3 – Wanting to Fish

“Brother, what is this?”

Xiao Yan had been obediently watching Lu Qing busy himself. When he finally finished making the fishing rod, she couldn’t help but ask out of curiosity.

“This is called a fishing rod. It’s used for fishing. Whether we have something to eat today depends entirely on it.”

Lu Qing waved the bamboo rod, testing its feel. He was somewhat satisfied.

In his previous life, he was a fishing enthusiast, and when he felt like it, he would enjoy making some small rods to play with.

Unexpectedly, this skill came in handy here.

The little girl’s eyes lit up instantly. “Brother, can you catch fish?”

“Whether I can catch any fish is uncertain. Let’s try it out first. If we do manage to catch some fish, then we’ll have fish soup to drink.”

“Fish soup…” Xiao Yan heard these two words and was already lost in fantasy, with drool unavoidably trickling down the corner of her mouth.

“Brother, let’s go fishing quickly!”

The little girl was already a bit impatient.

The last time she ate fish was a very long time ago, during the New Year when their father bought a big fish from the marketplace.

In her memory, fish was incredibly delicious.

“Don’t be in such a rush. We still need to prepare some bait.”

Bait wasn’t hard to find. In a corner of the courtyard, on a piece of cool and fertile land, two shovels down and Lu Qing found the bait he needed.

[Red Earthworm: A good helper for loosening the soil, it seems it can also be used as medicine.]

Ignoring the information that appeared over the earthworm, Lu Qing put it into a bamboo tube.

He wasn’t digging this thing up to use it as medicine; he wasn’t knowledgeable about medical skills.

After sealing the bamboo tube, leaving only a small air hole, he carried the fishing rod on his back, held an old wooden bucket in his hand, and the siblings walked out proudly.

Just as they left the courtyard and walked a short distance in the village, they were stopped by a woman.

“Lu Qing, you’re better now, and can walk?”

The woman was holding a tray of clothes, clearly just back from washing them.

Her tone was full of surprise.

Wasn’t it said that the boy from the Lu family was seriously ill and had almost no breath left? Even Grandpa Chen, who came to see him, said he could only leave it to fate.

How is it that after just a day, he’s now lively and can go out?

Just last night, the villagers were still discussing when to collect his body.

“Yes, Aunt Wang. I don’t know how, but after sleeping for two days, my illness slowly got better, and I could get up this morning.”

Lu Qing replied in the manner of the former owner’s usual tone.

Fortunately, the former owner had a somewhat reserved and melancholic personality, which was not difficult to imitate.

“Brother drank Grandpa Chen’s medicine, and his illness got better at once!” Xiao Yan interjected.

Aunt Wang didn’t pay much attention to any changes in Lu Qing’s personality. Seeing that he indeed seemed to be better, she smiled.

“It’s good that you’re better, good that you’re better…”

At the same time, she breathed a sigh of relief.

In the past two days, a few elderly villagers who had visited Lu Qing said that he probably couldn’t survive this ordeal.

Everyone discussed that if the boy from the Lu family really passed away, what would happen to Lu Xiao Yan?

The elders’ suggestion was to have a certain family in the village adopt Xiao Yan, and others would chip in some money for her nutrition.

By sheer bad luck, Aunt Wang’s own husband came back and said he wanted to adopt Xiao Yan. He mentioned that during a shared hardship, the old man of the Lu family had once been kind to him, and he couldn’t bear to see his last bloodline left uncared for.

Adding an unnecessary burden without reason, Aunt Wang was naturally reluctant.

But she also didn’t dare to openly contradict her husband, so she could only hope Lu Qing could pull through.

Now seeing that Lu Qing had indeed recovered, she was genuinely happy.

Thinking of this, Aunt Wang said earnestly to Lu Qing, “Lu Qing, you have to take care of your health. Xiao Yan only has you to rely on now. If you’re gone too, who will she depend on, being all alone and helpless?”

Lu Qing was a bit surprised.

In his predecessor’s memory, this Aunt Wang didn’t seem to be such a warm-hearted person.

