Free Web NovelChapter 182: Chapter 182: Stick with Ningning, Eat 8 Meals a Day
The mad scholar, however, said firmly, "There are. They wash down from the mountain, but they’re few and far between. I’ve seen them catch a few, all about the length of a finger."
Shen Ningning opened her little mouth, then hesitated.
’A fish the length of a finger... that’s not even enough to get stuck in my teeth.’
’The big fish Grandma cooks at home are almost as long as a baby’s arm.’
However, when Shen Ningning remembered the mad scholar was doing this for her, all her complaints vanished.
"Teacher, I’m going to go play in the water upstream," she said. The little one took off her shoes and socks, revealing her chubby, tender little feet.
She pulled up her pant legs herself and hiked them up high, looking every bit a little fish-catcher.
"HEAVE-HO~" She moved a large rock herself and sat on it in the middle of the stream so she wouldn’t get her clothes wet.
Shen Ningning stretched out her two chubby little feet. The stream water was cool and comfortable. The little one tilted her head back; the gentle autumn sun hung directly overhead.
Sunshine, a light breeze, and the fresh scent of water washing over her.
"Ahh, this is the life." The little one felt extremely comfortable.
’If only there were a lounge chair here.’
Just then, the group of men from Xitai Village fishing on the opposite bank let out an excited shout.
"Got a fish!" One of them yanked up his fishing rod. A tiny fish was dangling from the thin line.
The other villagers around him applauded and showered him with praise. "You’re the man! Including this one, you must’ve caught seven or eight in the last few days, right?"
"Of course," the man laughed smugly. "My old lady just had a baby. I’ll take this fish back and make a stew to help with her milk."
They all roared with laughter.
The mad scholar, on the other hand, felt a little uncomfortable with such blunt words and adjusted the rain hat on his head.
The man noticed the mad scholar’s movement and shouted across the stream, "Hey, mad scholar! You want this fish? I’ll sell it to you for three taels!"
The mad scholar glanced at him. "I don’t want it."
The man tutted. "What a bookworm, can’t even think on his feet. You could sit here for three days and three nights and still not catch a single fish."
Shen Ningning was not happy. She shot to her feet, put her little hands on her hips, and shouted in a cute but fierce voice, "Don’t look down on people!"
"My teacher will definitely catch more fish than you!"
The men looked at each other and laughed. "The blessed girl is angry. Alright, alright, we’ll stop making fun of the mad scholar."
Sensing the condescension in the adults’ words, Shen Ningning puffed up her rosy cheeks angrily.
’I’ll teach them a lesson!’
"Teacher, let’s go. We can’t catch anything here. Their feet are stinky, and now that they’re soaking in the water, the fish won’t come. Let’s go a little further upstream and find a clean spot."
Shen Ningning grabbed the mad scholar’s hand and pulled him to a new spot.
When the men on the other side heard this, their expressions turned awkward. "What a rude little kid."
The one villager who had caught a fish didn’t forget to add with a sneer, "The mad scholar only knows how to bury his nose in books. When it comes to fishing, it’s just a waste of his time."
The mad scholar, however, had no objection. He could fish anywhere. Even if no one spoke to him, he could sit perfectly still for a whole day.
But since Shen Ningning said they should go, he packed up his fishing gear and followed her a little further up the stream.
They finally put some distance between themselves and the villagers from Xitai Village.
Once they found a new spot and sat down, the mad scholar said, "As you grow up, you will certainly meet more uninteresting and tedious people like them."
"But you must remember, when you meet people like that, just ignore them. Otherwise, you’re just wasting your own time."
Shen Ningning blinked her big eyes. "Teacher, I just couldn’t stand their tone. Besides, I know you can catch even bigger fish!"
’With the Immortal Realm on her side, she had never backed down from anyone.’
The mad scholar gave a gentle, refined smile and began to stare intently at his fishing rod.
In truth, he had been here for the past few days, watching the people from Xitai Village net all the little fish and crabs.
They had even caught so many of the tiny shrimp that there were barely any left.
He was only fishing to try his luck, hoping to make some soup for Shen Ningning.
