On the other hand the people from neighboring village felt astonished from Xujiacun’s great harvest so a curious person asked his captain”How did Xujiacun village catch so many fish?” a man from the neighboring village grumbled, his voice laced with suspicion. “Maybe they also learned our tricks. This year, all our fish must have gone to their village.”
“Yes, Captain!” another chimed in, his face contorted in dissatisfaction. “Did Xujiacun throw things into our village’s side ?” The insinuation hung heavy in the air. While they had indeed thrown things into Xujia Village’s section of the river for years, it had never resulted in such a dismal catch for their own nets. They had just cast three nets, and each held only a few scrawny fish. The sight of the plump fish overflowing Xujia Village’s nets filled the people of Lijia Village with bitter jealousy. They looked to their Captain, desperate for a solution. If this continued, how many fish would their village even share this year?
“Captain, what should we do? We can’t let Xujiacun take all this bounty!”
The Captain of Lijia Village, an old man with a heavy, troubled face, had no answers. In past years, their village had enjoyed bountiful harvests, while Xujiacun consistently lagged behind. He knew perfectly well how his village had managed to catch so many fish. Now, with so few fish in their own nets and so many in Xujia Village’s, he understood what had transpired. But he dared not accuse Xujiacun of tampering with the river. If the truth were revealed, the Captain of Xujiacun, a shrewd man, would surely realize what had been happening all these years, and the repercussions would be severe.
With a gloomy face, the Captain of Lijia Village scowled at his agitated villagers. “What should we do? What can we do? If you have the ability, then drive the fish back to us. If you don’t have the guts, then just shut up and catch what you can this year.”
“Captain, are we just going to watch so many fish being caught by Xujiacun?”
“Otherwise, go and pick a fight with the people of Xujia Village,” the Captain of Lijia Village retorted sarcastically. “When they ask what happened, tell them what they did , and then they’ll tell everyone what we did in previous years!”
But the villagers couldn’t bear to watch Xujia Village’s overflowing nets. Though their village had always netted more fish than Xujia Village in the past, it was never this abundant.
Father Xu, naturally, noticed the resentful glances from Lijia Village. He immediately gathered his villagers. “Take these fish back first. We’ll net again in the afternoon.”
“Captain, there are so many fish right now! If we leave, what if they swim to the next village?” one man protested.
“That’s right, Captain,” another agreed. “You take a few people to divide the fish first, and we brothers will continue netting.”
“Dad, they’re right,” Xu Ying advised, her voice surprisingly firm. “What if all the fish run away by afternoon? If you catch more now, everyone can have a good reunion this year.” She was a person who believed in clear-cut fairness. Her father, she knew, wasn’t thinking about their past grievances; he simply couldn’t bear to see Lijia Village’s pitiful catch. In previous years, when Lijia Village had enjoyed such abundance, they hadn’t given a thought to Xujia Village’s meager haul. Why should they yield their bounty now? Her father was simply too kind.
“Daughter, there aren’t many fish in Lijia Village,” Father Xu mused, his brow furrowed with concern.
Xu Ying curled her lips. “It’s none of our business if they have fewer fish. It’s not like we stole their fish. In previous years, they always had more fish than our village. This time, our village has so many fish; maybe it’s just making up for their past deficits. Dad, look how happy everyone is. You can’t ruin everyone’s happiness.”
“Why are there so many fish this year? It can be considered a good year!” one villager exclaimed, joy bubbling over.
“Isn’t it?” another chimed in. “In previous years, our village always caught the least fish. Every time I saw others taking fish home to visit relatives during the holidays, my wife felt so uncomfortable when she brought meager gifts to her parents’ house. This year is great! If I spend an afternoon netting later, I’ll probably get a lot more. Then I’ll ask my wife to take some to her parents’ family.”
“Me too! I’ll ask my wife to take more to her parents’ house!”
The men, bustling with activity, beamed with happiness. Father Xu looked at the joyous smiles on their faces and finally suppressed the kindness in his heart. That’s all right, he thought. As long as the people in our village are happy.
“You all come back with me. Let’s divide the fish now. I see there are a lot of fish this year, so we’ll divide it per head. I think one family can get a good share. This year can be regarded as God taking care of us, and we all can have a good year,” Father Xu declared with a smile.
The men he had pointed to immediately wiped the water from their hands, oblivious to their fingers turning purple from the icy water. They hoisted their basins and buckets with broad smiles. “There are abundent of fish this year !” one shouted. “Uncle Captain, Yingying is such a good cook, can you teach everyone how to cook fish this year? In previous years, the boiled fish my wife made was terrible.”
“Yingying, can you teach everyone how to gut and fry it every year? Although it’s delicious, you can also try other tricks,” another man suggested, his face alight with anticipation.
“Okay, I guess I’ll be on vacation in another week, and then I’ll find a day to teach everyone how to cook fish,” Xu Ying replied, a playful twinkle in her eye. “But our family doesn’t provide fish; you all have to bring your own fish.”
The villagers erupted in laughter hearing this . “There’s no reason to ask the master to give us fish! We apprentices should all give fish to the master! When our daughter-in-law at home will make the fish according to your teachings ready, they had to let Master Yingying taste it!”
“That’s no good, I can’t eat that much!” Xu Ying protested playfully.
“If you can’t eat it, let your parents, brothers, and sisters-in-law eat it!”
“That’s it! Why wouldn’t you eat some more fish? If it weren’t for you this year, our village wouldn’t be able to live such a good life. After the New Year and the beginning of spring, my family will build a new house, thanks to you, Yingying!” Though his wife hadn’t been selected to work in the workshop, she had made a substantial sum selling vegetables and mountain products in the village this year. Moreover, the wages for villagers building houses were low; they only needed to cover material costs and provide meals. If other families built houses, they could help each other without any wages.
“Our family is going to build a house in the spring too, so let’s build it together in partnership!”
“Okay, my house is too dilapidated. It leaks when it rains. It won’t work if we don’t build it. I never thought that one day our family would be able to build a new house!”
Everyone’s faces were beaming with joy. It wasn’t even the New Year yet, but Father Xu could already see the festive cheer radiating from them. He, too, felt immense pride, for his greatest wish as captain was to see the entire village prosper. He hadn’t achieved it, but his daughter had helped him do it.
“For families with a baby, five pounds of fish will be given first, for five members in the family,” Father Xu announced, taking notes. Immediately, someone retrieved a fish, and the daughter-in-law with the baby hurried to borrow a scale.
“Why are there so many fish this year? Wasn’t it only three kilograms in previous years?” the mother-in-law mused, her voice filled with delight as she eyed the abundant catch.
“My brother caught more fish this year. you only gained 5 jins now. Maybe you will get another 5 jins in the afternoon,” the young man dividing the fish said with a smile.
The daughter-in-law with the baby beamed, unable to contain her happiness. “Oh, what’s going on this year? Why are there so many happy events? I said the captain of our village is capable! I saw that this year, among the eight nearby villages, our village had the best year!”