Chapter 9: I Want to See the Peach Blossoms
They're fighting?
Close as brothers, yet ready to kill each other over a fish?
How exaggerated!
I don't understand the world of Anglers!
They won't end their friendship over this, never to speak again, will they?
Seeing this, the three beautiful women quickly stepped forward to mediate.
As for the other man, he was busy filming with his phone, seemingly not worried at all.
Perhaps he didn't understand Anglers.
"Damn it! Wang Haolin, this is your net!"
The Fat Man Shen Yu was furious, feeling terribly wronged.
I also reeled that fish in, alright!
Wang Haolin was stunned when he heard that.
This net really seemed to be his.
Could he blame the Fat Man ?
Blame him for his poor netting skills?
He had already scooped the fish into the net!
Shen Yu used this opportunity to break free from Wang Haolin.
"What kind of crappy net did you buy? If you didn't have money, I could have lent it to you. Didn't you know to buy a better one!" Shen Yu pointed at Wang Haolin's nose and cursed.
"Go to hell, you're the one who recommended this net to me!"
Wang Haolin initially felt in the wrong, but then he remembered something and immediately gained the moral high ground.
"It's not that serious! It's not that serious!" Xu Yue advised, "There are plenty of big fish in this pool; just fish again."
These two guys were definitely seasoned Anglers.
The fact that they brought fishing gear even when camping made that clear.
They probably planned to fish from the start.
Now, during the fishing ban, this kind of mountain pool was not a restricted fishing area.
As for asking him if there were fish, it was just to understand the fishing conditions.
It's common for Anglers to ask local villagers for information when fishing in the wild.
"Don't look at me!" Xu Yue saw the two looking at him and then said with a smile, "Beginner's luck has its limits!"
Shen Yu and Wang Haolin said nothing more.
If Xu Yue could catch them, why couldn't they?
They not only had to get the big fish to bite but also had to reel them in.
"Big brother, let's exchange contact information!" Shen Yu said with a smile, "Next time you're free, let's come fishing here together again."
"Okay!"
Xu Yue didn't refuse.
The Fat Man left a good impression on him.
He didn't have the arrogance of a rich second-generation, nor did he look down on country folk, much less despise them.
"Wang Haolin, do you think his two consecutive catches were really just luck?"
After Xu Yue left, Shen Yu couldn't help but ask Wang Haolin, who was beside him.
His anger had already subsided.
After all, it wasn't really his catch, so it didn't hurt as much.
This could be seen from the way he addressed him.
He called him Wang Haolin, not by his full name.
This was similar to how the other person called him Fat Man or by his name.
As for why he didn't call him Old Wang?
Those who know, know.
"You try getting lucky once for me to see." Wang Haolin said, "Perhaps he's a master. As for his fish-reeling technique, are you sure it's not returning to simplicity, the Dao to its essence?"
Returning to simplicity, the Dao to its essence?
You really dare to say that.
However, if it was once, it might be luck, but twice...
Although the two were experienced Anglers, how good their fishing skills were remained debatable.
Not all Anglers have good fishing skills.
"Next time, just invite him along." Wang Haolin said.
Shen Yu nodded.
This time, they weren't fully prepared and couldn't display their superb fishing skills.
Xu Yue wandered around Green Dragon Pool a few times and eventually found only one.
Adding the one he found on the way, he only found two this afternoon.
He glanced at the depths of the mountain.
Today was clearly not going to work.
On his way back, Xu Yue didn't pass Green Dragon Pool again but took another path.
Perhaps there would be a surprise.
The result, of course, was none.
After planting the tea trees he found that afternoon at the node, Xu Yue went home.
"Huh?"
When Xu Yue returned to his room, the ginseng he had planted had actually sprouted!
So fast?
This was a pleasant surprise.
Could it be that with the nourishment of the spiritual rain, it grew faster?
Xu Yue immediately ran to check the vegetables he had planted these past few days.
It really was true!
The next day, Xu Yue did not go into the mountains but went to the county to see Xu Jianghe.
Taoyuan Village belongs to Xingdong Town.
Xingdong Town is close to the city and far from the county. It used to belong to Furong County, but now it has been reclassified to Changjing District, Gong'an City.
Going to the city was closer than going to the county.
However, it was convenient for Xu Yue to drive.
Xu Yue's parents and grandfather didn't go.
Visiting someone in prison was actually quite troublesome.
Of course, more often, it only added to the sadness.
"I didn't expect it would be you coming to see me? Weren't you quite busy in Yanjing?"
