Chapter 104: Green Light Spring Fish

Chapter 104: Chapter 104: Green Light Spring Fish

After chasing away the Night Egret, Xiaqing stunned another fish, tested it, and confirmed it was Red Light. Then, with a few quick chops, she cut it into pieces and tossed them to the big Magpie and the crows. "You’ve all been working hard catching insects lately. Eat some fish to recover."

The whole flock of birds devoured the fish in an instant. Xiaqing skillfully stunned another one and tested it. This time, her raised knife froze in mid-air. Her eyes widened as she stared in disbelief at the green light glowing on the Harmful Element Detector.

There was actually a Green Light Spring Fish in her pond!

Xiaqing immediately scooped up the Green Light Spring Fish, which had a Harmful Element content of only 0.18%, and placed it in a nearby bucket.

Although this wasn’t her first time stunning fish and she was fairly confident in her strength, she couldn’t help but mutter, "Wake up, you have to wake up..."

The birds waiting for their meal noticed Xiaqing had stopped moving and grew anxious. The boldest of them, a White Egret, waddled over to Xiaqing, craned its neck, and stretched out its beak to peck at the fish in the bucket.

"Don’t you dare. You can’t eat this one." Xiaqing pushed the White Egret’s head away. For a hungry bird, the egret was surprisingly good-tempered and didn’t peck a hole in her hand.

A moment later, the belly-up Green Light fish twitched a couple of times, then flipped over with a splash, darting to the bottom of the bucket and making it wobble. Xiaqing immediately slapped the lid on, grinning from ear to ear.

’Now that I have one Green Light fish, could a whole school of them be far behind?’

’How do you tell male and female fish apart? Could this one be a male? If so, I’ll just have to catch a female.’

Xiaqing weighed the bucket lid down with a rock and continued stunning fish.

The rest in the net were all Red Light fish. Another haul brought up over twenty more, still all Red Light, but Xiaqing’s good mood remained unshaken. She cast the net again.

The well-fed birds either preened their feathers leisurely or watched Xiaqing’s fishing with curiosity. The frogs in the pond didn’t even dare to croak, crouching among the water plants with only their two cautious eyes peeking out, staring at the frenzied Xiaqing.

Xiaqing hauled up net after net of fish, testing each one. The Red Light fish went into a large tank, while the Yellow Light and Green Light fish went into a bucket.

"Meeeeh."

Xiaqing’s off-key singing was as annoying as the KAKA sound of fish biting the metal-ringed net. Lying nearby, the Sheep Leader couldn’t stand it anymore and bleated for her to shut up.

Xiaqing called the Sheep Leader over to help. "Hey, Leader, are you rested? Come help me pull the net. There are rations in it for you if you do."

"Meeehhh~~"

Hearing there was good food to be had, the Sheep Leader immediately trotted over, letting out a cutesy bleat.

Xiaqing took out a sealed ration, tore it open, pinched off a small piece, and stuffed it into the Sheep Leader’s mouth. Then she hung the wire-mesh fishing net on its spiral horns. "You pull the net, and I’ll test the fish. When Zhong Tao and the others come over tomorrow, we’ll use all these Red Light fish to trade for more rations for you."

The evolved fish could certainly put up a fight, but their struggles were nothing compared to the Sheep Leader’s strength. With the Sheep Leader’s help, Xiaqing’s fish-testing speed increased dramatically.

Were the fish scared into hiding at the bottom of the pond? Not a chance. This bunch was just like the Sheep Leader—total gluttons who didn’t know the meaning of fear. The moment she scattered a handful of Evolved Insects, they’d fight to get into the net.

Xiaqing only stopped when the large tank was so full it was practically fish-on-fish.

Although the percentage of edible fish was small, the sheer number of them made up for it. She had tested over six hundred fish and ended up with one Green Light fish and six Yellow Light fish.

These seven palm-sized edible fish were treasures. Xiaqing had the Sheep Leader carry the large tank of Red Light fish on its back while she walked alongside, one hand steadying the tank and the other carrying the small fish bucket, and headed home.

After filling the large tank with filtered water, Xiaqing left it alone. Evolved fish had incredible Life Force; these Red Light ones wouldn’t suffocate even after two or three days. Her current focus was on her precious fish.

