In the afternoon, Qin Ziwen and Deng Guang's family went to the riverbank together.
"Are you alone? Where's your neighbor?"
Deng Guang smiled awkwardly.
Xiao Xuemei didn't mince words, "Ha, that Liu Changgen guy, I told you long ago you can't be close to him. Consider that meat as dog food! You risked your life to get the crocodile meat, and you only gave him two jin, and he's still not satisfied. Look at him, just give him all of it! He's a grown man, with hands and feet, why is he acting like a mangy dog!"
Qin Ziwen understood. Yesterday, when Liu Changgen came to him asking for meat, he was already a little unhappy. It was their first meeting, and they weren't familiar with each other, yet he just asked for it.
At that time, everyone could sign up; there were no restrictions.
Old Deng came, so he got forty jin of meat, regardless of how many times he had stabbed the crocodile.
But the moment he was willing to step forward at that point, it was worth it.
Qin Ziwen joked, "Brother Deng is quite generous. Did you lend him that meat or give it to him?"
Xiao Xuemei got angry at the mention of it, "He said he lent it, but I think he gave it to that Liu guy."
Deng Guang chuckled, "We're neighbors, after all."
When they reached the riverbank, Deng Guang's smile vanished.
A few days ago, he and Liu Changgen often fished on a large blue stone on the bank. The top of the stone was wide enough for two or three people.
But now, the top of the stone was full of people.
Besides Liu Changgen, there were two other strangers with fishing rods.
Xiao Xuemei sneered, "This is the good neighbor you're talking about?"
Deng Guang stared blankly at Liu Changgen's back, gave a self-deprecating laugh, and explained softly, "I wasn't here this morning; maybe someone else came."
Xiao Xuemei said, "Then go ahead and see if he'll give you his spot."
Deng Guang hesitated for a long time, but ultimately didn't ask.
He turned to Qin Ziwen with a smile and said, "Brother Qin, I saw a good spot when I was fishing here before. We can go there."
Qin Ziwen nodded, "Anywhere is fine, as long as we're not easily attacked by crocodiles."
"Haha, definitely."
Deng Guang carried his bucket and fishing rod, walked along the riverbank for several dozen meters, and stopped at a small hill.
The river was to the south of the hill, with a vertical drop of three or four meters from the water's surface. Crocodiles would have to circle around the gentle slopes on either side to get close.
According to the area division, this was directly below the residential area, not too far from the riverbank.
To the north was a thicket of bushes and groves, beyond which lay the southeastern wall of the residential area.
Deng Guang found a long stick and stirred up the grass to scare away any potential predators. "With all this commotion these past few days, there shouldn't be any large animals left inside. As long as there aren't any snakes hiding there, it's fine."
Qin Ziwen squatted down and grabbed a handful of soft, black soil. "Can we dig up earthworms in this soil?"
Deng Guang smiled confidently. "Yes! There are plenty of earthworms here, and they're plump."
He then showed the Qin brothers how to dig for earthworms, demonstrating himself and quickly digging up more than twenty plump, large earthworms.
Just as he said, the earthworms here were not only thick but also long.
Deng Wen bluntly said, "Dad, you're not very good at fishing, but you're quite good at digging for earthworms!"
Deng Guang blushed. "Nonsense, your dad is also a great fisherman. How many people have ever touched a five-meter-long crocodile?"
He then said something about crocodiles being fish, which made everyone laugh.
Liu Changgen's child was digging for earthworms nearby. Hearing the commotion, he spotted Deng Wen immediately. He wanted to come over and say hello, but then, remembering something, he awkwardly stopped, lowered his head, turned away, and ran to Liu Changgen, saying something to him.
Liu Changgen turned to look at Deng Guang, saw Deng Guang and Qin Ziwen chatting and laughing, snorted coldly, and turned back.
Deng Guang helped Qin Ziwen bait the hook with an earthworm and adjusted the float. "You haven't fished much before, have you?"
Qin Ziwen thought back to the past. His most memorable fishing experience was taking his younger brother to the park to fish for goldfish when he was in middle school.
Aside from that, he hadn't really tried fishing.
Qin Ziwen took the fishing rod. "Not very good at it."
Deng Guang patted Qin Ziwen on the shoulder, "It's okay, you'll get the hang of it after fishing with me a few more times."
Not long after grabbing the fishing rod, Qin Ziwen saw the float move.
Like a chick pecking at rice,
it bobbed up and down.
Instinctively, he pulled up, feeling resistance from the other end of the rod.
" Hooked!"
Deng Guang, who had been anxiously waiting for a bite, quickly placed the rod on the support and walked behind Qin Ziwen, his eyes fixed on the water.
"Splash!"
The fishing line, holding a silverfish, broke the surface.
The silver scales shimmered dazzlingly in the sunlight, and the two-palm-long fish was still frantically thrashing its tail after being pulled ashore.
Deng Guang remarked, "I reckon it's about three ounces."
This was just the beginning; soon, in less than half an hour, Qin Ziwen had caught several more fish.
Qin Ziwen sighed, "I should have come earlier, there are so many fish here."
Deng Guang glanced at his empty bucket, thinking the sun was a bit too intense today.
Xiao Xuemei pointed to the river, "There's a crocodile."
A crocodile arrogantly swam across the water. Judging from its outline, it was slightly smaller than the one she had killed at the south gate of the community, but its intimidating presence in the water was no less.
After these few days of contact, it had discovered that these two-legged creatures on the shore didn't seem to pose much of a threat to it.
The crocodile swam around the surface of the water, as if surveying its territory.
After it swam past, the fish in the water all fell silent, and Qin Ziwen went home empty-handed all afternoon.
Until evening, a cool breeze blew along the riverbank.
Ripples appeared on the water's surface.
The fishing rod suddenly jolted, and a force far greater than before instantly came from the bottom of the water, sharply bending the fishing rod into an arc!
Qin Ziwen instinctively gripped the fishing rod tightly with both hands.
"It's a big fish! Judging by its strength, it's definitely not small!" Deng Guang quickly came over to help, "Slow down, don't rush, just exhaust its energy, and make sure it doesn't burrow into the tree roots on the bank."
After a stalemate of nearly ten minutes, the fish in the water gradually lost its strength.
The commotion attracted the attention of many anglers on the shore.
Some even ran over to watch.
When the large fish was pulled up from the water, an old man in the crowd exclaimed, "Wow, this carp is almost half a meter long!"
Deng Guang helped lift the bucket to catch the fish, looking on with envy: "Wow, what a size! Is this a beginner's perk? Catching such a big catch on the first try!"
The bucket was almost full after the fish was placed vertically inside.
"This fish is quite fat, probably weighing over ten pounds."
Qin Ziwen grabbed a few small fish from his bucket and put them into Deng Guang's bucket, then handed the fishing rod back to him, "Brother Deng, let's go."
Deng Guang, who had only caught a palm-sized carp that afternoon, felt a little ashamed.
Qin Ziwen comforted him, "It's no big deal. Next time I'm out of the running, you can share some with me."
Deng Guang accepted the fish, but refused to take the fishing rod, saying, "I have more at home, you can use that for now."
Back at the residential complex, an elderly man and woman were sitting at the property management office near the south gate, telling everyone, "Hey! There's a general meeting for all residents at 7 pm tonight. If you have time, it would be best if your family could send a representative."
"A residents' meeting? Who's organizing it?"
(End of Chapter)