Chapter 28: Crafting the Sled

As lunchtime approached, Li Long and the others returned to the production team together.

Tao Daqiang wanted to head back, but Li Long insisted and pulled him to stay for lunch.

Li Jianguo also spoke up, so Tao Daqiang ended up staying. He knew that even if he went back, there might not be food waiting for him and he would have to cook for himself anyway. But having worked hard all morning, he didn't want to move.

Li Yuemei had already prepared the meal—for lunch, she had made rice mixed with corn grits, stir-fried offal, stewed fish, and pickles.

It was Li Long who had suggested the pickles, and Li Yuemei was actually quite happy about it. It was a good thing that her brother-in-law enjoyed her homemade pickles.

Everyone was hungry; even Li Qiang, after showing the large grass carp to his mother, quickly washed his hands to prepare for the meal.

"Just the two of you go this afternoon. I'll spend the afternoon sawing wood to make the sleds," Li Jianguo said. "Try to have the sleds finished by the time you get back tonight."

"Okay," Li Long said while shoveling rice into his mouth. "I hope we can catch more this afternoon."

"If we catch a lot, are we going to sell the fish first thing tomorrow morning?" Tao Daqiang asked, looking up.

"Yeah, we have to leave early tomorrow, even earlier than when we go into the mountains. Otherwise, if we can't sell the fish, we might get caught," Li Long said solemnly.

In these times, although Reform and Opening-up had begun, selling goods was still somewhat risky. It wouldn't be until next year, when land distribution began, that small vendors would gradually be allowed to operate freely here.

Tao Daqiang nodded, half-understanding. At home, he basically did whatever Tao Jianshe told him to do. It was only after being with Li Long and the others that he had heard more about the outside world and gained some perspective.

But the more perspective he gained, the more troubles he had. He already knew his father was biased and that his brother and sister-in-law didn't treat him very well.

However, his mother had died early. According to the local customs, since his brother had moved out to start his own household, Tao Daqiang could only share a single plot of land with Tao Jianshe and had no way to split the family further.

He didn't agree with his father's way of educating him, so he was in a state of constant distress.

Hanging out with Li Long every day was, in a way, a form of escape.

After lunch, Li Qiang ran out to tend to the old ox, while Li Juan played happily on the *kang* bed with her *bishi* stones. Li Long and Tao Daqiang got themselves ready and headed toward the Little Sea.

"I wonder if the people who went into the mountains to haul timber today had any luck," Tao Daqiang speculated on the way.

"Who cares," Li Long said. "Even if they have luck, they won't share any with us. If they don't, I expect others will have borrowed horse carts to go early too. We'll just focus on our own business, catch as many fish as possible, and hope to get a good price tomorrow."

The two arrived at the ice holes, where only a thin layer of ice covered the water surface. Li Long broke the ice, and Tao Daqiang immediately used a landing net to scoop away the floating ice before stepping down to the ice stairs and spreading his legs to wait.

He had some experience now; to catch more fish, one had to wait until there were no ripples on the surface and lower the net slowly. This way, the fish, which gathered to breathe fresh air, wouldn't be immediately startled away.

In truth, it was better to fish the day after an ice hole had been made. However, Li Long felt that with such thick ice and such good resources, they should catch as much as they could today and sell it tomorrow; if they needed more, they could just come back and fish again after selling.

Soon, Tao Daqiang's first net came up, and this time it did not disappoint. One scoop brought up three fish weighing over a kilogram each—a carp, a silver carp, and a grass carp—along with many small crucian carp.

It was a bountiful catch.

Tao Daqiang immediately jumped out and ran to the other ice hole to prepare.

Li Long found it somewhat amusing; for a man nearly 1.8 meters tall, Tao Daqiang's movements were surprisingly quick. It seemed catching fish was truly a great draw for him.

Since the other man wanted to catch fish, Li Long would simply pick them up.

Taking the prepared urea bags, Li Long began picking up the fish one by one and putting them into the bags.

In the daytime, with temperatures below minus twenty degrees, the fish could only flop on the ice a few times before freezing.

Tao Daqiang didn't catch many fish at his ice hole—just two large crucian carp and some small crucian carp and loaches, which were actually what Li Long preferred.

He cast the net seven or eight times, but the fish became scarcer as he went on, so Li Long simply told him to stop.

"Take a break. I'll start a fire so you can warm up, and I'll do a few more nets in a bit."

Tao Daqiang gave a sheepish smile; he had forgotten to let Li Long do the fishing.

"Look at your clothes, they're soaked. Make sure to warm up properly in a bit." In these times, most people basically only had one set of outer clothing; if it got wet and was hard to wear, it would cause real trouble.

Tao Daqiang smiled and obediently went to warm himself by the fire, while Li Long began moving back and forth between the two ice holes.

Drawing on his experience from his previous life, he fished unhurriedly, increasing the interval between casts, which naturally resulted in a better harvest.

As the sun began to set, Li Long checked their progress: the two of them had caught over twenty large fish weighing more than a kilogram, plus about ten kilograms of miscellaneous small fish.

"Not as many as last time," Tao Daqiang said, somewhat dissatisfied.

"It's enough," Li Long said with a smile. It was only because resources were abundant right now that they could get so many fish in half a day.

In a few years, when the dam on the north side of the Little Sea was washed away by a flood, there wouldn't be this many fish anymore.

"Let's head back," Li Long said, looking at the sun. "We need to see if the sleds are finished when we get back."

Although Tao Daqiang was still a bit unsatisfied, he knew they probably wouldn't catch much more, so he picked up the urea bag filled with fish, gave it a shake, slung it over his back, and started walking back.

Li Long followed behind with the tools.

"It'll be tiring to carry on your back. Just put them on the head of the shovel and pull them back to save strength," Li Long called out from behind.

"They'll fall off easily," Tao Daqiang replied without looking back. "I'm strong, it's fine."

Fine, Li Long knew Tao Daqiang was trying to contribute more. After all, he didn't have a net, and even the ice holes were chosen by Li Long. If he didn't put in extra effort, he wouldn't feel right taking his share of the money.

As they neared the Li family home, they saw a horse cart rushing back toward the production team from the west.

"They didn't find anything," Tao Daqiang said, looking at the cart with some surprise.

"You think anyone can just find the way into the mountains and pick up pine wood?" Li Long laughed. "There are so many entrances to the mountains; if you go in the wrong one, you might not even find the right path."

Only then did Tao Daqiang realize how much trust Li Long had placed in him by bringing him into the mountains; Li Long truly had no defenses against him.

He thought to himself that even if he remembered the way, he couldn't tell his father or brother. If he did, he would be betraying Brother Long.

Li Long didn't care about the horse cart driver. He and Tao Daqiang hurried back to the Li house, put the fish in the kitchen, and then rushed to the east room.

The stove in the east room was still smoldering. Li Long used a fire poker to stir the coals and then added several pieces of split wood, and the fire quickly grew strong.

The two men didn't care about formalities; they both stripped off their outer coats, leaving only their undershirts and long johns, and hung their clothes to dry by the fire wall.

Tao Daqiang asked Li Long to tell him about Wucheng. Li Long recounted bits and pieces from his memory, and Tao Daqiang listened with a face full of longing.

In all his life, he had only been to the county town a few times, let alone Wucheng.

Li Long couldn't help but say

"When we make more money in the future, I'll take you to Wucheng for a look."

Tao Daqiang agreed with eyes full of anticipation.

Now, he was even more excited to see how much money they would make selling the fish tomorrow!