Liu Tiezhu tossed and turned for nearly two hours, still unable to fall asleep.
In his past life, he remembered leaving the village and passing by a river where many mandarin fish were hidden.
But now his memory was hazy, and he couldn't recall exactly where it was.
Liu Tiezhu pulled out the fishing net stored in the corner of the bed.
This net had been left behind by his father before he passed away, over three years ago now, and many of the mesh strands were already frayed.
However, there was still plenty of netting thread left at home, perfect for repairs.
Liu Tiezhu grabbed two sweet potatoes, tossed them into the stove to roast, then took out the netting thread and began mending the damaged spots.
In the blink of an eye, two hours had passed.
The howling wind outside the window had stopped, but the cold was still biting to the bone.
Liu Tiezhu glanced at the old clock on the wall—it was already three in the morning.
The net in his hands was fully repaired, and he could set it out to fish tomorrow.
But he still couldn't pinpoint where that river from his memory was.
He'd have to wait until morning to ask his older brother or Second Uncle.
Adding a few pieces of dry firewood to the stove, Liu Tiezhu pulled the thick cotton quilt over himself and drifted off to sleep.
The next day, the snow had stopped. Around five in the morning, his sister-in-law Huang Xiumei was already busy in the kitchen.
She had heard Liu Tiezhu say he needed to head into town early today, so she got up early to prepare his breakfast.
Breakfast that morning was lean meat congee and braised pork.
Just as the congee finished cooking, Er Gouzi knocked on the courtyard gate.
"Coming."
As soon as Huang Xiumei opened the door, Er Gouzi's head poked in.
"Sister-in-law, here's some dried radish and pickled vegetables. You can fix them up."
Seeing the two large bags of dried greens, Huang Xiumei was startled and immediately pushed them back without a second thought.
"Gouzi, why are you bringing so much over?"
"Take them back right now and call Second Uncle over for a meal."
These two bags of dried vegetables weighed at least thirty jin.
In the old days, that would have been half a month's worth of side dishes and rations.
Er Gouzi quickly waved his hands. "Sister-in-law, my dad told me to bring these."
"If I take them back, he'll break my legs."
"Just keep them, please. We've got plenty more in the cellar at home."
"Alright, I'll hold onto them for now."
Huang Xiumei couldn't argue with Er Gouzi, so she accepted.
Just then, Liu Tiezhu and his older brother woke up.
Seeing the two full bags of dried vegetables, Liu Tiezhu kicked Er Gouzi right in the backside.
"Er Gouzi, you planning on checking out early?"
Er Gouzi rubbed his butt, looking wronged.
"Tiezhu, what do you mean? How am I checking out early?"
Liu Tiezhu cursed, "If you're planning to live, why'd you bring this stuff over?"
He knew exactly how much food Second Uncle's family had.
These dozens of jin of dried vegetables were nearly half their grain supply.
"Tiezhu, my dad told me to bring them."
"If I dare take them back, he'll break my dog legs."
Liu Tiezhu was speechless, understanding Second Uncle's intent.
"Alright, hurry up and eat. We've got big things to do later."
Liu Tiezhu gestured for Er Gouzi to sit down, then asked his brother, "Brother, are there any rivers around our village?"
"Rivers?" Liu Tieshan thought for a moment and said, "What rivers are there around here? Besides the drainage ditches in the rice paddies, there isn't even a decent stream."
"Brother, think again. I remember there being a big river around here."
"I don't recall the exact spot, but I remember the river water was salty, with lots of banana trees on both sides, and an old bunker left from World War II."
Liu Tiezhu described the river's surroundings based on his past-life memories.
Liu Tieshan paused, then said, "You're talking about Qijie Alley, just over a kilometer away in Huangwu Village."
"That's a wild river, several meters deep, and it's drowned people before."
"I've heard the elders say there are water ghosts in that river. It's too dangerous—you can't go."
"Brother, we'll just stay at the edge of the river. It should be fine," Liu Tiezhu said.
As long as he could catch big fish, talk of water ghosts was just nonsense—he wasn't afraid at all.
Liu Tieshan thought it over and finally nodded. "Alright, I'll come along too."
Er Gouzi chimed in, "Call my dad too. More hands make lighter work."
"Go get Second Uncle now, and make sure to bring the steel forks," Liu Tiezhu said.
Fifteen minutes later, Second Uncle arrived, carrying two steel forks and a few burlap sacks.
After breakfast, Liu Tiezhu and Er Gouzi went to Liu Guang's house to borrow a tricycle.
Second Uncle and Liu Tieshan pulled out two more fishing nets to mend.
With a few jin of meat in hand, Liu Guang gladly pushed the tricycle over to Liu Tiezhu.
This time, there was no need for a written guarantee—he told Liu Tiezhu to come by anytime for a swap.
With the tricycle, the two sped off toward town.
By nine in the morning, they had sold all the meat.
This time, Liu Tiezhu bought five hundred jin of rice, while Er Gouzi bought three hundred.
Thankfully, Liu Guang's tricycle was sturdy enough; otherwise, those hundreds of jin of rice would have wrecked it.
Besides the rice, Liu Tiezhu also got two new outfits for Yaoyao, along with some toys and candy.
Er Gouzi bought some liquor and a new cotton coat for Second Uncle.
Seeing that time was getting tight, the two didn't dawdle and pedaled back to the village.
They got home two hours later.
Seeing the tricycle loaded with rice, Liu Tieshan and Second Uncle hurried over to help.
When Liu Tiezhu pulled out the new clothes and snacks, Yaoyao ran around joyfully.
Unloading the rice took another half hour.
Liu Tiezhu didn't waste a moment and had his brother lead the way.
The group grabbed the fishing nets, hopped on the tricycle, and headed toward the wild river.
"Tiezhu, in the dead of winter, can we really catch fish in the river?" Second Uncle asked.
In winter, all the fish sink to the bottom. If you don't stir them up, they won't move, making it hard to net them.
Liu Tiezhu said confidently, "Second Uncle, winter fish are actually the easiest to catch."
"When it's cold, the fish gather by the riverbank, eating the weeds there."
"As long as we set the net in the right spot, not a single one will get away."
Liu Tieshan added, "Everyone needs to be careful. The wild river is several meters deep—don't fall in."
Er Gouzi said, "Don't worry, Tieshan. The ice on the wild river can hold a few hundred jin now."
"As long as we're careful, walking on it will be fine."
As they chatted, they reached the riverbank.
Both sides were thick with thorny bushes, impossible to get through without a machete to cut a path.
Once on the river's surface, Liu Tiezhu followed his vague memory and led the group upstream.
After walking for over ten minutes, Liu Tiezhu stopped and looked downstream, his face lighting up with joy.
The others, confused, looked down too.
Beneath the clear water, a massive dark school of mandarin fish huddled together in the weeds by the bank.
"Holy crap, mandarin fish! A huge group!"
Er Gouzi's eyes widened as he burst out with an excited curse.
He counted carefully—there were over seventy fish in the group.
Each one looked to be at least three jin, amounting to several hundred jin of meat.
Second Uncle's hands trembled with excitement.
He took a swig of strong liquor to warm himself and immediately started breaking the ice.