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It was about two feet long, its silvery-gray body shimmering under the light, its tail slapping the water's surface, splashing up tiny droplets.

Xiao Ran reached out and scooped the fish into the net, then smiled and showed it to Li Lizhi: "A good catch tonight."

Li Lizhi reached out and touched the fish's scales; they were slippery. She couldn't help but laugh, "It's not easy to catch a fish this big!"

"With the nets, it's actually not too bad."

When Li Lizhi heard Xiao Ran say, "It's alright if there's a landing net," she couldn't help but smile slightly before sitting back down on the rock and gripping her fishing rod tightly.

The excitement of catching a small crucian carp hadn't faded yet, and now she was staring intently at the float, not even noticing the evening breeze brushing against her hair.

Seeing her like this, Xiao Ran didn't say much, but quietly moved his lantern closer to her, so that the warm light could shine more clearly on her float.

Before long, Li Lizhi's float suddenly bobbed twice and then sank half a mark.

This time she didn't panic. Remembering what Xiao Ran had said, "Wait until the float has moved half a mark before lifting it," she patiently waited for two seconds. When she saw the float slide down a little more, she gently lifted the rod.

"Have it!"

A familiar sensation came from my fingertips as a slightly larger crucian carp was pulled out of the water, its silver scales shimmering under the light.

"You didn't rush to lift the rod this time; you've improved quickly."

Xiao Ran leaned over to help her remove the fishhook. His fingertips touched her slightly cool hand, and he subconsciously pulled her sleeves up for her. "It's chilly at night, don't get cold."

Li Lizhi's cheeks flushed slightly as she put the fish into the bamboo basket and whispered, "I think I'm starting to get the hang of it now. Before, I was always afraid of missing the fish's bite."

The two fished for another half hour, adding three crucian carp to their bamboo basket, as well as a small mandarin fish that Xiao Ran had caught.

The wick in the lantern had burned a little short, and the light was dimmer.

Xiao Ran looked up at the sky; the moon had moved directly overhead, and the chirping of insects seemed to have subsided. He then put away his fishing rod and said:
"Let's stop fishing, it's too late. Fifth Sister, you're dressed too lightly, you'll catch a cold if you stay any longer."

Li Lizhi paused, her hand holding the fishing rod pausing. She bent down and poked the fish in the bamboo basket, her voice so soft it was as if she didn't want to disturb the evening breeze:

"But... I don't want to go back yet."

Li Lizhi looked up at Xiao Ran, her eyes filled with a hint of barely perceptible grievance.

The courtyard is usually crowded, either with Grandpa and his family or the younger sisters making a ruckus. It's rare to find it so quiet and peaceful.
She was halfway through her sentence when she suddenly remembered something, and her eyes lit up: "Young master, how about we grill a fish and have some?"

It's not that I'm hungry, it's just that I feel it's nice to talk while grilling fish like this.

After saying that, Li Lizhi felt a little embarrassed and clenched the corner of her clothes: "It doesn't need to be too complicated, just grill one and taste it."

Seeing the expectation in her eyes, Xiao Ran couldn't bear to refuse. He smiled and nodded, "Sure, there are some dry branches nearby. Let's roast some small twigs; they have few thorns."

As he spoke, he pulled a small folding knife from the box, which he had brought with him from his RV.

They gathered some dry grass and twigs, built a small earthen stove a little distance from the pond, and lit a fire with a lighter.

Li Lizhi squatted down beside them, helping to hand them branches, watching the flames slowly rise, warming their faces.

Xiao Ran cleaned the small mandarin fish, made a few cuts on its body with a knife, rubbed it with some salt and a little pepper from the box, skewered the fish on a clean twig, and slowly grilled it over the fire.

“When I was at home, I often went to the river to grill fish with my friends.”

Xiao Ran flipped the fish skewers, his tone relaxed, "I always burned them back then, but I got better at it after practicing more."

Li Lizhi rested her chin on her hand, gazing at the fish, the aroma of which was gradually wafting into her nostrils. She smiled and asked:
"Won't it burn now? It smells so good, it would be a shame if it burned."

"Don't worry, you keep an eye on it, it definitely won't burn."

Xiao Ran smiled and moved the fish skewers closer to the fire. The fish skin slowly turned golden, and the oil dripped onto the fire, sizzling and making the aroma even stronger.

Li Lizhi leaned closer and whispered, "Actually, I don't really want to eat fish, I just think this is fine."

"There's no one else around, just the two of us, listening to the fire, smelling the aroma, and not having to think about anything else."

Xiao Ran paused in his actions, then turned to look at Li Lizhi, "I think so too, it's great."

The firelight reflected on Li Lizhi's face, highlighting her long eyelashes and the faint smile on her lips, making her appear even more gentle than under the moonlight.

Xiao Ran said softly, "If you want to do this again in the future, we can go out again, whether it's fishing or grilling, it's fine."

