Saving System: Calm Down, My Fleeing Host!-Chapter 68: A Bountiful Harvest

After discussing the plan, everyone sprang into action.

After an hour of relentless effort, several strong swimmers, under Qi Fei’s guidance and working in perfect harmony, slowly brought the first net to the surface, and it was teeming with fish.

"Wow!"

No one expected so many fish; no wonder it took so much effort for all the men to pull the net together.

Among them were quite a few big ones, each weighing no less than thirty pounds. What a pleasant surprise.

"So many big ones!"

Sister Xiaoxiao also showed a joyful smile, her secret bait was not in vain.

The system was overjoyed, "See, I told you it would work!"

"Yes, 77 did really well this time."

"Who would have thought a small fish-attracting sound wave sensor could attract so many fish."

System: "Of course, you should see who made it!"

Rarely praised by the host, the system was very happy and excited, its body turned into wave patterns, one wave after another. As it often said, it was very powerful, just lacking enough energy. Once it was strong, it would be even more formidable.

Seeing the bountiful harvest, everyone’s spirits were high. They didn’t even bother with their raincoats, quickening their actions. Hey ho! Hey ho! They worked away.

The smiles on their faces could not be dampened by the rain.

Leng Qi was dumbfounded, watching them excitedly fish and fill the pits, it seemed a bit surreal.

He must still be dreaming from lack of sleep these days, so he turned to get some more rest.

Ever since Cheng Sicheng learned of the bet to catch five thousand pounds of fish, he had been keeping an eye on it. Knowing they were fishing today, he offered to help for free.

Sister Xiaoxiao felt a bit comforted, at least she was not helping a thankless person.

"Xiaoxiao, all the buckets are full!" Cheng Sicheng reported.

"Alright, go borrow more from the neighbors, even smaller ones will do!"

Seeing Cheng Sicheng busy, she felt that her earlier comfort was wasted on him, wondering why she even bothered.

She couldn’t help but think of that little rascal who refused to call her sister, insisting on calling her by her name and saying by family rank she should call him uncle.

Feeling frustrated, Sister Xiaoxiao kept directing Cheng Sicheng to work. Aware he was in the wrong, he did not argue, doing whatever he was told with a cheerful smile on his face.

Sister Xiaoxiao was so angry she almost wanted to throttle this scheming kid.

Meanwhile, the villagers from whom they’d borrowed buckets braved the rain to come watch the excitement.

Such a bountiful harvest!

The buckets full of lively fish were a delightful sight.

Everyone volunteered to help carry them back to Sister Xiaoxiao’s place.

They worked until it was completely dark, almost getting all the fish from the four pits. As a result, the Cheng Family courtyard was piled high with various sized buckets, with many fish still in nets that hadn’t been taken out yet.

Cheng Qiang and Cheng Yong were busy weighing the fish, while Cheng Rong and Cheng Hao were responsible for counting. The women sorted the weighed fish into categories, all of them bustling about happily.

After weighing all the fish, Sister Xiaoxiao tallied the total, "Hmm, today we caught a total of one thousand five hundred and forty-two pounds of fish."

"Wow! This much?" The Cheng Family was ecstatic.

The villagers watching were stunned. Were they sure they hadn’t miscalculated?

Why hadn’t they thought of using this method to fish before? They’d have struck it rich.

Leng Qi tried to calm himself; it was only the first day, with five days of rain, but the bet counted from the day before the pit was dug, so only four days were left. There had been torrential rain the past few days, which was why there were so many fish. There surely wouldn’t be as many in the next days. Yes, that was it.

Sister Xiaoxiao paid no mind to Leng Qi’s reluctance to admit it. With today’s big catch, she was so delighted that she declared a half-day off tomorrow—no writing or reading practice, much to the joy of the little ones.

"Sis, you’re the best!"

"Sister Xiaoxiao, I like you best."

Cheng Jia and Cheng Ran exchanged glances and their smiles grew wide.

Yay! They could play with the fish too, or rather... help.

The joyful atmosphere continued through dinner.

Over the past few days, they had finished the stored green vegetables, and Sister Xiaoxiao looked at the steamed fish, fish with pickled cabbage, scrambled eggs, dried mustard pickles, buns, and porridge with no greens in sight, frowning.

With so many kids in the house, they needed vitamins and proteins. Although fish was nutritious, Sister Xiaoxiao craved leafy greens, and some trace elements and fiber could only be obtained from vegetables.

Everyone saw Sister Xiaoxiao’s uninspired look, guessing she was unhappy with the dishes again. They were used to it, having been occasionally critiqued by her for nutritional imbalances or incorrect preparation methods, which had led them to continually improve their meals.

Mr. Cheng: "Daughter, what’s wrong with today’s dishes?"

Erya: "Did I use too little salt?"

She quickly tasted to check the fish’s saltiness.

Dahua: "Was it my buns that weren’t steamed soft enough?"

She immediately pinched one with her hand.

Xiaolan: "Or is it my porridge that’s too thin? Uncle said working makes you hot, and you’d want thinner porridge then."

Cheng Rong took a big bite of a bun and said while chewing, "Everything seems fine, Xiaoxiao, aren’t you being too picky?"

Uh!

Sister Xiaoxiao held her forehead, feeling like she had driven the family to jitters, seeing each of them looking guilty like children who did something wrong.

Well, it was indeed a bunch of kids cooking...

"No, I just feel like eating greens," Sister Xiaoxiao announced.

Aunt: "We finished the greens we kept, and this rain hasn’t let up. Where would we find any outside now?"

Qi Fei: "How about I go up the mountain tomorrow to see if there are any wild vegetables left?"

"The rain is so heavy. Wouldn’t it be dangerous?" Xiaolan looked at Qi Fei worriedly.

"Forget it! With such heavy rain, it’s not safe on the mountain, and there might not be any," Sister Xiaoxiao hadn’t intended for anyone to risk it.

Could they try sprouting some beans? She looked at the Liu Family, "Aunt, how many soybeans do we have left?"

"About 200 pounds or so."

"Why?" Aunt asked, puzzled.

"Hmm, get me about 2 pounds. I saw in a book that beans can be sprouted to eat. I’m not sure if it’s true, but I want to try it."

As she said this, Sister Xiaoxiao intentionally or unintentionally glanced at Cheng Hao.

Afraid this second brother would cause a fuss again, she quietly let out a sigh of relief seeing no reaction from him.

Cheng Hao kept a calm face, but inside he was wondering why she was sneaking a look at him? 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Was it because of the last incident that she was now wary of him? He didn’t have any bad intentions, so why was she so cautious, afraid he would sabotage her again?

Mr. Cheng was curious, "Daughter, can the sprouts of beans really be eaten?"

Cheng Qiang was dubious, "Yes, some foods are toxic when they sprout, and can’t be eaten!"

"Oh, for heaven’s sake! I said it’s just an experiment, it’s not like we’re going to eat it right away. We’re just idle right now anyway!"

They all rolled their eyes at Sister Xiaoxiao, idle? They were very busy, thank you!

Forget it, the girl was growing up and full of ideas. Let her tinker around!

That night, Sister Xiaoxiao got the beans, picking out the ones with worm holes, the black ones, and the underdeveloped ones, cleaning them, and then soaking them in a big basin.

Erya: "Sis, will this turn into bean sprouts?"

"Of course not, you’ll see," Sister Xiaoxiao smiled mysteriously.