“Second Uncle, are you going fishing?”
Lu Ping’an asked with a smile.
“Yep. Want to come have some fun? Not far ahead there’s a park with a big lake full of fish!”
“Though catching them isn’t easy. I just happen to have the afternoon free, so I thought I’d go try.”
Li Jianguo laughed. Truthfully, he just had nothing else to do.
Lu Ping’an’s eyes lit up — just what he needed. He had run out of money, and this was basically a money-making opportunity!
Besides, he had plenty of fish in his Spirit Spring space but no excuse to take them out.
Of course, today wasn’t the day for him to shine — he couldn’t steal his uncle’s spotlight.
Tomorrow, once his uncle went to work, the fishing rod would naturally become his.
“Of course I’ll go. I also want to see how Second Uncle catches a big fish!”
Lu Ping’an answered quickly with a grin.
Just then, Second Aunt came out and laughed. “Ping’an, you think too highly of your uncle. Ask him — out of ten fishing trips, he comes back empty-handed nine times!”
“The remaining time, he traded coupons for a fish and lied to me that he caught it himself!”
“Lots of people know about it. Someone even gave your uncle a nickname—”
Zhang Huimei’s words instantly darkened Li Jianguo’s face.
“You woman, exposing my embarrassment in front of my nephew — don’t I have any dignity as an uncle?!”
He cursed jokingly, cutting her off before she could finish.
“Fine, I’ll spare you some face. But if you come back empty-handed today, I’ll properly tell Ping’an… about that nickname!”
Zhang Huimei burst into laughter.
“Second Aunt, you can secretly tell me tonight — I promise not to spread it!”
Lu Ping’an said with a chuckle.
Li Jianguo lightly kicked his backside. “You little rascal, trying to laugh at your uncle?”
“I heard from your dad you caught dozens of jin of fish yesterday.”
“If I can’t catch any later, you’ve got to help me out. You wouldn’t want your uncle to lose face in front of your aunt, right?”
Lu Ping’an nodded immediately. “Don’t worry, Second Uncle. I’ll definitely help.”
Li Jianguo laughed heartily and took him out.
As soon as they entered the courtyard, several chatting aunties looked over.
“Manager Li, going fishing again? Won’t you come back empty-handed again?”
“Manager Li, if you catch fish today, leave one for my family — I’ll trade you a meat coupon!”
“Manager Li, looks like you’re going all out today, even brought your nephew. Want to borrow two buckets from my house?”
Their words carried obvious teasing.
Li Jianguo’s face darkened — his reputation as an “air force general” (zero catches) was deeply rooted.
Lu Ping’an found it amusing. In modern times, fishing enthusiasts would definitely despise his uncle.
Actually, he didn’t even qualify as a real angler.
Carrying a bucket silently, he followed behind.
“Sisters Huang, Li, Zhang — prepare your meat coupons. I won’t disappoint you today!”
Even if losing, he wouldn’t lose face. Li Jianguo refused to be outdone.
After saying that, he ignored them and left with Lu Ping’an.
After about twenty minutes, they entered a park.
Just as he’d said — there was a large lake, and many people were fishing along the shore.
“Jianguo! Perfect timing — there’s still a spot here. Want to sit by me?”
As they arrived, an elderly man who clearly knew Li Jianguo called out with a smile.
“Old Yang, you’re fishing too? I brought my nephew to have a look today.”
“Ping’an, this is Old Yang from Hongxing Rolling Steel Factory — an eighth-grade fitter. Very impressive!”
Li Jianguo greeted him and sat nearby without ceremony.
Lu Ping’an was surprised. An eighth-grade fitter was basically top-tier technical talent in the factory.
From what he knew, the salary was around 110 yuan per month.
Even after becoming a full worker, his father would need three months of wages to equal one month of the man’s pay — and that was before subsidies.
“Hello, Grandpa Yang.”
Lu Ping’an greeted politely.
Old Yang glanced at him and smiled. “Good spirit in this young man — not bad.”
Li Jianguo laughed. “My nephew is a fishing expert. I brought him to show his skills today!”
Old Yang looked surprised and then doubtful.
“Little Lu, how old are you?”
Lu Ping’an calmly replied, “Fifteen.”
Old Yang nodded but clearly didn’t believe it.
Li Jianguo chuckled, prepared his bait, and began fishing.
Seeing neither spoke further, Lu Ping’an also remained silent. He closed his eyes and used the Spirit Spring space’s power to explore the lake.
His sensing range had grown again — now about seven meters forward.
There were indeed fish in the lake — some huge, weighing over ten or even twenty jin.
But they simply swam around without biting hooks.
Even when hooks were bitten, it was tiny fish nibbling the bait away from all directions.
Having figured this out, he secretly grinned.
He took some of his uncle’s bait and quietly mixed in Spirit Spring water, keeping it separate.
His uncle bringing him specifically beside Old Yang probably had some special intention.
He stood behind them silently for an hour.
During that time, Old Yang caught a half-jin fish and smiled brightly.
But Li Jianguo still had nothing.
As the sun slanted westward, Li Jianguo grew anxious and reeled in his line.
“Ping’an, come, come — my fishing skills are hopeless. Staying here is a waste of time!”
“You fish! You must catch a few — can’t let those courtyard women and your aunt laugh at me!”
He waved Lu Ping’an over while preparing to step away to relieve himself.
Lu Ping’an smiled and nodded.
Finally — his turn.
He had been waiting impatiently.
There were less than two hours until dark.
They still needed half an hour to walk back.
That meant he only had a little over an hour to fish.
Not long — but not short either.