Courtyard House: My Time Travel is a Bit Too Strong

The two set off on their bicycles, the wind whipping up withered leaves as they passed the wheels, and after a few miles they swayed and bumped their way to the riverbank.

Lin Quan took out a blue-rimmed enamel cup from his bag, scooped water and stirred it, mixing the various powders into a thick bait ball.

Yan Bugui turned around and borrowed a chipped hoe from Uncle Wang at the village entrance. He squatted down in the wet mud and dug out a handful of lively red earthworms.

"Just casting the rod without baiting the area? That's all for nothing."

Lin Quan swung his sledgehammer, smashed the ice with a bang, broke two pieces of fried dough into pieces, and precisely sprinkled them into the hole.

Yan Bugui's pole is made of fiberglass, and it is said to be an old item brought back from Eastern Europe in the early years.

The fishing rod used by the young marshal Zhang Xueliang was made of this material.

The pole in Lin Quan's hand was only 3.6 meters long, with a bluish-gray cold light all over. It was a replica of the original Han Ding rebar billet that he found on Earth, which was both hard and flexible.

Yan Bugui returned carrying a basket of earthworms, and peered closer: "A-Quan, what's your bait recipe?"

"I made these myself..." Lin Quan casually kneaded two bait balls.

"When it comes to fishing skills, in this compound, I, Yan, am second to none." He raised his chin slightly, full of smugness.

"Oh?" Lin Quan didn't even lift his eyelids.

"Want to have a contest? Let's see who has the heaviest bucket!" Yan Bugui's eyes lit up, and he immediately got excited.

"How much to bet? One dollar? Ten dollars?" Lin Quan asked directly.

"Ten yuan!" Yan Bugui was very confident—who in the compound didn't know he was the most reliable at watching the float and the most accurate at setting the hook? His chances of winning were rock solid, why gamble on just one yuan? That would be beneath him!

"Okay." Lin Quan nodded, then added, "Is it the total weight or the number of fish? What time do you pack up?"

"We'll pack up at 11:30 and compare the weights." Yan Bugui quickly calculated and made the decision.

"Okay." Lin Quan pinched the bait ball, flicked his wrist, and the fishing line drew an arc as the bait ball landed steadily in the center of the nest.

In less than five minutes, the buoy suddenly sank!

With a flick of his right hand, the rod tip taut like a bow, and a large, silver-scaled carp burst out of the water with a splash, its tail fin whipping up water droplets.

"Uncle, please take it easy."

The fish went into the bamboo basket with a splash, and he quickly baited the bait, cast the line, and moved as swiftly as if he were timing a stopwatch.

The bait, enhanced with a secret additive, has a fishy and fragrant aroma that permeates the water, attracting a dense swarm of fish.

Almost every minute or so, a fish would take the bait, its tail slapping against the basket with a crackling sound.

With a quarter of an hour to go before the fishing season ended, the bamboo baskets were already overflowing.

"Uncle, shall we continue?" Lin Quan asked with a smile.

"I give up... I admit defeat." Yan Bugui waved his hand, his face burning.

"Here, hold out your hand." Lin Quan opened his palm to him.

Yan Bugui gritted his teeth, pulled out a crumpled ten-yuan note from his pocket, hissing in pain, and then asked in a low voice, "A-Quan, could I have a small piece of this bait?"

He may be meticulous in his calculations, but he can afford to lose and never reneges on his debts.

Without hesitation, Lin Quan poured the remaining pigeon-egg-sized bait into his palm.

With this amount of bait, you can only fish three or four more times at most.

He bent down, poured the live fish from the basket into a nylon bag, and tied the opening tightly...

After everything was packed up, Lin Quan got into the car and headed straight for the Third Machinery Factory.

At three cents a pound, fifty pounds of fish were stuffed into the canteen kitchen in exchange for a stack of warm banknotes.

Currently, pork is 8.5 cents, the weather is cold and the water is chilly, while fish prices have only risen to a little over 30 cents.

Roosters cost around two yuan, hens cost a little over three yuan, and sturdy hens that lay eggs start at four and a half yuan.