The fish was quickly grilled, and Xiao Ran handed the fish skewers to Li Lizhi, blowing on them to cool them down: "Be careful, they're hot. There are few bones, eat slowly."

Li Lizhi took a bite; the fish was tender and had a hint of salt and charcoal aroma.

She ate in small bites, occasionally exchanging a few words with Xiao Ran, mostly about everyday things.

On the other side, the little princess, who was fast asleep, seemed to have smelled the aroma.

The little princess rubbed her eyes and sat up.

Princess Chengyang sat down beside her. "Sizi, what's wrong?"

"Second sister~ It smells so good~" The little princess rubbed her tummy, "I'm hungry~"

"Are you hungry?" Princess Chengyang looked outside, but it was still pitch black.

Princess Chengyang didn't know what time it was.

Third Sister woke up when she heard the noise. "Sizi's hungry. Would you like some sesame cakes?"

“I miss Qi again and again~” the little princess said.

Yan Yao also sat up.

The four little girls woke up one after another.

Princess Yuzhang, who was standing nearby, also had to wake up. "Sizi, what's going on?"

The four little girls always slept together, as the other beds were a bit too small, so they had to sleep on the kang (a heated brick bed).

They're all quite young, so they need someone to keep them company.

It could be Zhang Erya, Princess Yuzhang, or Xiao Yu and Li Lizhi.

"Sister Niu~ It smells so good~" the little princess said again.

“It’s very late now, there are no more rhinoceroses,” Princess Yuzhang said patiently.

"Yes!" The little princess pointed towards the pond, "It's a fish!"

Princess Yuzhang pondered for a moment, realizing that the direction the little princess pointed was correct.

"Sizi, you smelled it?"

"Hmmmm~"

Princess Yuzhang glanced at Princess Chengyang and the others, "Second Sister, Third Mother, can you smell it?"

"Sixth Sister, I didn't." Princess Chengyang shook her head.

San Niang and Yan Yao also shook their heads.

"Sister Niu, really!" the little princess exclaimed, pulling on Princess Yuzhang's arm. "There's more!"

Seeing the little princess like this, Princess Yuzhang had no choice but to give up.

"Second Sister, Third Sister, Yao Niang, you all go to sleep first. Si Zi and I will go and take a look."

Princess Yuzhang realized that she couldn't sleep without checking on the little princess.

"Sixth Sister, I want to go too." Princess Chengyang didn't want to be separated from her.

San Niang and Yao Niang nodded in agreement.

Princess Yuzhang looked at them all and wanted to go to all of them.

It's summer now and not cold, so I just agreed.

The group put on their clothes and spoke very quietly, afraid of disturbing others.

Xiao Hei also came out with the group.

Princess Yuzhang walked into the courtyard and looked around. It was quiet, as if everyone was resting.

Princess Yuzhang took the flashlight, and the little princess took it too.

"The rhinoceros still smells good?" Princess Yuzhang asked in a low voice.

The little princess pointed towards the pond, "There it is!" "Let's go take a look!"

The grass on the ridges of the fields was still covered with night dew, and the little girls tiptoed after Princess Yuzhang.

Princess Chengyang clutched the hem of her third aunt's clothes, while Yan Yao would occasionally reach out to help the princess who almost slipped.

Little Black ran ahead, sniffing the ground as if trying to find the source of the fragrance.

The beam of the flashlight swayed ahead, occasionally illuminating a few hopping crickets, which made the little princess stop and whisper, "Crickets~ So cute~"

After walking for a short while, Princess Yuzhang saw a warm light shining from the other side of the pool.

It wasn't the cold white light of a flashlight, but a soft yellow like that of a lantern.

There was also a faint red glow nearby, which would flicker when the wind blew.

"It looks like a bonfire," Princess Yuzhang muttered to herself. Then she thought, who else but Xiao Ran and her sister would be lighting a fire outside at this hour?

Just then, the little black dog in front of me suddenly barked and ran off towards the light.

"Little Black!" Princess Yuzhang tried to call out to it, but Little Black had already run far away.

It circled the fire twice before approaching a familiar figure, its tail wagging like a flower.

Now there's no need to guess—the one sitting by the fire, rummaging through something, is none other than Xiao Ran.

And the one resting her chin on her hand, watching the fire, isn't that Li Lizhi?

"It's Little Nangjun~ It's Big Sister~" The little princess was the first to react, broke free from Princess Yuzhang's hand, and ran over there with her short legs.

Princess Chengyang, Third Sister, and Yan Yao also ran over.

Xiao Ran and Li Lizhi were talking when they heard a noise and turned around. They saw several small figures running over with flashlights in hand. The beams of light shone on their faces, and their eyes were all sparkling.

"Why are you all here?" Li Lizhi quickly stood up and reached out to pat the little princess's head as she ran over. "It's so late, why aren't you asleep?"

Li Lizhi didn't expect that others would follow her out so late at night.

