LSG Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Hyper-inflation 1.5

Su Han immediately sat down by Lao He’s side.

Old man Ding couldn’t help but give them a sidelong glance. Just like that? Getting a fishing rod from Lao He turned out to be so simple. . . One couldn’t buy but instead, just rent? Thinking of this, he instantly felt a heavy sense of regret wash over him. If he knew earlier, he would have gone and rented the fishing pole.

“Young lady, don’t you underestimate the skill and experience needed in fishing. It’s not a simple business.” Lao He began to nag in a grumbling tone. After all, this was a lesson he learned using his own blood and sweat. “Hey, let me tell you, those fish are some cunning creatures! They. . .”

However, less than a minute after the fishing rod was cast, a few splashes sounded. Ripples slowly spread in the water as the line twitched up and down. Su Han quickly reeled in the line. The floundering fish on the hook was revealed to be a plump grass carp.

Su Han removed the carp from the hook before casually throwing it into the iron bucket nearby. Turning her head, she looked back with a particularly innocent smile, “Sorry, did you say something just now? I didn’t quite hear you clearly.”

Lao He, “……”

“No, no . . . I didn’t say anything, please continue. . .”

If you really thought about it, this situation was exceedingly strange. Old man He had been fishing here for the past 3 days and he hadn’t even seen a single fish.

And yet, once Su Han sat down and cast the line, one after another, the fish seemed to eagerly take the bait. In merely half an hour, she already caught 4 fish.

Meanwhile, old man He was experiencing a rather complicated mixture of emotions. Of course, he was happy, very happy indeed! He could actually take home 2 fish today and feed his family!

……But on the other hand, how come he never caught a fish? How did that girl do it? Clearly, it was his fishing rod and still the same old lake!

After watching for a while, Lao He couldn’t resist opening his mouth and carefully asked, “Uh……how about we change places?”

Sure, it was nice enough to split the fish that Su Han caught, but if he could catch them himself……Well, that would be even better.

“Sure.” Su Han readily agreed before quickly changing positions.

Sadly and surely enough, Lao He discovered that there were plenty of fish in his original position and they seemed to bite the bait even faster than before, all being tossed in Su Han’s bucket.

Su Han nonchalantly asked, “Do you want to trade fishing rods now?”

Old man He, “……”

Well, yes, he did actually want to . . . but was too embarrassed to do so.

Thinking of his poor, sweet granddaughter that was still starving at home, he sighed and could only give up. He got up and directly shoved the other fishing rod into Su Han’s hand, “Take it and fish, I’ll stop bothering you.” 

After finishing his sentence, he simply walked off to the side and began dividing the fish Su Han already caught.

When Su Han inadvertently glanced over, she discovered that Lao He was still a very generous and sincere person at heart. The plumper fish remained in her bucket while he only took away the thinner ones.

As the wind began to pick up and a gentle breeze swept ripples across the water, Su Han placed the two fishing rods in front of her. She only had to occasionally cast and reel in the line. Overall, she felt quite satisfied with the way that this day had gone.

Once in a while, others sitting nearby also managed to land a fish. However, there were no more noisy shouting or loud announcements of capture. By now, everyone was slightly embarrassed to make such a commotion—the person who caught almost 10 fish already was still sitting calmly. They only caught 1, what did they really have to be excited about?

Around 4:30 p.m., the news of their “successful venture” spread around town and many people rushed over to barter for fish.

“I want a grass carp, how do 4 packs of instant noodles sound?”

“I need a crucian carp for soup, can I trade 3 catties of rice?”

“I also want a crucian carp! How about two catties of tofu in exchange?”

Su Han glanced at her iron bucket and saw exactly five fish in it. So, she asked Lao He to help her trade her portion for instant noodles.

Old man He quietly whispered, “Just ignore them. Let me tell you, we can make more money trading in the black market!”

Su Han also lowered her voice when responding, “Do you really think one person will be safe on the road with 5 or 6 fish?”

Lao He immediately became silent. Just the other day, he heard that his friend finally caught a fish after a lot of hard work. And then, he was robbed on the way home. Luckily, his friend wasn’t seriously injured. But just imagine if he got hurt or broke a bone. He might not be able to move for a week, let alone work or get food for his family.

Sigh. . . Life was too hard these days. . . What family wouldn’t starve to death if anything happened to their breadwinner? After reflecting on the risks, he ultimately was persuaded to trade off his fish as well.

He was much too careless just now. He didn’t even think of this issue. Of course, that was because he never experienced such a worrisome “burden” before. After all before, he only had to carry his empty bucket home.

As Su Han continued to fish next to him, Lao He fully spread his wings and turned into quite a social butterfly. He haggled back and forth like an excitable grandma at the local flea market.

