Cheng Ying didn't consider it an insult; it only proved her way of thinking was far ahead of others. Before the nation abolished private ownership of property, she already understood the concept of it.

She had entered that mindset early. Though she didn't know the exact timing, Cheng Ying knew it was seven or eight years away, and soon the fields would be divided into household plots.

When everything became private, wouldn't her thinking be considered truly advanced? She stared intently at the river surface.

Ignoring Chi Wu's words, she had already made up her mind. Her eyes were fixed on the fish; what a perfect opportunity!

Who knew how many fish might leap out of the ice? It was surely an excellent moment to strike.

Cheng Ying could almost smell the fragrant steam of fish soup already. Chi Wu looked at Cheng Ying and knew the girl wasn't planning anything good.

He felt both annoyed and stifled. "Can you please stop being like this?" The way he spoke was completely different from how he usually addressed Cheng Ying; it was practically a plea in his tone.

Cheng Ying turned her face, looked seriously at the child, and educated him with great earnestness: "Chi Wu, you must understand that any great thought requires pioneers, requires leaders. But regardless of that, a person must first stay alive, and first take care of themselves.

If you can't even take care of yourself, how can you create more value for society—society, you don't understand, it means the brigade. How can you create more value for the brigade?

Only by arming ourselves first, by eating well and dressing well, can we create higher value for the team. Do you understand?" Chi Wu's small forehead was furrowed with worry, making him look like a little old man.

Though he didn't understand the nuances, he knew she was talking in circles. "You still want to go down there and steal fish." He was quite a clever child after all.

Cheng Ying nodded. "It's not stealing.

Those fish are jumping up by themselves; we are just collecting them." This point absolutely had to be emphasized. Then, she led Chi Wu toward the ice.

Seeing Chi Wu’s reluctance, Cheng Ying made a final attempt at brainwashing. "We can only see further when we stand on higher ground.

We can only think about helping others eat when we are full ourselves, isn't that the logic?" Chi Wu couldn't be bothered to respond. This was a persistent scoundrel, always backing up his crooked logic with fancy words.

Cheng Ying decided practical education was better. "Think about it: what’s the difference between drinking fish soup and eating fish meat?" Chi Wu pursed his lips and fell silent, but his steps following Cheng Ying became noticeably more eager.

For their whole family, if they only got one large fish after the division, Chi Wu would only get soup. But if there were enough fish, surely he'd get a bite of meat.

He truly understood that. Cheng Ying lightly slapped her own mouth.

If she had known this trick worked so well, why had she wasted so many brain cells talking so much? This was a stubborn mule whose nose needed a carrot dangling in front of it.

Cheng Ying and Chi Wu crept onto the ice. In reality, there was no need to sneak; the entire riverbank was empty, as everyone else had gone to drive the fish.

These two were just suffering from guilty consciences. Although some fish had jumped onto the ice, there weren't many, and those that had jumped earlier were already frozen solid.

With their small arms and legs and no tools, the two of them couldn't pry the fish loose. They were simply left staring at the fish, a perfect picture of "gazing at the fish with longing." Cheng Ying and Chi Wu watched from the ice, running over only to pick up any fish that managed to jump up just then.

You could say that smart people are abundant in this world, and fish are the same—not too many foolish ones jump up onto the ice. After waiting for a long time, all Chi Wu held was a small fish about half a foot long—barely two catties.

Cheng Ying grew anxious, and Chi Wu became frightened. "Let's go quickly; people might come soon." This child was content; getting even one fish was quite an achievement.

Cheng Ying scoffed, "Look at you, what meager ambitions! Just wait." Right, this was someone with grand ideas.

Cheng Ying glared at the fish frozen to the ice surface, frantic. "Don't tell me I have to lie on the ice to beg for carp!" Saying that, she touched her hand to the ice.

It was freezing cold! And with Cheng Ying’s small hands, at this temperature, wasn't that ridiculous?

How many years would it take to warm the fish loose? The books were indeed full of lies.

Chi Wu looked at Cheng Ying's bright red hands. "Stop it quickly!

You’ll ruin your hands over one fish." In Chi Wu’s view, Cheng Ying was clueless about priorities, even more stubborn than he was. It was just a fish; was it worth losing her hands over?

Alright, Cheng Ying knew it truly wasn't worth it. But her hands wouldn't come loose; they were practically glued to the ice.

What kind of temperature was this? Cheng Ying cursed herself for being an idiot.

Chi Wu's face turned deathly pale with worry. "Hurry up!

Every fish we pick up is free; why are you so greedy?" The child was indeed content. But she wasn't greedy; her hands were just stuck!

Cheng Ying snapped, "Stop nagging! My hands are frozen stiff!" Just then, Chi Wu shouted toward the riverbank: "Look!

A huge fish!" It was one of the ones that had jumped ashore earlier. Cheng Ying followed Chi Wu's gaze, and with a jolt, her hand pulled free from the ice.

She shivered from the sudden pain—the lure of fish meat was too strong. Chi Wu was momentarily stunned watching Cheng Ying; she was so intimately drawn to seeing a fish.

This was incredible. Cheng Ying felt a slight pang of self-reproach.

"Hurry up and go! What are you looking at?

