She picked up the young prime minister while fleeing famine

Most of the sorghum flour sank when it fell into the water, but a small portion that was too coarse floated on the surface.

Banxia disliked the irritating taste of this stuff, saying she'd rather use it to catch fish than eat it herself. At least fish is still meat, and it's not as tasty as sorghum flour.

These techniques were all learned by Banxia in her previous life; as long as there are fish in the river, they will definitely take the bait.

Seeing the little girl's familiar movements, Lian Chengmo's eyes darkened slightly. Then, she imitated the little girl, finding a place to sit down and wait quietly.

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Banxia's ears twitched slightly; she heard a faint splashing sound.

Sure enough, a group of small fish floated on the surface of the water and slowly swam over. They soon stopped at the patch of sorghum flour and began to feast on it.

Banxia looked on with delight. These were small white strips, about a finger's width and seven or eight centimeters long, best eaten fried.

But just as she was feeling happy, Banxia remembered that her fishing net couldn't catch such small fish, and she instantly became frustrated again.

Besides, she didn't have that much oil, and even if she did, it wouldn't be appropriate to be so extravagant at this time.

Oh well, she can't have that pleasure now, but she'll definitely have it when she has the chance.

Banxia clenched her fist, her eyes fixed on the water's surface, not missing a single rustling sound. The little white streak had arrived; the big fish should be coming soon.

Lian Chengmo also saw the group of small fish and tensed up.

He had never caught fish with a net before and was unaware that this type of fish, which appeared to be in large groups, was actually quite small.

Some fish may look small on the back, but they are actually quite large. Lian Chengmo knew this, but he thought that these small white fish were easy to catch.

However, seeing that Banxia had placed her hand on one end of the fishing net vine but did not make any move, he also watched quietly.

After waiting for about half a cup of tea's time, Banxia suddenly exerted force and began to pull the fishing net.

Before Lian Chengmo could react, Banxia had already pulled the fishing net out of the water by herself.

He spotted several large tails thrashing about inside.

Banxia was overjoyed; she had indeed caught a fish. She took out the simple net she had made from her basket and quickly scooped up a fish.

Banxia tossed the fish into her basket and then busied herself with netting another one.

Five were caught in a row, and the rest escaped through the mesh. As for the small white ones, not a single one was found; the mesh was just too big.

Banxia sighed and stopped worrying about it. She sank the fishing net back to the bottom of the river, but this time she didn't sprinkle sorghum flour on it.

With her hands free, Banxia plucked a vine and threaded the fish from the basket through their gills and out of their mouths, then showed them to Lianchengmo.

These five fish, the largest weighs over two pounds and the smallest is almost a pound, this is quite a haul.

"Lianchengmo, look! Five big fish!" Banxia's voice was filled with joy; the little girl's clear voice echoed along the riverbank.

"Yes, you're very good." Lian Chengmo gave the little girl a thumbs up and praised her with a smile.

After showing off her spoils, Banxia tossed the fish into her basket and swam downstream with the basket and net.

When she arrived at the net the little ones had made, she pulled it up without hesitation. To her surprise, there were indeed some fish that had slipped through the net, which made Banxia very happy.

Amidst a pile of small whitebait, or perhaps two or three half-pound fish frolicking about, it's a delightful sight.

Small fish are easier to catch than big fish. Banxia scooped up a large amount of fish with her net and quickly caught quite a few.

But by the time she poured the fish she had caught into her basket and turned back, there was hardly anything left in the net.

Not only was there nothing left, but the fishing net also had a big hole in the middle. It was unclear whether the vines of the little guys hadn't been properly joined or if the fish had broken through while trying to escape.

It didn't matter; getting anything at all was already a pleasant surprise. Banxia worked hard and caught three or five more small whitebait, and the fishing net was completely ruined.

Since the fish caught this time were all small, they couldn't jump out even if left to frolic under the basket, so Banxia ignored them and went back to the large net.

On the opposite bank of the river, Lian Chengmo's gaze followed Banxia, ​​as he quietly waited with her for the fish to be caught in the net.

So, they cast their net again, but this time they caught fewer fish than the first time, only three fish weighing a little over a pound each. Banxia then packed up the net and headed home.

With so many fish, even if she has many children, it would be enough for them to eat. She could even stew one and send it to Doctor Li as tuition money.

The vine fishing nets, now wet and heavy, were hung on trees by the river to dry until they were more dry before being taken back.

The smaller one needs to be reprinted!

Then, Banxia went upstream with Lianchengmo, a little below where everyone was drawing water, and began cleaning the fish.

Speaking of which, in both his past and present lives, Lian Chengmo has cooked a lot and processed wild animals, but this is the first time he has ever killed a fish.

This is something that most people wouldn't buy because they dislike its strong fishy smell. It's more cost-effective to buy two ounces of meat instead. Of course, young Lian Chengmo wouldn't spend that money.

The way wealthy families ate was something Lian Chengmo later did, but he never had to kill the animals himself.

So, he held a knife in one hand and a fish in the other, unsure of what to do next.

Banxia was also a little surprised to see him like this. This old-fashioned boy had never acted like a spoiled rich young master.

He can do chores like washing clothes and cooking, and he can easily bleed and skin prey. It's surprising that he doesn't know how to kill fish.

However, no one is perfect, so Banxia immediately took a fish and taught Lianchengmo how to kill it.

Slightly larger fish have already had their gills pierced by the pinellia tuber and are barely alive, so the step of stunning them by pressing their heads down can be omitted.

"Hold the fish's upper body down and scrape off the scales first. Then cut open the fish's belly from here. Remove all of these parts, and also peel off this black membrane. Otherwise, the fish meat will taste bitter."

Banxia explained to Lian Chengmo as she worked, and soon she had cleaned a two-pound fish.

Lian Chengmo was incredibly clever. He learned how to do it after watching Banxia do it once. So, he chased the little girl away and took over all the big fish himself.

Banxia didn't argue with him. Seeing Lian Chengmo seriously killing the fish, she dumped the dying little fish on the riverbank to process them.

The scales on the whitebait are very fine, so it doesn't matter whether you scrape them off or not. You don't even need to use a knife to kill it. Just squeeze the belly of the fish, and all the miscellaneous internal organs will come out.

Then, put the fish in the river water and wash it thoroughly, scraping the inside of the fish's belly clean.

There were only a dozen or so small whitebait, which Banxia quickly processed. She wrapped the small fish in clean leaves and then dug up some wild onions by the river.

After greeting Lian Chengmo, who was diligently cleaning the fish, Banxia carried two large fish that had already been processed, along with a dozen or so small fish wrapped in leaves, back to the camp.