Xiaqing took out the large wooden bathtub she had just made for the Sheep Leader, scrubbed it clean, and placed it on the second floor in a spot that got sunlight. She first poured twenty liters of Pollution-free Spring Water into the tub before carefully tipping her precious fish in.

The Sheep Leader propped its front hooves on the edge of the tub, stared at the fish for a moment, then narrowed its eyes and turned to look at Xiaqing.

Afraid the Sheep Leader would throw a tantrum and knock the tub over or headbutt it off the second floor, Xiaqing pressed her hand on the tub-turned-aquarium and explained in a soft, gentle voice, "This bathtub isn’t great. Let the fish use it for now. I’ll make a new one for you, Leader, one that’s ergonomically designed for a sheep and lets you eat while you soak."

Hearing the word "eat," the Sheep Leader was instantly satisfied. It turned and trotted toward the stairs.

Xiaqing didn’t even need the Sheep Leader to rush her; she followed it downstairs to chop its pasture grass and mix crushed rations into its feed concentrate.

Qi Fu had said the Perilla would flower and go to seed by the end of July, so Xiaqing had recently stopped cutting it for the Sheep Leader to eat. She wanted to let the plants recover so they would produce more flowers and seeds, ensuring a larger crop next year.

Once the Sheep Leader was eating, Xiaqing started making her own dinner.

With such good food available, Xiaqing certainly wasn’t going to short-change herself. She added water to a large pot, lit the firewood beneath it, then washed some rice, added water to it, and placed the small steel basin of rice on a steamer rack inside the large pot to cook.

Then, Xiaqing began preparing the main course for the evening—Sour Bamboo Shoot Fish.

Xiaqing turned on her walkie-talkie to find someone. "Brother Qi, are you there?"

Qi Fu’s reply came through, his voice filled with an obvious eagerness, as if he’d been waiting to talk to her. "Xiaqing, are you done for the day?"

"Yeah," Xiaqing replied. "Brother Qi, do you know how to tell male and female fish apart? I got lucky today and pulled two Yellow Light Fish from my pond. I’m planning to eat one."

Qi Fu had a pond too, so he knew just how many fish you had to catch to find two Yellow Light ones. He glanced furtively at Chairman Tang and Luo Pei, who were sitting in his living room, supposedly "chatting" but actually there to learn carpentry. ’If they hadn’t come over,’ he thought, ’I might be eating fish right now myself...’

Qi Fu was miserable. He wanted to cry.

"First, look at the pectoral fins. The female’s is oval, while the male’s is pointed. You can also feel their bellies; a male’s is hard, and a female’s is soft. You can also look at their body shape..."

"Okay, thanks, Brother Qi. You can get back to what you were doing. I’m going to prepare the fish." Hearing that Qi Fu didn’t sound very enthusiastic, Xiaqing carefully memorized the method and decided not to bother him any longer.

She had just turned off the walkie-talkie and hadn’t even reached the fish tank when a call came in from Zhang San.

"Xiaqing, how many of the fish you caught are male? If you can’t tell, send them over and I’ll take a look." Xiaqing knew all too well what Zhang San’s pleasant, friendly tone meant.

She had known he would call. Xiaqing stood by the fish tank, cheerfully watching the four Yellow Light Spring Fish in the water as she answered, "Both of them are male. Stewed in a pot with the pickled bamboo shoots I prepared, it’s enough for a good meal. Would you like one, Brother San?"

Zhang San’s voice turned benevolent. "Of course. What do you want for it?"

Xiaqing was the very picture of easy-going. "For one Yellow Light Fish and six slices of Green Light pickled bamboo shoots, just give me whatever seeds you think are a fair trade, Brother San. As long as they can be planted now."

After successfully making Yellow Light pickled bamboo shoots, Xiaqing had gone into Territory 49 to dig up Green Light Bamboo Shoots to pickle, and they were now ready to eat.

"Let me ask around." Zhang San was a very cautious man. He hung up directly, made his inquiries, and then called back. "I can give you three Green Light loofah plants, or a small packet of Green Light napa cabbage seeds. Which do you want?"