pull! It’s time to pull! The old man said to the navy.
The navy stood firm on the side of the ship, closed the net hard, and pulled it upward.
The old man put down the bloody steel fork and came to help close the net. Soon the net was pulled onto the boat. A big eel was caught in the net. Its tail and fins were shaking from time to time, making the net tremble constantly.
This was the first time the navy saw this kind of fish. He was so happy that he used his feet to stir up the slippery body of the big eel. He found that its belly was big and swollen, so he asked his grandfather if there were eggs in the belly of this big eel. Grandpa said yes, the navy wanted to release it, and he also said with some reason: put it back into the sea, it would scatter its eggs and grow more eels.
Grandpa smiled coldly, and the wrinkles on his face became angular. He said, silly boy, the sea is vast and boundless. If you let it go, even if the scattered eggs give birth to eels, how will it be your turn to catch them? As he spoke, he bent down, took the fresh eel out of the fishing net, and put it into a bucket half filled with water. Grandpa also gave a reason to let it spit out the dirt in its belly in the bucket, so that cooking it would be hygienic and delicious.
The big eel spit out white foam from its mouth and felt more comfortable when it was put into a bucket with water. However, the volume of the wooden bucket was too small, and its tail could not be extended. It could only half-bend and swing with difficulty. It had a fear of being imprisoned. It bounced a few times in the bucket, jumped out instinctively, and fell on the sampan, which was only slightly wet but without water. This made it even more uncomfortable, and it jumped even harder.
The navy shouted to catch it and put it into the bucket. It became a little sleepy and no longer beat violently.
As the sun set and it was getting late, the old man slowly bent the fishing boat into the western harbor, docked and anchored. The navy picked up the wooden barrels filled with big and small fish from the ship and put them on the shore with great effort. He was breathing heavily and still looked at the big eel with interest. It lay on its back with its bulging white belly and its mouth. Still moving.
The old man took down the fishing net, put it into a long strand and put it on his shoulder, and walked straight to the fishing village. The fishing village is to the west of the sea, where there are brick and wood structures with tiled houses, like Rubik's cubes, stacked up in an orderly manner.
The old man and his grandson walked around a row of khaki-colored bungalows and turned a corner. There was another bungalow in front of them. To the north of the bungalow was a sloping house with a square chimney protruding from it, emitting wisps of gray smoke. This is their home.
The navy took a bucket of fish to the door, put it down to rest for a while, and was about to carry it into the main room. Grandpa asked him to put it down and separate the small fish and the big fish into piles. Only the big eel was not taken out, so the space in the bucket was naturally larger. It no longer had to squeeze in, but adjusted its belly-turned-up body to a slightly more suitable state. Its tail swung from time to time, and its green back also swayed. Look, It looks like a series of condensed rolling mountains.
Separate the big and small fish, who will sell them at the market tomorrow? The navy asked this, but it inadvertently touched the old man's sore spot.
Thirteen years ago, his son, the father of the navy, went out early in the morning to sell fish and did not come home until late at night. The next day, the family couldn't find her anywhere. They posted thousands of computer-printed advertisements in thousands of villages and shops, but they still couldn't find her. The police who reported the case to the police station were helpless as they had no clues. When her son disappeared, the navy was only 7 years old. His mother suffered from tuberculosis and was unable to bear weight for many years. She had no means of living and relied on him as a father-in-law and grandfather to go fishing and sell money at sea to take care of them. Now the navy is a 20-year-old young man. In a flash, recalling this bitter past, the old man's face suddenly changed and he cried secretly.
Seeing the sad look on his grandfather's face, the navy didn't ask any more questions and divided the big and small fish into two piles by himself. Grandpa said slowly: I will sell it. The navy said: Then I will go fishing alone. The grandfather was worried that it would not be safe for his grandson to go fishing alone, so he smiled and said: "The navy listens to me. Tomorrow we will go to the market together to sell out all the fish, and then go fishing together. Wouldn't it be better?"
It was getting dark, and the lights in the house were getting brighter. An old woman wearing an apron came out, looked at two piles of sea fish, big and small, and said, old man, today's harvest is not small.
At this time, she saw the big eel in the barrel under the light, and happily shook the handle of the barrel. The big eel was jumping around inside, almost jumping out, and the salty and turbid water splashed on it. The skirt of an old woman's clothes.
The navy shouted: Grandma, don’t touch it. Grandma walked aside, and grandpa asked her jokingly: "Look, how much can this big eel be sold for?" Grandma replied firmly: No matter how much money it can be sold, she won’t sell it. This kind of fish is very nutritious and is reserved for the navy. The navy is at home for the summer and will go to school next month. Grandpa said: If you don’t want to sell it, you won’t sell it. Depending on your cooking skills, if this eel doesn’t taste good, the navy will blame you.
The crouching navy man stood up and said that no matter what grandma does, I won't blame him. I believe grandma has first-class cooking skills.
Haijun was a student at a national university. Because his family was poor, he went fishing with his grandfather to help him during the summer vacation. With the navy by his side, grandpa is more energetic in casting his net for fishing.
Grandma walked around again and looked at the barrel and said to herself: The water in there is too muddy and needs to be replaced with fresh water, otherwise the big eel will choke to death. She dusted off the mercury splashing on her clothes, then picked up the bucket and went into the house to change the water.
The big eel was choking uncomfortably in the wooden bucket. Suddenly he saw an old woman decanting the water in the wooden bucket. It felt that the water was getting less and less, and became more and more nervous. Its body and fins jumped. As the saying goes: Fish cannot live without water, and flowers cannot live without seedlings. It's really uncomfortable for the big eel to be out of the water now. Its mouth keeps moving, but what's the use of that? It feels that its life is about to end, not only its own life, but also the eggs in its belly-its countless descendants will be destroyed. It kept jumping in panic, and the water in the bucket was decanted. The mother held down its slippery body with her hands to prevent it from moving, but it struggled to death, raising and lowering its head and tail with difficulty. ,Repeatedly.
Suddenly, there was a turning point. Mom held a ladle in her other hand and scooped out water. The clear water poured into the barrel, gradually filling it up. Mom had already let go of the hand holding down the eel, and the eel happily dived into the water, thinking there was hope of escape. But it didn’t understand why its mother did this, and it also felt that the water quality was much better now, not as choking as the original turbid water.
What still frightens the eel is that the round walls of the wooden barrel cannot be broken open. If it were broken open, there must be a larger body of water outside, an unobstructed sea where you can swim freely. It imagined this, The mood calmed down, the small sharp knife head no longer hit the barrel wall, and the waves in the barrel calmed down to zero.
It rested in the bucket for a long time, and the sky turned from thick darkness to light clarity. It seemed that one night had passed, and it was already early morning. The navy and grandpa got up and went to sell fish in the morning. Mom was the only one at home. Her shadow fell solemnly into the barrel, darkening the body of the big eel. The big eel knew that someone came to the barrel to look at it. It flicked vigilantly, and the water splashed out of the barrel, turning into mercury and falling on my mother. on the back of the hand.
