Chapter 6 Inflation 5

Chapter 6 Inflation 5

Su Han immediately sat down beside him.

Old He couldn’t help but glance sideways. Was it really that easy to borrow a fishing rod from Old He? No need to buy, just rent? Thinking of this, he felt a pang of regret. If he had known, he would have rented it.

"Kid, fishing isn't such a simple matter," Old He rambled on, sharing his own bitter experiences. "I tell you, fish are cunning! They..."

Less than a minute after casting the line, ripples appeared on the water surface. Su Han quickly reeled in the line, and a large grass carp was hooked.

Su Han unhooked the grass carp and threw it into a nearby iron bucket. Turning her head, she put on an innocent look, "What did you just say? I didn't hear you."

Old He, "...I said nothing, keep going."

Strangely enough, Old He had left his fishing rod aside for three days without catching a single fish. But after Su Han sat down, she caught one after another, catching four fish in half an hour.

Old He felt conflicted. Sure, he was happy, as he could at least take two fish home today. But how did she do it? It was the same rod, the same spot!

After watching for a long time, Old He finally couldn’t hold back and tried to negotiate, "Hey... mind if we switch spots?"

Getting some fish was nice, but catching them himself would be even better.

"Sure," Su Han agreed without hesitation to switch places.

But Old He was dismayed to find that his original spot was full of fish, and they were biting even faster than before!

Su Han proactively asked, "Want to trade rods?"

Old He, "..."

He wanted to, but couldn’t bring himself to ask.

Thinking of his hungry granddaughter at home, he sighed and simply handed over his other fishing rod, "You take it, I’ll stay out of your way."

After saying this, he didn’t bother to keep his spot and walked aside to start dividing the fish.

Su Han glanced over and noticed Old He was being fair. The plump fish remained in her bucket, while the slightly thinner ones were taken by him.

A gentle breeze blew as Su Han placed both fishing rods in front of her, occasionally casting and reeling in, feeling completely at ease.

Others occasionally had catches but didn’t dare cheer too loudly—the person sitting next to them, who had caught nearly ten fish, remained calm. What was there to get excited about catching just one fish?

Just past 4:30, hearing about the big catch here, people hurried over to buy.

"I want a grass carp, how about four packs of instant noodles?"

"I need crucian carp for soup, how about three pounds of rice in exchange?"

"I also want crucian carp, how about two pounds of tofu?"

Su Han checked the iron bucket and found exactly five fish inside, so she asked Old He to exchange them for instant noodles.

Old He whispered advice, "Ignore them. I tell you, you can get more at the black market!"

Su Han also lowered her voice, "Do you think one person can safely carry five or six fish back?"

Old He fell silent. He had heard that some anglers, after finally catching fish, were robbed by bandits on their way home. That was still okay, at least they were unharmed. Some were less fortunate and accidentally fell, unable to move for a week.

Life was hard. If one had to lie in bed for a week, wouldn't the whole family starve? Thinking of this, he also considered the idea of exchanging.

He hadn’t thought about this earlier, because he had never experienced the good problem of having too much to carry, always coming back with an empty bucket…

Su Han kept fishing beside him, while Old He chatted with people like a chatterbox, "No, no, two pounds of tofu won’t fill you up, you gotta throw in something extra."

"Three pounds of rice is too little, I’ll swap for four pounds. You don't have four pounds at home? Hey, you’re kidding me! If you can afford to eat crucian carp, how could you be poor?"

"Do you have shower gel? Deal, deal, take two fish!"

Old He wasn’t one for haggling. But thinking about getting more food for his granddaughter to take home, he felt a burst of energy!

As for Su Han's five fish, she traded them for 12 packs of instant noodles and 4 bars of soap.

Then Su Han was surprised to find that people with some savings were doing quite well, at least not completely desperate. But with hyperinflation continuing, who knows what’ll happen next?

Old He was thrilled with the food and supplies he had traded for.

Su Han shot him a look, then said calmly, "How about making a pot of soup for everyone? Today’s luck is good, caught 11 fish."

Old He was about to say that no one had ever cooked him soup after catching fish, but then he realized something and immediately changed his tone, "Of course, of course."

The next second, he looked troubled, "But we can’t make it—no pot, no firewood."

Someone immediately offered advice, "Ask to borrow a pot from the homeless people living in the park."

"Not just a pot, but also a stove!"

"Grab some seasonings while you’re at it."

A bunch of amateur fishermen, hearing about the fish soup, were no longer interested in fishing and instead busied themselves with preparations.

When the fish soup started cooking, the smell carried at least ten meters away!

Others couldn't resist either and quickly walked over, eagerly saying, "It smells so good, let me get a taste!"

A crowd gathered around the pot. After a long while, someone thoughtful remembered the hosts, "Old He, why don’t you come and have a taste too?"

Turning around, the person was stunned—Old He and the girl with the backpack had slipped away unnoticed.

