Chronicle of the 70s
Chapter 58 - 058 Earthworm at Fourth Watch (30 monthly tickets for additional - )

Chapter 58: 058 Earthworm at Fourth Watch (30 monthly tickets for additional Chapter)

Li Xianglu raised an eyebrow, indicating for him to continue speaking.

"Because of the rain yesterday, no one went to the fields. Qin Xiaopang and I went to wade in the shallows of the river to catch fish, and that’s where we ran into Qin Miao from Jishui."

"She was chatting affectionately with Qin Xiaopang and even asked about you. That’s why I found it odd and came to ask."

Li Xianglu frowned: "What about me?"

Li Jianqing was puzzled himself why such a question would be asked and scratched his head as he honestly confessed: "It was really strange; she asked whether you were with everyone when the movie was being shown."

Li Xianglu’s eyes slightly widened as she casually inquired: "And what did you guys say?"

Li Jianqing said: "Well, the chubby kid said you and his brother left a little over halfway through because you had a stomachache at the time."

Li Xianglu muttered to herself, this must have been something Qin Xi told his younger brother Qin Zhen at home, and nodded: "Yeah, I had a bad stomach that day, felt uncomfortable. Uncle Qin didn’t feel reassured to let me go back alone, so he asked Brother Qin to take me back."

Li Jianqing asked with concern: "Are you feeling better now?"

Li Xianglu smiled and shook her head: "I’m all better, it’s been days." Changing the subject, she asked: "Did you and Xiaopang catch any fish?"

Li Jianqing became excited when the topic switched to something he was interested in: "We caught two three-foot-long ones, and we grilled them to eat. They tasted really great." Suddenly realizing his sister might feel left out, he became embarrassed but then promised: "Next time I catch some, I’ll definitely bring you some. Qin Xiaopang was the one who said that much fish wasn’t enough even to pick our teeth with, so we might as well just eat it ourselves."

Hearing her brother’s voice growing quieter, Li Xianglu laughed: "Actually, catching fish is harder than fishing. I have needles here, heat them up, bend them into hooks, and you guys can dig up some earthworms. They are the best for fishing."

Upon hearing this, Li Jianqing’s eyes sparkled alarmingly, and he immediately stood up.

Li Xianglu quickly said: "Don’t rush, go have lunch first. After lunch, you and Xiaopang can dig for earthworms, and I’ll prepare the fish hooks for you."

Li Jianqing laughed cheerfully: "Okay, I’m going to find Qin Xiaopang now." He said and left.

Li Xianglu sighed with some regret. In her own space, she had four excellent fishing rods, relics from her father in her past life. Even the least expensive one cost several thousand, all made of quality materials, strong enough to pull in fish over a hundred pounds without breaking.

In Northern Guanzhong, noodles are predominantly consumed for lunch. Since Grandpa Li started living on his own at twenty, he had a variety of dietary habits and would eat anything. So, Li Xianglu steamed some rice. There wasn’t much rice at home; every time she secretly mixed in a bit of rice from her Storage Ring.

Grandpa Li didn’t care about the paddy rice; if there was any, he would let it be cooked and eaten, and if not, he would find a way, so he never inquired.

The forty square centimeters-sized vegetable patch in Li Xianglu’s yard was densely covered with thriving green vegetables, growing five centimeters tall in just three or four days. The few larger ones whetted Li Xianglu’s appetite so much that she stir-fried them with sliced cabbage. The sprinkling of green made the dish look appetizing.

After finishing the meal and Grandpa Li had his tea and walked around the courtyard, he went off for a nap. Li Xianglu hurriedly took out a spool of fishing line from her Storage Ring, along with a few thick needles and set them on the table before going off to wash the dishes.

Li Xianglu hadn’t finished tidying up when she heard her own courtyard door being opened. With a ’rustle,’ she looked out of the window and saw Qin Xi carrying a bucket as he entered.

Li Xianglu was briefly taken aback before she saw the guy stride into the kitchen with long steps in just two or three paces.

Li Xianglu stared at his legs with unmatched envy, then glanced at her own short legs, sighing, "Comparing oneself to others will only make one frustrated."

As soon as Qin Xi walked in, he saw the girl’s eyes shining with surprise as she raised her eyebrows in confusion.

Li Xianglu reined in her bare-naked gaze and chuckled, "Brother Qin, you’re here."

Qin Xi’s eyes widened in shock at the sickly sweet voice, instinctively stepping back.

Li Xianglu didn’t notice Qin Xi’s expression, as she hung the dishcloth on a rope at the side before turning around with a smile, "Everything’s ready. Are you going fishing with Third Brother and Qin Xiaopang?"

Qin Xi glanced at the roll of fishing line on the table, his eyes lit up. He sat down, unraveled it in his hands, and tested its strength by tugging it. Hmm, not bad, it was very durable. This was a good fishing line.

Seeing him examining the fishing line, Li Xianglu bluffed without any hint of embarrassment, "This was a gift from Grandpa Lan in the county."

Qin Xi nodded. Such good stuff could indeed come from the Lan Family. Then he began to pick up three medium-sized needles from the table, raising an eyebrow, "Are you bringing out so many needles? Do you plan not to sew any clothes in the future?"

Li Xianglu knew she would be doubted for having so many needles, but she wanted to go fishing too. So she smiled and said, "Mm-hmm, these were extras I found when cleaning up Grandpa’s house in the county. Let’s use them for fishing rods. Whenever we’re free, we can go fishing and have more to eat at home."

Qin Xi nodded in agreement, "Alright, let’s make three."

Li Xianglu nodded, then took off her apron and went to the western cave, where she took out a layer of foam from inside the radio box—the material that could be used to make floats.

Having already burned the fish hooks, Qin Xi was stunned when he saw Li Xianglu bringing over a piece of white foam, eyeing it suspiciously. How did this girl know this could be used to make floats? It wasn’t common knowledge for a rural girl like her, causing him to doubt once more.

However, Li Xianglu didn’t notice the dark suspicion in his eyes as she sat at the table, holding a knife and sketching out.

The best material for making fishing rods was bamboo, but this was Northern Guanzhong; with so few trees around, where could you find bamboo? Instead, she found thin, long tree branches as a substitute.

Qin Xi used a knife to carefully whittle it down due to its unevenness, but no matter how he looked at it, he wasn’t satisfied. Wooden rods were too hard, lacked flexibility, and were prone to breaking—not ideal for fishing rods at all. He realized they needed to find a way to get some bamboo rods.

Meanwhile, Qin Xiaopang and Li Jianqing, who had previously run out to dig for earthworms, returned one after the other, each carrying a small basket, their faces full of excited sweat.

Seeing them, Qin Xi scolded, "Keep it down, Grandpa Li is taking a nap."

Both hurriedly snuck into the kitchen, grinning and acting obsequiously towards Li Xianglu.

Li Xianglu looked over and thought these two seemed like bandits, with a third of the basket the size of a watermelon filled with earthworms. Where had they dug those up?

Qin Xiaopang beamed with pride, "A lot, huh? We dug these up from the manure pit in the south!"

Li Xianglu’s eyes bulged, and she backed away with an ’eek.’

Qin Xiaopang’s eyes widened incredulously at Li Xianglu, as if he couldn’t believe she would disdain their find.

ps: Thank you for the monthly tickets everyone has given. Lately, we’ve had three Chapters due to your support. We’ll occasionally add more. Thank you all. I’ll write down everyone’s names when I’m free. I haven’t had time as The Scribe, so wait for the author.

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