Chapter 77: Turns Out the Boss Went Fishing This Morning
A few minutes later, the float on the water’s surface bobbed.
Li You was overjoyed.
He saw his chance and yanked hard on the fishing rod.
Hooked.
Unfortunately, it was just a common crucian carp, weighing only a few ounces.
"Ingredient: Crucian Carp.
Quality: Medium."
’It seems that while the Seven-Orifice Fish Bait can attract rare fish, common fish will take the bait as well.’
Common fish would also take the bait.
’A crucian carp is fine. As long as it’s a fish, it’ll do.’
The worst thing for an angler is not catching any fish.
"Side quest triggered due to Host’s first time fishing and successfully catching a fish.
Quest Name: Aquatic Ingredients.
Quest Requirement: Catch 200 fish (no species restriction, but at least one must be a rare fish).
Quest Reward: Unlock Spatial Fish Pond, one lottery draw.
No time limit for this quest.
Description: The Spatial Fish Pond can hold living fish of any species, and they will not interfere with each other.
Fish in the Spatial Fish Pond do not need to be fed, will not feel hungry, will not die, and will grow normally.
Additionally, there is a chance their quality may increase."
The voice was a wonderful surprise for Li You.
’I can’t believe even fishing triggers a side quest.’
’And the rewards are so incredible!’
’The lottery draw was great, but the real prize is the Spatial Fish Pond.’
’Being able to put any kind of live fish in it is amazing enough, but the fact that they won’t die without food and will even grow normally is the crucial part.’
’And most importantly, there’s even a chance their quality could improve!’
’Doesn’t that mean I could put a medium-quality fish in there and it might become high-quality, or even top-quality?’
’This is just too amazing!’
As for the quest difficulty, it wasn’t particularly high.
’Two hundred fish of any kind is very simple. If I’m lucky, I could finish the quest today.’
’The hard part is that at least one of them has to be a rare fish.’
’That part’s a little uncertain.’
’By the way, what exactly counts as a rare fish?’
"System, what kind of fish counts as a rare fish?"
"This system will notify you the moment you catch a rare fish. Please rest assured, Host."
’Oh, I see! That works.’
Li You’s excitement for fishing instantly skyrocketed.
He continued to fish.
Soon, he successfully pulled up another fish. This time it was a yellow catfish.
It was a decent size, at least half a pound.
You don’t often see yellow catfish this big.
Of course, the size of the fish wasn’t the point right now.
What mattered was that he’d caught one more fish.
He kept at it.
A few minutes later, he reeled in another crucian carp, this one about half a pound.
The fish were biting at a good pace.
And so he continued.
Three hours flew by.
Li You had already caught 73 fish.
The bucket he’d brought was already filled to the brim.
The only disappointment was that he still hadn’t caught any rare fish; they were all common species like crucian carp, common carp, and yellow catfish.
’Of course, that was to be expected.’
Even with the Seven-Orifice Fish Bait, if there were very few—or even no—rare fish in this deep pool, the bait would be useless no matter how potent it was.
’Looks like I’ll have to find another deep pool to try.’
It was now 11:00 AM. ’Should I find a new spot and keep fishing, or should I head back, open the shop for the lunch rush, and come back out later?’
After a moment’s hesitation, Li You decided to head back.
’Fishing is important, but so is business.’
’The main reason was that I forgot to leave a sign this morning, something like "Owner has gone fishing. Closed for now."’
It wouldn’t look good for customers to arrive, find the door shut tight, and have no explanation.
He stored the fishing rod in his Storage Pavilion, picked up the bucket, and started walking back.
Halfway there, he suddenly saw a persimmon tree not far ahead.
The trunk was as thick as an arm, stood over ten feet tall, and was in bloom.
The small, yellow flowers grew in pretty clusters.
’How did I not notice this persimmon tree on my way here this morning?’
’Of course, that didn’t matter.’
What mattered was that Li You planned to dig up this persimmon tree and transplant it to his Hundred Fruit Garden.
That would add another variety of fruit tree to the Hundred Fruit Garden.
’Wild fruit trees usually aren’t the best quality, but that’s fine. I have system-provided fertilizer that can improve the tree’s quality.’
There’s a common belief that eating too many persimmons can cause kidney stones.
But this claim has not been confirmed by any authoritative bodies.
’Besides, eating too much of *any* fruit isn’t necessarily a good thing.’
In fact, persimmons have significant medicinal value.
They are said to stop bleeding, relieve constipation, soothe the pain and swelling of hemorrhoids, lower blood pressure, and nourish the spleen and stomach.
Li Shizhen himself recorded as much in his *Compendium of Materia Medica*.
’In any case, I quite like them.’
He set down the bucket of fish and took a hoe from his Storage Pavilion.
He began to dig.
Li You always kept tools like the hoe in the Storage Pavilion, precisely so he could take them out whenever he needed them.
After a few swings of the hoe...
"Host detected transplanting a persimmon tree. Side quest triggered.
Quest Name: The Orchard in Front of the Shop (II)
Quest Requirement: Add five new types of fruit trees.
Quest Reward: Five hundred pounds of tofu (medium quality), one lottery draw."
The voice was another pleasant surprise for Li You.
’Another side quest triggered!’
’Coming out to fish today has been one surprise after another.’
’Is today an auspicious day for fishing or something?’
’Five hundred pounds of medium-quality tofu... The thought alone is exhilarating.’
Li You felt a surge of energy.
He kept digging.
He dug out the persimmon tree in just a few minutes.
He stored it in his Storage Pavilion.
After filling in the hole, he picked up his fish bucket and set off again.
He was back at his shop a short while later.
Chu Yiwei, Lin Xin, Zhang Qinghe, and about a dozen other teachers were waiting in front of the shop.
The teachers’ faces lit up with delight when they saw Li You.
"Boss, you’re finally back! We were starting to think you weren’t opening today," Zhang Qinghe said.
Li You apologized, "I’m so sorry to have kept you all waiting."
By then, Li You had reached the group of teachers.
They all noticed the bucket in Li You’s hand, which was full of fish.
They looked both surprised and intrigued.
"Boss, where did you get all this fish? Did you go fishing?" Chu Yiwei asked.
Li You nodded. "I did."
The teachers then realized that their boss had spent the morning fishing.
’What a relaxing life he leads.’
’He caught so many in a single morning. The fish in the gorge must be easy to catch!’
"Oh, by the way, Boss," Lin Xin said, "since you brought back all this fish, does that mean you’re planning to add a fish dish to the menu?"
Hearing this, the other teachers’ faces lit up with anticipation.
Li You chuckled. "I’ll definitely add a fish dish eventually, but probably not right away. I just felt like fishing for a bit today."
The teachers were a little disappointed to hear that.
’Still, as long as he adds one eventually, that’s good enough.’
They were all eager to find out what a fish dish made by Li You would taste like.
Li You unlocked and opened the shop door.
The teachers walked into the shop and began to order.
Some had twice-cooked pork and rice, while others ordered noodles.
Li You jotted down all their orders and headed into the kitchen to start cooking.
Before long, all the teachers’ orders were ready.
He brought the food out to them.
The teachers all dug in eagerly.
As they were eating, another large group of people walked into the shop.
Nearly twenty people in all.
It was Lin Guodong and a group of villagers from Taoshan Village.
This time, Old Man Lin Zhonghai had come as well.
Lin Guodong saw Li You and said with a smile, "Young man, we’re here for your Mapo Tofu today! I went back yesterday and told everyone that the Mapo Tofu you make is leagues better than what we used to make ourselves. After hearing that, they all wanted to come and have a taste."
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Thank you, big shot!
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