In the early morning, as the steam from the corn porridge mixed with the scent of sweet potatoes filled the main hall, Lù Hán had just finished breaking the last piece of flatbread for his little sister.
Zhixia raked through the porridge in her bowl, suddenly remembering yesterday's promise: "Third Brother, you said you'd take us fishing today!"
Zhīyǔ immediately put down her chopsticks, her eyes lighting up: "I want to catch the biggest fish!"
Zhī Níng nodded along, clutching the corner of her clothes with her small hands, and whispered, "I'll watch Doudou for you."
Lù Hán smiled and agreed. He quickly finished his porridge and carried the bamboo basket out.
Doudou squatted on his shoulder, its little paws hooked onto his collar, its dark eyes darting around as if it had been waiting for this outing.
The water by the riverbank wasn't very deep, clear enough to see small fish darting about at the bottom.
Lù Hán rolled up his trouser legs and waded in. His hands and feet, after the Marrow Cleansing, were even more nimble. He spotted a crucian carp about the size of a palm, scooped it up with a swift motion, and caught it in his hand. The fish's tail flapped, splashing water all over his face.
"Third Brother is so amazing!" Zhixia clapped on the bank. Zhīyǔ had already taken off her shoes and was cautiously stepping into the shallow water, trying to imitate him. But all she caught was a handful of water weeds.
Zhī Níng, holding Doudou, squatted on a rock. When she saw a fish, she pointed it out to Doudou: "Look, Doudou, the fish is swimming!"
Lù Hán put the fish into the bamboo basket and was about to catch another when a System prompt suddenly sounded in his mind: [Caught 1 live crucian carp, obtained 1 basic Point].
He paused for a moment, then caught another small miscellaneous fish. The prompt sound followed: [Caught 1 miscellaneous fish, obtained 1 basic Point].
"I can get Points for catching fish?" Lù Hán rejoiced inwardly and became even more diligent. In no time, the bamboo basket was filled with seven or eight fish, including crucian carp, minnows, and two small carp. The System Points also increased to 89. He figured he'd catch a few more later to reach 100 Points, thinking he might be able to exchange them for something good.
As the sun climbed high, the bamboo basket was already half full, and the System Points had reached 102. Zhīyǔ's small bamboo basket was also half-full of small fish. Zhī Níng still clutched two small fish in her hand, which Doudou had helped her "snatch" up.
The little creature squatted by the water, reaching out its paws to bat at any small fish it saw, pushing them to the bank, making its younger sisters giggle.
"Let's go home!" Lù Hán hoisted the bamboo basket and led his three sisters back.
Just as they turned into the alley, they saw Lǐ Xiùlián standing at the entrance of their yard, her eyes fixed on the fish in the bamboo basket.
"Oh, that's quite a few fish!" Lǐ Xiùlián walked over and reached out to snatch the small bamboo basket from Zhixia's hand—it contained the two largest crucian carp Zhixia had deliberately saved. "Your second brother is tired from work today, perfect for him to take back and make soup to nourish him!"
Zhixia clutched the basket tightly: "These are my fish, I won't give them to you!"
"What mine, what yours? We're all family, what's wrong with taking two fish?" Lǐ Xiùlián pulled hard, and the basket fell to the ground. The two crucian carp toppled out and flopped on the ground.
Zhixia's eyes turned red with anxiety as she squatted down to pick up the fish.
Lù Hán's expression darkened. He stepped forward and grabbed Lǐ Xiùlián's wrist: "Let go!"
Lǐ Xiùlián still wanted to cause a scene: "I'm taking two fish, what's it to you! You ungrateful wretch, you don't recognize your brother and sister-in-law after splitting the family?"
Before she finished speaking, there was a 'slap,' and Lù Hán slapped her across the face.
Lǐ Xiùlián was stunned, covering her face and standing there blankly, then she screamed: "Lù Hán, how dare you hit me! I'll fight you to the death!"
"Try moving again?" Lù Hán's eyes turned cold. After the Marrow Cleansing, he had gained a certain strength. Lǐ Xiùlián, stared at by him, didn't dare to step forward.
At this moment, Lù Jiànguó ran out from the house. Seeing his wife covering her face and the fish on the ground, he immediately glared at Lù Hán: "Little Hán, why did you hit your sister-in-law? Have you gotten too big for your britches?"
"What's wrong with me hitting her?" Lù Hán sneered. "She snatched my sister's fish and then tried to make a scene, she deserved it! When you split the family, you took the old house and thirty percent of the grain, and now you want to come and snatch our things? Where's your shame?"
"You... you're talking nonsense!" Lù Jiànguó was so choked he couldn't speak. He knew he was in the wrong but still put on a brave face. "We're brothers from the same mother, we should help each other out!"
"Help you guys? Let your wife snatch all our things?" Lù Hán took a step forward, and Lù Jiànguó instinctively took half a step back. "I'm telling you, stop coming to our house to cause trouble from now on. If you dare to bully my sister again, don't blame me for being impolite!"
Neighbors who heard the commotion gathered to watch. Some whispered: "Lǐ Xiùlián is too much, always snatching things from others." "Lù Hán is right, they split the family and are living separately, why should she snatch their fish?"
Lǐ Xiùlián's face turned red listening to the discussion. She grabbed Lù Jiànguó and pulled him home, still cursing: "Just you wait, I won't let you go!"
Lù Hán ignored her, squatted down to help Zhixia pick up the fish. Zhīyǔ and Zhī Níng also came to help. The three sisters' eyes were red, but none of them cried.
Lù Hán patted their heads: "It's okay, the fish are still here. Let's go home and ask Mother to make soup."
When they returned home, Zhào Xiùlán heard about what happened. She sighed but didn't blame Lù Hán: "Stay away from them in the future, don't bother with them."
Saying that, she went to clean the fish. No one came for medical treatment the whole day. By evening, a large pot of fish soup was stewing. The fresh aroma filled the yard. The three sisters drank the soup and quickly forgot about the afternoon's events.
After dinner, Lù Hán took Doudou to the backyard to digest. After his Marrow Cleansing, he had a habit of practicing some boxing in the evening. Just as he was settling into a horse stance, Doudou suddenly jumped from his arms and ran to the haystack at the corner of the yard. It barked twice at a pile of weeds and pawed at them.
Lù Hán found it strange. He walked over and saw that beneath the weeds grew several dandelions with thick roots, better than those he had gathered on the mountain during the day.
He remembered Doudou helping his little sister yesterday when catching minnows and had an idea: "Can you find medicinal herbs?"
Doudou seemed to understand, wagged its tail, and ran out of the yard. Lù Hán hurried to follow. He saw Doudou run to the edge of the pine forest behind the village and barked twice at a pine tree. Lù Hán squatted down and parted the grass. Beneath it grew several Bupleurum plants, their leaves vibrant green, exactly as described as "high-quality Bupleurum" in the System's diagram.
"You can really find medicinal herbs!" Lù Hán was both surprised and delighted. He picked up Doudou and rubbed its head, "From now on, we'll rely on you for gathering herbs!"
Doudou nuzzled his palm, its tail wagging happily. Moonlight shone through the trees. Lù Hán looked at Doudou in his arms and suddenly felt that this little creature might... hehe.