Tianzhu: The Record of Foreign Stories in the Republic of China

Chapter 5 Fishing and Killing (1)
The winter in the 29th year of the Republic of China seemed to be earlier than in previous years. Before the beginning of winter came, the world was cold and rainy, and the cold was threatening.My seventh grandpa, still wearing a coir raincoat, went fishing on the Xiulin River every day.

My seventh grandfather was named Yue Mancang, and he lived in Taiping Village outside the north gate of Xiulin City.A small river flows beside the village, called Xiulin River.The Xiulin River is a tributary of the Yangtze River. The river is not wide, winding all the way from north to south, passing through the city of Xiulin.Grandpa Seven was a fisherman on the Xiulin River.

Seventh Grandpa used neither net nor harpoon to fish, but a rolling hook.Rolling hook is also called sticky hook. It has a thick and strong main line nearly 2000 meters long. There is a brain line more than one meter long tied to the main line every three to four centimeters. Put the wire hook.There are more than [-] iron hooks hanging on the nearly [-]-meter-long main line.When using it, select a river section with a flat river bottom and many fish, set up a wooden pile on both sides of the river, place rows of rolling hooks across the river, set them in the water, and fasten the two ends of the main line on both sides of the river bank. on the stake.Usually, two or three sets of such rolling hooks are arranged in a river section to form two or three dense "hook curtains".When a big fish swims from the water, it is blocked by rows of iron hooks like a curtain. When it turns around, changes direction or tries to pass through, its body hits the iron hooks, and the sharp hook tip hooks into the fish body, causing the fish to struggle in pain , The more iron hooks you encounter, the more rolling hooks that hook the fish body, and in the end you can only doomed.Because the iron hook has barbs, just like super glue, once it sticks, it is absolutely difficult to get rid of, so the folks also call it "sticky hook".

Grandpa Seven rowed a boat to the Xiulin River every evening to release the hooks, and he came out early the next morning to pick up the hooks. Most of the fish hanging on the sticky hooks were carp, herring, catfish and other large fish, and occasionally he could catch some fish. A big guy weighing twenty pounds.Pick it up and sell it in Xiulin City as early as possible, and exchange some firewood, rice, oil and salt when you come back, and live happily for a day.

As soon as the twelfth lunar month enters, the sky becomes colder and colder, and what is colder is the human heart.The sound of rumbling guns was getting closer and closer, and a regiment of the Japanese army crossed Hengshan County on the upper reaches of the Xiulin River, and went straight to Xiulin City.Xiulin is the ancient city of the Three Kingdoms, the thoroughfare of the two provinces, and the key point of Jingchu. It is actually an important military town on the border of Hunan and Hubei.The garrison of Xiulin City was an infantry regiment under the 77th Division of the National Army, headed by Bao Guoan. Although he had a bad temper, he was a good fighter.The Japanese army launched several attacks from the southeast, northwest, and four gates of Xiulin City, and forced him to beat him back.Kazuo Yoshii, the captain of the Japanese army, had no choice but to station his troops outside the city and act on camera.In this way, the common people outside the city suffered a lot. The devil soldiers raided the village every day, and the villagers never lived a peaceful day.

In the evening of this day, Grandpa Seven rowed a boat to release hooks on the Xiulin River as usual.At a bend not far from the river mouth of Xiulin City, he suddenly saw a black-covered boat floating on the windy water. There were four or five people standing on the boat, and someone was holding a long penny to explore the depth of the river. , someone stood on the bow of the boat with his hands behind his back, looking at the scenery on both sides of the strait.Seventh Grandpa leaned the boat up from behind, and only then could he see the figures and appearances of those people clearly, they were very strange, they didn't look like people from the nearby villages.He suddenly felt vigilant, coughed hard, clasped his fists at those people, and said with a chuckle: "You guys are really upbeat, it's so cold, you actually come here to see the scenery on the Xiulin River."

The few people on the black-padded boat were taken aback, and when they looked sideways, they realized that someone was quietly approaching in a boat.The two big men standing at the stern of the black awning suddenly tensed up, and subconsciously touched their waists.The tall and thin man standing at the bow of the boat with his hands behind his back looking at the scenery glanced at the two of them, stopped them with his eyes, and clasped his fists at Grandpa Seven and said, "It's so cold, aren't you floating on this river too?"

Grandpa Seven grinned and said, "I'm a fisherman on the Xiulin River, and I live in this river all year round regardless of the cold or heat." He looked him up and down, "Listen to the accent, don't you guys look like locals? "

The tall and thin man came down from the bow and said, "We are from the north." He stared at Grandpa Seven and asked, "Are you..."

Grandpa Qi said: "My surname is Yue, and I am the seventh eldest in my family. Everyone calls me Yue Laoqi."

