Jiangbei Wukong is a small village built along the high hills along the river. At first, there were only a few fishermen living there while they were fishing. Later, as more people fished, they settled here.
It's not the rainy season yet, and the roads in the village can still lead to the outside. If the water comes, the village will become an isolated island, with no way out or in.
Haizi chose the highest house in the middle of the village. He estimated that this household must have arrived earlier and had certain strength in the village.
This is not only because this house occupies the most advantageous location in the village, it is also a relatively large house in the village, with five rooms in a row.
Haizi came to the yard. A big tied dog kept barking at Haizi. Two men, an old man and a young man, were sorting the fishing nets in the yard. The young man called to stop the dog and looked back at Haizi who suddenly appeared.
"What's the matter with you? Who did you come to my house to see?"
"I just want to buy some fish, we have guests at home."
Haizi observed while talking. He estimated that this was a family that was going through life, and they made a living by fishing. This could be seen from the hard work of the two people.
"What time of day is this? Where are the fish? If you want to buy fish, come back tomorrow morning."
The young fishermen were a little puzzled by the sudden arrival of Haizi, because usually people who come to buy fish never come at this time, which shows that the people who come here do not know the rules.
"Aren't you going fishing now? Do you think it's okay for me to help you?"
Haizi wanted to get closer to him in order to win the favor of the fisherman. However, the old man and the young man did not buy it. The old fisherman still asked Haizi to come back tomorrow.
"You can't trouble the guests. You'd better come back tomorrow morning."
"You're welcome, old man. I also want to see if fishing is interesting. Are you curious? It doesn't matter if you can buy fish."
Haizi continued to approach and get close to him. The two fishermen felt that this young man was not too offensive, so they stopped chasing Haizi away. Instead, they chatted with Haizi.
"The fishermen wake up early and work hard until late. They can't catch more fish, and they're so exhausted. What's the point? They're just trying to make ends meet."
"I'm just watching anyway. If you can help me, you can give me orders without hesitation. I'll have nothing to do if I have nothing to do."
"Let's do this. Follow me and carry the fishing net to the riverside. See if my brother can catch any fish when he lifts the net. If so, I will sell you some. Don't let your trip go in vain."
As the young man said this, he stuffed a pole under a pile of fishing nets. It seemed that they had already finished the fishing nets and agreed to let Haizi help deliver the fishing nets to the river.
"Dad, you don't have to go. I'll ask this young man to carry the fishing net over with me. If there are any fish, sell him some."
"This young man is quite honest, so I'll trouble you. If you have fish, sell it to him. We don't have to keep it to eat. It's not easy for him to make a trip."
The elderly fisherman also agreed with his son's suggestion, which made Haizi very happy. So Haizi happily carried the fishing net with the young man and walked towards the river along the winding path that had been trodden for a long time.
"Your fishing village is not big. How many households can there be?"
Haizi chatted with the young man while walking. He was not here purely to help, nor even to buy fish, so he had to achieve his goal through chatting.
"About twenty households."
"Are they all fishermen?"
"Not all of them, there are a few families who farm and also fish in their spare time."
"In such a small village, if a stranger comes, you can recognize him at a glance, right? Just like you know that I am an outsider at a glance.
"It's still a stranger. Even if a dog comes, everyone in this village will know."
"Has there been a stranger in your village recently, a woman carrying a child?"
Haizi asked tentatively, but the young fisherman was immediately alerted. He stopped and looked back at Haizi with doubt on his face.
"Why are you asking about this?"
"It's nothing. When I entered the village, I saw a woman carrying a child. I asked her which store sells fish, and she said she was not from the village and didn't know which store sold fish."
Haizi quickly made up something to respond to the young fisherman's question, and said that the woman was probably an outsider. He wanted to use such words to get the truth out of the young fisherman.
"She is the only one holding the baby, and there is no one else?"
"No, she's the only one holding a child and looking around. She looks very mysterious."
"This woman is really not from this village. She came here just a few days ago and stayed at Sangouzi's house, but Sangouzi and his wife Fat Duck didn't let her go out. How could she run out?"
"Then Sangouzi is also a fisherman?"
"What's the point of fishing? The couple doesn't do anything. It's okay to eat fish."
"Then what do they live on?"
"The couple moved here just a few years ago and built two small houses on the easternmost hillside. They don't go out much.
No one knows whether they are a real couple. They are about ten years apart, they have no children, they don’t work all day long, and they recruit some shady people. "
"Yeah, you have to be careful. If there is such a helpless family in a village, the whole village will not be at peace."
"No one interacts with his family, and his family doesn't interact with other people's families." The young fisherman said and changed the subject: "Are you tired? Let's take a break? I'm afraid that you have never done this work and will walk too far. Can’t stand it.”
"It's okay. It's all downhill. You're still in front and heavier than me. If you're not tired, let's keep walking."
Haizi changed shoulders and continued walking forward with the young fishermen carrying the fishing nets. He was already a little anxious at this time, because Haizi had concluded that Aunt Xiao San was in this village.
When they came to the riverside, the young fisherman and Haizi put the fishing net they were carrying at the designated location. The young fisherman pointed to the small fishing boat rowing towards this side in the water in the distance and told Haizi.
"That's my eldest brother. He just came back from the first trip to net, and the boat will arrive here in a while."
Haizi didn't say anything. He turned back to look at the village and said to the young fishermen: "You can see your village very clearly from here. Everyone can see it."
“If you greet someone from my yard, you don’t have to shout, just wave your hand and you’ll know.”
"I guess those two small houses are Sangouzi's house, right? Because the location is next to the post, and the small house is not big."
Haizi pointed in the direction and asked the young fisherman pretending to be nonchalant. Unexpectedly, the young fisherman answered quickly and showed disdain.
"It's their family. This family never leaves the house until they are adults, but they like to eat. They often come to me to buy fish. Most people are not familiar with their family."
After the young fisherman answered Haizi's question, he shouted to the river and asked his elder brother whether he had caught any fish when he lowered the net this time, because the small fishing boat was about to arrive at the river.
"There are not many fish. The wind has picked up on the river now." The boater came to the river and threw the fish in the net to the shore.
Haizi helped his two brothers drag the fishing nets onto the boat. The young fisherman immediately jumped on the boat and asked Haizi to weigh the fish at his house.
"I will set the fishing net with my elder brother. You can take those fish to my house and let my father weigh them and sell them to you. My brother and I will row away."
Haizi was very satisfied. He picked up the fish and carefully observed the location of Sangouzi's house while walking to the post. He wanted to memorize it so that he could take action next time.
Haizi walked back to the old fisherman's house, asked the old fisherman to pay his respects, and then hurriedly left the Jiangbei shack.
