The Domineering Cultivator Farmer

Chapter 47: Fishing in the Pond

“Mom and Dad, don’t you have anything you want to ask?” Seeing his family merely looking around the log cabin, seemingly not the least bit curious about how he’d managed to build it overnight, Fang Yun was puzzled. He’d actually been thinking about how to explain things so his family would accept it—he’d even been ready to reveal a little about his cultivation. “What’s there to ask? You just want us to praise you for being so amazing and capable, right? Well, you’re really something. Seriously, what’s there to brag about? No matter how capable you are, you’re still just my son.” Wang Jiu waved her hand, shooing Fang Yun away from behind her as if he were a fly: “Go keep an eye on Niuniu and Yeyue. I don’t know what those two kids are doing upstairs—they haven’t come down in ages.” “……” Fang Yun never expected his mom to react like this—it didn’t make any sense. But she was right: no matter how capable he was, he was still her son. In the eyes of parents, their own children are always the best; it’s only natural to think they’re special. As for his dad, older brother, and sister-in-law, they were too busy discussing what else to buy and how to arrange everything. They didn’t even glance at Fang Yun. With a wry smile, Fang Yun turned to go upstairs and check on the two little ones. “Oh no, the dinner’s still cooking on the stove!” Wang Jiu suddenly remembered that she’d been cooking when she heard the commotion and went out to check. The whole family hurried back home. Fang Yun stumbled and nearly fell—how could anyone be worried about dinner at a time like this? “That’s right, let’s hurry back.” As soon as Fang Yun reached the second floor, he saw Niu Niu and Ye Ye, brother and sister, hogging his favorite rooms. “Daddy, Niu Niu wants this one.” “Uncle, Ye Ye wants this one.” Great, two of the four rooms were gone in an instant. “All right, all right. You can have whichever room you want. Let’s go home and eat first.” Fang Yun took one of the little ones by each hand and led them home. “After we finish eating, we’ll drain the pond and catch the fish—they’ll come in handy for Xiao Yunzi’s wedding banquet,” Fang Changsheng said during dinner. “Oh, we’re going fishing! Niuniu, hurry up and finish your meal so we can go catch some fish—it’s so much fun!” As soon as he heard they were going to drain the pond to catch fish, Yeyue excitedly said to Niuniu. “Really? Niuniu wants to go catch fish too.” As soon as she heard it was fun, Niuniu’s eyes lit up. The little girl loved to play more than anything. Wang Jiu glared at him. “You old geezer! Can’t you wait until after dinner to say that?” Fang Changsheng looked at the two little ones, who were so excited they didn’t even want to finish their meals and were already eager to go catch fish. He shrank his neck and said nothing. “Yeye, Niuniu, listen up. Later, when we go fishing, Xiao Pang and the others will all come to join us. If you don’t eat your fill, you won’t have the strength to catch fish, and then they’ll snatch them all away.” Wang Qun really knew how to handle them. As soon as he said that, the two kids’ eyes widened—as if they could already see Xiao Pang and the others catching fish one after another in the pond, while they themselves, too weak from not eating enough, couldn’t catch a single one. Whenever they fished in the village pond, they only caught the bigger fish; whoever caught the smaller ones and miscellaneous fish got to keep them. But since they lived in the south, everyone ate plenty of fish, and the adults didn’t want these little ones—so the kids would swarm the pond catching them. When Fang Yun was little, she’d always come home covered in mud and water. “No, no! Niuniu wants to eat her fill. Niuniu doesn’t want Little Fat Brother and the others to take all the fish away.” The little girl shook her head vigorously, then immediately began eating big mouthfuls. Yeyue nodded along, making “mm-hmm” sounds. If Fang Yun hadn’t stepped in, the two of them might have eaten until they were stuffed. Draining the pond was simple—there was a dedicated drainage ditch right beside it that led straight to the river. All they had to do was block the entrance to the ditch with a fishing net and dig open the connection between the ditch and the pond. Villagers and tourists who’d rushed over upon hearing about the fish catch all gathered around the pond’s edge, and some children, buckets in hand, couldn’t wait to show off their skills. “Wow, so many fish! They’re huge!” Even though only half the water had been drained from the pond, all that could be seen was a dense swarm of fish, and everyone was amazed at the sheer number of them. Fish in rural ponds are different from those raised in specialized fish farms; they’re simply fed some grass in the morning and left to fend for themselves, growing no more than two or three jin over the course of a year. But the fish in this pond were fingerlings released after the Lunar New Year. It was obvious that each fish weighed at least five or six jin—they’d grown even faster than those raised on feed. “Dad, maybe we don’t need to drain the pond to catch the fish. Just scooping up a few nets like this will be more than enough.” Seeing so many fish, Fang Yun was at a loss—farming fish with spring water was just too impressive. When he first returned, there clearly weren’t this many, nor were they this big. No one in the countryside lacks fish to eat, and they wouldn’t be able to sell all of them even if they caught them. “No way. Let’s catch them all. I’ll take every last one. The price is the same as for vegetables—five times the market rate.” Xu Jin, who came to pick up vegetables every three days, heard Fang Yun’s words the moment he got out of the car and immediately called out. Over the past month, Xu Jin had been riding high on success. Thanks to the vegetables he sourced from the village, he had successfully built a reputation for his restaurant. In just one month, Xu Jin had opened five branches, all of which were packed to capacity every day. Now, when people in the city go out to eat, Xu Jin’s restaurant is the first place that comes to mind. After dining there, food from other places simply doesn’t taste right—even the signature dishes from their former favorite restaurants and hotels have lost their appeal. “Five times the price!” the villagers exclaimed in unison. “Alright, since Boss Xu has made the offer, let’s haul them all out.” Fang Yun wasn’t surprised; he was confident that his fish were well worth the price. Setting aside the taste, their nutritional value was unmatched by fish from anywhere else. “I’m telling you, just how many fish are in this pond?” Seeing that the two seafood trucks they’d called were already packed to the brim, yet the pond still seemed teeming with fish, Xu Jin couldn’t help but ask Fang Yun. “It should take about two more trucks to finish. Do you want any more, Mr. Xu?” Fang Yun replied after making a rough estimate. “Of course I do—why wouldn’t I? The more, the better. I’ll call for more trucks right away.” A broad smile spread across Xu Jin’s face. He had once eaten fish at Fang Yun’s home, and he still remembered that exquisite flavor. If he didn’t sell these fish at an astronomical price, all his years in business would have been for nothing. When it came time to settle the bill, everyone was stunned: they’d actually hauled more than 6,000 jin of fish from a single pond. Adding up the quantities and prices of all the different varieties brought the total to a full 200,000. “Brother Fang, why don’t we keep fishing for a bit longer? There are still some smaller ones and miscellaneous fish in the pond. How about we sell them at the same price?” Xu Jin eyed the remaining fish in the pond with obvious greed. “No, we’re not selling those. Same old rule—whatever you catch is yours,” Fang Yun said nonchalantly, waving his hand at the crowd of onlookers. “Oh.” Upon hearing Fang Yun’s words, everyone cheered with delight and eagerly jumped into the water to catch fish. Seeing that Fang Yun wasn’t selling them, Xu Jin was quite disappointed. However, his eyes lit up when he saw the crowd catching fish in the pond—he could always buy them from the people who caught them.