Chapter 214: Fishing & Picnic
As everyone knows, fishing has what people call a “beginner’s luck” period.
Those who have never fished before, even with a toy rod, can somehow pull up big fish that seasoned anglers would drool over.
As for the veterans—well, they’ve evolved into benefactors in the eyes of the fish.
After throwing in pounds of carefully prepared bait and sitting there for hours, catching one or two fish is already considered good. Who knows—maybe the fish are offering tribute just to keep the “baiting immortals” around.
At this moment, sitting by the lakeside were Gu Qinghuan, Yuan Wuwei, and Fan Ziran—their beginner’s luck had long since expired.
“No, this definitely isn’t my problem,” Yuan Wuwei declared confidently. “It’s the bait and rods here—they’re no good.”
“Exactly. We came at the wrong time—the fish are probably full already. And this spot isn’t great either, I think over there would be better.” Fan Ziran picked up his rod, ready to change locations again.
“You’ve already switched spots three times and re-baited three times in the past half hour,” Qinghuan kindly reminded him.
Fan Ziran froze as if struck by lightning, then collapsed onto the ground. “Class monitor, don’t expose me like that—”
Qinghuan yawned. She was just thinking that even if they caught nothing, sitting here daydreaming was quite relaxing—when suddenly, the float on the water twitched and then sank.
According to her habit, this wasn’t the moment to rush. She waited for the float to rise again before sharply lifting the rod.
“Ah! Class monitor got a bite!” Yuan Wuwei was even more excited than if she’d caught one herself—mainly because this was only the third bite among the three of them in half an hour.
The first two times—once for Fan Ziran and once for Qinghuan—the fish had escaped.
Learning from last time, Qinghuan made sure the fish was hooked—but instead of reeling it in, she simply swung the rod sideways. With no one nearby, she turned it ninety degrees and flung the fish straight onto the shore.
Fan Ziran gave a thumbs-up. “Nice one, class monitor!”
Yuan Wuwei quickly set down her own rod and ran over to pick up the fish. “It’s a crucian carp—pretty decent, about the size of my palm.”
“Crucian carp soup with fried eggs!” Qinghuan immediately said.
Milky white fish broth, with golden fried eggs soaking up the soup, edges crisp and fragrant, sprinkled with fresh green scallions—rich and delicious.
Even though crucian carp has lots of tiny bones, it’s unbeatable for soup.
Yuan Wuwei tossed the fish into a water bucket, rinsed her hands, and Fan Ziran handed her a towel.
“Everything is hard at the start, but now that the class monitor has caught one, the ‘start’ is over!” Yuan Wuwei perked up. “My brother and I should start catching fish too!”
“Who’s your brother!” Fan Ziran retorted immediately. “It’s me and my sister who are about to catch fish!”
Qinghuan ignored their argument and calmly threaded an earthworm onto the hook.
One fish wasn’t enough for soup—she needed more. There was still over an hour before the 11 a.m. gathering.
Fish, come on—just a few more!
By the end, Qinghuan’s “harvest” was three crucian carp, all around palm-sized. One of them had a bulging belly, likely full of roe.
Yuan Wuwei caught a tiny white fish, barely ten centimeters. She threw it back the first time, hoping for something bigger—but when she caught the same one again, she angrily decided to keep it and grill it.
Fan Ziran? Zero fish. That’s what happens when you’re impatient and keep changing spots.
After handing the fish to the farm staff for processing, Yuan Wuwei crossed her arms proudly in front of Fan Ziran.
“Call me ‘sis’!”
Fan Ziran’s eyes darted around. “You didn’t win—the class monitor did!”
“Then you still lost!” Yuan Wuwei glared. “A bet’s a bet—don’t cheat!”
Fan Ziran ran up to Qinghuan and shouted, “Sis!”
Before Qinghuan could respond, Song Yi—who had just returned from the animal area—jumped in.
“My sister already has me as her brother! Don’t try to steal my position!”
The two started arguing over “family relations,” and Qinghuan let them be.
Yu Xin, also returning from the animal area, was rolling a lint remover over herself while asking, “How many fish did you catch?”
Qinghuan held up three fingers. “Three crucian carp. How about fish soup with fried eggs for lunch?”
“I can make that,” Yu Xin nodded.
Jiang Chuchu had picked some seasonal vegetables. The three of them were definitely eating together, so they gathered to discuss the menu.
Although the fish would be handled by farm staff, the cooking itself was left to the students—to build practical skills.
Of course, professional chefs were on-site to guide them and ensure safety.
Qin Yue walked over carrying some eggs he’d collected and eagerly said to Jiang Chuchu, “Let me join—I can handle chopping.”
After a moment’s thought, Jiang Chuchu reluctantly agreed—mainly because of the eggs. Qinghuan wanted fried eggs in the soup anyway.
Class 3 was bustling with activity, while Class 2 had gone for a “communal pot” approach.
Most of Class 2 came from well-off families and had no cooking experience—some had never even cut fruit.
So Su Lin became the only one with any experience, directing everyone.
Her cooking wasn’t particularly good—but it didn’t matter. The capybaras didn’t mind.
“It’s just one meal. We eat well every day—having a bad meal once in a while is balance!”
Washing rice? She said no more than twice—but they used too much force and nearly crushed the grains. No problem—it’ll still cook.
Vegetables were washed thoroughly—just very slowly. No problem—they won’t starve waiting.
Cuts were uneven in size and thickness. No problem—just cook longer. As long as no one cuts their hand, it’s a win!
Wei Xiao was on the verge of collapse.
Why, of all things, were they eating curry rice on a picnic?!
The capybaras, however, were delighted.
“Delicious! The vegetables are completely mushy—I can’t even taste them!”
“I finally get to not be picky about food, yay!”
The picnic areas were arranged by class, so Class 2 was right next to Class 3.
Seeing the “curry rice disaster,” Class 3 kept glancing over at Wei Xiao.
With his personality, he must be miserable eating that, right?
And nothing pairs better with a meal than your enemy’s suffering.
After lunch, Yuan Wuwei and Fan Ziran planned to continue fishing.
Qinghuan, however, had had enough and decided to go see the alpacas.
Jiang Chuchu was tired from the morning’s picking and planned to lie on the grass and sunbathe before joining later.
Yu Xin hadn’t seen the alpacas yet, so she went with Qinghuan.
The group walked along chatting happily when Yao Shali suddenly cleared her throat.
“Someone’s following us.”
Everyone paused slightly but kept walking.
“Who?” Xu Xinghe asked. “Wei Xiao? Or that Ning Siqi?”
“Ning Siqi,” Yao Shali confirmed. His photo had already been shared in the group.
Lian Fenghe looked nervous. “Why is he following us?”
“Could be coincidence, could be intentional,” Lin Zhulu frowned. “Hard to say.”
“We’ll just do our thing,” Qinghuan said calmly. “If he tries anything, there are so many of us—no need to worry.”
“True.” Yu Xin relaxed slightly, then took out a recorder disguised as a brooch from her bag and pinned it on, ready to activate it.
Everyone was impressed.
Even while going out to have fun, she was this prepared—the study committee member really thought of everything.
