The men and women in the village, old and young, all set out two days ago to dig up the herbs for making fish. Herbal medicine is the root of a vine, each of which is almost as thick as a small arm, and everyone in the village has to dig a full bundle. Naoyu is the dialect name of "fishing" in Nanguohe people. It is an activity that Nanguohe people have every year!

As soon as the sun emerged from the top of the mountain, the fathers and sons in the village had already reached the Nanguo River. The first arrivals had already raised a fire with dried bamboo and branches by the river, except for a fish that could be roasted with fire. The stones in this section of the river are very dense, and their heads are exposed in the dark, which seems to welcome these old friends by the river. This is a fixed place where fish are concentrated from the village to the fishing season. It is impossible to verify when it was chosen. It has been year after year since the ancestors, and even though the village has moved many times, this place remains unchanged. Everyone stood by the river, rolling up their sleeves, rolling up their trouser legs, and tidying up their luggage. Everyone seemed eager to have a big fight. Look at this posture, the fish in Nanguo River can't run if they want to.

At the command of the river chief, the villagers launched into the water with a wooden stick that had just been cut by the river, and the water was not deep, but the sound of "plop" was still ringing. It's like the continuous flapping sound made by a duck keeper when he drives a group of ducks into the water, which gives people a sense of rhythm. Grandpa blocked the river in the river and lined it up. If people who hadn't seen this posture thought it was going to intercept the river, everyone chose a stone to put the fishvine on it, and stood in the most stable posture with a wooden stick. The best way to do this was to adjust the standing posture to their positions. The river leader looked around again and told everyone to get ready. When everyone was ready, he shouted "Go!" . What followed was a louder sound, which fluctuated with each other in the river. All the fathers swung their sticks in the roar of the river and slammed them hard at the drug vines on the stones in front of them. The dense sound of sticks drowned the roar of the river in an instant. Smash the fishvine to pieces, and the worse it is, the better. Rinse it in the river for a few times and then smash it on the stone. Repeatedly, repeatedly wash it, and a layer of white foam floats along the water.

It's no easy job to smash the vines. If you want to smash the vines with small arms and thick roots, you must have enough arm strength, and every time you smash them, people will say that you didn't eat enough milk when you were young, and you were wet behind the ears. At the same time, you must have endurance. You can't stop smashing at the beginning. It takes at least 20 minutes to smash in turn, and you can't stop during the period. Another one should also have speed. A bundle of rattan roots should be smashed in 20 minutes. If it is not smashed well, the dosage will be less. If the dosage is insufficient, it will be a waste of effort today. If the fish excrement is still smashed for more than 20 minutes, the time to take the fish will be less, because after the drug effect is over, the fish will immediately wake up, even if you have seventy-two tricks, it will not work, not to mention Kan Zhang San (Kan Zhang San is the protagonist of wisdom stories circulating in Menghai area.

After 20 minutes of smashing, the fishermen's hands in the village are rotten with only one fiber left. The river chief shouted at the top of his lungs. As if he had been struck by a flash of lightning, the men raised their hands and dumped the fibers and sticks in their hands, lifted the machete hanging around their waist and turned to run along the river. The machete was not very big and light. It's more accurate to say that running is jumping between stones in the river. When jumping, you should turn your eyes quickly and keep searching in every corner of the river. It's an instant to see fish. Because this fish-disturbing medicine is only useful for the unique noodle melon fish in Nanguo River, it has little effect on other fish, and the effect of noodle melon fish is also for a period of time, about one hour. The fish will faint and float on the water just after being taken medicine. When the fathers of Nanguo River jump on the dense stones in the river, if they see the fish floating, they aim at it, rush into the water at a very fast speed, grab the tail of the fish, grab it, and then put the fish through the gills with a rope made of bark, and then go out from the mouth, tied it at the waist, and then continue to find the next one.

I remember one time, a big melon fish weighed ten pounds, just under my feet, the stone was ten meters away, and it floated slowly. I swam quietly in the past, and a big fish was floating in front of me, and something crossed my face was burning. My hands were gently ready to go, and the fish floated peacefully. I grabbed it with both hands in an instant. As soon as my fingers touched the fish, the fish jumped up, its huge body fluttered, and the water splashed high. The fish disappeared in the beautiful Nanguo River and swam away to the depths of Nanguo River. Regret how you didn't speed up a little and how you didn't keep straight.

The sons and daughters of Nanguo River are all wet. They follow Nanguo River, some jump into the river, and some climb rocks from the river. They are very busy. In short, you have to rely on your own skills to get fish. If you get it, you will belong to yourself. If you can't get it, you can only blame yourself for your bad luck and poor technology. At the beginning, everyone went down the river together, and slowly opened the distance. Some walked in front and some fell behind. Each goes his own way, and the medicinal properties of the fishbone will slowly dilute with the current, and everyone will slowly disperse. Finally, everyone will cook a delicious fish soup for his wife and children at home with their own harvest today, eat sweet and delicious noodles, and listen to the anecdotes about the fish at home.

Now it's the fishing season by Nanguo River again, but it won't happen again. It can only be left in my childhood memory. Times have changed. Now there are more and more ways to catch fish. There are fishing nets, electric shocks and other new ways to catch fish no longer need so many people to cooperate. The lively scene of catching fish is gone forever. For me, making fish is not only catching fish, but also a traditional culture, which belongs to the unique culture of Nanguo River.

Culture is the crystallization of the wisdom of the older generation in Nanguo River, which promotes the simple feelings between neighbors and the love for nature.

This season, I want to go fishing again with the fathers of Nanguo River.