Song Tan's Notes

Xiao Shi joined in the tug-of-war. The most anxious one wasn't the group busy taking pictures, but Qiao Qiao!

His face flushed red, he gripped the rope and shouted at the top of his lungs:

"Xiao Shi! Don't help! If you help, I'll just want to laugh and won't have any strength left!"

Oh no! There are so many children, how can he not have the strength?
Thinking of this, Qiaoqiao became even more determined.

However, before he could even unleash his energy, the onlookers burst into unrestrained laughter and pointed at the little ten fingers beside him.

As soon as he relaxed his grip, the rope in his hand loosened, and the children in front of him and Xiao Shi were pulled by gravity and fell straight forward!

"!!!"

At the critical moment, Qiaoqiao finally managed to tighten the rope again.

The children, unaware of the dangers involved, were even more excited and shouted repeatedly when they saw how hard the little dog was working and how the heavy cage had been safely returned.

He Tuoluo's hands were clenched, his palms were rubbed red, and his cheeks were even redder.

But his biological parents didn't care at all about his thick skin; they even cheered him on from the sidelines.

"Spinning Top! Whether we get to eat fish today depends on you!"

He felt a sense of relief and carefully observed his mother's expression, noticing that she seemed very happy.

Will I be able to eat these fish today?
The moment that thought crossed his mind, his hand unconsciously loosened its grip.

Then, a friction sensation came.

When he came to his senses, he heard everyone cheering joyfully. And Xiao Shi, standing in front of him, barked fiercely at him.

The dog's round eyes were full of contempt for him.

Qiaoqiao put in a final burst of effort, and the fish trap was halfway up the bank.

He Tuoluo: ...I feel wronged!
He had been putting in so much effort the whole time, and he was just one last push away.

What's even more heartbreaking is that Mom also said kindly:

"Spinning top, everyone pulled hard at the end, but you got distracted. You're so unfocused..."

"You caused trouble yesterday, and you're not taking things seriously when you're working with others today... Sigh, you still need to learn from Xiao Shi."

"Don't forget to go to the cafeteria for lunch on time today."

He Tuoluo: ...Waaah.

He felt like crying, but being a man, he gritted his teeth and held it in.

Tonight! He can't sleep soundly tonight, he'll definitely run away from home!
He's going back to the capital alone!
Looking at my parents, they had already rushed to the front, a group of people standing in a row, surrounding the 12-meter-long trap and its full harvest, shouting and yelling.

It's truly something to celebrate.

The snail meat pieces were evenly distributed in the fish trap, and after one night, the fish and shrimp that had been lured in now filled the trap to the brim.

The rest of them were jumping around weakly inside, clearly squeezed so tightly they had nowhere to breathe.

Chen Xi and Chen Chi rushed over upon hearing the news, carrying two large plastic basins, which were obviously used for slaughtering livestock.

"It's hot, let's hurry up and break it down! We should throw the smaller ones back, otherwise it'll be such a waste."

Lu Chuan then instructed, "Reserve a bowl of small white fish strips. They're very delicious when cooked with pickled cabbage and go very well with rice."

Chen Xi didn't even look up. At that moment, she was dismantling the fish traps and dumping the fish out with Chen Chi: "I know! I'll try my best to get you a few more pots—some of the fish can be taken back and kept for a couple of days."

Several thin snakes were wriggling and twisting inside, looking both frightening and exciting. Two girls boldly approached: "Are these eels?"

Chen Chi glanced at it and said, "This is a water snake. Do you want to play with it?"

"!!!"

The little girls screamed and ran away quickly.

It's strange, even though they all look pretty much the same, but once they're called eels, everyone dares to go and see them.

If it were a snake, everyone would feel their scalp tingle.

They were afraid, but Chen Xi was used to it. He put on gloves, picked up one stick in each hand, and threw them back into the river.

He added with a laugh, "You guys have to be careful when you're fishing. These things swim fast and are really good eaters. A lot of the time, you can only catch these when you're fishing."

Upon hearing this, the young people who wanted to go fishing looked miserable again.

This vast riverbank is so beautiful, with the morning sun casting dappled golden light, how come there are so many species living here!
And these loaches are really strange. How can they get into the river and have to crawl into this trap?
If they were of normal size, they could squeeze through the gaps, but these few were so fat and heavy that Chen Xi only glanced at them twice:
"Let's catch another bucket of eels and stew them together later. They're so big, it would be a shame not to eat them."

No one seemed to mind the fishy smell, and the fish all looked rather strange. As the temperature rose, the earthworms were poured into a large basin. Seeing that they were already a bit listless due to insufficient yang energy, everyone squatted down and crowded together to pick and choose.

"Do you want this?"

"It's too small, no."

"You don't want this either?"

"These are small white fish. You can dry them or fry them until they're crispy, and even the tiny bones inside can be easily chewed. They're delicious braised. Keep them."

"What is this? This fish head is huge."

"This is a bighead carp. Would you like to eat fish head with chopped chili? If so, save a few. The chilies at home are quite spicy, so I don't recommend trying it if you can't handle spice. But the fish broth is delicious for mixing with noodles."

"Crucian carp, crucian carp! Do crucian carp have roe this season? I love eating fish roe."

"Should we stew the crucian carp in soup or grill it? I'd like to eat grilled fish."

Everyone chattered away, and even the children gathered around, carefully handling the small fish that had been selected.

Chen Chi glanced at them and then skillfully coaxed the child as well:
"These are all too small, don't take them, you can put them in the river."

Children, of course, cannot lift the large plastic basin in front of them.

But they had a clever trick: they scooped up a small fish with both hands and carried it to the riverbank.

Halfway there, the fish, which was jumping around in my palm, suddenly fell directly onto the grass!
"Ah! Little fish! I'm here to save you!"

The children cried out again, hurriedly picked it up again, and ran towards the river.

Qiaoqiao had originally planned to work as well, but seeing this scene and remembering her sister's instructions, she had no choice but to stay by the river and watch.

Although I don't feel tired, for some reason, I do feel a little bit of hardship.

Looking at Chen Chi again, he perked up again: "Brother Chen Xi, how about Chen Chi takes us to collect duck eggs this afternoon?"

Chen Xi naturally wouldn't refuse, but then said, "I'll take some time tomorrow to send the eggs I've collected over the past two days up the mountain. It'll be time to make salted duck eggs again."

"Qiaoqiao, if you cook at home, you can bring your friends to play together."

Sales are not good; their salted duck eggs are not cheap, so naturally they need to ensure quality control.

Qiaoqiao nodded happily, but then she was troubled as she thought about the travel plan she hadn't finished writing yesterday:
Another project! (End of Chapter)