Chapter 10

"Let's go, move quickly, once we fill these two baskets with fish, we'll head back..." Sanpao took out two fish baskets from behind the door, holding one in each hand, and slung the bag over his shoulder, his movements very skilled.

"Isn't one enough?" Fang Yi took one of the fish baskets, somewhat puzzled, as he noticed that these two baskets were nearly a meter high, capable of holding dozens of pounds of fish.

"Hehe, since we're doing it, why not catch more fish?" Sanpao chuckled and said, "Later, we'll go to the city and bring some for my dad. The fish in the city are all fed with feed, they don't taste good at all..."

"Ah, I see..." Fang Yi nodded in response. When he was with Sanpao and Fatty, he spoke less because he knew he understood too little about this world, and it was better to listen more to learn.

"Hey, wait, take this bottle of liquor with us..." As they were about to leave, Fatty reached out and tucked the remaining bottle of liquor from the table into his chest, then followed Fang Yi towards the reservoir.

The reservoir was about a mile away from Wei Family Village. During the day, it would only take a few minutes to get there, but at night, with no streetlights, it took the three of them nearly ten minutes to reach the edge of the reservoir.

"The reservoir at the foot of the mountain is... this big?" Seeing the lake water shimmering with silver ripples under the moonlight, Fang Yi was taken aback. Although he had never left the mountain, he could see the reservoir from the mountain. However, from the mountain, it didn't seem very large. Now, standing close, he realized that the reservoir, which used to look like a small pond, was actually so vast that he couldn't see the other side, far beyond his imagination.

"This was originally a lake, later it was turned into a reservoir..." Seeing Fang Yi's stunned expression, Fatty smiled and explained, pointing to the lake surface, "The elders in the village said that this lake has never dried up, the deepest part is about forty to fifty meters. In the early years, people caught fish over a meter long from it..."

"Alright, Fatty, stop talking nonsense..." Sanpao interrupted Fatty, saying irritably, "Didn't you say no one was watching? Why is the light still on in that house over there?"

"Hmm?" Hearing Sanpao's words, Fang Yi and Fatty simultaneously looked at the few small houses about fifty meters away on the edge of the reservoir. Indeed, one of the rooms was still lit.

"They should have gone back..." Fatty scratched his head, turning to look at Fang Yi, "Elder Brother Yi, you're agile, go check if anyone is in that room. I suspect they left the light on to avoid inspection..."

"Alright, I'll go check first..." Fang Yi nodded, crouched down, and crept towards the house. A few minutes later, his head appeared at the window of the lit room, waving to Fatty and Sanpao.

"I told you no one would be there..." Fatty relaxed, grinning, and walked with Sanpao to the houses, saying, "Now we have a boat, no need for me to get in the water to catch fish..."

Although it was nearly summer, the lake water was still quite cold at night. Fatty had tucked the bottle of cheap liquor into his chest, probably planning to take a few sips before getting in the water.

"Let's move away from this house, I know where the fish are more abundant..." Sanpao looked around and said, "Fatty, you row the boat, I and Elder Brother Yi will throw the firecrackers. After the three firecrackers go off, you row the boat over, but don't come too close..."

"Hey, why do I have to row the boat?" Hearing Sanpao's words, Fatty complained, "I want to throw a firecracker too. Didn't you make three? We can each throw one."

"Forget it, you've done this before. Elder Brother Yi is doing it for the first time, let him throw one more..." Sanpao pushed Fatty, throwing the two fish baskets to him, "Move quickly, this place is too close to the village, someone might come..."

"Got it, it's not the first time, no need to remind me..." Although Fatty was unhappy, he still picked up the two fish baskets and went to the lake edge, where a small wooden boat with oars was moored. This boat was used by the reservoir guards to collect floating debris and garbage; the use of polluting motorboats was not allowed here.

"Come, Fang Yi, stand here..." After Fatty left, Sanpao pulled Fang Yi forward another twenty meters to the lake edge, handed him a homemade firecracker, and pointed to the water, saying, "Light the fuse and throw the bottle into the lake, try to throw it as far as possible, the deeper water has more fish..."

Fang Yi weighed the bottle in his hand and nodded, saying, "Alright, I can throw this bottle a hundred meters or so..."

