Chapter 235: Ice Fishing
At seven-thirty in the morning, Ning Xiyue followed the others from the Educated Youth Courtyard to the riverside. She had thought their group was among the earliest to arrive, but unexpectedly, there were already plenty of people there before them.
Quite a few were enthusiastic — looking around, she saw over a dozen people scattered across the thick, frozen river, sitting east and west here and there. Some were using nets baited with food to lure the fish, while others sat directly on the ice to fish.
The ice was very thick, making it hard to break open holes. From a glance, there were clearly more people choosing to fish than to smash through the ice.
Stepping onto the ice, Zhao Jianshe turned to the educated youths and said:
“Let’s each find ourselves a good spot, but don’t go too far. If anything happens or someone needs help, just shout. As for breaking the ice holes, the male comrades from our Educated Youth Courtyard will handle it together. You can also team up in groups for safety.”
After Zhao Jianshe finished, everyone started pairing off into small teams and then went off to find fishing spots.
Of course, there were also some who didn’t want to team up — preferring to fish alone in peace.
Ning Xiyue was the first to say, “I’ll go with my second brother later, so don’t worry about me.”
Once she said that, no one tried to team up with her.
Liu Yao and her cousin Yu Zhiyu both turned their eyes toward Chen Ye Chu.
Catching her cousin’s intent, Liu Yao walked up and invited warmly, “Yechu, how about the three of us fish together? My cousin can help us out too.”
“I think it’s not easy to fish when too many people gather in one spot — we’ll scare the fish away. I’d rather fish alone.”
Chen Ye Chu gave them an apologetic smile as she spoke.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to be with them — she just had her own little plan for today’s fishing. For convenience, she preferred to find a quiet spot by herself.
But after she spoke, she noticed the faint disappointment in Yu Zhiyu’s eyes. So she quickly added with a bright, expectant look toward him:
“However… I’ll have to trouble Comrade Yu to help me break through the ice. I don’t have enough strength to do it myself. Would that be okay?”
At that, the disappointment in Yu Zhiyu’s eyes vanished without a trace. His face lit up like a child given candy, and he eagerly stepped forward.
“Of course! Leave it to me. I’ll make you the best ice hole there is. Let’s go find a good spot now — I’ll take care of it for you before I leave.”
“Thank you, Comrade Yu.”
Chen Ye Chu smiled radiantly at him, and Yu Zhiyu was instantly dazed — his head spinning as he blushed red to the tips of his ears. He handed her a half-cooked sweet potato.
“You’re welcome. Here, use this as bait — you’ll catch bigger fish with it.”
Not far away, Ning Xiyue sat on a small stool, waiting for her brother, happily enjoying this whole “dog food” scene — watching the sweetness unfold like a spectator at a romance show.
These two were still so endearingly awkward after half a year of knowing each other — so simple and pure that it made her giddy just to watch.
Watching others fall in love was just too entertaining.
At the same time, she couldn’t help but feel sympathy for Yu Zhiyu.
It was obvious he was completely wrapped around Chen Ye Chu’s finger — doing whatever she said, glowing at the smallest hint of warmth. He was bound to become a henpecked husband one day — a happy, willing one at that.
As for Chen Ye Chu, she tucked the sweet potato into her bait pouch, then pinched off a bit of her own homemade dough — kneaded with special fish-attracting powder — and handed a small piece to Yu Zhiyu.
Then she tore off another piece and passed it to Ning Xiyue. “Xiyue, I’ll go find a spot now. Take your time.”
“Okay, go ahead, don’t worry about me,” Ning Xiyue waved.
She watched as Yu Zhiyu and Liu Yao followed behind Chen Ye Chu toward a quieter area.
Chen Ye Chu eventually picked a spot far away from everyone else — peaceful and secluded, all by herself.
At that moment, Ning Xiyue realized why she’d insisted on fishing alone — she must’ve wanted to use her “cheat,” somewhere hidden and unnoticeable.