The little princess pointed at the fish skewers on the fire, swallowed hard, and exclaimed, "Sister~ It smells so good~ I can smell fish~"

Xiao Ran looked at the little princess, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

There's nothing we can do about a little foodie's innate talent.

Princess Yuzhang followed behind, smiling a little embarrassedly:
"We were trying to coax Sizi to sleep, but she insisted that she smelled a fragrance and dragged us here. We didn't expect it to really be you."

She moved closer to the fire, looked at the golden-brown roasted fish, and couldn't help but say, "No wonder the rhinoceros could smell it; the aroma really does travel far."

"Want to try some? We just finished grilling one, and there are still some left to grill."

Xiao Ran picked up the small, ungrilled crucian carp next to him and asked with a smile.

Princess Chengyang's eyes lit up immediately: "I want to eat it too! It smells so good!"

San Niang and Yan Yao nodded, their faces filled with anticipation.

Li Lizhi shook her head helplessly, but still helped find clean branches: "You guys are such little gluttons, but don't eat too much, it's hard to digest if you eat too much at night."

Xiao Ran skewered another small crucian carp and placed it on the fire, the firelight illuminating the faces of the little girls.

Everyone was staring at the fish skewers, even Little Black squatted down beside them, glancing up every now and then, its tail gently brushing the ground.

Princess Yuzhang sidled up to Li Lizhi and teased, "Sister, you and your young master sneaked out to grill fish, didn't you want to take us with you?"

Li Lizhi blushed slightly: "No, I just thought you were all asleep and I didn't want to wake you up."

"If it weren't for Sizi, we wouldn't have known!" Princess Yuzhang looked at Li Lizhi teasingly. "Was there any mishap?"

"You brat, what are you saying?" Li Lizhi said irritably.

Xiao Ran added with a smile, "Next time you want to grill, let me know in advance, and we can all come out together, okay?"

The little girls responded in unison with "Okay!", their clear voices creating a lively atmosphere in the night.

Before long, the second grilled fish was cooked. Xiao Ran cut the fish into small pieces and gave them to the little girls.

The little princess took a bite, squinted her eyes, and whispered, "Good, good~"

It was just so-so, I was just really hungry and hadn't had grilled fish in a while.

Princess Chengyang nodded, her mouth full of fish, and said with a slurped sound, "It smells like charcoal, so delicious."

The night breeze carried the aroma of grilled fish and the laughter of little girls, turning the once quiet pond into a lively place.

Everything's out, I want to eat more.

Xiao Ran was busy grilling fish, while Li Lizhi and Princess Yuzhang picked up fishing rods to fish.

Not long after, Zhang Erya and Xiao Yu also woke up.

Hearing Xiao Hei's barking, Zhang Erya got up to check on it, feeling uneasy.

The little girls on the kang (heated brick bed) were nowhere to be found.

Li Lizhi, Princess Yuzhang, and Xiao Ran were unaware of this.

The only option was to secretly find Xiao Yu.

"Yu Niang, we don't know where the young master and the others have gone?"

Xiao Yu was also bewildered; it was late at night and she was just about to go to sleep.

"Let's go out and take a look. There seems to be some movement over by the pool. If they're not there, let's wake up Dalang and the others to help look for them."

Zhang Dalang, Li Ke, Li Tai, Cheng Chumo, and Qin Huaidao have not been alerted.

"With the young master here, everything will be fine. Second Madam, don't worry too much."

Stepping out of the courtyard, one can see the situation beside the pond not far away.

"Look, you're worried about them, but the young master took them to steal food. How outrageous!" Xiao Yu complained with a laugh.

Zhang Erya smiled, seemingly unconcerned about the issue.

My younger sister was there too.

Since they were already there, Zhang Erya and Xiao Yu went over as well.

"Good morning, young master, fifth sister, and sixth sister!" Xiao Yu said with a smile.

"Good morning! Second Madam Yu, would you like some fish?" Princess Yuzhang waved her hand.

Previously, it was just Xiao Ran, but suddenly it became lively.

"Why are you out eating grilled fish so late at night?" Xiao Yu asked, puzzled. "It smells so good, it makes me hungry."

"The young master and older sister came out to steal a bite. We were sleeping soundly when Sizi smelled the delicious aroma, so we came over."

"Mmm-hmm~" The little princess nodded.

The other three little ones nodded as well.

This made Li Lizhi a little embarrassed.

“Let’s try some too. We don’t have enough firewood. Second Aunt, let’s go get some more.” Xiao Yu pulled Zhang Erya along.

“There’s one right here.” Xiao Ran handed the flashlight to Zhang Erya.

"it is good!"

I wouldn't eat it; I just wanted to satisfy my craving and taste it.

It's late at night, and the grilled fish has kept me awake.

By the time we finished eating, it was already past midnight.

After tidying up quickly, the group returned home.

This time, the little princess refused to go to the kang (heated brick bed) and pulled Xiao Ran along, wanting to follow him.

It seemed she was afraid Xiao Ran would secretly go out with Li Lizhi without her. (End of Chapter)