Era: Rise from the Wilderness

"Gotcha!"

Li Yunjing excitedly held up his spoils.

Under the sunlight, the fish scales shimmered with dazzling light.

Lü Ruoxi clapped her hands excitedly, "Amazing!"

Li Yunjing put the fish into the plastic bucket, and immediately a splashing sound came from inside.

With his first success, his confidence soared, and he quickly grasped the second and third points.

Lu Ruoxi, watching from the shore, felt itchy to join in, so she rolled up her trousers, took off her shoes and socks, and went into the water.

But she had no experience, and after frantically trying to grab a few, she didn't catch any, and instead got herself soaked.

"I'm not playing anymore! I'm not playing anymore!"

She angrily waved her hand, "That fish is too cunning!"

"Hahaha!"

Li Yunjing couldn't help but laugh when he saw her soaking wet appearance.

Seeing her puffed-up face, Li Yunjing smiled and beckoned her over: "Come here, I'll teach you."

Lu Ruoxi reluctantly moved over, muttering, "This fish is like a loach, it's impossible to catch."

"You can't just grab at things like that."

Li Yunjing made her squat down next to him, "Watch carefully."

"Hands should be like this, palms facing each other, slowly move them closer together, don't rush to close them."

He slowed down his movements to demonstrate: "Fish have blind spots; you can't sense them when you approach from behind."

As he spoke, he stared at a bighead carp that was munching on moss, and slowly reached his hands into the water from the tail end, like a slow-motion scene in a movie.

When his palm was only a dozen centimeters away from the fish, he suddenly snapped his hand together, and another fish began to thrash about in his hand.

"Wow!"

Lü Ruoxi's eyes lit up. "It's that simple?"

"You give it a try."

Li Yunjing put the fish into the bucket and stood behind her, giving her instructions.

Following his example, Lü Ruoxi held her breath and slowly put her hands into the water.

Li Yunjing whispered behind her, "Don't be nervous, relax... Yes, a little slower... Okay, now!"

Lu Ruoxi clasped her hands together and felt something slippery in her palms.

caught!

"I caught him! I caught him!"

She excitedly raised her hand, and a small fish was wriggling wildly in her palm.

Although it was much smaller than the fish Li Yunjing had caught, this was the first time she had caught a fish with her own hands.

"sharp!"

Li Yunjing gave a thumbs up.

This success greatly boosted Lü Ruoxi's confidence.

She stared intently at the fish in the water, trying again and again.

Although she only succeeds once or twice out of ten times, she smiles happily every time she catches a fish.

Sunlight streamed through the cracks in the bridge, illuminating the shimmering water.

Two boys squatted in the water, focused on catching fish, occasionally exchanging a few tips.

Before we knew it, the plastic bucket was already more than half full of fish.

Li Yunjing counted them; there were more than twenty, the largest of which was the bighead carp that weighed over a pound that he caught the first time.

"That's enough, that's enough."

He picked up the bucket and weighed it in his hand. "If we keep grabbing it, we won't be able to take it back."

Lu Ruoxi stood up, still feeling a bit unsatisfied, and realized that her trouser legs were completely wet and her shirt was also splashed with water.

But she didn't care at all, her face still showing the excitement of catching a fish.

The two climbed ashore and found a flat, large rock to sit on.

The afternoon sun was still strong, just enough to dry the soaked trouser legs.

Lu Ruoxi sat barefoot on the rock, her toes curling unconsciously.

Those were typical young girl's feet, fair and slender, with a little mud and sand still clinging to the ankles, gleaming like jade in the sunlight.

Li Yunjing sat beside her, his gaze inadvertently sweeping over her feet, and his heart fluttered for no reason.

He quickly looked away, inwardly cursing himself: Amitabha, adults' thoughts are just too complicated!

He forced himself to look at the distant water, but felt the girl's presence all around him.

"Today was so much fun."

Lu Ruoxi didn't notice his odd behavior and swung her toes, saying, "It's much more interesting than watching TV at home."

"Um."

Li Yunjing gave a dry reply, but still dared not glance in that direction.

"What's wrong with you?"

Lu Ruoxi finally noticed something was wrong with him. "Why is your face so red? Are you having heatstroke?"

"N-nothing."

Li Yunjing quickly stood up. "It's from the sun. I'll go check on the fish."

He walked over to the plastic bucket and pretended to check on the fish.

The twenty-odd fish in the bucket were still jumping around, with the largest fathead fish being particularly energetic, occasionally whipping its tail and splashing water.

But at this moment, Li Yunjing's mind was not on the fish at all.

With his back to Lü Ruoxi, he took several deep breaths to suppress the inexplicable restlessness in his heart.

Having been given a second chance at life, he thought he could calmly view everything.

But when a youthful body meets a youthful heart, that primal impulse still catches him off guard.

"Li Yunjing,"

Lu Ruoxi called to him from behind, "My feet are dry, but my socks aren't completely dry yet."

Li Yunjing turned around, trying to keep his expression natural: "Then wait a little longer, until it's completely dry before you leave."

To distract himself, he squatted down by the bucket and carefully counted: "There are twenty-six in total, thirteen each."

Lü Ruoxi was a little embarrassed: "You're the one who caught them..."

"Didn't you catch several more later?"

Li Yunjing laughed and said, "Besides, catching fish is something we do together, so of course we should split the fish equally."

Half an hour later, the seawater on the two of them was finally dried by the scorching sun, and a thin layer of salt even formed on their trouser legs, which looked like white frost in the sunlight.

"Let's go, it's time to go back."

Li Yunjing patted his pants, and salt grains fell down in a flurry.

They climbed onto the bridge and rode their bicycles home.

As the afternoon sun began to set, the streets gradually filled up with people.

After an afternoon of intense sun exposure, both of their skin was somewhat red.

When they arrived at the cadre building, Li Yunjing asked for a thick black plastic bag at the nearby grocery store.

"Caught fish?"

The boss readily gave him two: "Not bad!"

Li Yunjing thanked him and squatted down by the roadside to carefully divide the fish into two portions.

He specifically picked out the biggest and fattest ones and put them in a bag.

"Take these."

He handed the bulging plastic bag to Lü Ruoxi.

Lü Ruoxi took the bag and felt its weight.

Through the semi-transparent plastic bag, you can see the shimmering silver fish inside, still wriggling slightly.

"Too many..."

She said in a low voice.

"not much."

Li Yunjing stood up, patted the fish scales off his hands, and said, "Take this home and have your mom make soup or braise it. It's delicious. Even if you can't finish it, you can put it in the refrigerator."

Refrigerators weren't common back then, but Lu Ruoxi's family was well-off, so they probably had one.

Lu Ruoxi looked down at the fish in her hand, a warm feeling welling up in her heart.

"Well...see you tomorrow?"

She looked up, her eyes sparkling.

"See you tomorrow."

Li Yunjing waved his hand, "Hurry up and go up, the fish need to be processed as soon as possible."

Only after watching Lü Ruoxi walk into the building with the fish bag did Li Yunjing turn around and get on his bicycle.

When Li Yunjing rode his bicycle home, the setting sun had already turned the family compound orange-red.