Although Li Changfeng was itching to try, he ultimately shook his head. "No bet."
He Dongliang was a little surprised. "Don't you want to turn things around?"
"I'm more afraid I'll lose even the underpants off my ass."
Wei Donglai shook his head and sighed. "Looks like you've gotten wise."
Hearing that, Li Changfeng grew curious. "A Lai, did you really catch a mud eel bigger than mine?"
"If you could catch a big one, wouldn't it be perfectly normal for me to catch an even bigger one?"
"Open the lid and let me see."
Wei Donglai stopped keeping them in suspense. He lifted the lid and showed them his catch.
"Holy shit, that many!"
"Holy shit, that's huge!"
The two of them were so shocked their eyes nearly popped out, and Li Guowang, standing beside them, was astonished too.
Wei Donglai had actually caught more than he had, and they were bigger too. There was simply no justice in the world.
If Wei Donglai had known what Li Guowang was thinking, he would have told him what beginner's luck was.
Looking at Wei Donglai's catch, Li Guowang felt a little envious. "Seven of them. A Lai, your luck is incredible. You actually caught this many, and one of them is this big. That mud eel definitely, definitely weighs more than two and a half jin."
Li Changfeng's face was full of envy, jealousy, and resentment. "A Lai, what kind of dogshit luck do you have? How come every good thing happens to you?"
Wei Donglai looked disdainful. "What dogshit luck? I've got skill in my hands and good fortune shining down on me."
Li Changfeng was speechless. "Could you be any more narcissistic?"
"I've got the ability to back it up. What's wrong with being a little narcissistic?"
He Dongliang laughed at him. "A Feng, are you convinced now? You lost on numbers, and you still lost on size."
Li Changfeng continued to be stubborn. "My luck was just bad. Otherwise, I definitely would've caught more than A Lai."
Wei Donglai gave him a contemptuous look. "Luck is part of strength too, understand?"
Seeing how unconvinced he looked, Li Guowang smacked him. "Your skills aren't as good as his, but you still refuse to admit it. The fact that A Lai caught seven already proves he learned better than you. You said yourself that three got away. How do you have the nerve to say your luck was bad?"
The smack made Li Changfeng's brains rattle. Grimacing, he complained, "Second Uncle, that was way too hard."
"I'm teaching you a lesson so you'll remember it."
"I'm your nephew, for crying out loud, but you're siding with outsiders."
"I don't have a nephew as embarrassing as you."
Seeing Li Changfeng looking as though he had nothing left to live for, Wei Donglai and A Liang couldn't help bursting into laughter.
"All right, enough joking around. The tide's coming in soon, so let's pack up and head back."
The four of them set off.
On the way, Li Changfeng asked casually,
"Second Uncle, are you going to town to sell the mud eels this afternoon?"
Li Guowang nodded and grunted in assent.
"Then take the three of us along too."
"Why not? Don't go home for lunch, either. Just make do with a meal at my place, and come with me when we're done eating."
The three exchanged looks, and Wei Donglai thanked him.
"Uncle Guowang, sorry for the trouble."
He Dongliang spoke up as well.
"It's no big deal. Why be so polite?"
Li Changfeng sidled up to him and hooked an arm through his, grinning.
"Second Uncle, how about a couple of hearty dishes for lunch?"
"You caught the least today, and you want hearty dishes? Is a slap on the ear hearty enough for you?"
Li Changfeng's face fell. "I'll go find Second Aunt later."
Li Guowang immediately grew angry.
"I'm the damn boss of this house. Going to your second aunt won't help. We're having noodles for lunch, take it or leave it."
Despite what he had said, when they got home, Li Guowang still had his wife prepare a few good dishes.
Wei Donglai took a mud eel weighing over a jin from his bucket, intending to add it to the meal, but Li Guowang stopped him.
After much back-and-forth between the two, Li Guowang finally had him pick the smallest mud eel to kill and add to the meal.
As Wei Donglai cleaned it, Li Guowang kept nagging.
He said it was such a waste to eat something so precious.
Wei Donglai didn't think it was a waste. As long as it ended up in their stomachs, that was fine.
Besides, it was meant to be eaten in the first place, so ending up in their bellies counted as putting it to good use.
When the dishes were served, the already plentiful lunch became even more lavish with the addition of the mud eel.
Li Guowang also opened the liquor the others had brought over that morning. But since he still had to drive the tractor that afternoon, he didn't drink much. They each had only about two liang.
The bowl of mud eel soup also became the focus of everyone's attention.
At first, Li Guowang put on a show of restraint, but when he saw that the three youngsters had nearly scooped out everything but the broth at the bottom, he threw restraint right out the window.
"You brats, leave some for me! You're so young. Aren't you afraid you won't be able to sleep tonight if you drink that much?"
Li Guowang anxiously guarded the whole bowl, refusing to let the youngsters squander any more of it.
If he kept being polite, he wouldn't get a damn mouthful of soup.
Li Changfeng immediately shot back, "Second Uncle, I'm afraid Second Aunt won't be able to sleep tonight if you drink it."
As soon as they heard that, Wei Donglai and He Dongliang tactically leaned back, giving Li Guowang plenty of room so they wouldn't get caught in the crossfire.
Sure enough, the next moment, Wei Donglai felt a breeze against his face as a hand whistled past.
Li Changfeng covered the left side of his head, looking aggrieved. "Second Uncle, you hit me again."
Wei Donglai and He Dongliang both looked gleeful. He had dared to say something like that, so he deserved the slap.
Seeing that Li Guowang wouldn't even look at him, Li Changfeng turned to his second aunt. "Second Aunt, Second Uncle hit me. Aren't you going to do something?"
Whoosh, smack!
Li Changfeng caught a slap on the right side of his head too.
Nice and even, with rain and dew distributed equally.
"Second Aunt, why did you hit me too?"
Zhang Xiufen unhurriedly swallowed her mouthful of food. "I was afraid your second uncle had slapped the brains from the left side of your head over to the right, so I helped put them back in place."
Hearing that, Wei Donglai and He Dongliang nearly sprayed out their food.
Looks like our aunt is a learned woman too.
He Dongliang forced his food down his throat, holding back his laughter, then laughed for quite a while.
"Uncle, I'm not coming back after we go to town this afternoon. I'm going to see my girlfriend, so you don't have to worry about me not being able to sleep tonight."
When he finished, he pointed at Wei Donglai and Li Changfeng. "As for these two, one's an old bachelor and the other just broke up. If they drink any more, they probably really won't be able to sleep tonight."
"Damn you, A Liang, who are you calling an old bachelor?"
Li Guowang looked furious. "Is he wrong? You're already in your twenties and still don't have a girlfriend. If you're not an old bachelor, what are you? Even Old Huang from the village has a few bitches following him around every day. Look at yourself-you can't even measure up to Old Huang."
Li Changfeng muttered, "I'm not the only one without a girlfriend. Isn't A Lai the same?"
Wei Donglai was completely bewildered.
Holy shit, now he's dragging me into this?
"Is it that A Lai doesn't have one? For him, the old has to go before the new can come. He's got ability and luck now. Old He's daughter was blind not to see what she was missing."
Hearing that, Wei Donglai just wanted to show off his voice and belt out a song to express the satisfaction in his heart.
"Uncle, you're right. It's a complete waste for us to eat this mud eel. Have some more."