"If you dare snatch it, I'll beat you to death!" Little Mochi picked up the pebble at her feet in anger and raised it high.
Liu Qingsong was no friendlier toward Liu Delei as he approached, but he wasn't as extreme as little sister and Little Mochi. He watched Liu Delei coldly and concealed an iron nail from the Worn Fishing Tackle Box in his sleeve.
If Liu Delei dared to act recklessly,
Then he wouldn't mind settling both old and new grudges together.
Liu Delei froze when he saw this, then lowered the small stool in his hand and sat down, his guilt showing. After casting his bait into the river, he said, "Can you all stop being so unreasonable? It's broad daylight. How could I possibly steal the fish you're catching? Besides, I'm not that kind of person!"
"I saw that this spot was good for fishing, so I moved over here. You don't think this place belongs to your family, do you?"
Those shameless words sent little sister into a fury. She cursed, "Old Man Naji, have you no shame? Third Brother and I claimed this place first, so it's ours."
"That's right, are you leaving or not?" Little Mochi raised the pebble in her hand, striking a pose as if she was about to throw it.
"Ouch! This little girl sure is fierce!" As a hoodlum from the Production Brigade, Liu Delei wasn't afraid of Little Mochi. While speaking, he even leaned his head right in front of her.
The meaning was obvious.
Go ahead and smash it if you dare!
If she injured him.
Then he would have his New Year money.
After all, any villager from the Huajiao Production Brigade could fish along the banks of the Diaozi River. The place didn't belong to Liu Qingsong's family.
If Little Mochi hurt someone because of this.
Setting aside who was right or wrong.
The injured person's medical expenses would be his responsibility, no question.
Liu Qingsong could read the scoundrel's mind. Once he understood what Liu Delei intended, he snatched the pebble from Little Mochi's small hand: "Let's not argue with this mad dog. Since he likes fishing here, let's give him the spot."
This wasn't out of fear of Liu Delei.
It was for the sake of Little Mochi's personal safety.
After all, Liu Delei was a hoodlum. If they came to blows, the three of them probably couldn't win.
More importantly, he knew why he had caught so many Wild Diaozi Fish in such a short time. It wasn't the location; it was the powerful bait he had brought from the Myriad Realms Garbage Dump.
So.
Giving up the spot.
Reducing conflict with Liu Delei.
He didn't think there was anything wrong with that.
Little Mochi obediently stopped arguing with Liu Delei. Liu Qingsong picked up the Worn Fishing Tackle Box and the fish in the Fish Keepnet, then headed for an open area twenty meters away.
Seeing this, little sister took the Bamboo Fishing Rod, led Little Mochi by the hand, and followed him.
Liu Delei assumed Liu Qingsong was afraid of him, and the corner of his mouth couldn't help curling up into a smug smile.
But soon he couldn't laugh anymore.
As for the reason.
It turned out that after sitting down for several minutes, his Fishing Float hadn't moved at all.
But the bait Liu Qingsong cast into the river soon caught a River Carp weighing three or four jin.
In 1978, River Carp wasn't very tasty and didn't sell well either.
So after Liu Delei snapped out of it.
He felt no particular envy or jealousy.
Just as he was thinking today was purely Liu Qingsong's good luck, Little Mochi excitedly shouted out, "Maternal Uncle, Maternal Uncle... there's a fish, there's a giant fish..."
Liu Delei stood up and looked over.
The Bamboo Fishing Rod in Little Mochi's small hands had bent nearly double. If Liu Qingsong hadn't grabbed it in time, the fish would have dragged her into the river.
Under Liu Qingsong's pulling.
The big fish that had taken the bait surfaced.
It was another large Grass Carp, though not as big as the previous one, but even so, it was at least four or five jin.
Liu Delei watched, the corner of his mouth twitching.
He wanted to rush over and snatch the large Grass Carp from Liu Qingsong's hands. He also wanted to kick the smug Little Mochi and Liu Hongxia into the river.
But he saw several children still catching fish and shrimp along the riverbank.
He forced the urge down.
He also stopped watching Liu Qingsong fish.
Instead, he focused on the Fishing Float on his own rod.
He refused to believe he wouldn't catch a big fish today or that his luck was worse than three children's.
However, this thought didn't last even a few minutes before he gave up, and the reason was that little sister had caught another fish.
It was only a Wild Diaozi Fish weighing seven or eight liang, but that was enough to break Liu Delei's spirit. He lost interest in fishing.
