Chapter 10: Smart

Li Yingtang boiled water to make noodles and discovered more than half a bowl of double-skin milk sitting in the cupboard.

Why didn't he finish it?

She set the bowl on the table, continued cooking the noodles, and after dishing them out, called toward the outside: "A-Xian, time to eat."

"Coming." Qin Xian lifted the curtain and sat down directly.

Two large bowls of noodles were set on the table, with red chili oil floating sparsely in the soup and chopped green onions sprinkled on top as a garnish, making even the coarse porcelain bowls look exquisite.

She took a small sip; it was mildly spicy and fragrant.

It looked good and tasted good, too.

Li Yingtang: "How does it taste?"

Qin Xian nodded slightly: "Very appetizing."

Li Yingtang pushed the double-skin milk toward him, expectant: "Did you save this specifically for me?"

Qin Xian’s gaze paused, and he lowered his eyes: "Mm, it was too sweet."

Li Yingtang tilted her head. Was it really saved for her, or was it just too sweet for his taste? "I love it. Next time you have sweets, save them all for me. I like them even more if they’ve been touched by your saliva." She reached out and pulled the bowl of double-skin milk toward herself.

Qin Xian: "..." She likes things touched by his saliva? Is she a pervert?

After the meal.

Li Yingtang tidied up the kitchen, found a fishing rod in the storage room, grabbed a handful of corn to use as bait, and headed to the reservoir with a bucket and a folding stool.

She hadn't gone far when Auntie Liu called out to her.

"Little Qin’s wife, where are you going all by yourself? Fishing?"

"Yes. How did your niece’s blind date go?"

Auntie Liu sighed: "Sigh, the other party didn't take a liking to her. It’s my niece’s bad luck, let’s not talk about it. Why is a girl like you going fishing? What if you fall into an ice hole? There’s shepherd's purse down by the mountain ahead; I’ll take you to dig some."

Li Yingtang found it increasingly difficult to get along with Auntie Liu.

It was clearly the man’s mother who had her nose in the air and looked down on people, yet it had become her niece’s "bad luck."

She disparaged her own niece regardless of the facts.

What kind of person was she?

"We have vegetables at home, so I won't go. You go ahead slowly, I’ll take the lead." She carried her rod and hurried off.

Why didn't you bring me along the other day? You only called me today because you’re short of hands, just so I’d owe you a favor.

The beads of your abacus are practically hitting me in the face!

The ice on the reservoir was very lively.

Adults were fishing, and children were sliding around.

"Little Qin’s wife is fishing too? There are several holes here, come and try."

Out of respect for Qin Xian, everyone was very polite and attentive to Li Yingtang, calling her over one after another.

Li Yingtang had been wondering how to ask someone to break the ice, so she responded, stepped forward, set down her small stool, sat, hooked some corn onto her line, and lowered it into the water through the hole.

Someone nearby laughed

"How are you going to catch anything with corn kernels? I have some earthworms here, take them."

Before the words had even faded, Li Yingtang’s rod moved: "Oh, it’s biting."

She pulled up the rod, and a whitefish as thick as an arm emerged.

"Yo, your luck isn't bad! Cheng San has been sitting here for half a day without catching a single one, and you get one the moment you arrive."

Li Yingtang was incredibly excited; she tossed the fish into the bucket and cast her line again.

Less than two minutes later, there was movement under the water again.

She pulled it up to see a grass carp weighing about two pounds.

Now she was truly thrilled.

Seeing this, the crowd gathered around her curiously to watch her fish.

Cheng Fang had arrived at the lake early to wait for Li Yingtang. Seeing that she had actually come, and having originally planned to lure her toward the middle of the reservoir, she now felt that heaven was helping her.

As long as she destroyed the nearby ice holes, the ice surface would surely be unable to bear the weight of so many people. When everyone fell into the water like dumplings, no one would be able to look after anyone else, and perhaps she could even drown this woman.

Qin Xian was a widower at a young age; if she had her mother spread rumors that he was a "wife-killer," and then she appeared to comfort him, wouldn't he look at her differently?

Taking advantage of everyone being distracted by the excitement and not paying attention to her, she took a shovel and pried at the ice.

