After the family split up, my stepmother and scumbag father begged me to come home.

When Lin Qianqian got back, she neatly cut out the four characters "Qianqian Handmade" written by Doctor Zhou, made some paste, and pasted them one by one onto the porcelain bottle.

The paste was still warm. She smoothed out the edges with her fingers and then wiped the paste stains off the bottle with her sleeve.

The white porcelain vase was already plain and simple, but this decoration somehow made it look like something sold in a shop.

She took a step back, tilted her head, and examined it for a long time, finding it amusing even to herself.

Who would have thought that it contained nothing more than wild chrysanthemums and osmanthus flowers picked casually from the back hill?

Even Tiger couldn't help but praise how good it looked.

"Miss Zhao will definitely like it." Tiger picked up a bottle, looked at it from all angles, and then sniffed it. The more he looked at it, the more he found it rare.

"I'm not giving you this bottle. If you want to drink it, fill it up and take it back yourself." Lin Qianqian put the bottle into the cabinet, patted the cabinet door, and locked it with the padlock.

"It'll be the first day of next month in three days. Let's go to the temple early and pretend we bump into each other." Tiger counted on his fingers, his eyes shining, wishing tomorrow was the first day of the month. He was getting restless and paced back and forth in the room twice.

Lin Qianqian was in a good mood today, and seeing his eager look, she decided to tease him: "Tiger, do you want to eat fish?"

"Going up the mountain again?" Tiger immediately became alert. "Your leg just healed. Doctor Zhou told you not to go up the mountain, so you don't strain it again."

"Just tell me if you want to eat it. Let's sneak off without him knowing," Lin Qianqian said, looking at him.

"Then let's call my eldest and second eldest brothers. They've been talking about catching fish for a while now." Tiger waited for her reply.

"Okay." Lin Qianqian nodded.

Tiger responded and ran home, but after taking two steps, he turned back and shouted, "Don't go ahead! Wait for me!"

Lin Qianqian smiled and waved her hand, then turned to prepare her things.

She found some branches, bent them into a frame, and sewed a piece of old cloth in the middle. The stitches were crooked, but sturdy. She then attached a long pole, and a fishing net was complete.

Then he picked a stick with a forked end, sharpened the tip to a point, and polished it with a stone to make a harpoon.

Finally, he brought out a wooden bucket with a machete and a bundle of rope inside.

Ding Dahu and Ding Erhu were even more excited than during the New Year when they heard they were going to the mountains to catch fish.

Ding Dahu threw on a coat and rushed out, with Ding Erhu chasing after him, buttoning his coat as he went, carrying a wooden bucket. When the three of them arrived at Lin Qianqian's house, they were panting and their faces were red.

Lin Qianqian looked around for a long time, but there was nothing behind her. She was confused: "What? What chased you three away?"

"I was in a hurry to catch fish!" Tiger wiped his sweat, his chest still heaving.

Lin Qianqian chuckled, "If you put it that way, it's true, what if the fish gets away?" She couldn't help but burst into laughter herself.

Ding Dahu and Ding Erhu chuckled along, and the courtyard suddenly became lively.

The group headed up the mountain. Lin Qianqian's foot injury had just healed, so she dared not walk fast. Ding Dahu and Ding Erhu followed behind, wringing their hands anxiously, but they didn't dare to urge her on.

"Qianqian, how about I carry you on my back?" Ding Dahu squatted down and looked back at her.

"Huh? Is this okay?" Lin Qianqian hesitated.

"What's wrong with that? Your sister-in-law Chunfen isn't angry. She knows your foot isn't fully healed," Ding Dahu said with a smile.

Before Lin Qianqian could respond, Ding Dahu had already squatted down.

She had no choice but to lie down, and Ding Dahu stood up with a burst of strength, his steps steady and fast.

After carrying it for a while, Ding Erhu took over.

The two brothers took turns, and Lin Qianqian reached the top of the mountain in just a few steps.

When they reached the riverbank, Ding Dahu and Ding Erhu rolled up their sleeves and got to work. But the fish were as slippery as eels in the water; the moment their hands touched them, the fish flicked its tail and swam away, splashing water all over their faces.

"No, he's swimming too fast." Ding Erhu shook the water off his hands; his trouser legs were half-wet.

"I made my move as soon as I saw it, but I didn't even get a fish's tail." Ding Dahu straightened up, panting, and wiped his face with his sleeve.

"I'll do it." Lin Qianqian stood by the water, holding a harpoon, her eyes fixed on the surface, motionless. A large fish swam slowly by, and with a swift movement, she stabbed it. The water splashed with a "splash," and a large fish was already stuck in the harpoon. Its tail was still thrashing, splashing water all over her face.

"Wow! Sister Qianqian, you're amazing!" Tiger clapped his hands and jumped up and down shouting.