But he still replied politely, “I understand. Thank you for your concern, Aunt Wang. I’ll take good care of Xiao Yan.”

“That’s a good boy.” Aunt Wang finally felt satisfied.

As long as Lu Qing was still around, her husband wouldn’t get the idea of adopting Xiao Yan, and she wouldn’t have to worry anymore.

Feeling better, Aunt Wang noticed the things the siblings were holding.

“What are you two doing with a wooden bucket and bamboo pole?”

“Aunt Wang, Brother and I are going fishing!” Xiao Yan said happily.

“Fishing?” Aunt Wang asked in confusion.

With just a bamboo pole and a broken wooden bucket, what fish could they catch?

She recalled the current situation of Lu Qing’s family and suddenly had a realization.

Could it be that these two siblings were starving and wanted to catch fish to eat?

Aunt Wang quickly said, “Are you hungry? Come, follow me home. I still have some food. Lu Qing, your health just improved. Don’t go into the river and risk getting sick again.”

“Don’t worry, Aunt Wang, we won’t go into the river. We’ll just try to catch fish from the bank,” Lu Qing replied with a smile.

A free meal would be nice, but the siblings couldn’t always rely on the villagers’ charity.

No matter how deep their affections, eventually, it would be worn out.

“Fishing? Lu Qing, you know how to fish?” Aunt Wang said in surprise.

She knew what fishing was, but no one in the village seemed skilled at it. Lu Qing actually knew?

“I just know a little bit. I heard about it from my father and wanted to try,” Lu Qing answered.

Aunt Wang then remembered that Lu Qing’s father was literate and often traveled. His knowledge was much broader than theirs.

Maybe he had learned a special method.

But Aunt Wang was still worried: “There’s no rush. Your health just improved; you should rest more. Is it so easy to catch fish? Don’t stay by the river too long and catch a cold before you’ve even caught any fish.”

If Lu Qing got sick again with his frail body, it would be hard to say if he could pull through.

Lu Qing heard the concern in her voice and felt touched.

“Don’t worry, Aunt Wang, I’ll be careful and won’t push myself.”

Aunt Wang tried persuading him again but, seeing she couldn’t, she said, “Promise me you won’t go into the river.”

“Okay, we promise we won’t go into the river. Goodbye, Aunt Wang.”

Aunt Wang watched the siblings walk away from the village, then suddenly had a thought.

“I have to tell my stubborn husband that the Lu family’s boy survived, so he should give up on adopting the little girl.”

Aunt Wang hurried home, and Lu Qing and Xiao Yan encountered more villagers on their way.

Every villager they met was shocked to see Lu Qing and asked how he recovered.

Each time, Xiao Yan would happily tell them that her brother got better thanks to Grandpa Chen’s medicine.

This made everyone even more in awe of Grandpa Chen.

The old doctor’s skills were truly refined, managing to save even someone as gravely ill as Lu Qing.

After expressing their amazement, they were happy for the Lu family. With Lu Qing alive, the Lu family’s bloodline was preserved.

When they learned Lu Qing was going to fish by the river, they advised him against entering the cold water after just recovering from a serious illness.

It was only after Lu Qing repeatedly assured them he wouldn’t enter the river that they stopped their objections.

When they heard he was fishing, they lost interest.

Who didn’t know about fishing?

Some villagers had tried it themselves.

After all, the river fish were delicious and unclaimed. Who wouldn’t be tempted?

But everyone who tried eventually gave up.

In their view, fishing was too difficult.

You could spend half a day and maybe catch only one or two small fish.

Even if occasionally a bigger fish was caught, it wasn’t worth it.

Who didn’t have a pile of farm work to do? Spending so much time for a couple of fish, how could life go on?

Only someone like Lu Qing, with neglected fields and no farm work, with no surplus grain at home, would think of fishing to fill their stomach.

Understanding Lu Qing’s thoughts, they didn’t stop him. After advising him briefly, they dispersed.

Instead, a few curious children followed the siblings to the river to see how Lu Qing would fish.