Chapter Forty-Three: The Perch of the River

"Red perch! There's actually a red perch!"

Just as Zhong Di was answering the phone, a startled cry sounded behind him.

Red perch? What red perch? Is it really so surprising?

"I'll be back in a bit, probably... well, about half an hour," Zhong Di said, glancing behind him. With this much going on, it would take at least half an hour to sort everything out.

"Do I get any compensation?" Su Rou's words lingered, drawn out.

"Compensation? What compensation?" Zhong Di replied.

Su Rou: ...

"Hurry up then. I brought my best friend over, just to see your double-yolk eggs," she said, and then Zhong Di heard the dial tone as the call abruptly ended. Why so serious all of a sudden? They had been chatting just fine before.

Zhong Di felt somewhat baffled, put away his phone, and returned to the crowd.

"You don't even know red perch?" Qian Weining was animatedly narrating in the middle of the gathering.

Zhong Di grew curious about this so-called red perch and didn't interrupt, just listened quietly.

"River perch, you've heard of river perch, right?" Qian Weining looked around after speaking, and seeing the confused expressions, felt a little deflated.

"Well, you've surely heard of 'Five Black Stripes'!"

"Pfft, you should've said 'Five Black Stripes' earlier. They sell those at the supermarket," an elderly man chimed in, saying he'd eaten them before.

"This fish isn't the same as the usual Five Black Stripes. Those never get so big—look at this one, it's nearly half a meter long!" another old man, apparently knowledgeable, with a faint whiff of scallions about him, indicating his 'supreme' status at home, joined in.

"What you have are farmed. This one's different. Five Black Stripes usually live only in rivers and lakes. But this is from the reservoir—not only present, but this big."

"There are generally two types of Five Black Stripes: the shallow-water kind, which are short—the ones you eat are basically those; and then there's the deep-water kind, which can grow up to half a meter long. Look at this one, it's nearly half a meter!"

"And that's not even the rarest thing. Five Black Stripes are only found in the northwest, in waters like the Eyaqisi River and the Wulugu River, mostly up north. Even if they're present elsewhere, nobody's ever seen them this big."

As a seasoned angler, Qian Weining knew all the rare and peculiar fish in the area.

"Hello, I'm Qian Weining. Are you selling this fish? I'll pay five thousand for it—what do you think?" Seeing Zhong Di, Qian Weining hurried over. An opportunity like this couldn't be missed.

Five Black Stripes don't survive long out of water. Even if he couldn't keep it alive, he could still brag to his fellow fishermen.

Zhong Di was taken aback. One fish worth five thousand?

"Sure, if you like it, it's yours," he replied.

Sell? Of course. With so many fish here, why not? If he didn't sell, they'd spoil uneaten, or he'd have to give them all away.

They exchanged contacts, transferred the payment, and the deal was done.

After acquiring the Five Black Stripes, Qian Weining lost interest in the other fish and began arranging for a transport truck.

A ready-made aquatic transport vehicle could take it back. Whether it survived or not, he would try.

"Shao Hong, let's head back. There's a customer," Zhong Di called.

"A customer? All right, let's hurry."

The two packed up quickly, shared some fish with those who had helped, and loaded the rest onto the vehicle. Once home, they'd sort them and decide how best to handle them.

Along the way, Shao Hong animatedly boasted about his recent achievements, without a shred of adult composure.

Nowadays, society feels too repressed—daily expenses and life's demands make it hard to feel joyful, so people gradually become "composed."

But composure isn't tied to any age. At twenty-something, one ought to be as carefree as a child, but circumstances often force early maturity.

Any sign of playfulness or childishness is immediately labeled "immature" by others, but that's only because they're unhappy themselves, so they think unhappiness is normal.

Returning to the garden, they found a car parked at the gate and several onlookers nearby, seemingly discussing something. Zhong Di ignored them—he didn't even need to guess what they were talking about.

A big Mercedes was parked at the entrance. These days, even a luxury car worth millions might go unrecognized, but bring a Mercedes or BMW, and people will definitely notice.

The massive SUV looked particularly imposing.

Zhong Di wasn't well-versed in cars, but he vaguely recalled it might be a GLS, 3.0T.

"You're here?" Zhong Di greeted the two girls.

He hadn't expected that a girl would drive such a formidable Mercedes, and was surprised.

Su Rou wore a high ponytail and a casual outfit: a white T-shirt paired with black shorts and classic white sneakers. Her flawless long legs stood out remarkably.

Beside her was a cute girl around twenty-three or twenty-four, dressed in a light blue long dress, refreshing and eye-catching.

At such an age, she was already about to get married. In the interior, even getting married at seventeen or eighteen was normal, but in the northwest, plenty remain unmarried past thirty.