“No, no. . . only two catties of tofu? Too little! You have to add something else!”

“No way! Three catties of rice are not enough, how about 4? I’ll exchange it for 4. You don’t have four catties at home? Haha, stop kidding around! How come you’re willing to exchange for crucian carp if you’re that poor?”

“You have body wash? Yes, yes I’ll take it! Here’s two fish!”

Normally speaking, Lao He wasn’t someone that was willing to haggle over goods. But today thinking that his granddaughter could finally eat a full meal, he felt like he was filled with a limitless amount of energy!

As for Su Han’s five fish, he exchanged them for 12 packs of instant noodles and 4 bars of soap.

Surprisingly, Su Han found that some families were actually doing pretty well for themselves, well a few levels above rock bottom at least. However. . . as the problem of hyper-inflation worsens, who knows what might happen in the future?

Meanwhile, Lao He managed to barter for a lot of food and was happily grinning from ear to ear.

Su Han couldn’t help but shoot him a meaningful look before saying lightly, “Wow, our luck was pretty good today. I actually caught 11 fish. Why don’t we cook some fish soup to share with everyone?”

Just as old man He was to about retort that no one ever made fish soup for him before, he suddenly had a realization. With a rapid change in tone, he quickly replied, “—Yes! Yes . . . we absolutely should do that.”

In a split second, he revealed a heavy look of distress as if deeply troubled, “. . . But there’s no pot, no firewood. How can we make soup?”

Immediately, those listening in on the conversation jumped in with different suggestions, “We can go borrow a pot from the homeless people who live in the park.”

“Wait, we also need a stove as well!”

“Get some seasonings too!”

The moment that they heard there was free fish stew to drink, everyone became extremely busy. Even the fishermen (mostly those with average skills) stopped casting their lines and went to borrow the necessary utensils.

As the fish stew started cooking, a light and savory aroma wafted through the air. Due to the wind, the fragrance seemed to drift as far as nearly 10 meters, immersing the nearby area in a silky and flavorful scent!

The others couldn’t help but walk over quickly, excitedly shouting, “So fragrant! Quick, let me have a taste!”

Slowly but surely, a group of people began crowding around the pot. After a while, a rather kind individual finally remembered the origin of this fish and turned to say, “Hey, Lao He! Do you guys want to have a sip?”

When they turned around to see, they were rather stunned—Lao He and the girl carrying the backpack were long gone.

Old man Ding sneered rather coldly, “They’re not stupid. If they don’t leave now, can they still leave safely later? Did you really take them for idiots?”

The group fell silent.

—

On the other side, Su Han, carrying a backpack and a fishing rod, was still in the middle of her rather arduous getaway.

By her side, old man He was straining from the effort of carrying both the bartered goods as well as the iron bucket. Thankfully, the two of them had already walked a far distance from the lake.

“Why didn’t you bring a backpack with you?” Seeing his struggle, Su Han hurriedly went to take the bucket from him.

Lao He’s expression was particularly innocent as he replied, “Well before. . . I didn’t need one.”

Honestly, he thought it was a waste of energy to even bring the bucket back and forth. (The struggles of a “highly successful” fisherman)

Su Han was made speechless, “……”

“Hey, what’s your name? Where do you live? Are you still going tomorrow?” Old man He eagerly asked as he stared enthusiastically at Su Han like a newfound treasure.

Meanwhile, Su Han was still rather worried about her residence for the night. She replied slowly with a hint of anxiety in her voice, “My name is Su Han, and I don’t have anywhere to stay for the time being.”

Seemingly energized by her response, Lao He vigorously suggested, “How about staying with my family for the night? And then tomorrow, we can collaborate again?”

Although the other party was the one who caught all the fish, he was responsible for handling the exchange process. So. . . it still counted as a collaboration, right? Uh, probably?

Su Han was obviously rather tempted by the offer, but still asked politely, “Won’t it be too inconvenient for you?”

“Nope! Not at all! We have a vacant room at home. So, it’s not like we’re putting the space to use.” Old man He was particularly enthusiastic in his invitation, “Besides, I haven’t thanked you yet. Because of you, I was able to exchange for a lot of things today.”

As for whether this guest was a malicious wolf in sheep’s clothing. . . Lao He wasn’t worried at all. After all, this was a young girl, not to mention one with many skills. And to be honest, he was pretty sure this girl was doing a lot better than he was. If anything, she should’ve been the one worrying considering her “wealth”.

“Alright, sorry for the bother then.” Su Han was mostly thinking that having a place to stay for the night was better than sleeping on the streets. Well, at least less worrisome. Regarding safety, Lao He still needed her to fish tomorrow, it would hardly make sense for him to harm her now.

