Chapter 824: Encountering an Acquaintance at Shichahai

She took a basket of loquats, washed and drained them, put the pulp into the large clay pot she had bought earlier, added a certain amount of clear water, simmered over medium heat until the pulp softened, mashed the pulp into a paste with a spoon, added rock sugar, turned the heat down low to slowly reduce, stirring constantly during this time to prevent scorching, and only withdrew the fire once it had reduced to a thick consistency.

Too bad she hadn't planted Sichuan fritillary in her space; otherwise she could have added some in, and the effect would have been even better.

These days, getting bulbs to plant and propagate in her space probably wouldn't be easy, but she could ask someone to find some Sichuan fritillary seeds for her. With the space around, there was no fear they wouldn't sprout. She'd look around her workplace later to see who had connections over there and ask them to help get some seeds.

After finishing all this, she boiled a pot of water, took a comfortable bath, and only then came out of the space to rest.

Early the next morning, she got up well before dawn and headed for Shichahai.

By the time she arrived, the sky was just beginning to lighten.

She found an ice hole someone had chopped the day before, took out her tools and re-chopped it open, held a fishing rod as a prop, then quietly poured a little of the space's pool water into the water. In no time at all, fish came swimming over, and with quick eyes and deft hands, she hauled in a batch.

Only then did she bring over the two buckets tied to the back of her bicycle. By the time both buckets were full, only a scattered few fish were left in the hole.

But just then, the fishing rod she had been using as a prop actually got some action too.

Just as she was about to pull the fish up and pack up to head home, she hadn't expected someone to come over toward her. Someone saw the two buckets sitting on the ice and exclaimed: "Whew, what a pro! Miss, you didn't come in the middle of the night, did you?"

Liu Chuxue laughed lightly: "Not quite that early, but I have been here a little while."

Then someone said: "Just a little while and you caught this many? You're bragging."

Liu Chuxue had no intention of paying that person any mind. After all, by now it was already broad daylight, and once she delivered the fish she still had to hurry off to work—no time to argue with them here.

What she hadn't expected was that the fish on the hook was a big one; she was caught off guard for a moment and nearly got dragged into the water by it.

Luckily someone noticed something was wrong and pulled her back in time, so she didn't slide into the ice hole. It truly gave her a fright.

When the fish was hauled up with everyone's help, they all cried out in shock: "Oh my goodness, this fish must weigh over twenty jin, right? What a pro indeed."

At this point, someone recognized the heavily bundled-up Liu Chuxue: "Hey, isn't that girl Chuxue?"

Several people in the surrounding crowd all looked toward Liu Chuxue: "Why, it really is that girl."

Liu Chuxue hadn't paid attention to who the people gathering around were. Hearing the voice, she looked over, and only then realized they really were acquaintances: "Grandpa Guo, long time no see. What brings you out so early?"

Old Mr. Guo, seeing she recognized him, laughed: "It really has been a long time. What are you up to?"

He wondered if something had gone wrong at that girl's home again. After all, the last time he'd run into her was because her father was hospitalized and needed money, so he assumed something must have happened at home that urgently required cash, which was why she'd come out fishing in such cold weather.

This was truly a beautiful misunderstanding.

Originally she could have just taken fish out of the space, but she had gotten into the mood, knowing Shichahai over here was bound to be frozen over, and wanted to see just how strong she was now, and how long it would take her to smash open an ice hole.

Since people were asking, she couldn't very well tell the truth, so she smiled and said: "It's like this—my family has moved into the city to settle down, and I'm thinking of hosting a housewarming dinner in a few days. I don't have any meat coupons on hand, so I figured I'd catch some fish to put on a decent spread."

Who could have expected someone to show up this early, and while they were talking, more people were still coming over. Having caught so many fish herself, if she didn't play it a bit pitiful, she was afraid someone might get crooked ideas.