Volume 1, Chapter 228: Not Wanting to Die Without a Wife
"The Moon-gazing Dragonfly?" Zhou Xuan exclaimed in surprise. "When I was a child, I read a story about this in a storybook. It said that there was a kind of dragonfly that would look up at the moon on the night of a full moon, but it was extremely poisonous. If you ate it, you would bleed from all seven orifices and die instantly."
The old man chuckled and nodded, saying, "That's right, it's this. I brought it to show you today. It's this 'Moon-Gazing Dragonfly'!"
"Does such a thing really exist? I always thought it was just a legendary animal, just something told in stories. Could it really be real?" Zhou Xuan was both surprised and curious. But then he thought back to the sinkhole in Luoyang, hadn't he seen even stranger "wax" and "corpse worms"? There are many things in the world we don't know, and besides, there's no smoke without fire. Since it spread from stories, it must have some origin.
Li Wei had been here countless times, but he had never heard of any "moon-gazing cricket". He scratched his head and asked, "Grandpa, the last few times I came to Uncle Yang's place, how come I never heard of this moon-gazing cricket or anything like that? I've seen him raise a lot of yellow eel though."
Old Li snorted and said, "What could you possibly want to know? If you knew, wouldn't you come to Yang Zhi's place and eat him into bankruptcy?"
Li Wei snorted and said defiantly, "Grandpa, I've eaten this kind of cricket fish before. It only costs a few dozen yuan per catty. What restaurant in the city doesn't have it? Do you think I'd bankrupt Uncle Yang by eating it all?"
"Those are just ordinary crickets, a few dozen yuan. This 'Moon Gazing Crab'... Hehe." Before Old Li could speak, Wei Haihong chimed in, "This 'Moon Gazing Crab' sells for over eight thousand yuan a pound, and those who want it from Brother Yang have to order two months in advance, the supply is very limited!"
Li Wei and Fu Ying were both incredibly surprised. Fu Ying had certainly seen dragonflies before, but she had never seen this "Moon Gazing Dragonfly." What was even stranger was that if it was about expensive food, she should be familiar with it. Instead, she was talking about the cheapest local produce. She had changed into a fishing suit made entirely of plastic from the waist down. This was specially designed for fishermen to wear when fishing in the water, especially suitable for winter because it would get wet. In such cold weather, who could endure that?
I was wearing fishing gear. I was still wearing thick socks and underwear underneath, so water wouldn't get in and affect me.
With another shovel in his hand, Yang Zhi cleared some of the snow from the corner of the pond, creating a space about a meter square, and then began digging deeper, shovel by shovel.
The mud in this dry pond is relatively easy to dig. Mainly because there's no water, when you shovel, the mud comes in chunks on the shovel, and then you can throw it out.
This fishpond is quite different from the others. The other fishponds have earthen embankments, but this one has cement rims on all four sides. The distance between the edge of the pond and the soil in the middle is also about two feet, probably to prevent fish from running out of the pond.
As Yang Zhi wielded his shovel to dig through the mud, his wife Yao Lin took their daughter Yang Yang from Li Wei's arms. Everyone watched Yang Zhi work.
Zhou Xuan, feeling embarrassed, asked with a smile, "Brother Yang, do you have any more shovels? Let me help!"
"No need, no need." Yang Zhi replied without looking up, "You are a distinguished guest brought by the old man, and you are a distinguished guest here as well. Just stand and look around and see what's new. Besides, this is not difficult for me. It is a technical job. Only those with experience can do it well. Those without experience and who do not know how to do it really can't do it!"
Yang Zhi spoke very politely, but Zhou Xuan seemed a little embarrassed.
Wei Haihong patted Zhou Xuan on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Brother, Yang didn't mean it that way. He's a straightforward person. Let me tell you, this job is really a technical job, and not just anyone can do it."
With a smile, Wei Haihong continued, "Yingying just asked what a Moon Gazing Dragonfly is. While Brother Yang Zhi is digging in the mud, I'll give you an introduction. Hehe, let me tell you two short stories first."
"The first story is from around the eighteenth year of the Chenghua reign of the Ming Dynasty. It tells of a man who died, and the neighbors suspected that his wife had poisoned his lunch. They reported it to the authorities, and the magistrate, surnamed Zhang, was quite upright. Based on his observations at the scene and the deceased's wife's testimony, there were some suspicious points. Several days later, Magistrate Zhang took off his official robes, disguised himself as a merchant, and went out of the city to visit the fishermen's area by the river incognito. He spent three days visiting more than ten fishermen's homes. Finally, he found an old fisherman who was over sixty years old."
