18 – Gathering to Watch

The villagers ultimately did not catch up with Lu Qing and the others.

With Wang Da’an’s help, their pace wasn’t slow, and the river wasn’t far from the village.

So by the time the villagers were still tidying up by the river, Lu Qing and the others had already returned to the village.

Their return caused quite a commotion.

No wonder, the big fish Wang Da’an was carrying on his back was too eye-catching.

Moreover, this guy loved to show off. As soon as he entered the village, he carried the fish toward anyone he saw.

People weren’t blind; how could they not notice the big fish on his back.

As a result, seeing such a big fish, how could they not exclaim?

“Brother Da’an caught a big fish! It’s huge!”

This shout naturally drew everyone out to see the excitement.

Then, they saw it was indeed a big fish, and a terrifyingly big one at that.

Instantly, the place became lively.

“Well done, Da’an, how did you manage to catch such a big fish?”

“Goodness! This fish must weigh over twenty pounds, impressive, Da’an!”

“Brother Da’an is amazing, to catch such a big fish!”

……..

A group of villagers surrounded Wang Da’an, reaching out to touch the fish while exclaiming in amazement.

The children were even more excited, jumping and shouting around.

Lu Qing watched Wang Da’an showing off the Azure-scaled Fish with some amusement.

This scene reminded him of those fishing enthusiasts in his previous life, who also loved to show off when they occasionally caught a big fish.

As if not bragging a little would be letting down the hard work of waiting by the riverside.

Once Wang Da’an had shown off enough, Lu Qing called out helplessly, “Alright, Brother Da’an, let’s go back.”

Having bragged enough, Wang Da’an squeezed out of the crowd and ran to Lu Qing’s side.

“I forgot to tell you all, this big fish wasn’t caught by me but by Lu Qing!”

“Lu Qing caught it?”

Everyone looked over at Lu Qing.

Xiao Yan immediately lifted her head proudly, “That’s right, this big fish was caught by my brother with great effort. We even have another prettier big fish in our bucket!”

“So it really was Lu Qing who caught it?!”

“There’s another big fish in the bucket?!”

Hearing this, everyone quickly crowded over to look into the bucket Lu Qing was carrying.

Everyone was stunned by what they saw.

No wonder, the appearance of the Red Moon Carp was truly dazzling.

That splendid fiery red color was like a flame burning in the water, making it clear at first glance this fish was no ordinary species.

“What kind of fish is this? It’s so beautiful!”

“A fish that’s fiery red, it’s my first time seeing one.”

“Such a pretty fish, Lu Qing, where did you catch it?”

“Lu Qing, do you know what kind of fish this is?”

Everyone asked in awe.

“I don’t know what kind of fish this is either,” Lu Qing shook his head, “Tomorrow, I plan to take it to Grandpa Chen to see if he recognizes it.”

“Right, right, Old Doctor Chen has seen a lot; he’ll definitely know this fish.”

If anyone in the village was most respected by the villagers, it was undoubtedly Old Doctor Chen.

Not only because everyone had visited him for medical advice at some point,

but also because he was acknowledged as the most knowledgeable person in the village.

Often visiting the town, their knowledge was not something that the rural folk could compare to.

The crowd gathered around, commenting on the two big fish for a long time. After satisfying their curiosity, they dispersed, content.

Lu Qing invited everyone to his home, saying he would kill the fish and treat everyone to a meal.

But who in the village didn’t know the situation of his family? One by one, they all refused.

Even those who were tempted to taste the big fish were pulled away by others before they could speak.

They really lacked insight. Who would take advantage of two poor orphans? Aren’t they afraid of being ridiculed?

After everyone had dispersed, Lu Qing finally lifted the bucket and returned to his yard with Xiao Yan and Wang Da’an.

“Lu Qing, I’m heading back now.”

As soon as they reached the yard, Wang Da’an put down the fish and prepared to leave.

Lu Qing hurriedly called him, “Don’t go, Brother Da’an, I promised to treat you to fish.”

“You took that seriously? I was joking earlier. Given your situation, if I stayed for dinner, my old man at home would chase me with a stick!”

“But you can’t let me go back on my word.”

“No way, I wouldn’t dare stay for dinner.”

…”

The two argued, but neither could persuade the other.

“Brother Da’an, you know we can’t finish such a big fish by ourselves. With this warm weather, the fish meat won’t keep for long. If you take some back, you’d be helping lighten my burden.” Lu Qing said earnestly.

“Well… fine.” Wang Da’an, seeing Lu Qing’s sincerity, hesitated for a moment before finally agreeing.

Seeing him relent, Lu Qing immediately went to the kitchen to get a knife and prepare to clean the fish.

It had to be said, the Green Scale Fish lived up to its name. Its scales were incredibly tough.

Lu Qing spent a lot of effort, and with Wang Da’an’s help, they finally managed to scrape off the scales and gut the fish.

After cleaning the fish, apart from the swim bladder, Lu Qing planned to discard the other organs like the intestines and liver.

Though if cooked well, the organs of such a big fish could be quite delicious.

Lu Qing had enjoyed eating fish intestines a lot in his previous life.

But given the current situation at home, they barely had enough seasonings. Cooking such fishy organs was out of the question, so Lu Qing had to reluctantly give up on them.

After removing the organs, the first thing Lu Qing did was chop off two big pieces of fish meat, wrap them in banana leaves, and hand them to Wang Da’an.

“So much?!”

Wang Da’an was surprised looking at the two large pieces of fish meat.

These two pieces weighed several pounds at least.

“It’s not much, Brother Da’an. Look, there’s still so much fish meat left. How could Xiao Yan and I finish it all?”

Lu Qing forcibly handed the fish meat to Wang Da’an.

Wang Da’an glanced at the chopping board, where indeed there was still a large pile of fish meat, and didn’t refuse anymore.

“Lu Qing, I think only your family in the whole village has the trouble of not being able to finish such fish.” Wang Da’an laughed after receiving the fish.

After witnessing Lu Qing’s catch today, Wang Da’an realized that in the future, Lu Qing’s family wouldn’t lack fish to eat.

“Fish can’t be a meal substitute.” Lu Qing said helplessly, “People still need to eat proper food. Unfortunately, my family’s fields are abandoned, and it’s not the planting season yet.”

“That is indeed a problem.” Wang Da’an nodded.

He knew that after the big upheaval in the Lu family, Lu Qing had missed the farming season.

It would be several months before the next planting season.

After thinking for a moment, his eyes suddenly brightened.

“Lu Qing, you’re so good at fishing. In the future, you could sell the fish at the market, buy some grain with the money, and solve your food problem!”

“Sell fish?” Lu Qing was puzzled, “But I remember entering the city requires a fee. I have no money now.”

“I’m not talking about the city, but selling at the big market near our village!”

“Big market?” Lu Qing blinked.