Reborn in the 1980s: Nine Stunning Beauties Get Pregnant Before Marriage

Chen Yongqiang carefully tied the modified short pole, ice pick, fishing net, and other items to his old sled, tested the weight by pulling the rope, and then dragged it out of the yard.

Naturally, Liang Meie should be invited. She was the one who suggested it, and she was more familiar with the connections.

The two walked one after the other on the snow-covered path, leaving two tracks behind them on their sleds.

After walking for a while, Liang Meie, who was in front, turned around. Her face was covered with a thick headscarf, and only her eyes were visible.

"Yongqiang, why haven't I seen you coming over lately?"

Chen Yongqiang pulled the sled, his eyes fixed on the road ahead: "I'm afraid people will see me and gossip."

Liang Meie turned back and said, "In this freezing weather, there aren't many ghosts around. Who would gossip about this?"

That's what they said, but they didn't delve any further into it.

Not far from Qingba Reservoir, the vast ice surface resembles a huge gray-white jade stone, lying quietly in the mountain valley.

Despite the cold weather, a dozen or so figures were scattered across the ice, some squatting, some sitting, guarding the ice holes they had carved, which added a touch of life to the winter scene.

Chen Yongqiang stepped onto the ice, feeling a solid sensation beneath his feet.

His gaze swept across the area and he saw an old man not far away, wrapped in an old military overcoat and wearing a dark brown beanie, hunched over and staring at the ice cave in front of him.

He pulled his sled over, stopped a few steps away from the old man, and raised his voice to call out, "Grandpa, did you catch anything?"

The old man seemed to be hard of hearing and didn't hear clearly, only raising his head blankly.

He squinted at Chen Yongqiang, then at the sled behind him, and mumbled a vague "Huh?"

Chen Yongqiang moved closer, pointed to the ice hole at his feet, gestured as if lifting a fishing rod, and loudly repeated, "Fish! Are there any fish?"

The old man seemed to understand a little this time. He grinned, revealing his sparse teeth, waved his hand, pointed to his ear, shook his head, and mumbled something unintelligible.

The two gestured wildly for a long time, one struggling to ask the question and the other giving a vague answer; in the end, they were talking past each other.

Seeing this, Chen Yongqiang knew he wouldn't get any information, so he gave up, nodded to the old man, and said politely, "Please take your time fishing."

He turned and dragged the sled toward the center of the ice where there were fewer people.

Liang Meie followed and whispered, "That's Old Xu from Liugou Village next door. He's been hard of hearing for years and likes to squat here. He doesn't catch many fish, but he just wants to pass the time."

Chen Yongqiang chose a spot where the ice looked thick and the location was decent, put down the sled, and took off the ice chisel.

He gripped the wooden handle of the ice chisel with both hands, then raised it high and forcefully chiseled at the grayish-white ice beneath him.

"Thump!"

With a muffled thud, the tip of the ice chisel left a dent the size of a bowl on the ice surface, sending up fine ice shards.

He used his arm strength to lift the ice chisel and then brought it down again.

"Thump! Thump!"

A rhythmic thud echoed across the empty ice surface.

As he continued chiseling, he spoke casually, "This Qingba Reservoir, it must have been built over twenty years ago, right?"

Ice shards kept flying out from the chisel marks. Liang Meie, holding a small shovel, helped to clear away the larger ice shards.

"Yes, it was there when I married into the family. Back in the 1960s and 70s, they were building reservoirs everywhere to irrigate the land."

Chen Yongqiang struck again with a heavy chisel: "Over the years, there must be some big stuff hidden inside."

The continuous chiseling made the indentation on the ice surface deeper and deeper, and soon it became a regular round pit.

The ice was thick, but Chen Yongqiang's every strike was steady and ruthless, with astonishing efficiency.

Watching his effortless movements, Liang Meie simply followed up, saying, "That's right, big fish grow in deep waters. I'm just hoping to stumble upon one today, make some business, and benefit from your strength."

As she spoke, she deftly shoveled a fist-sized chunk of ice that had just been chiseled off onto a small pile of ice that had been stacked up to the side.

The ice pit was getting deeper and deeper, and the bottom was beginning to darken, a sign that it was getting closer to the water's surface.

Chen Yongqiang struck several more times, and finally the ice layer was broken through.

The ice hole was about 20 to 30 centimeters in diameter, with jagged icicles hanging from its edges.

He stopped, picked up the ice chisel, and placed it on the sled board beside him.

Liang Meie immediately came over, took a small net with a long pole attached, reached into the ice hole, and scooped out the ice shards floating on the surface of the water little by little, then threw them onto the ice next to her.

"In this weather, if we don't fish soon, the water will freeze over with a thin layer of ice, and we won't be able to put the fishing line down."

Chen Yongqiang squatted down and began to organize his fishing gear.

He took the specially shortened fishing rods off the sled and checked the fishing lines and hooks.

He then took out a small tin box containing the bait he had prepared the night before, corn dough mixed with sesame oil and a little bit of fermented rice.

"You've prepared quite a lot," Liang Meie praised.

"Fishing is like hunting; the equipment and bait are both technical skills," Chen Yongping replied as he skillfully pinched off a small piece of dough and hooked it onto the hook.

He had indeed pondered the intricacies of these mountains, forests, rivers, and lakes, but in the past, his mind and system tasks were focused on the deeper mountains, making it rare for him to calm down and deal with underwater prey like he is now.

With heavy snow blocking the mountains and prey hard to find, the frozen water has become a reliable new source of income.

After baiting the hook, he didn't rush to cast it. Instead, he turned around and took two folded stools off the sled.

He opened one of them, placed it next to the ice hole, sat down, and then slowly lowered the fishing hook into the dark green water.

"There's a stool too, help yourself," he said to Liang Meie, his eyes fixed on the buoy on the water.

Liang Meie didn't stand on ceremony. She picked up another stool, opened it, and sat down to his side. She rubbed her hands, which were red from the cold, and took out her fishing gear to fiddle with.

The two had just cast their fishing lines, and the floats were still motionless, when the silence on the ice was broken by a sudden and shrill sound.

"Oh, who do we have here!"

He Jun, a fellow villager, approached from somewhere, a mocking smile on his face.

He first glanced at the expressionless Chen Yongqiang, then his gaze was fixed on Liang Meie, and he raised his voice as if afraid that the people nearby wouldn't hear him:

"Widow Liang, I was wondering why you wouldn't respond to me no matter how I called you in the village lately. Turns out you've gotten involved with Chen Yongqiang."

These words were spoken in a sarcastic tone, and people behind several ice holes nearby glanced at them.

Liang Meie's face immediately darkened: "He Jun! What kind of filth are you spewing? What do you mean by 'getting together'? Yongqiang and I went fishing innocently, and you twisted it all?"

He Jun clearly had no intention of letting it go; on the contrary, he became even more aggressive: "Getting worked up? Innocent? In this freezing, desolate wilderness, a man and a woman getting this close—who would believe you two don't have any problems?"