Chapter 6: What was originally a blessing is now suspected to be a calamity

  Green hills and clear water against a rocky shore, washing feet in the cool water without feeling cold.

  Tianjishan in Lanzhou is the most beautiful, all because of the tens of thousands of mu artificial lake of Zhangze under the mountain. The surrounding mountains and the green hills and blue waters together with the azure sky form a richly colored landscape painting. Occasionally, one or two flying water birds fly by, and the mirror-like surface of the water occasionally ripples with sparkling fish scales, adding a touch of dynamism to this scene.

  One night's busy work flashed to the morning, with a fishing rod inserted obliquely, eyes fixed on the float, breathing in the fresh air, basking in the warm sunshine, nibbling on sweet French bread. Despite not having slept all night, Lei Dapeng was still very enthusiastic. If he were at school, he would probably be dozing off on his desk by now. But this outdoor life is so comfortable. Just after finishing a piece of bread, someone suddenly shouted:

  "Oh... Quick, quick, the big bird is on the hook! No, no, it's a big fish, a big fish is on the hook! Big bird, come and help me!"

  Not far away, Si Mu Xian suddenly stood up with a start, excitedly speaking incoherently, his arm raised high, tightly gripping the fishing rod, the line taut, and was suddenly pulled into the water at an angle. It was hooked, and it wasn't small, feeling like someone was pulling the rod out of his hands, the rod almost bent into a full moon shape. Lei Da Peng sprang up like a spring, holding a net over two meters long, tensely saying: "Slow down, don't let it come off the hook... Okay, okay, you follow its lead. You're so stupid, I've never seen anyone as stupid as you... Let out some line, just a little, and quickly reel it in, but slowly. Don't let it get away, this one's not small."

  One person holding a pole became two people fighting for the pole, and these two brothers were so excited that they ran wildly, forgetting themselves, walking along the water's edge of the reservoir for over ten meters, releasing and reeling in, stopping and starting, under Lei Dapeng's professional command, finally pulling the hooked fish close to the shore. The two men were tense, handing the pole over to Simu Xian, but Lei Dapeng was holding a net straight into the water, making a sudden swoop, being pulled by the struggling fish almost falling into the water, barely standing still, with a full net, and then shouting in surprise: "Damn, it's so strong."

  As the shouting, splashing water rose, the bright silver belly of the fish sparkled in the net, and the two were busy, finally putting the big fish that refused to give up and kept jumping into the net and dragging it to the shore. Simu Xian was delighted to remove the hook, and Lei Ge, who was panting with exhaustion, weighed the huge fish tail, and the fish splashed a face of water on Lei Dapeng, making him jump in anger and scold: "Damn, you dare to hit me? Don't want to mix anymore."

  Simu Xian was so excited that he forgot about Lei Dapeng, the big grass carp in his hand was quite heavy, weighing around 20 kilograms, and it was exhausting to hold it out of water. The fish's mouth was closed, and its body was soft and hanging down. Simu Xian easily slipped a plastic band over its gills and exclaimed with joy: "This time I should have caught the biggest one, right?"

  "Few came, I copied up, just you? One night fishing for several bars, all three or two inches of carp seedlings." Lei Dapeng sat up, continuing to fish, and it was not light. Ci Muxian didn't distinguish, but if he talked about fishing, except for the old man, it would be Lei Ge. The two of them fished in one night, and Lei Dapeng's harvest was much more than Ci Muxian.

  Released the harvest, two woven bags are almost full again, and two bags were put on the car in the morning. It seems that Lao Da's skipping class to find this new location is really good, with many foolish fish that just keep biting the hook.

  The joy of fishing lies not in the fish, but if you have both the fishing and the fish, then the fun is naturally quite big. Just as Simu Xian was preparing to cast his line again, he saw Lei Dapeng eating a bait and putting it in his mouth to chew on, which made Simu Xian laugh and cry at the same time. He reminded him: "Dapeng, don't compete with the fish for the bait, the boss said that this is specially prepared for the Fu Shou Yu and Hua Liang's fried noodles."