Because of Su Han’s warning earlier, old man He was extra cautious when picking a road home. This path was extremely remote and so far, they haven’t seen a single person.

As soon as he entered his house, Lao He bellowed loudly, “Wifey, come out and help! We have a guest.”

Madam Jiang seriously doubted her hearing at that point. Did her husband lose his mind? Based on their current state, were they really in a good position to welcome guests?!!

As she hurried out to take a good look, she was simply shocked at what she saw. “Rice, tofu, fish, body wash . . . oh my. . . old man, tell me the truth! Who did you go rob?”

Obviously, she was quite clear regarding how “skilled” of a fisherman her husband was.

“Nonsense! What are you saying? Come and help me unload the goods.” Lao He defensively replied while smiling awkwardly.

“Ah. . . why is the tofu all crushed?” Seeing the sight, Madam Jiang couldn’t resist feeling a bit distressed.

Old man He slightly rolled his eyes as he looked up the skies, “Hey, hey. I barely managed to bring it back, okay? Who cares if it’s broken or not?”

Although the two were bickering back and forth, their hands moved quite quickly and everything was packed away very efficiently.

“Eh? What are you doing still standing? Go and take a seat!” Lao He called out to Su Han.

With a quick word of thanks, Su Han sat down in a chair. As she observed her surroundings, she noticed a 6 or 7-year-old girl peeking her head out from behind the bedroom door.

“Nan Nan~ come out quick, we have fish to eat today.” Lao He cheerfully called in a pampering tone.

Fish? The little girl’s eyes seemed to instantly light up like tiny stars as her mouth filled up with saliva at the thought of this rare luxury.

“Old man, come here and help out.” Old lady Jiang hollered suddenly.

Old man He slightly startled at the shout before quickly hurrying to the kitchen.

Although Madam Jiang purposefully lowered her voice, Su Han had relatively good hearing and could still pick up on their conversation.

Madam Jiang quietly whispered, “I went to the vegetable market today to pick up what’s left of some rotten vegetables. We can’t let the guest eat this. But if there are no vegetables, what else am I going to cook?”

After a moment, Lao He replied, “Use the tofu to make soup and cook some rice as well.”

“Rice?” Mrs. Jiang was quite hesitant, “But. . . if we simmer the rice into congee, we can still drink it for a few more days. . .”

“Without the girl, how would we even have the rice to make congee?” Lao He replied, slightly disgruntled.

“Yes, you’re right.” Old lady Jiang sighed deeply.

After that, the kitchen became relatively quiet. Pretending not to have heard anything, Su Han turned her head toward the direction of the little girl.

“Where are your mom and dad?” She gently asked.

“They went elsewhere looking for work.” The little girl timidly responded in a small voice.

“Do you like milk?” Su Han asked teasingly while exaggeratedly digging through her backpack for the bottle of milk.

Clink~

“I—I like it, but I can’t take it.” The little girl’s wide, sparkling eyes showed that she really wanted it.  But as she stubbornly bit her lip, her expression said loud and clear that she was determined to resist.

“It’s okay, I’ll give it to you then.”

Su Han wanted to stuff the bottle of milk into the little girl’s arms. But in a split second, the little girl rapidly darted back into her room, not before firmly saying, “Grandpa told me before. I shouldn’t casually take other people’s things!”

Momentarily stunned, Su Han felt slightly amused. Being able to bring up a child like this, the people in this family shouldn’t be bad people.

—

Soon enough, dinner was ready.

“Come sit over here for dinner.” Old lady Jiang warmly greeted with a welcoming smile.

“Don’t be too polite and help yourself to the fish.” Old man He eagerly urged as well.

Su Han peacefully smiled before only serving herself a small half bowl of rice. She ladled a few spoonfuls of the fish stew and two chunks of tofu into the bowl before saying, “You guys go ahead and eat. No need to worry about me. I’m still feeling a bit too full from eating a big bowl of noodles for lunch.”

Lao He and Madam Jiang looked at each other, sharing a quick glance between them. Both of them immediately understood what she meant.

Su Han continued to talk, bringing up tomorrow’s plans. “Are there any other places to go? I’m afraid it might not be suitable to go back to that park.”

“Yes, yes. I know a few other places. I’ll take you there tomorrow.” Old man He proudly patted his own chest before quickly promising, “I know just the place. People rarely go there to fish and the area is pretty remote. No one passes by usually.”

After today’s experience, he now fully understood the importance of protecting one’s wealth and resources.

“Sounds good.” Su Han softly smiled, feeling quite satisfied at how this day turned out.