Chapter 11: Thirty-Five or Thirty-Six Jin

Chapter 11: Thirty-Five or Thirty-Six Jin

"Don't believe me? Just wait!"

Lin Su took a thin hemp rope hanging from the bow of the boat, cut off a finger-sized piece of meat from the bamboo basket, tied it tightly with the rope, and flicked his wrist with finesse.

The rope landed far in the middle of the water, carrying the bait as it slowly sank, with the remaining part floating on the surface, one end held lazily by Lin Su.

He yanked the Little Fool back, who was about to fall into the water, smacked his head, and scolded, "You dummy, what if you fall in? Is the bait fishing for you, you little glutton, grabbing food from the fish? Sit properly and watch."

"I wasn't grabbing, just looking," Fu Yun explained seriously, his bright, big eyes shining.

"Bro, can you really catch a fish like this? There's no hook."

Lin Su glanced at him, thinking the Little Fool was pretty smart, but said, "That's because it's your big bro. Just wait."

Without a hook, it was impossible to catch a fish—at least not a big one. But he had his superpower.

A drop of water seeped from his fingertip, silently soaking into the hemp rope, leaving a dark trail as if it were alive. It moved along the rope and quickly submerged into the water.

Once it reached the pork bait, it stopped, refusing to dissolve into the water even after entering it, remaining steady despite the current.

The lake stayed still for a long time. Fu Yun looked at Lin Su with confusion.

Lin Su was also puzzled. Why was there no movement?

His ability water, rich in spiritual energy, should have attracted even a few mindless little fish and shrimp, right?

Was it broken?

He frowned and tugged the rope, ready to pull it back, when suddenly a huge force yanked it. The rope nearly slipped out of his hand, but Lin Su grabbed it back just in time.

With two opposing forces, the rope instantly went taut. But as Lin Su pulled, the force in the water surged, yanking his upper body over the side.

Fu Yun, panicked, hugged his waist and pulled him back.

Damn, the rope was about to break!

He couldn't drag this out. He had to finish it quickly!

The ability slithered out and quickly wrapped around the rope. Lin Su seized the moment, straightened up, and pulled back with both hands. The next second, the boat lurched violently, and he quickly hugged Fu Yun to steady them both.

"Br-Brother, what a huge fish!"

Fu Yun's voice trembled with excitement as he kept patting Lin Su.

"...Cough, Xiao Fuyun, ease up. You're about to beat your brother to a pulp." Lin Su looked at the fish on the deck, shocked. "Is it that big?"

Was his ability water a bit too powerful?

The fish still had the hemp rope clamped in its mouth, its body arched like a drawn bow, thrashing left and right, its tail slapping loudly against the deck.

It was about chest-high on a person, at least four feet long, with a narrow spindle-shaped body, a gray back, white belly, pointed snout, and long tail. It had a row of wavy bony ridges on its back and sides that looked extremely hard, almost like a small sleek crocodile.

Lin Su froze. This fish... didn't it look straight-up illegal?

"Wow! What a huge sturgeon!"

Xu Lei's ten-year-old son, taking a break from selling to get some sweet water on the boat, noticed the shaking and hurried to the back. When he saw the huge fish on the deck, he shouted excitedly.

His shout drew everyone's attention on both banks. Seeing such a huge fish, they were all astonished.

"Is that a sturgeon? That huge! I've never seen one that big in my whole life!" A slightly hunched old man clapped his hands endlessly, as excited as if he'd caught it himself.

Traders abandoned their stalls, gathering by the boat and on the bank, craning their necks to talk. The market noise grew even louder.

"Whoa, that must be thirty-some jin?"

"How'd you catch it? Sturgeons stay at the bottom and don't take bait. You need a net to catch one or two now and then, and they're never this big."

"Hey, kid selling the tomato sauce, you selling this fish? If so, I'll take some!"

The one who asked was the aunt who had bought thirty scoops of tomato sauce from Lin Su, the grandmother of the little boy with the sky-high ponytail. Her surname was Jiang, and her family ran a carpentry business with some extra cash, so she could afford to spend generously.

The sturgeon struggled for a while, threatening to jump back into the water, but Lin Su quickly grabbed it back. He snatched up the boat paddle and gave it a solid whack, hitting it four or five times until the fish finally calmed down.

He lifted it with one hand, guessing it was around thirty-five or thirty-six jin. There was too much for just the two of them, so selling some wasn't a bad idea.

"Alright, Auntie. How many jin do you want? I'll clean it fresh for you." Lin Su gestured, his movements as practiced as an old fisherman who'd been cleaning fish for decades.

Aunt Jiang laughed heartily, then hesitated. "Ah, I don't want to take advantage of you. The market price is twenty-six wen per jin. Give me one—no, two jin." She winced thinking about it. Fifty-two wen plus the tomato sauce meant she had spent eighty-two wen today. It wasn't even New Year's yet, and she'd already burned through a good chunk of her holiday money.

But Aunt Jiang still felt it was worth it—the tomato sauce would last half a year, and the sturgeon was a rare delicacy.

Sturgeon weren't necessarily rare in number. Yucheng County had a well-developed water system, with a range of snow-capped mountains to the west. The river flowed straight from the mountains, and after flowing over ten li from Xiaowan Village, it joined the Lin River, which was dozens of zhang wide.

The Lin River was teeming with fish.

During the peak summer season, a few wen could buy a jin of common, bony fish. But plump, boneless fish were naturally more expensive.

Sturgeon had rich, delicious meat but was incredibly hard to catch. They usually lived at the bottom and were only occasionally caught in nets. So high quality and low quantity meant a high price.

Lin Su pulled out the cutting board and knife he'd just bought. He sharpened his blade, gutted the fish, and spilled its innards all over the deck.

It was a male fish with no roe. He only took out the swim bladder and told Fu Yun to throw the rest back in the water.

The fish was too big. Lin Su planned to cut it up properly once they got home. He sliced off a large piece, borrowed Xu Lei's scale, and it weighed three and a half jin. Then he cut off one and a half jin, wrapped it in leaves, and handed it to Aunt Jiang.

Fu Yun's pouch immediately gained fifty-two wen, bulging again. The Little Fool grinned from ear to ear, his face beaming like spring sunshine.

Lin Su took the chance to pinch his cheek, leaving a bloody, fishy mark. The bloodstain ran down his cheek. Fu Yun wrinkled his nose, looking confused.

...Damn, even more beautiful.

He suppressed his mischievous urge and looked at the crowd on the shore, hoping for a few more rich villagers.

Unfortunately, there were none. It seemed Aunt Jiang was the richest person in Xiaoheji.

But with dozens of jin of fish left over, they couldn't finish it all. What were they going to do?