Chapter 136: Watching the Rain with My Wife by the Slate River at Night

Lin Heng jumped down from his horse and laughed heartily as he looked at him. “You’ve got a good eye.”

As he spoke, he helped Xiulan and Xiaoxia down from the horse.

“You look awesome, bro!” Lin Hai walked over and patted the horse’s neck.

This horse was taller and looked much more impressive. Lin Hai patted it with a hint of envy.

“Can I try riding it, bro?” Lin Hai asked hopefully.

“You don’t know how to ride—don’t mess around,” Lin Heng warned.

“Got it!”

Lin Hai nodded and climbed onto the horse. Sitting on such a majestic horse really made him feel grand.

After riding a few steps, Lin Hai got down.

Lin Heng looked at him. “Wanna come eat at my place?”

“No, no, I’ve still got some straw to carry home for the cows. You guys head on back.”

Waving his hand, Lin Hai turned and walked back down into the fields by the road.

“Alright then, we’re off.” Lin Heng waved as well, leading the horse behind Xiulan and Xiaoxia.

They chose a small path to walk home, avoiding the main road through the village center.

They still ran into a few people along the way, but it was much better than the crowd they’d drawn near the ginkgo trees.

Xiulan took Xiaoxia home, while Lin Heng led the horse to the old house.

His parents had just returned as well and were spreading out the freshly picked schisandra berries in a sieve.

“Wasn’t the horse you saw a yellow one? How come it’s red now?” Lin’s father asked curiously when he saw the horse his son brought back.

“Got lucky today and ran into this red-maned beauty. I’ve named her Hongzao—doesn’t she look powerful?” Lin Heng said with a smile.

Lin’s father came over to stroke the horse and was clearly fond of it. “She really is something. How much did you pay?”

Lin Heng explained how he bought the horse, and after hearing it, Lin’s mother looked disapproving. “You silly boy, money must be burning a hole in your pocket. Giving them an extra fifty yuan? Who doesn’t have their own troubles? We work hard for every penny.”

“Mom, this is what they call ‘spending a fortune on a horse’s bones’—except I’m buying reputation. Don’t look at the fifty as a loss. There’ll be lots of benefits down the line,” Lin Heng said with a grin.

“Still too much. Twenty or thirty would’ve been plenty,” his mother shook her head.

His father gave the horse another once-over, then got on for a little ride.

Not long after, Lin Heng’s eldest brother heard the commotion and came over to try riding it too.

“Dad, big bro, where do you think would be a good spot to build the stable?” Lin Heng was now wondering where to keep the horse.

“We can build it behind the house. I was thinking of getting a dog anyway, nothing’s unsafe there,” Lin Yue suggested.

He was referring to the area where they kept pigs and chickens.

“That spot works. We didn’t put up fences before, but now that we’ve got a diesel saw, we can use wooden rails in a few days and then build a proper stable,” their father nodded in agreement.

“Alright, if we fix the road out back a bit, it should be no problem.” Lin Heng nodded.

“You heading down to the river tonight? Dad and I are planning to catch softshell turtles. Got the nets ready,” Lin Yue asked. That was actually why he came by.

“No problem. If you guys are going, I’m in. With rain boots on, we’re not afraid of snakes,” Lin Heng replied with a grin. He was always up for river adventures.

“Great. Let’s head out around nine. Going too early’s no good—eels and turtles come out pretty late,” Lin Yue said with a smile.

With the plan made, Lin Heng led Hongzao back home.

He tied her in the front yard for now, then went out and chopped ten stalks of corn, grabbed a bundle of straw, and brought over a basin of water.

Hongzao drank the water first, then started munching on the corn leaves slowly and contentedly. She didn’t seem too interested in the straw.

Inside, Xiulan was already cooking. When she saw Lin Heng come in, she said, “Go feed the animals and pets. Mom probably didn’t give them much at noon.”

“Okay!” Lin Heng stepped out to feed the animals in the front yard first.

Before he knew it, the number of animals at home had grown quite a bit. For pets, they had Xiongba, Jinbao, and Hongzao.

Other animals included a badger, a musk deer, some softshell turtles, and goats kept by Lin’s mother, along with the chickens and ducks behind the mountain.

“Xiongba, you’ll have to stay hungry for a bit. Once dinner’s ready, you can eat.” As he passed the kennel, Lin Heng said this to the excited dog.

“Awwoo~” Xiongba let out a dissatisfied howl.