  "This is too delicious, even better than Wangwang's snow cake. It's a pity to give it to the fish." Lei Dapeng smacked his lips, savoring the flavor, and chewed slowly as if reluctant to swallow, then reached for another piece but was snatched away by Simu Xian. Xian tossed over another bait and said with a grin: "You've got guts, eat this one."

  Yellow and sticky, it's the bait for catching carp and grass fish. Lei Dapeng took one look and got angry, shouting: "This is a wet cow dung ball as bait, don't think I don't know. That, hand it over."

  Lei Dapeng naturally didn't fall for it, and he and Simu Xian rushed to grab the bait. Simu Xian had always been unable to resist this Lei brother, and under duress, he was eaten by Lei again with a few fragrant fish baits. This is good, looking at the sky, it's not even noon yet, I'm afraid the bait won't be enough. Old Dapeng is very picky about making bait, each one is made in small quantities, but they are all effective. The fish caught overnight were mostly grass carp and crucian carp, with some bighead carp and silver carp, but the large white silver carp unique to Zhangze Reservoir was not caught, this can't be helped, the bait was almost all eaten by Lei Dapeng, only wet cow dung and live earthworm baits were left uneaten.

  After grumbling a few words, he had just cast his fishing rod and moved the float when Simu Xian sat down and inadvertently turned back, but was startled, nervously pulling Lei Dapeng to turn around and look.

  What are you looking at? There's a car coming. The three of us came from the secondary road, crossing the mountain to take a shortcut. Along the dam, there is a simple highway that was built many years ago for flood control and sand transportation. This area is surrounded by piles and iron wire, making it difficult to see any signs of human activity. However, at this moment, three cars appeared in our line of sight. As we got closer, we saw an old-style jeep, and upon seeing it, two people instinctively ducked their heads and quickly pulled the pole back.

  It's a long story, but several years ago, the Zhangze Reservoir was not well managed and often had neighboring cities and provinces coming to fish in groups. Some professional teams could catch a whole truckload of wild fish at once. Later, as the price of wild fish skyrocketed, the reservoir managers realized the economic benefits and this unowned resource became collective property. Now, those who come to fish must go to designated areas, and anyone who fishes without permission will have their rods confiscated and be fined according to local policy.

  "Hurry, hide, they can't see us from that angle." Simu Xian nervously pulled the woven bag with fish in it and dragged it towards the shore's reeds. Lei Dapeng, on the other hand, was packing his backpack and putting away his fishing rod, muttering to himself: "Don't drop the rod, it's worth several thousand yuan. If I lose it, my dad will kill me when we get back."

  They quickly pulled in the fish, packed up their bags, and moved swiftly like a rabbit, getting into the pre-dug hiding spot just as the shadow of the car was approaching. It seemed they had been prepared, not only did they have a hiding spot over half a person tall, but it was also covered with a pile of weeds, making it impossible to notice that two people were hiding inside. As they hid, Lei Da Peng let out a sigh of relief and whispered that it was lucky the boss had foreseen this, or else they would have been caught red-handed, and having their fishing rods confiscated would be a huge loss.

  At this time, Simu Xian looked around at the surrounding environment again. Behind him was a low mountain, with several remaining ruins and broken walls left behind after migration. The reservoir expansion had flooded seven towns and more than 60,000 mu of land years ago. At present, he was at the entrance of a tributary of the Zhuo River, not far from the Tianji Mountain range. He had already bypassed the reservoir management station by more than ten kilometers and arrived at the northernmost part of the reservoir area. This place was theoretically supposed to be uninhabited during flood season, belonging to a high-risk flooded area. If someone came... The only explanation was that Simu Xian suspected uncertainly, "Could it be that they were really catching stolen fish?"

  As soon as he thought of this, he quickly took another look to see if there was any leakage in his own place. He didn't look at it before, but when he looked again, he slapped the back of Da Peng's head with a loud slap and scolded: "You foodie, that place hasn't been cleaned up yet, and there is still discarded bread paper."

