Chapter 38 Fishing in This Way

The group headed towards the outskirts of the city in a grand procession, without needing to take public transportation; they simply walked.

After all, a 10-cent fare is not cheap for ordinary workers, and most people would rather walk a few more steps than waste money on this.

This generation is very hardworking.

Cheng Jiajia and Yu Junsheng, who couldn't stand hardship, wanted to take the car, but everyone else wanted to walk. They couldn't be the ones to stand out, so they had to set off on foot with everyone else.

Fortunately, the group chatted and laughed, so they didn't feel very tired.

Cheng Jiajia and her husband walked together with Aunt Hao and Aunt Cao, chatting as they went.

The puddle that Aunt Hao mentioned is actually hidden on a hillside, surrounded by dense wild grass and trees, so well concealed that most people wouldn't notice it.

Cheng Jiajia, as always, was very sweet-talking, "Thanks to Aunt Hao, otherwise we would never have known that we could catch fish in these horns."

"That's right, it's all thanks to your generosity and kindness, Aunt Hao, otherwise you wouldn't have told us about this good thing," Yu Junsheng flattered.

They were telling the truth. If it were them, they would have just sneaked over and caught the fish themselves, maybe giving a few to close neighbors, but they wouldn't have been so generous as to tell the people in the yard.

"Aunt Hao, you are truly selfless. No wonder you are the wife of the caretaker. We can't compare to your magnanimity!"

The couple showered her with compliments, showering her with sweet words as if they were free. They made Aunt Hao beam with delight.

"Oh my, you two are so sweet-talking, you've made me blush. I was just thinking that we can't catch all these fish ourselves, so it's better for everyone to come and share, so each family can have a taste of the meat." This would also boost the old man's prestige; there's just been too much trouble in the yard lately!

“I came here with others. This place is hidden deep. Even when we came here before, it was at the foot of the mountain. Who knew there was such a big puddle up here.”

Aunt Hao beamed with joy: "Let me tell you, the fish in that puddle have probably never been discovered before. They're all so silly, you can catch one just by catching it. We should catch a lot later, salt them and make them into salted fish so we can eat them until the New Year."

Cheng Jiajia affectionately took Aunt Hao's arm, "Neither Yu Junsheng nor I know how to catch fish, Auntie, you'll have to teach us later!"

I certainly wouldn't, and I doubt Yu Junsheng would either, right?

Aunt Hao patted her chest and assured her, "Hey, it's no big deal! I knew you wouldn't know how! Just watch how Qingshu does it and learn from him. If you still can't do it, we'll have them help you!"

Zou Qingshu is Aunt Hao's youngest son. After graduating, he also works in a machinery factory. He is a single young man. This time, Aunt Hao brought him along when she went fishing.

Of course, she mainly came to help carry things; an old lady like her couldn't carry such a long distance by herself.

Zou Qingshu, who was promised away without even realizing it: "..."

"Aunt Hao, you're so kind!"

"Brother Qingshu is amazing too. Yu Junsheng doesn't even know how to catch fish!"

“Junsheng grew up in the city and never had the chance to go fishing. My mischievous son used to go fishing a lot at his grandma's house, that's how he got trained, and he got beaten up a lot for it back then…”

The couple, one holding Aunt Hao's left hand and the other her right arm, were like sons to her, even more so than her own.

Zou Qingshu, the biological son who was pushed to the side: "..."

Zou Qingshu, who was listening nearby, curled his lip and muttered, "Sycophant!"

Yu Junsheng was already a sycophant, and now that he's married another sycophant, he's even more outrageous.

Look how well those two have charmed his mother; she's almost forgotten who her own son is.

Yu Junsheng, with his sharp ears, overheard this. He raised his eyebrows and suddenly asked Zou Qingshu loudly, "Qingshu, I heard that Aunt Hao has been looking for a partner for you recently. How's it going? When are we going to your wedding?"

Zou Qingshu's face darkened. It was intentional, it must have been intentional!

This sycophant is deliberately bringing up the very thing he doesn't want to talk about!

Recently, his mother has been acting strangely, arranging blind dates for him like crazy, sometimes up to three a day. He doesn't dare to refuse, so he has no choice but to obediently go on the dates.

But for some reason, those women stormed off in a huff after only a few words.

His mother nags him about this all the time, and he's getting really annoyed with it.

Sure enough, his mother said irritably, "That blockhead! I introduce him to every woman and he drives them away. He makes me so angry!"

Zou Qingshu was unconvinced and retorted, "It's clearly those women's fault! I was just talking to them and they got angry for no reason! Why did you introduce me to such strange people, Mom?"

Aunt Hao glared at him with a look of disappointment, then changed her expression.

She patted Yu Junsheng's hand affectionately, "Junsheng, you're so lucky to find a partner on your own. If Qingshu were as good at talking and making women happy as you are, I wouldn't have to worry so much!"

