17 – A Broken Mindset

When the figures of Lu Qing and Xiao Yan appeared at the fishing spot…

All the villagers who were still fishing there were stunned when they saw the fish on Lu Qing’s back.

“Lu, Lu Qing, what, what is that on your back?” a villager stammered.

“Fish.” Lu Qing gasped for breath and replied.

He really felt a bit tired.

His body hadn’t fully recovered, and he had fought with the Green Armored Fish and Red Moon Carp for so long.

Now, carrying so many things while walking… he was really feeling the strain.

However, his answer left the villagers a bit overwhelmed.

Obviously, they knew it was a fish on his back!

The question was, where did he catch such big fish!

The villagers looked at the big fish on Lu Qing’s back, which was more than half his height with its tail dragging on the ground, and their eyes were a bit dizzy.

My goodness, it was the first time they had seen such a big fish!

But some villagers noticed Lu Qing’s predicament and quickly stepped forward to help him take the fish down.

“Come, come, I’ll help you carry it. Your body just recovered, you shouldn’t tire yourself out again.”

Lu Qing didn’t refuse.

He really couldn’t hold on anymore. He thought he could bring the fish back home, but he overestimated his strength.

“Thank you, Brother Da’an.”

Lu Qing put the fish down and took a breath.

“Hehe, no need to thank me. This is the first time I’ve seen such a big fish. Just touching it is a blessing. Oh, and there’s another one in the bucket! This fish is so beautiful!”

The villager Wang Da’an was delighted, but when he looked down, he exclaimed again.

The other villagers, hearing this, couldn’t hold back any longer and immediately crowded around, looking into the bucket.

“It’s true, there’s another big fish in the bucket!”

“What kind of fish is this? It’s fiery red, I’ve never seen it before!”

“This fish is so beautiful, the city folks would love it for sure.”

“Good heavens, Lu Qing, how did you catch these two big fish at once?”

When the last question was asked, everyone looked at Lu Qing.

“How did I catch them? Just like you did.” Lu Qing took the fishing rod from Xiao Yan’s shoulder. “I just picked a spot upstream and, unexpectedly, I caught two big fish. It’s all luck.”

“Where exactly did you catch them?” a villager’s eyes shifted as he asked.

Once he said that, the other villagers looked at him disdainfully.

His intentions were too obvious; he didn’t even try to hide it, as if bullying a child.

The villager also felt it was inappropriate after speaking and quickly gave an awkward smile: “I’m just curious, don’t tell me you’re not curious.”

Lu Qing could easily understand the villager’s meaning, but he didn’t care much.

After all, even if he didn’t tell them, they would surely go searching later.

The traces of where he fished couldn’t be hidden.

So he directly said: “Just a little further upstream, but I advise you not to go now.”

“Why?” the villager blurted out.

“Because the spot has already exploded. Right now, there’s nothing, not even small fish. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have come back so soon.” Lu Qing half-truthfully replied.

The other villagers heard this and found it reasonable.

Lu Qing caught two big fish in succession, especially the one on the ground which was astonishingly big.

Such a big fish must have caused a considerable commotion when caught; it’s no wonder all the other fish fled.

But despite this reasoning, some villagers still held on to a glimmer of hope.

For instance, the villager who asked Lu Qing about the fishing spot was determined to sneak over later and check out where Lu Qing had caught the fish.

Lu Qing didn’t care what the villagers thought.

Anyway, he had said his piece. If others didn’t believe him and insisted on fishing there, it wasn’t his problem.

Besides, even if someone did fish there, he didn’t mind.

He didn’t care about the small fish, and as for the big fish…

It’s not that he underestimated the villagers, but given their skills, it was impossible for them to catch big fish.

Even if they were lucky enough to get a bite from a big fish, with their fragile hemp fishing lines, they couldn’t withstand the terrifying impact of the big fish.

After resting for a while, Lu Qing felt his strength recover a bit.

“Everyone, Xiao Yan and I are heading back. You can continue fishing.”

With that, he prepared to lift the armored fish.

Wang Da’an quickly bent over and hugged the fish: “Didn’t we agree that I would do this? Lu Qing, just carry the bucket. Wow, this big fish is so heavy, it must be close to twenty pounds!”

Actually lifting the armored fish, Wang Da’an found it was even heavier than he had expected.

He couldn’t help but glance at Lu Qing, finding it hard to imagine how the seemingly small-framed Lu Qing managed to catch such a big fish.

“Then thank you, Brother Da’an. When we get back, I’ll treat you to fish!”

Lu Qing didn’t refuse and was happy to have help.

“That sounds great! I’ve never eaten such a big fish before!” Wang Da’an instantly brightened.

Watching Lu Qing and the others walking towards the village, the remaining villagers looked at each other.

Suddenly, a villager shouted: “Why bother fishing! Let’s go back to the village for some excitement!”

“Yeah, we spent all morning here and only caught a few small fish. It’s better to go back and see how Lu Qing handles the fish!”

“I haven’t seen enough of those big fish yet. I need to go back and watch some more.”

If, before Lu Qing returned, the villagers still had the patience to stay here…

Now, watching Lu Qing leave with two big fish, everyone felt a bit overwhelmed.

Spending two or three days here themselves, they couldn’t even match a fraction of what Lu Qing caught in two hours. It was just unfair!

To heck with fishing, they decided!

With their spirits crushed, the villagers started packing up, ready to head back to the village.

Lu Qing and the others hadn’t left long; if they hurried, they might catch up.

“Old Zhao, are you not going back?”

As everyone packed up, one person remained unmoved, still fishing there.

Seeing this, others asked.

“You guys head back first. I’ll fish a bit longer. Maybe the fish will come later.”

The villager previously known as Old Zhao smiled naively.

“Alright, you keep fishing. But I tell you, I’ve been fishing here for days, and the fish have long been caught. Didn’t you see how Lu Qing disliked this spot?”

Before, people didn’t take Lu Qing’s fishing skills seriously, thinking he caught many small fish because of a secret bait recipe using earthworms.

But after seeing those two big fish, no one dared to belittle Lu Qing’s fishing skills anymore.

Such big fish, if it were them, they definitely couldn’t catch them.

It’s not that no one had tried hooking big fish in recent days. But each time, they ended in failure.

Either the fishing line broke or the rod shattered; none could pull the big fish up.

After packing up, everyone gradually left.

Leaving only Old Zhao alone, calmly continuing to fish.

After a while, confirming no one was watching, Old Zhao suddenly jumped up.

Hurriedly packing his things.

“A bunch of fools, believing whatever that boy Lu Qing says. I don’t believe the fish there are all caught!”

With that, he grabbed his belongings and ran in the direction Lu Qing and Xiao Yan had returned.