No matter how chaotic the Lin family became, it had nothing to do with Lin Zhen and Song Wei.
Early this morning, after feeding all the animals at home, Wolf One and Wolf Two escorted little Lin Ping’an to school. Song Wei and Lin Zhen spent the entire morning finally finishing digging the pond.
Lin Zhen then went to buy a water pipe to channel running water from a nearby stream into the pond.
“It’s finally done.”
They watched as the pond slowly filled with water and lined its edges with a circle of pebbles.
It looked beautiful.
“When are we going to plant the lotus roots?”
“Soon. How about we go fishing first?”
Lately, Lin Zhen and Song Wei had been busy renovating the courtyard and decorating the interior of the house, so they hadn’t had much time to go to the river or the mountains.
Now that the work was mostly done, and the weather had turned colder, everyone had started wearing thick clothes.
With signs of snow on the horizon, Song Wei was a bit worried about whether the fish would survive.
“Maybe we should wait until the snow melts before raising fish.”
Lin Zhen picked up his homemade fishing rod. “Fishing now won’t hurt. We can catch some big fish and raise them in the pond. Then, whenever we feel like eating fish, we can just scoop one out for a fresh meal. We won’t even need to go to the river to catch fish during the New Year.”
Hearing this, Song Wei’s eyes lit up. “You’re right! Instead of catching small fish, we can go for the big ones!”
Without delay, the two set off for the river with their baskets and fishing rods.
Along the way, they greeted everyone they met with smiles. One person asked if they had heard about the Lin family’s affairs.
“You have no idea—yesterday, Lin Youfu caused a scene, threatening to kill himself. He said the Lin family mistreated him and wanted him dead.”
Song Wei and Lin Zhen genuinely didn’t know about this. They hadn’t deliberately sought out news about the Lin family, and whatever information they had came from the gossip-loving elderly women who shared it with Song Wei.
The incident had happened yesterday, and those elderly women probably hadn’t had the chance to update her with the latest gossip.
“You should see what Lin Youfu looks like now. His leg is broken, so he can’t even walk. He’s lost a lot of weight, and his expression and eyes are downright frightening.”
None of this was surprising—they could have guessed as much.
After bidding farewell to the woman, Song Wei and Lin Zhen headed straight for the reed grove downstream.
It was a bit of a walk, but hardly anyone went to the reed grove, and there were plenty of fish there, making it a good spot for fishing.
Fishing required sitting still, which was both boring and chilly.
After waiting twenty minutes without a single bite, Song Wei grew restless.
“I’m going into the reed grove to see if I can find any wild duck eggs or something.”
The reed grove downstream in Ping’an Village was home to quite a few wild ducks.
Sometimes, children liked to come here to look for wild duck eggs, but the reed grove could be dangerous.
It was easy to step into a deep puddle unexpectedly and fall into the water, which was especially risky when alone.
Moreover, such reed groves often harbored snakes, and a bite from a venomous one could be serious.
Parents repeatedly warned their children not to venture into the reed grove alone.
Naturally, the wild ducks also knew about the dangers and avoided building nests or laying eggs in areas frequently visited by humans, preferring the depths of the reed grove instead.
Besides, at this time of year, most wild ducks had already migrated south.
But with a bit of luck, they might still find some eggs laid by late-staying ducks.
Song Wei held a wooden stick, poking around here and there in the reeds to ensure it was safe before moving forward.
Although she was strong, falling into the water wouldn’t care about her strength. Even though she knew how to swim, falling into the water in this weather would be freezing, and she had no desire to experience that.
She found several wild duck nests, but none of them had any eggs.
On her fifth try, her luck finally turned.
“Wow, there really are some. Not bad!”
Song Wei picked up the bluish duck eggs from the nest—four of them!
She wondered which unlucky wild duck had left them behind.
In the end, Song Wei found eleven duck eggs.
Duck eggs are larger than chicken eggs and have a bluish tint.
However, they don’t taste as good as chicken eggs—they have a stronger fishy smell.
But wild duck eggs are perfect for making salted duck eggs.
Song Wei hadn’t known about this reed grove before. She usually spent her time in the mountains and rarely went fishing by the river. Since she wasn’t a local, she only learned about this place last month when Aunt Xinghua brought her some salted duck eggs to try. Curious, she asked and found out about the reed grove.
After that, she had Lin Zhen bring her here twice. By then, the wild ducks had already started migrating, so they didn’t find many eggs. They took the ones they found home and scrambled them.
Now, there were even fewer eggs to be found. After searching for so long, she only managed to find ten.
But it was better than nothing.
“Did you catch any fish?”
Song Wei peeked into the bucket.
“Two big fish!”
Her eyes curved into happy crescents as she set the duck eggs aside and sat down.
Lin Zhen said, “One of them was caught with your rod.”
Song Wei replied, “I’ll catch the next one myself.”
Luck seemed to be on her side. Shortly after she sat down, her fishing rod twitched.
Her eyes lit up, and she immediately started reeling it in.
The fishing rod was made of solid wood, which was somewhat heavy, and the line was sturdy fishing line.
This fish was quite large, bending Song Wei’s rod slightly.
