"It's nothing serious for now, but we should still have Sanmao take him to the hospital."
Shen Wuqiu nodded. "The reservoir is so big, it's best to be careful."
Shen Zhipeng looked at her, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back.
Shen Wuqiu didn't urge him, and wandered over to the reservoir on his own.
Shen Zhipeng followed closely behind, hesitating for a long time before speaking, "Everyone saw the injury on Lao Tianluo's calf just now, and everyone's talking about it..."
"Brother, just say what you want to say directly, don't beat around the bush."
"...I'm just worried that people might be superstitious about what might be in the reservoir..."
Shen Wuqiu looked at him and asked, "Brother, are you worried that people will be superstitious about the reservoir because there might be something there, or are you worried that there might be nothing in the reservoir?"
Shen Zhipeng's face turned pale and then green, before he expressed great anger, "Wuqiu, what do you mean by that?"
Shen Wuqiu shrugged. "Why is Big Brother so agitated? I just said it casually."
The fish hadn't even been caught yet when the people who came to help were bitten by an unknown creature. It was just too much of a coincidence.
She was genuinely worried that she would end up with nothing, and that the man would tell his father that the tens of thousands he had invested had definitely been eaten by this unknown creature.
Shen Zhipeng glared at her, his thick eyebrows raised: "If you don't trust me, Wuqiu, you can find someone else to manage the reservoir from now on. Why say such unpleasant things?"
He was already tall and burly, and even when he wasn't smiling, he looked quite intimidating. But now that he was angry, he looked like he was about to punch someone.
Shen Wuqiu wasn't afraid, but Gu Lingyu beside her had objections. "I only dare to fawn over my partner; how can I let others be fierce towards him?"
Just as she was about to step forward and teach him a lesson, Shen Wuqiu, as if he had eyes in the back of his head, grabbed her hand and said with a calm and amiable expression, "Brother, you're exaggerating."
"What are you saying?" Shen Zhipeng's voice grew louder and louder, and his father followed suit.
Shen Wuqiu glanced at Shen Zhipeng, and seeing that he didn't intend to speak, she said truthfully, "It's nothing serious. It's just that my brother was worried that people would be superstitious about what might be in the water, making the fishing later difficult. So I made a joke, which angered him."
Shen Zhipeng snorted at her, "You were joking, weren't you?"
After saying that, she turned to Father Chen and said, "Uncle, Sister Wuqiu is worried about me."
Mr. Shen looked at Shen Wuqiu: "What joke?"
"I asked my brother if he was worried that there was something in the water, or if he was worried that there was nothing in the water."
Upon hearing this, Mr. Shen frowned and looked at Shen Zhipeng again: "Qiuqiu is just teasing you. I've always entrusted this reservoir to you, how could I not trust you?"
Shen Zhipeng snorted and then gave up.
Mr. Chen took out his phone and checked the time; it was already seven o'clock. "Pengzi, you've been in charge of this reservoir, and you know the situation. Go over there and reassure everyone, and also remind them to check if all the safety equipment is ready."
"Okay." Shen Zhipeng's expression was still not very good, and he left without even glancing at Shen Wuqiu.
After everyone had gone far away, Mr. Shen said to Shen Wuqiu, "These kinds of jokes are so hurtful. What would your uncle think if he heard them?"
The results regarding the quantity of substances in the reservoir will be available soon, so Shen Wuqiu didn't bother to elaborate and simply replied perfunctorily, "I understand."
Seeing her absent-minded look, Mr. Shen was both angry and anxious. “Our family’s business is neither big nor small. If Junjun doesn’t care about these things, you, as a young girl, will have to take care of so many things in the future. You will definitely have to rely on us relatives more.”
Listening to his one-sided lecture, Gu Lingyu, who was eager to protect her wife, had a lot of complaints. "Why does Uncle keep talking about my sister? That person was so mean to her. If my sister hadn't stopped him, I would have scratched him."
"..." Mr. Shen got angry just looking at her. When he glanced at their clasped hands, he became even more uncomfortable. "How old are you? Why are you still holding hands like this? Aren't you afraid people will laugh at you?"
Shen Wuqiu then noticed that she had been holding the person's hand the whole time. She wanted to let go, but was afraid that if she made it too obvious, her father would misunderstand. So she brazenly continued to hold on, saying, "I was just worried that the dew would make her slip and fall, so I let her hold on."
Mr. Shen was speechless. He snorted twice, but when he thought about how his daughter was carrying his four grandchildren, he held back his anger and went to greet the others with his hands behind his back.
As soon as he left, Shen Wuqiu let go of his hand and said in a cool tone, "Did I tell you to speak?"
Gu Lingyu then took her hand in return, saying, "Sister, you don't need to worry about me. I'm used to being scolded by my parents anyway, so I won't take it to heart if Dad says a few words to me."
Shen Wuqiu's lips twitched. She comforted herself, saying that the racial gap was insurmountable and that she should choose to forgive. She tried to pull her hand away but couldn't. "Let go," she said.
Gu Lingyu gripped her hand even tighter. "The dew is slippery, so I'll have to be careful supporting you, sister."
"..."
****
Fortunately, the weather was relatively cool today. At eight o'clock, the lazy sun was only just about to come out, which was a blessing from God for people who had to work on the water in the sun all day.
The reservoir has deep water and shallow water areas. In the shallow water area, fishing is done by casting nets, which is relatively simple.
For silver carp and bighead carp raised in deep water, nets must be used for catching, which is more difficult.