"Qianqian, can I borrow this?" Ding Dahu took the harpoon, mimicked her movements, focused on the water, and suddenly thrust it—"Got it! This thing works really well!"

"Let me try." Ding Erhu also snatched it over. As long as he was accurate, he could pick them up one by one, making him so happy that he couldn't stop smiling.

In no time, the group had taken four or five pieces.

Lin Qianqian took out her fishing net again, specifically targeting the crevices between the rocks. With a dip of the net in the water and a scoop, several small fish jumped and swished in it.

"What's this?" Tiger was stunned and leaned closer to stare at the fish in the net.

"The net I made for catching fish, once it's scooped up like this, none of them can escape," Lin Qianqian described vividly.

Tiger said he wanted to try, but he used too much force and didn't grab anything.

Lin Qianqian laughed and demonstrated, "Get the net in the water first, aim carefully before scooping it up. If you just throw it into the water like that, the fish will be scared away."

Tiger scratched his head, smiled sheepishly, and tried a couple more times. He actually caught a few small ones and shouted with joy.

Hearing this, Ding Dahu and Ding Erhu also vied to try it.

There were plenty of fish in the river, and no one had ever caught them, so there was no sense of crisis, unlike modern fish which are so cunning.

In no time, the two wooden buckets were filled to the brim, both large and small, so full that they were too heavy to lift. The water inside the buckets sloshed out and spilled all the way.

Going down the mountain is easier than going up.

Tiger supported Lin Qianqian, afraid that she would fall off.

After leaving the deep mountains, there is still a mountain road, which is the one that the villagers usually take, but they never go into the deep mountains normally.

"Hey, where did you guys catch these fish?" Someone saw them, curiously came over, and peered into the bucket.

"Caught it in the river," Ding Dahu replied casually, without stopping.

"There are fish this big in the river?" The man was stunned; he hadn't seen any.

Unfortunately, they're not talking about the same place. The waterways are connected, but almost no one goes into the deep mountains, where the fish grow big and fat.

Without offering any further explanation, the group carried their buckets down the mountain.

Lin Qianqian kept a few, and gave the rest to the Ding family.

Tiger left two more, saying he wanted to eat them with Sister Qianqian and wouldn't be going back.

Ding Dahu and Ding Erhu didn't think too much about it. They carried the wooden bucket home happily, discussing whether to stew or make soup along the way.

Lin Qianqian plans to grill it.

She scaled the fish, gutted it, rinsed it clean, marinated it for a while, added lots of scallions and ginger, and poured in some wine to remove the fishy smell.

The fish was marinating in a basin. She went for a walk in the yard and found two tall wooden stumps.

"Tiger, come help me out."

Tiger ran out, and Lin Qianqian told him to cut a line down the top of the wooden stump so that the fish could be strung on it, allowing them to both grill and flip the fish.

Tiger's eyes were filled with surprise and admiration after hearing this: "Sister Qianqian, how did you come up with that?"

"What are you standing there for? Get to it!"

Tiger snapped out of his daze and quickly got to work, chopping wood into countless pieces.

All done, Lin Qianqian grabbed a fish, skewered it on a stick, and put it on the rack. Perfect.

Tiger brought over a small pile of firewood and started a fire. The flames licked the fish, and the oil dripped onto the fire, sizzling and releasing a burst of aroma.

Lin Qianqian simply sprinkled a layer of salt on top.

She grilled the meat until it was charred and fragrant, then took it off and handed it to Hu Zi: "Try it." Then she skewered a second one and put it on the fire.

Tiger's mouth was covered in black grease as he ate, muttering, "So delicious, not fishy at all, so tasty." His mouth was so full that he could barely speak.

Lin Qianqian's second grilled skewer was also cooked. She took it down and asked Hu Zi to help her take it, then skewered the third one onto the rack. Taking the skewer from Hu Zi, she took a bite: "So fragrant, and it's wild, so fresh." She ate slowly, chewing carefully, while Hu Zi only had a stick left.

Tiger had almost finished his, and his eyes were fixed on the one on the shelf: "Is it not cooked yet, Sister Qianqian?"

Lin Qianqian glanced at it: "That's about right."

Tiger reached for it, but it was so hot he kept shaking his hand away. He couldn't bear to throw it away, so he tossed it back and forth between his hands, blowing on it for a while before finally taking a bite. Lin Qianqian then skewered another one.

The two of them ate with great relish, their mouths smeared with grease. They looked at each other and couldn't help but laugh.

Tiger laughed so hard he almost choked on a fishbone. He coughed twice, and Lin Qianqian quickly patted his back.

Everyone had eaten their fill, the fire was extinguished, and the floor was cleaned up.

Tiger let out a burp and carried the two unfinished fish home.

Lin Qianqian also went inside to rest. She lay on the bed, patted her round belly, and had a smile on her lips.