However, wood lacks flexibility, and heavy objects can easily snap it.
Instead of playing the fish, Song Wei gathered her strength and yanked it upward.
With a sharp crack, the fishing rod broke into two pieces.
But the fish, propelled by the force, was flung ashore.
It just… flew a bit far.
Lin Zhen: “……”
He had never seen anyone fish like this.
Song Wei held the broken piece of wood. “My fish!”
She jumped up and ran after it.
When she returned, her face was beaming with an irrepressible smile.
In her hand was a massive fish, as long as Lin Zhen’s forearm.
It was plump and heavy.
“Lin Zhen, look at this fish I caught! It’s huge—must be at least ten jin!”
“It’s a mirror carp!”
Lin Zhen was also surprised. The fish was genuinely enormous.
If Song Wei hadn’t used brute force to yank it ashore and instead waited for the fish to tire out, their flimsy fishing rod would likely have broken first.
Just then, Lin Zhen’s fishing rod also twitched.
He reeled in a crucian carp, about four jin—quite large, but nothing compared to the one Song Wei had hauled in.
“Let’s head back. We should put the fish in the pond while they’re still alive. Since we’re having a housewarming party, this big fish would be perfect for the feast.”
The party would only include a few close friends, and Song Wei was happy to serve this big fish to her guests.
Lin Zhen nodded. “Alright, let’s go.”
They had originally planned to gather some dry reeds for kindling, but now, worried that the ten-jin fish might die, they decided to leave the reeds for another time.
The ten-jin fish alone was too big for the bucket—its tail stuck out, and it was still thrashing vigorously.
There was no hiding it, but it didn’t matter. Fish from the river were fair game—whoever caught them could keep them. So, there was no worry about having to share it, though it might attract some envious looks.
Except for things that needed to be shared or hidden to avoid attracting envy, Song Wei never hesitated to be open about food she could enjoy herself.
Even if some people were jealous, their petty schemes and sneaky actions were nothing to her!
This confidence came from her formidable strength.
The fish Song Wei carried back drew plenty of attention along the way.
“Such a huge fish! Where did you catch it?”
“Wow, I’ve lived in Ping’an Village for half my life and never seen a mirror carp this big—it must be at least ten jin!”
“Where did you catch it? I’m going there too!”
The fish was incredibly tempting—ten jin of meat, after all.
Lin Zhen didn’t hide it: “We caught it in the reed grove.”
As soon as he said this, several people immediately made plans to go fishing in the reed grove.
Of course, there were also those who eyed the fish with envy.
“Song Zhiqing is so lucky—she found a good man and even caught such a big fish from our river.”
In response, Song Wei smiled and linked arms with Lin Zhen. “Yes, who wouldn’t want luck like mine~”
She deliberately leaned into the sarcasm to annoy the jealous ones—dare them to pick a fight with her!
But no one dared, as plenty had already learned their lesson.
The fish was still alive when they released it into the pond, and it soon began swimming around leisurely.
Wild fish were remarkably resilient.
News traveled fast in the village, and word of Lin Zhen and Song Wei catching a ten-jin fish spread in no time.
Compared to the Lin family’s miserable situation, Lin Zhen’s household was thriving.
Jealous murmurs circulated: “They live so well, yet they only give three yuan a month for their grandparents’ living expenses and just sweet potatoes for grain—how stingy can they be?”
“Besides that big fish, they had three others—not ten jin, but still sizable. Couldn’t they spare one for Old Lin and his wife?”
“If you’re so concerned, why don’t you go tell them yourself?”
If they had the courage, they wouldn’t be grumbling behind others’ backs.
Such a big fish—why couldn’t they have been the ones to catch it?
Many shared this thought, including Lin Laosi (Fourth Lin) when he heard the news.
He was craving meat too—it had been so long since he’d tasted any.
But he didn’t dare go himself, so he tried to egg Lin Laoer (Second Lin) into it.
Lin Laoer, however, kept his head down and focused on his work, ignoring him completely.
He had finally realized that not provoking Lin Zhen was the best way to avoid trouble. Once provoked, they would only end up losing out.
He no longer hoped to reconcile with Lin Zhen—it was better to treat each other as strangers from now on.
Frustrated by Lin Laoer’s stubborn silence, Lin Laosi grew furious.
Then, he sent his children instead.
Surely, Lin Zhen wouldn’t be so heartless as to turn away children.
But in reality, Song Wei simply had the two wolves guard the entrance. Before Lin Laosi’s children could even get close, they were scared off and ran back home.
When Hei Dan returned from school, he rushed to the backyard pond to see the fish. He gasped in amazement as the big fish flicked its tail, splashing water everywhere.
There were three fish in the pond. One had been nearly dead when brought back, so Lin Zhen quickly cleaned and cooked it for dinner.
After eating their fill, they sat in the yard warming themselves by the charcoal fire and snacking, while little Lin Ping’an struggled with his homework.
A fluffy walking chicken flapped out of the house, nearly tumbling into the fire and setting its white down ablaze.
Luckily, Song Wei was quick to react and scooped up the plump little bird.
Yes, this fluffy walking chicken was actually the eaglet.
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