Just as the bait was set, Ye Siyan asked, "Sister, when will we catch a fish?"
Yu Xinyan hadn’t replied yet when Ye Silai pulled his brother to sit down: "Sit properly, don’t distract sister, and don’t talk so loudly, or you’ll scare the fish away."
Little Siyan quickly covered his mouth when he heard his brother, his big eyes blinking as he gestured to Yu Xinyan to indicate that he would stay quiet.
Yu Xinyan smiled at the two brothers, then cast the fishing hook, and all three of them focused intently on the bobber.
Yu Xinyan had a lot of confidence in the bait made with the space stream water, so she brought a flat rock from a little farther away to the shore, ready to sit down when the bobber reacted.
Afraid that the fish might unhook, she lifted it along the bobber’s angle, and soon a grass carp of about three pounds was tossed onto the shore.
The two little guys got overly excited, and Little Siyan, forgetting Yu Xinyan’s warning, ran towards the fish.
But Ye Silai reacted quickly and pulled him back: "Sister said not to get close to the shore. If you don’t listen, sister will get mad."
Ye Siyan stopped in his tracks, glanced at the fish flung onto the shore, and returned to his original spot.
Nonetheless, he jumped and shouted excitedly: "Oh, sister, you’re amazing. We’ve got fish to eat!"
Nearby, there were others fishing, and hearing their shouts, they looked over.
Just like that, Yu Xinyan caught three big fish in no time, which thrilled Ye Silai and Ye Siyan. Little Siyan couldn’t stop saying, "Sister is the best."
The other anglers by the shore heard the commotion and came over, nodding in praise as they saw the fish Yu Xinyan had tossed into the bucket: "The young lady is quite skilled."
Yu Xinyan humbly said, "Just good luck today."
But before those people could leave, the bobber, which had only been in the water a short while, reacted again. This time it was a Jihua Fish weighing a full three pounds, making those about to leave reconsider: "This young lady really has a knack."
Yu Xinyan smiled as she placed the fish in the bucket, reminding Ye Silai to keep an eye on his brother. An hour later, those watching were indeed impressed, as Yu Xinyan’s bucket was already full, and all the fish were over two pounds each.
Some had been there since the morning and only caught a few small ones, while others hadn’t caught any at all. Quite a few thought of buying fish, and finally, someone spoke up: "Young lady, can I trade a ticket for one of your fish?"
At first, Yu Xinyan didn’t say anything, and everyone thought she was hesitant, so someone chimed in: "Miss, there’s a market now, the rules have changed, no one’s going to care about private trades anymore, as long as it’s mutual, there’s no problem."
Yu Xinyan feigned difficulty, and after much persuasion, she reluctantly nodded.
Quickly, the fish in the bucket were all taken, though there was no scale, Uncle Jiang, a retired worker from the state-run market, accurately estimated each catch by hand.
All the fish in the bucket were sold, naturally at a cheaper price for those with tickets, and market rate plus five cents per pound for those without, to which everyone agreed, as the fish were very fresh indeed.
Finding an excuse, Yu Xinyan picked up the empty bucket and equipment, and left Yuquan River with Ye Silai and Ye Siyan.
Ye Silai and Ye Siyan were a bit puzzled; they’d sold all the fish, so what were they going to eat that night?
Little Siyan couldn’t hold it in: "Sister, we’ve sold all the fish; what are we going to eat tonight?"