Chapter 13: Fish That Eat Wild Vegetables

Xu Nian instructed Xu Kang to take Xu Ling and Xu Cai further away. She picked up a stone and tossed it into the pond. To her surprise, there were indeed fish in the water, though most of them were quite small.

Xu Nian placed her hand in the water, but in reality, she was using her mind to transfer fish from the stream in her spatial dimension into the pond.

“Big Sister, there really are fish—big ones!” Xu Jian exclaimed excitedly.

“Keep your voice down, or you’ll scare them away,” Xu Ji reminded him. Though he was also pleased, he had a naturally calm demeanor. Instead of showing excitement, he cautioned his younger brother.

Xu Nian found it amusing. These fish weren’t going anywhere. As long as she placed her hand in the water, the fish would follow her.

After releasing six or seven fish, she stopped. Out of curiosity, Xu Kang and the other two came over as well.

“Xu Kang, take Ling’er and Cai back to call for help. The few of us alone won’t be able to catch these fish.”

Although the two younger ones were curious, they obediently followed their older brother back to the cave.

In truth, Xu Nian could have easily caught all the fish herself, but that would seem too unrealistic. After all, even for a strong adult, catching a single fish without any tools was no easy task.

The three siblings didn’t have to wait long before their uncle, Xu Weian, arrived with a group of young men. Some carried baskets, while others held wooden sticks.

“Big girl, the second boy said there were big fish here. Where are they?”

Xu Nian glanced at her enthusiastic uncle and casually pointed to the center of the pond, where several fish were swimming around.

Xu Weian’s eyes lit up. Finally, they had something decent to eat for dinner! After days of eating wild vegetables, he was starting to feel like he was turning into one.

Although the drought had significantly lowered the water level in the pond, it was still quite deep. The group stood at the water’s edge, sighing as they watched the fish swim about.

Seeing this, Xu Nian couldn’t help but shake her head. She casually picked two wild vegetables and tossed them into a basket before placing it in the water. Instantly, the fish swam toward it.

The others were amazed. Who would have thought that fish would eat wild vegetables?

“They must be starving,” Uncle Xu sighed, feeling pity for the fish.

Xu Nian was speechless. She felt as though she had overestimated the intelligence of these people. No matter what happened, they always found a way to justify it to themselves.

Seeing the success, the others tried to imitate her by placing their baskets into the water. However, strangely, all the fish only swam toward Xu Nian’s basket.

“Xu family girl, what kind of wild vegetables did you use? Why aren’t the fish coming to ours?” a young man asked.

Xu Nian handed the basket with two fish to Xu Weian before walking over to the boy who had spoken. She casually picked another wild vegetable and tossed it into his basket.

After that, she didn’t leave. Instead, she crouched beside him, pretending to wash her hands.

“Hey! They’re coming! The fish are coming!”

That exclamation seemed to trigger something. Xu Nian simply repeated the process of picking wild vegetables and “washing her hands.”

By the end, not only had they caught all the fish Xu Nian had placed in the water, but the boys also didn’t let any of the small fish in the pond escape.

Seeing their baskets full of fish, everyone was overjoyed.

However, Xu Nian was still thinking about her father, who had gone to buy grain. She quickly called out, “Let’s head back now. There are no more big fish left to catch.”

The boys, still excited, immediately responded in unison, “Alright!”

Little did Xu Nian know that, at this moment, she had become a highly respected figure among the young men.

By the time they returned to the cave, the group that had gone to the city to buy grain had yet to return. The villagers were surprised to see the baskets filled with fish of all sizes.

“These fish must weigh at least ten pounds! How did you manage to catch such big ones?”

“Look, they’re still alive!”

While everyone was marveling at the fish, Xu Nian approached the village chief.

“Grandpa Village Chief, why haven’t my father and the others returned yet? Should we send someone to meet them?”

“I already sent your second uncle and a group to check on them. Sigh… I just hope nothing has gone wrong.”

Seeing the elderly man, who had been worrying for the villagers all this time, Xu Nian felt a pang of sympathy.

“Grandpa Village Chief, they probably got delayed while buying the grain. Please don’t worry too much.

Oh, and we caught a lot of fish in the pond. Tonight, let’s have fish soup.”

The village chief looked at the young girl earnestly trying to comfort him, feeling deeply touched. The Xu family’s eldest daughter was not only intelligent but also kind-hearted—everyone in the village had misjudged her before.

As soon as Xu Nian returned to her family’s area, she saw Madam Zheng stop her and whisper, “Big girl, why are you so honest? Our family has already handed over our silver, so why should we still share our food with the villagers?”

Xu Nian knew that her second aunt was straightforward and stubborn but not ill-intentioned, so she patiently explained, “Second Aunt, didn’t Grandpa Village Chief say that we must support each other from now on?

If our family hides food today, won’t others follow suit tomorrow? Then Grandpa Village Chief’s words would be meaningless.”

Madam Zheng understood the reasoning but still muttered, “How do you know that other families haven’t already hidden some for themselves?”

Madam Wang, noticing her second daughter-in-law whispering with her eldest granddaughter, called out, “Second daughter-in-law, what are you two talking about that the rest of the family can’t hear?

Big girl has been working hard all morning. Let her sit down before you continue talking.”

Madam Zheng responded gloomily. She had finally realized that since being chosen by the Mountain Goddess, the eldest granddaughter had practically become the most important person in the Xu family.

Madam Tian handed Xu Nian a bamboo tube filled with water.

“Nian’er, drink some water. Don’t go running around unnecessarily. The village men have all gone down the mountain. If anything happens, what will we do?”

Xu Nian obediently replied, already used to Madam Tian’s constant worrying.

In Xu Nian’s eyes, Tian might not be the strongest woman, but she was undoubtedly an excellent mother.

“Listen to your mother,” Madam Wang agreed. “Wait until the others return before going out to find more supplies.”

Just as they finished speaking, a commotion erupted outside the cave.

Madam Wang slapped her thigh and exclaimed, “Oh no! Could it be that Yaozu and the others have returned?”

Xu Nian followed her family out of the cave and indeed saw Xu Yaozu and his group surrounded by villagers.

Before he could say much to the village chief, Madam Wang immediately grabbed him. Seeing the injuries on his face, her heart ached.

“Which heartless wretch did this? They went in for the kill!” she cried out.

“Husband, what happened?” Madam Tian asked anxiously.

Xu Nian stepped forward for a closer look and realized the injuries were quite serious. And these were just the visible ones—who knew how bad the hidden wounds were?

“Grandmother, Mother, don’t cry yet! We need to clean Father’s wounds first. If they get infected, what will we do?”

Hearing this, both women finally let go of Xu Yaozu’s arms.

Xu Yaozu secretly breathed a sigh of relief. His mother’s grip was incredibly strong—right on his wounds! He hadn’t dared to make a sound, not wanting to worry her further.

Just as he was about to follow his family inside, Xu Yaozu suddenly remembered something.

He slapped his forehead and gestured for a young man standing behind the crowd to step forward.

“Everyone, make way! This is our benefactor, Young Master Mu. He will be traveling with us for some time.”

Until then, everyone’s attention had been on the food and the returning villagers, so no one had noticed the young man standing quietly at the back.