Although He Yi had made up his mind, it took considerable time to prepare an artificial lure. He wandered along the river for a long while before confirming that predatory fish, including snakeheads, lived in these waters.
This time he planned to return to an old hobby. Rather than fishing the conventional way from a platform, he would use the lure-fishing techniques he knew better. Lure fishing had a bad reputation because some people used live bait, such as loaches, instead of artificial lures to catch large fish with little effort. This could devastate fish populations and disrupt the ecosystem. Live bait might also introduce diseases, parasites, or invasive species into the water, so such practices were illegal.
He Yi had always disliked anglers like that. In his previous life, he had avoided crowds while lure fishing because he did not want strangers coming to inspect his bait. He had always used artificial lures, but without inexpensive dyes or modern manufacturing here, he had to make do with a dead frog. He skinned it and stitched the skin around a strip of ironwood shaped into a frog.
He lacked only a shiny metal spinner. Still, he believed he could catch fish. He was experienced with lure fishing. People said it was harder than conventional fishing, but that was not necessarily true. Fewer people tried it because the learning curve was steeper, while its catch rate was often higher.
Few people usually came to this section of the river near Chongzi Village, so he and Xue Ci could stroll along the bank freely, searching for fish as they went.
“I see one. There’s a fish over there.” He Yi stopped and stared into a patch of water.
Xue Ci spotted it immediately too, and nodded.
There were no water weeds in that spot, so he need not worry about his lure catching on the bottom. He Yi cast the rod sideways, sending the artificial frog into the river. As he pulled the line, it appeared to swim.
He Yi signaled with his eyes for Xue Ci to stand farther back. Then he slowly drew the rod along while taking light steps down the bank.
Before long, the rod tip bent. He Yi felt a heavy pull from the other end, gripped the rod, and turned the wooden reel to take up the line.
Reading the movements of the fish that had taken the bait, he alternated between dragging it and reeling it in, constantly adjusting his movements. Only a few dozen breaths later, a fish seven or eight cun long, its body patterned in dark markings, emerged from the water. One more lift brought it onto the bank.
He had neither a hook remover nor a fish gripper. The snakehead was still thrashing on the shore, presenting quite a problem. After hesitating, He Yi did not dare grab such a vigorous fish.
At that moment, a hand as pale as white jade reached out and seized the fish. Another hand swiftly removed the frog lure and hook from its mouth, which was crowded with fine, sharp teeth.
He Yi started, then hastily grabbed Xue Ci’s hand to inspect it. Only when he found no cuts did he relax.
“Are you afraid of fish?” Xue Ci leaned closer to ask.
“Mm… I’ve had my hands injured by fins a few times.” Without a hook remover, he really did not care to risk it.
Large carnivorous fish were remarkably strong, but Xue Ci easily controlled the struggling snakehead and tossed it into the wooden bucket.
The artificial lure was crude and the frog skin had already begun to tear, but the snakeheads in this stretch of river behaved as though they had never seen a frog. Each time the lure sank, a fish struck it without fail.
Eventually He Yi had caught so many that he worried another three to five days of fishing like this might wipe out the river’s large snakeheads altogether. He decided to stop for the day, but before packing up, asked whether Xue Ci wanted a turn.
Xue Ci could catch whatever fish he liked merely by transforming into a snow leopard. He saw nothing enjoyable about using a rod, so he shook his head. “I don’t want to play. I want to eat fish you cook.”
He Yi could not help poking his cheek and laughing.
Looking down, however, He Yi found that only five fish had filled the bucket. They barely had any water left, and would probably all die before they reached home.
He poured the fish out onto the grass farther from the river, tied their mouths and tails with rope, and tightened the bindings so their bodies bent into bows. This left the gill filaments exposed to air, allowing the fish to live for a while longer even out of the water.
Without the bucket concealing them, the fish were plainly visible as they carried them home. Passing villagers exclaimed, “How did you catch anything that big?”
He Yi held up the rod he carried. “Fishing.”
Quite a few people did not believe him. Still, such a skill could earn money, and it would be rude to interrogate him about it.
Seeing their doubtful faces, Xue Ci spoke up for He Yi. “He really did catch them with his rod.”
He Yi glanced at Xue Ci’s cheeks, puffed slightly with indignation, and his gaze softened. Then he offered two of the snakeheads to the villagers.
“Does anyone here know how to cook fish? The two of us can’t eat this many. If someone can prepare them, the fish won’t go to waste.”
Two aunties came forward to ask for them. “We sometimes cook little fish, shrimp, and crabs in soup at home. Isn’t that right, Mutou? It’s delicious.”
“Our eldest daughter-in-law knows how to cook fish. Her family comes from He Family Village. Her steamed fish is wonderful! When it’s ready, we’ll bring some over for you two.”
He Yi readily agreed and handed the fish over. The aunties receiving them were so taken aback that it took a long moment before they remembered to thank him.