"This place is really hard to find. I spent ages looking. Let me introduce you—my best friend, Lin Xiao. The 'Lin' with a bamboo radical, and the 'Xiao' from Guo Youzhi's name," Su Rou said.

"Hello, I'm Lin Xiao. I've had your eggs before and now I'm really looking forward to the double-yolk eggs—came especially for them," Lin Xiao smiled sweetly, extending her fair hand.

"Hello, let's skip the handshake. I'm covered in fish smell," Zhong Di said, looking at his own state.

"I'm his buddy, Shao Hong," Shao Hong said, eyeing the two beauties—not as others might, but as if they were piles of cash.

"Get lost, who's your buddy," Zhong Di grumbled, worried about misunderstandings—so awkward.

"Did you guys go fishing? So leisurely," Su Rou remarked, noticing the electric tricycle behind Zhong Di.

"Fishing—brings back childhood memories," Lin Xiao said, noticing the tricycle and quickly went to examine it.

The vehicle was mostly filled with carp and crucian, along with some bullhead and eels.

"Right. We'll stew some for soup. Haven't cleaned them yet, but before you leave, take some with you," Zhong Di said, opening the door, ushering them inside.

"This place looks way different from your photos—couldn't recognize it at all. Quite the transformation," Su Rou said, glancing around and already gaining a feel for the place.

The two began to wander, while Zhong Di went to fetch the double-yolk eggs. Lately, he'd been getting about five a day, and now had nearly thirty saved up.

The appearance of the two beauties drew many onlookers to Zhong Di's garden, though most stayed outside, some even snapping photos.

What was it—people actually liked to visit gardens? And not just anyone, but young people. Strange.

Chickens wandered, clucking as they laid eggs, gray rabbits nibbled grass, water splashed everywhere—everything felt comfortable.

"Hey, there's a hedgehog here. And it's had babies!" Lin Xiao exclaimed as she wandered, as if she'd discovered a new world.

"I saw them this morning. Why are you making a fuss?" Su Rou covered her face—Lin Xiao's exuberance was a headache. She seemed so sweet, beautiful, gentle, kind, and quiet, but inside, she was fiery.

Seeing a hedgehog made her this happy... Though Su Rou herself couldn't help but smile when she saw it too—but that was when no one was around. Now, there were so many people.

"Look, the baby hedgehogs are drinking milk. They're adorable," Lin Xiao said, ignoring her friend's protests. As long as she liked the hedgehogs, that was enough.

Holding the eggs, Zhong Di watched this scene. Indeed, girls were a unique crowd—the hedgehogs were already becoming popular.

"Here are your double-yolk eggs," Zhong Di said, handing them over. Then he took an egg from the coop and offered it to the hedgehog.

Normally, hedgehogs are very wary of people—if someone approaches, they'll flee if possible, or curl up if not.

But this hedgehog was different. When Zhong Di fed it the egg, it even showed affectionate gestures—at least, it seemed so.

"Why are you giving it raw eggs?" Lin Xiao cried.

Zhong Di froze, tentatively asking, "Should I give it cooked eggs?"

"Of course! Raw eggs have lots of bacteria and stuff—it's not good. They need to be heated. Even if it's raw, it should be scalded with boiling water," Lin Xiao insisted.

"No need for that. Hedgehogs even eat raw chicken—they can handle eggs," Zhong Di wanted to retort but held back—these were guests, after all.

"Impossible! Hedgehogs are so cute—how could they eat raw chicken? That's too cruel," Lin Xiao said in disbelief.

"Zhong Di, don't mind her. She's always like this. I see your garden's shaping up—when are you planning to host visitors?" Su Rou quickly changed the topic, worried Lin Xiao might cry if this kept up.

"Still a while yet—at least until some vegetables grow. Otherwise, visitors won't have much to do, just wander around. Not much fun," Zhong Di replied honestly. The air here was fresh, the scenery beautiful, but that alone didn't guarantee guests.

At least, things like eggs—they could buy them. Or maybe some tropical fruit trees, something novel to see. Then people would find it interesting.

"All right, keep at it. We'll take the eggs now, and come back for more next time," Su Rou said. She'd come to get acquainted with the place, having seen Zhong Di's videos and heard Yang Yi talk about it—it seemed increasingly appealing, so she'd wanted to visit.

"Don't rush off—let me prep the fish. They're from the reservoir. Not entirely wild, but close, and not fed with commercial feed. Delicious. Take some back," Zhong Di offered. There were plenty of fish to share, and as for the rest, he'd figure out what to do.

Perhaps he could dig a small fish pond, so any live fish caught could be kept for a while—easy to grab one for a meal whenever needed.