"This old fisherman, with snow-white eyebrows and a robust physique, came from a family that had fished for generations. He was experienced and knowledgeable. His grandfather had warned him: 'Do not eat fish that are caught under the full moon.' According to the old fisherman, this type of fish is quite rare. It likes to eat dead dogs, dead cats, and rotting carcasses. Its body is rather stout, and its shape is not significantly different from that of ordinary fish. When the moon is full and bright, it often swims out of its burrow and looks up at the moon. For some unknown reason, the old fisherman's description matched Jin Yulan's account in many ways. Magistrate Zhang was overjoyed and determined to investigate thoroughly and redress the injustice done to the people. After returning to his office, he immediately ordered his officers to buy up Huang Jun in the market. They bought up all the Huang Jun, acquiring more than two hundred catties within five days."
Li Wei listened with great interest, while little Yangyang in Yao Lin's arms opened his eyes wide, snuggled closer to his mother in fear, and asked, "Uncle Wei, this dragonfly eats kittens and puppies, so will it eat little Yangyang?"
Wei Haihong chuckled. He shook his head and said, "Yangyang, don't be afraid. Uncle is just telling a story. This cricket only likes to eat the carcasses of dead animals. It's not as big as these animals; it's very, very small, about the size of other crickets."
Xiao Yangyang finally breathed a long sigh of relief. The bottom and edges of the door were all made of cement. The mud was filled in after the door was finished, so the four ants couldn't escape.
There were four holes in the ground beneath Yang Zhi's feet, like mouse burrows in the soil. Zhou Xuan had caught fish in his family's fields when he was a child. Those holes were in the water in the fields, not like these dry holes.
When catching crabs, you extend one middle finger. Then, curl the other four fingers and push the middle finger into the crab's hole. This requires experience; you rely on the feel of the middle fingertip to push it into the hole until you touch the crab.
Dragonflies are thin, long, and slippery, making them difficult to handle without experience. It takes an experienced person to handle them. When the middle finger touches the dragonfly, a slight push is made forward to grip its midsection. The remaining four curled fingers then act like chocks or gears, locking the dragonfly in place. At this point, no matter how much the dragonfly wriggles or twists, it cannot escape.
Zhou Xuan often did this kind of crab-catching when he was a child. He, Zhao Junjie, and a few others would greet each other after school and say, "Let's go catch some yellow mole crickets!" and they would all go to the fields to catch them. The yellow mole crickets were fresh and delicious, but they still required some effort to catch. Dragonflies resemble snakes in shape and structure, but the way they are prepared is quite different. Snake meat is usually chopped into chunks or slices.
The spine of the grilled fish is difficult to remove, unlike gutting a fish by simply cutting it open from the belly, and because the fish is small and slippery, you need to use a wooden board. You then nail the fish's head and tail to the board and use a small, sharp knife to make a cut along the fish's spine, first along one side of the bone, and then another cut along the other side. This way, the bone can be removed intact, leaving only the fish meat attached to the belly. When eating it, you won't have bones in the meat like with regular fish. If someone doesn't know how, they might cut it open from the belly, making it inedible because the meat is thin and almost entirely bone-like.
Now, when Yang Zhi was digging for moon-gazing crickets, he noticed that the hole was much larger than that of ordinary mole fish. As he dug deeper, Yang Zhi became much more careful.
The shovel slowly cut along the edge of the hole. Then the soil was poured onto the snow outside the pit. Everyone looked inside again. Next to the shovel marks, the hole's entrance was clearly visible in the soil. A large cricket was writhing in the cold air, and soon it froze stiff.
This dragonfly was much larger than ordinary mole fish. When Zhou Xuan was a child, the largest mole fish he caught in his hometown could weigh four or five ounces, while the average one only weighed two or three ounces. Now, with the increase in domesticated mole fish, which are raised on feed like pigs, they are much larger than wild ones, almost all weighing around 100 grams to a pound. This so-called "moon-gazing mole fish" was about a pound. Zhou Xuan could estimate that it was twice the size of the largest one he caught as a child, about the size of a small snake, though not as long. It had a black back with spots, a yellow belly, and a flat mouth. It looked no different from an ordinary mole fish. However, after hearing Wei Haihong's story, Li Wei and Fu Ying were both a little scared.
