After finishing his words, Ye Yaodong turned to head home, but he was stopped by A Zheng.
"What's the rush? We know the water level is rising and can't see the holes! Xiao Xiao said that he went to check the drainage in the rice fields yesterday and saw many new eel holes along the bank of the seedlings. It's likely that the rice fields were flooded, and they came out looking for new holes. He figured that after the typhoon, everyone must be busy cleaning up at home, so he waited until the sun wasn't so strong to call us."
"That's better. Did you bring the hooks and earthworms?"
"Of course, why wouldn't I?"
"Then wait a minute, I'll go change into a pair of rain boots and grab a bucket."
It had been decades since he last fished for eels, so he felt quite curious about it.
This was one of his few hobbies as a country person.
As he stepped outside, he turned to Xiao Xiao, "Were there many fish in your rice fields yesterday?"
"Not too bad. There were crucian carp, common carp, and grass carp. The grass carp were quite big, but the others were very small. I don’t know where they came from. Do you guys want any? If you do, you can come get them from my house. They taste terrible; I don't even know what my dad plans to do with them!"
Everyone shook their heads.
By this time, people by the sea generally didn’t enjoy eating freshwater fish, finding the earthy taste too strong!
Only Ye Yaodong unceremoniously said, "If you guys don’t want them, I will. I’ll come by your house later to get the grass carp and crucian carp, but I don’t want the common carp."
He didn’t like common carp; he preferred eating braised crucian carp and crucian carp tofu soup.
Braised grass carp was also pretty good.
His elder brother and second brother went to check the fields yesterday but didn’t say anything about catching fish to bring back, probably because they thought they were too small.
Plus, they were used to eating sea fish and found the taste of freshwater fish lacking.
The group strolled leisurely toward the road, moving in the direction of Dongqiao Village, as their village's fields adjoined those of Dongshan Village.
It was only early July, and the rice planting hadn’t begun yet.
The fields were empty, with late rice planting starting only around mid to late July.
Walking through the muddy fields, Ye Yaodong glanced at the mud covering his feet; thankfully, he was wearing rain boots.
Actually, May was the best time to fish for eels because at that time, the weather warmed and the water temperature rose, coaxing eels out of their winter burrows to gather in the fields, ponds, and other spacious shallow areas to hunt for food and fatten up.
They had a good appetite, making it the ideal season for fishing.
Xiao Xiao set down the bucket, "You all grab your fishing rods and earthworms. There are empty bottles in the bucket; each of you can take a bit of earthworms."
Their fishing rods were simple, just handmade from small sticks tied to lines and hooks.
Though they looked basic, they could still be used multiple times.
Ye Yaodong picked up a small stick from the bucket, took a jar of earthworms, and threaded an earthworm onto the hook at the end of the bamboo skewer, making sure the worm covered the hook's point.
The others also followed suit, starting to search for holes.
"Let's get busy."
"It's the usual rule; let's see who catches the most. The one with the least has to wash the dishes and buy the drinks next time!"
Oh, he nearly forgot about this rule.
Eels typically dug their burrows in soft mud or lived in natural clay holes and rock cavities.
So, to fish for eels, you first needed to find their burrows.
However, not all eels have air holes since not only eels reside in the soil; earthworms and other small insects also live there.
Their holes connect, allowing neighbors to share air, and eels may not always emerge from the same spot at night when feeding.
Sometimes holes could be hidden by a clump of grass, or the water might not be clear enough.
There were also many small floating plants.
But eel holes would definitely be found along the muddy banks.
It was time to rely on their fingers, inserting their index or middle fingers into the banks at a 30 to 45-degree angle, about 5 to 10 centimeters from the water.
If they felt a sudden emptiness inside and pulled their fingers away to see water, it indicated a vast internal space to dig; this meant they had found an eel's home.
Sometimes, there might even be bubbles on top, which indicated the legendary breeding hole where eels stayed.
There were also holes visible to the naked eye located within 8 centimeters above the waterline that could be carefully looked for.
After walking just a few steps, Ye Yaodong spotted several smooth, round holes at the muddy bank, roughly the size of his thumb.
Just as he was about to drop his bait into one hole, he heard Xiao Xiao shout, "Caught one!"
"Oh? It's quite big, looks about half a kilogram!"
A Wei joyfully chimed in, "I caught one too! But it seems a bit small."
"I caught one as well!"
As everyone celebrated their catches, Ye Yaodong didn’t rush.
He watched the hole with the hook pointing down and teased a bit, clearly spotting water moving in and out, accompanied by a splash sound.
He hooked one!
A large eel, estimated to weigh around 700 grams, emerged as he pulled it out, looking impressively thick.
At this time, wild eels usually weighed only about 200 to 300 grams.
It was rare to find a 400-gram eel; this one was truly a big catch.
Years later, due to pollution and destruction of the environment caused by people's living and production activities, wild eels in rural fields became increasingly scarce.
Big eels like this one were typically farm-raised.
Lucky him, he caught such a big one on his first try! Filled with excitement, Ye Yaodong placed the eel into the bucket and continued baiting for the next hole.
At this time, there were plenty of eels in the fields, making fishing easy and effortless.
Many of the holes along the banks were newly dug, with some showing traces left by eels searching for food, making them easy to identify.
After catching just two eels, Ye Yaodong noticed two breeding holes because there were bubbles at the entrances.
He decided not to drop his bait into these since once the eels were caught, the eel eggs or young eels hatching from those holes would eventually die off after a while.
Sustainable development, after all!
Why take away the chance for the next generation?
Wild eels would only become scarcer!
He slowly moved his position, and the bucket was filling up with more eels, both big and small, with his biggest catch being his first one.
The smaller ones weighed around 200 to 300 grams.
Having used up the worms in the jar, he stretched his back and looked toward the friends crouching or standing nearby.
"Hey, the sun is setting; let’s wrap it up and head home for dinner!"
"We only have two worms left; let me finish fishing!"
A Guang shouted this, then squatted down again.
The others, regardless of whether they finished fishing, walked towards home.
"How many did you catch?"
"Fifteen!"
"Sixteen!"
"Thirteen!"
"Oh~ you wash the dishes! I caught eighteen!"
"Really? Let me see… looks like you caught more than us. I should have grabbed a couple more worms!" A Zheng sighed.
"Don’t rush; A Guang hasn’t finished yet," A Zheng shouted toward A Guang, who was just getting up, "A Guang, how many have you caught?"
"These two make sixteen!"
"Alright, I’ll wash the dishes next time."
A deal’s a deal!
"Come on, hurry home for dinner! We’re starving, and this is perfect for the pot."
The bucket now held about 5 to 6 kilograms of eels.
Ye Yaodong silently counted heads; there were 17 people at home, just enough for everyone to have one each, with an extra left over.
(End of Chapter)