Ning Xiyue half-joked to herself: if Chen Ye Chu didn’t catch anything, she’d probably go buy fresh fish to pass off as her own catch later.
Just then, Ning Qingyuan came over carrying fishing rods and tools. Seeing a familiar figure ahead, he shouted, “Sis!”
“Second Brother, over here!”
Hearing his voice, Ning Xiyue quickly turned, waving excitedly.
Ning Qingyuan jogged over happily. “Sis, let’s go! I’ll show you your brother’s fishing skills today — I’ll definitely catch us a ton of fish.”
Ning Xiyue believed him. When it came to fishing, her brother was the real expert. She was just there for fun — best to let the professional handle the professional work.
“Then I’ll leave picking the spot to you, brother. You fished here last year, so you know where the fish gather.”
“Right, follow me. The best place is right in the middle — the widest part.”
As they walked, he explained fishing tips to her:
“In winter, there’s less oxygen underwater. The center of the river is slightly warmer than the edges, so fish feel safer there. Most of them gather in the middle.”
He lifted his ice pick and shook it proudly.
“We’ll use this to make a hole in the middle — once the oxygen flows in, the fish below will swim over, making it easier for us to catch them. And since it’s not snowing today, the hole won’t freeze over too quickly. We’re bound to catch plenty.”
Ning Xiyue’s excitement grew with every word. “Then I’ll be waiting to eat fish! I want spicy boiled fish fillets today.”
“Got it. I’ll make sure you eat your fill — I’ll catch and cook them myself. I’ll make extra spicy and numbing fillets for you, plus a steamed fish. We’ll have a whole fish feast!”
Ning Qingyuan was already thrilled just imagining it — planning how to cook the fish before even catching any.
“If we catch a lot, we can even make salted fish and sour fish.”
Ning Xiyue eagerly joined in the daydream. “Perfect! If we get plenty, we can even send some home to the family.”
The widest part of the river had already been taken, so they had to settle for a slightly narrower section — still near the middle, and fortunately, unoccupied.
Ning Qingyuan inspected the ice carefully, choosing a thick and solid area before stopping. “Here — this spot is good.”
“Alright, let’s do it.”
When it came to fishing, Ning Xiyue followed her brother’s every word without question.
She set down her stool and fish basket, then helped him hammer away once he broke the first hole. Together, they expanded the opening and used another ice pick to dig deeper.
The ice was nearly a meter thick. After over an hour of hard work, the siblings finally managed to make two decent fishing holes.
“Phew, that was tough. The ice is so thick.”
Ning Xiyue plopped down on a brick to rest, rubbing her red hands and staring at the holes.
“If we don’t catch a few fish today, all that effort will be wasted.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll catch plenty — can’t let all that work go to waste.”
Ning Qingyuan smiled, took a sip of water, and after resting, started baiting the rods.
The bait they used was his own mix — dough made from flour and boiled sweet potato. Ning Xiyue tucked away the reddish dough Chen Ye Chu had given her for now.
After baiting the hooks, Ning Qingyuan taught her how to watch for a fish biting and how to pull it up, then handed the rod to her to try on her own.
Excited, Ning Xiyue began fishing through the ice hole in front of her.
But as time passed, her excitement faded — she hadn’t caught a single fish.
She glanced at her brother, who sat calm and unmoving like a meditating monk, eyes fixed on the ice hole, and couldn’t help but admire his patience.
But she, on the other hand, couldn’t sit still. Standing up, she looked around — many others were already fishing — and said with interest, “Brother, I’m going to walk around and check how the others are doing.”
“Go ahead, just be careful,” Ning Qingyuan replied without even looking up.
Leaving her rod beside him, Ning Xiyue dusted off her pants and started wandering around, hands tucked in her pockets. She really did want to see how the others were doing — especially the educated youths.
Heh — what she wanted most was to sneak a peek at Chen Ye Chu across the way.
