Reborn in 72, I hunt to support my family and spoil my younger sister rotten.

Once outside, Li Xiangyang and Li Xiaoyun walked side by side on the snowy road.

Li Xiangyang carried tools on his back, while Li Xiaoyun carried steamed buns and a thermos.

The cold wind was howling, but they chatted and laughed, and didn't feel cold at all.

"Where have all the fish gone in this cold weather?" Li Xiaoyun asked curiously.

“In winter, fish all burrow into deeper water,” Li Xiangyang slowed his pace, afraid that Li Xiaoyun might slip. “The colder it is, the more they like to find a deep pit and gather together.”

After walking for about an hour, the two arrived at the riverbank.

The river was covered with thick snow, and from a distance, it was a vast expanse of white, making it impossible to tell that it was a river.

“This works.” Li Xiangyang put down his tools and carefully examined the river surface. “The current is slow at the bend upstream; fish like to overwinter here.”

"how do you know?"

"Experience? You learn by doing," Li Xiangyang said, pointing to a protrusion on the riverbank. "Look, there's a big rock here, blocking the water flow. Fish are lazy in winter, so they like to find places like this."

As he spoke, he picked up a hoe and first cleared a space in the snow.

Li Xiaoyun helped by tamping the snow down with her feet.

"Step back a bit." Li Xiangyang pulled Li Xiaoyun to a safe place, then picked up a hoe and aimed it at the river.

With a crisp "crack," the hoe struck the ice.

Ice shards flew everywhere, but only created a shallow crater.

"So thick?" Li Xiaoyun asked in surprise.

"Hmm," Li Xiangyang said, striking again with his hoe, "the ice is about a foot thick now. The deeper you go, the thicker the ice gets."

He kept swinging the hoe, each strike landing precisely in the same spot.

Gradually, a crater the size of a bowl appeared on the ice.

"Clang!" A muffled thud came from the hoe, and Li Xiangyang knew they were almost at the water's surface.

He put down the hoe, switched to a small shovel, and began to carefully chisel through the ice.

"Be careful..." Li Xiaoyun involuntarily held her breath.

A few more strokes, and with a "crack," a block of ice was pried up.

The cool river water emerged from the ice cave.

Li Xiangyang pried open the broken ice and carefully inspected the edges of the ice hole to make sure there were no sharp edges.

“This is the first hole,” he explained. “We need to dig another one upstream so we can find fish.”

Without hesitation, he walked about ten steps upstream and began chiseling a second ice cave.

With experience, it was much faster this time.

After both ice caves were carved out, Li Xiangyang took out two long bamboo poles.

This bamboo pole is specially made; it's hollow in the middle so you can hear what's happening underwater.

“Look,” he handed Li Xiaoyun a bamboo pole, “we need to find where the fish are first. You stay here at the entrance of the hole and listen for any movement.”

Li Xiaoyun took the bamboo pole and, imitating Li Xiangyang, carefully inserted it into the ice hole.

Her face was red from the cold wind, but her eyes were bright and sparkling.

“If there are schools of fish,” Li Xiangyang said in a low voice, “the water flow will be different. Listen, can you hear a ‘splashing’ sound?”

Li Xiaoyun pressed her ear against the bamboo pole and listened intently for a while, but all she could hear was the sound of flowing water.

"How come I can't hear anything?" she said, somewhat discouraged.

"Take it slow," Li Xiangyang said with a smile, "This takes practice. Look over here..."

Before he finished speaking, the bamboo pole suddenly vibrated slightly.

Li Xiangyang's eyes lit up: "I've got it!"

"Where? Where?" Li Xiaoyun quickly came over.

"Shh—" Li Xiangyang made a shushing gesture, "Don't startle us, or they'll run away."

He carefully took a cloth bag out of his tool bag, and inside were some crushed corn and soybean residue.

This was bait he had prepared on purpose.

"Watch closely," Li Xiangyang explained softly, "first scatter the bait into the ice hole upstream, then set up a net at the entrance downstream. Once the fish follow the scent, they won't be able to escape."

As he spoke, he grabbed a handful of bait from his cloth bag and carefully scattered it into the ice cave upstream.

The cold wind howled, and the two squatted on the ice, motionless.

Li Xiaoyun's hands were a little stiff from the cold, but she dared not move them.

Suddenly, her bamboo pole trembled slightly.

"Xiangyang!" she whispered excitedly, "There's movement!"

Li Xiangyang was prepared and quickly tightened the net.

He felt a heavy weight on the screen, and knew he had made a gain.

"pull!"

The moment the net emerged from the water, a cold wind howled past.

Several large carp struggled in the net, thrashing their tails, and the splashes of water instantly froze into ice crystals in the air.

"Wow, it's huge!" Li Xiaoyun exclaimed in surprise, looking at the fish in the net. "How heavy must it be?"

"At least four or five pounds." Li Xiangyang skillfully placed the fish into the wooden bucket that had been prepared beforehand. "Fish in winter are all quite large."

Seeing Li Xiaoyun rubbing her reddened hands, he quickly said, "Are you cold? Let's rest for a while and have some hot water."

"It's not cold!" Li Xiaoyun shook her head, her eyes fixed on the wooden bucket. "Let's use another net; look, this bucket can hold so much more."

Looking at her little face, red from the cold, Li Xiangyang said with heartache, "I told you to wait at home, this weather..."

"Stop talking nonsense," Li Xiaoyun interrupted him. "Hurry up, the fish are waiting."

Seeing Li Xiaoyun's determined look, Li Xiangyang felt a warmth in his heart.

He knew that this girl genuinely wanted to pursue her future with him.

“Okay,” he nodded, “but first have some hot water to warm yourself up.”

Li Xiaoyun then took the thermos and poured a cup of hot water.

The steaming water warmed her icy hands.

"You drink too." She handed the cup to Li Xiangyang.

Li Xiangyang took the cup, drank the hot water, and immediately felt warm.

He took out the steamed buns that Li's mother had made: "Here, have something to eat."

The two squatted by the river, eating hot buns with the hot water.

The cold wind howled, but it couldn't blow away this warmth.

“After we finish eating, let’s catch another net,” Li Xiangyang said. “I know this river well. If we go downstream a bit, there’s a good spot…”

After eating the steamed buns, the two packed up and continued their journey downstream.

Li Xiangyang carried his tools on his back and used a bamboo pole to probe the thickness of the ice ahead as he walked.

He knew this river like the back of his hand. Every winter he would come here to catch fish, and he knew where the current was slow and where there were many fish.

"Here." After walking about twenty steps, Li Xiangyang stopped. "There's a deep pool down there, the current is slow, and fish like to gather here."

He put down his tools and began clearing the snow and chiseling ice again.

“Tell me,” Li Xiaoyun asked while helping to clear away the ice shards, “how does this fish know to dive into deeper water?”

“It’s instinct,” Li Xiangyang said, lowering the net into the ice hole downstream. “The deep water is warm and the current is slow, so the fish can easily overwinter here.”

Just then, a noise suddenly came from the ice cave upstream.

Li Xiangyang reacted swiftly and immediately closed the net.

With this net, they actually pulled up five or six large crucian carp.

"So many!" Li Xiaoyun exclaimed in surprise.

"Shh—" Li Xiangyang quickly gestured, "Keep your voice down, don't startle them. The fish in that water are very clever; they'll run away at the slightest sound..."

Before he could finish speaking, his hand tightened, and the fish struggled again in the net. Two more large fish had been caught.

"I'm really lucky today," Li Xiangyang said as he put the fish into the wooden bucket.

"It's because we cooperated well." Li Xiaoyun helped hand over the tools, her face beaming.