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Chapter 13: A Familiar Scene
Chapter 13: A Familiar Scene
The elderly doctor soon emerged from the house, holding a small box.
"Take this," he said, handing the box to Lu Qing.
"What is it?" Lu Qing asked, opening the box to reveal a small bundle of nearly transparent white silk thread.
"This silk thread was given to me by a wandering warrior I saved many years ago during my travels. I'm not exactly sure what it is, but it's incredibly strong and resilient. It should be perfect for your fishing line."
"Grandpa Chen, this is too precious. I can't accept it," Lu Qing said, hastily pushing it back. He felt that such a gift, given in gratitude for saving a life, must be extraordinary, and he didn't dare to take it lightly. The mention of a "wanderer," however, piqued his interest. This world indeed had extraordinary people beyond his imagination.
But the old doctor waved his hand, refusing to take it back. "Just take it. It's of no use to me. It's been sitting with me for over a decade, and I've never had a use for it. If it weren't for your mention, I would've forgotten I even had it."
"Since you need a resilient thread for your fishing line, give this a try. It's a way to make use of it, and it'll be a shame to let it collect dust any longer."
"If you feel too guilty, bring me some of your best catches in the future. Those little fish you caught yesterday were quite tasty and would go well with alcohol."
Lu Qing held the box, feeling both grateful and ashamed. The old doctor had been so kind to him and his sister, and here he was, contemplating stealing the man's martial arts technique.
Staring at the box in his hand, Lu Qing made a silent decision. Unless Grandpa Chen offered to teach him, he would no longer attempt to mimic the old doctor's technique.
"Rest assured, Grandpa Chen. From now on, whenever I catch something good, I'll bring it to you right away!" Lu Qing said earnestly, clutching the small box tightly.
The old doctor laughed heartily. "Haha! Then, I shall look forward to it!"
As Lu Qing left the old doctor's house, his heart was filled with excitement. Today's gains had been tremendous. He had gained the favor of the old doctor, improved his health, learned about herb identification, and acquired a box of mysterious silk thread. His intuition told him that the thread was no ordinary item. However, he hadn't wanted to stare at it too obviously in the old doctor's presence, or he would have used his ability to inspect it further.
Descending the mountain with Xiao Yan, they returned to the village just as several villagers were coming back, carrying their fishing rods and buckets, chatting animatedly.
"Lu Qing!" they called out from a distance.
"Uncle Shi, did you just go fishing?" Lu Qing asked, noticing the rods on their shoulders.
"Yes, we tried out your method of using earthworms as bait," Uncle Shi said excitedly. "Early this morning, Da Shan and I dug up some earthworms and went to the river to give it a try. And you know what? It really works! Look at our catch today!" He proudly showed Lu Qing the bucket in his hand, filled with a good pound or so of fish. Some of them were even bigger than the ones Lu Qing had caught the day before.
Lu Qing noticed that the other villagers also had similar catches, with the smallest bucket containing at least half a pound of fish.
Chapter 13: A Familiar Scene
One of the villagers had exceptional luck and caught a fish weighing over a pound.
However, that villager also felt annoyed. "I actually hooked an even bigger one," he lamented. "But it was too strong, and it snapped my hemp line instantly. I couldn't even retrieve the hook!"
"I told you not to pull so hard. You should have relaxed the line," another villager chided.
"How was I supposed to know the fish would be so strong? I'm sure it weighed over five pounds!" the first villager argued.
"Don't be ridiculous. It was probably two pounds at most. If it were five pounds, you wouldn't have been able to hold on at all!"
"It was definitely over five pounds!"
...
Listening to the villagers bicker about the size of the fish that got away, Lu Qing couldn't help but chuckle.
This scene was all too familiar to him.
Back in his previous life, whenever he went fishing with his friends, they would do the same thing.
If anyone lost a fish due to a broken line, regardless of the reason, they would always exaggerate the size of the fish.
Anything less than ten pounds would be an insult to their fishing skills!
Lu Qing never expected to witness this familiar scenario even after being reborn in another world.
Indeed, no matter the world, the nature of fishermen remained unchanged.
Lu Qing's laughter made Uncle Shi and the others feel a bit embarrassed, especially with Xiao Yan staring at them wide-eyed.
A group of adults arguing like this in front of two children was not befitting of their status as elders.
"Lu Qing, where are you coming from?" Uncle Shi asked, changing the subject to ease the awkwardness.
"I just came back from Grandpa Chen's with Xiao Yan," Lu Qing replied.
Uncle Shi nodded. "Ah, the old doctor. It's only right to pay him a visit and express your gratitude since he cured your illness."
He mistakenly assumed Lu Qing had gone to thank the old doctor.
"Yes, if it weren't for Grandpa Chen, I might not be standing here today," Lu Qing agreed.
"By the way, Lu Qing, we used your method for fishing, so you can take your pick from our catch," Uncle Shi said.
"That's right! If it weren't for your idea, we wouldn't have known that earthworms could be used as bait!" another villager added.
"Pick from mine! My fish are bigger!"
"Nonsense! Yours aren't bigger than mine. The biggest one was caught by me, so pick from my bucket!"
The other villagers chimed in with similar invitations.
"Thank you, but I still have some fish left from yesterday's catch," Lu Qing politely declined.
"Just eat more if you have leftovers. You and Xiao Yan are so thin. Fish are nutritious, so you should eat more of them!"
In the end, Lu Qing couldn't refuse the villagers' insistence and symbolically chose a few fish from each of their buckets, threading them onto a piece of grass he picked up from the roadside.
This quickly added up to almost half a pound of fish.
"Take some more!" urged Uncle Shi.
"No, I really can't take any more. If I do, we won't have enough oil and salt at home to cook them," Lu Qing insisted.
This time, Lu Qing was determined not to accept any more fish.
Hearing this, Uncle Shi and the others finally stopped persuading him.
Indeed, without enough oil and salt to cook the fish, the fishy smell would be hard to mask, and it wouldn't taste very good.
So, Lu Qing took the string of fish and left with Xiao Yan, bidding farewell to Uncle Shi and the others. They returned to their small courtyard.
Once home, Lu Qing put the fish in the kitchen and then took out the small box that Old Doctor Chen had given him.
He opened the box and quietly studied the silk thread inside.
(End of Chapter)
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