6 – Borrowing Grain

After returning home, faced with the eager eyes of the little rascals, Lu Qing didn’t delay and started dividing the fish immediately.

He picked a couple of banana leaves from the backyard and cut them into several pieces.

He gave each little rascal a handful of fish, not much, probably no more than half a pound per person.

Although the fish wasn’t much, the little rascals were overjoyed.

After receiving the fish, they all ran home cheerfully, as if they had gotten some treasure.

Seeing Lu Qing finish dividing the fish, some villagers gathered around.

“Lu Qing, how did you catch these fish? How could you catch so many at once?”

“Just luck.” Lu Qing smiled, “Perhaps it’s because the bait I used is particularly attractive to fish.”

“What bait did you use?”

“Just those common earthworms from the field.”

Lu Qing didn’t hold back and told the truth.

Anyway, even if he didn’t say it, the villagers would find out sooner or later.

After all, a bunch of little rascals were watching him while he was fishing.

Since that’s the case, it’s better to say it generously to avoid being called stingy.

“Earthworms, can these things really be used for fishing?” The villagers were surprised.

“Of course, they can, and the fish really like them.”

Lu Qing was not surprised that the villagers didn’t know that earthworms could be used for fishing.

From the original host’s memories, he roughly inferred that he was in a world similar to ancient China.

In such an old and feudal era, transportation was inconvenient, and information was closed off.

People held cautious and conservative attitudes towards new things and wouldn’t easily try them.

It’s possible that what everyone knows in one place becomes a rarity in another.

No one in the village was skilled at fishing, so it’s normal that they didn’t know fish liked earthworms.

“I didn’t expect fish to like earthworms. No wonder everyone didn’t have much success fishing before. It turns out they used the wrong bait,” a villager sighed.

“Lu Qing, did your father tell you this method?”

Lu Qing hesitated for a moment, then nodded, “I heard my father mention it before and happened to remember. Today, Xiao Yan kept saying she was hungry, and there was nothing to eat at home. So I thought of this method and decided to try it. I didn’t expect to actually catch fish.”

The villager paused upon hearing this and looked at Xiao Yan.

The little girl was squatting by the bucket, watching the fish. Feeling the villager’s gaze, she looked up and immediately showed a big smile.

The villager’s heart softened immediately. He glanced at the emaciated Lu Qing again, feeling a surge of compassion.

“So what will you do next? You can’t just eat fish all the time… How will your stomach handle that?”

“I was thinking of discussing this with you uncles and aunts.” Lu Qing sincerely said, “You all know the current situation of my family… you can say there’s not even half a grain of rice left. So, I want to borrow some grain and oil salt from you uncles. Once I find work in a few days, I will definitely repay double.”

“What are you saying? Are we the kind of people who take advantage of others in need? We’re all from the same village; supporting each other is natural. It’s just a bit of grain… Shanbo will go fetch it for you right away!”

The villager said loudly with emotion.

Since he said this, the other villagers naturally couldn’t remain indifferent.

“That’s right, it’s just a bit of grain. I’ll go get it for you now!”

“I bought too much salt at the market earlier this month. I’ll share some with you.”

“As for oil, we have enough at home. I’ll get you some!”

The villagers were all patting their chests, looking generous.

Lu Qing was overjoyed: “Thank you so much, uncles and aunts!”

“Lu Qing, wait a moment, I’ll go home and bring you some food.”

Shan Bo immediately walked out, and a few other villagers also hurried back to their homes.

Not long after, they all returned to Lu Qing’s yard.

“Here, this half bag of rice is for you and Xiao Yan. If you finish it, ask Shan Bo for more!”

“Lu Qing, this half jar of lard should last you for some time, right?”

“Here’s a small half bamboo tube of salt for you to use.”

“I have several pancakes that your aunt made this morning. They can be stored for quite some time. One piece can stave off hunger for a good while… is it enough?”

Seeing the items the villagers brought, Lu Qing was overwhelmed with gratitude.

He bowed repeatedly, saying, “It’s enough, it’s enough! Thank you, uncles!”

Then he scooped out several handfuls of small fish from the bucket and divided them into several portions.

In an instant, more than half of the fish in the wooden bucket were gone.

“Take these fish home to enjoy, uncles.”

Shan Bo and the others waved their hands, “How can we accept that? These fish were caught with your hard work. Keep them for you and Xiao Yan.”

“Xiao Yan and I can’t finish this much. It’s hot now, and fish don’t keep long. We don’t raise chickens or ducks, so the fish will spoil easily. Uncles, please help by taking some. Otherwise, it will go to waste.”

Without giving them a chance to refuse, Lu Qing pressed a few packets of fish wrapped in leaves into the villagers’ hands.

“Well… okay, we’ll accept them then.”

The villagers had initially felt a bit distressed about giving away a lot of their surplus food. But after receiving the fish, they felt much better.

After sending the uncles away, Lu Qing let out a sigh of relief.

He felt fortunate.

Luckily, the people in the village were relatively honest and simple. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have dared to ask for food so boldly.

Now, with these provisions, he and Xiao Yan wouldn’t have to worry about food for the next ten days or so.

This buffer period would also allow him to figure out a way to survive in this world.

“Brother, this pancake smells so good!”

As Lu Qing was pondering, Xiao Yan’s voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts.

He looked down and saw the little one squatting on the ground, drooling over the pancake brought by one of the villagers.

He walked over, tore off a small piece of the pancake, and placed it in Xiao Yan’s hand.

“Xiao Yan, be good and eat this piece first. Brother will cook now.”

“Okay! Xiao Yan understands!”

Xiao Yan nodded obediently, taking the pancake and happily nibbling on it.

After comforting the little one, Lu Qing began to busy himself in the kitchen.

First, he washed the rice and set it to steam. Then he picked out half a pound of small fish, gutted them, and cleaned them.

When the fish were ready to be fried, Lu Qing realized a problem.

There was no suitable pan in the kitchen.

He recalled that there used to be an iron pan at home, but it had been sold by the original owner to buy food.

So, there was only a clay pot for steaming rice, but no pan for cooking other dishes.

With a sigh, Lu Qing could only make do. He found a relatively smooth thin stone slab outside the yard, cleaned it, and set it over the fire to heat up slowly.

Once the stone slab was scorching hot, Lu Qing carefully scooped a small spoonful of solidified lard from one of the villagers’ jars.

As soon as the lard hit the stone slab, it sizzled and melted quickly, filling the air with a delicious aroma.