Chapter 18

Early the next morning, Lan Xiruo and Sun Yuqing boarded the boat, carrying their bags, basins, and daily necessities.

After their fishing boat departed from the port, Gu Xizhi walked out from behind a shed, his gaze following the vessel.

He watched until it completely disappeared from sight. Suddenly, he slapped himself.

“Heh, Gu Xizhi, you’re such a coward!”

Had he grown so used to watching over her in secret all these years? Now they were just living next door, yet he still didn’t have the courage to face her?

—-

The fishing boat rocked gently as it sailed for nearly four hours before stopping near a small island.

On the sea, only a few scattered fishing boats from other teams were visible.

Uncle Jiang He exchanged greetings with them before finding a good spot. Together with Lan Xiruo and the others, he cast the fishing nets into the water.

Once the nets were set, everyone had time to relax.

Lan Xiruo looked down at the sea and suggested, “Since we’re just waiting around, how about a fishing competition?”

A’dong was the first to agree, “Sounds great! I brought fishing hooks!”

“Haha, what a coincidence, we brought some too!” Heiyu and Jiang Dazhu laughed as they pulled a few hooks out of their pockets.

Even Sun Yuqing and Uncle Jiang He looked eager to join.

So, they tied some fishing lines and sinkers onto the hooks, found a few small bamboo rods on the boat, wrapped the lines around them, and started fishing.

The boat was anchored in place, and they spread out—Lan Xiruo and Sun Yuqing sat on opposite sides of the deck, Jiang Dazhu and A’dong took the middle, while Uncle Jiang He and Heiyu positioned themselves at the stern.

Lan Xiruo hooked a shrimp onto her fishing line and cast it into the sea, then sat quietly on the deck, waiting.

Three minutes later, Sun Yuqing gasped, “I’ve got a bite!”

Excitedly, she tugged the line—but in her haste, she only reeled in an empty hook.

Disappointed, she rebaited her hook and cast it back into the water.

At that moment, Lan Xiruo felt a sudden weight on her line. She remained calm, waited a little longer, then slowly reeled it in. Once the fish was close enough, she lifted her hand and flung it onto the deck.

Her movement caught the attention of the others.

A’dong exclaimed, “Wow, it’s a grouper! Lan Zhiqing, what a lucky start!”

Just as he spoke, he felt a tug on his own line. “Ah! Mine’s hooked too!”

With a flick of his wrist, he landed a fish on the deck.

“It’s a stickleback… but it’s way too small, not even three ounces. Guess I have to release it.”

A’dong sighed as he unhooked the tiny fish and tossed it back into the sea.

That seemed to trigger something—one after another, everyone started catching fish.

“Haha, watch this!” Heiyu laughed as he reeled in a three-finger-wide eel.

Jiang Dazhu scoffed, “Pfft, just an eel? Watch me!”

He lifted his rod dramatically—only to reveal a baby eel as thin as a pinky finger.

“HAHAHA!”

The irony hit too fast—everyone burst into laughter.

Frustrated, Jiang Dazhu threw the tiny eel back into the sea and grumbled, “That was just bad luck! Next one will definitely be a big one!”

He sat back down, still as a monk in meditation, eyes scanning the sea’s surface.

Meanwhile, Lan Xiruo discreetly touched the fishing line and tested something—could she store the fish into her personal space?

To her surprise, it worked.

A smirk appeared on her lips. If she could keep doing this, making a fortune wouldn’t be far off.

From then on, Lan Xiruo kept one hand on her line. The moment a fish took the bait, she immediately transported it into her space.

Yellow croakers, eels, blackfish, bass, sea bream…

She took them all, accumulating more and more.

“Hey, check out this huge sea eel I caught!” Heiyu proudly held up another large fish.

After two failed attempts, Sun Yuqing finally reeled in a fish. She was so excited her cheeks flushed red.

“Ahhh! Finally! I caught a bass!”

Lan Xiruo glanced over—it was less than a pound. She smiled and turned back to the water.

Realizing she hadn’t visibly caught anything in a while, she decided to let the next fish remain outside, to avoid suspicion.

Just as she thought that, her rod suddenly dipped sharply. The force nearly wrenched it from her hands. She quickly tightened her grip and saw a massive fish tugging at her line.

“Yuqing, come help me! This one is too strong, I can’t hold on!”

Sun Yuqing immediately abandoned her own rod and rushed over to help.

But just as she grabbed the fishing rod, the line pulled so tight that—

SPLASH!

A giant fish leaped out of the water, nearly dragging them both off their feet.

“Ahhh!”

Fortunately, there was a makeshift railing at Lan Xiruo’s fishing spot. She grabbed onto it just in time, preventing them from plunging into the sea.

Once she steadied herself, she let out the fishing line, allowing the fish to swim freely and exhaust itself.

Sun Yuqing collapsed onto the deck, craning her neck to stare at the water. “What kind of fish is this? It’s way too strong!”

Their commotion attracted the men, who rushed over to watch.

Uncle Jiang He squinted at the water. “It’s a barracuda. These fish are aggressive, very lively, and often swim in schools.”

Lan Xiruo looked down—sure enough, there were several dark shadows following the hooked fish.

“Whoa!”

“Look, more of them are jumping out of the water!”

Sun Yuqing had never seen so many fish leaping at once. She excitedly leaned over the railing to watch.

Lan Xiruo quickly pulled her back, laughing. “If you fall in, I don’t mind—but don’t scare away my fish!”

Sun Yuqing playfully smacked Lan Xiruo on the back. “Am I worth less than a fish to you?”

“Mmm-hmm. At least fish are edible. What about you?” Lan Xiruo teased.

As they bantered, Uncle Jiang He had already taken control of the fishing rod, reeling in the massive fish.

“Tsk, this one’s a real fighter. Someone give me a hand!”

A’dong immediately jumped in to help. Even with their combined effort, it took all their strength to haul it up.

THUMP!

A barracuda nearly a meter long and weighing 20–30 pounds landed on the deck with a loud thud.

Despite being out of the water, it thrashed wildly. Uncle Jiang He quickly threw a fishing net over it to keep it from flopping back into the sea.

After that, Jiang Dazhu became even more determined—he had to catch a big fish to prove himself.

Three hours later, while everyone else had reeled in fish after fish, his biggest catch was… a two-pound bass.

Frustrated, Jiang Dazhu gritted his teeth.

“This must be because I emptied the chamber pot for my mother this morning. Just you all wait—tomorrow, I will catch a big fish!”