Martial Saint: Starting with Accumulating Experience

Chapter 116 Xiaowen

Chen Feng walked upstream along the riverbank and soon saw the fishing village that Zen Master Xuanji had mentioned.

After inquiring around at the village entrance, Chen Feng learned that Zheng Shuisheng had an accident a few days ago. He went out fishing and encountered a mountain rainstorm, which caused the Xunjiang River to flood. He ended up drowning.

Now only the grandfather and grandson remain in the family, relying on each other for survival.

As Chen Feng listened to the old woman at the village entrance recount Zheng Shuisheng's tragic experiences, his heart sank.

Life is unpredictable; in the blink of an eye, we are separated by life and death. No wonder I haven't gone to Yuquan Temple to offer incense again.

Chen Feng did not return there; he felt that Master Xuanji meant more than that.

So they asked Zheng Shuisheng for his address.

"Oh, their family lives on the east side of the village. You can go over and ask around. Sigh, poor Xiaowen, she lost her parents at such a young age."

The old woman sighed. The Xiaowen she mentioned was Zheng Shuisheng's daughter, Zheng Wen.

Chen Feng walked towards the east side of the village and soon found the house.

The walls were made of low stones, the roof was thatched, the house was low and cramped, the yard was paved with random stones, and in the corners there were piles of fishing nets, rotten wooden planks, and dried seaweed.

There was a main house and a side shed; the wooden doors were rough and peeling, and old straw curtains hung to block the wind and cold.

Just then, a girl of about ten years old pushed open the wooden door and came out.

The girl was wearing a faded, patched coarse cloth jacket and was carrying a fish basket and a bamboo sieve.

Her complexion was sallow and malnourished, and her lips were dry and cracked.

The girl was slightly taken aback when she saw Chen Feng.

"Are you here to see Grandpa? Grandpa has gone out," Xiaowen said, her voice a little childish.

Chen Feng noticed her wariness and said, "Master Xuanji of Yuquan Temple asked me to come and see why you haven't been to the temple lately."

"Are you a monk too? Why didn't you shave your head?" Xiaowen asked, somewhat puzzled.

Chen Feng explained, "I am not a monk, I am Master Xuanji's friend."

Xiao Wen breathed a sigh of relief, then said seriously, "I'm all grown up now, I can't go to the temple to play anymore, I'm going to go fishing."

Chen Feng remained silent.

At his request, Xiaowen finally agreed to take him along.

Xiaowen said that today was her first time going out to fish; before that, she always helped mend fishing nets and weave fish baskets at home.

Chen Feng glanced at her hands; her palms were cracked and calloused, from being rubbed by rough bamboo strips.

The two arrived at a stream near the village. The water was crystal clear, and smooth pebbles covered the bottom of the stream.

"In the past, Dad caught big fish in the big river, and Grandpa caught small fish in the small river. Now it's Grandpa's turn to catch big fish in the big river, so of course I'll catch small fish in the small river," Xiaowen said earnestly.

A fleeting hint of sorrow crossed her eyes when her father was mentioned.

The little girl rolled up her coarse cloth trousers and stepped barefoot into the shallow stream. The stream water was icy cold in winter, making her teeth chatter.

Chen Feng's gaze swept across the stream. Among the water plants, there were only a few tiny minnows and whitebait, swimming very fast and scattering at the slightest disturbance.

You probably won't catch much fishing here.

Just as he expected, Xiao Wen worked hard for a long time, but the bamboo sieve in his hands kept going up and down, and most of the scoops were empty.

In the end, all we caught were a few tiny fish fry and a handful of shriveled shrimp—a pitifully small number.

The bottom of the fish basket is thin and not worth much at all.

Chen Feng rolled up his trousers and walked into the stream to catch fish. He took the bamboo sieve from Xiao Wen and started catching fish, while Xiao Wen went to collect some river snails.

You seem to have gained some insight.

[A deeper understanding of the "Canglang Technique"]

[Experience +12]

Xiaowen reached out and touched the smooth pebbles. Her fingertips touched the hard snail shells, so she bent down, picked them up, and threw them into the fish basket.

With Chen Feng's help, Xiao Wen could see the number of fish in the fish basket gradually increase every time she threw river snails into it.

After repeating this process several times, the fish basket gradually filled with about half a basket of lively little fish, as well as a few small river shrimp, which were completely transparent and waved their tiny pincers.

The two worked for a long time until the sun was about to set before they went ashore and sat under an old tree on the bank.

Chen Feng's trouser legs were completely wet, and his feet were covered in mud. However, he slightly activated his inner energy, and the mud was instantly washed away, and the water in his trouser legs was evaporated.

In the blink of an eye, it felt dry and comfortable.

He had already told Xiaowen that he was only helping out and didn't want any of the fish.

Xiao Wen jumped up with joy after hearing this, thanking him repeatedly and calling him "brother" so often that Chen Feng couldn't help but smile.

"How much money can this basket sell for?" Chen Feng asked.

At this moment, Xiaowen was digging a small pond on the bank to raise the fish there so she could sell them at the market the next morning.

Dead fish are unwanted.

"Fifteen coins, I wouldn't have been able to catch even a small fish worth two coins if it weren't for my brother's help."

Xiaowen answered while digging.

Chen Feng frowned: "So little? Where did you buy the fish?"

"It's in the fish market at Feiyu Ferry, where a big shot in blue clothes is in charge."

Chen Feng understood that this was Canglang Gang territory, so he asked, "That should be alright, right? I'll have fifteen coins left after paying."

He recalled that when he was a porter, he would work all day and only earn twenty coins, which was enough to buy ten large sesame cakes.

Xiaowen shook his head and counted on his fingers: "I haven't even calculated the money I need to pay this month. After selling the fish, I have to pay for protection, management, and the stall. I don't know if all of that will be enough to pay the money."

If there are enough fish, then Grandpa will make pure profit from selling the fish he catches in the future.

The little girl said with a smile.

Completely unaware that Chen Feng's face had turned green, he, a head of the main hall, had worked so hard to catch fish all day, and it wasn't even enough to cover the private taxes collected by his subordinates!

He seemed to understand why Master Xuanji had asked him to make this trip.

"Let's go, it's getting late, I'll take you home," Chen Feng said after watching Xiao Wen clean up the puddle.

Although the stream wasn't far from the village, Chen Feng was a little worried because Xiao Wen was too young.

He asked, "Is your grandfather really so comfortable letting you go fishing alone?"

Xiao Wen shook his head: "No, I sneaked out while Grandpa was fishing."

Chen Feng's smile froze.

fishing village.

An old man was hunched over and thin, with dark skin, dry and rough skin, cloudy and sunken eyebrows and eyes, and deep lines at the corners of his eyes.

"Xiao Wen! Xiao Wen!" He anxiously paced around the village again and again.

I never expected that my granddaughter would disappear after I went out for a short while.

"Could she have been abducted?" A villager's question left the old man flustered and at a loss.

He only has this one granddaughter left.

"Hey, don't talk nonsense." The old woman pushed the villager aside and looked at the old man, saying, "Old Zheng, don't be anxious. First, think about whether Shuisheng has any friends. Earlier at the village entrance, a man who looked like an old man asked me about your family."

The old man asked anxiously, "Are you asking about our house? Who is it?"

The old woman shook her head: "He asked me about Shuisheng and where Shuisheng lived. I gave him directions. He was dressed properly and didn't look like a slave trader."

Just as the group was arguing...

"Grandpa!"

A crisp voice rang out, and the old man turned his head in surprise to see Xiao Wen.

Chen Feng watched from afar as Xiao Wen lowered her head and was scolded, her little face scrunched up pitifully.