7 – Once Full, Consider the Path Ahead

Seeing the oil had melted, Lu Qing started placing the small fish one by one into the pan, slowly frying them.

Actually, adding a little salt to the oil before frying would be better; that way, the fish wouldn’t stick to the bottom.

But Lu Qing noticed that the salt the uncle had brought earlier had rather coarse grains, not suitable for directly frying fish.

Carefully controlling the heat, Lu Qing slowly fried the fish.

The fragrant aroma attracted Xiao Yan, who had already finished eating her pancakes, and now sat next to him, staring intently at the fish on the stone slab.

Seeing her like this, Lu Qing felt a pang of heartache.

He ruffled the little one’s hair.

“Xiao Yan, wait a bit longer, it will be ready soon…”

“Mm!” Xiao Yan nodded obediently, “Brother, the fish smells so good.”

“If it smells good, eat more later. Today, Brother caught a lot of fish, enough to make you full.”

When the rice in the clay pot was done, Lu Qing had also almost finished frying the fish.

He picked up the fish and placed them in a bowl.

Then he cooked some saltwater and drizzled it over.

Thus, a simple dish of saltwater fried fish was ready.

Lu Qing served two bowls of rice and placed them on the table.

“Xiao Yan, time to eat.”

“I’m here, Brother.”

The little one had been waiting at the table for a while.

Lu Qing added a small stool to the chair, then lifted Xiao Yan onto it so she could reach her rice bowl.

Then he picked out a few small fish with fewer bones and put them on her rice.

“Eat up, little glutton, remember to spit out the bones and don’t get pricked.”

“I know, Brother.”

The little one had been craving them for a while now and immediately picked up a small fried fish, putting it in her mouth and quickly chewing like a hamster.

Luckily, Lu Qing had chosen fish with few bones for her, or else she might have gotten pricked.

After swallowing one small fish, the little one’s eyes widened.

“Brother, this fish is so delicious, even better than what mom used to make!”

Hearing this, Lu Qing didn’t feel happy; instead, he felt a wave of sadness.

This fish only had a little oil and saltwater, and to save costs, he didn’t even dare use much oil while frying.

How good could such simply fried fish taste?

Only when people are hungry do they find everything tasty.

It was evident that Xiao Yan had suffered hunger during this period, which made her think such a basic dish was a supreme delicacy.

But Lu Qing didn’t show it, merely smiled and said, “If it tastes good, eat more, Xiao Yan.”

“Mm-hmm!”

The little one scooped up a big bite, her mouth full, unable to speak, only nodding.

Lu Qing chuckled and picked up a fish to eat as well.

After swallowing one fish, he raised an eyebrow.

The fish wasn’t as bad as he imagined.

Perhaps because the ancient environment was unpolluted, the river fish grew quite well.

So although the small fried fish lacked seasoning, the fish meat was delicious and had a unique flavor.

The brother and sister had been hungry for a while, so they didn’t eat slowly.

Soon, the rice in the clay pot and the bowl of small fried fish were finished off between them.

Of course, most of it went into Lu Qing’s stomach.

No matter how hungry Xiao Yan was, she was still just a small child of six or seven, with limited appetite.

Moreover, Lu Qing deliberately controlled her intake to prevent her from overeating and upsetting her stomach.

“Brother, Xiao Yan is full!”

The little one put down her bowl, touched her belly, looking satisfied.

Xiao Yan hadn’t eaten so much in a long time!

“After you’re full, rest a bit and don’t run around. Big Brother will wash the dishes first.”

Lu Qing reminded her, then began to clear the dishes.

“Xiao Yan will help Brother.”

The little one jumped off the stool.

“No need, just sit here and rest.” Lu Qing declined.

So Xiao Yan obediently sat on the stool, watching Lu Qing busying around.

Children tend to be sleepy. By the time Lu Qing finished everything and came out, the little one’s head was already nodding off as she dozed.

Lu Qing smiled, gently picked her up, and walked toward the room.

“Brother, next time I want to go fishing with you again, the fish is delicious…”

Just as Lu Qing put Xiao Yan on the bed, in a drowsy state, she muttered.

“Alright, next time we go fishing, Brother will take you.”

Lu Qing tenderly covered her with a patched quilt, gently responding.

It seemed she heard her brother’s promise, Xiao Yan said nothing more and fell into a deep sleep.

After making sure the little one was asleep, Lu Qing quietly left the room, sat on a simple deck chair in the hall, and felt a sense of comfort.

Today had been quite busy for him. His body had just recovered, still very weak.

Yet he had to endure hunger and do so much work, from fishing to cooking.

Saying he wasn’t tired would be a lie.

Now, lying on the deck chair, he finally felt more comfortable.

He even felt a wave of drowsiness.

However, he couldn’t sleep just yet.

There were still things he needed to reflect on.

After today’s activities, interactions with the villagers, and recalling the memories in his mind, Lu Qing had basically deduced the nature of his current environment.

First of all, it was undeniable that he was now in a world similar to ancient China.

And it was an era with relatively low productivity.

This could be inferred from the fact that even an iron pot was a rare item.

But that was pretty much all he knew.

More information he could not yet confirm.

For instance, this world’s social structure, power distribution, who the rulers were, he had no idea.

He only knew that it seemed there were no courts or government offices in this world.

At least, in the original owner’s memory, such concepts did not exist.

Of course, this wasn’t absolute.

After all, the original owner was just a simple village boy who had never left the village.

He had never even imagined how big the outside world could be, so how would he have those concepts?

However, though uncertain about courts and offices, it was certain that there were towns.

When villagers needed some essentials, they would purchase them at the market in the nearby town.

Items like salt and iron could generally only be bought in those towns.

And in those towns, the most powerful people seemed to be called city lords.

Unfortunately, though the original owner was fifteen years old, he had never been to the city, which meant Lu Qing couldn’t know what the towns were truly like.

“It seems that when there’s a chance, I should take a trip to the town.” Lu Qing murmured to himself.

Only by understanding this world enough could he decide which path to take in the future.

Of course, thinking about these things felt distant now.

The most pressing issue was to find a way to support himself and Xiao Yan.

Especially considering he owed a lot to the villagers today, which would need to be repaid.

And his greatest reliance now was without a doubt his special ability.

What could his ability achieve?

Lu Qing pondered quietly.

Suddenly, a name appeared in his mind.