Hongjun was the first to make a catch, raising a fish high with both hands and shouting, "Big fish, big fish!"
The fish was almost a foot long, with a grayish-blue back, scales that gradually faded towards its belly, and a slight golden hue on the abdomen.
"Carp, a big carp!" someone shouted.
"When did South River have such big carp!"
The water in South River wasn't deep, and large fish were rare, mostly schools of small fish and crucian carp.
Soon after, the brothers Hong Ming and Hong Liang also made a catch, both crucian carp; Hong Ming's was palm-sized, while Hong Liang's was slightly bigger, weighing almost half a pound.
Xiao Xing was a step slower, losing the chance to the first three, but she still wouldn't give up and continued to rummage through the fishing net.
Ling Chengyan gave the net a shake, and the net flipped over. Xiao Xing's eyes immediately sparkled, and she excitedly shouted, "Big fish, I caught a big fish too!"
Hong Zhi stepped forward to help, and the two sisters worked together to extract the big fish from the net, one grabbing the tail and the other the head. As soon as they lifted it, the fish struggled and slipped out of their hands, flopping onto the ground.
Once on the ground, everyone could clearly see it—a large bighead carp with a big head and densely silver-white scales.
"Oh my, this bighead must weigh two or three pounds, right?"
"Two or three pounds... maybe more, it's probably over four pounds."
"When did South River have four or five-pound fish..."
Everyone was in heated discussion, their eyes invariably slightly heated and reddening.
Ling Chengyan bent down, picked off the remaining few palm-sized crucian carp from the net, and let the children put them in the bucket. Then she hefted the net and walked along the riverbank for a bit more before casting the net twice more.
Both casts were fruitful, and combined with Wang Lianfa's earlier catches, they had almost a bucket full of fish.
"Let's go, time to head back." Seeing it was a good haul, Ling Chengyan tidied the net and called the group of children to head home.
Wang Lianfa, equally excited, followed behind, carrying the bucket.
Back at Uncle's house, Ling Chengyan picked out six almost half-pound crucian carp, added some smaller fish, and filled three ladles to take a few kids along to deliver fish to Little Shi Tou's three nurse moms.
At home, there were two big fish left, along with some small ones. Qu Cui kept the carp and some crucian carp in the water tank and instructed the sister-in-law to clean the bighead and white carp. For the evening meal, they would have fish stew with cornbread.
The cornbread was stuck to the side of the pot, one side crispy and golden, the other soft and tasty, paired perfectly with the rich fish stew, even Ling Chengyan found it delicious.
Since arriving here, this meal was the most satisfying and delicious.
However, there was always someone to annoy others, disrupting their enjoyment of the food.
Wang Lianfa was the third among his cousins, and it was his third sister-in-law, Zheng Xiaotian, who first noticed the unwelcome guest—Wang Lianxiang, leaning against the doorframe, one foot on the threshold, neither speaking nor entering, looking awkward and hesitant.
Zheng Xiaotian silently cursed her luck but still had to greet her, "Lianxiang, you're here?"
She raised her voice a bit to announce her arrival to those inside.
Ling Chengyan remained unmoved, which earned her a nod of appreciation from the elder aunt, "You continue eating, I'll go check." She put down her chopsticks and went out.
"Lianxiang, what brings you here?" the elder aunt inquired flatly.
"My mom... I'm here to call my second sister-in-law for dinner." Wang Lianxiang instinctively wanted to say her mother sent her, but remembering her mother's stubbornness, she quickly changed her words.
The elder aunt replied, "Oh, I forgot to send word over. Yan'er and her kids are eating at my place today. They'll head back after dinner, you go on home first."
Wang Lianxiang had come over after hearing that Ling Chengyan had caught several big fish, filling a whole bucket... In these times of scarcity, eating meat was a rarity, and the same went for fish, which might only grace the table once a year.
A full bucket of fish, at least twenty pounds, could make several meals of big fish stew... Especially with the captivating aroma of the fish soup wafting through the air, Wang Lianxiang's mouth almost watered, and she was reluctant to go back.
"Well, I'll go inside to wait for the second sister-in-law!" Wang Lianxiang said as she finally stepped forward off the threshold to enter.
The two of them didn't speak loudly, so others inside couldn't hear clearly. But Ling Chengyan heard every word, and she placed down her bowl and chopsticks, ready to go out.
But before she reached the door, the elder aunt spoke again, "Yan'er and her kids are here with me, aren't you confident? You go on back, don't delay your dinner. Once they finish eating, I'll send someone to take them back."
Wang Lianxiang had just stepped over the threshold when the elder aunt's firm words blocked her once more.
Despite everything, she was still young and thin-skinned, and being reprimanded, she blushed furiously, murmured a bit, and quickly turned and ran away.
"Really, getting more shameless with age, can't take them anywhere," muttered the elder aunt Qu Cui quietly, shaking her hand as she returned inside.
Standing inside the door, Ling Chengyan smirked, sat back down, helped herself as well as Xiao Xing and Hongjun on both sides to some fish, and continued eating her soup and cornbread.