Father Lu was feeling rather gloomy when he returned home. He took out his dry tobacco pipe, wanting a smoke, but couldn't bring himself to waste the tobacco, so he sat on the doorstep, staring blankly ahead. Lu Changsheng offered a few words of comfort, but seeing they had no effect, he returned to his room. Many people understood that this kind of sullen resentment didn't hold any water, but such was human nature—what else could one do? One could only wait.
A few more days passed, and Lu Changsheng’s handwriting had become very proficient. Even with his eyes closed, he could write those hundred-plus characters without missing a single stroke.
"In less than two months, I'll be ten years old!"
He put down his brush, watched Xiao Heitu scratching and drawing with a small stick nearby, observed him for a moment, and then turned to leave.
"Splash!"
Over a dozen figures were diving in and out of the river. Four of them were a few dozen meters away, fishing in another section of the channel.
"Caught one!" Wang Heihou surfaced from the water, a large white crucian carp gripped in his hand. "Changsheng, I’ve been catching more and more lately. Is my technique getting better?" Wang Heihou swam over to Lu Changsheng and asked excitedly.
Lu Changsheng nodded slightly. At that very moment, a crisp sound rang out. A small head popped out of the water—it was the girl, Li Nangua.
"I... I caught one too!"
Li Nangua didn’t have as much stamina, but she was nimble. After the training she had received during this time, her skills were no less than Wang Heihou’s. Lu Changsheng had chosen his team carefully. Investing required strategy; if he chose people who couldn't possibly yield any returns, he wouldn't waste his energy on such thankless work. Niu Dazhuang in their group had stamina, but his weakness was a lack of technique. Li Nangua had low stamina but high comprehension; when Lu Changsheng taught her, she learned quickly. As for Wang Heihou, he had a natural talent for fishing.
With the four of them working together, their efficiency was actually better than when they fished alone. Therefore, aside from the first half-month where he had to share some of the catch, his subsequent gains were no worse than when he had fished by himself.
"It’s because the water level has dropped! It’s become easier to catch fish," Lu Changsheng said.
Wang Heihou and Li Nangua both looked somewhat disappointed. They desperately hoped for Lu Changsheng’s praise. *A child’s mindset, after all,* Lu Changsheng thought to himself.
"With the water level dropping, I’m afraid we won’t be able to fish much longer."
Zhao Family Village was located on higher ground. Looking across the dozens of miles, there were only a handful of places with slow-moving river channels. Once the water level dropped further, they would have to travel dozens of miles away to keep fishing. At their pace, a full day wouldn't even be enough for a round trip. The wild mountains were full of thorns, bandits were rampant, and it was said there was warfare in the west, with refugees appearing everywhere. For a child under ten, leaving the village was far too dangerous. Lu Changsheng didn't want to take such risks for the sake of a few fish.
"Besides, the end of the year is approaching. It’s better to play it safe. After this year passes, if there’s still no news from Zhao Deshui’s side, then I’ll figure something else out."
This era was such that even traveling a long distance was incredibly difficult.
Lu Changsheng carried two fish back home. As soon as he entered, he saw Father Lu and Mother Lu sitting in the courtyard, wearing smiles on their faces. This was rare—Father Lu rarely smiled. Looking at the man and the old woman sitting before them, he understood immediately. This was a matchmaker’s visit for his older brother. The man was from the Zhao family in the middle village, and the old woman was the village matchmaker.
Marriage was always arranged by parents, so even the person involved, Lu Haozi, didn't know all the details about the bride-to-be. Once both sets of parents felt it was a good match, it was decided. Whatever they had been talking about, the atmosphere at the table was a bit stifling. When Lu Changsheng walked in, the group barely glanced at him before looking away.
"Mother, I caught two fish. Let's make some fish soup later!" Lu Changsheng walked to the stone basin by the edge of the courtyard and released the palm-sized fish.
Splash!
The half-dead fish finally hit the water, gasping and spitting out small bubbles, followed by the sound of splashing water. The middle-aged man couldn't help but glance over, a hint of envy in his eyes.
After Lu Changsheng returned to his room, the man said, "I hear your second son manages to catch fish from the river every day..."
Father Lu seemed to understand the implication and nodded quickly. "Yes, yes! For the past two months, he hasn't missed a single day!"
The middle-aged man smiled, but didn't say anything more.
***
"Ouch!"
As soon as he entered the next room, a figure jumped up in surprise.
"It's you, Erdan!"
Lu Haozi looked embarrassed. He had been pressing his ear against the door to eavesdrop on the conversation in the courtyard, never expecting to be caught by Lu Changsheng.
"You could have just gone out and taken a look," Lu Changsheng said.
For some reason, Lu Haozi always felt that his younger brother was a bit different than before.
"No, no! I can't!" he whispered, his face turning bright red.
***
The spring of his older brother Lu Haozi’s life had arrived. That night, under the witness of the matchmaker, the man and the Lu family finalized the engagement. Consequently, that wooden-headed brother of his began working even harder than before, saying he wanted to save up more family assets for the future.
Privately, he even asked Lu Changsheng to teach him how to fish. However, even after spending a few days learning, he couldn't even catch a single fish—he couldn't even touch one. In this regard, older people lacked the advantage that the children had. But Lu Haozi was full of energy. As the autumn harvest was approaching and there wasn't much farm work, he wanted to take this time to master a skill. He didn't expect to reach Lu Changsheng’s level, but he wanted to at least be able to catch something occasionally.
"Changsheng, I know you're different from me—you're a man of foresight. If you're not in the village in the future, I can at least get some meat for Mom and Dad," Lu Haozi said. "Our family’s situation has improved a lot lately. You know? Actually, this isn't the first time I've met Xinghua, but she never really looked my way. If it weren't for the fact that our family’s circumstances have improved, she wouldn't have agreed to this."
Lu Changsheng frowned slightly and asked, "Brother, haven't you spoken to Xinghua at all?"
Lu Haozi just offered a dry, awkward laugh. A sense of unease rose in Lu Changsheng’s heart.
"Brother, how do you feel about her?"
"Ah... how do I feel? I feel good... very good..." By the end, his voice was as thin as a mosquito’s hum. Seeing this, Lu Changsheng didn't press further.
Just as the two of them reached the riverbank, they suddenly gasped in shock. Lu Haozi turned and began to run back.
"You stay here and keep watch! I'm going back to notify everyone!" he shouted.
Lu Changsheng, however, gazed at the river channel before him, his face filled with surprise.