Yang Zhi used a mountain net to catch the moon-gazing worm and threw it into the snow. The worm writhed for a while before freezing stiff.
Yang Zhi chuckled as he dug, "This thing is afraid of the cold. That's why the burrows are dug very deep. But it's only during the coldest time, usually around the time of the first heavy snowfall, that the Moon Gazing Dragonfly is at its most poisonous and its taste is at its best."
After digging a few more shovelfuls, another moon dragonfly emerged, about the same size as the previous one. Yang Zhi put it away again. He then caught four more in the pit and went further in along the muddy pit wall, catching three more.
The old man laughed and waved his hand, saying, "Yang Zhi, that's enough, that's enough. There are nine here, and you have to manage seventy or eighty thousand. Don't let them bankrupt you."
Yang Zhi chuckled and said, "How could that be? There are over three hundred of them in this pond. These few are nothing. Besides, the old man is here. Even if he eats all three hundred, it's a small matter; it won't bankrupt me. I've only ever sold forty of these moon-gazing ants to a four-star hotel in Beijing. My main income each year actually comes from the ordinary dragonflies in the pond; I can earn several hundred thousand every year. That's enough!"
As Yang Zhi spoke, he pulled out two more. Wei Haihong stopped him from digging anymore, and he finally gave up. He left the pit, carrying a net containing eleven moon-gazing crabs, and returned to the house.
The group followed and returned to the front of the house. The temperature today was minus twenty-one degrees Celsius, and although they were wearing many layers, it was still cold.
Once inside, you can see that Yang Zhi's family was burning coal. They used a steel stove, and the fire was burning very brightly. The steel plate on the stove was radiating intense heat, and the temperature in the room was very high, at least 25 degrees Celsius. It felt warm all of a sudden.
Yang Zhi then took off his fishing clothes, filled a basin with warm water and soaked the eleven moon ants in it. Then he took out a rectangular wooden board, but unlike what Zhou Xuan had expected, it had no nails. Instead, there were several small holes in the board with small wires threaded through them.
Li Wei stared at the tools, then paused, suddenly realizing a problem. A very serious problem.
"Third Uncle." Li Wei turned to Wei Haihong and asked, "Third Uncle, you said you brought us here to eat this Moon-Gazing Cicada?"
The old man nodded and said, "You have to thank Xiao Zhou for this. If it weren't for Xiao Zhou, we two old folks wouldn't have brought you along."
Li Wei shrugged and said, "Then I don't understand. Didn't Third Uncle say that this thing is highly poisonous? If you eat it, you'll bleed from all seven orifices and die. I'm so young, I haven't even found a wife yet, I don't want to die." Look at how well it was sealed; the bottom and edges were all cement, and mud was only added after it was finished, so the four-booted moon-catching ant couldn't escape.
There were four holes in the ground beneath Yang Zhi's feet, like mouse burrows in the soil. Zhou Xuan had caught fish in his family's fields when he was a child. Those holes were in the water in the fields, not like these dry holes.
When catching crabs, you extend one middle finger. Then, curl the other four fingers and push the middle finger into the crab's hole. This requires experience; you rely on the feel of the middle fingertip to push it into the hole until you touch the crab.
Dragonflies are thin, long, and slippery, making them difficult to handle without experience. It takes an experienced person to handle them. When the middle finger touches the dragonfly, a slight push is made forward to grip its midsection. The remaining four curled fingers then act like chocks or gears, locking the dragonfly in place. At this point, no matter how much the dragonfly wriggles or twists, it cannot escape.
Zhou Xuan often did this kind of crab-catching when he was a child. He, Zhao Junjie, and a few others would greet each other after school and say, "Let's go catch some yellow mole crickets!" and they would all go to the fields to catch them. The yellow mole crickets were fresh and delicious, but they still required some effort to catch. Dragonflies resemble snakes in shape and structure, but the way they are prepared is quite different. Snake meat is usually chopped into chunks or slices.
The spine of the grilled fish is difficult to remove, unlike gutting a fish by simply cutting it open from the belly, and because the fish is small and slippery, you need to use a wooden board. You then nail the fish's head and tail to the board and use a small, sharp knife to make a cut along the fish's spine, first along one side of the bone, and then another cut along the other side. This way, the bone can be removed intact, leaving only the fish meat attached to the belly. When eating it, you won't have bones in the meat like with regular fish. If someone doesn't know how, they might cut it open from the belly, making it inedible because the meat is thin and almost entirely bone-like.