bookrandom Chapter 247 Is it tamed already?
Chapter 247 Is it tamed already?
After putting away the shovel and having a simple lunch with Li Xiaoyun, Li Xiangyang began preparing fishing tools.
He rummaged through the woodshed and found several bamboo baskets and a few bamboo poles, preparing to weave a fish trap.
Watching her husband deftly weave bamboo strips into a funnel-shaped cage, Li Xiaoyun couldn't help but ask curiously, "Are you going to fish?"
"Yes, although the pond is intended for raising forest frogs, the frogs are all in the mountains now, so it's not the right time to catch them yet. It'll be easier to catch them after autumn," Li Xiangyang continued his work. "There are plenty of fish and shrimp this season, so let's catch some and try raising them."
"There are plenty of carp and crucian carp in this area. If we're lucky, we might even catch a mandarin fish."
Upon hearing the name "mandarin fish," Li Xiaoyun's eyes lit up.
This fish is quite rare; you can't usually get to eat it even if you want to.
"Then I'll come back early after school this afternoon to help you," Li Xiaoyun said, having already finished cleaning up the dishes and getting ready to go back to school.
Li Xiangyang nodded, watched his wife leave, and then found some old fishing nets to repair several damaged areas.
Once the tools were ready, Li Xiangyang carried them and walked towards the river behind the village.
Xuanmao and Xiaohu followed along eagerly.
The weather in June is scorching hot.
Li Xiangyang squatted by the river, carefully observing the direction and depth of the water flow.
He knew this river all too well.
Every summer, cold-water fish from upstream migrate downstream, and some of them are quite delicious.
Just then, Little Tiger suddenly pricked up his ears and stared at a clump of water plants by the river.
Li Xiangyang gestured for Xiaohu to be quiet and was about to go forward to check when he saw Xuanmao already tiptoeing over.
The black cat lay motionless by the water plants, its eyes fixed on the water's surface. Suddenly, its paw darted into the water, splashing up a spray.
"Meow!" The black cat, carrying a small crucian carp in its mouth, jumped out of the water plants triumphantly.
But its disturbance startled the large fish that were leisurely foraging among the aquatic plants, causing them to scatter in all directions.
The black cat placed the fish on the bank, then squatted back down by the water, trying to repeat its trick. But this time it wasn't so easy; the startled fish all scurried away.
Li Xiangyang was both amused and exasperated. He stepped forward and patted the black cat's head: "Alright, stop fussing. Now you've scared all the fish away."
The black cat seemed to understand its owner's words, meowed sadly, and then carried its spoils to a shady spot to enjoy them.
Li Xiangyang shook his head and turned to check other areas. Judging from the swaying of the aquatic plants and the ripples on the water, the fish population in this area was indeed quite good.
He spread out the fishing net and carefully inspected it to make sure there were no tears. Then, he chose a spot with a slower current and began to set the net.
Meanwhile, he also set fish traps in several backwaters and scattered some broken corn at the entrances as bait.
After arranging everything, Li Xiangyang found a large rock to sit on and waited patiently. Xiao Hu squatted to the side, glancing at the water every now and then, then at the black cat who had already finished eating the fish, his eyes filled with envy.
Over the next few hours, he had a good haul. In addition to several large carp, he also caught two mandarin fish and several chub.
Even when they were pulling in the net, they unexpectedly caught a catfish weighing nearly ten pounds.
As the sun began to set, Li Xiaoyun returned from school. Looking at the lively fish in the wooden bucket, she smiled and said, "Looks like a good haul?"
"Hmm, not bad luck," Li Xiangyang said with a smile. "I'll make you braised mandarin fish tonight."
"Then I'll go help you pack your fishing gear," Li Xiaoyun said, and was about to start.
"No need, you go back and boil some water first. I'll put the fish in the pond and then go back."
Li Xiaoyun nodded and turned to walk home.
Li Xiangyang then began packing up his fishing gear. After cleaning up the nets, fish traps, and other equipment, he carried the wooden bucket full of fish home.
After releasing the fish into the pond dug at the old house, Li Xiangyang returned home to find that Li Xiaoyun had already boiled the water.
Back home, Li Xiangyang quickly rolled up his sleeves and began cleaning the fish.
“Sit down and rest for a bit, let me do it.” He stopped Li Xiaoyun, who wanted to help, “This fish is quite dirty to clean.”
As he spoke, he picked up a mandarin fish and quickly scraped off its scales.
Scaling, gutting, and removing internal organs—every movement was clean and efficient.
While Li Xiangyang was washing and cooking the rice, he had already finished preparing the fish.
He cut the mandarin fish into sections, fried them in oil, added shredded ginger, scallion segments, and garlic cloves, then added some soy sauce and cooking wine, and finally poured a spoonful of hot oil over them.
The firewood burned brightly, and soon a fragrant aroma wafted from the pot.
"It smells so good." Li Xiaoyun sat by the stove, watching her husband skillfully cook.
"Almost done." Li Xiangyang added some water to the pot.
Just then, a series of hurried footsteps came from outside the courtyard.
"Brother Xiangyang! Brother Xiangyang!" Wang Ergou's voice came from afar.
Just as Li Xiangyang was about to get up, he saw Wang Ergou burst into the yard with a face full of excitement.
On his right shoulder, the little golden eagle stood steadily, its eyes sharp and its spirits bright, showing no fear of strangers.
Its paws were tightly gripping the leather pad on Wang Ergou's shoulder, looking unusually affectionate.
"It's tamed already?" Li Xiangyang couldn't help but stand up.
"That's right!" Wang Ergou said smugly. "You wouldn't believe it, it can not only fly now, but it also recognizes me. Look—"
As he spoke, Wang Ergou gave a slight shrug to his shoulder.
The golden eagle immediately spread its wings and took flight, circling once above the courtyard.
With a whistle from Wang Ergou, it landed steadily back on his shoulder.
Li Xiaoyun stared in disbelief: "Ergou, it's only been a short time and you've already trained him! You're really something!"
"That's because I'm more skilled, and it's all thanks to Master Zheng's excellent teaching," Wang Ergou waved his hands repeatedly. "But Master Zheng has taught us everything he needed to; from now on, we'll have to practice on our own."
As he spoke, Wang Ergou pulled a bamboo whistle from his pocket and handed it to Li Xiangyang: "Master Zheng specifically asked me to bring this to you. I'll teach you the chant, and you can make it obey you just the same way."
Li Xiangyang took the bamboo whistle.
“Come on, I’ll teach you.” Wang Ergou leaned closer. “Master Zheng said that whistling needs to be rhythmic, like this…”
Wang Ergou took out another one and softly played a tune, one long and one short, quite rhythmic.
Li Xiangyang nodded and tried blowing the bamboo whistle.
A crisp whistle echoed in the courtyard.
The little golden eagle immediately raised its head and stared intently at Li Xiangyang.
"Look, look, it's responding!" Wang Ergou said excitedly. "Let's try again, let's make it fly."
Li Xiangyang blew the whistle again, this time drawing out the sound for a longer duration.
The golden eagle spread its wings and took flight, circling above the courtyard.
"I'll give it a try too!" Li Xiaoyun couldn't help but say.
Li Xiangyang handed the bamboo whistle to his wife.
Li Xiaoyun tried to whistle like she had just done, but she didn't control her breath well, and the whistle sounded intermittently.
“No, no, it has to be like this.” Li Xiangyang stood behind his wife, holding her hand and adjusting the angle. “You need to breathe evenly…”