Apocalyptic Hoarding Diary

Chapter 204 A Bountiful Harvest

"...The expansion project of the Fourth City is progressing smoothly. The foundations for a new batch of public housing have been poured. The site management department reminds residents who choose to participate in collective construction labor to strictly abide by labor discipline. Points will be calculated based on the actual amount of work completed..."

The official broadcasts were as dull and formulaic as ever, consisting of nothing more than weather, policy, production announcements, and safety reminders. But to the survivors struggling to stay afloat, these stable and regular voices were an important channel for understanding changes in the outside world, for feeling that the vast and orderly "base" was still operating, and for confirming that they had not been completely abandoned. They were even a source of spiritual comfort.

Xu Xiaoyan placed the radio inside the tent near the inside of the curtain, letting it play continuously and at a low volume. Then, she checked the curtain's clasp again to make sure it couldn't be easily opened from the outside. After doing all this, she sat back down in her sleeping bag, tightened her collar and scarf, and buried her lower body deeper into the sleeping bag's insulation.

While listening to the announcements broadcast on the radio, Xu Xiaoyan focused her attention on the ice fishing rod in her hand and the ice hole under her feet, staring intently at the faint glow of the float in the night, feeling the slightest vibration of the fishing rod in her palm.

Her focus soon paid off, and her ice fishing rod began to move again. This time, it wasn't the sudden, powerful pull of the first time, but rather a continuous, steady, rhythmic, subtle tremor at the rod tip, as if something underwater was cautiously and repeatedly probing the bait, both wanting to take it and full of vigilance.

Xu Xiaoyan held her breath, her entire body's senses seemingly focused on her hands and wrists holding the rod. She didn't rush to move, but patiently felt the frequency and intensity of the tremors. A few seconds later, at the moment when a relatively obvious downward jolt came, she gently lifted her wrists upward with a very steady, minimal but powerful motion!

She'd hit it! A heavy feeling immediately traveled through the fishing line, followed by the familiar struggle. She started reeling in the line, sensing every twist and sprint of her underwater opponent, releasing the line and reeling it in at the right moment, controlling the rhythm.

After a not particularly intense struggle, the second fish was successfully brought out of the water. This fish was slightly smaller than the first, but its scales were smooth and intact, gleaming with a healthy silvery-gray luster in the dim light. Its tail slapped powerfully against the ice, full of vitality.

"Are fish so easy to catch these days?" Xu Xiaoyan skillfully removed the hook and threw the lively fish into the bucket next to her. Listening to the "slap slap" sound of the fish's tail hitting the bucket wall, she couldn't help but feel a little doubtful.

"Could there really be some kind of 'newbie protection period'?" This absurd thought flashed through her mind, but she immediately shook her head, dismissing these far-fetched ideas. She believed that preparation and judgment were better than luck. Perhaps the location of this ice cave was indeed well chosen, right in the fish passage or a food-rich area; perhaps the fish were just being active today; or perhaps she was simply focused and patient enough to seize the right opportunity.

She stopped thinking about it, rebaited the hook, this time with mixed feed, wanting to try the effect of different baits. She pinched a small ball of grayish-brown paste, wrapped it firmly around the hook tip, and cast the fishing line into the ice hole again.

The water surface rippled slightly, then quickly returned to calm. She didn't know how many times she had repeated the actions of baiting, casting, waiting, sensing, lifting the rod, and reeling in the fish. She only knew that the originally empty plastic bucket next to her gradually filled up. Soon, the silvery-gray back of the fish emerged from the water. After the fish was taken out of the water, its body quickly stiffened, which saved her a lot of trouble in dealing with live fish.

She deftly gathered all the frozen, somewhat crowded fish from the bucket into her spatial storage. The empty bucket emitted a faint fishy smell. She rubbed her stiff fingers, exhaled a puff of white breath, and continued the actions of baiting and fishing.

Perhaps we've discovered some trick to the fish activity in this area, or perhaps the fish population in this remote, deep water area is indeed relatively abundant and their vigilance is slightly lower due to the lack of disturbance, but the fish activity has maintained a good frequency.

Although the fish didn't bite continuously, there would be a clear bite every now and then, allowing her to catch something. Soon, the empty bucket was shimmering with silver light again, and the catch gradually piled up, almost full again.

Just as she felt the familiar, subtle tremor from her fishing rod, a sign that a fish was testing the waters, and was preparing to cast her line with full concentration—"thump, thump, thump"—three rhythmic knocks were made from the outside at the lower right corner of the tent's heavy curtain.

The sound wasn't loud, but in the relatively quiet environment inside the tent and with Xu Xiaoyan's highly focused hearing, it sounded exceptionally clear. Then, Wang Xiao's deliberately lowered voice, yet still unable to conceal his urgency and a hint of fatigue, came through the curtain: "Xiaoyan! Xiaoyan! Are you there? It's already noon! How's your fishing going? Something's happened with Lao Xie and me!"

With a flick of her wrist, Xu Xiaoyan almost reflexively lifted the rod! Fortunately, her muscle memory was still there, and the struggle she felt underwater confirmed that the fish had indeed taken the bait. She quickly and steadily pulled the not-so-large fish out of the water, took it off, and threw it into the nearly full bucket with a muffled "plop." Only then did she put down the fishing rod for the time being.

She lifted a corner of the heavy curtain, and a chilling breeze instantly rushed in. "Come in," she said, stepping aside to make way, her voice slightly hoarse from not speaking for a long time.

Wang Xiao, shivering with cold, awkwardly crawled in, muttering complaints as he tried to brush the snow off his clothes. "This godforsaken place! If you're even a little far away, you can't hear anyone even if you shout your lungs out. I had to walk all the way here... And the wind is so strong, it gives me a headache..." After his eyes adjusted to the dim light inside the tent, they were instantly drawn to a bucket in the corner filled with a gleaming silver catch. His complaints stopped abruptly, his eyes widened, his mouth gaped open, and his face was filled with disbelief and immense envy.

"I...my god! Xiaoyan, you're amazing!" Wang Xiao's voice suddenly rose, filled with amazement. He took a few steps to the bucket, looked down at the layers of fish inside, then looked up at Xu Xiaoyan, his eyes like he was looking at some monster. "You, you've already filled almost a bucket? Is your deep water area...something like a feng shui treasure land?! The fish are all lining up to catch you?!" His envy was palpable.

Xu Xiaoyan wiped the fishy smell and ice water off her hands, ignoring his exclamation about the "treasure trove," and calmly asked, "How's it going over there? You said there was a problem?"