Back in the courtyard house, Lin Quan pushed open the door, went to Earth, and returned with two heavy, live carp.

As soon as He Yuzhu stepped into the courtyard after get off work, he went up to him and shoved the fish into his hands, saying, "Brother Zhu, thank you for cooking."

He Yuzhu's braised fish is exceptional; the aroma of scallions and ginger wafting from the wok is so enticing that even the neighbor's kids would tiptoe over the wall to try and catch a glimpse.

The two fish weighed five or six pounds, more than enough for three people.

Lin Quan cut off half of the fish and sent it to Qin Huairu's house. He also asked He Yuzhu to take a bowl of hot fish soup to the deaf old lady.

"Ah Quan, come on, let's have a drink!" As soon as He Yuzhu entered the room, he grabbed the wine pot and poured two cups.

If it were anyone else, they would probably have cursed the Jia family as ungrateful wretches.

Some people actually mistook the kind-hearted He Yuzhu for a clueless idiot.

They were genuinely trying to help others, but were instead accused of being blindly enthusiastic or lacking common sense.

Lin Quan knew very well: people don't turn bad overnight; it's either because the people around them lead them astray, or because life forces them to bow their heads step by step.

As the saying goes, "Follow the famous to learn from the famous, follow the black to learn from the black"—the wisdom of our ancestors is absolutely true.

After finishing the meal and cleaning up the dishes, He Yushui quickly tidied up the mess.

He Yuzhu chatted with Lin Quan for a few minutes, then took his sister's hand and left the courtyard.

Lin Quan, however, was wide awake and turned back to Earth.

"We should keep a few gold bars on hand; they can be used as hard currency on Earth."

He took out his gold-smelting furnace and headed straight for a long-established jewelry shop at the street corner.

After working for more than five hours, he had ten heavy gold bars in his hand.

"Ten ancestral roots? That's absolutely true."

He went back to his house with the gold bars in his pocket, fell asleep immediately, and slept soundly until dawn.

After sweeping the yard and wiping the stove clean, Qin Huairu grabbed her cloth bag and rushed to the machinery factory.

Lin Quan couldn't stay still, so he strolled around the courtyard house.

Not long after, Xu Damao, carrying a bag of salt, strolled into the courtyard.

"Da Mao, how's the price of salt today?" Lin Quan asked casually.

"Not expensive at all, just right," Xu Damao replied readily.

Before he could finish speaking, Uncle Yan Bugui pushed open the door and poked his head out: "Da Mao, did you call me for something?"

"I didn't call you?" Xu Damao was taken aback.

"Didn't you just yell 'Yan Bugui'?" The third uncle frowned.

"I meant 'salt isn't expensive'! How dare I call you by your full name? I've always called you 'Third Uncle,' a person who knows proper etiquette, who would do such a thing?" Xu Damao quickly waved his hand.

"Oh...it's 'Salt Isn't Expensive'?" The third uncle's face flushed slightly.

"That's right—Ah Quan asked me if salt was expensive. Salt prices haven't gone up, so of course it's not expensive." Xu Damao shrugged, looking completely at ease.

"Oh, so that's what it is." The third uncle nodded and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Uncle, wanna go fishing by the river today?" Lin Quan asked with a smile in his eyes.

Today is Sunday, and school is closed. The old man, who was eager to start fishing, immediately replied, "Let's go!"

"Want to have another match?" Lin Quan blinked.

"Forget it, I don't want to pay another ten yuan." The old man waved his hand, the defeat yesterday still making his heart clench.

"Let's go together," Lin Quan said with a smile, pushing the cart.

"Okay!" the third uncle readily agreed.

The two men cycled straight to the riverbank. Once the rods were set up and the floats had just hit the water, the third uncle spoke up: "Ah Quan, want to share some bait?"

"Third Uncle, this bait is made with the finest ingredients..." Lin Quan deliberately dragged out his words.

"Give me the money! How much?" the old man gritted his teeth.

"One piece." Lin Quan casually pinched off half a handful, enough to make only three balls.

"It's not even a pound, maybe eight ounces at most, more precious than a pig's hindquarters!" the third old man clicked his tongue in amazement.