Chapter 61: Chapter 61: Tongtong Catches a Fish First

Elderly people walked their dogs, and children were taken shopping by their parents.

Some glamorously dressed women of the night yawned as they stood with tattooed men at a street stall, buying pocket buns.

Jiang Liu drove Xue Guang’s van and parked in front of a fishing tackle shop.

When Xue Guang heard Jiang Liu was going fishing, he insisted on lending him the van.

Jiang Liu thought about it and didn’t refuse. He knew Xue Guang didn’t close his shop until around ten, so the van would just be sitting there, useless.

"Yay, we’re buying fishing rods!"

"Gonna grill little fishies!"

Tongtong, sitting in Jun Qingmeng’s lap, happily raised her little fists.

A smile played in Jun Qingmeng’s eyes as she carried Tongtong out of the passenger seat.

The three of them looked just like a family.

Jiang Liu walked into the fishing tackle shop.

The owner was a man tanned dark by the sun.

"Boss, do you have any 4.5-meter rods?"

"Yup. How many do you need?"

"How much are they?"

"Forty a piece."

Jiang Liu looked at Tongtong. "Honey, do you want to fish?"

Tongtong nodded, saying in her small, sweet voice, "Daddy, can we get three? One for Teacher Qingmeng, one for me, and one for Daddy."

She held up three tender little fingers.

"What a cute little girl. She already knows how to fish at her age?"

"There’s a lot I know how to do!"

"Oho, this little girl’s got some sass."

Afterward, Jiang Liu also bought a landing net, a headlamp, and bait. He also spent a hundred yuan on a small barbecue grill, charcoal, and a brush.

In total, he spent over two hundred.

He mixed his own barbecue seasonings, so he didn’t need to buy any.

The main thing was having oil to brush on.

He even made a point to share a photo of the three of them holding their fishing rods on Douyin.

’This is what you call documenting the good life!’

Jiang Liu was starting to get into the fun of it, too.

"Jiang Liu, the weather tonight is so wonderful."

Jun Qingmeng stuck her hand out the car window, feeling the cool wind, and spoke happily.

She finally understood a phrase she used to scoff at.

’When you’re with someone you like, even the air tastes sweet.’

"Mm, it’s not bad. Fishing was a good choice."

They met each other’s gaze and smiled.

Jun Qingmeng’s gaze was gentle as she looked at the river under the Rainbow Bridge.

Along the riverbank, many anglers had already set up their fishing rods.

Following the river with her eyes, she gazed at the distant sky.

A few reddish wisps of cloud slowly faded away.

At this very moment, she felt an immense sense of contentment and happiness.

’Going fishing with the person I like, experiencing the flavor of life...’

Jun Qingmeng glanced at Jiang Liu, who was focused on driving, and asked shyly, "Jiang Liu, can we still be together tomorrow? I, um, don’t have anything to do tomorrow."

She had come today because Tongtong invited her; she knew Jiang Liu hadn’t.

But this time was different. She was the one taking the initiative to ask.

Tongtong tugged on Jiang Liu’s pants. "Daddy!"

’Look! Teacher Qingmeng really, really likes you! She even took the initiative to ask to hang out. Say yes! Please! You’re giving Tongtong a heart attack!’

Jiang Liu didn’t overthink it. After a few seconds of thought, he nodded. "No problem. You can come whenever you want. Tongtong really likes you."

Jun Qingmeng let out a breath of relief, her heart racing traitorously. "Okay, then I’ll come again tomorrow morning."

"Mm. If anything comes up, just message me on WeChat."

A few minutes later, Jiang Liu parked the car on a small garden path.

From here, it was just a two-hundred-meter downhill walk to the riverbank.

"Daddy, you carry the stools and the bait. Teacher Qingmeng, you carry the oil and the little black coals."

Tongtong placed her hands on her hips, directing the distribution of labor.

’Did you see that, Daddy? Tongtong is a big girl now. No more spanking!’

