Chapter 18: Onlookers

In the end, the villagers didn’t catch up to Lu Qing’s group of three.

With Wang Da’an’s help, they didn’t walk too slowly, and the river wasn’t far from the village.

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

And when they returned to the village, the effect was sensational.

It couldn’t be helped; the big fish on Wang Da’an’s back was simply too eye-catching.

And this guy loved to show off. As soon as he entered the village, wherever he saw people, he would carry the fish and approach them.

Others weren’t blind; how could they not see the fish he was carrying?

As a result, seeing such a big fish, how could they not exclaim in surprise?

“Brother Da’an caught a big fish! What a big fish!”

As soon as this voice came out, it naturally attracted others to come out and watch the fun.

Then they saw that it was indeed a big fish, and a frighteningly large one at that.

Now, it was suddenly lively.

“You’re something else, Da’an, to have caught such a big fish. Quick, tell us how you caught it!”

“Good heavens, this fish must be over twenty catties! You’re amazing, Da’an!”

“Brother Da’an is so amazing, to be able to catch such a big fish!”

…

A group of villagers surrounded Da’an, touching the fish and exclaiming in amazement.

The children were even more excited, jumping and shouting.

Lu Qing looked at Wang Da’an showing off the Green Armored Fish to everyone with some amusement.

This scene reminded him of his fishing buddies from his past life. When they occasionally caught a big fish, they would also show off like this.

It was as if if they didn’t show off fiercely, it would be a disservice to the hardship of waiting by the river.

When Wang Da’an had shown off enough, Lu Qing called out with some helplessness, “Alright, Brother Da’an, let’s go back.”

Having shown off enough, Wang Da’an squeezed out of the crowd and ran to Lu Qing’s side.

“I forgot to tell you, I didn’t catch this big fish. Lu Qing did!”

“Lu Qing caught it?”

Everyone looked at Lu Qing.

Xiao Yan immediately raised her head proudly, “That’s right, my brother spent a lot of effort to catch this big fish. We have an even more beautiful big fish in our bucket!”

“Lu Qing really caught it?!”

“There’s another big fish in the bucket?!”

Upon hearing this, everyone rushed over and looked into the bucket Lu Qing was carrying.

At this sight, everyone was stunned.

For no other reason than the fact that the Red Moon Carp’s appearance was simply too stunning.

That brilliant fiery red color was like a flame burning in the water, letting people know at a glance that this fish was no ordinary item.

“What kind of fish is this? It’s too beautiful!”

“A fiery red fish, this is the first time I’ve seen one.”

“Such a beautiful fish, Lu Qing, where did you catch it?”

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

Everyone asked in amazement.

“I don’t know what kind of fish this is either,” Lu Qing shook his head. “I plan to take it to Grandpa Chen tomorrow to see if he recognizes it.”

“That’s right, that’s right, Old Doctor Chen is knowledgeable and has seen a lot. He will definitely recognize this fish.”

If there was one person in the village who was most respected by the villagers, it was undoubtedly Old Doctor Chen.

Not only because everyone had more or less gone to the old doctor for treatment, but also because the old doctor was recognized as the most knowledgeable person in the village.

He often went in and out of the city, and his knowledge was not something that these country folk could compare to.

The crowd gathered around, discussing the two big fish for a long time. After they had their fill of looking, they finally dispersed with satisfaction.

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

But who in the village didn’t know his family’s situation? They all refused one by one.

Even if there were a few who were tempted and wanted to taste the big fish, they were pulled away by others before they could even open their mouths.

Have some sense! Taking advantage of two poor orphans, aren’t you afraid of being pointed at and cursed!

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

“Lu Qing, I’m going back first.”

As soon as they arrived at the courtyard, Wang Da’an put the fish down and prepared to leave.

Lu Qing quickly called out to him, “Don’t go, Brother Da’an. We agreed that I would treat you to fish.”

“You took it seriously? I was just joking before. With your family’s situation, if I really stayed for dinner, I’d be chased out with a stick by my old man when I get home!”

“Then you can’t let me break my promise.”

“In any case, I don’t dare to stay for dinner.”

“…”

The two of them argued for a while, but neither could convince the other.

“Brother Da’an, you also know that we two siblings can’t finish such a big fish in a short time. The weather is warm now, and the fish meat can’t be preserved for long. If you take two pieces back, you’ll be helping me lighten my burden,” Lu Qing said sincerely.

“Then… alright.” Seeing that Lu Qing had said so, Wang Da’an hesitated for a moment and finally agreed.

Seeing that he had relented, Lu Qing immediately went into the kitchen to get a knife and prepare to kill the fish.

It had to be said, the Green Armored Fish was worthy of its name. The scales on its body were quite tough.

Lu Qing spent a lot of effort, and with Wang Da’an helping on the side, he finally managed to scrape off the scales with great difficulty, and then gutted it.

After gutting the fish, besides the fish maw, he planned to throw away the other internal organs, such as the fish intestines and liver.

Although for a big fish like the Green Armored Fish, if the internal organs were cooked well, they would also be a delicacy.

Lu Qing had been quite fond of eating fish intestines in his past life.

But with the current situation at home, where there weren’t even many seasonings, he simply didn’t have the conditions to cook these very fishy things. Lu Qing could only give up with a heavy heart.

After digging out the internal organs, the first thing Lu Qing did was to chop out two large pieces of fish meat, wrap them in banana leaves, and hand them to Wang Da’an.

“So much?!”

Wang Da’an was surprised to see the two large pieces of fish meat.

These two pieces of fish meat weighed at least several catties.

“It’s not much, Brother Da’an. Look, there’s still so much fish meat here. How can Xiao Yan and I finish it?”

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

Wang Da’an looked at the chopping board where the fish was being chopped. There was indeed a large pile of fish meat on it, so he didn’t refuse anymore.

“Lu Qing, I think your family is the only one in the whole village that has the trouble of having too much fish to eat.”

Wang Da’an laughed after taking the fish meat.

After witnessing Lu Qing’s achievements today, Wang Da’an also realized that the Lu family would probably not be short of fish to eat in the future.

“Fish can’t be eaten as a staple food,” Lu Qing said helplessly. “People still have to eat rice. It’s a pity that my family’s fields are barren, and it’s not the time to plant grain now.”

“That is a problem,” Wang Da’an nodded.

He knew that the Lu family had suffered such a great change before, which caused Lu Qing to miss the planting season.

There were still several months before the next planting season.

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

“Lu Qing, you’re so good at fishing. In the future, when you catch fish, you can take them to the market to sell. With money, you can buy grain!”

“Sell fish?” Lu Qing was a little confused. “But I remember that you need to pay an entrance fee to enter the city, right? I don’t have any money now.”

“I’m not talking about the city, but the big market not far from our village!”

“The big market?” Lu Qing blinked.

(End of this chapter)