The weather is really hot. The sun is glaring with its blazing eyes. The heat is steaming upwards, making it hot and suffocating. I wonder if it will slowly melt away as I walk outside.

My sister was holding my mother, and I was holding my sister. Just as we were about to join the crowd, my sister suddenly grabbed my mother and asked, "Mom, how can we catch fish if we don't have anything? Look at them, they also have nets and buckets." …”

"Yeah..." Mother paused, "But your father is not at home. There is only one swing net at home and we can't use it. Forget it, you are too young to go into the water. I have to watch you from the shore. Let's first Let's go and see the excitement..." After that, he pulled us into the crowd and was carried away. The streets were filled with dust.

In the blink of an eye, people gathered in front of the pond on the north side of the road at the west entrance of the village. The water was not deep. Countless fish were floating on the water, breathing heavily, as if to challenge the crowd approaching, "Come on, come on." People He quickly rolled up his trouser legs and jumped into the water, and the fish disappeared instantly.

The young adults in the water were waving their arms and shouting, their legs were wading in the water, and their arms were inserted into the water to stir wildly. The old man was chasing the fish under the waves with a net on the shore, and some were fishing with fish. The net chased the fish who were panicking and the water surface quickly became turbid, and the green water turned gray. More and more people gathered around, and more people joined the wading team one after another.

Most of the women and children gathered around the shore to watch, shouting and screaming. The people in the water were even more excited. Some naughty children simply plunged into the bottom of the water. When they emerged again, their heads and bodies were covered with black mud. .

The water became more and more turbid, turning into mud soup. More and more algae were thrown ashore, trampled to pieces by people, and mixed into the mud. On the shore, some children slipped and fell on the mud, causing their mothers to scream loudly. Scolding. From time to time, someone closes the net, and several big white fish are tumbling and jumping in the net bag, causing bursts of boos, laughter, cheers, and shouts. At the same time, there are sounds of palms slapping the child's buttocks. The child Cries of protest.

Such a magnificent scene is tantamount to a riot involving life and death.

Some people cast nets randomly, intending to stir up the water surface and scare the fish. The fish drew fishing lines on the water, and people frantically chased the fishing lines and lowered the nets. Everyone yelled, and shouts and responses came and went. The fish were thrown to the shore with a bang, and the women quickly rushed to catch the fish and put them into buckets. There were fewer and fewer fish in the pond, and more and more fish were put in people's buckets.

The algae in the pond was either carried away by fishing nets or thrown to the shore, and almost all disappeared. The mud soup became thicker and thicker, and people became more and more excited, running around with their teeth and claws open. The people catching fish were even more powerful than the fish. There is a severe lack of oxygen at the bottom. The fish are scurrying away between the legs and fingers. From time to time, they surface to the surface to gasp for air. Their movements are getting slower and slower, and they have completely lost their usual arrow-like reflexes. Every swaying black spot on the water is A fish, these black spots completely exposed the fish's whereabouts, and the climax of anti-bay fishing began.

We, the three of us, may be the most lonely people in this wave of rebellion. My mother took my sister, and my sister took me. We stood on the shore blankly and watched the people in full swing. There were no relatives busy with us in the water. There was no need to cheer for anyone, just standing there stupidly, envious. My sister tilted her head in despair, while I pursed my lips and fiddled with the corners of my tattered clothes. The extremely excited people walking in front of us were too busy, and even There is no time to sympathize with us.

Gradually, the fish density becomes smaller, and most of the ones left are big fish lurking at the bottom of the water. It is no longer possible to catch fish by randomly casting nets. Experienced fishermen set up their swing nets and fish along the shore where there are few people. Patrolling back and forth, waiting for the fishing line exposed when the big fish escapes, ready to cast the net at any time. More people are holding fishing nets and vigilantly observing the black spots on the water. Some fish masters hold the fish pockets in their hands and mouth, and I groped around in the mud holes under the water, and sometimes I found something. Some strong and aggressive women also went into the water, carrying sieves, ready to insert under the black spots and catch the fish that were slow due to lack of oxygen.

Fishing in troubled waters is really a cruel way of fishing.

I was too young at the time, and I don’t even remember these scenes. If my mother had kept silent about this matter, this memory would have been buried forever by the dust of time. At that time, I was just indulging in not being able to fish for my father. Amidst the joy and sadness, I was deeply trapped in the emotion of incomparable envy for those big white fish in other people's buckets.

At all times, their world is in color, but our world is in black and white. Even the most familiar neighbors pretend not to see us, and just rush around us. Regarding this, I don't care, I guess they are out of good intentions, not because they are busy, because they clearly know that this moment is not the right time to disturb our sorrow.

The fishing line gradually calmed down, and there were fewer and fewer black spots. Some black spots were too small and were no longer worth fishing for. People were becoming less and less attractive to the mud. Many people looked down at the bucket and returned with satisfaction. . Supporting the old and the young, hugging each other, talking about the recipes and aroma of fish soup or fried fish while walking. At this time, there were several loud thunders in the sky, and the sky slowly turned gloomy.

Someone shouted: "It's thundering, it's going to rain!" Then everyone dispersed carrying their trophies.

Only the three of us didn't move. Firstly, we didn't want to join their triumphant return team empty-handed and talk to them about fish soup or frying fish. Secondly, at that moment, we didn't want to go home, we just wanted to go home. It rained heavily. As I spoke, the thick clouds became overwhelming.

When the first drop of rain fell, my sister just raised her little face, and the drop of rain fell on the tip of her small nose. She blinked and did not move. The wind suddenly blew from behind, making us stagger. I shuddered. My mother saw that people had been taken away by the broken houses and broken walls of the village, and only this broken pond was left in front of us and behind us. Then she took our little hands and said calmly, "Let's go!"

My sister seemed reluctant to leave, because I found that before she moved, she glanced behind her at the pond. After being dragged out by her mother for a few steps, she turned her gaze back to the front. As she walked, my mother said, "Maybe someone caught me." If there are too many fish to eat, some will be given to us." My sister and I didn't say anything. We didn't know what was going on in our two little heads. Our legs were walking mechanically and our four eyes were biting the ground tightly.

My sister suddenly broke free from her hands and squatted down, pointed at the ground, raised her head and shouted to her mother, "Mom, look, there is a small fish!" I looked around, and sure enough, there was a fish lying quietly among the green algae on the mud floor. There was a snow-white little fish, which looked smaller than a melon seed. To use the words of our rural people, it means, "Even if you put it in your eyes, you won't be able to catch it." It was such a small fish. But at that time In our eyes, it is exceptionally beautiful, small and exquisite.

The mother looked at it and said with a smile, "Hey, it's not much bigger than the eye of a needle. It can't be made into salt or sauce, so let's go!" After saying that, she was about to pick up her sister. But her sister withdrew her hand and stuck it on
Chapter completed!