Golden Fishing Village

If Ao Qianlai hadn't mentioned it, Ao Muyang would have really forgotten about going to Longxiang Lake to fish for lotus roots this year.

It was already late October, and the lotus roots were already ripe.

Lotus roots are perennial perennial plants that complete their annual growth and development once a year. They don't need to be sown specially. Every year, they go through the growth and development stages of germination, leafing, flowering, fruiting, lotus root formation, and dormancy.

In fact, some early-maturing varieties of lotus roots began to enter the lotus root formation period in early July. Longxiang Lake is a late-maturing variety, and it is only suitable to fish in October.

Autumn and winter are the best seasons for eating lotus roots. At this time, the lotus roots dug in season are stewed with pork ribs and soup. It is nutritious and delicious and can drive away the cold. Every autumn, people from the surrounding villages go to the lake to dig lotus roots.

Ao Muyang informed Ao Qianlai to pick fruits for him in a few days. When he was about to leave, Qianlai's grandmother tried to stop him and said, "Wait a minute, Brother Xiaoyang, I have something to ask you."

"Grandma, don't call me that. Just call me Xiaoyang. If you call me that again, I'll leave immediately." Ao Muyang stood up.

Qianlai's grandmother had suffered all her life. She lost her husband in middle age and her son in old age. Her daughter was unfilial and had long since ignored her. She had to raise her grandson, Ao Qianlai, by herself, but the grandson had a brain problem.

Therefore, she was very cautious in her daily life and did not dare to offend anyone. She would address people respectfully, whether they were of the same generation or younger generations.

Ao Muyang would just laugh it off when others called him Brother Xiaoyang. He really felt ashamed when Ao Qianlai's grandmother called him that.

Grandma Qianlai smiled and said, "Okay, okay, whatever you say is fine."

Ao Muyang helped her sit down and asked, "Grandma, don't beg me. When I was a child, I always came to your place to eat buns and dumplings. If you have any problems, just tell me and I will help you."

Grandma Qianlai said, "Okay, this is the matter, Brother Xiaoyang, I know that you are a promising kid. Grandma doesn't dare to trouble you if she has nothing to do. It's your uncle Qianlai. Alas, you are capable and you know a lot of people. Can you arrange a marriage for your uncle Qianlai?"

As she said this, the wrinkles on her face deepened: "My Qianlai is a little confused, but you know, Brother Xiaoyang, Qianlai is not bad-hearted, has no bad habits, and knows how to take care of the family. He is a good kid, right?"

"Grandma is old and doesn't have many days to live. I just want to see my grandson get married before I leave. Otherwise, who will take care of this silly kid after I leave?"

Looking at her worried look, Ao Muyang felt pity.

Introducing blind dates to children in rural areas is always a woman's job. For example, Ao Muyang's blind date with the young nurse Hu Xiuxiu was arranged by his aunt.

Ao Qianlai has no mother, and his aunt has severed ties with his family, so there is no one to help him arrange these things. His grandmother can't help him either, after all, the old lady is old and her legs and feet are not smooth, and there are few people who can talk to her.

Facing Qianlai's grandmother's expectant eyes, Ao Muyang's scalp numbs a little: "Grandma, I have to do this well..."

Ao Qianlai came up and said: "Grandma, you can't ask Yangzi to do this, he is still single. I tell you, I can find a wife myself, I will spend money to buy one..."

"Don't talk nonsense." Qianlai's grandmother slapped him.

Ao Muyang was embarrassed, the words were rough but the truth was not rough, he was really a bachelor.

Taking advantage of Ao Qianlai's words, he said a few polite words and left first. It's not that he didn't want to help, but he had just returned for less than half a year and was not familiar with the women in the surrounding towns. How could he find a wife for Ao Qianlai?

In the evening, Ao Muyang had nothing to do and took tools to dig lotus roots.

Ruan Yuan, a poet in the Qing Dynasty, wrote a poem called "Miscellaneous Poems of Wuxing". He wrote: The four rivers flow around the city, and thousands of streams spread over thousands of houses. Plant water chestnuts in deep water and rice in shallow water, and lotus in neither deep nor shallow water.

This poem is written quite leisurely. In fact, whether it is planting lotus or harvesting lotus roots, it is a very hard job, especially digging lotus roots, which tests both skills and physical strength.

As we all know, there were three hardships in the old society: rowing boats, forging iron, and grinding tofu. However, in the fishing area, these three hardships were renamed as rowing boats, forging iron, and digging lotus roots.

Lotus roots grow in the mud at the bottom of the lake. To dig them out, you have to soak your whole body in water, because the lotus root production season is often in autumn and winter, when the water temperature is low and the weather is cold. You have to soak your whole body in water to dig mud, and it takes a whole day to dig. Just think about how hard it is.

Now that everyone's life is better, at least they don't have to worry about food and clothing, fewer people come to Longxian Lake to dig lotus roots. Only people like Ao Qianlai who are willing to endure hardships do this job to make money. Most people are like Ao Muyang, digging some to cook.

Ao Muyang didn't think about digging much, so he didn't prepare rubber water rafts. He came to the lake empty-handed with a raft to look for the remaining white lotus leaves.

There are two kinds of lotus in Longxian Lake, white lotus and red lotus. Among them, red lotus produces lotus and white lotus produces lotus root. So if you want to catch lotus root, you need to find the white lotus.

Ao Qianlai saw Ao Muyang and waved to him: "Yangzi, come here. I have lotus roots here. Come here and I'll look for them."

Ao Muyang smiled and said, "No need, Uncle Qianlai, you are busy, I will go around by myself."

Ao Qianlai staggered ashore and dragged him into the water: "Just come here. There are white lotuses here. I marked them in the summer. Hehe, isn't it smart?"

Ao Muyang smiled: "Yes, Uncle Qianlai is smart."

Ao Qianlai smiled contentedly and dragged the raft to another place.

Ao Muyang stepped lightly on the bottom of the lake with his feet, and looked down along the lotus stems to find the location of the lotus roots.

As far as he knows, people now use water guns to dig lotus roots. When the lake dries up in winter, they use water guns to flush the lake mud and look for lotus roots.

Whether Ao Qianlai or Ao Muyang, they are not professionals. They don’t have water guns to use, so they can only rely on manual labor, which is the most troublesome way to dig lotus roots.

The lotus roots are hidden in the mud at the bottom of the lake. Ao Muyang gently probes with his feet, bends down to grope, and finally touches a lotus root.

Be careful at this time, there are pores in the lotus roots, especially the nine-hole lotus roots produced in Longxian Lake, which have many holes, much water, and delicious meat. This is its advantage, but once it is damaged, muddy water will enter. Because of the many holes, the lotus roots are also seriously polluted.

Once the lotus roots in the water are damaged, they are basically useless. As long as they enter the muddy water, they will have a fishy smell and cannot be washed clean no matter how you wash them.

Ao Muyang carefully felt for the lotus root. He started from both ends, like an obstetrician and gynecologist picking up a newborn. After a lot of careful work, he finally found the lotus root.

A villager passed by the lake and laughed, "Hey, Xiaoyang, are you trying to find gold? Your expression is too serious."

Ao Muyang washed the lotus root and put it on a small raft floating on the lake, saying, "You don't have to be so careful to find gold."

Seeing him find a lotus root, the villager laughed again, "You are good. You have kept the skill of finding lotus roots for so many years."

"This is a skill passed down from our ancestors. We can't lose it." Ao Muyang also laughed.