White Fish in May

An Nuan's interview concluded quickly. In the past, magazine interviews with students were sourced from education departments or recommendations from elite schools, but times have changed. With the rise of online media, even many central government agency magazines have lowered their standards, and other traditional media outlets naturally have to proactively seek out more points of interest to enrich their content.

An Nuan enthusiastically suggested that there was a boy in her class who was excellent at volleyball, but the reporter clearly had no interest in interviewing anyone else. After all, not everyone possessed An Nuan's massive social media following, her gimmick as a "volleyball beauty," and her stellar academic record.

After school, An Nuan went to play volleyball. The magazine reporter had not yet left, intending to film photos and videos of An Nuan's training, so Liu Chang'an left his schoolbag at school and walked back on his own.

"Sea bass in the first lunar month, shad in the second, mandarin fish in the third, reeves shad in the fourth, whitefish in the fifth..." Arriving at the riverbank, Liu Chang'an looked at the water and felt it had been a long time since he'd eaten fish. For Liu Chang'an, eating in the school cafeteria or nearby small restaurants was merely to satisfy his hunger; cooking for himself was for the sake of true gastronomy.

With that, Liu Chang'an wrapped his phone in a plastic bag, sealed it layer by layer, tucked it into his zippered pocket, and leaped from the bridge.

The river breeze rushed against his face. Liu Chang'an closed his eyes, bracing for the impact of the water.

"Ah!" A woman's scream rang out from the distance.

Liu Chang'an turned in mid-air, pressed his thumb and index finger together in a gesture, and plunged into the water.

For a normal person, jumping into the water from such a height is actually extremely dangerous. The sensation of the water's impact tearing at him only made Liu Chang'an feel a wave of refreshing relief throughout his muscles, and he surfaced, swimming rapidly toward the center of the river.

The woman kept screaming and shouting, and soon a crowd gathered, only to see Liu Chang'an emerging from the water and swimming along unhurriedly.

Should we call the police?

Probably a lunatic.

Doing some kind of extreme sport, right?

Maybe a streamer.

Definitely an outdoor streamer, the kind that does "stewing oneself in an iron pot."

Amidst the chatter, Liu Chang'an had already swum away. He couldn't hear the voices on the bridge. He swam to a patch of dense water grass near the head of the sandbar, searched around, and finally found a large crucian carp in the crevice between two giant rocks.

Although whitefish is the most delicious in the fifth month, it is ultimately rare and hard to find; crucian carp is a fine alternative. When selecting a crucian carp, one must never choose those with black backs and round bodies; such fish have tough meat and too many bones, making them unpleasant to eat. The one before him was flat and whitish, which generally indicates tender, soft meat that naturally falls off the bone once steamed.

Liu Chang'an was not greedy. He grabbed the crucian carp, stuffed it into his zippered pocket, zipped it shut, and swam toward the shore.

It had been a long time since he'd crossed the Junsha River. The river was much narrower now than before, and the current was much swifter.

Aside from a very small number of swimming enthusiasts, there were far fewer people crossing the Junsha River these days compared to the peaceful and prosperous years following the liberation, when the influence of the Great Man inspired a large wave of cross-river enthusiasts.

Soaking wet, Liu Chang'an returned to the residential complex and bought a bottle of Erguotou at the convenience store. Auntie Xie, the proprietress, saw Liu Chang'an in this state and giggled, reaching out to tug at his pants, playfully trying to expose him.

When women get older, they enjoy teasing young boys; this is no different from men who enjoy young girls.

Liu Chang'an reacted quickly, holding his pants up with a smile. Auntie Xie was a divorced woman, always sharp-tongued and quick-witted.

"Oh my... I couldn't tell..." Auntie Xie continued to giggle, her eyes brightening as she saw the bulge in Liu Chang'an's pants twitch.

Liu Chang'an took the crucian carp out of his zippered pocket. If he let a woman of this age misunderstand that he was interested in her, she would be knocking on his door by midnight. Even hundreds of years ago, there were "apricots leaning over the wall," let alone in the current social climate.

Auntie Xie looked somewhat disappointed, though she still found it amusing.

"I'll bring you the money later."

"Alright."

