12 – A Familiar Scene

Old Doctor entered the house and quickly came out again.

He was holding a small box in his hand.

“Take this.”

Old Doctor handed the box to Lu Qing.

“What is this?”

Lu Qing opened the box and saw a small bundle of nearly transparent white silk threads inside.

“These silk threads were a gift from a wandering swordsman whom I saved years ago.”

“I don’t know what exactly they are, but these threads are extraordinarily tough and can’t be easily broken. They should meet your requirements for making fishing lines.”

“Grandpa Chen, this is too precious; I can’t accept it.” Lu Qing hurriedly returned the item upon hearing this.

Something given as a token of gratitude for saving a life is definitely not ordinary. Lu Qing dared not take it casually.

However, the word ‘swordsman’ did stir something in his heart.

In this world, there really are extraordinary individuals.

Old Doctor Chen did not take it back. He waved his hand and said, “Just take it. This thing is useless to me. I’ve had it for more than ten years and never used it. If you hadn’t mentioned it, I would have forgotten I even had it.”

“Since you need sturdy silk threads for fishing lines, you might as well use it. This way, it won’t just sit gathering dust with me.”

“If you feel guilty about accepting it, just give me a share of any good catch you make with it. The small fish from yesterday was quite tasty, perfect to go with wine.”

Lu Qing held the box, feeling both grateful and ashamed.

Old Doctor Chen treated him and his sister so well, yet he had considered secretly learning the man’s techniques. He was indeed ashamed.

Looking at the box in his hand, Lu Qing made a silent decision in his heart.

In the days to come, unless Old Doctor Chen taught him voluntarily, he would never try to imitate the doctor’s techniques again.

“Don’t worry, Grandpa Chen. In the future, whenever I catch something good, I’ll bring it to you right away!”

Lu Qing gripped the small box tightly and said earnestly.

Old Doctor Chen laughed heartily, “Haha, then I’ll look forward to it!”

Coming out of Old Doctor Chen’s house, Lu Qing felt excited.

Today’s gains were indeed great.

Not only did he win Old Doctor Chen’s favor and improve his health, but he also got the opportunity to learn how to identify herbs.

He even received a box of mysterious silk threads.

Instinct told Lu Qing that these silk threads given by Old Doctor Chen were extraordinary.

However, earlier at Old Doctor Chen’s place, he couldn’t keep staring at the threads. Otherwise, he could have used his unique ability to investigate them.

Descending the mountain with Xiao Yan, Lu Qing saw several villagers carrying bamboo poles and buckets, chatting and laughing as they returned from the village entrance.

Upon seeing Lu Qing, they began to call out from afar, “Lu Qing!”

“Uncle Shi, are you guys just back from fishing?”

Noticing the poles on the villagers’ shoulders, Lu Qing asked.

“Yes.” The villager addressed as Uncle Shi responded excitedly, “Didn’t we hear your method of using earthworms for fishing yesterday? Early this morning, Da Shan and I dug up some earthworms to try by the river. To our surprise, your method really works. Look at today’s catch!”

With that, he showed Lu Qing the bucket he was carrying.

Looking inside, Lu Qing saw quite a few fish, about one or two pounds in total.

Some were even bigger than the ones he caught yesterday.

He checked the other villagers’ buckets and indeed, they all had catches. Even the smallest catch still had about half a pound of small fish.

A villager got lucky and caught a big fish weighing over a pound.

However, the villager lamented, ‘Originally, I hooked an even bigger one, but that fish was so strong it snapped my hemp line, and I couldn’t even find the hook!’

‘I told you not to pull so hard, to give it some slack, but you insisted on fighting it with brute force… It’s no wonder the line broke!’ another villager chided.

‘How was I supposed to know the fish was so strong? I reckon it must be over five pounds!’

‘Get out of here, at most it was two pounds. If it were five pounds, you wouldn’t have held on as long as you did!’

‘It was definitely five pounds!’

…

Listening to the villagers argue about the size of the fish that got away, Lu Qing couldn’t help but laugh.

This scene was all too familiar to him.

In his past life, whenever he went fishing with his friends, it was the same.

If anyone lost a fish, no matter how it happened, they would always claim it was a giant.

Less than ten pounds was simply disrespectful to one’s fishing skills!

He didn’t expect to see the same scene even after being reborn in another world.

Sure enough, no matter the world, the temperament of fishermen was always so similar.

Lu Qing’s laughter made Uncle Shi and the others a bit embarrassed.

Especially seeing Xiao Yan’s wide-eyed expression watching them argue, making them feel even more ashamed.

A group of adults arguing like this in front of two children did indeed undermine their elder dignity.

‘Lu Qing, where have you two come from?’

To alleviate the awkwardness, Uncle Shi had to change the subject.

Lu Qing replied, ‘Xiao Yan and I just came back from Grandpa Chen’s.’

Uncle Shi nodded, ‘Old Doctor Chen, indeed, it was he who cured your illness. You should visit him to express your gratitude.’

He mistakenly thought Lu Qing had gone to thank the old doctor.

‘Yes, if it weren’t for Grandpa Chen, I wouldn’t even be able to stand here.’ Lu Qing did not deny it.

‘By the way, Lu Qing, the fishing methods we’re using are all thanks to you. Pick a few fish to take back and eat,’ Uncle Shi said.

‘Indeed, if it weren’t for your methods, we wouldn’t have known that worms can be used for fishing!’

‘Take mine, take mine, my fish are bigger!’

‘Nonsense, are yours bigger than mine? The biggest fish is mine, take mine!’

The other villagers also chimed in.

‘Uncles, no need, I still have fish from yesterday that I haven’t finished,’ Lu Qing declined.

‘Eat more if you can’t finish it. Look at you and Xiao Yan, both so thin. Fish is nutritious, you should eat more of it!’

In the end, Lu Qing couldn’t refuse the villagers. He symbolically took a few fish from each villager’s bucket, stringing them up with a piece of grass by the roadside.

Just like that, he ended up with over half a pound of fish.

‘Take some more!’ Uncle Shi insisted.

‘I really can’t take more. If I take more, we don’t have enough oil and salt at home to cook them.’

This time, no matter what, Lu Qing refused to take more.

Hearing this, Uncle Shi and the others finally relented.

Indeed, without enough oil and salt, the fish wouldn’t taste good because you couldn’t suppress the fishy smell.

With that, Lu Qing bid farewell to Uncle Shi and the others, took the fish, and returned to his small courtyard with Xiao Yan.

After arriving home, he first put the fish in the kitchen.

Then, he took out the small box given by Old Doctor Chen.

He opened the box and quietly looked at the silk thread inside.