fictionpage Chapter 40 Brothers United
Chapter 40 Brothers United
The shovel plunged straight into the thick layer of ice, sending up countless tiny, sharp ice shards.
Zhang Daqiang was immediately terrified, his face turning deathly pale, and he froze.
Fortunately, Zhang Dayong reacted quickly, pulling him behind him and shouting, "Li Xiangyang, do you want to commit murder in the street? There are so many people watching."
Li Xiangyang looked around and saw that in just a short while, a crowd of onlookers had gathered, all eager to watch the spectacle.
So you're just trying to talk your way out of this mess?
Li Xiangyang gave a cold laugh.
"Zhang Dayong, do you even realize people are watching? You didn't get any fish from the ice hole you dug yourself, so you come here to fish for them? Have you two brothers no shame?"
"Li Xiangyang, don't push your luck. What do you mean by coming here to fish? This lake belongs to everyone."
"This lake belongs to everyone, but this ice hole was carved by my brother and me. Why should we let you fish it out?"
Since you know everyone's watching, then let everyone be the judge.
For a moment, everyone looked at each other, but no one stood up to speak. It wasn't that they agreed with the Zhang brothers' point of view, but rather that none of them wanted to get involved in the dispute between the Li and Zhang families.
The Li family scoundrels and the Zhang family rogues are not to be trifled with.
"See, nobody has any objections, right?" Zhang Dayong said smugly.
"I don't care what others think, but you can't come and fish through the ice hole we drilled."
Li Xiangdong suddenly shouted, "Even honest people have tempers!"
"Li Xiangdong, don't yell. We're trying to reason with each other." Zhang Dayong didn't want to, and didn't dare to, get into a physical fight with the Li brothers.
But everyone around is watching, it would be too embarrassing to just leave like that.
But when it comes to witty banter, Li Xiangyang, who has lived for decades, believes he has never lost.
He understands it clearly.
The reason why everyone is unwilling to express their opinions is because they are afraid of getting involved. They prefer to mind their own business and not get involved. But he insists on dragging everyone into it.
Stir up the water.
"Zhang Dayong, are you saying that this lake belongs to everyone, so you can fish in any ice hole no matter who made it?"
"right!"
Zhang Dayong responded loudly, but then felt something was off.
Seeing Li Xiangyang's faint smile made him even more panicked.
"Okay, everyone heard that. If everyone agrees with him..."
As Li Xiangyang spoke, he pointed to several other ice holes around the area that could also yield fish:
"So, after the two brothers have searched through all three ice holes, can they go search through that other ice hole?"
As expected, the person pointed out by Li Xiangyang immediately became unhappy with his words.
"Why should we? We've been digging for over an hour, why should we let him fish it out?"
"Yeah, why should I? If the Zhang brothers dare to come, I'll break their legs."
"Yes, Zhang brothers, you should come and give it a try!"
Seeing that everyone was angry, Li Xiangyang smiled. He deliberately made the Zhang brothers' behavior seem like it was harming everyone's interests.
Faced with the accusations from the crowd, Zhang Dayong's face fell, and he protested, "I never said I was going to bail you out..."
Before he could finish speaking, Li Xiangyang shouted, "Get out!"
Everyone chimed in, "Yes, get out! Get out!"
The crowd was agitated.
Zhang Daqiang had by then recovered his senses and dragged Zhang Dayong away in a sorry state, forgetting even to take the net.
Soon a burst of laughter came from behind.
With no more shows to watch, the crowd dispersed.
Li Xiangyang glanced at the scene and realized that none of the people had actually caught many fish.
So,
Everyone just wanted to take some home to eat; they didn't intend to sell them. It seems they were all frightened by Li Xiangqian's arrest.
"Brother, you've caught a fish!" Li Xiangdong suddenly pointed to the ice hole at Li Xiangyang's feet.
Li Xiangyang looked down and saw that such a commotion could still attract fish.