Some of the others felt too shy to ask, while others truly had no idea how to prepare fish, so they let the opportunity pass. But the sour remarks about He Yi stopped. Instead, they sighed that he was almost too honest and generous.
Satisfied that his gesture had worked, He Yi lingered no longer. He delivered another fish to the Zheng household, then headed home with Xue Ci.
There were two snakeheads left. Their courtyard pond had not yet been dug, only its site reserved, so there was nowhere to keep them alive. He Yi decided to salt and air-dry one. With the other, he would simmer the fish head into a soup base, cut the flesh into thin slices and poach them, scatter over some fresh green Sichuan peppercorns, then pour sizzling oil over the top to make green Sichuan pepper fish slices.
The green Sichuan pepper trees in their own garden would take years to mature, let alone bear fruit. He Yi therefore obtained the peppercorns from Tang Huai, who had transplanted a tree into his residence. Someone tended it carefully, and the crop had just ripened.
“Has Xue Ci ever eaten spicy food?” He Yi suddenly remembered as he chopped the fish head.
Xue Ci was sitting astride a bench, bending over a stone slab to scrape scales from the fish. Hearing He Yi address him, he stopped and lifted his head. “I have. We often ate it at the camp.”
“Can you handle the heat?” He Yi asked again.
“The food they cooked at camp was horrible, but when Xing Junshu came to see me, the food he treated me to was quite good.”
He Yi had not known Xing Junshu had visited Xue Ci in the military camp. He asked a few more apparently casual questions, trying to find out what had happened.
Xue Ci had no idea what He Yi was fishing for and answered honestly. “He invited me to a meal, then asked me to go to Jiangcheng and instruct him in martial arts.”
He Yi’s grip tightened around the knife handle. He drove the cleaver down into the chopping board.
Xue Ci added, “I didn’t agree. Later his older brother came to fetch him, and I went back to camp.”
“Why didn’t you agree?” He Yi asked almost instinctively.
Xue Ci found the question strange and glanced at him. But He Yi’s back was turned, so his expression could not be seen.
Xue Ci replied directly, “If he wants to learn, he can come here. Why would I go to Jiangcheng? You aren’t in Jiangcheng.”
He Yi’s feelings became tangled. He was such a calculating, worldly man, stained by too much of society. He felt unworthy of Xue Ci’s simple sincerity and straightforwardness.
He did not turn around or say another word. He concentrated on the work beneath his hands, hoping only to make a dish that Xue Ci would enjoy.
When the green Sichuan pepper fish slices reached the table, their spicy fragrance was almost choking. He Yi had added dried chilies as well as the fresh green peppercorns. Pieces of scallion, sliced garlic, and bean sprouts floated in the milky-white fish-head broth, mingling with thin slices of snow-white snakehead flesh. The dish looked convincing enough.
Xue Ci gripped his chopsticks and eagerly picked up a slice of fish to put in his mouth.
He Yi’s throat tightened. “How does it taste?” He had tasted it himself but did not know whether it would suit Xue Ci. Snakeheads had large bones that were easy to remove, with few fine bones, so He Yi did not warn him about them.
“Not spicy.” Xue Ci blinked, tilted his head back, and smiled triumphantly.
He Yi rubbed his chin, puzzled. It had seemed fairly spicy when he sampled it in the kitchen. Could Xue Ci tolerate more heat than he could?
He tried it again. The flesh was silky, soft, and tender, while the broth was salty, savory, fragrant, and spicy. A slight numbness spread over his tongue afterward, the distinctive flavor of green Sichuan peppercorns.
At that moment he heard panting from across the table. Looking up, he found that Xue Ci, who had just said it was not spicy, had tears glistening in the corners of his eyes. He kept swallowing saliva, but could not escape the numbing sensation. He gave He Yi a tearful, pleading look.
He Yi had not expected the lingering numbness of green peppercorns to overwhelm Xue Ci so badly. He went over to soothe him. “Don’t eat any more for now. I’ll fetch some water.”
As he went, He Yi tried to think of something that would relieve the heat. By the time he returned with water, he was considering asking a family with cattle whether they had a cow that was nursing, in the hope of obtaining some buffalo milk.
But when he reached the table, he found Xue Ci’s face streaked with wet tears. Xue Ci was panting with his tongue out while shoveling rice into his mouth, occasionally picking up another slice of fish and eating it with the rice. He was even eating bean sprouts saturated with the spicy broth.
“…” He Yi closed his eyes for a moment before asking, “Didn’t you say it was too spicy?”
“Wuuu, but it’s so delicious.” Xue Ci took the water He Yi offered, rinsed his mouth, recovered for a moment, then went straight back to eating enthusiastically.
Apparently there would be no need to fetch milk. He Yi could only say helplessly, “Eat slowly. There’s plenty.”