New Friends

Xuejiawa is a natural harbor located on the eastern bank of the Yangtze River， once a focal point for the comprehensive ecological restoration of the Yangtze River. Many fishermen， under preferential policies， chose to cease fishing and shift to alternative livelihoods onshore. However， Xu Shuisheng， who had lived on a boat all his life， was unwilling to adapt and even drove away his granddaughter， Xu Chuanchuan， who wished to go ashore for schooling. Fortunately， the kind-hearted teacher， Lin， took Chuanchuan back to school. The boy， Ma Xiaolong， came to Xuejiawa with his mother to gather inspiration. He was reluctant to interact with others but gradually became good friends with Chuanchuan. Together， they read books and rescued river dolphins. One day， an illegal sand mining boat arrived at the old cement dock， prompting Chuanchuan and her friends to form a “League of Heroes” to intercept the vessel. At a critical moment， Chuanchuan’s grandfather stepped in. Could they be successful?

Li Liang

Li Liang is a member of the China Writers Association and the Children’s Literature Committee of the Anhui Writers Association. He has received awards such as the Bing Xin Children’s Literature Award for New Works， Excellence Works of the Beluga Prize， and a special prize in the Anhui Province for “the Best Works Award，” among others.

South of Xuejiawa， facing a small sandbar across the river， there is a not-so-large semi-enclosed bay. Adjacent to reed marshes and rich in aquatic resources， this place was once considered a “feng shui treasure” by fishermen， with a saying， “One night’s haul feeds you for a month; One day’s haul feeds you for a year，” locally known as Reed Bay. Later， as the number of intruding fishing boats increased， some set up “bewitching arrays” in the bay， drastically depleting the fish and shrimp populations until they became lifeless. Last winter， Reed Bay was designated a no-fishing zone by the government and later included in the comprehensive ecological restoration area of the eastern bank of the Yangtze River. Many fishermen ceased fishing and shifted to other livelihoods， leaving the waters undisturbed. Half a year later， Xu Chuanchuan was delighted to find Reed Bay “revived from the dead，” with fish and shrimp reappearing.

On Saturday， she and Ma Xiaolong went fishing. They only used small fishing rods， “one person， one rod， one line per rod， one hook per line，” as allowed by the government， without breaking any laws. Within five minutes of beginning to fish， Xu Chuanchuan stood up excitedly and shouted， “Got a bite! Got a bite!” She heaved and hoed， pulling the line back in， but became disheartened and let go just before the catch surfaced.

“Why did you stop pulling? Hurry up!” Ma Xiaolong urged her， jumping up and down.

Xu Chuanchuan said dispiritedly， “It’s not a fish. We’ve hooked onto a ‘bewitching array.’”

Following the direction she pointed， Ma Xiaolong saw something white floating and sinking in the water. He used all his might to pull the white object ashore， revealing it to be a large， circular-mouthed， tubular fishing net， with white foam balls attached to the net.

“Is this the ‘bewitching array’? What’s it for?” Ma Xiaolong asked.

Xu Chuanchuan explained that it was a fishing device commonly deployed in this area by fishermen in the past. They would closely arrange numerous bamboo poles in the water， hanging nets between them， stretching from the shore into the Yangtze River for hundreds of meters， nearly encasing the entire Reed Bay. Then， they anchored the corners of the net underwater and scattered fish feed inside to lure fish.

“The net hanging beneath the white balls is a ‘fish trap，’ those huge， long traps!” Xu Chuanchuan exaggerated the size of the traps with her arms fully extended， making grand gestures to her companion. She told Ma Xiaolong that each row of foam balls had a super-large fish trap hanging below. These traps， ranging from several meters to over a hundred meters in length， lurked underwater like monsters， with their “giant mouths” wide open. Compared to these giant traps， their small fish traps were practically insignificant. Fish， attracted by the scent of the bait， would swim into the “giant mouth” and find themselves in a narrowing maze， from large holes to small traps， eventually getting caught in the netting， hence the name “bewitching array.” Because these nets were extremely fine and spared no small fry， locals also called them “family-ending nets.” Filled with righteous indignation， Xu Chuanchuan kicked a foam ball and said， “My grandfather always looked down on those who used ‘family-ending nets.’ When he went out to fish in the Yangtze and came across these nets， he would cut them open without a second thought to free the fish. He believed those who used ‘bewitching arrays，’ along with those who electro-fished or blasted fish， were the ones who destroyed the riches of the Yangtze River!”

So that’s how it was!

After the comprehensive ecological restoration， fishermen ceased using such nets and “washed their feet ashore，” transitioning to other livelihoods and leaving no one to deploy these nets any longer. However， many old nets that were not timely removed have continued to drift underwater， becoming invisible “killers” from which fish that wander into the “bewitching arrays” cannot escape.

“Baa baa baa!”

Suddenly， the sound of a lamb reached Ma Xiaolong’s ears， but he saw no lamb in sight.

“Baa baa baa!”

