Mr. Henry immediately showed a look of relief, "But, but what about these eels, what to do?" He stammered, apparently not wanting to give up the unexpected prize, but not wanting to be charged with theft: "Eels are a delicate thing," and his hands kept turning over and over, "and even if you throw them back, you won't live long...... Delicate stuff. He repeated and emphasized.

"Then keep it for yourself," said Striff, "Mr. Henry, after all, it was it that hindered your work in the first place, and a little compensation, I don't think it's much." He casually reminded, looking at the broken head in passing: "And most likely, it's just a prank—as you say, this method of fishing was only popular a few decades ago—and maybe someone just cut off the head and threw it in the swamp, and he didn't expect anything out of it." All you have to do is restore it to its original state. And, as you said earlier, try draining these swamps and see what surprises come your way? In addition to eels, catfish and eels are also very popular, both of which are easier to prepare than eels and have their own flavors, and I think you and your family will enjoy them. ”

Mr. Henry's heart was a little moved, and his eyes kept rolling between the strong light and the darkness around him, but after a few minutes he seemed to have figured something out: "No," he said, "I think the day's harvest is rich enough." He showed the cunning of ordinary people: "I think that's enough," he exclaimed, "I'm not going to move those swamps, and I'm not going to catch eels in that way, no, fifty years ago, when fishermen and hunters were good times, but now," he shook his head, "where else can we find fresh animal heads?" There are no butchers, there are no restaurants, yes, we can go to the slaughterhouse, but those radical animal protectionists will screw my head off and throw it into the swamp – because they keep shouting that animals need to be treated the same as people. He shuddered suddenly, as if thinking of something, and he quickly bent down, picked up the empty head, and quickly crossed the bridge railing, and returned to the emptied swamp, "Let's look for it...... Alright, great," he straightened up and showed Stryff the sludge-covered prey, "my mission is done." He said, "I'll put this head back." Everything is back to the way it was. ”

He did, and the dog's head was thrown back to the bottom of the swamp, and the pumps began to rattle again, except that they were filling it with water.

Stryff noticed that he was a little apprehensive. "Any questions?" He asked politely, leaning his hand on the bridge railing.

"Don't you really want to?" Mr. Henry replied, "Eel? The two biggest? ”

"No," replied Streiff patiently, "no, I don't want an eel." Are you sure there's nothing you need my help with? ”

"If you may," said Mr. Henry, with a sad face, "please do not tell me about the events of the to-night, not only about the dogs and the eels, but not at all else." ”

"Well, I won't. But why," said Stryff, "even if this swamp or this dog's head were to be owned, your actions would still be lawful and correct, and they would not be able to prevent the owner from retrieving his belongings, just as if someone accidentally left a bag of cash in your garden and he would still have the right to claim it, and of course you might have to pay for the bag of eels, but only after they prove that these little delights were from this place." ”

Mr. Henry smiled reluctantly, "Not only that," he said, "there seem to be more people here lately, haven't you heard of it?" A group of animal rights activists, very radical, are said to have set fires in university institutes, put bombs in hospitals, and just nearby, the owner of a guinea pig farm was protested and attacked, bricks were thrown at his house, his mother-in-law's grave was demolished, and the bones were missing – it was terrible, you see, I was just a normal person, and I was afraid of them. He gestured: "I'm afraid they'll think I did it—God knows, I have two big, sturdy and happy dogs, and I treat them like my own son." ”

Stryff nodded, "I see what you mean, okay, I'll keep it a secret." He added: "I can swear to God that this secret will never come out of my mouth." ”

