or braised, they taste incredibly fresh without any muddy taste.

When the winter fishing team arrived at the river, Chen Gaoshan followed the young men from the village, holding shovels and ice picks, behind the experienced fishing leader, waiting to be instructed to chisel holes in the ice of the river.

The fishmonger was Chen Laosan, who was holding a wooden pole more than seven meters long.

According to the rules of winter fishing, six holes need to be drilled in the ice this time. The fishing nets for the river are all woven by the women in the village when they have nothing to do. The net is about forty meters long and the mesh is woven very loosely.

The villagers all follow the rules, only catching big fish. The small fish can slip back into the river through the mesh of the net and grow up again next year. They can't be killed off completely.

The fish leader, Chen Laosan, walked back and forth on the thick ice, squinting as he observed the patterns and colors of the ice. Every now and then, he would squat down and tap the ice, relying on his decades of fishing experience to find the fish nests where the fish gathered and to judge the direction of the fish's movement.

This is a skill that not everyone can achieve; it relies entirely on years of accumulated experience and keen eye, and it is the hard skill that has enabled him to maintain his position as the head fishmonger. There is no room for faking it.

After finding the right spot, Chen Laosan laid the long pole flat on the ice, measured the spacing, and then used one end of the pole to poke a mark on the ice to determine the location of each ice hole.

As soon as he finished marking it, he looked up and saw the three fat men standing there dumbfounded.

"Dig right here! What are you standing there for, Fatty? Hurry up and come dig the hole! What's wrong, don't you want to share your fish for the pot anymore?"

The fat guy, holding an ice pick, immediately snapped out of his daze and scurried over.

"Third Uncle, I'm here! My whole family has been waiting at home for this fish to be cooked. We've been looking forward to it for days!"

Old Chen glanced at the men, young and old, who were busy at work, and shouted in a strong voice to encourage everyone.

"Everyone, put in your best effort and don't slack off. With our skills, this one net should yield at least five or six hundred pounds of fish, enough for every household!"

The village head, Uncle Erda, was present throughout the entire event. Despite being nearly seventy years old, he remained robust and healthy.

He spotted the chubby guy, who was dawdling and slacking off again, and immediately strode forward, kicked him so hard that he sat down on the ice.

"What are you dawdling about! You can't even keep up with a capable old woman when it comes to work. Are you just loafing around here? Get up and get to work!"

Sanpangzi stumbled after being kicked, but dared not talk back or try to be clever again. He quickly got up from the icy ground, brushed the snow off his cotton-padded clothes, and put on a forced smile.

"Second Uncle, it's alright if you kick me, but please don't strain your old back. I'll work hard from now on and I promise I won't slack off again!"

After saying that, he immediately picked up an ice pick and started chiseling at the marks on the ice.

Although it's March and the weather has finally warmed up a bit, without the biting cold of the dead of winter, the ice on the river is still quite thick, at least half a meter thick.

Chen Gaoshan took the ice chisel and put all his strength into chiseling at the ice, once, twice.

Ice shards flew everywhere, each one requiring tremendous effort; it was definitely a physically demanding job, and anyone without considerable strength couldn't handle it.

His partner in the work group was Qian Zhuizi, a man in his early thirties who was known in the village as a very honest man. He had a large family, and his wife had given birth to four sons. The whole family had to eat, and he and his wife worked together inside and outside the village. Although they were not rich, they lived a lively life.

"Shanzi, watch your step! Don't cut yourself! These ice chisels are very sharp; if they poke your foot, they'll pierce right through your cotton shoes!"

While waving his tools, Qian Zhuizi didn't forget to remind her.

The ice picks in their hands had only iron tips fixed to solid wood handles, resembling electric picks, with two handles that were just big enough to grip with both hands.

The village was made by an old blacksmith who ran a small stall. The iron used for the chisel tips was all scrap bullet casings that he had collected and melted down to make the chisels.

The ice hole to be carved is about fifty centimeters in diameter. The deeper you go into the ice layer, the harder the ice becomes, and the more difficult it is to carve.

Chen Gaoshan and Qian Zhuizi took turns working, one forcefully chiseling the ice while the other used a shovel to clear away the broken ice fragments.

After working for more than two hours, Chen Gaoshan mustered all his strength and swung the last cone, finally breaking through the thick ice layer, and the river water instantly gushed out of the hole.

They help hunt roe deer and scoop fish with ladles—this saying is absolutely true for them.

The river was frozen over all winter, and there was little oxygen underwater. The fish had long been suffocating from lack of oxygen. When this little opening finally appeared, all the fish, big and small, rushed to it like crazy, looking completely dazed and not knowing how to hide.

Chen Gaoshan's eyes lit up as he looked at the school of fish at the cave entrance.

"Hey, quick! Reach out and grab it! This fish's completely still, it's not moving an inch!"

Qian Zhuizi was an honest man. Upon hearing this, he immediately rolled up his sleeves, reached into the ice cave, grabbed a pike, and flung it onto the ice. His face lit up with joy.

"This pike is so tender! I'll stew a pot of it when I get home, and finally my little rascals can eat their fill of meat!"

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