"Hey, no need to throw it that far, it will take Fatty too long to row over..." Sanpao was startled by Fang Yi's words, "Thirty meters is enough, throw the three bottles in a triangle, ensuring no fish can escape..."

As he spoke, Sanpao took out a pack of Hongmei cigarettes from his pocket, flicked one out, and offered it to Fang Yi, "Want one?"

"Why are you smoking like Fatty now?" Fang Yi shook his head, asking, "You're not going to use the cigarette to light the fuse, are you?"

"This isn't a real firecracker, it's hard to ignite, a cigarette can't light it," Sanpao chuckled, feeling the wind direction, and took out a lighter, "See, it's windproof, I bought it specially for fishing..."

Indeed, as Sanpao said, the fuse was hard to ignite. It took about ten seconds with the windproof lighter before a wisp of blue smoke emerged from the fuse, followed by the sizzling sound of gunpowder burning.

After lighting the fuse, Sanpao immediately handed the bottle to Fang Yi, pointed to the water, and whispered, "Throw it quickly..."

"Ah, won't it go out in the water?"

Fang Yi hesitated for a moment but still threw the bottle as Sanpao directed. The bottle drew an arc in the air and fell into the water about thirty meters away.

"Hey, it didn't go out..." By the moonlight, Fang Yi clearly saw the blue smoke rising from where the bottle landed, indicating that the fuse was still burning.

"Second one, throw it ten meters away from the first one..." Before Fang Yi could look closely, Sanpao lit the second firecracker and handed it to him. The wind had calmed down a bit, and the fuse only took about five to six seconds to ignite.

"Here, you light this one..." After Fang Yi threw the second bottle, Sanpao handed him the bottle and lighter.

Seeing Sanpao light two, Fang Yi followed suit, lighting the third homemade firecracker and throwing it near the first two, covering an area of about twenty meters in the water.

"You'd make a great soldier, I bet no one could throw a grenade as far as you..." Seeing the three smoking points forming a triangle, Sanpao couldn't help but marvel. He could only throw a two-pound grenade about thirty meters, but the bottle, being much lighter, Fang Yi threw it just as far with ease.

"Hmm? Why hasn't it exploded yet?" Fang Yi ignored Sanpao, staring intently at the water. It had been about forty seconds since the first homemade firecracker was thrown, and the fuse must still be burning.

"Boom!"

Just as Fang Yi spoke, a dull sound came from the water about thirty meters away, like someone tapping a broken drum. The sound wasn't loud, but Fang Yi felt a slight tremor under his feet.

Although the explosion of the homemade firecracker was muffled by the water, the water surface was disrupted, with a huge splash rising about seven to eight meters. When the splash fell, the "gulping" sound continued.

About ten seconds later, the second and third homemade firecrackers also exploded, creating splashes over a distance of twenty to thirty meters. The originally calm water was now rippling, as if stirred by a giant hand.

"Fatty, come quickly..." Seeing the three homemade firecrackers explode, Sanpao clenched his fist and shouted to Fatty nearby.

"Already ready..." Fatty responded, nimbly jumping onto the wooden boat and pushing off the shore with the oar, rowing towards the explosion site, surprisingly fast.

"Sanpao, why... why are there no fish?" When Fatty rowed the boat over, the water gradually calmed down, but Fang Yi, with his keen eyesight, saw no fish floating to the surface.

"Look, there they are..."

Sanpao smiled and pointed. Indeed, a fish weighing about four to five pounds floated to the surface, belly up. Soon, over a dozen more fish floated up, all belly up, whether dead or stunned by the explosion.

Fang Yi now understood why Sanpao had taken two large fish baskets, as each fish weighed several pounds, and smaller baskets wouldn't fit them.

Fatty also took a net and started scooping up the floating fish, busy and happy. Despite his size, he had excellent coordination, standing steadily on the boat as it rocked from side to side.

"Fatty, pick the bigger ones, move quickly, once we fill the baskets, we'll head back..." Sanpao reminded from the shore, occasionally looking back towards the village. Although the explosion wasn't loud, it might still alert the villagers.

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PS: Fishing with homemade firecrackers was one of my favorite things to do thirty years ago. Oops, accidentally revealed my age. I'm only eighteen, so give an eighteen-year-old Fatty a recommendation vote!