He couldn't understand it. The riverbank usually yielded almost no fish, so why could Liu Qingsong, Liu Hongxia, and Little Mochi catch so many today?
To figure out what was going on, Liu Delei's murky eyes rolled a couple of times, then an idea came to him and he got up and walked toward where Liu Qingsong was.
When there were still three meters left.
Liu Delei stopped in his tracks.
Then sat down on the grass off to the side.
"Brother, that mad dog is back!" Seeing this, little sister warned Liu Qingsong.
"I know." Liu Qingsong smiled, having already guessed what Liu Delei was thinking.
But he wasn't afraid. After all, the bait he had brought from the Myriad Worlds Garbage Station was not much different from bait sold on the market.
Seeing that another wild Diaozi Fish had taken the bait.
When another Wild Diaozi Fish took the bait, he helped Little Mochi lift the Bamboo Fishing Rod. He scooped up the Wild Diaozi Fish with the Fishing Net, removed the hook, and tossed it into the Fish Keepnet.
Liu Delei watched with envy and jealousy.
He couldn't understand it. Liu Qingsong's rod was an ordinary Bamboo Fishing Rod, and his bait was ordinary too. Why could he catch so many fish?
He rose and returned to his spot. He didn't want to go home empty-handed or give Liu Qingsong and Liu Hongxia a chance to laugh at him.
Desperate, he took out some dug-up earthworms and homemade bait and scattered them across the river's surface. Many Wild Diaozi Fish swam over to eat, so he cast out his rod.
This time.
The fish didn't disappoint Liu Delei.
Within seconds, a big fish took the bait.
And this big fish was the super large kind—in an instant, it bent the rod in Liu Delei's hands, and the line let out a piercing screech as it was pulled out.
Liu Delei watched, growing excited.
He leaned his body backward, trying to wrestle against the big fish.
The fish's strength surprised him. It dragged Liu Delei toward the river, gathering speed as it went.
Liu Delei panicked, but danger warned him not to let go. He used every ounce of his strength to fight the fish.
But unfortunately, the struggle only lasted five seconds.
Liu Delei's strength gave out and he was dragged straight into the water by the big fish.
With no other choice.
Liu Delei had to let go of the rod.
Then he clambered back onto the shore in a sorry state.
From not far away, Liu Qingsong saw everything clearly.
This big fish that had taken the bait had a body over a meter long.
Judging by its weight, it must have weighed several dozen jin.
Liu Delei had been dreaming if he thought his homemade fishing rod could land such a heavy fish.
But he didn't laugh at Liu Delei either, and instead continued fishing with little sister and Little Mochi.
To avoid Liu Delei's fate, Liu Qingsong took care this time to fish only in the shallows.
Strangely, Liu Delei didn't go home to change clothes. He sat in place, staring blankly.
He watched Little Mochi and little sister pull Wild Diaozi Fish, River Carp, and River Crucian Carp from the river one after another.
Liu Delei was clearly demoralized; otherwise, he wouldn't have acted this way.
Liu Qingsong smiled at the sight. With lunchtime approaching, he was about to call little sister to pack up the rods and head home when the Bamboo Fishing Rod in Little Mochi's hands dipped again.
He lifted it up to take a look.
Well, well.
It turned out to be a Large Yellow-Skinned Softshell Turtle.
The Large Yellow-Skinned Softshell Turtle weighed a little over one jin, but less than two.
It clung to the hook and refused to let go. Its short four limbs flailed in the air, making it look comical.
To keep it from wriggling free, Liu Qingsong scooped up the turtle with the Fishing Net, tied it with Rice Straw, and handed it to Little Mochi: "Hold on to it. We'll eat it for lunch today—Steamed Softshell Turtle."
"Mm, mm!" Little Mochi happily took the turtle, then grew frightened and handed it to little sister. "Maternal Aunt, you... you hold it. It bites!"
"Hehe..." Little sister was amused and laughingly took the turtle in her hands.
A faint smile also appeared on Liu Qingsong's face.
But not far away, Liu Delei felt like he wanted to die, unable to understand why Liu Qingsong's luck was so good.
Catching the large Grass Carp and wild Diaozi Fish, fine, that was one thing.
After all, the river was full of those.
But now even a softshell turtle had taken the bait.
That was too much!
It hit him hard.
He finally understood: comparing oneself to others could make a person furious.
When Liu Qingsong prepared to head home, Liu Delei gathered his thoughts and stood up. The next second, he froze, his eyes widening.
.....