The reservoir is large enough that fishing in both areas will not be affected.
When the auspicious time arrived, Shen Zhipeng gave a whistle, and everyone got to work.
In less than fifteen minutes, the first net was pulled up from the shallow water. As the net was pulled up, the excited shouts of a group of men could be heard.
Mr. Shen thought it was a big catch from the first net, so he rushed over.
As a result, there was no bumper harvest. The number of fish in the basket was not large, but there were many different kinds of fish, big and small, as well as two crabs. Of course, the most eye-catching thing was the yellow snake trapped in the basket.
"Pengzi, that yellow snake from this morning still couldn't escape our grasp; it's walked right into our trap."
"It's so thick, let's take it back and make some soup for noodles. I heard that eating yellow flower snakes prevents pimples, so let the whole village come and have a bowl..."
"I think it should be braised. It would be perfect as a snack with drinks."
...
Everyone was chatting and making a lot of noise, but no one went forward.
Although yellow croaker snakes are said to be non-venomous, the yellow croaker snake in front of us was indeed as thick as a carrying pole. It was probably frightened by being surrounded by so many people, and it was raising its head and flicking its tongue. This posture was quite intimidating.
Seeing everyone's eagerness, Shen Zhipeng put on a pair of gloves himself. "Uncle, I didn't lie to you, did I? This is the same snake we saw this morning. It's rare to see such a thick yellow snake. It's unlucky that it ended up in our hands today."
Yellow flower snakes are quite common in rural areas, but one this thick is indeed rare.
Mr. Shen was also a little surprised, "It's so big, it must be quite old."
Someone immediately chimed in:
"Now there are fewer yellow flower snakes being caught. The thickest one I've seen in recent years is about the thickness of my thumb. This is the first time I've seen one this big."
"This is the first time I've ever seen one like this. It's probably about to become a spirit."
...
Shen Wuqiu didn't go closer to look, but she did see the snake. She assumed it was Shen Zhipeng's doing and wasn't really interested in joining in the fun. But when she turned her head, she found someone next to her staring intently at the snake.
Then, recalling the phrase "cultivating into a spirit" that someone in the crowd had just mentioned, a new thought popped into his head. He lowered his head and asked in a low voice, "Don't tell me this thing is really going to become a spirit?"
Gu Lingyu only looked up at her after hearing her voice, "What does 'becoming a spirit' mean?"
"Just like you... you can become human..."
Gu Lingyu understood, "Our Spirit Cat clan are divine beasts, while it is just an ordinary beast. No matter how much it cultivates, it can never become human."
Shen Wuqiu breathed a sigh of relief. She was afraid that all the species in this world would overturn her understanding. "That's good."
"Sister, should we save it?"
"in spite of."
If it doesn't concern me, I'll stay out of it.
She found it difficult to bear the tangled web of "life-saving grace," and she no longer wanted to be a good person.
Gu Lingyu pursed her lips, still unable to bear it. "But, sister, it's begging you for help."
"..." Shen Wuqiu froze, but her eyes involuntarily turned to the snake. Damn it...
"Sister, it has babies too."
"..." Shen Wuqiu was extremely suspicious that the so-called auspicious time that the Queen Mother had calculated for her was probably just for her to come and help this fat snake pass through its tribulation.
Oh well, what a pity for the pregnant woman far away.
Shen Wuqiu took a deep breath and slowly interjected into the crowd, "Let them go."
There was a two-second silence.
"Release them?"
"Release such a big snake? Boss, are you kidding me?"
"If you take this snake to the market, I reckon you could ask for 10,000 yuan and someone would buy it."
Shen Wuqiu, being wealthy and generous, said decisively, "Whoever puts it back in the mountains behind the village, I'll give them ten thousand."
While the men were still pushing and shoving each other, Gu Lingyu walked directly to the flower basket and pulled the entire snake out with her bare hands.
"..." The remaining people looked at each other, completely stunned by the young girl in front of them, whose face still looked somewhat immature.
Finally, Mr. Shen, still quite frightened, came to his senses and said, "Put the snake down right now, you silly girl..."
Gu Lingyu stroked the snake's head. "It's injured. I have to put it back on the mountain."
"..." Seeing such a thick snake behaving so obediently in the little girl's hands, Mr. Shen was completely speechless. He had never seen such a fierce girl.
After calming down the large, uneasy snake in her hands, Gu Lingyu asked Shen Wuqiu, "Sister, do you want to come with me?"
Although she knew the little girl wasn't human, the sight of her holding the snake in her arms with her bare hands still frightened her. Shen Wuqiu didn't dare to look any longer and waved her hands repeatedly, saying, "You can go ahead."
Gu Lingyu didn't insist. In front of everyone, she carried the snake and went up the mountain behind the reservoir, while a group of grown men watched from behind.
"..."
After a while.
"Holy crap, this girl is really something!"
"Is this the snake catcher, for crying out loud?"
...
Amidst gasps of surprise, Shen Zhipeng looked at his father and asked, "Uncle, who is this person?"
"A friend of Qiuqiu."
Shen Zhipeng was stunned for a moment, and after two seconds he looked at Shen Wuqiu. "He looks young, but he's quite bold."
That's because you didn't see how cowardly she was in front of her parents.
Shen Wuqiu lowered his eyes, "She is indeed a young girl who is not to be trifled with."
On the other side, Gu Lingyu entered the forest and walked deeper into it for a while before putting down the large snake in her hand. After thinking for a moment, she transferred a little of her limited spiritual energy to it.