Allure of a Country Maiden-Chapter 20 - 19 Enjoyment in Fishing

Chapter 20: Chapter 19: Enjoyment in Fishing

Chapter 20 -19: Enjoyment in Fishing

All were adolescents with an inherent urge to play and be active.

The two of them arrived by the river just as four boys were just finishing digging up worms.

They hooked the worms as bait, cast their fishing rods out far, and then quietly waited.

Xiao’er and her friends, without fishing rods, could only stand on the bank and watch.

It was 15 minutes before they saw Liu Zhiwen reel in a crucian carp as big as an adult’s palm.

Xiao’er thought of using the lake water from her space to make bait for fishing.

She said she would go and bring a basket to catch fish.

Jingshu laughed, “It took them half a day to get just one fish, and you still want to catch fish.”

Xiao’er paid no attention to her, ran back, asked her grandmother for a broken bowl, filled it with water, then hid in the hut, entered her space, changed the water to lake water, added a bit of rice bran, wheat bran and a little flour to the lake water and mixed them together.

She rolled them into small balls, then asked her grandmother for two baskets and set out.

During this time, she was berated by Mrs.

Liu for wasting resources, but her grandmother protected her, and Xiao’er ended up making the so-called bait.

When she returned to the river, Xiao’er was surprised to find Shen Zixuan was there too, accompanied by a boy of the same age.

“Brother Zixuan, are you also here?”

“I came to visit the teacher in Guishu Village.” After finishing, he introduced the boy beside him to Xiao’er, “This is my classmate, Lai Zhewei.”

“Hello, Young Master Lai.” Xiao’er greeted politely.

“You’re my friend’s cousin?

Just call me Brother Zhewei.” Lai Zhewei was close to Shen Zixuan, and by modern terms, they were buddies.

So Shen Zixuan’s sister was his sister too.

Xiao’er smiled politely but didn’t say yes or no.

She then turned to Shen Zixuan, “I made some bait, I plan on catching fish.

Do you want to join us, Brother Zixuan?”

Shen Zixuan looked at Lai Zhewei, who was obviously interested: “Sure, I’ve never fished or caught fish before.

Seeing them just now, I’ve been wanting to try it.”

Xiaor gave them a basket, then started preparing her bait in a small purse, which she tied to the bottom of the basket: “This is my first time trying to catch fish like this, I don’t know if it will work.”

“Xiaor, you’re putting the bait in a purse at the bottom of the basket and you’re thinking that the fish will swim in to eat, and then you scoop them up?” Lai Zhewei was already calling Xiao’er by her name like Shen Zixuan was.

He might have never fished before, but he knew fish weren’t that stupid, using a fishing rod is more reliable.

“Exactly!” Xiao’er responded as though it was natural, as if there was nothing wrong with her plan.

Lai Zhewei: “Zixuan, I’m going to ask for a fishing rod from little brother Jingrui.

You can catch fish with her.”

As soon as Jingrui saw Xiao’er planning to catch fish, he passed his fishing rod over naturally thinking girls shouldn’t have to take off their shoes to go in the water.

Xiao’er directed Shen Zixuan and Shen Jingrui to place two baskets in the river, making sure the open end faced the water flow, and they used a stone to anchor the basket so it wouldn’t be swept away.

Truth be told, neither of them held much hope to catch a fish and only wanted to play along with Xiao’er.

After a while, a strange phenomenon occurred.

Fish, big and small, all swam upstream towards the basket, fighting over the purse of bait inside.

Both Shen Zixuan and Shen Jingrui were stunned: This actually worked!

Seeing two or three big fish entering the basket and both of them still in a daze, Xiao’er couldn’t help but reminded aloud, “Hurry up and pull the basket in!”

Regaining their senses, they hurried to straighten the baskets and pull them to shore.

They even forgot to remove the stone used to anchor the basket first.

The other boys who were fishing at the other end abandoned their fishing rods and ran over.

The two baskets were filled with fish of all sizes, leaping lively.

Jinghao, having fished for half a day without catching a single one, was shocked by the volume of fish brought up by the baskets.

“So this is how you fish.

No wonder I couldn’t catch any.

I’m not going fishing anymore, I want to catch fish like this,” He declared.

Lai Zhewei, originally thought this method was unreliable.

But seeing the success, he chucked his rod and rushed to the baskets.

