Duoduo sat up and looked around.
Only then did she notice that not far away, Xu Jinxin and Yingniang were gathered around a stove, roasting something.
Duoduo ran over.
On the stove, a fish skewered on several iron rods was sizzling and dripping with oil as it roasted.
In Yingniang's hands were two skewered ears of corn, roasting over the fire.
"Huh, Auntie Xu, can this be roasted to eat too?" Duoduo was very curious.
"Yes, anything can be barbecued."
"Look, Auntie Xu has prepared a lot of vegetables too. Eggplants, green peppers, potatoes—they can all be roasted."
"I didn't expect Li Jiangyu's boat to have such good things hidden aboard."
"It's a pity this stove is too small and we don't have enough skewers, otherwise we could eat very soon."
Xu Jinxin looked regretful.
"It smells so good!" Duoduo licked her lips.
"Smells good, right? This is Auntie Xu's secret seasoning. Just a sprinkle on this fish, and it'll be so delicious it'll knock your teeth out."
"Hehehe!" Duoduo covered her mouth and giggled at her words.
Su Xian, attracted by the aroma, also walked over.
"Wow, what you're roasting smells amazing!" Su Xian praised, looking at the food on the grill.
"I guarantee that once you eat it today, you'll be begging for more!" Xu Jinxin said with a proud face.
"Auntie Xu, is there enough fish? I'll go catch a few more!"
Duoduo felt she could eat an entire fish all by herself.
"Your teacher is fishing! But, Duoduo, you could go and help him."
"Otherwise, I think by the time we finish eating, we probably still won't see a single fish from him."
"Hehe, I'll go take a look!" Duoduo ran off to the stern of the boat with a grin.
Sure enough, Li Jin and Li Jiangyu were sitting at the stern, leisurely enjoying the river scenery.
"Teacher, how many fish have you caught?" Duoduo skipped over.
Li Jin's face flushed red. "Well, river fish are hard to catch! I mean the fish in this river, they don't take the bait easily."
Duoduo peeked into the bucket, and sure enough, it was completely empty.
Li Jiangyu looked at Duoduo. "Duoduo, you fish."
Li Jin lifted the fishing rod from the water, and as expected, the hook was bare.
Duoduo grabbed an earthworm and hooked it on.
Li Jin cast the line into the water, and then everyone waited quietly for a fish to bite.
Li Jin had never actually seen Duoduo fish; he had only heard Li Jiangyu talk about it.
Li Jin felt that Li Jiangyu must have been exaggerating.
He himself had been fishing for a long time without catching anything.
However, not long after the line was cast, the bobber started to dip and bob.
Li Jin watched, dumbfounded.
Duoduo had only baited the hook; he had done everything else.
The bait was still the same bait, yet the fish suddenly started biting?
"Teacher, quick, a fish is on the line!"
Duoduo anxiously tugged at Li Jin's sleeve.
Beside them, Li Jiangyu quickly grabbed the rod and skillfully reeled the fish in.
Before long, a fish was lifted out of the water.
Duoduo grabbed the fish and tossed it into the bucket.
Li Jin was unconvinced. "This time, I'll bait it!"
Li Jiangyu handed the rod to Li Jin with a look of disdain. Li Jin baited the hook and tossed it into the water.
The three of them waited for a long time, but the bobber remained motionless.
Li Jiangyu crossed his arms, his face full of mockery.
"Your skills are inferior, yet you refuse to admit defeat? How do you have the nerve to call yourself a teacher?"
Li Jin waved his hand. "Seeing is believing. We haven't had a proper competition, so why should I admit defeat?"
"Besides, you're exactly the same. You haven't caught a single one either, and your name is even 'Jiangyu'!"
Duoduo listened to the two bickering with a smile. Whenever the Teacher met Li Jiangyu, he became so much more talkative!
Duoduo cast the rod into the water again and quietly waited for a fish to bite.
Actually, Duoduo didn't quite understand either. Why did fish bite when she baited the hook?
It was obviously the same bait, but whenever she put it on, it was always like this.
Maybe there was some scent on her hands?
Thinking this, Duoduo quietly brought her hand to her nose.
Duoduo sniffed her hand hard.
She smelled a distinct, unusual fragrance on her hand.
Duoduo looked at her hand in confusion, but beside her, Li Jin suddenly cried out.
"Quick, another fish! Duoduo, you're amazing! This luck is just too good!"
Duoduo looked up and gave Li Jin a sweet smile.
"Teacher, I'll catch a few more. Auntie Xu is waiting to roast them!"
Li Jiangyu sucked in his saliva. "Yes, hurry and catch more! The smell of that roasted fish is simply too tempting!"
Li Jin tossed the unhooked fish into Li Jiangyu's arms.
"You want to eat? Then hurry up and go clean the fish!"
Li Jiangyu wasn't angry. He scooped the fish out of the bucket and went to clean them.
Subconsciously, Duoduo used the hand without the fragrance to bait the hook.
This time, the fishing rod showed no movement for a long time.
"Huh? Why aren't the fish biting this time?" Li Jin pulled up the rod, very puzzled.
Duoduo pursed her lips and said nothing.
This time, she switched to the fragrant hand to bait the hook.
Sure enough, not long after the hook sank, a fish bit.
Duoduo stared blankly at her hand.
She looked at the mark on her palm, and something flashed quickly through her mind.
Her missing luminous pearl... it seemed she had been holding it in this very hand.
"Teacher, do luminous pearls emit a fragrance?" Duoduo asked as soon as the thought occurred to her. Anyway, there was no one else at the stern.
Li Jin was taken aback. "I don't think so. Your teacher doesn't know."
"Duoduo, don't you have... one? You can smell it."
Duoduo pursed her lips. She baited the hook, and Li Jin cast the line.
Duoduo remembered that back then, it was also after this hand entered the water that the fish had scrambled to swim over.
Right, it was also this hand that had dripped water...
Duoduo looked at her hand, lost in thought.
"Duoduo? Duoduo! What's wrong?" Duoduo was suddenly nudged by Li Jin.
Duoduo snapped back to reality. "Teacher, did you catch another one?"
Li Jin handed the bait to Duoduo. "Did you not sleep well last night? How about you go take a nap after baiting this one?"
Duoduo nodded. She watched Li Jin put the rod into the water and wait for a fish to bite.
A bold idea formed in Duoduo's mind. She took the bowl of earthworms, rummaged through it, and touched almost every single earthworm.
Then, she put the bowl back in its place.
When Li Jin handed the hook to Duoduo again, she put on a pitiful look.
"Teacher, you bait it. Maybe you can catch one too!"
Li Jin thought Duoduo was tired, so he put the bait on the hook himself.
"We absolutely can't let Li Jiangyu see this, or else he'll nag me again."
"If I hadn't told him that cutting these earthworms in half makes them multiply, he wouldn't have let me fish!"
Duoduo was very curious.
"Teacher, if an earthworm is cut in half, won't it die?"
Li Jin held the rod. "No, as long as it's cut in the middle, it won't die."
Suddenly, Li Jin felt the fishing rod in his hand twitch.
His eyes widened as he stared at the bobber in the water.
"Duoduo, a fish is on the line! A fish actually bit!" Li Jin's eyes were filled with excitement.
"Teacher! You're amazing!" Duoduo stood up and clapped for Li Jin.
"What? You actually caught a fish? That's impossible!" Li Jiangyu walked over.
