The village where Liu Yifeng lived was nestled among many mountains and traversed by numerous streams, boasting beautiful scenery.
Many art students enjoyed coming here for their sketching trips.
Numerous tourists also visited for mountain climbing, prompting some villagers to open guesthouses, which stimulated the local economy.
As he walked along the road, many villagers, seeing Liu Yifeng holding the little boy’s hand, would greet him with smiles, saying, "Yifeng, is this your son? He looks so fair and tender, truly adorable."
The fact that Liu Yifeng had a son was no longer a secret in the village.
Liu Yifeng readily admitted, "Yes, this is my son, Tongtong. He's three years old already."
Then, he gently said to Tongtong, "Tongtong, quickly say hello to Uncle."
Tongtong obediently greeted the uncle, showing no shyness.
"Tongtong is such a good boy. It's a shame Uncle doesn't have any snacks."
"It's alright, no snacks needed. I'll take Tongtong to catch fish, Uncle Liu. You be busy."
Thus, along the way, Liu Yifeng generously introduced his son to everyone in the village.
The villagers were two-faced.
On the surface, they would exclaim how cute Tongtong was, saying he was a spitting image of Liu Yifeng.
But after he left, they would start gossiping.
They wondered how Liu Yifeng could have such a handsome son, speculating that perhaps the child was from another woman and he was being made a fool of.
Of course, Liu Yifeng couldn't hear any of this.
However, Liu Chunsheng, who had just returned from weeding, overheard them and got into a fight with some villagers.
But that was a story for another time. At this moment, Liu Yifeng had already brought Tongtong to a small stream.
The village had no shortage of anything, especially these small streams. This particular one was three meters wide and thirty to forty centimeters deep, with a gentle current, making it suitable for children to catch fish and snails.
Normally, when villagers wanted fish or snails, they would come here to gather them.
During summer vacation, children would come here in groups to play, and the adults felt at ease.
As it happened, when they arrived, several children, bare-chested and covered in mud, were already in the water, catching fish and snails.
Honestly, catching fish was not easy as they were too agile.
For this reason, Liu Yifeng had also brought a net bag, which could be useful at a crucial moment.
Liu Tongtong was already impatient to get into the water. Liu Yifeng quickly rolled up his pant legs and then led him in.
"Tongtong, take it slow in the water. If you fall, you might swallow water, understand?" Liu Yifeng cautioned him, his heart filled with concern.
Tongtong nodded, "Okay, Dada."
This was Tongtong's first time playing in the water, and he was extremely excited.
Seeing the little fellow’s joy, Liu Yifeng also felt happy and began to teach him how to catch fish and snails in the water.
"Tongtong, if you see a fish, creep up to it quietly, then quickly grab it.
If you're too slow or startle it, it'll escape.
If you can't catch fish, you can also catch snails. These snails are by the edges of the stream, you can feel them with your hands."
As he spoke, he demonstrated himself and indeed caught a handful with a single sweep.
Seeing this, Tongtong eagerly started to feel around and, sure enough, found snails clinging to the edges of the stream.
"I caught one, I caught one!" Tongtong exclaimed happily.
"Tongtong, you're amazing! You keep catching snails. Dada will see if there are any fish. If I catch a fish, Dada will make braised fish for you tonight."
Afterward, he let Tongtong focus on catching snails while he looked for fish. Children couldn't eat snails, so he had to catch a fish today.
Tongtong didn't really care about catching fish; he just wanted to have fun.
He was having a great time catching snails. Liu Yifeng had already put some distance of two to three meters between them, all in pursuit of fish.
Finally, he spotted a crucian carp, about half a kilogram in weight, leisurely blowing bubbles.
Afraid of startling it and causing it to swim away, Liu Yifeng moved forward very cautiously. Then, he took out the fishing net he had prepared and, with lightning speed, scooped up the fish. 138 Reading Network
The crucian carp sensed danger and tried to swim away, but it was a moment too late.
Hearing the commotion, Tongtong turned his head and saw a lively fish in his Dada's net.
"Wow, a fish! Dada, can I touch it?" Tongtong asked with anticipation.
Liu Yifeng walked over with a smile, "Of course, you can. But it's still alive and wiggling, so don't be scared."
He was worried that the fish might jump and startle the little fellow when Tongtong tried to touch it.
At this moment, a few children from nearby, seeing Liu Yifeng catch a fish, walked over, their faces filled with envy.
Tongtong, seeing all the older boys, proudly declared, "My Dad caught this! Isn't he amazing?"
"Hey kid, who are you? Why are you calling someone Dad so casually?" The speaker was Liu Yifeng's cousin, Xiaoyong, who was only eight years old. He was a chubby boy and considerably taller than his peers.
However, he wasn't Liu Yifeng's direct cousin; their fathers were cousins, making their own relationship more distant.
Still, they would gather together for family banquets and similar events.
After speaking, he turned to Liu Yifeng, "Brother Feng, whose child is this? I've never seen him before."
Liu Yifeng smiled and replied, "This is my son."
Xiaoyong was immediately surprised. He distinctly remembered Brother Feng wasn't married yet, so how could he have a son? But he wasn't particularly interested in such matters.
He then turned to the other children beside him and said, "Did you hear that? This is Brother Feng's son, and also my nephew. If any of you dare bully him, I'll deal with you."
He was the leader among them, and they all followed his lead, naturally unwilling to defy him.
"Alright, you little guy is playing the elder brother. Tongtong will depend on you to look after him," Liu Yifeng said with a smile.
Xiaoyong patted his chest, "Don't worry, with me around, no one will dare bully Tongtong."
Tongtong, focused on touching the fish, couldn't resist reaching out to touch the lively creature.
When the crucian carp felt Tongtong's hand, it jumped in fright, but it didn't scare Tongtong.
"Dada, can you catch a few small fish for me? I want to raise them." Tongtong had asked his mother about raising fish more than once at home, but he had always been refused.
"Sure, Dada will catch some small fish for you right away," Liu Yifeng agreed immediately.
"Brother Feng, can you catch a few for me too? I want big ones to take back and cook for my mom." Seeing the fish, Xiaoyong was already salivating.
But they, as children, couldn't catch fish. They could only catch snails to satisfy their cravings.
It was rare to eat wild fish like this.
"Do you think I'm Jiang Ziya? Is it that easy to catch fish? I'll give you some if I catch any, but you can't have your eye on this one. I'm going to feed this to Tongtong." Liu Yifeng said.
"Okay, then Brother Feng, hurry up and catch some fish. I'll take care of Tongtong. He'll be fine," Xiaoyong said, volunteering to look after Tongtong once he heard there was a possibility.
"Then watch him carefully. Don't let him bump into anything," Liu Yifeng said, not worried.
The stream was wide open, and Tongtong would not be out of his sight.
After speaking, he transferred the fish from the net bag into a bucket, adding some water to prevent the fish from drying out.