Chapter 3

Chapter 3 Want to Fish

“Brother, what is this?”

Xiaoyan, who had been obediently watching Lu Qing’s work, asked curiously after he finished making the fishing rod.

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

Lu Qing waved the bamboo rod, testing the feel of it, and was somewhat satisfied.

In a previous life, he had been a fishing enthusiast, and when he got interested, he would often make small rods for fun.

He had never expected that this skill would come in handy here.

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

“Whether you can catch fish is still uncertain, let’s give it a try first. If you do catch a fish, we’ll have fish soup.”

“Fish soup…” Xiaoyan was already lost in her fantasy at the word, drooling at the corners of her mouth.

“Brother, let’s go fishing!”

The little girl was already impatient.

The last time she had eaten fish was a long time ago, during Chinese New Year, when her father bought a large fish from the market.

In her memory, fish was so delicious.

“Don’t be so hasty, we still need to prepare some bait.”

The bait wasn’t hard to find. Lu Qing dug two shovels into a cool, fertile patch of soil in the corner of the yard and found what he needed.

[Red earthworms: Great for loosening the soil, and seemingly also medicinal.]

Ignoring the message emanating from the earthworm, Lu Qing placed it in a bamboo tube.

He hadn’t dug it up for medicinal purposes; he didn’t know anything about medicine.

Seal-ing the tube, leaving only a single air hole, carrying his fishing rod and an old wooden bucket, the brother and sister began their heroic and confident journey.

They had barely left the courtyard and were not far into the village when a woman called out to them.

“Lu Qing, are you healed? Can you walk?”

The woman was holding a tray of laundry, clearly fresh from washing.

Her tone was filled with surprise.

It wasn’t that the Lu family’s son was seriously ill and had very little life left. Even Dr. Chen, after visiting him, said it was all up to fate.

How come he’s already full of life and able to go out after just one day?

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

“Yes, Aunt Wang, I don’t know why, but after two days of sleep, my condition has gradually improved, and I can get up in the morning,”

Lu Qing replied, imitating the original owner’s tone.

Fortunately, the original owner used to be a bit quiet and gloomy, so it wasn’t difficult to imitate.

“Brother, he drank Grandpa Chen’s medicine, and he recovered instantly!” Xiaoyan interrupted from the side.

Aunt Wang didn’t care to notice any change in Lu Qing’s personality. Seeing that Lu Qing seemed to be getting better, she smiled too.

“That’s good, that’s good,” she kept saying ,

and she felt relieved.

In the past two days, several elderly people in the village had visited Lu Qing and said that he was afraid he would not be able to make it through this.

Everyone was discussing what would happen to Lu Xiaoyan if the Lu family boy really passed away.

The elders suggested that one family in the village adopt Xiaoyan, and the others should chip in to help with her upbringing. As

if to end badly, her husband had returned and actually said he wanted to adopt Xiaoyan, saying that the old man of the Lu family had once done him a favor when they all fled together, and he couldn’t bear to see his last bloodline left unattended.

Aunt Wang was naturally unhappy about having another burden for no reason.

But she didn’t dare to refute her husband to his face, so she could only pray that Lu Qing would survive.

Now that Lu Qing was indeed better, she was sincerely happy.

Thinking of this, Aunt Wang said to Lu Qing earnestly, “Lu Qing, you must take good care of yourself from now on. Xiaoyan only has you as a relative to rely on now. If you are gone, what will happen to her, all alone and helpless?”

Lu Qing was a little surprised.

In the original owner’s memory, Aunt Wang didn’t seem to be such a warm-hearted person.

Still, he politely agreed, “I understand. Thank you for your concern, Aunt Wang. I will take good care of Xiaoyan.”

“Well, that’s a good child,” Aunt Wang said, satisfied.

As long as Lu Qing is still around, her husband won’t have the idea of adopting Xiaoyan, so she won’t have to worry anymore.

After her mood brightened, Aunt Wang noticed what the siblings were holding.