He skillfully picked up the net, inserted it into the ice hole, and with a twist of his waist, threw two carp, one small dogfish, and several small crucian carp onto the snow.
A dozen fish were splashing on the snow at the same time, their silvery-gray scales reflecting the golden sunlight.
It was exceptionally dazzling.
This net contained a full twenty-five or twenty-six pounds of fish.
However, Li Xiangdong was already used to this and picked up the sack to collect the contents.
Still harboring some doubts, he asked as he picked them up:
"Brother, isn't it strange that the three ice holes we dug have so many fish? The ice holes dug by the Zhao brothers don't even bring up a few fish a day."
"Because this is a reed bed..."
Li Xiangyang patiently explained the principle to Li Xiangdong.
After listening, Li Xiangdong exclaimed in amazement, "Brother, you know so much!"
My admiration for Li Xiangyang grew even stronger.
An hour later, the two brothers, Li Xiangyang and Li Xiangdong, hummed a tune as they pulled a whole bunch of mantis shrimp home.
Although we didn't catch much fish today, we still caught over 120 jin (60 kg) of fish.
Looking at the huge scorpion carp, Li Xiangyang couldn't help but exclaim, "The wild resources are so abundant at this time of year!"
......
When the two brothers got home, it was already past 2 p.m., and night would fall in two hours.
Grandma, Xiulan, and sister-in-law were busy preparing dinner in the kitchen, while Dad played with Doudou and Chunsheng on the kang (a heated brick bed).
Upon seeing Li Xiangyang return, Li Chunsheng immediately slipped off the kang (a heated brick bed) while carrying a pottery jar, ran to Li Xiangyang, and handed the jar to him for him to see.
Li Chunsheng said with some pride, "Uncle, Uncle, let me show you my Little Red."
"Little Red...?"
Li Xiangyang wondered: What is it?
Li Xiangyang picked up the earthenware jar and saw that it was filled with water, and a bright red carp was gently swaying in the water.
Li Xiangyang laughed: "What a beautiful carp!"
"Yes, yes, Xiao Hong is the prettiest." Li Chunsheng chuckled, hugged the pottery jar tightly, and climbed back onto the kang (heated brick bed).
"Sigh, all he does is play around," Li Xiangdong said.
"If he doesn't play at his age, when will he?" Wang Guiying walked over from the kitchen, carrying a plate of steaming dumplings.
"Mom, when did you make these dumplings? What kind of filling are they?" Li Xiangyang asked, and then reached out and picked up a dumpling and put it in his mouth.
"It's hot, it's hot..."
"You, you're a father now, and you still don't act properly. Let's eat after the dumplings are on the table."
Wang Guiying rolled her eyes at Li Xiangyang.
But Li Xiangyang was already panting from the heat of the dumplings and had no time to reply.
Li Xiangdong also picked up a dumpling and put it in his mouth, just like Li Xiangyang.
The dumpling skin burst open when bitten, instantly filling the mouth with the rich aroma of oil, followed by a drop of meat juice dribbling from the corner of the mouth.
Li Chunsheng, watching from the side, kept drooling. "Grandma, Grandma, I want some too!"
Li Doudou also started babbling anxiously.
Everyone else came out of the kitchen and sat down around the low wooden table on the heated brick bed. The family ate together, and the scene was very lively.
This reminded Li Xiangyang of his past life, of the decades he spent alone in a dark and desolate mud-brick house, enduring a period of utter darkness.
"Ah, this is what life is all about."
Li Xiangyang sighed.
Thump thump... thump thump thump...
Suddenly there was a knock on the courtyard gate, followed by a slightly hoarse middle-aged or elderly male voice.
"Zhenshan...are you home? It's me, Zhao Youcai."
"What's he doing here?" The two brothers, Li Xiangyang and Li Xiangdong, looked at each other in bewilderment.
It is suspected that his father found out about the incident of beating Donkey Egg the day before yesterday and came to his door.