We then moved the wooden bed back to its original position. Mom and Dad sat under the kerosene lamp, panting with excitement.
"We have to take this secret to our graves. We absolutely cannot let anyone outside know. If word gets out, our lives will be ruined."
Luo Wenxin took a deep drag from his pipe and nodded. "I know. Don't flaunt your wealth. This water is gold. Tomorrow, I'll raise the backyard wall and put broken glass on top, to keep the Qiao family from climbing over."
Li Shufang added, "Tomorrow, I'll find the Chinese cabbage seeds I saved from last year. With this water, we can grow green vegetables in our backyard. And we can raise a few chickens. Eggs are money, too."
None of us in the family slept that night. The next day, when we went to work on the irrigation project, Mom and Dad's eyes were red, but they were full of energy. Even the way they looked at people had a newfound confidence.
In the evening, I slipped away early and went home to find an old fishing net. When it got dark, my dad and I secretly slipped into the cavern. Surprisingly, there were a few cracks in the cavern that let in a little bit of faint light. We could vaguely make out the outline of the underground river.
At a narrow part of the river, we built a weir with large stones, leaving just one opening to place the net. Then my dad took a wooden stick and stirred the water vigorously, driving the fish towards the opening. The water immediately erupted into chaos. A dense school of fish kept slamming into the net. The force was so strong it almost pulled me into the water.
"Pull up the net, quick." My dad's voice was hoarse with excitement.
When we pulled it up and took a look, the net was full of wriggling catfish, along with quite a few fat loaches. That biggest catfish probably weighed a good fifteen or sixteen pounds, slapping and thrashing on the ground. And all that from just one net. It had to be at least fifty jin.
Luo Wenxin stared at the fish, his eyes nearly popping out of his head. "This — this one catch is enough to feed our family for half a month."
I had him dump the fish into a small natural pool on the bank first. That pool was connected to the underground river, so the water was fresh; the fish wouldn't die. This way, we could keep collecting them. Before long, our family's little pool would have a thousand jin of fish saved up.
When my mom finished her farm work and snuck in, she saw the pool swarming with fish. She was completely stunned. "Oh my goodness, it's like we've struck gold."
Since we didn't dare to start a fire and cook fish in the village, fearing the aroma would drift out and bring us trouble, my mom actually snuck a small pot, bowls, and chopsticks down from our house. Using the fresh water from the underground river, she set up a stand right there in the grotto and simmered a pot of milky white catfish soup.
No other seasonings were added, just a handful of coarse salt. But the aroma was so fresh and savory it could make you cry.
In a year of drought, when everyone was drinking muddy water, the three of us sat together in the underground grotto drinking the piping hot, delicious fish soup, eating that tender, fresh fish meat. It was so fragrant and delicious, it nearly brought tears to all our eyes.
"It's so good. Just so good," my mom said as she ate. "Later, I'll cook another pot for Hongmei and the others. I'll let the smell die down a bit before I take it up. We absolutely can't let any outsiders catch a whiff of fish."
I looked at the pitch-black river water, scheming about how to make the Qiao family pay back everything they owed us.
"In a bit, let's get these fish ready. Tonight, I'll take you somewhere good," I said while rolling up the bedding in the room, revealing the heavy trapdoor underneath.
Luo Wenxin was squatting by the bed, smoking his pipe. Hearing my words, his hand trembled. He didn't even notice the ash falling on his foot. "Zhenshan, are we really going tonight? The patrols out there are on high alert. If we get caught—"
"In a year of great drought, fish are gold. If we miss this window, the price will drop," I cut him off, my expression firm.
First, I spread several thick layers of oilcloth at the cellar entrance to prevent the fish slime from dirtying the bedding. That bedding is our family's lifeline. If it got that earthy, fishy smell on it, Mom would nag us for half a year.
Dad and I worked together, pulling over two hundred jin of catfish from the underground river. These fish were huge. They thrashed for their lives inside the woven sacks, slamming against the ground with loud thuds. It took all our strength to haul the heavy sacks of fish up through the narrow cellar opening.
Luo Wenxin tightened his belt and helped me load the fish onto the old, rickety wheelbarrow in the backyard. First, we lined the wheelbarrow with a thick layer of straw. Then we put the fish on top. Then we covered them with a pitch-black old cotton quilt. And finally, we placed a few bundles of firewood on top of that. From the outside, it just looked like a regular load of firewood.
"Let's go, Dad. We'll take the side roads."
I pulled the rope in the front while Dad pushed the handles from behind, and the two of us snuck out of the village in the dark.