Chapter 221 Sea Fishing
White sand, turquoise sea.
She wore a brightly colored beach-style long dress paired with a wide-brimmed straw hat.
Xu Songning walked ahead wearing flip-flops, followed by Xiang Yun, who was wearing a matching beach-style outfit and the same flip-flops as Xu Songning.
"Brother Yun, why do we need to rent a camera?" Xu Songning turned to look at him, walking backwards.
Xiang Yun certainly wouldn't say it was because he thought Xiao Zhu took very good photos with the camera, "recording the beauty of life."
"Is your wonderful life me?" Xu Songning asked with a smile.
Xiang Yun remained silent, lowering his head to adjust the camera settings. The camera rental shop owner taught him how to use the camera, and he learned quickly, getting the hang of it immediately.
“Brother Yun, tell me quickly, is it true?” Xu Songning walked towards him, his finger touching the edge of the camera.
"Yes," Xiang Yun replied.
Having received a satisfactory answer, Xu Songning walked forward happily and soon arrived at the sea fishing spot that Xiang Yun had mentioned.
There were already quite a few foreigners gathered there, with relatively few Chinese faces. There were several foreign families, each with their own children. When they saw them coming, they assumed they were a couple.
Xu Songning explained their relationship with a smile, and the foreigners kept praising their good looks, saying they were like models.
A small boat, about the size of a bus, came to pick people up for a sea fishing trip. Once they reached the middle of the sea, the crew handed them fishing gear.
The crew told them that the ship's cook could help process the fish they caught that day for free, and if they didn't catch any fish, they could buy fish from them for a fee.
"Brother Yun, whether we can have dinner or not depends on you." Xu Songning poked Xiang Yun's waist.
"Fishing depends on luck, but you can give it a try. There are perks for beginners."
Xiang Yun chose a spot to sit down, took two simple fishing rods, and sat on the side of the boat, one for each of them.
"Really? What are some fishing techniques? Isn't this rod too simple? I've seen other people use carbon fiber fishing rods." Xu Songning sat down next to him and watched him thread earthworms onto the hook.
“There’s no skill involved, and the tools are no different. Some people can catch fish with just a line, while others can’t catch any fish no matter how good their tools are.” Xiang Yun said this in Chinese.
Nearby, a foreign man had set up his Daiwa fishing rod, an old-brand fishing tackle from Japan worth ten thousand. Compared to their simple fishing rod, it was nothing.
"Is this guy a professional sea angler?" Xu Songning held his small fishing rod and shook it up and down.
"I don't know." Xiang Yun cast his own fishing line into the water as well.
The older man next to her saw the dark-haired woman fidgeting with her fishing line and said impatiently, "Does this person even know how to fish? How can she catch fish by moving around like that?"
"Whether you catch it or not is none of your business," Xiang Yun retorted.
The older brother chuckled, moved his small stool a little further away from them, and said, "Don't disrupt my fishing rhythm."
"Where does he get his fishing rhythm from? Look at what he's saying. I'm going to catch a fish to prove myself," Xu Songning scoffed, sitting on the side of the boat, not in a hurry at all.
A small patch of land cleared between the older brother and the others. A child came over with a round, reel-like fishing tool, bent over, threw the line into the sea, and squatted down to wait for a fish to bite.
"Little friend, did you put bait in the fish?" Xu Songning asked from a distance.
The child's face was flushed from the sun, and he was chubby and adorable. "I put something sweet in it."
"Something sweet?" Xu Songning asked in confusion. She turned her head and saw that the child's mother was holding a cup of milk tea, and the bottom part of the milk tea was probably taro paste.
She never imagined that a cup of Chinese-style porridge or milk tea would reach the Maldives, nor did she expect that a child would use taro paste as bait. Could that even catch fish?
"It's alright, let him play. He doesn't like earthworms," the child's mother explained with a smile. "It's all about participation. It's okay if he doesn't catch any."
The older brother's expression was disdainful. He didn't say anything, but Xu Songning could tell that he despised her and the child.
She and the child were actually on the same social class, but at least she was using earthworms as bait.
Xu Songning wasn't very interested in fishing; she would occasionally tug on the fishing line to see if any fish had taken the bait.
After checking his own fishing line, he also checked Xiang Yun's fishing line.
"Hey! Mom, my fishing line is moving!"
"So heavy!"
The child patted the deck with delight. The child's mother, who was on the phone, covered her mouth to let out a happy exclamation, "Oh my goodness! You really caught a fish, that's wonderful!"
Xu Songning turned his head to look and met the gaze of his older brother, who looked disdainful. The older brother snorted and looked away, watching the child pull the fishing line.
The fishing line was pulled out straight and taut, and you could tell at a glance that a fish had been caught.
A fish bigger than an adult's palm was pulled out of the water, and the child jumped up with joy, showing it to those around him, "Look! The big fish I caught!"
The praise from those around him almost buried the little boy. His mother brought him a small bucket, put the fish in it, and patted her son's head. "This little fish is for you. Do you want to release it or eat it?"
The child stared wide-eyed, seemingly not understanding why the fish had to be eaten, but his mother said that the fish was given to him and he could do whatever he wanted with it.
The child placed the bucket beside him, kneaded another lump of taro paste, and cast the fishing hook.
"Little friend, can I have some of your bait?" Xu Songning took an unopened lollipop out of Xiang Yun's pocket, smiled and waved it at him, "I'll trade with you."
"Okay." The child licked his lips. He wanted candy, but...
He glanced at the fish in the bucket. "Pretty sister, I'll give you two little dumplings. Can you release the first fish you catch?"
Xu Songning wanted to say that she might not be able to catch a fish, but the child's request was too simple. She nodded in agreement and pointed to Xiang Yun beside her, "This is my boyfriend. If I don't catch any fish, I'll release his fish."
Xiang Yun glanced at the big fish in his bucket, smiled, and said nothing.
"Okay!" the child happily agreed and made two taro balls for her.
"What use is this thing? It's just a coincidence." The older brother's voice wasn't loud, but they overheard it.
The child didn't react much; he was just happy to have caught a fish. Xu Songning replied for him, "Sour grapes."
"What?" the older brother asked, puzzled.
"When you get home, look up what that sentence means in China," Xu Songning said with a friendly smile.
The child squatted back in his usual spot. Xu Songning pulled out her fishhook and found that the earthworm on it had long been eaten by the fish. She reattached the taro ball and threw it into the water.
"With the newbie buff and the kid's bonus, I should be able to catch some fish, right?"
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