Rebirth in a Courtyard: I Am a Little Hunter

Wei Chen still had the cigarette butt between his fingers. He quickly threw it away, grabbed the fishing rod, and with a flick of his wrist, the tip of the rod bent into a bow. The water splashed open, and a huge crucian carp leaped out of the water, flashed silver, and then crashed back into the water.

"The fish's on!" The third uncle was the first to react, jumping up from his stool in a panic, even dropping his cigarette. "Wei Chen, hold on! Hold on! Don't pull it too hard! Let it run! Pull it when it's tired!"

The other anglers on the riverbank turned their heads, their eyes all fixed on Wei Chen's fishing rod. Some stood up, others put down their bamboo rods and took a few steps towards him. The white-haired old man also turned around and called out from afar, "How big is the fish?"

"Looks pretty big!" a middle-aged man nearby replied. "It must weigh at least three pounds!"

The old man had already run to Wei Chen's side, his voice trembling with excitement: "Slow down, slow down, don't fight it head-on! If it goes left, go right; if it goes down, go up. Walk it for three to five minutes, and pull it when it's tired!"

Wei Chen remained calm, steadily controlling the fishing rod with his wrist, sometimes loosening and sometimes tightening it, guiding the crucian carp to circle a few times in the river.

The fishing line drew arcs in the water, and the crucian carp would sometimes dart towards the riverbed, and sometimes dart sideways into the depths of the water plants, trying to break free of the hook. Wei Chen kept his rod taut like a bow, neither loosening it nor pulling too hard, steadily controlling its direction.

The old man stood beside him, his hands clenched into fists, muttering repeatedly, "Slow down, slow down, don't rush, don't rush... Okay, it's gone to the left, pull it to the right... Hey, it's gone down again, lift it up a little, lift it up a little..."

The crucian carp struggled a few times, but gradually lost its strength and stopped struggling violently. Wei Chen slowly dragged it towards the shore. The water churned, and a plump crucian carp was pulled into the shallow water, its white belly turned up, swaying slightly in the muddy water.

"Catch it! Catch it!" The old man was already squatting by the water, reaching out and grabbing the fish's gills, pulling the crucian carp out of the water. The fish's tail thrashed twice in the air, splashing water all over his face, but he didn't care, grinning, "Goodness, at least five pounds! Wei Chen, your rod is pretty good!"

People gathered around, looking at the large crucian carp in the old man's hand with envy. Some clicked their tongues in amazement: "It's amazing to catch such a big fish these days." Some asked Wei Chen what bait he used, some asked where he fished, and some, in their haste, grabbed their bamboo poles and ran to where Wei Chen had cast his line, hoping to try their luck.

Wei Chen didn't say much. He took the fish off the hook, put it in the tin bucket, baited it with fresh bait, cast the line, and continued squatting. The old man squatted beside him, still excited, muttering, "I told you, this spot is great! I've been looking at it for days. The water's deep, there's grass underneath, fish like to congregate here. I'm telling you, you made the right choice coming here today..."

Wei Chen smiled but didn't expose him. He lit another cigarette, took a drag, and his gaze returned to the river. His mental energy spread out again, this time not just guiding the fish in the water towards his hook.

He has no shortage of fish; there are plenty in the game world, and he can farm them endlessly! He can't compete with these people who rely on fishing to improve their lives for these limited fish resources; in fact, he can even secretly help them out.

With a slight thought, hundreds of lively crucian carp, common carp, and grass carp silently fell from his game world's reserves into the riverbed. He could throw things wherever his mental energy covered.

After entering the water, the fish were initially a bit flustered, darting around a few times, but quickly adapted to the river water and dispersed into the water plants, blending in with the other fish in the river, showing no signs of anything amiss.

Wei Chen withdrew his mental energy and continued to stare at the water's surface. After a while, his fishing line suddenly tightened again.

This time it was a grass carp weighing over three pounds. Having learned from the previous experience, Uncle San wasn't as nervous anymore, but he still insisted on helping to net the fish, shouting, "Stay calm! Stay calm! Another one! Wei Chen, you chose the perfect spot!"

Then, one after another, several more fish took the bait: a carp weighing about four pounds, a bream weighing over two pounds, and a crucian carp weighing over three pounds.

Every time a fish was caught, a gasp of amazement would erupt around them. Uncle San was even more excited than Wei Chen, always rushing to help net the fish. His old iron bucket also contained a fish—a three-pound crucian carp that Wei Chen had shared with him after catching one. Uncle San was beaming with joy, putting the fish in the bucket and looking at it again and again, as if afraid it would escape.

After Wei Chen caught a few fish, the luck of the others on the riverbank seemed to improve as well. Actually, it was the hundreds of fish that Wei Chen had released that had an effect.

A middle-aged man sitting not far from Wei Chen suddenly jerked his rod, bending the tip into a bow. He paused for a moment, then reacted and shouted excitedly, "I caught a fish! I caught a fish!" He frantically reeled in the line and pulled up a carp weighing over two pounds, almost jumping for joy.

