Chapter 7: Incredibly Lucky

With Jiang Mixia having already settled the score, and Sun Ergou and Sun Zhuzi showing a decent attitude, Jiang Chunyu waved his hand. “Alright, remember what you two have promised. No more bullying.”

“Don’t worry, we won’t, we won’t,” Sun Ergou and Sun Zhuzi nodded vigorously.

Seeing Jiang Chunyu no longer pressing the issue, the two let out a sigh of relief.

Observing Jiang Mixia teaching Song Jingyun how to fish, Sun Ergou timidly remarked, “Um, Mixia, the fish here are quite cunning. We might be wasting our time here…”

“Just yesterday, Sanpang caught a big grass carp right here. He did, this area is teeming with fish,” Jiang Chunyu retorted.

“He got that fish by trading his cat’s kitten with someone yesterday,” Sun Ergou sneered, “I saw it myself.”

“What, he got a fish by trading a kitten, then goes around bragging about catching it himself, saying he even got a cut on his foot from a riverbed stone while catching it. It’s all a load of nonsense!” Jiang Chunyu gritted his teeth. “I’ll deal with him when I get back!”

Can’t catch any fish here?

Then there’s no point in letting the young son-in-law of their family waste his efforts here.

Jiang Mixia was about to call out to Song Jingyun when, before she could say a word, there was a sudden “swish.” Song Jingyun’s bamboo fork pierced the water, and when he lifted it, a damp, six to seven-inch-long crucian carp was skewered on the fork.

The crucian carp, now out of the water, wriggled back and forth on the fork.

Observing this, Jiang Mixia fetched a basket and instructed Song Jingyun to place the fish inside.

“Well done, well done,” Jiang Mixia exclaimed with great joy, praising him repeatedly. “You managed to spear a fish on your first attempt. You’re really talented.”

Encouraged by the praise, Song Jingyun looked excited as he continued searching for more fish with the bamboo fork.

“Brother-in-law caught a fish!” Jiang Chunyu was also pleasantly surprised. He then glanced at Sun Ergou and Sun Zhuzi. “You two said you couldn’t catch any fish, right?”

“We really couldn’t,” Sun Ergou hurriedly explained. “Both of us have been trying to catch fish here countless times, but we haven’t caught a single one, right, Zhuzi?”

“Yep, we really haven’t caught even a single fish,” Sun Zhuzi nodded vigorously.

Seeing their sincere expressions, it didn’t seem like they were lying. Just earlier, Chunyu had struggled to catch a fish, yet now Song Jingyun had managed to do so effortlessly.

How could this be explained?

“Maybe it’s luck,” Sun Ergou ventured.

“Perhaps…” Jiang Chunyu’s words trailed off and then, once again, there was a “swish.” Looking up, he saw that Song Jingyun had speared another fish.

This one was even larger than the previous one, over a foot long, and it wasn’t a crucian carp but a wild grass carp. With its size and some flesh already on it, it would make for a substantial dish when cooked.

Sun Zhuzi’s eyes widened. “He’s incredibly lucky.”

Sun Ergou and Jiang Chunyu nodded in agreement.

Subsequently, the third, fourth, and fifth fish were caught…

In no time, Jiang Mixia’s basket was filled with seven or eight large fish, each one bigger and heavier than the last. Even the intervals at which Song Jingyun caught the fish seemed to shorten.

Wiping the sweat off his forehead as he placed another fish in the basket.

Jiang Mingxia remarked, “That’s about enough. These fish should last our family for two days.”

“Good,” feeling a bit tired now, Song Jingyun picked up the bamboo fork and, with Jiang Mixia’s support, made his way back to the bank.

“Brother-in-law, you’re amazing!” Jiang Chunyu looked at Song Jingyun, his eyes full of admiration. “Where did you learn to catch fish so skillfully? Can you teach me?”

“Where did you learn?” Song Jingyun scratched his ear. “Didn’t I just learn from you?”

“Don’t joke around, brother-in-law,” Jiang Chunyu waved it off.