Lin Heng finished feeding the musk deer and the badger, then took Xiaoxia to feed the chickens and ducks.

When they got to the chicken coop, they found three more eggs besides the usual nest egg. After feeding the chickens, he happily collected the eggs.

Now they were getting at least three eggs a day. The main reason was his feeding technique.

A month before the hens’ laying period, he started reducing their feed. Then, once the laying period began, he resumed normal feeding, which increased the laying rate. On top of that, he always mixed bentonite into the feed and gave them cold mountain spring water.

All of these methods encouraged the hens to lay more eggs. Naturally, they got more eggs, though it meant feeding them more as well.

He looked around the yard again, thinking about where exactly to build the stable.

His daughter was looking around too, but she seemed tired today and didn’t run around as usual.

“Let’s head back.”

Lin Heng shook his head and went inside. Xiulan had already boiled the water. Tonight, they were just having simple sauerkraut noodles.

After dinner and a little playtime, Lin Heng read a story to coax his daughter to sleep.

Once she was asleep, Lin Heng put on his rain boots, grabbed a cloth bag and three rechargeable high-beam flashlights.

“Xiulan, go to sleep first. I’ve got the key. I’ll lock the door and open it myself when I’m back.”

After telling his wife, Lin Heng turned and headed out.

“Watch out for snakes,” Xiulan said, holding onto him for a moment before letting go.

Outside, Lin Heng first took off the saddle from Hongzao—he’d forgotten earlier. Then he locked the front gate and headed to the old house.

His father and brother were already wearing rain boots and holding their gear, chatting inside. When they saw Lin Heng arrive, Lin Yue smiled and said, “Lin Heng’s here—let’s head out.”

“Here, use my flashlight. Leave yours at home,” Lin Heng said, handing his flashlight to his brother and father.

“This is a nice one,” his father said in surprise after switching it on.

Lin Yue couldn’t help nodding. “With this high-powered flashlight, we’re definitely going to have a big haul tonight!”

Lin Heng glanced over—his dad was carrying a plastic bucket with a bag inside, and his brother was holding two scoop nets, handing one over to him.

“Where should we start searching?” their father asked once they reached the road.

Lin Heng pointed upstream. “I suggest we start from here and work our way up. Not many people from Shimen Village go fishing or turtle hunting up there, so the chances should be better.”

“That’s what I was thinking too. I even heard two days ago that someone from Baimacun downstream was using bamboo spikes to hunt softshell turtles. If we go down that way, chances are slim,” Lin Yue nodded.

This bamboo spike method involves stabbing sharpened bamboo into the sand to search for turtles—usually done in groups and often yielding some results.

“Then let’s go!”

The three of them cut across the harvested rice fields and stepped into the river.

At night, with flashlights beaming through the clear water, fish and shrimp were fully exposed—whether stone loaches, Chinese hooksnout carps (called “peach blossom fish”), or yellow catfish, they all moved much slower than in daylight.

The three split up, with Lin Heng taking the lead while his father and older brother followed behind as a pair.

“Look at that fat yellow catfish! Quick, chase it!” Lin Yue set up his scoop net while their father nudged it with a stick, and just like that, a catfish weighing around 100 grams was caught.

Lin Heng took a look, flashlight in his mouth, scoop net in one hand, and a stick in the other. With a quick jab, he caught a hooksnout carp weighing about 50 grams.

These fish are lightning-fast during the day, and unless you drug the water or use electricity, they’re impossible to catch. But at night, they’re much easier.

Leading the way, Lin Heng caught several more, deliberately keeping some distance from his father and brother so that after he finished a spot, the water would clear up again by the time they got there—allowing them to catch any stragglers.

“There are some eels here!”

A few dozen meters further, Lin Heng reached a long, narrow pool. He shone his flashlight into the water and saw several yellow eels lying motionless in the sandy bottom, likely waiting to ambush passing fish.

“How big are they?”

His father and brother quickly rushed over.

“Pretty big. The biggest one looks close to a pound,” his dad said, surprised at the sight.

“Bro, hold my stuff. I’m going in,” Lin Heng said, kicking off his shoes and pulling off his pants.

Catching eels can only be done by hand or with special eel tongs—scoop nets are useless, as they’d learned the hard way many times.

Lin Heng trusted his hands more than the tongs.