“You’re carrying a wooden bucket and a bamboo pole. What are you going to do?”

“Aunt Wang, my brother and I are going fishing!” Xiaoyan said happily.

“Fishing?” Aunt Wang asked doubtfully.

What kind of fish could they possibly catch with just a bamboo pole and a broken wooden bucket?

She recalled the Lu family’s current situation and suddenly realized.

Perhaps the siblings were starving and wanted to go down to the river to catch some fish?

Aunt Wang quickly said, “You’re hungry, right? Come on, come home with me. I have some food. Lu Qing, you’ve only just gotten better. Why go down to the river? Don’t catch a cold and get sick again.”

“Don’t worry, Aunt Wang, we’re not going down to the river. We’ll just try to catch some fish on the shore,” Lu Qing said with a smile.

A free meal was certainly nice, but the siblings couldn’t always rely on the villagers for support.

If they did, even the most affectionate relationship would eventually wear thin.

“Fishing? Lu Qing, you know how to do that?” Aunt Wang exclaimed in amazement.

She naturally knew what fishing was, but it seemed that no one in the village was good at this craft. How could Lu Qing know it?

“I only know a little bit. I heard about it from my father before, so I wanted to give it a try.” Lu Qing replied.

Aunt Wang then remembered that Lu Qing’s father could read and write, and he often went out. He had much more experience than the villagers like them.

Perhaps he knew some special method.

However, Aunt Wang was still a little worried: “There is no rush. You have just gotten better. You should rest more. Are fish so easy to catch? Don’t stay by the river in the wind for too long and catch a cold without catching any fish.”

What if Lu Qing fell ill again? With his frail body, it is hard to say whether he can survive another time.

Lu Qing heard the concern in her tone and felt a little touched.

“Don’t worry, Aunt Wang. I’ll be careful and won’t try to be stubborn.”

Aunt Wang tried to persuade them again, but seeing that she couldn’t persuade them, she could only say, “Then you have to promise Aunt Wang that you won’t go

down the river.” “Okay, we absolutely won’t go down the river. Goodbye, Aunt Wang. “

Watching Lu Qing and his sister leave the village, Aunt Wang suddenly had an idea.

“By the way, we have to tell that stubborn guy at home that the Lu family boy is alive and well

. Tell him to give up on adopting the little girl.” Aunt Wang hurried home. As Lu Qing and his sister made their way out, they ran into several more villagers.

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

Whenever this happened, Xiaoyan would happily tell them that her brother had recovered after drinking Grandpa Chen’s medicine.

This amazed everyone and instilled in them even greater respect for Old Doctor Chen.

The old doctor’s skills were becoming more and more refined. He could even save someone like Lu Qing, who was only breathing his last. It was truly remarkable.

After their amazement, everyone rejoiced for the Lu family. After all, Lu Qing was alive, and the Lu family bloodline was preserved.

Upon learning that Lu Qing was going to the river to catch fish, they all tried to dissuade him, saying he’d just recovered from a serious illness and shouldn’t touch the cold water.

Only after Lu Qing repeatedly assured them he wouldn’t go into the river did

they cease their dissuasion. Furthermore, after hearing that Lu Qing was going fishing, they lost interest.

Everyone knew

about fishing. Some villagers even tried to catch it themselves.

After all, river fish are plump and ownerless, so who wouldn’t be tempted?

But everyone who tried eventually gave up.

Fishing, they thought, was simply too difficult.

Often, they would wait half a day for only one or two small fish.

Even if they caught a larger fish, it wasn’t worth it.

Everyone had a lot of farm work to do. Wasting so much time just for a few fish was just a way to go.

Only Lu Qing, with his fields abandoned, no work to do, and no food left, would think of catching a few fish to satisfy his hunger.

After knowing Lu Qing’s thoughts, everyone stopped trying to stop him. After giving him a few words of advice, they dispersed.

On the contrary, a few half-grown children became very interested after hearing Lu Qing’s words.

They followed him to the river, wanting to see how he fished.

(End of this chapter)