"I'm at ease with you." Mr. Henry increased the volume of the last few words in a confirmed manner: "Don't mind too much, I'm afraid of those fellows. Satan testifies that I'm not going to disembowel the dogs or cut off their heads or something when I'm happy, but I do occasionally give them a kick or cancel a dinner or something, and there's no way around it, otherwise how can you get them to behave - you have dogs too? Then you know how vicious they can be, running around, biting slippers, peeing in the pool, yelling for no reason, deliberately scaring everyone who passes by...... They are a bunch of stubborn little monsters, you can feed them, sleep with them, play with them, but you have to remember to teach them a lesson, or they will become little devils with long tails. But those people," he said as he said this, wiped down the gold watch and put it tightly in the inner pocket of his coat, "Look at their leaflets, you have to focus on their every need—physical and psychological—as you would a nobleman, well, the first one is fine, I know they love Wolf brand dog food and meat and bones, but who knows the psychology of a dog?" Is it out of love? Stressed at work? Or a failed promotion? Or are you too shy to socialize? Even if Satan himself came to cast a demon spell, I might not be able to do it?! He muttered dissatisfiedly, "If I could do it, I would prefer to use it on my wife, at least I can know why she didn't give me a good look for a whole month, because I didn't go with her to visit my mother-in-law (the old witch who has a room of cats!). Or did I ignore the promotional offer ad on the bedside table (from the jewelry store!). ）？ ”

"Oh, listen to you," said Striff, "you've fought them before?" ”

"I used to work as a security guard at the university's research institute." "I thought it would be a peaceful and safe job, but I was wrong," said Mr. Henry, "and the police were there, on the right side of our dormitory, and found two bombs!" Two pieces! ”

He was a little excited, and it seemed that the memories were too bad for him.

"You are a man of learning," said Mr. Henry, indignantly, "do you think they are doing the right thing?" Well, right? He turned a corner from under the railing, and staggered up over the roots of the trees, his shoes covered with mud and moss: "Isn't man the lord of all things, and has not God given him a glorious position to govern all things in nature?" And they want us to please a dog, a mouse, or a fish! It was we who provided them with shelter from the elements, three meals a day, clean drinking water, companions and doctors! - Legally, they're still our property — but now, look, there are humans who ask us to treat them as "people", God, what about people? What about our kind? ”

"Of course...... Food. Stryff said softly, sarcastically, his voice so low that he might not be able to hear it even if it was close to his lips, but Sasha heard it, and he grabbed his father's hand, and found that his fingertips were hot and his palms were cold.

Before Mr. Henry could see his own face, Stryff put away the smile on his face—a smile we were all familiar with, and it scared many people to the point of quadriplegia and even incontinence.

"So be it," he said, "it's late, and Sasha and I haven't had dinner yet." He looked at the sky, and it was almost October, and the twilight came early and fast, silently.

"I'm sorry," said Mr. Henry, "that I have delayed you, and if it is possible, invite me to my house for dinner next time, and you will book a time." "It's a shame we could have tried what my grandfather did without those damn animal protectionists," he said. Now the eel ...... Do you know what price you've reached? Ten dollars a pound, not yet wild, it is farmed. The Chinese raise them in fish ponds, and they can grow to two feet in five years, and as you can imagine, the meat tastes bland, and tastes like cotton, or cereal, and is by no means as delicious and strong as the wild. He babbled, "Of course, it would be better if there wasn't that farm, eel," and he shook his head: "It used to be something that only the aristocracy and the rich could afford." ”

Striff, who had already picked up Sasha and was about to walk away, stopped, he turned slightly: "Ah," those blue-gray eyes flashed in the darkness: "Chinese? ”

Just as searching for a precious quality like stearin rosin that glows and scents from Catherine's boring, middle school diary-type childhood memories, the devil feels that he has heard a point, that is, a word that deserves attention and study.

"That's right," Mr. Henry took off his glove, "you've only been here for two years, and I'm talking about the Chinese parliamentarian who built an eel farm on the island of Grimara, and at first no one thought he would succeed, but the truth is that the farm has been making hundreds of thousands of dollars in profits for him since three years ago, every year."

He raises gray-headed eels, which are easier to live than brown eels, but the taste, tsk, as long as it is a real glutton, as long as he smells the smell, he doesn't even have to taste it, he can know that something is wrong, but some people don't care, he sells them to Chinese restaurants in district 7 and community canteens in district 20, the Chinese have their way of cooking, and those people in district 20, their tongues and stomachs have long been crushed by alcohol and drugs, they can't even tell the difference between fish and pork. He looked down to pick up the slippery delicacies: "You really don't want to take two with you?" Also, it's already dark, and I think you're going to need a flashlight. ”

"No, thank you." Stryff said contentedly.

He grabbed the sand and walked steadily into the darkness.

(To be continued)

Some adults asked about the update, and the work has been busy recently, basically every two days. If I have the opportunity, I will work hard to add more, thank you!