Zou Qingshu: "..."

He felt ostracized and wronged!

Seeing this, Yu Junsheng raised his eyebrows smugly. He wanted to fight him? Humph!

Cheng Jiajia suppressed a laugh, "Why are you bullying him?"

"How did I bully him? I was just showing him some concern." Yu Junsheng said sincerely.

Cheng Jiajia's lips twitched. "Why do I feel like he doesn't really need your concern?"

Without even blinking, Yu Junsheng said, "Then he's ungrateful."

Zou Qingshu: "...Thank you!"

Zou Qingshu was so frustrated that he stopped talking.

How come he can't out-argue Yu Junsheng?!

You've made them angry.

"It's alright."

Despite their playful bickering, Yu Junsheng and Zou Qingshu actually have a pretty good relationship.

The two had grown up together and were in the same class. Zou Qingshu was one of the few friends Yu Junsheng could get along with in the compound. They wouldn't get angry over something like this.

After a while, Cheng Jiajia nudged Yu Junsheng again, "Have you been here before?"

"Why haven't I come? During the famine years, when we couldn't get enough to eat, I used to come with my mom and the other women in the compound. It's only in the last few years, after my mom passed away, that I stopped coming by myself." Yu Junsheng said with a touch of emotion.

Seeing that he was a little sad, Cheng Jiajia took his hand and gently comforted him, "If we make a good life for ourselves, Mom will be at ease."

At least she had a mother, but Yu Junsheng's parents had both passed away, and he had no other relatives.

“From now on, we’ll be family. And when we have children, you won’t be alone.”

When Yu Junsheng saw the heartache in Cheng Jiajia's eyes, it felt as if a feather had gently tickled his heart, making his eyes sting with tears.

He flicked her forehead as if to cover it up, and said in a deliberately frivolous tone, "Silly girl, never feel sorry for a man, understand?"

"Ouch!" Cheng Jiajia clutched her forehead, glaring at him. "Are you crazy?!"

The pity vanished instantly, and Cheng Jiajia clenched her fists so tightly they cracked.

"Just say you want to die!"

Yu Junsheng's back stiffened.

Oh no, how could I forget that his wife is incredibly strong?!

He chuckled twice, "Hehe, hehe..."

He quickly changed the subject, saying, "Honey, there are many kinds of wild vegetables and mushrooms here. I'll bring you here to play sometime."

Cheng Jiajia's eyes lit up, and she immediately forgot her anger. "There are mushrooms here too!"

She loves picking mushrooms; she watched countless short videos about it in her past life, and now she can finally experience it firsthand!

Yu Junsheng saw right through her thoughts and chuckled, "What are you thinking? What time is it now? It won't happen until next spring."

"Then you must remember to bring me to pick mushrooms next year!"

"Sure, let me tell you, there are tons of mushrooms on this mountain. I'll bring you some to broaden your horizons sometime..."

The two heads, which were just angry, huddled together again, whispering and occasionally exchanging smiles. Pink bubbles kept bubbling between them, making it hard for anyone not to swoon.

Zou Qingshu kept his distance from the two of them to avoid accidentally being shown dog food (a Chinese slang term for witnessing public displays of affection).

...

Bai Xiaohui glanced jealously at the flirtatious young couple in front of her, spat, and muttered, "Shameless! Vixen! Have no shame!"

Then she looked at Qin Ziwen beside her with a resentful expression, "Brother Ziwen, I'm so thirsty, could you lend me some of your water?"

Qin Ziwen said coldly, "We're almost there. Xiaohui, just hang in there. There's plenty of water in the puddle."

Bai Xiaohui: "..."

Who would want to drink that dirty water?!

She said pitifully, "Brother Ziwen, I'm so thirsty, I can't hold on any longer. Could you lend me your water bottle so I can have a few sips?"

Qin Ziwen remained unmoved: "I've finished my water too. How about I ask Grandpa Guo and the others to lend me some?"

Bai Xiaohui: "..."

Who wants to drink that old miser's water! I bet he'd charge her for even a sip.

Qin Ziwen quickly interrupted Bai Xiaohui and said very sincerely, "Uncle Guo, Xiaohui is very thirsty, and there is no water on the road. Please help her. We are all neighbors."

Don't think he doesn't know what kind of scheme this fickle woman is plotting.

In fact, Qin Ziwen never intended to marry Bai Xiaohui.

He's a propaganda officer, and he'll definitely want to marry a woman who can help his career; she can't be an unemployed young woman like Bai Xiaohui.

He only allowed Bai Xiaohui to follow him around because she was pleasing to the eye and well-behaved.

Now that he's already slept with Ren Yongsheng, he still wants to stay with him? Dream on!

Who does she think she is?!

Upon hearing this, Grandpa Guo glanced at Bai Xiaohui, who was glaring at him, his eyes darting around before a mysterious smile appeared on his lips. "How about this? For the sake of being old neighbors, I'll do you a favor and won't ask for much, just a penny for two people. How about that?"

