Chapter 6

Su Han sat down right away.
Old Ding couldn’t help glancing over. So asking for Old He’s fishing rod was that easy? Why bother buying, just say you’ll rent instead? If only he’d known, he could’ve done that!
“Young lady, fishing’s not as simple as it looks.” Old He started rambling, sharing his lifetime of painful lessons. “I’m telling you, fish are crafty! They…”
Barely a minute after setting down the fishing rod, ripples spread across the water. Su Han quickly reeled in her line, a big grass carp wriggled on the hook.
She unhooked the fish and tossed it into the iron bucket by her side. Turning back with an angelic face, she asked, “Sorry, what were you saying? I missed it.”
Old He: “...I didn’t say anything, keep going.”
Oddly enough, Old He had left his rod by the water for three days and never saw a single fish. But Su Han? Once she sat down, it was a fish every few minutes, four fish in just half an hour.
His feelings were a mess. He was happy, they could finally take home two fish today. But how was she doing it? Same rod, same spot, and yet…
After watching for ages, Old He finally couldn’t take it. He tried to bargain, “Um…want to trade spots?”
Getting a share of the fish was nice, but nothing beat catching one yourself.
“Sure.” Su Han swapped spots without hesitation.
And that’s when Old He sadly realized, his original spot was swarming with fish, biting even faster than before!
Su Han offered, “Want to switch rods too?”
Old He, “……”
He kind of did, but was too embarrassed to say it.
Thinking of his hungry granddaughter at home, he sighed and just handed over his other rod, “You take over. I’ll just get in the way.”
With that, he didn’t even bother to keep his seat, he moved aside and started divvying up the catch.
Su Han took a peek and saw Old He wasn’t half bad, he left the plumpest fish for her bucket and only took the thinner ones for himself.
A gentle breeze drifted by. Su Han lined up both rods in front of her, flicking and reeling at just the right pace, thoroughly enjoying herself.
As for the others, whenever they landed a fish, it hardly seemed worth celebrating, a girl calmly reeling in her tenth fish sat right next to them. If all you got was one, how could you even feel excited?
Just after 4:30, word got around that someone was pulling up tons of fish. People hurried over, hoping to buy.
“I want a grass carp! Will you take four packs of instant noodles for it?”
“I need a crucian for soup, how about three pounds of rice?”
“I want crucian too. Trade for two pounds of tofu?”
Su Han glanced at the bucket, five fish, just enough. She asked Old He to swap them for some instant noodles.
Old He whispered, “Ignore them. If you sell these on the black market, you'll get much more!”
Su Han lowered her voice too. “You think we’ll make it home carrying five or six fish each?”
Old He fell silent. He’d heard stories, some anglers finally caught fish, only to get robbed on the way home. That was the lucky scenario; at least they made it out okay. Others slipped, fell, and were bedridden for a week.
Times were tough. One week stuck in bed, and your whole family could starve. That got Old He thinking maybe trades weren’t such a bad idea after all.
He’d never considered this before, probably because he never had such “lucky problems.” Every day he went home with an empty bucket…
Su Han kept fishing. Old He turned into the perfect social butterfly, bargaining with everyone: “Two pounds of tofu won’t fill anyone up, throw something else in.”
“Three pounds of rice? Not enough. Make it four and we have a deal. What, you don’t have four? Come on, you’re eating crucian; don’t pretend you’re broke!”
“You’ve got body wash? Deal! Here, take two!”
Old He was never much of a haggler. But thinking of his granddaughter getting a little extra to eat, he found strength to spare!
Su Han’s five fish earned them twelve packs of instant noodles and four bars of soap.
Su Han couldn’t help noticing, families with a bit of savings were managing pretty well right now. Things hadn’t hit rock bottom yet. But if inflation kept spiraling, who knew how long that would last?
With a pile of supplies to take home, Old He grinned from ear to ear.
Su Han shot him a quick look, then casually suggested, “Since we were lucky today and caught eleven fish, how about we cook a pot of soup for everyone?”
Old He was about to say no one ever cooked him any fish soup, then realized, and quickly changed his tune, “Absolutely, that’s the way!”
A second later, he looked troubled. “But we don’t have a pot or any firewood, can’t cook it.”
Someone immediately chimed in, “There are homeless folks living in the park, ask them for a pot!”
“They’ve got stoves too!”
“And grab some spices while you’re at it!”
The less-experienced crowd, lured by the promise of fish soup, set aside their rods and got to work instead.
When the fish soup started simmering, its mouthwatering aroma drifted for over thirty feet!
The others couldn’t resist anymore. They hurried over, shouting, “That smells amazing, let me have a bowl!”
A crowd circled the pot, hovering in anticipation. Finally, someone with a bit of conscience spoke up, “Old He, you and the girl should have a taste too, right?”
He turned back, only to find Old He and the girl with the backpack had already slipped away.
Old Ding snorted, “If they didn’t leave now, they’d be trapped for sure! What, you think she’s an idiot?”
