Catching Fish

There was a faint white line at the place where Ji Shui Sheng's ear and cheek met. His skin was black and red, the same color as the men in the mountains. It was the kind of skin color unique to those who were exposed to the wind and sun, and the white line that was exposed was particularly prominent.

Upon closer inspection, it was as thick as a silk thread and about one centimeter long. It looked as if someone had drawn a white line on his face.

Su Qing raised an eyebrow and shifted her gaze away, continuing to watch him work on the pangolin.

Ji Shui Sheng took off the pangolin's scales, put sand in the pot and stir-fried it with martial fire. He added the pangolin's scales and kept turning them. He was very serious when he did things, and his eyelashes drooped down to cover his sharp eyes.

"Brother Shui Sheng! Brother Shui Sheng! Hurry up and come over!"

On the other side, Li Daniu saw that Ji Shui Sheng was still stir-frying and cried out anxiously.

"I'll do it!"

Su Qing once again offered to take over. 

Ji Shui Sheng saw that he was almost done and instructed her, "When the armor is bubbling, crush it and boil the medicine. Then drink it together."

"Yes," Su Qing replied indifferently, her eyes fixed on the herbs in the basket.

"These herbs are for three times. Don't boil them all at once."

Ji Shui Sheng instructed Su Qing when he saw her looking at the herbs.

"Yes," Su Qing snorted absentmindedly, disdaining Ji Shui Sheng for talking too much.

Ji Shui Sheng took a deep look at her. She had this cold and distant look again. He wondered what she had encountered. She didn't seem to trust anyone..

Since she didn't want to talk much, Ji Shui Sheng simply didn't instruct her anymore. He handed the things to her and went to the river to help Li Daniu. This idiot was about to get himself entangled in the vines.

He wanted to catch more fish in the river and make some fish soup for everyone to drink to get rid of the cold in their bodies.

The courageous men among the refugees also ran to the river to catch fish. They kept looking at Li Daniu, afraid that he wouldn't let them catch fish. When they saw Ji shuisheng coming over, they became even more nervous.

Ji Shui Sheng ignored them. The river did not belong to them, so they would not interfere with each other's fishing.

When those people saw that Ji Shui Sheng did not pay attention to them, they became more courageous and flopped around in the river. How could they catch any fish with their bare hands?

When they saw Ji Shui Sheng weaving a fishing net, these people watched from afar and wanted to learn from him. Ji Shui Sheng didn't care about this and quickly weaved a fishing net. In a short while, he had woven a simple fishing net and pulled the net with Li Daniu to catch fish.

While Shui Sheng went to catch the fish, Su Qing sent Ji Xiao Ying away.

"Xiao Ying, you go and eat. I'll take care of things here."

"Sister, let me do it. Can you do it?" she asked.

Ji Xiao Ying was worried. In fact, she was already very hungry. The smell of the porridge made her stomach growl.

"Yes, go ahead. Your stomach is growling."

Su Qing looked at Ji Xiao Ying with a hint of a smile in her eyes that she didn't even know about. This girl was really cute.

When Ji Xiao Ying saw that Su Qing was working on the pangolin as if she had really done it, and that he was in good spirits, she was relieved.

Before she left, the little girl reminded Su Qing with worry, "If Sister is not feeling well, just call me. I will be back immediately."

The smile in Su Qing's eyes deepened. This little girl had a life of worry.

After Ji Xiao Ying left, Su Qing grabbed the medicine and threw it into the system. However, he couldn't throw it all in. He still had to keep some as a cover.

"Master, that's enough medicine."

Little Seven's cute voice sounded, revealing a sense of joy. It also could not hide its happiness, anger, sorrow, and joy.

It was so happy to be able to save it's master!

"Yes."

Su Qing snorted, but her hands were not idle. She put a small amount of medicine into the medicine pot and hung it over the fire to boil.

