A Young Woman's Heart

Chapter 238 Fishing Experiences

(One)

The gloomy weather finally cleared up.

The breath of spring once again enveloped the earth.

The grass on the riverbank is already lush and green.

A large black rabbit was lying on the grass, chewing on the tender tips of the grass.

Under that clear blue sky, a few clouds drifted by as soft as sheep.

Mr. Xue sat on the riverbank, leisurely holding his fishing rod, quietly watching the undulating water.

The fish basket next to it already contained two beautiful carp with silver scales. Perhaps due to the lack of oxygen, they looked very quiet.

The courtyard was located above the river embankment. Inside the courtyard, Yang Yankai was sawing wood and doing carpentry work. He had a half-smoked cigarette in his mouth, and after a long while, he shook it with his hand to remove the ash.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak—"

The sound of the saw echoed continuously.

"We're back!" Mo Zhuyou's cheerful voice broke the strange harmony as she held up the basket and shook it. "We picked so many mushrooms, all thanks to the rain the other day!"

"Haha, that's really good."

"How's the frame coming along?" Mo Zhuyou asked, carrying a basket and running over with small, quick steps.

"I think I can finish it tonight," Yang Yankai said, though he wasn't entirely sure.

"Ta-da! Look, my older sister has picked a lot of vegetables! And wild vegetables too!"

"The carrots that were planted before?"

"Yes! And there are some bracken and things like that."

"Youyou, come wash the vegetables with me."

"Um—can I rest for a bit?"

Mo Xiao smiled knowingly and shook her head helplessly: "Alright, you can rest for a while."

"I'm going to check on how Xiaoxue's fishing is going!"

"go Go."

The creaking sound of sawing wood continued, and Mo Zhuyou trotted over and sat down next to Mr. Xue, pressing down a patch of the soft grass.

……

(two)

"Ah, it moved?"

"Don't rush." ​​Mr. Xue, looking completely confident, casually shook his head. "Wait a little longer."

Aren't you afraid it will run away?

"The fish is just testing the waters right now; if you lift it up, it will run away."

"Oh--"

"Wait until it really takes the bait before making any moves."

"Thump, thump-thump-thump—" Yang Yankai had already sawed the wood and was now using a hammer to piece it together.

It doesn't involve driving nails in; it simply uses pre-made openings to fit objects together, representing a basic application of mortise and tenon joints.

To make them fit more securely, you have to use a relatively soft wooden hammer to hit them hard.

"Whoa!" Mr. Xue suddenly lifted his fishing rod, stood up from the ground, and slowly and steadily turned the fishing line. A struggling bass reflected a silvery light in the sunlight.

The silver fish scales look exceptionally beautiful.

"Hurry up, hurry up!"

"Don't rush." ​​Mr. Xue calmly adjusted the fishing rod until the fish was right in front of him. Then he grabbed it tightly, removed it from the hook, and threw it into the fish basket next to him.

"Xiaoxue's fishing skills are really amazing." Yang Yankai wiped the sweat from his forehead with the wooden mallet and exclaimed sincerely.

"Yang Yankai, how's your fishing?"

"I can fish, but I'm not that good at it."

How many fish can you catch in an hour?

"Haha, normally, it's good if I can catch one in an hour. Usually, I go for an afternoon and catch two or three. It's even more common if I don't catch any at all."

"That's alright, Xiaoxue only caught three fish after fishing for two or three hours."

"Haha, you don't know, he threw all the small fish he caught back. If you include those, there are probably more than a dozen."

"Well?"

"The two or three fish I mentioned include small fish as well."

“I see…” When Mo Zhuyou turned around, Mr. Xue had already sat down again, and the fishing hook was cast into the river once more. He still looked relaxed.

"Fishing is great; it can improve our meals."

"Next time I'll bring my family's small fishing net. It's more convenient than fishing. I just put it in the river every day and retrieve it in the evening." Yang Yankai said with some pride, "Living in the countryside, the one thing you don't have to worry about is not having anything to eat."

"Indeed~" Mo Zhuyou smiled and swayed her body. "I wonder what delicious food my older sister is going to make today~"

"Speaking of which, aren't you going to help? Your sister is quite busy all by herself." Yang Yan straightened up, threw his cigarette butt on the ground, and took out another cigarette and put it in his mouth.

