Chapter 55: I Understand, But I Have My Standpoint

Tao Daqiang appeared again. Li Long was a bit surprised, but upon reflection, it made sense.

He only took a glance before heading over to Li Jianguo to help his older brother gather fish.

By this time, Li Juan and Li Qiang had already gathered a large pile of reeds. Li Qiang shouted

"Uncle, let's light the reeds!"

"Are you cold?" Li Long asked. "If not, let's not light them yet. Also, pile the reeds far away from the reed beds, otherwise, it might cause a fire."

"Okay." Li Qiang obediently went to move the reeds, while at that moment, Tao Daqiang had already arrived by the old ice hole.

*Splash!* Li Jianguo pulled out another net. This one contained two large crucian carp, seven or eight small crucian carp, and some gobies. It seemed fish were indeed becoming scarce here.

Logically, there weren't many places in the entire reservoir where air could penetrate, so the fish shouldn't be this smart. Li Long couldn't quite figure it out—was it because of the commotion here?

Tao Daqiang bent down to pick up fish alongside Li Long. Li Long asked

"Is your brother alright?"

"He got beaten up; his waist is a bit sprained," Tao Daqiang replied, his tone somewhat heavy. "Old Tian from the production team said he needs to rest for a few days."

Old Tian was the team's barefoot doctor. He had received training and knew a bit of everything: giving injections, preparing herbal medicine, and simple massage and cupping. Naturally, he possessed a copy of the *Barefoot Doctor Manual*.

"That's not too bad, then. There isn't much work lately anyway," Li Long nodded and said no more.

Li Jianguo glanced at Tao Daqiang and continued bending over to scoop fish.

"Brother Jianguo, I'll pay you back the money I borrowed later," Tao Daqiang said.

"Don't bother. I used the money you had stored with me to cover it," Li Long interjected. "It just so happens that now, no one owes anyone anything."

Tao Daqiang felt there was another meaning behind Li Long's words, but he couldn't grasp it. He simply said

"Brother Long, I didn't save that much..."

"You have enough. You've come along with me several times; I can't let you suffer a loss. Don't worry, it's enough."

Tao Daqiang's lips moved, but he said nothing more.

He felt that Brother Long was becoming somewhat distant from him.

But what choice did he have? Back then, it was his father and brother on one side and Li Long on the other. Which side would he choose?

"Big brother, I'll scoop from over there. I doubt any fish would dare come near this ice hole anymore," Li Long said after waiting for Li Jianguo to pull up another net, which contained only one silver carp weighing over a kilogram and a dozen small crucian carp.

"Alright." Li Jianguo handed the net to Li Long and crawled up, pressing both hands against the ice.

Li Long went to the other ice hole. After descending and finding his footing, he began scooping.

Knowing the fish wouldn't be plentiful, he made more noise. The first net brought a small surprise: one black bream weighing over a kilogram, one bighead carp weighing nearly three kilograms, and seven or eight gobies.

Tao Daqiang squatted to pick up the fish, and Li Qiang and Li Juan came over to help as well.

This continued until lunchtime. Finally, Li Long ran to the two newly drilled ice holes and took two nets from each, but the result was only twenty or thirty small crucian carp and gobies—not a single large fish. He knew he would have to wait until the afternoon.

The morning harvest totaled about twenty kilograms of fish: twelve or thirteen kilograms were large fish, and seven or eight kilograms were small. Normally, this would be considered a great harvest, but if he were to sell them, it was still a bit lacking.

As they walked back with the fish and tools, Li Juan and Li Qiang talked incessantly, while the three adults remained silent.

Upon arriving at the Li family home, Tao Daqiang spoke first

"Uncle Jianguo, Brother Long, I'll head back now."

"Why not eat with us?" Li Jianguo asked politely.

"I won't. My family is cooking," Tao Daqiang said, walking away briskly as if he were afraid Li Long would force him to stay.

Lunch consisted of rice, stewed fish, and a stir-fry of salted vegetables and wild boar meat. While this would be considered a feast on ordinary days, it was now just a common meal at the Li household. If word got out, many people would be envious.

They washed their hands and ate. The two children shoveled down their rice. Although the team grew rice, the amount of rice allocated to each household was small, so eating rice was a rare treat.

While eating, Li Jianguo asked Li Long

"Regarding Daqiang's situation, what are your thoughts?"

"What happened to Daqiang?" Liang Yuemei asked, puzzled.

"While we were scooping fish just now, he came over to help."

Liang Yuemei said nothing and looked at Li Long. The final decision rested with him.

"If he wants to help, of course I welcome it," Li Long said after a moment's thought. "It's more convenient for him to follow me on certain matters—like going to Shicheng to sell fish. At least he can help me watch the cart; I wouldn't feel at ease with anyone else. Of course, I won't share profits with him like I did before. He'll be paid per job."

Li Jianguo understood. Previously, Li Long had treated Tao Daqiang as a partner; now, it was a relationship between a boss and a worker.

He nodded. His younger brother possessed quite strong decisiveness.

Doing this was for the best; at least he wouldn't have to worry about his brother being taken advantage of in the future.

In all fairness, Tao Daqiang hadn't done anything wrong. One must distinguish between close and distant relations; when faced with his father and brother versus Li Long, he chose his family. That was normal and reasonable. Ninety-nine percent of people would have made the same choice.

Li Long certainly understood; he would have chosen the same.

But Li Long had his own stance. He couldn't maintain the old relationship just because Tao Daqiang had done the "right" thing. That was impossible.

This wasn't about right or wrong; it was about position.

Li Long could no longer have the same kind of relationship with him as before. After all, once a choice had been made, what if a major matter required a choice again in the future?

However, Tao Daqiang's strength, stature, and temperament meant that Li Long didn't have to worry too much when using him for help. Daqiang was much more capable than Ermao, or even Xu Haijun and Huang Shiping.

Understanding Li Long's thoughts, Li Jianguo said no more and began eating heartily.

Rice soaked in fish soup—though not great for the stomach, the flavor was truly wonderful!

After the meal, Li Juan and Li Qiang grew tired from playing and went to sleep on the *kang*. Li Jianguo and Li Long rested for a while before heading toward the small lake with their gear.

As they left the courtyard, they saw Tao Daqiang lingering outside. Li Long said with a smile

"Daqiang, why aren't you coming in?"

"I... I just arrived too."

Li Long didn't expose the clumsy lie and invited him to walk toward the small lake together.

In the afternoon, the two new ice holes began yielding fish. Although not many at once, with the four ice holes being used in rotation, they managed to scoop up over sixty kilograms of fish by the end of the afternoon, most of which were large fish.

Li Long estimated that there were over twenty fish weighing more than two kilograms, while those over one kilogram were fewer, around five or six. The remaining small fish accounted for about ten kilograms. The largest was still a bighead carp, weighing over five kilograms.

They packed the fish into two bags and the three of them brought them back to the Li house. This time, Tao Daqiang did not refuse Li Long's invitation and entered the house to have some fish soup.

"Daqiang, I'm going to Wucheng tomorrow. My brother will be catching fish; come over if you're free."

"Okay." Tao Daqiang was a bit surprised by the news, but he agreed readily.

Li Long had already confirmed he would go to Wucheng tomorrow. To get there now, he would have to take a bus from Shicheng, as there were no direct buses between this county and Wucheng. Fortunately, the bus didn't depart too early—at noon. Li Long estimated that if he left at eight in the morning, he would make it in time.