The lamb’s cry sounded again. Listening closely， Xiaolong realized the cry was not coming from the shore but from the Yangtze River. How could there be a lamb in the river? Puzzled， he saw a greyish-black， “big fish” suddenly break the surface of the water not far from the shore and then quickly dive back in. This “big fish，” about the size of a child， had a round large head， small eyes， and two short “arms” without a dorsal fin. Its tail， which it used to slap the water， resembled a fish’s but was plump， making it not quite as similar. Xu Chuanchuan immediately knew it was not any big fish but a river dolphin!

“River dolphin!” Along with Xu Chuanchuan’s joyful shout， another river dolphin leaped out of the water.

Ma Xiaolong had seen river dolphins before， during a night when he ran to the riverbank after a disagreement with his mother， but the view was not as clear as during the daytime. They saw two river dolphins taking turns leaping out of the water， sometimes emitting lamb-like bleats， sometimes making bird-like or children’s laughter sounds. They energetically jumped， followed each other closely， and sometimes affectionately rubbed against each other， presumably a loving couple!

Xu Chuanchuan and Ma Xiaolong waved and cheered at the river dolphins， and the dolphins persistently swam close to the “bewitching array” in the water， unwilling to leave. Concerned the fish net might hurt them， Xu Chuanchuan loudly shouted to drive them away， even resorting to throwing stones at them， yet they showed no signs of wanting to leave. As they swam， their movements grew larger， occasionally turning sideways to flick their tails above the water， as if signaling to the kids onshore， while continuously diving around the fish net as if searching for something. When they surfaced again， they emitted more urgent， alarm-like chirping sounds. Xu Chuanchuan felt uneasy， wondering if they were encountering some trouble. Were they asking for our help?

The river dolphins continued to flick their tails， diving and resurfacing， chirping anxiously.

Xu Chuanchuan suddenly realized there must be something in the water.

“Quick， pull the net up!”

Using all their strength， the two children hauled the soaked， damaged fish trap toward the shore. As they pulled， the net felt heavier， indicating something was inside!

“Keep going! Keep going!”

“Hey ho! Hey ho!”

They encouraged themselves while pulling. The river dolphins stayed close to the fish net， unwilling to leave it even for a moment. Finally， they managed to pull the several-meter-long fish net ashore. At the bottom of the trap， a plump， grey-black little creature thrashed around， making “puff puff” noises.

Xu Chuanchuan burst into laughter， exclaiming， “It’s a baby river dolphin， a baby river dolphin!”

This little one must have mistakenly swum into the abandoned fish trap while hunting and become trapped at the bottom. Although river dolphins look like fish， they are air-breathing mammals. The baby was saved just in time thanks to Xu Chuanchuan’s swift action. A few more minutes could have been fatal.

The baby river dolphin was trapped in the deepest part of the net， and it took some effort for the children to rescue it. The little fellow was about half a meter long， feeling almost as heavy as the green fish they caught the last time they went fishing with Xiaolong and his mother. The baby river dolphin went “puff puff” calling out and twisting its body， eager to return to its parents. Ma Xiaolong was impatient， begging Xu Chuanchuan to let him hold the baby dolphin.

“Here you go， be gentle.” Xu Chuanchuan handed the baby dolphin to Xiaolong.

Ma Xiaolong held it carefully， as tenderly as one would hold a newborn baby. He gently stroked the baby dolphin’s head， feeling its slippery， jelly-like skin.

“Baa baa baa!”

“Baa baa baa!”

The river dolphin parents in the shallow bay were alarmed and anxious， calling out while rapidly swimming around in distress. They would occasionally stop and stand upright， exposing nearly two-thirds of their bodies above the water and maintaining a vertical position as if pleading， “Please return our child to us!” They could only keep this posture for a few seconds before diving back into the water.

Ma Xiaolong said to Xu Chuanchuan， “Its parents are worried. Let’s release it!”

“Mhm.”

Releasing the baby was exactly what Xu Chuanchuan had in mind. They returned the baby river dolphin to the reed bay， where it immediately swam to its parents. The family reunited， with the ecstatic parents encircling their baby， tenderly rubbing and nudging it as a celebration of its miraculous escape.

The river dolphin’s parents spat water towards the shore， creating sparkling water columns and bubbles in the river. The clever baby dolphin playfully mimicked its parents， quickly learning to do the same. “Puff， gurgle gurgle!” Bubbles surged， and the little one darted around happily， chasing the bubbles in delight.

Xu Chuanchuan， holding her sides with laughter， exclaimed， “This is so much fun! We should name it!”

Ma Xiaolong thought for a moment and said， “How about ‘Bubble’?”

“Bubble? Great name， it’s Bubble!”

The baby river dolphin and its parents swam toward deeper water， while Xu Chuanchuan and Ma Xiaolong stood on the riverbank， waving goodbye to the family of three.

“Goodbye! Bubble!”

“Goodbye! Bubble!”

As if responding to their new friends， the baby river dolphin， Bubble， suddenly flipped its tail， breaking the water surface again. Puff， it spouted another shiny water column.