Jun Qingmeng couldn’t help but laugh. "Tongtong, the barbecue grill and the fishing rods are all that’s left, but they’re really heavy. Can you carry them?"

"Tongtong’s a big girl now. I have to help Daddy."

Saying that, Tongtong started huffing and puffing as she dragged a pile of things.

’Daddy, did you see? Tongtong can do lots of things, too!’

"Oof, this is kinda tough. But that’s okay, big girl Tongtong has plenty of strength."

...

"WAAAH, my feet hurt."

...

"Ouch, now my hands hurt."

"Daddy, come help Tongtong! Tongtong can’t pull it anymore!"

In the end, Tongtong sighed and just carried the seasonings.

The little girl sighed. It wasn’t easy being a grown-up.

Jiang Liu effortlessly carried the pile of equipment as he walked down the small path.

Jun Qingmeng felt completely at ease.

With Jiang Liu around, the forest path, which was usually dark and scary, had become a scenic route.

"Huh? Jiang Liu, your post has so many comments!"

Jun Qingmeng also followed Jiang Liu, and when she casually opened Douyin, she saw the fishing update he had shared.

There were over six hundred comments below it.

"Really? Let me see."

Jiang Liu wasn’t surprised. He opened Douyin while walking.

The fishing post he had just made already had over a thousand likes.

The comments were full of people demanding that Jiang Liu livestream his fishing for them.

One top comment, from a fan whose username suggested they held nothing back, read: "[You actually went fishing on the sly?! You despicable Boss Jiang! You have time to go fishing but not to make buns for us?? You’ve gotten full of yourself! The only way we’ll forgive you is if you start a livestream for us right now! Immediately! Or we’re all unfollowing your account!!]"

This comment had over eight hundred likes.

Below it, a thread of replies sprouted.

"[I agree, I agree! Where are you fishing? I want to come find you.]"

"[Me too!]"

"[I watch Boss Jiang wrap buns every day. I’d love to see Boss Jiang take Tongtong fishing.]"

"[It’s been so long, and I’ve never even seen Brother Jiang outside the bun shop. The nerve!]"

"[Where’s our Tongtong?]"

Jiang Liu skimmed the comments, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

’Why are these customers always watching me? It’s one thing to buy buns, but now I have to stream myself fishing for them?’

"Are you going to stream for them?"

"I could," Jiang Liu said.

He was a little tempted. Usually, in the shop, the conversation was mostly about buns and juice; he’d never chatted with his customers about anything besides food.

’Today might be a good chance to get closer to my customers. Besides, maybe they’ll even gift me a few hundred yuan. All in all, there’s no downside.’

Jun Qingmeng smiled and said, "Jiang Liu, give me your phone. How about I help you run the stream?"

"Here. The passcode is 163425."

"Mm, I’ll remember it."

Jun Qingmeng nodded obediently.

Hearing that Jiang Liu had even told her his passcode, Jun Qingmeng’s mood soared.

’This means he doesn’t see me as an outsider!’

The moment she started the livestream,

over a hundred idle viewers flooded into the stream.

The screen showed Jiang Liu and Tongtong by the river, setting up a barbecue grill. Next to them was a basin with a ball of fishing bait mixed up.

The bullet comments immediately lit up.

"[Boss Bao, you’re not making buns? You planning on selling fish now??]"

"[Hurry back and make buns and juice! My whole family is waiting for you! I’ll send you a Skyscraper, just come back, okay?]"

"[I sent you a gift, can I just buy the fish for you? Please stop fishing and come back to make buns.]"

"[My whole family is at your shop door! If you don’t come back, we’re picking your lock!!]"

Tsundere Little Man sent Interstellar Rose x3.

Countryside Beauty sent Little Hearts x100.

Taurus sent Beer x999. ...

The number of viewers in the stream was still increasing.

It finally stabilized at 749 people.

The screen kept vibrating. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Jun Qingmeng thought someone was calling, but when she looked at the livestream,

it was a screen full of gifts.