Xu Jianghe, with a completely bald head, looked at Xu Yue with some surprise.
He was full of vigor and spirit, quite different from other prisoners.
Xu Yue had seen other prisoners; their entire being was listless, and to describe it with an internet term, it was 'depressed'!
Xu Jianghe had none of that.
"I'm back!" Xu Yue said, "I probably won't be going to Yanjing for now."
"You're back? Why are you back?" Xu Jianghe was surprised and said, "Weren't you doing quite well in Yanjing?"
"To start a business!" Xu Yue smiled and said, "College students returning to their hometowns to start businesses, the policy encourages it."
"That's great." Xu Jianghe said, "When I get out in a few months, I'll work for you. Don't you dare dislike me because I've been in prison."
He could tell there were other reasons, but he didn't press for details.
His eldest brother was more than ten years older than him, and his hair was already white the last time he came.
"Look at you talking." Xu Yue laughed, "If I have enough to eat, how could I ever let you go hungry?"
"How is your grandfather's health?" Xu Jianghe asked.
"Very good!" Xu Yue said.
When Xu Yue came out, his mood wasn't as good as he had imagined.
Even though he knew his third uncle was doing well inside.
But he was still inside!
Almost ten years!
How many ten years does one have in a lifetime, and in their prime at that.
Went in at twenty-five, came out at thirty-four!
Went in in his prime, came out already middle-aged.
What could be done now that things had come to this? Only look forward.
After returning, Xu Yue went into the mountains again after lunch.
In the afternoon, he went much deeper than before and, with good luck, found one.
Over the next two days, he went even deeper and found two more.
That day, just as Xu Yue had finished planting the wild tea trees he had dug up, Zhang Ruoxi, whom he hadn't contacted in a long time, suddenly forwarded a video and then asked: Is that you?
Huh?
Xu Yue clicked on the video, a look of surprise on his face.
The video title was very interesting: Pain Even Ibuprofen Can't Stop!
The video began with some scenery.
Xu Yue recognized it at a glance; it was the scenery of Green Dragon Pool.
Very beautiful.
It had to be said that the person who filmed the video had excellent photography skills.
Soon after, Xu Yue appeared.
The Fat Man Shen Yu asked if there were fish in the pool.
Then, no bites while fishing.
The conversation where the beauty questioned that no bites meant no fish was all edited in.
As for Xu Yue ignoring the beauty, and the beauty calling Xu Yue a bumpkin, those parts were naturally not included.
Subsequently, the Fat Man Shen Yu invited Xu Yue to fish.
Big carp. Line snapped!
However, a giant over a hundred catties could still be discerned somewhat.
No carp that big had ever appeared across the entire internet.
"Pain Even Ibuprofen Can't Stop!"
Xu Yue's words were repeated several times in the video's editing, accompanied by the entire scene falling silent and the Fat Man falling to the ground after his line snapped.
After that, a big Greenfish was hooked, and then reeled in. The net broke, and the fish escaped again.
"Pain Even Ibuprofen Can't Stop!"
This time, it was the other man who repeated Xu Yue's words.
Two big fish over a hundred catties, one snapped the line, and the other was only half a step from being landed.
This was wild fishing!
Especially the latter, reeled in for over two hours, just about to succeed, and then the net broke!
Pain!
It was truly too painful!
Even non-Anglers could feel this kind of pain.
Anglers?
Pain Even Ibuprofen Can't Stop!
At this moment, opening the video's bullet comments, the screen was filled with this sentence.
This phrase became popular in the fishing community.
This video also went viral.
The video now had millions of likes, over a million shares, and an astonishing number of comments.
"You still watch these kinds of videos? Yes, that was me. I encountered them camping while digging for wild tea trees in the mountains."
Xu Yue replied with a smile.
"Is that your hometown? It's so beautiful!"
"Yes!"
Xu Yue then glanced at the Peach Orchard, filmed a video, and sent it over.
"When the peaches ripen, I'll send some to you!"
"I want to come and see the Peach Blossoms!"
Come to see the Peach Blossoms?
The flowers are about to wither!
Zhang Ruoxi wants to come?
Xu Yue was stunned, his quiet heart skipped a beat, and then he let out a wry smile.
"Welcome! I thought you wanted to come fishing!"
Have you not given up?
What can I do?
I'm just a farmer now, not a Grand Minister of Agriculture or a Grand Minister of Agriculture.
However, before Zhang Ruoxi arrived, the Fat Man Shen Yu called to say he wanted to bring friends to Green Dragon Pool to fish and invited him along.