Bai Xiaohui: "!!!"

"What?! Two bites for a penny?!"

Although she had no intention of drinking Guo Laokou's water, she was still stunned by his shamelessness.

"How about it, a good deal, right? You can drink a lot, it's fine." Grandpa Guo had an expression that said, "You got a good deal."

Bai Xiaohui was furious and blurted out a string of curses:

"Why don't you just rob me? You want to charge me a penny for two sips of water, and you call yourself an old neighbor? Bah! I think you're just obsessed with money!"

Grandpa Guo's face darkened, and he glared at the ungrateful Bai Xiaohui. "You brat, you have no manners at all. I don't know how your mother raised you!"

"Fine, forget it! I'm not lending it to you!"

With that, he carried his water bottle and went to find his wife.

Bai Xiaohui's eyes instantly reddened, and she looked at Qin Ziwen with a wronged expression, "Brother Ziwen, how could this old man scold me like that?"

Qin Ziwen frowned and said disapprovingly, "Xiaohui, you're thirsty. Grandpa Guo kindly lent you water. You're not grateful, but how can you talk to him like that? People will just think you're ungrateful."

"Also, no matter what, Grandpa Guo is still our elder. We can't be so rude, or people will say we have no manners."

After saying that, Qin Ziwen ignored her and strode forward.

Bai Xiaohui was stunned, standing there with tears in her eyes watching Qin Ziwen's retreating figure.

Ungrateful?!

No manners?!

Ziwen would never have said this about himself before. Does he still care about his brief departure to go for a drive with Ren Yongsheng?

But she was just curious about the new bicycle!

Why can't Ziwen understand her?!

Cheng Jiajia and Yu Junsheng, with their sharp ears, heard everything clearly from the front and both tried to suppress their laughter.

Cheng Jiajia then asked gossipily, "Do you think he was getting revenge on Bai Xiaohui for going to see Ren Yongsheng a few days ago?"

"Can these two really work out?"

Yu Junsheng snorted, "Who knows? But this kid's no pushover either!"

...

The group finally reached a puddle halfway up the mountain, and everyone was amazed to see schools of fish swimming around in the water.

"Holy crap, that's way too much!"

"This must have been kept for many years before, which is why there are so many fish."

Everyone rolled up their sleeves and got to work.

The weather in the northern part of the city was already quite cool in late autumn, and no one dared to go into the water because they didn't know how deep the puddle was. They all stood on the shore and used nets to catch fish.

Cheng Jiajia and Yu Junsheng quickly watched Zou Qingshu's movements and tried to learn from him.

Grandma Cao and Grandpa Guo each had a net bag, and their expressions were subtly excited as they watched the fish swimming around in the puddle.

Grandpa Guo: "We've struck gold! So many fish, we must catch as many as possible, this will save us so much money!"

Aunt Cao: "It's a pity we didn't bring more baskets."

Grandpa Guo scooped up a medium-sized blackfish with his net and was overjoyed. "Old woman, old woman, quickly bring the basket!"

Qin Ziwen, who was standing nearby, also caught a fairly large fish.

Aunt Yan was so excited that she wanted to jump down and scoop all the fish into her basket. "Third brother, we must catch as many fish as possible so we can send some to your uncle's house later."

Qin Ziwen paused in his action of scooping up the net. "Mom, I know." Qin Ziwen readily agreed, but in his heart he thought he should tell his father when he got back.

His mother has no say in the fish at home.

Bai Xiaohui bit her lip as she watched Qin Ziwen intently catching fish with Aunt Yan.

Along the way, she tried to get close to Qin Ziwen several times, but Qin Ziwen remained indifferent, which frustrated Bai Xiaohui greatly.

How can they improve their relationship if they do that?

Bai Xiaohui immediately regretted not having asked her mother to come over; her mother had far more ideas than she did.

If her mother were here, she would know what to do.

While Cheng Jiajia was scooping water from a puddle with a net, she suddenly twisted her body and stumbled. Luckily, Yu Junsheng caught her quickly, otherwise she would have fallen into the water.

Yu Junsheng helped Cheng Jiajia to sit on a rock nearby, constantly asking her if she was hurt.

Upon witnessing this scene, Bai Xiaohui suddenly had a flash of inspiration.

She casually walked over to Qin Ziwen, and started paddling her net in the water. Suddenly, she twisted her body and cried out, "Ouch!" as she tried to fall into Qin Ziwen's arms like Cheng Jiajia had done.

But at the critical moment, a piece of wood suddenly appeared beside her, and the handle slammed against her.

With a "plop," she fell directly into the puddle.

"ah!"

The crowd on the shore: "!!!"

Grandpa Guo: "!!!"

Grandpa Guo was dumbfounded and said in a panic, "She fell in by herself, I didn't push her!"