Chapter 559: Chapter 559: Fishing (Part 1)

To be fair, Qiyun Village was the most beautiful village Su Qing had ever seen. Even after living in Lihua Village for some time and seeing her share of mountain hamlets and fishing villages, she had to admit Qiyun Village was truly gorgeous.

The village chief of Qiyun Village was a man of great vision. As soon as the markets opened up, he led the villagers in starting small businesses. As a result, everyone’s wallets grew fat.

With money in their pockets, every household renovated their homes. Now, the village was full of red brick houses and the roads were swept clean. The village chief had also arranged a partnership with a tea factory to supply them with jasmine buds, so Qiyun Village had planted a massive jasmine garden. On top of that, the chief organized the villagers to plant numerous fruit trees—apple, pear, peach, and more. The apple and pear trees were currently in bloom, along with a scattering of peach blossoms. Climbing roses scaled the walls of many homes, and others grew vibrant rose bushes.

From a distance, the village appeared as vast seas of pink and white flowers. Nestled among them were the harmoniously scattered red brick houses, surrounded by the villagers’ lush green crops. In the distance, mountain ranges layered upon one another. Birds sent down a CHIRP CHIRP from the sky as butterflies fluttered all around. The scene was truly like a paradise on earth.

"Our village is beautiful, isn’t it?" Qi Dazhu was filled with pride. ’Without exaggeration, our village is the wealthiest and most beautiful of all the surrounding ones. None of them can compare. That’s why I rushed to build this inn. I was sure scenery like this would attract tourists. And look, the first batch of guests has already arrived.’

"Dazhu, are these the youngsters staying at your inn?" Under a large tree at the village entrance, a few elders were gathered, chatting. They chuckled when they saw Qi Dazhu returning with a group of young people and called out to him.

"That’s right, Grandma. They’re students here for a visit—all classmates of my nephew. They’ll be staying for two days." Qi Dazhu replied with a cheerful smile. "They’re all students from Beijing University!"

"Oh my, university students! Now those are good kids." Hearing this, the elders’ eyes lit up. They looked at Su Qing’s group, nodding repeatedly. "Good children, good children. My, my, university students... they’re a precious bunch."

"They are indeed." Qi Dazhu exchanged a few more words with the elders before leading Su Qing and the others toward his inn. He didn’t forget to add, "Those elders are the oldest in our village. They’ve lived long lives. The oldest is ninety-eight, and still strong as an ox! See? The land and water here really nourish a person."

"Just looking at this place is a delight," Huo Tao said with a cheerful laugh.

Hearing Huo Tao praise his village, Qi Dazhu was grinning from ear to ear.

Before long, Qi Dazhu led everyone to the entrance of the inn. "Here we are, this is my family’s inn," he announced. "We have rooms for two and rooms for three. The two-person rooms are eighty cents a night, and the three-person rooms are sixty cents a night. Have a look and decide how you want to split up."

Huo Tao discussed it with the group. Those who wanted to save money chose the three-person rooms, while those who preferred more space took the two-person rooms. The arrangements were made quickly. Su Qing and Li Huan shared a two-person room.

They had left early in the morning and the journey took three to four hours, so everyone was a bit tired. They had already arranged for lunch with Qi Dazhu, giving him some money to have his family prepare the meal. Not long after settling into the inn, everyone was tucking into a hot lunch. The farmhouse-style meal, with both meat and vegetable dishes, was delicious.

After lunch and a short rest, everyone broke off into small groups to do as they pleased.

The seven girls from dorm room 206 naturally stuck together. "Qingqing," Li Huan asked, "how about we go fishing today?"

The three-day trip was mostly unstructured. Huo Tao had decided to hold a bonfire party in the inn’s courtyard that evening so everyone could have some fun together. During the day, however, they were free to do as they pleased, as long as they were careful. But there were no large wild animals in the mountains near Qiyun Village, so it wasn’t particularly dangerous.

Li Huan was dying to go fishing at the reservoir. She had heard Su Qing talk about ice fishing during the winters in the Northeast, and she had been incredibly envious ever since. This might not be ice fishing, but it was still fishing! She couldn’t wait to experience the thrill for herself.

"What about the rest of you?" Su Qing asked the other girls with a smile.

"Let’s go fishing, then. I want to go, too," Chen Meizhen said, raising her hand.

"I’m in."

"Me neither."

With no one objecting, the girls decided to go fishing. They went to find Qi Dazhu to rent some fishing rods.

In addition to the fishing rods, Qi Dazhu also provided some plastic buckets and bait. The Qiyun Village reservoir was village property, so they charged for caught fish by weight—twenty cents a pound. The money went to the village.

The Qiyun Village reservoir was quite large. To make it more accommodating for anglers, the village had specially cleared an area along the bank where people could sit comfortably while they fished.

By the time Su Qing and her friends reached the reservoir, they saw several boys from their class already sitting by the water’s edge, fishing.

"Xie Lei, have you caught anything yet?" Liu Juan asked quietly, not wanting her voice to disturb their fishing.

Xie Lei looked back, saw it was Su Qing and her friends, and replied with a quiet smile, "Not yet. We just got here ourselves and started casting. Nothing’s biting yet."

"Ooh, let’s hurry and get started!" Li Huan said excitedly. She pulled Su Qing over to an empty spot and sat down. Following the instructions Qi Dazhu had given them, she baited her hook and eagerly cast her line. Staring intently at the water’s surface, she whispered a little prayer, "Fishies, fishies, please bite quickly! Whether or not I get to eat Qingqing’s grilled fish tonight is all up to you!"

Li Huan’s words made Su Qing and the other girls stifle their laughter. They exchanged amused glances before each finding a spot to sit down and quietly begin fishing.

’I wonder what kind of fish are in this reservoir,’ Su Qing thought. She secretly planted one of her Vine Seeds in the mud at the bottom. A moment later, a vine began to grow, stretching out through the water.

Seeing the fish in the reservoir, Su Qing couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. ’They’ve managed this reservoir very well,’ she noted. Qiyun Village had raised a lot of fish. There were not only grass carp, silver carp, crucian carp, and common carp, but also topmouth culter, river crabs, loaches, and small shrimp. The sheer variety was impressive; it was teeming with life.

’Looks like we’ll have a good catch today.’

Just as Su Qing was thinking this, she heard one of the male students near Xie Lei exclaim, "Hey, I’ve got a bite!"

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