Little seven's cheerful voice rang out again, "The shining tendon and bone is done. Master, quickly take your medicine! It won't hurt anymore after you take the medicine!" 

A black pill appeared in Su Qing's hand. She had only eaten half of it and would eat the rest tomorrow. The medicine made by the system was too effective. One pill would make her recover immediately. If she recovered too quickly, it would arouse suspicion.

After taking only half a pill, the pain in her body had been reduced by half. After her nose was broken, she had been having difficulty breathing. After taking half a pill, he could breathe smoothly and felt much more comfortable.

While Su Qing was boiling the medicine, Ji Shui Sheng brought Li Daniu and pulled up the first net. The holes made by the vines were a little big, and they caught seven to eight fish. That was more than one catty in one net. The biggest one was estimated to be about three catties.

"Shui Sheng, you're amazing."

Li Daniu started to boast again. Ji shuisheng looked at the fish and was very satisfied. It proved that there were many fish in the river. If the net was smaller, he could catch some small fish and shrimp.

However, this was good enough. He picked the fish and threw it onto the shore, then continued to catch.

Seeing that Ji Shui Sheng and the rest had caught so many fish in one net, the escapees, who had been observing, were so jealous that their eyes turned red. They also wanted a net like that, but they had not learned how to weave it even after watching for a long time and could only watch enviously from the side.

Ji Shui Sheng and Li Daniu pulled a total of more than ten nets. The more they pulled, the fewer fish there were. The main reason was that there were too many people here, and the fish were all scared away.

After Ji Shui Sheng went ashore, he glanced at the refugees. The thunderbolts from last night and today were very effective. They did not dare to move, even when so many fish were thrown ashore.

Seeing that Ji Shui Sheng and the rest had stopped catching fish, an old man among the escapees gathered some courage and came over to discuss with Ji shuisheng.

"Little descendant, can you lend us your fishing net for a while? The adults and children are really hungry. Please do me a favor and rent it to us. I still have 10 copper coins. Can you rent the net to me?"

Afraid that Ji Shui Sheng would not agree to lend, the old man took out a dozen copper coins and held them in his palm, looking at him carefully.

"Sure."

Ji Shui Sheng took the money and handed the net to him. 

The old man was overwhelmed by the favor and quickly took the net, thanking him repeatedly.

"Thank you! Thank you! You're our savior!"

Ji Shui Sheng ignored him and brought Li Daniu to pick up the fish and put them into the basket. The two of them filled two baskets and Li Daniu was overjoyed.

"Brother Shui Sheng, with these fish, we'll be able to eat for two days."

Ji Shui Sheng nodded. The rain was good. They could fish, hunt, and pick wild vegetables as they walked, so they did not have to worry about the food they brought out.

The old man who rented the fishing net called his two sons to enter the river to pull the net together. His eyes were full of anticipation and excitement as he waited to catch big fish like Ji Shui Sheng.

Li Daniu turned around and saw it. With his character, he couldn't hide things. 

He couldn't help but ask Ji Shui Sheng, "Shui Sheng, didn't you say that we can't be soft-hearted towards these refugees?"

 "This is not being soft-hearted. First, let them know that if they want to borrow our things, they have to spend money. Don't even think about getting it for nothing. Second, hunger will make people crazy. They are afraid of us right now and they don't dare to come over, but when they are about to die of hunger, they would become fearless. We can fight, but the old, weak, women, and children can't. So, teaching them to be self-reliant is the best way to protect themselves. If they can find food, they won't have the intention to rob us. "

Ji Shui Sheng saw that Li Daniu didn't understand, so he explained it to him, hoping that this silly guy would be enlightened.

He had learned all these principles from his foster father. A wise man had to extinguish danger before it came.

Yesterday, they had shown these refugees that they were not to be trifled with. Today, they had taught them to be independent to prevent them from becoming bandits! This was called using both kindness and severity.

 "Shui Sheng, I realized that you've changed. You've become more scheming."