"It turned out to be Yue Qiye, sorry." The man cupped his hands slightly at him, and said, "Actually, we braved the cold wind to come to the Xiulin River, not to see the scenery. We came to look for the Xiulin whitebait My mother was sick in bed, and the doctor told me to find a whitebait weighing two catties, and dry it to make dried whitebait as a medicine primer. Whitebait is a rare fish species. There is a kind of Xiulin whitebait here, which is suitable for medicine, so I came here to try my luck."

"You are right. There is indeed a kind of whitebait in our Xiulin River. The countrymen call it noodle fish. This fish is slender and transparent. It is very rare among freshwater fish. It is not only delicious, but also It has extremely high medicinal value. It is called Xiulin whitebait because its color is like silver and it is a specialty of Xiulin. This kind of fish grows extremely slowly, generally less than one catty, and whitebait weighing two catties is extremely rare. And This kind of fish usually breeds and grows in spring, and can only be caught in summer and autumn. Now that it is the middle of winter, it is not easy to catch Xiulin whitebait."

"That's right, we are also deeply embarrassed." The man thought for a while, his eyes lit up suddenly, and he looked up at him, "From your tone, it seems that you have a solution?"

Seventh Grandpa was a warm-hearted person, he nodded immediately and said: "Since we want to use whitebait as medicine to induce the rescue of Lingtang, I can't ignore your filial piety."

"Really?" The man frowned and said, "With you as an expert, I don't have to worry about it. Don't worry, as long as you can help us catch whitebait, I will definitely pay ten times the market price to buy it." , will never let you suffer."

Seventh Grandpa said: "It's important to save lives, and the price is easy to negotiate. But if I catch whitebait, how can I give it to you?"

The man said: "My surname is Jiang and my name is Yuecheng. I live in the Hongyun Hotel in Shilipu, outside the north gate of Xiulin City. If you catch whitebait, please go there and find the shopkeeper of the hotel. He will naturally take you to see me."

Seventh Grandpa laughed and said, "Okay, I'll take this business."

The man clasped his fists again to express his gratitude: "Then I'll leave it to you." He paid Grandpa Seven another three oceans as a deposit, and then he rowed the black boat and left slowly.

Early the next morning, Seventh Grandpa took more than a dozen big fish from the rolling hook, put them in a bamboo basket, and brought them to Xiulin City to sell.Because the Japanese army was approaching, in order to prevent spies from sneaking into the city, the city gates were strictly checked, and the gates on all sides were only opened for one hour in the morning and evening, and no one was allowed to enter or leave at ordinary times.Seventh Grandpa sold fish in the city in the morning, and instead of rushing out of the city as usual, he wandered around the city all day until the afternoon before going to the market to buy some red worms and clam worms as bait for whitebait , Wait until the gates of the city are opened before going out of the city and returning home.

There is a reason why Seventh Grandpa confidently agreed to help Jiang Yuecheng catch whitebait.He has been fishing on the Xiulin River all year round, and he has long been familiar with the habits of whitebait. He also knows that the bottom of Tian'e Island in the Xiulin River is fertile, and the water quality is clear and the micro-flow is an excellent place for whitebait to reproduce, grow and gather for food.If you start from Tian'e Island, even in this freezing winter season, it is not difficult to catch whitebait.

That night, taking advantage of the moonlight, he arranged three rolling hooks on Tian'e Island, and threw a lot of red worms and lugworms into the water, which whitebaits love to eat.Three days later, he caught a big whitebait that was as long as chopsticks. Weighed it on a scale, and it weighed two catties.

Grandpa Seven came to Shilipu with the whitebait and found the Fortune Hotel.When I walked in, I found that the hotel was empty and there were no customers, only a white-bearded old man wearing glasses sitting behind the counter and cracking his abacus.Seventh Grandpa approached the counter, coughed lightly, cupped his fists at the other party, and asked loudly, "May I ask you, are you the shopkeeper Zhang?"

The white-bearded old man raised his head when he heard the voice, and looked over the mirror frame: "Do you want to stay in a hotel, or..."

Grandpa Seven hurriedly said: "I'm here to find someone. I'm looking for Mr. Jiang Yuecheng, who lives here?"

Shopkeeper Zhang hurriedly stood up from behind the counter, looked him up and down: "Are you Yue Qiye?"

Grandpa Seven hastily cupped his hands: "Don't dare, you can just call me Yue Laoqi."

Shopkeeper Zhang asked: "But you brought whitebait for Mr. Jiang?"

Grandpa Seven said, "Exactly."

Shopkeeper Zhang hurriedly came out from behind the counter, welcomed him into a guest room inside, asked him to sit down, and said: "Mr. Jiang told me that when you come, let me call him. Unfortunately, he I just went out to do some errands today, but it’s not too far, so I’ll go out and ask him to come back. Please wait a moment.” He also asked the waiter to watch tea, and then hurried away.

(End of this chapter)