They were all clamoring about buying any and all fish for Jiang Liu, telling him not to fish and to come back and cook for them.

Jun Qingmeng was dumbfounded.

’Is it this easy for Jiang Liu to make money?’

...

By the river, at a shoal along the Moat, a crab saw Jiang Liu’s footsteps and furtively scurried into a crevice in the rocks.

"Wow, the water’s so cool! Daddy, hurry up and lie down for a bath."

Tongtong kicked up little splashes, sending water onto Jiang Liu’s legs.

Jiang Liu gave her an exasperated glare.

He sat on a small folding stool, kneaded the prepared bait into several balls, and tossed them a short distance away to chum a spot.

"Jiang Liu, your customers want you to go back and make buns for them."

At the request of the viewers, Jun Qingmeng relayed their message.

’Go back and make buns?’ Jiang Liu turned his head, a look of bewilderment on his face.

’I’m off the clock. Make what buns? Are they even treating me like a human?!’

"Not happening. I’m busy fishing."

After speaking, Jiang Liu turned back and continued kneading the bait.

When the livestream viewers heard Jiang Liu’s blunt refusal, the chat exploded.

"[SOB SOB, you heartbreaker! I sent you all those Little Hearts for nothing?]"

"[Scumbag! PTOOEY! PTOOEY!]"

"[I curse you to not catch a single fish—unless you come back and make buns!]"

"[WAAAH, I want to eat buns so badly. What do I do? Can I bring the ingredients to you?]"

"[Bringing ingredients is useless. You can’t get Brother Jiang’s ingredients, believe me.]"

"[True, no doubt about it! Otherwise, you think Brother Jiang is so cocky for no reason?]"

"[My biggest fear right now is that Boss Jiang will just run away. I’ll never get to eat these top-tier buns for the rest of my life.]"

The viewers in the stream deeply resonated with this sentiment.

With that, the voices urging and threatening Jiang Liu to make buns died down.

It was no joke. What if they pushed this guy too far and he just closed up shop and skipped town?

"Daddy, Tongtong will catch a little fishy for you to eat."

"Heh, you wish."

Jiang Liu scoffed.

He confidently cast his line into the river.

When it came to fishing, although he wasn’t a professional, he was confident he was a hundred times better than his daughter.

Jiang Liu stared intently at his float.

Tongtong also cast her float next to Jiang Liu’s.

"Daddy, I’m sticking close to you."

Jiang Liu didn’t speak. Fishing required silence.

One minute passed... two minutes passed...

Jiang Liu frowned and reeled in his hook.

The bait on it was gone.

"[HAHAHA, I’m dying! Jiang Liu: Huh? Where’d my bait go??]"

"[Lousy skills. He’d be better off going back to make a few buns.]"

Watching the customers tease him, Jun Qingmeng pouted unhappily.

Just then, Tongtong’s yellow float suddenly dipped down.

"Ah!"

Tongtong frantically lifted her rod, and it was clear that a heavy force was bending it.

A flash of white thrashed fearfully on the river’s surface, splashing water everywhere.

"I caught a big fishy!"

"[Well done, Tongtong! That deserves a reward! Here’s a Ferris Wheel for you.]"

"[Boss Jiang is stunned, hahaha. Tongtong is the real expert.]"

"[Go, Tongtong, you’re the best! Big sister loves you!]"

"[That fish must be at least three pounds.]"

"[Can I buy that fish? I love Tongtong so much.]"

Tongtong clenched her teeth, hoisting the fishing rod with all her might.

"Daddy, it’s a huge fish."

Jiang Liu felt a little embarrassed, but he was also incredibly happy. ’My daughter can catch a fish at five years old. How outstanding!’

"Tongtong, let Daddy do it. Daddy will help you reel it in."

"Okay, here you go, Daddy."

Jiang Liu grabbed the rod and, with a powerful tug, pulled a crucian carp as thick as his arm from the water.