Courtyard House: Starting with a 28-inch motorcycle

"Hey, what's a little bit of weight? Don't underestimate it, Uncle. It's made of manganese steel, it's very sturdy. It can handle more than just the three of us, even one more!"

He Yuzhu chuckled and patted the car seat, thinking to himself: This old miser, I don't even feel bad about it myself, and you're saving it for me? But he was too lazy to call him out on it, anyway, he was just enjoying the freedom.

Before long, Yan Bugui got on the car, He Yuzhu held He Yushui in his arms and sat in the back seat. The three of them bumped along the way to the river.

At first, the bike wobbled like it was drunk, but after a while, Yan Bugui steadied himself—it seems he's been practicing riding other people's bikes quite a bit.

Upon arriving at the riverbank, He Yuzhu deftly carried the car to the shore and set it up, then took out his fishing rod.

Yan Bugui rubbed his hands together, pointing smugly to a small patch of shallow water at his feet: "Zhuzi, this is the golden spot I selected after scouting for several days! Cast your line here, and you're guaranteed to make a profit! Let's keep our lines separate so we don't get mixed up and fight over the spot."

"Alright, Uncle, I'll go over there." He Yuzhu smiled, "Come back for lunch."

His ostensible reason for coming was to accompany someone fishing, but his real purpose was to acquire the "fishing" skill from the system.

It's just unclear whether experience is based on casting or actually catching a fish.

He glanced at Yan Bugui's operation, which was simple and crude: pinch a small amount of bait and throw it into the water to create a feeding area, then cast the rod into the river.

He Yuzhu followed suit, but he was much more extravagant. He grabbed a handful of bait and threw it into the water with a "splash," his actions as lavish as scattering wedding candy.

He Yushui's eyes lit up: "Big brother, are we just waiting for the fish to jump up on their own now?"

"That's right, fishing is all about patience." He Yuzhu took two fruit candies out of his pocket and handed them to her. "Go sit over there and read a book for a while. There'll be a surprise later."

The little girl sat obediently on the rock, opened her textbook, a candy in her mouth, and her eyebrows radiated sweetness.

He Yuzhu also took the opportunity to pull out a Russian textbook and started reading it.

He has now reached the intermediate level of level 4 in Russian, and can communicate in daily life without any problems. With a little more effort, level 5 is just around the corner.

Just as he cast the fishing hook into the water, a soft "ding" sounded in his mind—the [Fishing] skill icon quietly appeared, and his proficiency began to slowly increase.

He Yuzhu smiled slightly: This is a sure thing.

Who wouldn't love a skill that's so easy to level up? Once it reaches max level, you might actually be able to catch three or even four fish at once!

wow-

Not long after, Yan Bugui suddenly jerked his rod, and a palm-sized crucian carp was pulled out of the water, flashing silver in the sunlight.

"Hehe, here comes the first one!" Yan Bugui was so happy that his beard stood on end, and he quickly picked up the fish and threw it into the bucket.

He Yuzhu glanced at it, then continued to bury himself in his book.

Although he didn't make any move, his skill bar was still increasing, so he wasn't panicking at all.

However, after Yan Bugui put the fish into the bucket, he inadvertently glanced in He Yuzhu's direction—and this glance almost made him throw the fishing rod in his hand into the river!

What's going on?!

Instead of keeping an eye on the float, He Yuzhu was engrossed in reading a book, looking as focused as if he were preparing for the imperial examination!

"When...when did this pillar fall in love with reading?"

Why did He Daqing put him in Fengzeyuan as a cook back then? It was because this kid absolutely refused to go to school and skipped classes every few days! The whole compound knew about this, and Yan Bugui even doubted his own eyes for a moment.

He wanted to go over and see what book the fish was reading, but as soon as he stood up, the float suddenly sank—a fish had taken the bait!

"Oh my god, don't run away!"

Yan Bugui immediately pulled his backside down, staring intently at the water's surface, muttering to himself as he pulled the rod, "I'll have to ask at noon... I absolutely have to at noon!"

After a while, He Yuzhu's fishing rod suddenly sank, the tip of the rod pressing down hard, as if it had been pulled down by something underwater.

His eyelids twitched, and he immediately closed the Russian book in his hand, grabbed the fishing rod, and with a flick of his wrist, began to reel in the line and play the fish.

The water churned and a long ripple was torn across the surface of the river. The fish struggled desperately underwater, but eventually ran out of strength and was pulled out of the water with a flip.

With a "splash," a carp with golden scales swung its tail and crashed onto the shore—it weighed over a pound and was plump and strong.

"Wow! Zhu Zi, that's impressive!" Yan Bugui exclaimed from afar, his eyes widening and his voice rising several octaves. "Such a big fish on your first fishing trip? This isn't just blind luck!"

He said it, but his heart ached.

A carp weighing over a pound can make a soup that smells amazing for half a street. If you were to sell it, you could easily get three or four cents, enough to buy two packs of cigarettes.

He Yuzhu chuckled as he tossed the fish into the bucket, splashing water everywhere. "No problem, Uncle, don't worry, maybe we'll get an even bigger one later."

"Thank you for your kind words!" Yan Bugui replied, but he didn't dare to relax his hands. He quickly re-baited and cast the line, afraid of being outdone by someone else again.

Meanwhile, He Yuzhu glanced at the proficiency panel in his mind—his fishing skill had been upgraded to Lv2!

