"Tsk! This really is incredible stuff!"
Looking at the vibrant, thriving seedlings of oilseed rape and tomatoes before him, Zhao Dachuan couldn't help but exclaim in wonder. The spiritual water from the Seven-Color Gourd was magnificent; it could drastically accelerate the growth rate of plants. It meant that with enough spiritual water, he could infinitely shorten growth cycles and bring vegetables to maturity in record time. In terms of time efficiency, he was unrivaled.
While marveling at the growth speed, Zhao Dachuan also noticed something new: the insects that had been gnawing at the nutrients in the soil were rapidly fleeing the vegetable patch.
"Could it be that the spiritual water also has pest-repellent properties? In that case, I can even save on chemical fertilizers and pesticides!"
A double surprise indeed! Zhao Dachuan was overjoyed. He clapped his hands together and said, "Alright! The planting is all finished. I'll go to the river and catch a few fish to bring home. I’ll make grilled fish, fish soup—a whole fish feast for my cousins-in-law!"
Shouldering his hoe, Zhao Dachuan headed toward the village’s largest river. Before long, he arrived at the bank, only to find that someone had already beaten him to it.
The nerve!
They had even brought a fishing net. It seemed they were planning on a massive haul. If it were anyone else, people would be cursing; this kind of behavior gave the other villagers no chance to fish at all. Such professional equipment was usually reserved for full-time fishermen on the coast.
"Brother Tian! Where did you get this fishing net? With one cast, we could catch dozens of fish, right?"
"Yes, yes... we’re going to be rich! Because of the sewage dumped upstream, fish prices on our side have gone up. If we catch enough, this one cast will be enough for us to make several thousand yuan!"
Zhang Tian’s two henchmen said, clearly brimming with excitement. This one haul would sustain them for a month! Just thinking about it made them ecstatic.
"Heh heh... I told you! Following me won't leave you empty-handed. Besides, my big brother is—hey, hey! What the hell are you doing? Be careful! This thing is incredibly expensive; a small hole in the net costs hundreds of yuan to repair!" Zhang Tian watched his two clumsy henchmen and felt his lungs ache with frustration.
"Sorry, Boss! It's our first time using it! We're a bit inexperienced!" the henchman replied sheepishly.
"Enough, enough! Just listen to my instructions!" Zhang Tian said, feeling speechless.
"Boss! Look over there, someone else is fishing, too—using a bamboo spear!" the henchman said, pointing at Zhao Dachuan.
"A bamboo spear?"
Zhang Tian looked in the direction his henchman was pointing and saw Zhao Dachuan using a bamboo stick he had fashioned into a fork to stab at fish in the water. This couldn't help but make him amused.
"Let’s go! Let's go over and mock him!"
Zhang Tian immediately led his henchmen over to ridicule Zhao Dachuan. Zhang Tian and Zhao Dachuan had been classmates in high school. Back then, Zhang Tian was a slacker while Zhao Dachuan was a top student. Zhang Tian had often tried to get Zhao Dachuan’s homework to copy, only to be completely ignored. Even a girl Zhang Tian liked had a secret crush on Zhao Dachuan; she had rejected Zhang Tian and used Zhao Dachuan to humiliate him.
Ever since then, Zhang Tian had held a grudge, constantly trying to cause trouble for Zhao Dachuan. Yet, Zhao Dachuan never even took him seriously, at times even using the knowledge he had learned to shame him. This thorn remained buried in Zhang Tian’s heart, making him feel that he was forever beneath Zhao Dachuan, unable to hold his head up.
Even after Zhao Dachuan became a fool, Zhang Tian still sought every opportunity to humiliate him. He had devised schemes to make him run through the streets in only his underwear and had once offered him a bowl of dog food to eat. This time, Zhang Tian was determined to make Zhao Dachuan leave the river empty-handed.
"Yo! Isn't this our high school top student and campus heartthrob, Zhao Dachuan? How did you end up fishing in the river? Do you even know how to fish, you idiot?" Zhang Tian jeered.
"Boss, look at how clumsy he is! How could he possibly catch anything? It’ll be a miracle if he doesn’t drown in the river!" the henchman Huang Mao chimed in.
"Heh heh! With our boss’s fishing net, how could a fool like him have any chance of catching fish? Naturally, they’ll all end up in Brother Tian’s net!" The henchman Lü Mao also turned his nose up, showing Zhao Dachuan no respect at all.
Zhao Dachuan couldn't be bothered to deal with such bottom-feeders. Seeing that Zhao Dachuan ignored them and acted as if they were invisible, Zhang Tian felt slighted. In his mind, Zhao Dachuan was still a fool, but this very fact made him feel like he was somehow even worse than a fool. It was as if he had thrown a heavy punch at Zhao Dachuan, only to have it land in a pile of cotton.
Furious, Zhang Tian started jumping around. Still unsatisfied, he threw stones into the water around Zhao Dachuan, scaring away all the fish in his vicinity. This childish and shameless behavior made Zhao Dachuan decide to teach Zhang Tian a lesson. However, he hadn't expected the spineless Zhang Tian to keep his distance.
Nevertheless, Zhao Dachuan’s eyes darted around, and he quickly thought of a perfect way to handle Zhang Tian: he would lure all the fish away from Zhang Tian’s spot and watch them cast their net for nothing.
He acted immediately! Fish were sentient beings and were strongly attracted to items containing spiritual energy. Zhao Dachuan dropped just one drop of spiritual liquid beneath his feet, and the surrounding fish frantically swum toward him.
On Zhang Tian’s side, they confidently cast their net, working at it for half a day, only to come up with nothing. The net held nothing but a few shells, clams, and immature shrimp. It exhausted Zhang Tian, Huang Mao, and Lü Mao to the bone.
"Damn it! What the hell is going on? How is there not a single fish? I used to be able to catch three or four just by fishing here!" Seeing that they had basically come up empty-handed, Zhang Tian cursed at their miserable harvest while his heart ached over the net rental fee.
"Boss! Maybe today’s stars aren't aligned. There aren't any fish in this river!" the henchman Huang Mao offered in consolation.
"No way! Look at all those fish! Look over at Zhao Dachuan's side!" The henchman Lü Mao suddenly shouted, having noticed that Zhao Dachuan’s bucket was filled to the brim with fish.
Zhang Tian and Huang Mao turned to look in Zhao Dachuan’s direction. Upon seeing the scene, they were both dumbfounded, their eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.
Zhao Dachuan had been using a bamboo tip to spear fish, but who would have thought that he no longer needed any fishing tools at all? They watched as Zhao Dachuan reached his hand into the water and plucked out a large fish weighing over four or five pounds with ease. It was effortless! It was as if a pie had fallen from the sky! Compared to their empty net, it was the perfect lesson in irony.
The degree of mockery was off the charts. Zhang Tian was consumed by jealousy, his face flushed red and his eyes bloodshot.
"Damn it! How does a fool have such good luck? Let's go! We’re going to take all those fish!"
Feeling as though Zhao Dachuan had slapped his face multiple times, a resentful Zhang Tian took his henchmen, Huang Mao and Lü Mao, and headed over to snatch the fish Zhao Dachuan had caught.