Before my father passed away in an accident, he often took me river fishing. The more luxurious memories of my childhood include carps we cleaned and ate at home after he had caught them in the river. Even after my father’s death, I would go fishing to help feed the family. However, due to my impatience, I used a method unlike fishing. I placed the lead connected to a generator turning on the lights of my bicycle into the water, at a location known for fish. By pedaling, I could electrocute them.
There was a carp that could not move due to the electroshock, so I took it home for my mother to cook along with the snake-headed fish, catfish, and loaches that I caught. Mincing them finely is an excellent treat. Incidental river prawns would be stewed together with daikon radish. That was also very delicious. A good meal with delicious fish would even warm the hearts of a heavily debt-laden family. This is a fond memory I keep.

<<Keeping True to My Mother’s Lesson to This Day>>

Although I have many memories with my dad and carp, there is one particular instance I could never forget. This happened after a banquet we held to celebrate successful planting of rice.

During the 1950s and 1960s, planting of rice was group work, and we all chipped in. We would help our relatives and they would help us. Once the work was finished, it was customary for everyone to attend a banquet with some alcohol and foods. As a household without a husband and father, we could not have finished the rice planting without the help of our relatives. That is why a banquet to treat our guests was very important. But we were only able to serve simple handmade bites and some pickles.
There was one year a particular incident had happened. We finished planting the rice without any issues and then a banquet started at our home. A while later we ran out of alcohol and I was told by my mother to buy some. Back then, you were supposed to bring a large glass bottle (about 1.8 liters) and they would fill it at the liquor shop. I fastened the bottle at the back side of my bicycle, and while I was on my way to the liquor shop, I saw an enormous carp swimming in a small river. I knew that if I brought it home, everyone would be happy. I immediately jumped into the small river to try and grab it, but the enormous carp slipped out of my hands several times. After a while of struggling with the carp, a passer stopped and gently asked me what I was doing. As I told him, that I was trying to catch the enormous carp, he responded I should wait a bit. He parted, but came back really quickly with a small harpoon in his hand. That’s when I knew he was going to catch it. I remember being really happy about that.

I pointed to where the carp was, and he said to just leave it to him. After he took his shot, we were greeted with an enormous carp at the end of the harpoon. But upon me shouting with joy, the man just walked back into his home with the carp. I just felt so helpless and sad. I just imagined how happy my relatives and mother would have been, and the tears went running down my face. To raise someone’s hopes, only to crush them later. I promised myself that I would never be like that.

A few years later after that incident, I found out that there was a swamp attached to that small river, and there were many large carps there. So to keep it a secret from the adults, the kids gathered at the swamp in the middle of the night and brought with them vertical and centrifugal pumps that could suck out the water. We used 5 or 6 such devices to suck out all of the water from the swamp. Once we did that, it was all easy pickings. But early next morning, the adults were in an uproar, because all of the water for rice paddies was missing. I panicked so much. I didn’t know the swamp was the water source for the rice paddies. In the end, none of us were scolded, and both the adults and the kids enjoyed catching carp together. It turned into a funny story, so I guess the water eventually flew back. I also remember that carp was delicious.