If he really couldn’t catch anything, he would just go to town to write letters for people and use the money he earned to buy a fish.
Lost in these thoughts, his attention drifted.
Suddenly!
A SPLASH sounded from the side, immediately followed by Shen Ningning’s gasp of surprise. "Whoa, what a huge fish! Teacher, look quick!"
The mad scholar snapped back to his senses and looked in the direction Shen Ningning’s little finger was pointing, completely astonished.
In the water not far ahead, three or four plump, healthy fish were swimming about.
The mad scholar quickly reeled in his line, preparing to cast his bait where the fish were swimming.
Shen Ningning let out a childish cry, "Teacher! Why bother with a fishing rod? Let’s use our hands and just grab them!"
"Oh... Oh!" The mad scholar finally reacted, grabbing the fish basket and running into the water.
Shen Ningning herded the fish from upstream while the mad scholar stood downstream with the basket.
One after another, the fish swam into the basket.
Only the last one swam away swiftly, brushing past the mad scholar’s leg as it escaped.
"Teacher, catch it!" Shen Ningning’s soft, sweet voice called out.
The mad scholar quickly reached out to grab it, but the fish was too nimble, darting left and right.
Finally, with a SPLASH, the mad scholar fell and landed right on his bottom in the water.
Shen Ningning’s little face instantly turned serious. She charged forward on her little feet.
"Fishy, where are you going!" The little one threw herself forward in a reckless dive.
SPLAT! She landed in the water.
The mad scholar jumped in fright. "Ningning?"
He hurried over and pulled the little girl up at once.
Shen Ningning spat out a mouthful of water with a PFFT. Her wet black hair stuck to her flushed cheeks, and she smiled with innocent, adorable charm.
In her arms, she was tightly clutching the fish that had tried to escape.
The teacher and student looked at each other, seeing how soaked they both were.
"Haha..." The mad scholar couldn’t help but laugh first.
Shen Ningning was about to laugh too, but the struggling fish in her arms slapped her twice with its tail.
The little one got a mouthful of fishy smell and immediately went, "Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey! Bad fish! I’m going to braise you later!"
Just then, the men from Xitai Village were getting ready to pack up and go home.
"There really aren’t many fish in Moon River. Let’s come back in a while."
"Yeah, and even if there are any, they’re only thumb-sized. Not enough to feed a family."
They had barely finished speaking when they heard a childish voice singing a little tune as it came down from upstream.
"Big fish, big fish, come to me, so many I can’t eat them all~"
The men looked toward Shen Ningning and were instantly dumbfounded.
The little girl had two large fish tied to her waist, and she was wiggling as she walked down through the water.
She even deliberately spun around in front of them.
On her round, chubby little face, her dark eyes sparkled. The men’s jaws dropped in utter astonishment.
Shen Ningning tilted her little nose up. "Hmph! Look at the fish my teacher caught, and then look at yours. Tsk, tsk, there’s just no comparison."
’That’ll teach you for looking down on us.’
She turned to leave, but the two fish tied to her waist were so heavy they nearly pulled the little one over into the water.
Fortunately, the mad scholar, who was right beside her, reached out in time to steady her.
"Teacher, let’s go over there and roast the fish!"
"Alright."
The teacher and student left.
But this left the men even more shocked!
Because they saw that in the fish basket in the mad scholar’s hand, there were several more big fish flapping about.
The man who had been the only one to catch a fish earlier looked down at the thumb-sized little fish in his own basket.
Suddenly, it lost all its appeal.
"It must be because they had a good spot! Let’s go try it too!" After a quick discussion, the men scrambled upstream.
They fought over who would sit in the spot the mad scholar had just been in.
But after half an hour had passed, they hadn’t seen so much as the shadow of a shrimp, let alone a fish.
Meanwhile, Shen Ningning and the mad scholar had already started a fire, set up some firewood, and begun to roast the fish.
However, the mad scholar wasn’t very good at scaling the fish with a small knife.
He almost cut his hand several times.
Shen Ningning, who was waiting with her chin in her hands, said thoughtfully, "Teacher, why don’t we ask those villagers to help? I’m sure they’d be dying to get on your good side right now."
