PCJ – Chapter 278 The Big Catfish

News spread through the village like wildfire, with people of all ages flocking to the dock to witness the fat cat fishing.

The fat cat was the main culprit behind the fairy lady incident, but very few people knew the truth. Only Zhang Benrui knew a little about it, and even he had never seen the leading cat in question. The fat cat’s appearance was highly deceptive. No one would have guessed that this fat cat was the real culprit. Only Chen Shunchang, Chen Dianzi, and Zhang Wenrong knew the truth, and none of them would spill the beans.

“It’s truly astonishing! Even a cat’s tail can be used for fishing. I’ve lived for decades and never seen anything like this!” Zhang Xianglin exclaimed, leaning on a wooden stick and trembling as he stood on the riverbank.

Zhang Dechun nodded in agreement. “Indeed. We’ve heard of cats liking fish, but never that cats could actually fish. This is a rarity. Man Yun, your grandson is something else; his antics have stirred up the whole village.”

“Jiaohua! When did you get another fat cat? Such a fat cat can’t catch mice, what’s the point?” The mute climbed up onto a fuzzy peach tree by the riverbank, legs dangling from the branches.

“This is a meat cat, specifically for eating meat. You see, it even uses its tail to fish,” Zhang Jiaohua replied with a smile.

The fat cat shook its bulk in protest.

“Woof woof!” The mountain leopard barked a warning at the fat cat. The fat cat obediently lay back on the stone.

At that moment, the fat cat’s body suddenly sank into the water. It scrambled with its four paws, desperately trying to hold onto the rock to avoid slipping.

“There’s a big fish! Really a big one!” The mute was more excited than anyone, not even noticing that he had slipped from the tree branch and fell into the river.

“Splash!”

Water flew high, and after a while, the mute emerged from the river, coughing and spluttering but unbothered. Villagers might fear a fall, but not drowning.

“What fish did you catch?” The mute was more concerned with whether the fish had been caught.

“A catfish!” Zhang Jiwen joked.

“What? A catfish? How big?” The mute was still convinced, making the whole village burst into laughter.

“It must weigh several tens of jin,” Zhang Jiwen continued teasing.

“Is it a spirit then?” The mute still didn’t catch on to the joke.

Zhang Jiagen and Zhang Wenrong quickly grabbed the fat cat.

“Why is this fish so powerful? It’s like a calf. Don’t let it break the fat cat’s tail,” Zhang Jiagen said, worried about the cat’s tail being stretched tightly.

The fat cat sweated heavily, its face showing distress. How unlucky could it be? After being bitten by a soft-shelled turtle, now it was struggling with a big fish. The cat couldn’t tell what kind of fish had its tail, but the immense pulling force indicated that it was a formidable opponent.

“Hangao, let’s pull it up together,” Zhang Jiagen suggested.

“Okay! One, two, three!”

On the count of three, they both pulled with all their strength.

“Meow!”

The fat cat let out a painful cry, its tail nearly pulled off.

A large black fish was dragged from the water. It was a fierce fish that wouldn’t let go even now.

“Wow! Such a big catfish!”

Everyone on the bank was astonished. Normally, a two or three jin catfish is considered quite large, but this one was at least seven or eight jin. Such a big wild catfish was rare indeed. Unlike farm-raised catfish, which have whiskers, wild catfish have excellent flavor and are favored for their few bones and rich meat.

“Catfish! Catfish!” The mute swam excitedly towards the dock.

“Mute! What are you doing?” Mute’s mother, Ma Jinxiu, came over, shouting towards the river, “Jiaohua, if you need to catch fish, you should go into the river yourself. Are you bullying the mute for being less clever?”

“Ma Jinxiu, what are you saying? The mute fell into the water by himself. He didn’t even take off his clothes. It’s not Jiaohua’s fault. If Jiaohua needed someone in the water, Zhang Wenrong and the others would have volunteered before using your mute!” Ma Donghua was upset. Although she and Ma Jinxiu were from the same place and related, Ma Donghua had always looked out for Ma Jinxiu. But today, Ma Jinxiu’s unreasonable words made Ma Donghua very displeased.

“Aunt, I didn’t mean it that way,” Ma Jinxiu quickly apologized.

“What did you mean then? Are you taking advantage of Jiaohua’s parents being away? Even if his parents are not around, he still has his grandparents and his uncle and aunt to back him up,” Ma Donghua retorted firmly.

The villagers sided with Ma Donghua.

“Jinxiu, what you said today was too much.”

“Yeah. Jiaohua takes care of the mute the most. Who doesn’t know that in the village?”

“Exactly. Jiaohua has always treated your family well. Whenever the horticultural farm needs help, your family is always involved. Even the farm’s pigsty repairs were done by your Benrui alone. In our Meizi Tiao, is it only your family’s Benrui who can do these things? But Jiaohua looked after your family because of the mute.”

“It’s a good thing everyone was here to witness this. If it were just Jiaohua and the mute alone, things could have gotten complicated.”

Ma Jinxiu’s words reminded people of last year when a few children went to graze cows and only Jiaohua came back. Five children drowned while bathing in the pond. It was still a mystery to the villagers. The children were all good swimmers. How could five of them drown at once? Jiaohua had also strangely fallen asleep that day, leaving the events of the afternoon unclear. Only heaven knew what really happened that day. Ma Jinxiu’s remarks seemed to hint at that incident, making Ma Donghua particularly sensitive and unyielding.

The seven or eight jin catfish was too big for the iron bucket. Zhang Hangao had to hold the fish’s gills with both hands, fighting to keep the struggling fish from escaping.

“Hangao, make sure you hold on tightly!” Zhang Wenrong hurried back with a large water bucket, finally transferring the catfish into it.

“This will be enough for a meal!” Zhang Hangao laughed.

“Or it might just end up making your mouth sour! Hangao, you eat well at the farm every day and still manage to get a stomach upset,” Zhang Jiwen teased.

“Don’t worry, our stomachs are fine. With our daily training, this bit of food is just a warm-up,” Zhang Hangao replied with a sense of pride.