Courtyard House: In this life, I have a new home!

"Weidong, you're really fast! I knew you were coming this way."

Yan Bugui came over carrying a fishing rod and a bucket.

Li Weidong ignored him, scraped the bait ball with the hook, and two clumps of bait the size of pigeon eggs were caught on the hook. He then squeezed them a couple of times to slow down the dispersion of the bait.

"Wei Dong, you can't just catch fish by putting two hooks on the hook."

Yan Bugui adopted the air of a seasoned expert, "You're just messing around—"

"Teacher Yan, could you please stop making so much noise here?"

Li Weidong said with a frown.

He was seething with anger and wanted to teach these scoundrels a lesson, but he didn't show it on his face at all.

Yan Bugui was furious. Li Weidong called him "Teacher Yan".

This way of addressing someone completely severes any connection between them.

"Okay, I'll stay here."

Yan Bugui carried a small stool and sat down less than ten meters away from Li Weidong.

There were quite a few other people casting their lines by the water. Back then, people fished for a living, unlike later generations who fish purely for fun.

Li Weidong would lift the rod every two minutes, regardless of whether the float moved or not. After lifting it, he would re-bait the bait and cast it out again.

Yan Bugui had never seen this kind of game played in later generations before. He couldn't help but say, "Weidong, it's no wonder you can't catch any fish doing it like this. I'm an old hand with plenty of experience."

"Give me a can of beef, and I'll teach you—"

Yan Bugui had long heard that Li Weidong's family had stockpiled canned beef, and he had been secretly plotting against it.

Li Weidong didn't reply, his eyes fixed on the water. Suddenly the float sank sharply, and with a flick of his wrist, he lifted the rod to set the hook, then held the rod upright high.

The fishing rod bent into a bow, and the fishing line made a squeaking sound.

"Big one! This one's not small!"

"This young man is quite capable."

"Slow down, don't let that guy break free!"

A crowd gathered around, and Yan Bugui's eyes nearly popped out of his head.

"This bait and the baiting spot are absolutely amazing!"

Li Weidong smacked his lips to himself.

"Xiao Wei, you're really lucky. But this fish is so big, you can't handle it all by yourself. Let me help you, and you can share half with me when you bring it up."

Yan Bugui stepped forward and got straight to the point.

Go cool off somewhere else.

Li Weidong didn't turn his head at all; his eyes were fixed on the water.

"Exactly, you talk too much, get lost! Is this how you fish for attention?"

An old man next to him retorted irritably.

Seeing that he had angered everyone, Yan Bugui could only suppress his rage and take a few steps back, muttering under his breath, "It's just a newbie's luck, a blind cat catching a dead mouse. Do you even think you can reel this fish in?"

"It looks like it weighs about 20 pounds. Your pole definitely can't support it; it'll break."

Yan Bugui felt incredibly jealous and wished that Li Weidong's fishing rod would snap.

"Old Yan, you still have the nerve to call yourself a fishing master? You can't even tell the difference between a good and bad fishing rod!"

Another old man scoffed, "This fishing rod is made of bamboo! It can handle any fish, even fifty pounds!"

"Lizhu? Isn't this the same Lizhu?"

Yan Bugui was so jealous he was practically bleeding.

He had heard of bamboo poles, but had never seen one. He knew that it was made from high-quality bamboo from the south, and that the fishing rods made from it were top-notch.

Not only could he not afford it, but this kind of thing was also extremely rare in Beijing. Yan Bugui was completely out of that circle, after all, he was just a first-grade elementary school Chinese teacher.

Li Weidong was a genuine Tai Chi master, and his control over force was unmatched by ordinary people. In about five minutes, he dragged the big fish to the shore.

An old man quickly used a landing net to scoop the fish up.

"Good heavens, a bighead carp, it must weigh over twenty pounds."

The old man, who stood ramrod straight, exclaimed in praise, "Young man, you've got some skill!"

Two young men stood beside the old man, their eyes scanning their surroundings warily.

"Thanks, sir. I'll keep fishing, and I'll bring you another one when I catch one."

Li Weidong stuffed the fish into the bucket, its body curling into an arc. "I promised my sister I'd make fish soup, so this one..."

"No need, no need. Just let me catch some fish later so I can have a couple of rounds and have some fun."

The old man said with a smile.

The old man looked to be at most in his fifties, not quite sixty.

Less than two minutes later, Li Weidong pulled up another fish. Judging by its feel, he knew this fish weighed around ten pounds.

"Old man, why don't you give it a try! If you catch it, it's yours; if it gets away, it's on me."

Li Weidong said with a smile.

He could tell that the old man was someone important, and he wanted to take the opportunity to build a relationship with him.

"Xiao Wei, let me do it! Pull the fish up for me..."

Yan Bugui rushed over again, but he hadn't even seen a single fish scale.

Li Weidong didn't even glance at him before shoving the fishing rod into the old man's hand.

The old man excitedly began to play with the fish, and the two young men who looked like guards immediately became nervous and followed the old man on the left and right.

It took the old man almost twenty minutes to finally get the fish ashore.

The old man weighed the large fish in his arms, his eyes narrowing into slits as he laughed: "It must weigh at least ten pounds."

He called out to the person next to him, "Xiao Zhang, give me the money, and I'll take the picture—"

"Sir, this fish is a gift for you."

Li Weidong quickly interrupted, "You helped me out just now, so if I give you money, it will strain our relationship. Next time I come, please don't come up to me."

The old man glanced at him a few more times, then stopped refusing and happily put the fish into his bucket.