The fish will freeze solid!" The two of them ran towards the bank like madmen. Sure enough, it was a truly large fish.

Cheng Ying estimated it was at least over two catties. Chi Wu lifted the fish, barely caring that his padded jacket was getting wet.

"It hasn't frozen yet; it's so heavy!" Their excited voices carried across the vast expanse of the river, sounding somewhat brazen. Cheng Ying quickly scanned their surroundings.

"Are you asking to die? Why are you shouting?

Hurry up and hide the fish on the bank!" Well, Chi Wu, doing this for the first time, looked a bit flustered. Heeding Cheng Ying’s words, Chi Wu dashed toward the shore.

What he held was stolen goods! The icy-cold fish felt almost hot in his hands.

He had to hide it quickly! The safest option was to destroy the evidence by shoving it straight into his belly, but that condition wasn't available.

Watching Chi Wu run off, Cheng Ying let out a breath of relief. If she were alone on the river, she could have just tossed the catch into her dimension.

Who would catch her then? She wouldn't be holding any evidence; she'd just be a spectator.

It was inconvenient having company. Seeing that the river surface was completely deserted, what a perfect opportunity!

Cheng Ying anxiously paced the ice. Hurry up and jump up two more fish!

She was waiting to raise them in her space. But heaven rarely grants one's wishes.

After a long time, not a single fish had jumped up. From a distance, Cheng Ying could already hear Chi Wu's footsteps returning.

Anxiety flared, and Cheng Ying leaned her head over the water surface. The net was actually quite useful!

Cheng Ying could see a large carp struggling hard right in front of the net, close to the surface. Cheng Ying noticed that the water surface, only recently broken, was already forming a thin layer of ice crystals.

No wonder no fish were coming up; it was freezing over again. The ice sealed too quickly.

With a resolute heart, Cheng Ying lay flat on the ice, stretching her hand into the hole. She strained to hook the net floating on the water.

Cheng Ying thought, if she could just get one fish into her space, that would be enough. But how thick was this ice?

Her small hands couldn't reach the net! At that moment, Chi Wu returned and saw Cheng Ying in that position; he was nearly scared to death.

"Are you trying to die?" Before he finished speaking, Cheng Ying slid halfway in—only the upper half of her body remained on the ice. Cheng Ying felt the cold—intense cold.

And the glare reflecting off the ice—she could barely hold on. Chi Wu lunged forward, grabbing the hand Cheng Ying had on the ice, pulling with all his might.

"You just had to cause trouble! Didn't we already get a fish?

Why do you still need the one in the net? That belongs to the brigade!

Don't you know that?" Chi Wu was almost crying as he spoke. If Cheng Ying's face hadn't been turning purple from strain, she would have kicked the child twice.

Did he have no sense of priorities? At a time like this, collective ownership mattered?

A person's life was more important! Falling into the water in this freezing weather, even if they managed to get out, would cost half a life—it was so cold.

Chi Wu strained with all the strength he had ever possessed, but Cheng Ying wouldn't budge; she didn't move an inch upward. At this moment, Cheng Ying didn't feel smug about being taller than Chi Wu.

It was truly hard to pull her up. Cheng Ying gasped, "Don't panic.

I tested it; it seems I can't pull up, but I'm not sliding further down either. How about you get a stick and wedge it on the ice surface, then you pull me while I brace myself?

Try that." Finally, the adult mind was calmer than Chi Wu's. Chi Wu hesitated to let go.

"Are you sure you won't fall in?" He mumbled this while rubbing his nose; the child was terrified and on the verge of tears. "I won't fall, but you need to be fast; I can't hold on much longer." Chi Wu glanced toward the bank; there were plenty of sticks there that he could manage to carry.

"I'll run fast; you hold on, please! Don't let go!" "Hurry up!

My hand is pressed against the net; I'm okay!" What a dangerously precarious posture! If she hadn't had the fishing net as a support point, Cheng Ying would have already plunged beneath the ice.

Chi Wu wiped away his tears and slowly let go of Cheng Ying. Seeing that she wasn't sinking, he ran off.

Originally, Cheng Ying could have held on. Although the hand submerged in the water was numb with cold, with her life at stake, Cheng Ying would have held on to death.

But precisely at that moment, the fish that had been swinging its tail broke free. With one sudden jerk, Cheng Ying splashed right in!

The moment her hand entered the water, it touched the body of the big fish. In that moment of life or death, Cheng Ying, without knowing how, managed to pull the fish into her space!

Cheng Ying used one hand to cling to the net, struggling to keep her head just above the water surface. Her clothes were soaked, cold, and heavy, dragging her down.

The current beneath the ice was pushing against her. To keep her head out and snatch a breath of air, Cheng Ying inadvertently let a lot of water pour into her space using her hand's proximity to the net.

Chi Wu ran with incredible speed, faster than Cheng Ying thought possible. He returned much quicker than she had anticipated, showing the purity of the child's heart, focused entirely on saving her.

Cheng Ying had only managed two gasps of air when Chi Wu thrust the large stick toward her hand. Cheng Ying could finally use the stick to push her head clear of the water.

She released her grip on the net and desperately clung to the stick. Her lips were chattering uncontrollably from the cold.

Chi Wu had stopped crying now.