Onlookers

The villagers ultimately failed to catch up with Lu Qing and the other two.

With Wang Da'an helping, they did not travel particularly slowly, and He Li Village was not far from the river.

So while the villagers were still packing up by the riverbank, Lu Qing and the others had already returned to the village.

And when they returned to the village, the commotion they caused was nothing short of sensational.

It could not be helped. The huge fish Wang Da'an carried on his back was simply too eye-catching.

And this fellow loved to show off. The moment he entered the village, whenever he saw people, he carried the fish right up in front of them.

No one was blind. How could they possibly fail to notice the fish on his back?

As a result, upon seeing such a huge fish, how could they not cry out in surprise?

"Da'an Ge caught a huge fish! What a huge fish!"

The moment that shout rang out, it naturally drew everyone else out to watch the excitement.

And when they saw that it really was a huge fish—one huge enough to frighten people—

the place immediately became lively.

"Well, well, Da'an, you actually caught such a huge fish! Hurry and tell us, how did you catch it?"

"Good heavens, this fish must weigh over twenty jin, right? You've got some skills, Da'an!"

"Da'an Ge is amazing! He caught such a huge fish!"

A crowd of villagers surrounded Da'an, reaching out to touch the fish as they exclaimed in amazement.

The children were even more excited, jumping and shouting.

Lu Qing watched Wang Da'an display the Azure Armor Fish to everyone with some amusement.

The scene reminded him of the fishing enthusiasts from his previous life. Whenever they happened to catch a big fish, they showed off in exactly the same way.

As though failing to boast about it properly would betray all the hardship of waiting by the river.

Only after Wang Da'an had shown off to his heart's content did Lu Qing call out helplessly, "All right, Da'an Ge, let's go home."

Having had his fill of showing off, Wang Da'an finally squeezed out of the crowd and ran over to Lu Qing.

"I forgot to tell you all, this huge fish wasn't caught by me. Lu Qing caught it!"

"Lu Qing caught it?"

Everyone turned to look at Lu Qing.

Xiao Yan immediately lifted her little head proudly. "That's right! My brother had to use so much strength to catch this huge fish! There's an even prettier huge fish in our bucket!"

"Lu Qing really caught it?!"

"There's another huge fish in the bucket?!"

Hearing that, everyone hurried over and peered into the bucket Lu Qing was carrying.

The moment they looked, they were all dumbfounded.

There was no other reason. The Red Moon Carp's appearance was simply too stunning.

Its brilliant fiery-red color was like a flame burning beneath the water. One look was enough to tell anyone that this fish was no ordinary thing.

"What kind of fish is this? It's far too beautiful!"

"It's my first time seeing a fire-red fish."

"Such a beautiful fish—Lu Qing, where did you catch it?"

"Lu Qing, do you know what kind of fish this is?"

Everyone exclaimed in amazement and asked question after question.

"I don't know what kind of fish it is either." Lu Qing shook his head. "Tomorrow, I plan to take it to Grandpa Chen and see whether he recognizes it."

"Yes, yes, yes. Old Doctor Chen is so knowledgeable. He'll definitely recognize this fish."

If there was anyone in the village whom the villagers respected most, it was undoubtedly Old Doctor Chen.

Not only because everyone had, more or less, gone to the Old Doctor to seek treatment.

But also because the Old Doctor was widely acknowledged as the most knowledgeable person in the village.

He often went in and out of the city, and his breadth of knowledge was beyond comparison with country folk like them.

The crowd surrounded the two huge fish, discussing and commenting on them for a long while. Only after feasting their eyes to their hearts' content did they finally disperse in satisfaction.

Lu Qing did invite everyone to his house, saying he would kill the fish and treat them to a meal.

But who in the village did not know his family's circumstances? One after another, they all declined.

Even the few who were tempted and wanted to taste the huge fish did not get a chance to speak before the others dragged them away.

How could they be so blind to the situation? Were they not afraid of having people point at their spines if they even wanted to take advantage of two destitute orphans?

After everyone had dispersed, Lu Qing finally picked up the bucket and returned to his courtyard with Xiao Yan and Wang Da'an.

"Lu Qing, I'll head back first."

The moment they reached the courtyard, Wang Da'an set down the fish and prepared to leave.

Lu Qing hurriedly stopped him. "Don't go, Da'an Ge. I said I'd treat you to fish."

"You took that seriously? I was joking before. With your family's situation, if I really stayed for a meal, my old man would chase me out with a stick when I got home!"

"But you can't make me go back on my word."

"Anyway, I don't dare stay for a meal."

"..."

The two argued for a while, but neither could persuade the other.

"Da'an Ge, you know that Xiao Yan and I can't finish such a huge fish in one go. The weather is warm now, and fish meat won't keep for long. Take two pieces home—it'll count as helping me lighten the burden." Lu Qing spoke sincerely.

"Then... all right." Seeing Lu Qing put it that way, Wang Da'an hesitated for a moment before finally agreeing.

When Lu Qing saw that he had relented, he immediately went into the kitchen for a knife and prepared to kill the fish.

Sure enough, the Azure Armor Fish truly lived up to its name. The scales on its body were remarkably tough.

Lu Qing had to expend quite a bit of effort, and with Wang Da'an helping at the side, they finally scraped off the scales with considerable difficulty before gutting it.

After cutting open the fish, aside from the fish maw, he intended to throw away all the other innards, such as the intestines and liver.

Although if prepared properly, the innards of a huge fish like the Azure Armor Fish could also make a delicious dish.

Lu Qing had quite liked eating fish intestines in his previous life.

But with the family's current circumstances, they did not even have many seasonings. They simply lacked the conditions to prepare such heavily fishy things, so Lu Qing could only give them up with a pained heart.

After removing the innards, the first thing Lu Qing did was chop off two large pieces of fish meat, wrap them in banana leaves, and hand them to Wang Da'an.

"So much?!"

Wang Da'an stared at the two large pieces of fish meat in surprise.

Those two pieces weighed at least several jin.

"It's not much, Da'an Ge. Look, there's still so much fish meat here. How could Xiao Yan and I possibly finish it all?"

Lu Qing forcibly stuffed the fish meat into Wang Da'an's hands.

Wang Da'an glanced at the chopping board. There truly was still a large pile of fish meat on it, so he did not refuse again.

"Lu Qing, I think only your family in the entire village has the trouble of being unable to finish fish."

Wang Da'an laughed after taking the fish meat.

After witnessing Lu Qing's haul today, Wang Da'an had also realized that Lu Qing's family would probably not lack fish to eat in the future.

"But fish can't be eaten as a staple." Lu Qing said helplessly. "People still need to eat grain. Unfortunately, my family's fields have gone fallow, and it isn't time to plant crops yet."

"That is a problem." Wang Da'an nodded.

He knew that the great upheaval in the Lu Family had caused Lu Qing to miss the planting season.

There were still several months until the next planting season.

He thought for a moment, then his eyes suddenly lit up.

"Lu Qing, you're so good at fishing. When you catch fish in the future, you can take them to the market and sell them! Once you have money, you can buy grain!"

"Sell fish?" Lu Qing was somewhat puzzled. "But as I recall, entering the city requires an entry fee, doesn't it? I don't have any money right now."

"I'm not talking about the city. I mean selling them at the big market not far from our village!"

"The big market?" Lu Qing blinked.