Chapter 18

The villagers ultimately couldn't catch up to Lu Qing and his companions. Sᴇaʀch* Thᴇ ɴovᴇlꜰirᴇ.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.With Wang Da'an's assistance, their pace wasn't slow, and the river wasn't far from the village.

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

When they arrived, the reaction they triggered was nothing short of sensational.

It was inevitable; the giant fish Wang Da'an carried was simply too eye-catching.

This guy loved to show off. As soon as he entered the village, he would carry the fish wherever people were gathered.

People weren't blind; of course, they saw the fish on his back.

Seeing such a huge fish, how could they not be amazed?

"Da'an caught a huge fish! Such a big fish!"

This call naturally attracted others to come out and join the fun.

Seeing it was indeed a big fish, and a frighteningly large one at that, the commotion escalated.

"Good job, Da'an! How did you manage to catch such a big fish?"

"My goodness, this fish must be over twenty pounds. Well done, Da'an!"

"Da'an is amazing, catching such a huge fish!"

The villagers surrounded Da'an, reaching out to touch the fish and exclaiming in amazement.

The children were even more excited, jumping and shouting.

Lu Qing watched Wang Da'an showcase the Blue-armored Fish to everyone with amusement.

This scene reminded him of fishing enthusiasts in his previous life who, upon catching a big fish, would show off in the same way.

As if not boasting would be an injustice to the hard work of waiting by the river.

Once Wang Da'an had shown off enough, Lu Qing called out with a bit of exasperation, "Alright, Da'an, let's go home."

After showing off, Wang Da'an squeezed out of the crowd and ran to Lu Qing's side.

"I forgot to tell you all, this big fish wasn't caught by me, but by Lu Qing!"

"It was caught by Lu Qing?"

Everyone turned to look at Lu Qing.

Xiao Yan proudly raised her head, "Yes, my brother caught this big fish with great effort. We even have another beautiful big fish in our bucket!"

"Really, Lu Qing caught it?!"

"Another big fish in the bucket?!"

Hearing this, everyone rushed over to look into the bucket Lu Qing was carrying.

At a glance, they were all stunned.

Nothing else, the appearance of the Red Moon Carp was simply too stunning.

Its dazzling fiery red color, like a flame burning in the water, made it clear at a glance that this fish was extraordinary.

"What kind of fish is this? It's too beautiful!"

"I've never seen a bright red fish before."

"Lu Qing, where did you catch such a beautiful fish?"

"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."

"Yes, yes, yes, Grandpa Chen has seen a lot. He'll definitely know this fish."

If there was anyone in the village who was most respected by the villagers, it was undoubtedly Grandpa Chen.

Not only because everyone had visited the old doctor for treatment at some point.

But also because the old doctor was recognized as the most knowledgeable person in the village.

He frequently visited the city, and his experiences far exceeded those of the rural folk.

The villagers surrounded them, discussing the two big fish for a long time before finally dispersing, satisfied after getting their fill of the sight.

Lu Qing had invited everyone to his home to eat the fish.

But everyone in the village knew his family's situation, so they all refused.

Even those who were tempted to taste the big fish were pulled away by others before they could speak.

No one wanted to be seen taking advantage of two poor orphans.

After everyone left, Lu Qing picked up the bucket and returned to their courtyard with Xiao Yan and Wang Da'an.

"Lu Qing, I'm heading back."

As soon as they reached the courtyard, Wang Da'an put down the fish and prepared to leave.

Lu Qing quickly called him back, "Don't go, Da'an. We agreed I'd treat you to fish."

"You took that seriously? I was joking before. Given your family's situation, if I stayed for dinner, my old man would chase me with a stick!"

"But you can't let me break my promise."

"Anyway, I can't stay for dinner."

The two argued, but neither could persuade the other.

"Da'an, you know we can't finish such a big fish. It's warm now, and the fish won't keep long. Take some back; it'll help lighten my burden." Lu Qing said earnestly.

"Well... okay." Seeing Lu Qing's sincerity, Wang Da'an hesitated but finally agreed.

Seeing him relent, Lu Qing immediately went to the kitchen to get a knife to clean the fish.

The Blue-armored Fish was indeed worthy of its name; its scales were tough.

It took Lu Qing a lot of effort, even with Wang Da'an's help, to scrape off the scales and gut the fish.

After cleaning the fish, he planned to discard the intestines, except for the swim bladder.

Though in his previous life he liked eating fish intestines, given their current situation and lack of seasoning, he couldn't properly cook the fish offal and decided to forgo it.

After gutting the fish, Lu Qing immediately cut two large pieces of fish meat, wrapped them in banana leaves, and handed them to Wang Da'an.

"So much?!"

Wang Da'an was surprised by the amount.

These two pieces weighed several pounds each.

"It's not much, Da'an. Look, there's still so much fish meat left. Xiao Yan and I can't finish it all."

Lu Qing forced the fish meat into Wang Da'an's hands.

Seeing the remaining pile of fish meat, Wang Da'an didn't refuse further.

"Lu Qing, I think your family is the only one in the village troubled by having too much fish to eat."

After witnessing Lu Qing's catch today, Wang Da'an realized that Lu Qing's family would likely never lack fish.

"Fish can't replace rice." Lu Qing sighed. "We still need to eat grain, but our fields are abandoned, and it's not planting season yet."

"That's a problem." Wang Da'an nodded.

He knew that the upheaval in Lu Qing's family had caused him to miss the planting season.

It would be several months before the next planting.

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

"Lu Qing, you're so good at fishing. You can sell the fish at the market. With money, you can buy food!"

"Sell fish?" Lu Qing was puzzled. "But I remember there's a city entrance fee, and I don't have money."

"I'm not talking about the city, but the market near our village!"

"The market?" Lu Qing blinked.