"It’s biting again." Li Yingtang was extremely excited; she had caught half a bucket of fish in less than twenty minutes of sitting there.

Fish were expensive at the township market.

Crucian carp were 1.2 yuan a jin, and grass carp were 1.6. She had earned over ten yuan selling hawthorn, but she hadn't been able to bring herself to buy any.

Now, she had obtained them without any effort at all.

Once again, she pulled up a grass carp.

"You guys keep fishing, I’m heading back." Li Yingtang reeled in her line. Everything should be done in moderation; if she kept pulling them out like this, she didn't know how many people would be green with envy.

It was best to give up this prime spot now to avoid the limelight.

"Why stop when you have such good luck?"

"It’s too cold." Li Yingtang found a random excuse and carried her tools home.

She had only taken two steps.

She vaguely heard a *crack*!

Alarm bells rang in her heart. Reflexively, she ran toward the shore, not forgetting to warn everyone: "The ice is collapsing!"

Everyone looked down, saw the ice beneath their feet cracking, and scrambled to the shore.

Cheng Fang, who was following behind, fell straight into the water.

Suddenly, screams and cries for help erupted one after another.

"Help... help me."

Everyone was a poor swimmer and dared not step forward.

Li Yingtang volunteered. She picked up a fishing net rope from the ground, reached out along the side of the broken ice, and once close enough, threw the rope toward Cheng Fang.

Cheng Fang was clutching the handle of her shovel and ignored the rope right in front of her.

Only after everyone shouted a reminder did she drop the shovel handle and grab the rope.

Li Yingtang carefully dragged her forward, and it took quite a bit of effort to get her near the shore.

At that point, everyone worked together to pull her up.

Cheng Fang was shivering all over, her eyes darting around, looking completely traumatized.

Li Yingtang watched as the others took her away, then picked up her bucket and tools, returning home with a full load.

As soon as she stepped into the clinic, she began to show off: "A-Xian, come out and see the fish I caught."

Qin Xian frowned: "Fishing? Where did you catch these?"

"The reservoir. I’m pretty amazing, right?"

Qin Xian’s gaze swept from the bucket to the fishing gear on the ground, his expression darkening: "Who told you to take my fishing rod?"

Li Yingtang was confused. Was he angry? "What? Didn't you say the other day not to ask you about everything?"

Qin Xian choked: "The ice is dangerous. What if you fell in..."

Li Yingtang smiled. Was he worried about her falling in? "I know how to swim. That Miss Cheng who comes here often fell in, and I was the one who saved her."

"Is that so? Who told you that you could fish over there?"

"Miss Cheng did."

Qin Xian understood. It was likely that woman wanted to harm her, only to end up shooting herself in the foot. He decided to tell her directly about Cheng Fang’s character so she would know how to identify such people in the future. "Miss Cheng has terrible luck. She fell into a ditch today, will be sick tomorrow, and fell into the water the day after."

"Now that you mention it, I hadn't noticed her luck was so bad. When the ice cracked, everyone was on it, yet only she fell in." Li Yingtang suddenly recalled the scene when everyone was fleeing.

Those near the shore were carrying buckets and fishing gear.

Those behind didn't take anything in their rush to save their lives.

Yet Cheng Fang had been carrying a large iron shovel.

Under what circumstances would you use a shovel?

When clearing the ice, right?

But the ice at that time didn't need clearing at all.

She told Qin Xian the analysis she had come up with.

Qin Xian nodded almost imperceptibly. Smart. She caught on instantly.

Li Yingtang grew angrier the more she thought about it: "No wonder I didn't like her at first sight; she was full of bad intentions! What good would it do her if everyone fell into the water? She wouldn't have been able to swim to save us. Was she targeting me? Oh! I get it, she likes you and wants to take my place. I shouldn't have saved her!"

Qin Xian: "What 'like' or 'not like,' stop talking nonsense."

Li Yingtang: "Who’s talking nonsense? Next time she comes to see you for a consultation, confess your love to me in front of her. Tell her you love me, love me to death, and that no woman can ever surpass me. She’ll definitely give up after hearing that."

Qin Xian: "..." Love this, love that—who could actually say such things?

Humbly begging for votes~~

(End of chapter)