The moment that carp took the bait, my experience bar jumped up significantly.

Even more outrageous, after the system upgrade, a flood of unfamiliar yet clear knowledge poured into his mind: how to tell the wind direction, how to identify the water flow, where the fish nests are, when is the best time to set the hook... It was as if overnight, he went from a novice to a veteran.

Not long after, the second fish arrived.

With a soft snap, the float jerked and then sank.

With a flick of his wrist, a palm-sized crucian carp burst out of the water, twisted a few times in the air, and then splashed back into the bucket.

It's not big, but it's just right.

Pan-fried crucian carp balls or a bowl of milky white tofu soup are both great dishes to eat with rice.

He changed positions and cast his line even further, heading straight for the deep water in the middle of the river.

As the sun rose higher, its rays made one's neck feel hot.

Suddenly, the fishing rod shook violently again, this time with such force that it almost slipped from my grasp!

"Good heavens, this is a big one!" he shouted, planted his feet firmly on the ground, and used his arms to stabilize the rod, wrestling with the behemoth underwater.

The man and the fish were locked in a stalemate for a full five minutes before finally, a plump grass carp was dragged ashore—weighing almost three pounds!

Its scales shimmered in the sunlight, and its tail slapped the ground with a "thud".

Yan Bugui's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

I fished for half a day and only caught three skinny crucian carp; while Sha Zhu only fished for half a day and his fish bucket was almost full, probably weighing at least five or six pounds!

"Uncle, let's call it a day and have some food!" He Yuzhu wiped his sweat and greeted him with a smile.

"Sigh, let's reel it in." Yan Bugui sheepishly reeled in the line, muttering to himself: What's the point of fishing anymore? I'll just be a foil for others.

……

As the sun began to set, the three prepared to go home.

Two bulging water buckets were strapped to the back of the bicycle, which was being ridden by He Yushui and Yan Bugui.

He Yuzhu didn't follow, saying he was going to the grocery store to buy some star anise and cinnamon to stew fish that evening.

Before leaving, he handed all his spoils to Yan Bugui: "Third Uncle, take them back for me. Anyway, with my sister around, she can't escape."

He knew Yan Bugui wasn't the kind of person to steal chickens or dogs, and besides—he himself was shocked by what he had gained today.

A whole twenty-odd pounds of fish!

The largest carp weighed a full five pounds and would sell for at least one yuan and fifty cents at the market.

But he didn't intend to sell it cheaply to the vendors. He would ask his master, Li Yuanguo, tomorrow. If Fengzeyuan wanted to buy it, the price would definitely be higher.

The remaining fish is more than enough for our own consumption, enough for three days, and we can also give some to our master and mistress to show our filial piety.

Back at the courtyard house, the third aunt was squatting by the door picking vegetables when she saw Yan Bugui pushing a cart in with two large buckets of lively fish hanging on it. She was stunned on the spot.

"Old Yan? What kind of fortune have you struck? So many fish! Our whole family couldn't finish them in half a month!"

Upon hearing the commotion, the neighbors all craned their necks to look.

Seeing the mountain of fish piled up in the bucket, everyone's eyes turned red.

"My god, is Uncle San cheating? How can he catch so many fish in one day?"

"Isn't that an exaggeration! If you actually sold them, you could easily make five or six dollars!"

"Tsk tsk, Uncle San is really something, he earns more from fishing than we do at our jobs..."

Yan Bugui stood there, his face flushed with embarrassment, wishing he could disappear into the ground.

Before He Yushui could even begin to clarify, he immediately interrupted loudly:

"Stop guessing! These fish—they're not mine! They were caught by Sha Zhu! I'm just a porter!"

The entire room fell silent.

The third woman raised an eyebrow: "Who are you talking about? He Yuzhu? And what about all these things in your bucket?"

Yan Bugui lowered his head and pointed to another bucket, his voice trailing off: "...This is mine."

Everyone looked in that direction—there were four fish, three of them were skinny crucian carp, and the last one was not even as long as the palm of a hand.

Compared to the bucket next to it, it's like a beggar meeting a rich man.

The smile on the three women's faces immediately vanished.

This little bit of fish won't fetch a good price; it'll only buy a side dish, not even enough for oil or meat.

"Alright, alright, that's enough watching the show!" Yan Bugui was extremely embarrassed and waved him away. "I need to hurry and take the fish back to Zhuzi; he'll be back soon!"

Just then, Madam Jia strolled over from the west courtyard, her eyes immediately fixed on the two large buckets of fish, and the corners of her mouth turned up in a smile.

"Oh my goodness, Uncle San, you've struck it lucky today! You caught so many, can your family finish them all?" she said, reaching into the bucket to scoop some out. "Give a couple to our Jia family, it'd be good karma, no waste!"

Before she could finish speaking, Yan Bugui swiftly slapped her fat hand away and shouted without any politeness:

"Jia Zhangshi! Where are you reaching? This is Sha Zhu's fish! You dare touch it!"

"What's wrong?" Jia Zhangshi's face changed, and she stiffened her neck. "Couldn't Sha Zhu have two fish? They can't finish them! It's only natural for neighbors to help each other out!"

"Help you out of your mind!" Yan Bugui was so angry his beard trembled. "If you want to take advantage, you should at least know whose property it is! This fish—you have no right to touch even a single scale!"

While Jia Zhangshi was shouting, her feet were not idle. She took a step forward and was about to snatch the fish.