“Hahaha, Old Li, you have to put in more effort! Don’t lose face in front of your granddaughter!”
His old friend teased him to try harder and not embarrass himself in front of Wanwan.
Li Laoye stiffened, his face immediately darkening.
The friends laughed heartily, teasing him for being petty like in his youth despite his age.
Li Laoye’s anger flared even more, and from a distance, he began bickering back.
“Why does everyone get older but their tongues get longer?”
“It’s not our tongues, it’s the rods—we need them long to catch big fish!” One friend said, and, just like that, he caught a big silver carp.
Li Laoye’s face turned stormy. He had carefully prepared the best bait, yet no fish would bite.
As he furrowed his brow in concentration, he didn’t notice little Wanwan quietly standing up on the mat nearby.
His friends, after their laughter, were focused on fishing and paid no attention to what Wanwan was up to.
Wanwan scratched her head, looked around, and then waddled along the riverbed upstream.
Soon she returned, and at that very moment, Li Laoye felt the rod in his hands tug. Excitedly, he stood and lifted the rod.
Wanwan waved her tiny hands, her little voice higher than the tension in the fishing line: “Look! A big fish, Grandpa’s awesome!”
Under the watchful eyes of his friends, Li Laoye caught a carp weighing over ten pounds, leaving his friends green with envy.
Wanwan pulled a half-eaten cookie from her pocket and held it to the fish’s mouth, cooing: “Fishy, you worked hard, have some cookie.”
Li Laoye laughed heartily, proud and satisfied. He tossed the carp into the fishing net and, still enjoying the feel, sat back down.
“Wanwan, wait here, Grandpa will catch an even bigger one!”
“That Old Li, always boasting,” one friend murmured enviously.
Yet, Li Laoye really did catch an even bigger fish, making the friend’s face burn with embarrassment.
“Just luck!” they muttered.
Splash! Another big fish bit, and even the reluctant friends rushed over to check.
“What did you do? Stir the fish nest?” they questioned.
Li Laoye only laughed. Naturally, he wouldn’t reveal that his granddaughter brought him luck.
“Hahaha, I never brag in front of the little ones!” he said proudly. His friends could only look on in silence.
“Wanwan, tell Grandpa, which one shall we eat first at home?” Li Laoye asked, holding her on his lap.
Wanwan peered into the fishing net, folded her little arms, and said like an old soul: “I don’t want these, I want an even bigger fish!”
“Alright, Grandpa will catch an even bigger one for you!”
“Okay!” Wanwan answered cheerfully in her little voice.
Li Laoye focused on fishing while Wanwan ran up and down the riverbank. After a few trips, splash! The hook caught a massive carp, nearly as long as a grown man’s arm.
His friends came over to help, but Li Laoye waved them off, insisting he would pull the giant fish himself.
“What luck this old man has today!” one friend muttered.
Li Laoye, hearing the praise, blushed with delight.
“Yes, today is our lucky day!” Using his last bit of strength, he hauled the fish ashore. Wanwan clapped happily.
“Yay! Big fish for dinner tonight!”
“Ah, this little girl calling Grandpa makes my heart melt more than the fish on the hook,” one friend remarked.
“Girl, your Grandpa caught all these big fish for us, can we eat them?”
Wanwan, not stingy at all, grinned, “The fish is so big, Grandpa and everyone can eat!”
“Hahaha, she’s not selfish at all!”
“Much better than your stingy Grandpa!”
The teasing continued as the sun rose, heating the riverside.
Li Laoye packed up the catch. He kept the largest fish for himself, dividing the rest among the friends so they wouldn’t lose face at home.
“Come on, Wanwan, let’s go home with Grandpa!”
Wanwan nodded and didn’t forget to bid farewell to the elders.
“Bye-bye, Grandpa!”
“Bye-bye.”
“This clever little girl, Old Li is really lucky,” one friend whispered.
…
The giant carp Li Laoye caught was so large that the driver and two servants had to lift it out of the car.
“Master, you had incredible luck today. I’ve never seen him bring home a fish this big,” said a servant.
“If we put this in the pond, it’ll be lively,” another added.
Normally, Li Laoye would never eat the fish he caught, keeping it in the pond instead.
But today, he waved and announced: “Take this one to the kitchen, cook the tenderest part for my granddaughter. The rest, distribute to the others.”
The servants were stunned. Grandpa had suddenly changed his mind?
Seeing their hesitation, Li Laoye scowled: “What? Can’t you understand me?”
“Yes, yes, we’ll send it to the kitchen immediately,” they replied.
“Hurry up! Don’t dawdle!”
Li Laoye returned to the courtyard with Wanwan. Old Madam Li was watering flowers, laughing when she saw his empty hands.
“You went out in this heat to fish and came back empty-handed?”
“Who says that? I caught a huge fish! It’s in the kitchen now!” Li Laoye protested.
Old Madam Li giggled, “I don’t believe it. You probably bought it secretly to save face, didn’t you?”
“Nonsense!” Li Laoye’s eyes widened, pulling Wanwan up to testify: “Wanwan, tell Grandma—did Grandpa catch a huge fish?”
Wanwan nodded adorably, then demonstrated with her hands:
“Grandpa’s awesome! He caught a super big fish for Wanwan to eat!”
Old Madam Li sniffed Wanwan’s tiny hands: “Wow, they smell like fish! Let’s wash them quickly.”
Using the garden hose, she washed each little finger carefully.
“Smell it now. Any fishy smell left?” she asked.
Wanwan sniffed and shook her head cutely: “Nope! Smells good.”
“Good! Now go inside and eat some treats. If your Third Brother finishes them all, you’ll miss out.”