There were five in total, one smaller one in deep water which he immediately gave up on. He quietly approached the biggest eel, reached down slowly, and then—swift, accurate, clean—grabbed it in one go and flung it onto the sandbank. His brother took over from there while he moved on to the next.

With a sandy bottom, all four eels were caught without missing a single one.

“Impressive!” his dad praised. His second son’s eel-catching skills had become flawless.

“Let’s keep going!” Lin Heng grinned and pulled his clothes and shoes back on.

They caught whatever they came across—fish, shrimp, eels, turtles—nothing was spared.

A short distance ahead, their father suddenly shouted, “There are two more eels here!”

Lin Heng came over and took a look, shaking his head. “Chances are slim.”

Not because the water was deep, but because the eels were lying on rocks. Reaching down onto hard surfaces made it too difficult to get a grip.

He tried anyway, but just as expected, both slipped away.

The night was cloudy. The crescent moon stayed hidden behind thick clouds, and the land was pitch dark. Fireflies occasionally floated along the riverbank, blinking softly and adding a touch of light to the night.

Lin Heng spotted a shadow in the water and shone his light on it, startled. “Whoa!”

He thought it was an eel, but it turned out to be a water snake lurking in the shallows waiting to snatch fish.

“Keep your distance!” All three of them instinctively detoured around it.

Nighttime river hunting was pure joy—constant catches, hard to stop.

Before they knew it, they’d reached the border with Shimen Village. Maybe luck wasn’t on their side tonight—it was already 10:50, and they hadn’t caught a single turtle.

“How much have we got so far?”

They found a sandy patch where Lin Heng paused to ask. His father had been carrying all the catches.

“Quite a lot. I’d say there’s at least seven or eight pounds of fish in this bucket, and maybe six or seven pounds of eels too,” his dad said with a smile.

“I’ve got about three pounds of fish, I think. Anyway, we’ve caught a decent amount,” Lin Yue added.

They hadn’t separated their hauls—all the catch went into the same containers. They weren’t planning to sell any of it; it was all for themselves.

“Let’s keep going. I refuse to believe we won’t catch a single turtle tonight,” Lin Heng said and pressed forward.

At this point, they weren’t even focusing on fish anymore—just scanning for turtles. They’d caught more than enough fish to eat.

Of course, if they came across a big fish or eel, they wouldn’t let it go. They just weren’t as meticulous anymore.

Lin Heng had already moved up ahead when suddenly his brother Lin Yue shouted in surprise, “I caught a turtle!”

Lin Heng: “???”

“For real?” their father quickly turned around.

They’d both been ahead and somehow hadn’t noticed anything.

“Look!” Lin Yue loosened his foot a bit, revealing a turtle with a shell covered in moss pinned under it.

“Not big, probably just over a pound. It was in the moss by the riverbank. You guys didn’t spot it,” Lin Yue grinned.

“Big bro’s got the luck tonight,” Lin Heng said with a hint of envy.

“Haha!” Lin Yue chuckled proudly.

They bagged the turtle and moved on.

In no time, it was already 11:30. Just as Lin Heng was about to call it a night, he shone his flashlight and was suddenly stunned.

He’d thought it was another snake at first, but on closer inspection—it was an eel. And not just any eel—this one was massive.

It was at least half a meter long, and as thick as a baby’s arm. He didn’t even call the others, worried he might scare it off. Cautiously, he reached out.

This time, he switched up his approach—grabbed it in one swift motion and hurled it onto the sandy shore, then ran over and pinned it down.

“Hurry over here, this yellow eel weighs at least three jin!” Lin Heng shouted excitedly as he held it down.

Lin’s father and older brother quickly ran over.

Lin Yue took one look and exclaimed in shock, “From a distance, I thought you caught a snake. This thing is huge!”

Their father quickly opened the bag, afraid it might escape. “This is definitely three jin, maybe even four. Just this one yellow eel alone makes the whole night worth it.”

Once the eel was secured in the bag, Lin Heng finally relaxed. If it had gotten away, he’d be regretting it for at least half a month.

“Should we keep going?” their father asked.

Lin Heng shook his head. “Nah, I doubt we’ll get anything else.”

They had enough eels, and he was getting tired. Besides, it was often the case that once you caught a big one, it was pointless to keep fishing—better to stop while ahead.

“I’ll go take a quick look up ahead. If there’s nothing, we’ll head back,” said their father, nodding as he walked further upstream with the flashlight.

Two or three minutes later, he returned, grinning. “I caught a softshell turtle! Look.”

