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." Diao cried, "Oh. That's alright then. The ants in this pond are my father's treasures, and he feeds them to the fish!"
Yang Zhi smiled and said, "Baby. You are Daddy's baby!"
Li Weizheng found it interesting. He quickly said, "Third Uncle, don't interrupt, hurry up and tell the story, it's quite interesting."
Wei Haihong chuckled and said, "After Magistrate Zhang purchased the crocodiles, he kept them in five large water vats in the courtyard of the yamen. Every night, he carefully observed them. One night, late at night, the moon was full and the stars were few, and all was quiet. Magistrate Zhang waited by the vats to observe them when he suddenly saw a yellow crocodile raise its head and sway back and forth in front of the bright moon, as if admiring the moonlight. Magistrate Zhang was overjoyed: Could this be the so-called 'Moon-Gazing Cake'? He immediately ordered his servants to catch the crocodile, and then continued to wait by the vats, catching three more that night. At dawn, he instructed the cooks to cook the three 'Moon-Gazing Crocodiles' into a dish, the aroma filling the room, no different from a banquet delicacy. Then he summoned the clerks, the clerks, and the yamen's servants, and fed it to the big yellow dog in front of everyone. The big yellow dog, smelling the fishy aroma, wolfed it down, finishing off the entire plate of fresh fish."
At first, it wagged its tail. But after a while, it barked incessantly, lay down on the ground, seemingly in great pain. After a while, its limbs twitched, and blood flowed from its mouth. After struggling for a moment, it collapsed and died. At this point, the case was clear.”
Li Weizhang opened his mouth wide. After a while, he seemed to still want more and said, "Third Uncle, didn't you say there were two stories? Let's have another one, and another one."
Little Yangyang in Yao Lin's arms said angrily, "Uncle Wei was telling a story, and you didn't interrupt."
Everyone couldn't help but laugh.
Wei Haihong stroked Xiao Yangyang's tender face. Then he continued, "The second story is about Ji Xiaolan in the Qing Dynasty. There was a couple. One day, the husband, Zhao Tian, caught more than ten mole fish in the fields. His wife, Li, immediately killed the fish and cooked them for him. However, before they finished the meal, the husband collapsed and died, bleeding from all seven orifices. Zhao Tian's brothers and sisters then went to the government to file a complaint, accusing Li of murdering her husband, Ji Xiaolan. They found the case suspicious and inquired about Li from the neighbors. But everyone said that Li and Zhao Tian were a loving couple, and that Li was virtuous, hardworking, and never caused gossip. Li herself insisted that she was innocent and had never poisoned her husband."
"Ji Xiaolan returned to his residence dejectedly and happened to flip through a folk medical book. A passage caught his attention. It said that in the countryside of Jiangnan, there was a strange creature. It hibernated in the fields and every Mid-Autumn Festival when the moon was full, it would look up at the moon until it set, hence the name 'Moon-Gazing Creature.' Although this creature was rare, one in ten thousand, it was extremely poisonous. Upon reading this, he closed the book and pondered for a long time, when suddenly he had a sudden realization."
The next day, he immediately ordered his family to issue a notice, offering a high price to buy fresh fish from the villagers. The villagers rushed to catch them, and within a month, they had purchased tens of thousands of yellow croakers. They placed them in vats in the courtyard. On the night of the full moon, they indeed saw one croaker gazing at the moon with its head held high until the moon set. But when they tried to catch it, it darted into a group of crocodiles. Ji Xiaolan, always exceptionally clever, immediately ordered several large vats to be brought over, dispersing the fish into other vats. On moonlit nights, he would check which vat it was in, separating it again. He repeated this process several times until the "moon-gazing fish" was finally separated and kept at home.
"When the village market day came again, Ji Xiaolan summoned the plaintiff and held a public trial in the market. He declared Li innocent and released him. Zhao Tian died from poisoning after accidentally eating a poisonous crab, which the villagers naturally didn't believe, because they often caught and ate mullet and no one had ever been poisoned. Ji Xiaolan immediately told the legend of the 'Moon-Gazing Cricket' to everyone and ordered someone to take out a 'Moon-Gazing Cricket' that they had caught. He then slaughtered it in front of everyone and fed it to a dog. After eating it, the dog bled from all seven orifices and died on the spot. Only then did everyone believe it. From then on, Ji Xiaolan's ingenious solution to the strange case became a popular story!"
After Wei Haihong finished telling the story, Li Wei, Fu Ying, and Zhou Xuan all seemed to want more, especially little Yangyang. Reluctantly, she asked, "Uncle Wei, tell me another story!"
Wei Haihong chuckled and said, "That's all. Yangyang. Children should listen to children's stories, but they shouldn't listen to too many stories like this."
Yang Yang pouted and said unhappily, "I hate it when you guys call me a child!"
Even Yao Lin, who was holding her, laughed and said, "This little girl, I wonder where she learned that from!"
Fu Ying smiled and reached out her hand, saying, "Yang Yang, come here. Let your big sister give you a hug!"
Yang Yang immediately reached out his hand, and Yao Lin handed her her daughter over, saying, "My daughter never lets strangers hold her, that's strange."
While in Fu Ying's arms, Yang Yang said something that made everyone laugh: "My sister is like a fairy. When I grow up, I want to be as beautiful as my sister!"
Fu Ying smiled and said, "Yang Yang has grown up to be even prettier than my sister!"
Li Wei pinched Yang Yang's cheek and asked, "Girl, what are fairies like?"
Yang Yang was immediately taken aback by the question. After a moment of stunned silence, he pointed to his father digging in the mud and said, "My dad told me a story. The fairy is in the story..."
But she really couldn't say what a fairy looked like, because she had never seen a real fairy.
By this time, Yang Zhi had already dug a pit about two feet deep where the snow had been cleared. His forehead was covered in sweat, but he seemed to be getting happier as he worked. He wasn't cold at all anymore, and his breath was coming out in columns of white vapor.
After leveling the bottom of the pit, Yang Zhi pointed to the ground and said, "The bottom is less than a foot below the concrete. Judging from the size of the hole, there are four moon-gazing crabs at this spot."
Upon hearing that the Moon Dragonfly was about to emerge, everyone fell silent and focused their attention on the spot Yang Zhi had dug.
Yang Zhi put some effort into creating this pond. It's covered in red clay inside and out.
Volume 1, Chapter 229: X-ray Vision
On the last day of 2020, Lao Luo wishes all his book lovers a happy new year, all your wishes come true, everything goes smoothly, and you have great wealth!
Wei Haihong chuckled and said, "Do you think everyone else is as stupid as you? I've been talking for so long. Of course I know this stuff is poisonous, but we've already eaten it once. And it was perfectly fine right in front of you, wasn't it?"
Li asked in surprise, "Since it's highly poisonous, how come you're fine after eating it?"
Yao Lin added coal to the stove, while the others gathered around Yang Zhi to watch him dissect Wangyue City.
Only the old man and Old Li sat by the stove, warming themselves by the fire and chatting about interesting things.
Zhou Xuan was especially curious and had all sorts of ideas about this strange creature, the Moon-Gazing Crab. Fu Ying held little Yang Yang and watched from the side, while Li Wei and the guards stood on the other side of Yang Zhi.
Yang Zhi caught one of the Moon-Gazing Beasts. At this moment, eleven Moon-Gazing Beasts were wriggling in the warm water. The warm water had already thawed the frozen Moon-Gazing Beasts.