Shen Qiao finally smiled, "Great! I’ll have the butler buy us two new fishing nets. The last ones we bought got snagged by rocks. The fish in the stream are really small, so we need nets that are especially fine."
The butler nodded from the side and jotted that down.
"Sister Qingqing, you probably don’t know, right? In spring and summer, the stream has more water; sometimes it reaches up to your knees, especially in spring. There are so many little fish just hatching. They’re all hidden in the water plants. You can scoop up dozens with just a bucket, but they’re too small to survive well, and every time they die in a few days after being caught."
"That must be because you’re not keeping them properly. Did you try raising them like tropical fish?" Rong Qingqing said, "I raised fish caught from the stream when I was little and even had them hatch little fry that grew up."
This happened when Rong Qingqing was about four years old. Her parents took her and her brother to a rural holiday farm. She insisted on bringing back the fish she caught, and her parents had no choice but to set up a fish tank at home and research how to care for them with her.
The next spring, the fish eggs hatched into fry, but sadly, not long after that, her parents had an accident, and she and her brother were taken away from home. Soon after, that house was sold.
"Qiaoqiao, let me formally introduce you. This white one is called the Fairy Rong Qingqing Fish, and the striped one is called the Black Shen Jue Fish." Rong Qingqing asked Shen Qiao, "Doesn’t it look like your brother’s face when he’s about to get angry?"
Rong Qingqing glanced over at Shen Jue with concern, "See, just like now."
Shen Qiao burst out laughing, "Sister Qingqing, you’re so funny!"
Even Guo Lan and Nanny Zhao couldn’t help but laugh.
Lin Bufan, sitting nearby, was struggling to hold back his laughter.
"Sister Qingqing, this weekend I’ll catch another Fairy Qiaoqiao Fish." Shen Qiao was getting excited, "And catch a beautiful Mommy Fish, and a delicious Nanny Zhao Fish."
"You kid!" Guo Lan was laughing continuously at Shen Qiao’s antics.
"What about me?" Lin Bufan pointed to himself.
"Then let’s have Qiaoqiao catch one more, called the Silly Lin Bufan Fish." Rong Qingqing said as she pulled Shen Qiao away from the fish tank, casually asking, "Nanny Zhao made lotus seed and white fungus soup today. Do you want some?" Official source ıs Nov3lFɪre.ɴet
Shen Qiao shook his head, "I want soda, not any soup or anything."
"You’re gonna get so fat." Rong Qingqing teasingly hit back, "Then don’t have any of that, we’ll have fish soup later. Grandpa caught a bunch of fish today, and Nanny Zhao’s making a whole fish feast tonight."
"What’s on the menu?" Shen Qiao asked.
"Fish head tofu soup, salt and pepper fish fillets, pickled fish slices."
After Rong Qingqing listed the dishes, Shen Qiao laughed, "Those dishes go so well with soda."
After saying that, Shen Qiao dragged Rong Qingqing to the kitchen.
The two girls surrounded Nanny Zhao in the kitchen, discussing tonight’s dishes, laughing and giggling. Their laughter could be heard from the living room. Guo Lan stood by the fish tank, looking towards the kitchen.
It had been a long, long time since the house felt this happy.
Ever since Rong Qingqing arrived, Qiaoqiao had become lively and cheerful again, just like before. Even Shen Jue no longer stayed cooped up in his room all the time.
Guo Lan was surprised to hear from the butler after lunch that Shen Jue and Rong Qingqing had gone fishing. Earlier, when Rong Qingqing pointed to the black fish and called it Black Shen Jue Fish, Shen Jue just glanced up at her.