He held up a turtle weighing two or three jin, even bigger than the one Lin Yue had caught earlier.

Lin Heng: “???”

“Hahaha! Looks like fate just isn’t on your side tonight when it comes to turtles, little brother,” Lin Yue laughed, clapping Lin Heng on the shoulder.

Their father’s face was glowing with excitement. “So, do we go back now or keep going?”

“Of course we keep going! No way we’re leaving now,” Lin Heng stood up and led the charge again.

They walked upstream for another half hour. The river had thinned into a stream, and there were barely any fish left.

“Looks like it really wasn’t meant to be,” Lin Heng sighed. He should’ve called it a night earlier.

It was like preparing to pack up, only to see someone else reel in a big fish—it gives you hope, but it rarely pays off. He hadn’t been able to resist.

“Let’s head back.”

The three of them followed the riverbank downstream, scanning for any more turtles or eels. They weren’t catching any more fish.

As they neared the road, Lin Heng’s eyes suddenly lit up. He reached into the sandy riverbank and pulled out a palm-sized pond turtle.

“Damn, I thought it was a big one.” He sighed and shook his head, no longer holding onto hope.

So they took the road home. The walk was cool and breezy, but they didn’t see any more animals. Instead, lightning began flashing across the sky, illuminating the night with blinding bursts.

By the time they got home, it was already 1 a.m.—the latest Lin Heng had stayed up since his rebirth.

“Let’s not bother sorting things tonight. Keep the turtles and eels alive, soak the fish in cold water. We’ll deal with it early tomorrow,” Lin Heng said, looking at their haul. He was honestly exhausted.

His father and older brother agreed. If they started sorting everything now, it’d be 2 or 3 a.m. before they finished.

Lin Heng carried the stuff home. As he walked, tiny raindrops began to fall on his face. He figured their bad luck tonight might’ve had something to do with the coming rain.

He opened the door and stepped into the courtyard. He tied the red jujube tree at the gate where it wouldn’t get rained on under the eaves. The ground might get dirty, but there was no helping that—he couldn’t just leave it to get soaked.

He fetched a basin of water and took a quick shower, then quietly opened the bedroom door and went in.

His daughter was fast asleep, a sweet smile on her face.

His wife lay on her back, summer blanket only covering her stomach. Her long, slender legs were crossed and snow-white, clearly visible even in the dim light.

Lin Heng didn’t disturb her. He took off his shoes and lay down beside her. Just as he did, Xiulan suddenly turned and wrapped her arms around him, draping one long leg over his body.

“How’d it go?” Xiulan asked softly.

“You weren’t asleep, were you? Still pretending,” Lin Heng teased, pinching her waist.

Xiulan rested her head on his chest. “I woke up when you opened the door.”

Lin Heng wrapped his arms around her and said, “Pretty good, I guess. We caught around ten jin of fish and eels. Dad and my brother each caught a turtle. I only got a small pond turtle—guess I was unlucky.”

Coming home to a wife like this waiting for him—what a blessing.

“That’s still not bad at all,” Xiulan praised.

Lin Heng gently lifted her chin and whispered, “Then give your man a little reward.”

Xiulan gave him a quick kiss, but Lin Heng pulled her in for a deep one.

Just as he was about to unwrap the package, Xiulan stopped him with a soft giggle, “No, I’m afraid you won’t be able to control yourself again, and you won’t wake up tomorrow!”

Lin Heng pointed outside. “It’s raining. What’s there to be afraid of?”

Then he went in for another kiss.

Outside, the lightning and thunder grew more intense. As the storm escalated, a torrential downpour finally came, drenching the world in sheets of rain.

Inside, Xiulan reluctantly changed the bedsheet and wiped her legs, wet from someone’s “attention.”

She glanced at the man beside her, lay on his chest, and thought maybe she ought to crush him under her weight.

Lin Heng said nothing. With the coolness after the rain, he hugged his wife and gradually drifted off to sleep.

The rain continued through the night and hadn’t stopped by morning. If anything, it was coming down even harder.

Lin Heng woke up to find his wife snuggling closer. She nudged him gently and said softly, “Go open the window a little—I want to watch the rain.”

“Okay.” Lin Heng couldn’t refuse her, so he opened the window just a crack, then lay back down and held her as they watched the rain together.

With the summer blanket pulled up, even the breeze wasn’t cold—just the right kind of cool.

(End of chapter)