Her Cultivation Diary-Chapter 1954 - 1730: Bad Hooks

Around 7:30, the sky began to darken.

Song Sancheng called Song Tan, sounding weak: "Tantan, can you and Yanping come pick us up?"

But there was some commotion at the hostel, so Zhang Yanping went to handle the reception work, and Song Tan asked Lun Chuan to go.

And she remarked, "I bet my dad didn’t catch any fish again."

Lun Chuan paused for a moment: "Even if it’s difficult, they have many people, so they should be able to catch a few. Don’t make fun of them later."

Song Tan was about to agree when he added, "Their families will tease them fiercely, and at that time, jokes won’t have any power. Wait until after they’ve finished teasing, you can laugh then."

That makes so much sense.

Every time Song Sancheng returns empty-handed, ironically, they’re the ones laughing the loudest.

Qiaoqiao, carrying a basket of cucumbers, nodded: "I’ll tease them later too."

Lun Chuan remained unfazed: "The fish in the river are too clever; they’re very difficult to catch. You can’t blame them for that. Everyone likes you so much, if even you tease them, wouldn’t they be sad?"

The kind-hearted Qiaoqiao immediately softened: "Then don’t laugh too harshly. I won’t laugh."

Song Tan: ...

A child who hasn’t been toughened by society isn’t quite right!

So easy to coax.

But...

In this way, there are no worries and no sorrows; who says it isn’t a kind of happiness?

The two quickly rode their bikes to the Riverside Beach, then launched a small boat, soon passing through the long-cleared nets to reach that feng shui treasure site.

Under the dim night sky, even the ripples in the water seemed deep and terrifying. On the shore stood several people holding fishing rods and buckets, equipped with various fishing stools, and boxes empty of bait.

Everyone stood there, gloomily as if ready to become shadows.

Song Tan thought: No doubt about it, they definitely didn’t catch any fish.

The boat stopped, and just as she was about to greet them, a dark figure swiftly darted onto the boat, quickly reaching the bow of the shaky little boat.

At this moment, half of its body leaned over the side; its body was sleek and smooth, round and plump, indicating it was certainly not hungry.

Hm?

Song Tan was a bit surprised.

She looked at the tabby cat again, finding it nonchalantly sitting back, leisurely licking its paws and washing its face.

It was clear at a glance whether it was full or comfortable.

Ah...

Song Tan and Lun Chuan looked at its physique and felt that the cat’s appetite wasn’t small.

In this case, shouldn’t the group have caught at least a few fish?

Not catching a single fish is different from catching two or three.

She opened her mouth to ask but recalled Lun Chuan’s advice and held back, simply calling out to everyone:

"Hop on the boat!"

Everyone silently boarded the boat, resembling a bunch of puppets. They then found places to sit down and finally let out a long sigh.

This state...

Actually, coming back empty-handed from fishing is a normal thing!

Sometimes there are no fish in the pond, or because they’ve been fished too often until they become smart, or eaten too much, and refuse to bite, or the bait is wrong...

Anyway, anyone called a fisherman has surely experienced coming back empty-handed!

It shouldn’t be such a big blow.

But she wasn’t eager to ask, because asking about this kind of thing would just attract resentment. Once back at the hostel, someone would certainly explain.

Sure enough.

Having spent the afternoon taking pictures and making tofu, the exhausted family members eagerly asked when they saw them:

"You’re back late, it’s hard to tell when dinner can be ready after cleaning the fish... After three or four hours of fishing, what did you catch?"

While speaking, they hurried over to look inside the bucket.

Master Xiao Zhou rushed out, looking a bit troubled: "We won’t have time to eat them today. Perhaps we should put them in a large water basin for now?"

Well, once these fish are caught, there’s no telling when they’ll be ready. Coming back at this hour and then cleaning and preparing them would take quite a bit of time!

He turned to look for a large basin in the kitchen.

But Yun Feng’s mother-in-law was quite experienced:

"Master Zhou, no need to look for a basin."

She advised everyone: "Don’t look anymore, give them some face. There’s certainly not much catch."

If they’d caught a few decent ones, they would’ve shouted for the kids to come see the fish from afar.

Everyone: ...

Although, that statement seems to lack tact.

But... it really makes sense.

Judging by the heavy atmosphere, it doesn’t seem like they caught anything.

Everyone slowly sat back down.

The old couples couldn’t help but laugh, unrestrainedly:

"Why did your technique decline just by coming to the village? Do you need to fish in reservoirs stocked with big, dumb, round fish?"

Then looking at Song Tan and Lun Chuan with some sentimentality:

"These fish are really hard to catch. We get to eat them every day, you guys have worked so hard..."

Song Tan: ...

No, didn’t I show you the fish cage before?

The way those small fish and shrimp are caught is exactly how these fish are caught.

A casual net pull can almost fill it halfway.

Not to mention, even if Qiaoqiao strolls by the riverside with a big basket, if he wants, he can manage to catch seven or eight.

But that’s considered cheating, as he absorbs the most Spiritual Energy, which, although not visible, attracts these fish and shrimp.

As for the fishermen...

Oh!

The fish that grow and thrive in their rivers and ponds are all elites among fish.

In terms of cleverness, they don’t lose at all to their deliciousness.

If they were easy to catch, why did fishermen last year spend their days plucking weeds in her fields?

If it were another pond or farmhouse, knowing no fish can be caught here, they wouldn’t come.

Therefore, those running fishing businesses regularly stock their ponds with various fish every month...

Yet, her family’s cunning fish sometimes even surfaced to mock them.

Everyone’s dignity is challenged, stuck between anger; they can only suspect the bait is wrong, their technique inadequate, or their luck not helping... and thus becoming more and more determined!

Zhang Yanping recently showed her a forum, saying fishermen have a mysterious Land of Enlightenment...

Both studied this place, feeling they’re extraordinary at this.

Now...

Song Tan returned to her thoughts, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"Did you not catch anything after digging so many worms?"

That doesn’t make sense! Statistically, one out of ten should be possible.

Song Sancheng seemed to suddenly realize, regaining confidence: "I said the fish hooks I bought this time are no good!" 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

When the worms are hooked underwater, other fish bite the hook too, but whenever he sees the bobber moving, it’s an empty pull, with only half the worm left.

Everyone finally realized: "Right! The hook isn’t good! Lun Chuan, does your town have any fish hooks for sale? I need to buy a few more types..."

Lun Chuan: ...

There are some in town, but it’s almost 8 o’clock now!