His dark and weathered face made him look nothing like a high school student, but rather like a young man nearing thirty.

"Hey Yang Yankai, don't you think about taking care of your skin? Your skin is too rough, it makes you look old."

"Haha, it's nothing, it's just like this after being in the sun too much."

"Ultraviolet rays can make people age easily, so I don't dare to go outside in the summer. The sun in the countryside is especially strong."

"Haha, it's not so bad, at least you're healthy."

As they were chatting, Mr. Xue raised his fishing rod again. This time it was a small fish. After he took it off the hook, he threw it back in.

It's not exactly small; it's about the size of a palm. Two of them together could make a dish.

But only Mr. Xue would look down on them.

As if he could read Mo Zhuyou's mind, Mr. Xue suddenly said, "These fish are still small. If we put them back, they will grow bigger, which will allow for sustainable development."

"What if they don't take the bait next time? After all, we'll have experience now."

"Haha, that would be even more interesting, wouldn't it?"

"Xiaoxue's thought process is always so amazing."

……

(three)

Lunchtime wasn't very punctual.

It was around 1 p.m. when Mo Zhuyou and Mo Xiaoxiao finally finished their work.

The dishes were all placed on the outdoor table, which was also made by Yang Yankai. When he came last time, he found some good wood in the firewood pile and couldn't resist making one.

The tabletop is made of several pieces of wood pieced together without being painted, but it still fits together perfectly and is quite sturdy.

After cleaning the mushrooms, I simply made two cuts on the caps, skewered them, brushed them with seasoning, and grilled them over a fire.

The wild vegetables were blanched and then made into a cold dish. In addition, there was stir-fried bamboo shoots with meat, stir-fried carrots with garlic sprouts, and a bowl of bone broth that had been stewed before we left.

As for the fish that Mr. Xue caught in the morning, they were temporarily kept in a large red basin.

Mr. Xue only wanted one, and Yang Yankai didn't stand on ceremony and picked one in advance. The remaining two were for the two sisters.

Black Chocolate was brought back and lay down at Mo Zhuyou's feet, lazily basking in the sun.

For animals, this is probably the most comfortable time of day.

"Here, there's beer too."

"Oh! I really didn't expect this!" Yang Yankai excitedly picked up a bottle of ice-cold beer, bit off the cap with his teeth, and gulped down a big mouthful. Half the bottle was gone in no time, and he let out a long, refreshing sigh. "Ha... after doing physical labor, you have to drink some beer. It feels so good!"

"I bought it at the supermarket last time. It was a huge box, and I was exhausted when I carried it back."

"Glass bottles are definitely heavy, why not just buy canned goods?"

"I heard that the ones in glass bottles taste better?"

"It seems so." Yang Yan turned the bottle around and glanced at the words 'West Lake' on the label. "That's great. We have some wine to drink. Is there any left in the fridge? We can drink some while we work this afternoon."

"Yes, there are." Mo Xiao nodded with a smile that made her eyes crinkle. "You're welcome."

"I've already been quite generous," Yang Yan said with a hearty laugh, patting Mr. Xue's shoulder firmly with his dark hand. "Xiao Xue, drink too!"

“Okay.” Mr. Xue did not hesitate at all. When he got the beer bottle, he tried to open it with his teeth, but apart from grimacing in pain, it did nothing.

"We have a bottle opener at home," Mo Xiaoxiao quickly handed over the bottle opener.

"How did you do that?" But he didn't take it.

"A skill, and also, practice makes perfect—haha, but don't usually do that, it hurts your teeth!" Yang Yankai said, taking the beer from Mr. Xue's hand, quickly biting it open with his teeth, and then handing it back.

"Impressive." Mr. Xue gave a thumbs up; he was never stingy with his praise.

……

(four)

After a satisfying meal, Yang Yankai got busy again.

Mo Zhuyou then helped clear the dishes.

Mr. Snow lay leisurely on the lawn, and Dark Chocolate wasn't afraid of him at all. It was now lying directly on his chest, and every now and then a round black 'chocolate bean' would fall out of its rear end.

"Xiaoxue, which university are you planning to apply to?"

Zhejiang University.

“That’s true.” Yang Yankai was sweating profusely. After sawing the wood a few times, he continued, “It’s not surprising at all. But I did think you would apply to Tsinghua or Peking University or something.”