Xiao’er, amused by their antics, suggested, “Fishing with this bait should also be pretty fast.”

The others ceased their scramble for the baskets, fetched their rods and changed the bait.

However, fishing needed skills.

Fish might eat the bait and still escape.

The adrenaline rush of catching fish with baskets was dangerously addictive.

Liu Zhiwen decisively ran home to fetch his own basket.

In the end, each had his own basket and was gleefully engrossed in fishing.

Jinghao and Lai Zhewei were very excited seeing fish swim into their baskets.

“Here they come!

Haha, these silly fish!

They’re too silly!” they exclaimed.

Xiao’er rolled her eyes and thought, “When did fish become silly?

It’s all thanks to my bait, okay?”

The duty of Xiao’er and Liu Jingshu was to transfer the fish from the baskets to a wooden barrel on the shore.

Zhiwen and his brother Zhiwu were resourceful too, they’d brought a large tub from their home to store the fish.

Shen Chengyao couldn’t help but join in and a lot of children from the riverside came over.

They saw the fun and ran home to grab their own baskets and bait.

While picking fish, Xiao’er put some small fish and shrimp into her special space, along with some river clams, planning to cultivate pearls.

Most river clams naturally produce pearls inside their bodies.

If she had pearl clams, that would be even better, as they produced more.

“I’ve never caught so many fish before.

Xiao’er, you’re amazing to come up with this method.”

“It’s also my first time.

I heard about it before but never thought it would really work.

However, crafting the bait requires careful balance of ingredients.

I just happened to get it right.

I may not get it next time.

I heard it’s not easy.

Some people use the same ingredients but can’t attract the fish.

Some succeed once, but never a second time.” Xiao’er painstakingly played down the success of her bait.

Otherwise, everyone would be coming to her for bait.

“Isn’t that right?

Look at those people in the river with red eyes.

They’ve been waiting there for ages and not a single fish swam into their basket.” Liu Jingshu laughed mischievously.

“Let’s release the smaller fish back into the river.

We can catch them again when they grow up.” Xiao’er said this while returning the smaller crustaceans back into the river.

Hearing about catching them again, Liu Jingshu also promptly returned the smaller catches to the water: “Grow up quickly, you guys.

We’ll give you delicious food in a few days.

Make sure you eat well before we catch you again.”

Xiao’er laughed so hard at this her stomach hurt.

Only when no more fish swam into the baskets did the boys reluctantly withdraw them and return to the shore.

“That was so much fun.

Sister, make some more bait.

I want to fish more.” Jinghao felt it wasn’t enough and pleaded while tugging at Xiao’er’s sleeve.

“Let’s fish again after we get home.

Look, we’ve already caught a large barrel full.

Let’s go back to our grandmother’s home and have our mom make us some fish soup.

“Xiao’er, you must make some bait for me.

I’m taking it home to show off.

I need to let them see what I’m capable of.” Lai Zhewei asked for the bait in a very natural way, showing no restraint even though they had just met.

Xiao’er agreed unhesitatingly: “Okay, I’ll make some more later.

You can all take some home.” She planned to make some bait both with and without her secret ingredient, spatial water while they were watching.

This way she could prove that not every batch of bait was successful.

Shen Zixuan and Lai Zhewei came to visit their teacher and originally planned to leave after a short while.

They only greeted Jingrui and his friends who were fishing by the river and did not expect to play for an entire morning.

Zhiwen and his brother, Zhiwu, had also fished with them all afternoon.

The pair got along well with the visitors and invited them to dinner.

Shen Chengyao added, “Xiao’er’s grandparents are very kind and hospitable.

You, Zixuan and Young Master Lai, should come and share in their hospitality.

You need to eat back in the county anyways.

The timing is essentially the same if you dine here and then head back to the county.”

Even though Shen Zixuan felt troubled, he agreed since insisting otherwise would look bad.

Lai Zhewei, being a well-respected gentleman, was usually the center of attention wherever he went.

He did not worry about being a bother to others.

Many people invited him, but he didn’t always go.

However, he felt that these people were genuine.

They didn’t suck up to him, had no hidden agendas, and showed no forced politeness or flattery.

They treated him like a regular person.

They fished together and didn’t hesitate to grab the best fishing spot or fight for the bait.

They were very sincere, which made him want to be friends with them.

Although just a group of kids, they were obviously more mature and capable than children of their age.