Yan Bugui was so anxious he was jumping up and down, cursing inwardly: Li Weidong, you despicable bastard, you'd rather give the fish to an outsider than to your third uncle? You just wait, I'll make sure you're dead!

Li Weidong cast his line a few more times and pulled up two carp weighing over two pounds each.

With the bait running low, he couldn't very well take more from the system's inventory in front of so many people. He simply packed up his gear, clapped his hands, and said, "Let's go, see you next time."

The old man pressed, "When?"

"Sunday. I'm only free on Sundays."

Li Weidong hopped on his bicycle. "See you later, old man."

Yan Bugui's eyes were practically spitting fire.

After struggling for ages, he only caught two small crucian carp, weighing barely two ounces in total—not even enough for soup. Looking at Li Weidong's pile of fish, he almost wanted to just go for it.

Li Weidong rode his bicycle into the courtyard house.

He pushed the handlebars with his left hand, carried the fishing rod with his right, and had a stool and a bucket strapped to either side of the back seat. It was just past 4:30 when he walked into the courtyard and bumped into Xu Damao.

"Hey, Section Chief Li!"

Xu Damao smiled broadly, "I've been showing movies in the countryside these past few days, and I never expected to see you—"

"Don't call me Section Chief Li, just call me Weidong."

Li Weidong stopped.

He knew Xu Damao was a fence-sitter, but even a villain has his uses.

Xu Damao had just arrived home when Lou Xiao'e told him about Li Weidong. He felt both envious and greedy, but he didn't hesitate to flatter her.

"You're too kind. Did you go fishing?"

He peered inside and his eyes widened in surprise. "Wow, this fish is huge!"

Madam Jia was standing at her own doorway, her triangular eyes fixed intently on this side. Her gaze was as if it were poisoned.

Li Weidong smiled at Xu Damao: "Take a carp back with you. Sister Xiao'e has taken good care of my sister; I'll remember that kindness."

Xu Damao's eyes lit up: "Then I won't stand on ceremony. Oh, by the way, I brought back a lot of dried mushrooms, let me give you some. Putting them in stewed fish, the flavor is absolutely amazing!"

He knew exactly what was going on; if there was give and take, then the friendship was established.

"Great! Let's go get two too!"

Jia Zhangshi pulled her grandson outside. Banggeng had been wanting to rush up and grab the fish for a long time; if Qin Huairu hadn't been holding him back so tightly, he would have already dashed out.

Qin Huairu sighed, "Mom, what are you doing? Do you think they'll give you fish?"

She had a naturally pitiful look, and her eyes were slightly red when she spoke, revealing an indescribable sense of grievance.

"A vixen!"

Madam Jia gritted her teeth and cursed, "Bang Geng is your own son, and you, you don't even bother to provide him with a decent meal."

"Mom! I want to eat fish! I want to eat fish! How will I grow tall if I don't eat fish!"

Banggeng howled at the top of his lungs.

"Come on, grandson."

Jia Zhangshi straightened her back. "If he can give it to Xu Damao, why can't he give it to our family? There's no such logic in the world!"

Qin Huairu stared at Jia Zhangshi's back, which was as big as a bear, and cursed in her heart: You old hag, you say you're finding food for your grandson, but most of it ends up in your own stomach.

As soon as Li Weidong arrived at his doorstep, he called out into the house, "Xiaorou, bring out the big wooden basin."

Lin Yurou and He Yushui carried the wooden basin outside, but Xiao Xi was still running in front.

"Brother! Brother! Did you catch any fish? I want the big one!"

Xiao Xi's short legs moved swiftly, and when she reached the tin bucket, she jumped up immediately: "Wow! What a big fish! What a big fish! Xiao Dang, Huaihua, look, isn't my brother amazing?"

Xiao Dang and Huaihua also came over to take a look. They thought Xiao Xi's house was really cool, especially with the electric fan blowing so loudly, it was much more comfortable than outside.

"Brother Dong, this fish is huge!"

Lin Yurou's eyes lit up. "Quickly put it in a big basin and fill it with water... or better yet, just throw it in the water tank."

Li Weidong waved his hand and laughed, "We'll kill this bighead carp now. We'll keep the carp in the bucket for now, and this one is for Xu Damao."

Xu Damao and Lou Xiao'e happened to come by. Xu Damao was carrying a large bunch of dried mushrooms. He happily exchanged them for a carp, put them in a bucket at home, and then ran back.

At this moment, the first aunt, the second aunt, and the third aunt all arrived.

"Wei Dong, ah..."

Aunt Yang Yuhua spoke up, "Your family can't finish this big fish, why don't you share some with the neighbors? You didn't spend any money on it anyway."

"Get out of here."

Li Weidong glanced at her. "Teacher Yan's family, you make it sound so easy. Isn't my time valuable? Have you ever seen your Teacher Yan distribute fish to others?"

"that is."

Xu Damao chimed in, "Section Chief Li earns 260 a month. Isn't time money? You guys really know how to take advantage."

"Xu Damao, you caught some fish! We didn't get any!"

Jia Zhangshi came over, pulling a stick along the edge. "Just give my family half of this big fish. I want the back part."

The rest of it is all meat.

As soon as the bighead carp was put into the large wooden tub, Banggeng pounced on it without saying a word. Unexpectedly, the fish suddenly lashed out with its tail, slapping Banggeng across the face.

This blow completely stunned Banggeng, who plopped down on the ground and started howling like a pig being slaughtered.

"Give me the fish right now! And you even hit my grandson!"

Madam Jia became enraged, "I'm not finished with you!"

The stick was slapped, and that became her reason for wanting fish.