Chapter 85: Ancient scholars all enjoyed fishing—it shows depth and cultivation

While on the road, I happened to bump into Duan Yong and Yuan Jiansheng, who were also idly wandering; we exchanged disapproving looks, each letting out a cold snort before walking past.

Duan Yong's family still hasn't saved enough to buy a boat; according to Ye Cheng's estimate, if they keep dragging on like this, with expenses unchanged and income sharply dropping, they'll soon not even be able to borrow enough to buy a boat.

I had lent them 3,000 earlier; if they had scraped together a bit more, they could have bought the boat outright, and by now they might already be out at sea.

He jumps at the sound of wind, thinking it's rain—utterly lacking any backbone.

Ye Cheng couldn't be bothered with such a person, but then, at the village entrance, he saw Village Chief Chen Jinhai again.

That old coot had a dry cigarette dangling from his mouth, pretending to be plain and simple, but in fact his family smokes nothing but fancy cigarettes—damn it.

Seeing Ye Cheng and Xiao Hu holding fishing rods, Chen Jinhai narrowed his eyes, pressed his lips, tapped his pipe, and said, "Lao Er, Xiao Hu, with all this free time, you're going fishing?"

"Exactly, those turtles are too crafty to catch; we can only go fishing." Ye Cheng shouted back.

Chen Jinhai froze for a moment, immediately realizing he was being called a turtle, and his face darkened instantly.

Several other villagers covered their mouths and snickered; that's how village folk are—either you mock me or I mock you, as long as there's amusement.

Chen Jinhai glanced at Ye Cheng, wanted to retort, but after thinking it over decided against it, as it seemed every time he talked back he couldn't win.

Watching the two head toward the shore, Chen Jinhai resentfully muttered, "Going fishing at this hour—what do they think they are, some big shots?"

"Oh, Village Chief Uncle, young people sometimes have nothing to do at night; fishing is just for fun, you really think they're out to make money?"

"Nowadays everyone's doing foraging and fish traps; they can't earn much either, so they just go fishing out of frustration."

"Who do they think they are, not sharing their secret with everyone, just wanting to hoard it for themselves—I spit!"

Listening to the villagers' chatter, Chen Jinhai smirked so hard even an AK couldn't suppress it, letting you two act all smug and disrespectful—do you know what "three men make a tiger" means? Do you know what "many voices can melt gold" means?

Hmph, young whippersnapper, being too bold isn't necessarily a good thing.

Ye Cheng couldn't be bothered with them, but nighttime sea fishing really isn't that easy.

It's pitch dark, and it's not foraging—when you forage you just stand on the beach and look.

This is fishing; you need to find a spot.

The two walked along the beach for a good distance, found a large reef by the sea, and planned to start fishing there.

Tonight's night was nice, and there were still people foraging on the beach—Chen Jinhai's paternal cousin Chen Jinshui, called a cousin but actually related through several layers.

Chen Jinshui, though a relative of Chen Jinhai, is decent enough and considerably younger than Chen Jinhai.

It's said he attended junior high when young, back then counting as a cultured person, but he never continued schooling and has spent most of his life in the village.

Perhaps because he studied, Chen Jinshui has always cared about his image and generally avoids arguing with people.

"Ye Cheng, Xiao Hu, you guys came to forage?" Chen Jinshui asked, lifting his head; he still held a foraging bucket in his hand.

"Uncle Chen Jinshui, we're not here to forage—how's your haul today?"

As for this Chen Jinshui, Ye Cheng's impression of him is fine; he can basically chat with anyone.

"What kind of haul could there be? Lately you've been so hot, the beach has been picked over several times—nothing left but a few sea snails."

Chen Jinshui tilted the bucket to let them see, also noticing the fishing rods in their hands.

"Hey, that's a fishing rod? Not foraging, you're switching to fishing?"

"Yeah, Uncle Chen Jinshui, you said it yourself—the sea's been combed over many times, nothing's left; if we don't fish, what else can we do?" Ye Cheng self‑mocked.

"Fishing is great—ancient scholars loved it, it shows depth and cultivation; you know why Jiang Ziya fished..."

Once Chen Jinshui started, he could hardly stop, as if he could talk from the Shang dynasty all the way to the Qing.

Xiao Hu's head swelled from listening; he hurriedly tugged Ye Cheng forward, saying, "Uncle Chen Jinshui, take it slow—we're heading out first."

Seeing the two about to leave, Chen Jinshui hurriedly followed, saying, "You're fishing, right? Let me have a look—this requires experience."

This guy, frankly, just got his own fishing itch and wanted to tag along.

Ye Cheng also couldn't be bothered with him; aside from being a bit long‑winded, Uncle Chen Jinshui is still a decent person.

This large reef is fairly big; the three of us sitting here don't feel cramped at all, though Ye Cheng doesn't plan to join them.

Because I'm still a novice, it's easy to mishandle the fishing line.

He shifted a bit to the side, leaving Xiao Hu to be tormented by Uncle Chen Jinshui.

"Xiao Hu, fishing has many details—hook, line, and bait must all match; whatever fish you intend to catch today, you need the appropriate bait."

"Also, before fishing you have to chum the spot—did you chum?"

"If you don't chum, how would the fish know you're coming to catch them? They don't, they can't grasp your intention."

Ye Cheng shuddered all over, "Good grief, Uncle Chen Jinshui, are you performing A Chinese Odyssey? No wonder Sun Wukong couldn't stand you back then."

If I were a fish, hearing that voice I'd bolt immediately.

Xiao Hu's face twisted in pain; he turned to Uncle Chen Jinshui and, gritting his teeth, said solemnly, "Uncle, if you're just watching, keep your mouth shut; otherwise go pick your sea snails."

"Ah, you're bored and I'm annoying, right? Sigh, young people these days just won't listen to elders—there's actually a lot of wisdom in what I'm saying."

"Since you won't listen, I'll tell A Cheng instead—A Cheng will surely be willing."

When Ye Cheng was mentioned, Xiao Hu hehe‑laughed, "Uncle, I doubt it—you turn around and see for yourself."

Chen Jinshui did as told and turned his head; "Holy crap, just a moment ago they were right beside me—how did they get so far away so quickly?"

"Uncle Chen Jinshui, Xiao Hu's not bright—you need to teach him over and over; if he won't listen, feel free to beat him, don't hold back."

Hearing Ye Cheng's shout, Xiao Hu's face turned green—enjoying screwing over his own people?

Sea fishing—you can be particular about things in the daytime, but in this black night we only have one headlamp; you just cast the line and that's it.

Uncle Chen Jinshui watched Xiao Hu straining to cast the rod, wanted to step in and teach him, but after Xiao Hu glared he shrank back.

Xiao Hu flung the line out as if finishing a task, then secured it and couldn't be bothered further.

He didn't count on catching anything; the two strolled over to Ye Cheng's side and took a look.

"Uncle Chen Jinshui, you were just talking about me—look at my brother's cast; that's not a cast, it's just tossing into the water; if it were a lead ball, it'd probably smash his own foot."