Old Ding sneered, "If they don’t leave now, will they get the chance later? Do they think people are stupid?"

Everyone fell silent.

**

On the other side, Su Han, with her backpack and fishing rod in hand, had finally run far enough.

Beside her, Old He was carrying a lot of things, including the iron bucket, and it was quite a struggle.

"Why didn't you bring a bag?" Su Han quickly helped carry the bucket.

Old He looked particularly innocent, "In the past... there was no need to bring a bag..."

He even felt that carrying the bucket was a waste of effort.

Su Han was at a loss for words.

"What's your name? Where do you live? Will you come again tomorrow?" Old He looked at her eagerly.

Su Han worriedly said, "My name is Su Han, I don't have a place to stay for now."

Old He perked up, "How about staying at my place for the night? We can cooperate to fish again tomorrow?"

Although Su Han was focused on fishing while he was responsible for the exchange, it was still a form of cooperation.

Su Han was clearly interested but still politely asked, "Wouldn't it be inconvenient?"

"Not at all, we have a spare room that’s just sitting empty anyway," Old He said with great enthusiasm. "Besides, I haven’t thanked you yet. Thanks to your help, I was able to exchange for quite a few things."

As for letting a stranger into the house, Old He wasn't worried. Because this was a girl, and a skilled one at that. He figured she was much better off financially than him, so if anyone should be worried, it would be her.

"Then I’ll take you up on your offer," Su Han thought. Having a safe place to stay was better than worrying about safety at night. Old He wanted to continue fishing together tomorrow, so it didn't make sense for him to harm her.

Having been reminded beforehand by Su Han, Old He deliberately took a secluded path. They didn’t run into anyone on the way home.

"Granny, come out and help, we have a guest," Old He shouted as soon as they entered the house.

Granny Jiang was suspicious. How could their family, financially in their current state, entertain guests? Had the old man gone mad?!

She rushed out and was shocked: "Rice, tofu, fish, shower gel... Old man, did you rob someone?"

Clearly, she knew exactly how skilled her husband was at fishing.

"Stop joking around! Come and help unload," Old He said with an awkward smile.

"Why is the tofu all broken?" Granny Jiang couldn’t help but feel distressed.

Old He shrugged, "At least we got it back—who cares if it’s broken?"

As they chatted, their hands moved quickly, and soon everything was put away.

"Hey, Su Han, why are you standing there? Come and sit," Old He called out.

Su Han thanked him and took a seat. When she looked up, she spotted a 6 or 7-year-old girl peeking out from behind the bedroom door.

"Sweetie, come here, we have fish to eat today," Old He said cheerfully.

At the mention of fish, the little girl's eyes lit up, and her mouth immediately watered.

"Old man, come help me out," Granny Jiang said abruptly.

Old He was startled, then went into the kitchen.

Though they whispered, Su Han’s sharp ears caught every word.

Granny Jiang said, "I just picked up some rotten leaves at the market today, we can't serve that to our guest. But without them, what am I supposed to cook with?"

Old He said, "Just make tofu soup and some rice."

"Rice?" Granny Jiang hesitated, "If we made that into porridge, it could last for several days..."

"If it weren’t for her, you wouldn’t even have rice for porridge," Old He said with a hint of dissatisfaction.

"That's true," Granny Jiang sighed.

After that, there was no more talking in the kitchen.

Su Han acted oblivious and turned to the girl, "Where are your mom and dad?"

"They went to work in another city," the little girl said in a soft voice.

"Do you like milk?" As she spoke, Su Han dug through her backpack.

As it turned out...

"I like it, but I can't take it," the little girl looked like she really wanted it but was holding back.

"It's okay, I'm giving it to you."

Su Han tried to hand it to her forcefully, but the little girl darted back into the bedroom, firmly stating, "Old He said we can't just take things from others."

Su Han was taken aback. A family that raises such a child can't be bad.

Soon, dinner was ready.

"Come and eat," Granny Jiang invited her with a smile.

"Don't be shy, have some fish," Old He encouraged warmly.

Su Han smiled, dished herself a small bowl of rice, added some fish soup, and took a couple of tofu pieces, then said, "Go ahead and eat, don't worry about me. I had noodles for lunch and I'm still full."

Old He and Granny Jiang exchanged a knowing glance.

Su Han, however, brought up fishing for the next day, "Are there any other fishing spots? The park today might not be convenient to go back to."

"Yes, yes, I'll show you the place tomorrow," Old He assured, patting his chest, "I know a spot where there are few anglers and not many people passing by usually."

After today's events, he got the idea that it's best not to show off your wealth.

"That's great," Su Han replied with a satisfied smile.

For some reason, the genius little angler suddenly came to mind.

Rare merchant Su Han appears at coordinates xxx.xxx, where you can exchange xxxxx supplies for live fish with her.