  It was indeed a sheet of white plastic packaging paper that stood out particularly glaringly among the grass and shore rocks. Lei Dapeng nodded slightly, and Lei Dapeng said uncertainly in a low voice: "It's just such a small piece, it won't be noticed, will it? If those two bags of fish are taken away by someone, we'll lose big time."

  "What's gotten into you, still thinking about fish at a time like this." Si Mu Xian grumbled discontentedly.

  "It took a lot of effort to catch, can't bear to part with it? We agreed to have fish head soup tonight, that stuff is good for the brain." Lei Dapeng was worried that the pole would be confiscated, and also worried that the hidden fish would be discovered.

  "You're also a pig brain." Si Mu Xian anxiously watched the approaching train, getting closer and closer. Lei Da Peng suddenly remembered that Shan Yong was still on the other side of the mountain setting up nets, so he quickly took out the walkie-talkie. This place didn't have any cell phone signal, and they could only rely on the short-wave radio provided by Lei Da Peng's dad. Just as he was about to speak, Si Mu Xian quietly pressed his hand down, signaling him not to make a sound.

  Closer... even closer, the two thieves held their breath, afraid that their hiding place would be discovered.

  …………………

  …………………

  About 20-30 meters away, the two cars slowed down and stopped. The one in front was familiar to the fishermen, who were responsible for implementing the policy of confiscating fishing rods and fines. At this moment, they were hiding not far from the two people. Both of them held their breath, not daring to make a slight sound.

  But looking again, it didn't seem to be the case, as the two men were just waiting by the car, and it seemed like they weren't there for law enforcement today. In the blink of an eye, the door of the second car opened, and Simu Xian and Lei Dapeng stared intently, suddenly both inhaling sharply. Their eyes widened... A very sleek and elegant high-heeled shoe stretched out, with the shoe decoration reflecting light, followed by one, two, beautiful long legs, slowly appearing in their line of sight. As the person leaned over, a splash of red appeared among the lush greenery, particularly eye-catching.

  Beautiful woman, unexpectedly comes down red-clothed beauty.

  Cai Mu Xian and Lei Da Peng simultaneously turned their heads to look at each other, a beauty! This place where birds don't even poop has actually got a beautiful woman, if there weren't so many people around, she'd probably be mistaken for a mermaid rising out of the water. Lei Da Peng was bad at hiding his surprise, and just as he was about to speak, Cai Mu Xian, who understood this guy's temperament, quickly covered his mouth.

  However, the two people's eyes were focused on the same point, and they didn't care about the thieves in the warehouse district anymore. They stared straight at the woman who got off the car, her red coat and black long hair fluttering gently in the breeze, making her look a bit ethereal. As she faced the rippling spring water, the woman seemed to have been sitting in the car for a long time, so she stretched out her chest, revealing her slender figure with curves that were both delicate and alluring.

  In an instant, the scenery in his eyes became more dynamic and poetic with this fleeting shadow.

  Beautiful! ? Captivating! ? Nation-toppling, city-overturning? Even Sima Xiang felt that the vocabulary in his brain was somewhat insufficient to describe what he saw before him. As he looked around, the woman's gentle toss of her hair inadvertently turned towards the direction where the two were hiding. In the sunlight, a warm and gentle facial outline, like a meticulous painting of a lady in a landscape of green mountains and clear waters, left the two hiding in the grass dazed and bewildered.

  "It's so beautiful." Ci Mu Xian quietly praised, seeing the woman with a joyful face from afar, for an instant, it seemed like the surrounding green mountains and clear waters had all become embellishments to this absolutely beautiful scene. Turning back to look at Lei Da Peng, Lei Da Peng was already stunned, his mouth agape with sparkling saliva on his lips.

  Laughed, didn't provoke Lei Ge, looking at the woman turning back, as if shouting something excitedly, then opened the passenger door and helped down an old man with a head full of silver hair. At this time, three cars came down with eight or nine people, except for the warehouse manager, the identities of the latecomers were not low, including several middle-aged men with big bellies. The group walked straight up to the short mountain.

