For half the day, they cast their lines, but saw not even a shadow of a fish.
Thankfully, there was something overhead providing shade; otherwise, it would have been quite pitiable.
“I’ve been casting for so long, could it be there’s nothing at all…”
“Are the fish nowadays that clever?”
Looking at the tranquil lake surface, several people were puzzled.
Could their fishing skills be too poor to match the fish in this lake?
“How about it? Shall we go back for now, and I’ll bring you a couple later?”
“No!”
“I refuse to believe that today, the four of us can’t catch a single fish!”
They had the whole afternoon anyway; they might as well stay here and wait it out.
Surely, there would be at least one or two fish that weren’t that smart.
“…”
“Alright then, take your time.”
He was idle today anyway.
“Mhm.”
…
After a while longer, perhaps because they had mentioned it too many times, a fish actually bit the bait.
“Ah!”
“I think I’ve got a bite.”
Liang Yunfei, sitting with Song Daiyao, felt her fishing rod twitch.
As soon as she spoke, ripples disturbed the calm water surface.
“Little Feifei, reel it in quickly.”
“Mhm.”
Saying that, she pulled the line and reeled in the rod.
“It really is a fish.”
“Yes, it truly is, a grass carp, not bad.”
Uncle Hu, who was guarding this end, saw someone had hooked a fish and helped to unhook it.
“Alright, the first catch is in, now I need to work harder too.”
Seeing that they had actually caught a fish, everyone’s spirits were lifted, and they prepared to try again.
Perhaps it was luck, or perhaps this fish was truly not very bright.
Afterward, a few more were indeed caught by them, one grass carp and one catfish.
“There, this can be considered a great haul now.”
Looking at the fish just unhooked from her line, Song Daiyao looked delighted.
Three fish, one for each person, except Qiu Xi saw nothing at all.
She reeled in her fishing rod, the bait having been completely taken.
“Little Xi, it seems even heaven wants you to cook tonight.”
“…”
With her skill points not allocated in the right place, Qiu Xi was also helpless and could only wave her hand.
“Little Xi, do you want to keep playing for a while longer?”
Looking at these three fish, there was enough to eat.
“I’m not anymore, I have no fate with these fish.”
After sitting here for so long without moving, she was really tired.
Since the vegetables were already obtained, she might as well go down and move around.
“Alright.”
“Uncle Hu, Brother Haisheng, shall we head back then? These fish are enough for us tonight.”
“Sure thing, we’ll head back now.”
…
“Oh my! After staying still for so long, to move around now feels so comfortable!”
“Who says it doesn’t.”
Song Daiyao and Liang Yunfei, who had come down first, could not wait to start stretching their bodies.
“Ugh!”
“It really is tiring!”
“Brother Haisheng, we’ll put these back, I’ll take the bucket of fish back first.”
“Okay, no problem.”
“Alright, let’s go.”
After putting away their things, Shen Yan prepared to lead them back.
“Yanyan, do people here eat fish mint?” Qiu Xi asked shortly after they started walking.
“Fish mint? Isn’t that zhe’ergen?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“We eat it, we even dug it up ourselves to eat raw when we had nothing to do before.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, I just thought of a way to cook the fish. If you all can accept it, I’ll make it.”
“We can.”
“We want to try too.”
Seeing the expectant gazes from the two, Song Daiyao and Liang Yunfei also nodded.
In reality, it was their absolute confidence in Qiu Xi’s cooking skills.
“Okay, then I’ll go dig some more, and then go back to prepare the fish, how about that?”
Since everyone had agreed, Qiu Xi no longer hesitated.
“Sure, I’ll take you.”
Hearing this, one could tell this girl had done this often before.
“Okay.”
…
“Grandma, we’re back!”
The four, having dug up what they needed, finally finished and returned to the yard.
“Good, did you catch any fish?”
“Of course, otherwise I’d still be there now!”
“Alright, bring them over. Your grandpa will bring back some meat later, it’ll be a treat for you all.”
“Great!”
“But you have a little helper tonight, we have a little culinary genius here, she’ll cook the fish.”
After putting the fish away, Shen Yan reminded her grandmother.
“How can that be! We’re not short of hands, you young ladies can just wait to be served!”
Upon hearing this, Shen Yan pulled on her grandmother and started to act spoiled, “Grandma, it’s alright, we’ve all discussed it, you mustn’t stop us.”
“Alright, alright, you do your thing.”
It was good that the young girls were interested, so let them do it; she could always cook more of something else if needed.
“Great! Thank you Grandma~”
“Little Xi, hurry up, tell us if you need any help.”
“There is something, we’re missing a few ingredients, can you look for them?”
“Scallions, ginger, garlic, chili, those are easy, but for this bay leaf, star anise, cinnamon, I’ll have to ask.”
“As for the mint, we’ll go pick some for you later.”
“Okay!”
Since they had said so, Qiu Xi was relieved.
She planned to make grilled fish and sour soup fish, both of which were perfect for the grass carp and catfish caught today.
“Then you all go later, I’ll process the fish first, and marinate them in advance.”
“Mhm.”
After the three left, Qiu Xi began to get busy.
She killed and cleaned the fish, then cut them open from the side.
Cooking wine, dark soy sauce, and salt, she gave the fish a full massage.
Finally, she stuffed the scallions and ginger she had just obtained into the fish’s belly and left them to marinate.
Then, she started washing the fish mint they had dug up, preparing to add it when simmering the ingredients later.
“Young lady, your skills are excellent!”
Grandma Shen, who had been watching from the side, praised her after she finished her work.
This young lady was not only beautiful but also an excellent cook.
Just wondering if she was dating anyone…
“Grandma, you’re praising me too much, I’m getting shy.”
Fortunately, Qiu Xi could understand some of the local dialect, and could chat with the elder.
“Wife, I’m back.”
As Qiu Xi was chatting with Grandma Shen, she heard a shout from outside.
It was probably Grandpa Shen.
They hadn’t seen him all day; Shen Yan had said he went out early for something.
“Coming, did you bring meat?”
“Brought it, prime pork belly, you can make a pork belly dish today.”
“That’s good, there are many children at home these days, let them eat well.”
“Alright, I’ll listen to you.”
“Hello Grandpa Shen.”
Seeing that the two elders had almost finished chatting, Qiu Xi stepped forward to greet him.
“Wife, this…”
Grandpa Shen looked at the fairy-like young lady and only then realized there was someone else in the yard.
“This is the one your granddaughter brought back, there are three others, they went out to pick things.”
“Alright, child, have fun here.”
“Okay~”
Looking at the two lovely elders, Qiu Xi also smiled happily.