Liu Qianqian’s head heated up in anger. She ran over and pointed at Ruanruan, shouting loudly,
“Lin Ruanruan! What are you so proud of?! Your fish bait was all given by other people! The fish you caught don’t count as your ability! You’re just taking advantage of everyone!”
The noisy atmosphere instantly fell silent.
Before Ruanruan could even speak, Chen Zihao was the first to jump out and defend her.
“Liu Qianqian, you’re talking nonsense! I gave the bait to Ruanruan willingly! And Ruanruan shared lots of fish with me! They’re worth way more than the bait!”
“Exactly! I gave my bait willingly too! Ruanruan even taught us how to fish!”
“Ruanruan didn’t take advantage of anyone! She gave us lots of fish!”
The children all chimed in at once, speaking up for Ruanruan.
The few adults who had given things and sat beside Ruanruan while fishing had initially felt a slight unease when they heard Liu Qianqian’s words.
But seeing their own children defend Ruanruan so strongly—and remembering that they had indeed caught fish themselves—that small doubt immediately disappeared.
Auntie Li even spoke up directly.
“Qianqian, you can’t say things like that! Ruanruan has the ability to catch fish—that’s her skill! We gave a few small things because we were happy to share in the good fortune of a little lucky koi! Besides, Ruanruan gave plenty of fish to the children!”
“Exactly! Kids shouldn’t talk nonsense like that!” Uncle Zhang also added.
Ruanruan tilted her head and thought for a moment.
Then she lifted her heavy little bucket and walked over to the children, speaking in her soft baby voice,
“Ruanruan’s bucket can’t hold any more! Let’s share these fish. Take them home so your moms and dads can taste them!”
With a generous wave of her tiny hand, she handed out even more of the fish she had caught to the children who had defended her earlier.
At that moment, even the adults who might still have had some small thoughts about it lost them completely. They all praised Ruanruan for being generous and sensible.
In their hearts they even felt a little embarrassed.
They weren’t as clear-minded as their own children! Truly growing older but becoming more foolish!
Liu Qianqian stood alone without support. Watching everyone defend Ruanruan—who was now shining even more brightly—she felt angry, ashamed, and wronged.
With a loud *wah*, she burst into tears and ran away.
After running home, she suddenly realized she had left her younger brother at the beach. Her face turned pale with fright.
Sure enough, the moment she entered the house, her mother scolded her furiously, poking her forehead hard with a finger.
“You useless girl! What can you even do right?! You just left your brother behind?! Are you trying to get him killed?! What’s the point of raising you if you can’t even watch a child!”
As expected, Liu Qianqian received another beating. In her heart, she secretly blamed everything on Ruanruan.
Ruanruan had no idea that someone had started hating her again.
But she didn’t really care.
After putting away her fishing rod, she glanced toward Su Xiaomei, who was hiding in the shadows and staring over with a gloomy look.
She gave a soft little snort.
Did they think she didn’t know about the small tricks happening behind the scenes?
Ruanruan knew the other girl must be jealous to the point of madness.
So she deliberately hugged her remaining fish and a pile of “treasures,” then skipped over to Su Xiaomei with an innocent tone.
“Xiaomei sister! Look, Ruanruan got so many treasures! Candy, whistles, and glass marbles! They’re so pretty! Ruanruan is so lucky! Xiaomei sister, do you want some candy?”
As she spoke, she waved the prettiest fruit candy in front of Su Xiaomei’s eyes, her big eyes filled with “pure” desire to share.
Looking at the crystal-clear candy giving off a tempting sweet fragrance—and remembering how her attempt to stir trouble had failed and instead made Ruanruan even more popular—a burst of fury rushed straight to Su Xiaomei’s head.
She felt the blood rush to her cheeks instantly, her eyes turning red.
She bit her lower lip hard, afraid she might lose control of her expression. Lowering her head abruptly, she squeezed out a few words through clenched teeth.
“…N-no need…”
Ruanruan looked at Su Xiaomei’s flushed face as she desperately kept her head down, clearly furious but unable to show it.
Inside her heart, a tiny little devil crossed its arms and burst out laughing.
*Trying to play green tea with me? I’ll make you mad to death!*
*Hmph!*
She took the candy back, hummed an off-key tune, and skipped away happily with her “spoils of war,” returning home fully loaded.
Su Xiaomei remained standing where she was, head lowered, eyes dark and gloomy.
If someone had seen her expression at that moment, they would certainly have been startled.
But normally Su Xiaomei was a quiet and withdrawn girl who rarely drew attention.
So no one noticed anything unusual.
Everyone happily carried their fish home.
Someone walking with Ruanruan looked at the rare harvest in their bucket and remembered the delicious dish they had tasted at Su Ting’s house yesterday. Unable to hold back their curiosity, they asked,
“Ruanruan, what secret ingredients did you tell your mom to put in that spicy fish yesterday? Why was it so fragrant?”
“Yeah! I smelled it all night and couldn’t forget it. How was it so fresh?”
Hugging her little bucket and pile of “treasures,” Ruanruan blinked her big eyes and generously shared her knowledge.
“You just have to fry chili, Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, scallions, ginger, and garlic until they’re fragrant…”
She recited the cooking steps in her soft baby voice, surprisingly clear and organized.
Back in the Heavenly Realm, she had seen Grandpa Kitchen God cook exactly like this!
The adults clicked their tongues in amazement, but what they were even more curious about was this:
“Oh my, this little girl knows so much! Where did you learn these methods?”
Ruanruan tilted her little head, her face full of seriousness.
“Ruanruan learned from old immortals in heaven! The old immortals said Ruanruan is a little lucky koi, so she should eat lots of delicious food and also tell other people how to cook delicious food!”
“Pfft!” The adults burst into laughter again.
Everyone joked and laughed, treating it as nothing more than a child’s innocent fantasy.
…Well, no one believed her.
Ruanruan didn’t bother explaining either. Hugging her “spoils,” she slowly headed home.
Su Ting had just finished tidying up the house when she saw Ruanruan struggling into the courtyard carrying a bucket that was nearly overflowing, with several lively fish flopping inside.
In her arms was also a pile of miscellaneous items—candy, whistles, glass marbles, half a pack of peach pastries…
“Th-this… where did all this come from?” Su Ting widened her eyes in surprise.
She knew Ruanruan was good at fishing, but what was going on with all this stuff?
Ruanruan smiled obediently. Before Su Ting could ask more questions, she began explaining rapidly with her little mouth.
“Mom! Ruanruan went to the beach to fish! I caught lots and lots! There were too many fish so I shared them with other people, and they gave me lots of snacks!”
As she spoke, she pushed the little bucket toward Su Ting with great effort, her big eyes sparkling as she looked up at her.
“Mom! There are too many fish—we can’t finish them! Ruanruan heard the supply and marketing cooperative buys fish! How about… we sell them and exchange them for money? Then we can buy tasty food for the family!”
Her cute face carried a hint of pride and expectation.
Su Ting was momentarily stunned by her words.
Looking at the few excellent fish in the bucket, then at Ruanruan’s face that practically said *“Praise me quickly,”* her expression softened slightly.
“…Alright, I understand. You’re small, but you sure have plenty of ideas. Quite good at planning too.”
Although her tone sounded helpless, there was still a trace of praise in it.