The white-haired old man also caught a fish. He had been fishing for more than three hours and had only caught a small crucian carp the size of his palm. Now he had caught a grass carp weighing more than two pounds. He couldn't stop smiling and kept saying, "I'm so lucky today! I'm so lucky today!"

Everyone around perked up, their eyes glued to their fishing lines, and the atmosphere along the riverbank instantly became lively. Exclamations of surprise, laughter, and splashing water mingled together, creating a festive atmosphere like New Year's celebrations. Uncle San, squatting beside Wei Chen, watched the scene and remarked, "Strange, why are all the fish suddenly biting today? Is it because winter is approaching, and the fish know they need to eat and build up their strength?"

Wei Chen didn't reply, but simply packed up the fishing rod, dismantling it section by section and placing it back on his back. He glanced at the few fish in the tin bucket, then at the sky: "Third Uncle, that's enough, it's time to go back."

The old man looked at the three-pound crucian carp in his bucket, then at the anglers still enjoying themselves on the riverbank, and said with some reluctance, "Aren't you going to fish a little longer? I think the fish are biting right now."

"It's getting dark, and the road will be difficult to travel if we go back late." Wei Chen hung the bucket on the back of his bicycle, got on, and glanced back at the old man. "Uncle, is there enough room for your bucket? Should I carry it for you?"

The old man looked at the bucket in his hand, then at the back seat of Wei Chen's bicycle, and hesitated for a moment: "Can you even put anything on that back seat?"

"You can put it here." Wei Chen pointed to the side of the tin bucket. "Just put the bucket here and tie it with a rope. You'll be exhausted if you carry it back yourself."

The third uncle didn't stand on ceremony and handed over the bucket, which Wei Chen secured to the other side of the back seat with hemp rope. The third uncle then picked up the bamboo pole and sat sideways on the back seat. He was small and didn't take up much space, but as soon as he settled in, he still held onto Wei Chen's shoulder, somewhat nervously: "Be careful riding, these old bones of mine, a fall could be terrible."

"Don't worry, you won't fall." Wei Chen pedaled, and the bicycle moved forward steadily. The third uncle sat on the back seat, holding onto the bamboo pole with one hand and the seat with the other. The evening breeze brushed past his ears, making his clothes flutter.

He was silent for a moment, then suddenly said, "Wei Chen, I really owe you a lot today. I've been fishing every day these past few days, but I've only caught small fry, not even enough to fill a tooth gap. Today, because you came, I benefited and caught a fish that weighs over three pounds. Now I can treat my family to something nicer."

"You're too kind, Uncle." Wei Chen said casually, sitting on his bike. "The spot you took me to was really good; there were lots of fish. Next time we have time, let's go together again."

"Alright! Let's go together again next time!" The third uncle sat in the back seat, his tone filled with barely concealed laughter. "I'll go back and do some more research to see if there are any better spots, so we can catch something bigger next time!"

When the two returned to the courtyard house, it was already dusk. A few lights were on in the courtyard, their dim yellow light shining through the windows, appearing particularly warm in the twilight.

The old man got off the back of his bicycle, picked up his broken iron bucket, and strode into the yard. As soon as he entered, he shouted, "Hey! What a great day! Guess how big a fish I caught?"

Several people in the yard peeked out at the sound. Zhang Dashan's wife, who was picking vegetables at the doorway in the front yard, straightened up and looked over: "Hey, Uncle, what's in that bucket? It's huge!"

The old man held up his bucket for Zhang Dashan's wife to see: "Crucian carp! Over three pounds! I caught them by the river today!" His shout attracted several neighbors. Liu Haizhong came out of the house, looked at the fish in the bucket, then at Wei Chen pushing his bicycle into the yard behind him—Wei Chen had a tin bucket hanging on the back of his bike, and several fish spines could be vaguely seen inside. Liu Haizhong's eyes widened: "Wei Chen, what's in your bucket? Goodness, there are quite a few fish!"

Wei Chen propped up the car, took off the tin bucket, carried it in his hand, and walked into the yard: "I caught a few fish, I'll stew them for dinner tonight."

"How many?" Liu Haizhong leaned closer to take a look, then gasped. "Good heavens, four! And they're all big fish! You...you're amazing!"

People in the yard gathered around, looking at the several plump fish in Wei Chen's bucket, and discussing it animatedly. Some said Wei Chen knew how to pick a spot, some said Wei Chen had a good fishing rod, and others said it was amazing to catch such big fish these days.

The old man stood in the middle of the crowd, chest puffed out, like a victorious general, and recounted his and Wei Chen's fishing experience that day with embellishment—of course, he claimed credit for his spot, which he had "scouted for several days," and described Wei Chen's fishing rod and bait as "professional equipment." He concluded with the saying, "Fishing is all about strategy! A reckless person won't do!"