He hadn’t caught a single fish, so what was there to learn from him?

“I’m not joking. I did just learn from you, just now,” Song Jingyun was absolutely serious.

Jiang Chunyu suddenly felt a bit uneasy.

A master unable to catch fish but with an incredibly skilled disciple…

He was feeling a bit embarrassed as a master.

“Take these two fish back with you,” Jiang Mixia picked up two larger fish and placed them in Jiang Chunyu’s bamboo basket.

“I can’t accept these,” Jiang Chunyu refused. “These are the fish brother-in-law worked hard to catch. I can’t take them.”

“If you don’t have any fish, how will you go talk to Sanpang about catching fish?” When Jiang Mixia brought this up, Jiang Chunyu perked up. “Alright, I’ll take them for now.”

Jiang Mixia smiled and then placed the basket on Song Jingyun’s back. She also brought two water-filled wooden buckets and hung them on a carrying pole, then placed it on his back. “Let’s go, back home.”

“Alright.” Jiang Chunyu carried the bamboo basket and fork, following Jiang Mixia home with great enthusiasm.

Once the three had gone some distance, Sun Ergou and Sun Zhuzi breathed a sigh of relief and made their way home.

“From now on, we must never provoke that Jiang Mixia,” Sun Ergou said on the way.

She’s just too ruthless!

Sun Zhuzi nodded. “I’ll remember.”

“And that young son-in-law, we shouldn’t mess with him either.”

Sun Zhuzi nodded even more vigorously. “Don’t worry, I definitely won’t mess with him.”

Seriously, the way he speared those fish so accurately, he’s definitely skilled. If he were to start a fight, he’d be even more ruthless than Jiang Mixia…

Sun Zhuzi shuddered.

When Jiang Mixia and Song Jingyun arrived home, Jiang Youcheng and Liu Shi had already returned and were tidying up the courtyard.

Seeing the two return, Liu Shi hurried over, reaching out to take the carrying pole off Jiang Mixia’s shoulder. “We came back and found no one at home, so we thought you had gone out to do something. We met your sister-in-law, who said you went to the river to fetch water.”

“The water in the tank at home was getting low, so we went to fetch some to save Dad from having to make another trip,” Jiang Mixia laughed.

Seeing her filial daughter, Liu Shi felt happy, her eyes crinkling with a smile.

When she saw the basket that Song Jingyun was carrying filled with several fish, she was even more surprised. “So many fish?”

“These are all the fish that Jingyun speared with the bamboo fork,” Jiang Mixia truthfully recounted the incident of Jiang Chunyu bringing spinach and eggs and how she and Song Jingyun went to the river with Jiang Chunyu to fetch water and spear fish.

Liu Shi and Jiang Youcheng praised Jiang Mixia for handling the situation with giving Jiang Chunyu two fish, and they also lauded Song Jingyun for catching so many fish. “Jingyun is really capable.”

“Indeed, very capable.”

Jiang Mixia’s lips curled into a smile. “Others couldn’t catch a single fish, but Jingyun managed to spear so many at once. He’s truly remarkable.”

A son-in-law who is so capable deserves praise and encouragement! As the whole family praised Song Jingyun, he scratched the back of his head, feeling a little embarrassed.

With so many fish, Liu Shi began to prepare them—scaling, gutting, and cleaning them. They stewed two of the largest grass carp for lunch, and the rest were salted and hung to be eaten gradually later.

The stewed fish, with a generous amount of flesh, filled nearly half a pot, enough for one full bowl of fish per person.

With limited ingredients at home, the fish stew was simple, but the wild river fish and the clear river water made the dish delicious. The tender fish meat and flavorful soup were a delight to savor.

Fearing that her husband might choke on fish bones, Jiang Mixia helped him pick out the boneless fish meat and taught him how to remove the bones.

Song Jingyun quickly learned and was able to filter out the fish bones from his teeth.

After enjoying a few pieces of fish and sipping some fish soup, Song Jingyun narrowed his eyes.

The fish was truly delicious, even better than steamed egg custard.

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