Everyone lapsed into awkward silence.
Elsewhere, Su Han was lugging her backpack and fishing rod, finally putting some distance between herself and the chaos.
Old He had his arms full, struggling with a heavy iron bucket and a pile of odds and ends. He looked absolutely wiped out.
“Why aren’t you carrying a bag?” Su Han hurried to grab the bucket from him.
Old He looked positively innocent. “Never needed a bag before...”
Even carrying a bucket felt like a waste of effort to him.
Su Han had no words for that logic.
“So, what’s your name? Where do you live? Will you be back out here tomorrow?” Old He asked, eyes shining with eagerness.
Su Han sighed, “My name’s Su Han. I don’t really have a fixed place to stay for now.”
Old He’s whole demeanor brightened. “How about crashing at my place tonight? Then we can team up and fish again tomorrow?”
Sure, she did all the fishing and he handled the bartering, but hey, partnership is partnership.
Su Han was tempted, but still asked politely, “Are you sure it’s not a bother?”
“Not at all. We’ve got an empty room, it’s just sitting there. Besides, I still need to thank you. If it weren’t for your help, I would’ve come home empty-handed tonight.” Old He was downright enthusiastic.
As for worrying about bringing trouble home, Old He wasn’t bothered in the slightest. After all, she was a young woman, and a highly capable one at that! He figured she had more resources than he did; if anyone should be worried, it wasn’t him.
“Thank you, then.” Su Han thought, at least having a roof over her head tonight was better than worrying about her safety all night. Besides, if Old He wanted to team up again tomorrow, he wouldn’t do anything shady.
Forewarned, Old He took them home via winding, deserted paths. They didn’t encounter a single person along the way.
“Honey, come out and help, got a guest!” Old He hollered as soon as he stepped inside.
Grandma Jiang was suspicious. Given the state of the house, was he nuts inviting anyone over?
She rushed out and nearly tripped over herself in shock. “Rice, tofu, fresh fish, shower gel… Old man, what did you do, rob a grocery store?!”
She knew exactly how skilled (or not) her husband was at fishing.
“Nonsense. Hurry up and help unload!” Old He said awkwardly, offering a sheepish smile.
“Why’s the tofu all crumbled?” Grandma Jiang fretted, unable to hide her distress.
Old He looked to the ceiling. “At least I got it home, who cares if it’s in pieces?”
The banter was fast and sharp, but their hands moved even faster, unpacking everything in short order.
“Well, don’t just stand there, come and sit!” Old He beckoned warmly.
Su Han thanked him and sat down. Glancing up, she spotted a little girl of six or seven years old, peeking shyly from behind a bedroom door.
“Nuannuan, come here, tonight we’re having fish!” Old He said cheerfully.
Fish? The girl’s eyes lit up, and she started salivating right away.
“Old man, come give me a hand in the kitchen!” Grandma Jiang called suddenly.
Old He paused, then headed into the kitchen.
Though the voices were hushed, Su Han’s hearing was sharp, she caught every word.
Grandma Jiang whispered, “I picked up wilted greens at the market today. Can’t serve those to a guest, though. But if we don’t have any veggies, what am I supposed to cook?”
Old He replied, “Make tofu soup, and boil up some rice.”
“Rice?” Grandma Jiang was unsure. “If we make congee, it could stretch for days…”
“If she hadn’t helped, we wouldn’t have any rice to make congee with,” Old He grumbled, just a bit irritated.
“True,” Grandma Jiang sighed.
The conversation ended there.
Su Han pretended not to hear. She turned and teased the little girl, “Where’re your folks?”
“They went to work out of town,” the girl replied in a soft, careful voice.
“Do you like milk?” Su Han asked, unzipping her backpack.
Just as she expected…
“I do, but I’m not allowed to take it,” the little girl answered, clearly tempted but trying hard to resist.
“It’s okay. I want you to have it.”
Su Han tried to give her the milk, but the little girl darted back into the bedroom, insisting, “Grandpa said we can’t just accept things from other people.”
Su Han paused. Any family that could raise a kid like this had to be good people.
Soon, dinner was ready.
“Time to eat!” Grandma Jiang called out with a kind smile.
“Don’t be shy, dig into the fish,” Old He urged solicitously.
Su Han smiled, serving herself only half a bowl of rice, then added a little fish soup and two pieces of tofu. “You all eat, don’t worry about me. I had noodles for lunch and I’m still stuffed.”
Old He and Grandma Jiang exchanged a look, they knew exactly what she meant.
Su Han, meanwhile, changed the subject to tomorrow’s fishing: “Are there other fishing spots around? I don’t think we can go back to the park again after today.”
“No problem! I know a spot, hardly any anglers, barely anyone ever passes by,” Old He said, thumping his chest with confidence.
After today, he’d learned the hard way to never flaunt his loot again.
“Perfect.” Su Han grinned, genuinely pleased.