Liu Chang'an went home, changed his clothes, and cleaned the crucian carp. He added a splash of wine and soy sauce to steam it. The key to steaming this carp well is to ensure the condensation from the lid doesn't drip onto the fish; the meat is best when steamed to a jade-like color. If it's too white, the flavor isn't as fresh and tender.

After finishing the fish, Liu Chang'an looked at the truck in front of the house. Had this thing been sitting here the whole time? It felt inappropriate, but he didn't know where to move it for the time being.

Liu Chang'an looked back at his room.

Just then, his phone rang with a muffled sound. Liu Chang'an took the phone out of the plastic bag to check the message.

"I saw someone jump off the bridge today, it scared me to death!"

"That was me."

"Haha, what a coincidence?"

"It really was me. When I jumped, a woman nearby screamed. She seemed quite tall. Was that you?"

"Not me. I arrived later, quite a while after."

"Really?"

"Really!"

"What a pity. I didn't get a good look at her face, but her scream sounded quite pleasant."

"Haha, who praises someone else's scream as pleasant? In that situation, it's always an exaggerated shriek..."

"Yours sounded pleasant."

"Hateful, I told you it wasn't me!"

As they were chatting, a call came in from Fan Jian. The construction site was short one night watchman tonight, and it paid three hundred for the night.

Watching the site wasn't physically demanding, but it required staying up all night and was quite boring, which was why the pay was slightly higher than moving bricks, Fan Jian explained.

Liu Chang'an happily agreed.

At ten o'clock that night, Liu Chang'an arrived at the construction site on time and met Fan Jian.

Fan Jian was still in a suit and tie today, clearly having pressed them specially; they looked stiffer than when Liu Chang'an last saw him. Upon meeting, he habitually pulled out some betel nut.

Liu Chang'an didn't partake, waving his hand with a smile.

"At eleven o'clock, the workers will basically be gone. You need to walk around and check things out. If the power switch isn't off, turn it off; if a faucet is running, shut it off. Besides that, just be careful about people coming to steal materials. There are a few others besides you; just do your own thing and don't worry about them." Fan Jian looked Liu Chang'an up and down, suppressing his inner confusion and not asking any more questions. What kind of background did that woman in black silk have, the one even the boss treated with such caution? And even more bizarrely, she was constantly clinging to a young migrant worker. Was this a modern fairy tale?

"Very well."

Fan Jian handed the hard hat and flashlight to Liu Chang'an, who then began to walk along the route Fan Jian had pointed out; after completing a circuit, he could rest for a while before checking again, as there was no requirement to pace back and forth incessantly.

The construction site gradually quieted down, and Liu Chang'an waited patiently.

The events of this evening were undoubtedly arranged by Zhong Qing; Zhong Qing herself certainly did not have such a great interest in him. It seemed that the idle young girl was, after all, determined to entangle herself with him endlessly.

Liu Chang'an did not like this, but he was not anxious, nor did he feel any irritation. He looked at the flashlight in his hand; modern technology was truly astonishing. If this thing had existed in ancient times, its utility would have been immense. The light was concentrated with a minimal scattering angle, making it incredibly powerful as a signal lamp. Even during a night raid, waving this light around could cause all enemy forces ahead to lose their combat effectiveness, and with their morale shattered, defeating a hundred with ten would be no problem at all.

After sitting and playing with the flashlight for a bit, Liu Chang'an continued his patrol. When he reached the perimeter wall, he saw Zhong Qing holding the leash of that large black dog, accompanied by four sturdy men in black suits standing at the exit.

"Unauthorized personnel are prohibited from entering or exiting the construction site at night," Liu Chang'an said, performing his duties with great diligence.

The corner of Zhong Qing's eye twitched. Was there something wrong with this man's brain? The last time she saw him, he tried to sell her Mustard Greens and Water Bamboo, and this time, it was obvious she had come specifically for him—what on earth was he thinking?

Zhu Juntang clearly hoped to use more gentle methods to bring Liu Chang'an to her, but Zhong Qing felt it was unnecessary. Since he was not a man Zhu Juntang favored and she merely wanted to see him, then naturally, a simpler and more efficient method should be used.