  A glimpse of a swan, still some distance from where the two were hiding, but Simu Xian and Lei Dapeng's line of sight was drawn to that slender figure, watching as the group walked until they disappeared from view. After a while, Simu Xian's eyes became distant, as if his soul had been taken away by the woman's shadow.

  Lei Dapeng was different, looking beautiful, but after watching and drooling, he would almost forget when he turned back. Just as he forgot, Si Mu Xian let out a melancholic sigh and said: "Like a startled swan, like a swimming dragon. The glory of autumn chrysanthemum, the splendor of spring pine... I now understand Cao Zijian's mood when writing 'The Goddess of Luo River'. It was something that couldn't be obtained, something that couldn't be approached, an extreme longing that gave birth to this magnificent chapter, truly beautiful."

  Wen Qing's younger brother was beautiful, and Leida Peng, who was worried about the two bags of fish, couldn't take it anymore. He quietly scolded with a straight mouth and an upright middle finger: "You're really something, others see beauties and you see beauties and become sour."

  "Ximu Xian shook his head solemnly and said, 'You don't understand appreciation, so don't make reckless comments.'"

  "Has it come to this, you're talking about that 'Ode to the Goddess of the Luo River' that Teacher Ren mentioned? The woman in the poem was Yuan Shao's daughter-in-law, who was snatched away by Cao Cao and later became Cao Pi's wife. Who knows if both Cao Cao and Cao Pi had their way with her, haha. I really like how complicated ancient relationships were, whoever was powerful got to be with whoever they wanted.

  Lei Dapeng finally spoke up, this was a side note that Teacher Ren mentioned when teaching about ancient literature. The 'Ode to the Goddess of the Luo River' didn't make sense to him, but he remembered the side note about the complicated relationships between men and women clearly.

  Si Mu Xian's face turned red with anger upon hearing this comment, her voice heavy with emotion, she pinched Lei Dapeng's ear and scolded: 'This just goes to show that heaven is jealous of talented women, beautiful women are destined for a short life, it's really pitiful... how can you turn it into a joke?'"

  "With so many men messing around with her, how could she not be thin?" Lei Dapeng said disdainfully. Seeing Si Muxian being choked, he came up with an even more ruthless one: "You're not as good as Single Lao Da, Single Lao Da said it well, women are all like that, chest out and proud, head held high, two legs clamping the water screen hole, the bigger the mountain, the more scenic, the deeper the hole, the more mysterious... since ancient times, one hole and two mountains have buried countless heroes... stop messing around, hurry up and pack your things, we can't stay here."

  Lei Dapeng stood up, and Simu Xian was so annoyed by Lei's appreciative gaze that his stomach hurt. However, he didn't dare to slow down, or else they would get caught by the administrator again and have a lot of trouble. The two of them walked in single file, carrying their equipment towards the place where they were hiding fish. When Simu Xian saw three cars, he was taken aback and pointed at them, asking: "Isn't it excessive to drive two Toyota Land Cruisers and bring beauties along for a warehouse inspection? Is this not our business?"

  "You're crazy, you can't even recognize numbers, look at that license plate, it's from the Municipal Government Management Bureau. Look at those people, they're not ordinary, you've offended them, and the consequences are more severe than stealing fish." Lei Dapeng explained with a puzzled expression, his mouth agape as he spoke, pulling Simu Xian along as they ran. But Simu Xian knew that when it came to social experience, the title of "idiot" would never belong to Lei Dapeng. The two ran one after the other, and as they ran, Lei Dapeng shouted into his walkie-talkie:

  "Potato, potato, I'm a sweet potato... The water's coming, hurry up and run."

  This is a notice from Shan Na Tou, the online catcher of Wang Ba, compiled by Lei Da Peng's cryptic language. The two relatives of potatoes and pumpkins used the urban management channel, speaking while running, carrying equipment weighing over 100 kilograms. Lei Da Peng, this lazy guy, didn't think it was heavy, nor did he call out in distress. Using his hands and feet, he crossed through the thorny thickets and barbed wire, scattering in the direction of the mountain pass parking lot...