Time passed like a white horse galloping past a crevice; in the blink of an eye, four hours had slipped away. The earthworms that Xushu and Yan Bugui had dug up were long gone, spent through repeated casting and reeling.
As the dusk began to spread slowly across the horizon, they looked around and realized the window for fishing had closed. They both knew it was time to pack up their gear and head home.
They leaned down to tally their catch. Yan Bugui had humbly asked Xushu for a few pointers earlier, which had proven quite effective; he hadn't come away empty-handed. After a careful count, he found he had done remarkably well: two carp weighing about two pounds each, three grass carp around a pound apiece, and a dozen or so small fry.
Chapter 38