CHAPTER 232: CHAPTER 224: FISHING FOR RIVER COD

Although the information on the primary spring mentioned it can’t be moved by manpower,

what about bear power?

Or otter power?

Or chicken power?

There are so many animals at home, we could bring them all over to try it out later.

If that doesn’t work, then we’ll think of another way.

But with only ten servings of spring water from one primary spring, it feels a bit insufficient.

Better to keep an eye on it and see if it creates any offshoots later.

Maybe once it splits, it’ll produce more spring water.

Resting for a while, Han Qiwu filled up a large bottle of spring water to carry with him, pouring out enough for the three of them to drink.

"Aunt Hong Mei, why is it so quiet on this mountain? I barely heard any bird calls," Tang Qingying asked curiously.

Now that she mentioned it, Han Qiwu also noticed something was off. They had been trekking up the mountain for a while, and indeed, there weren’t many bird calls to be heard.

"It’s strange, isn’t it? There seem to be fewer birds on this mountain with each passing year. I have no idea why," Aunt Hong Mei said, puzzled.

"There aren’t any factories nearby. Could it be someone set up nets?" Han Qiwu frowned.

Aunt Hong Mei shook her head. "I’m not sure either. A few years ago, there were two households in the town that frequently set up nets, but their homes caught fire later, and they moved away. I haven’t seen any nets around in recent years."

"I’ve heard that similar situations happened in other provinces. I didn’t expect it to happen here as well. I’ll look for someone to research this once we’re back," Tang Qingying said.

"It is a bit strange. Researching it sounds like a good idea," Han Qiwu agreed with a nod.

The three of them retraced their steps from the wild path back to a route familiar to Aunt Hong Mei, continuing their trek forward.

After walking for half an hour, Han Qiwu suddenly noticed a few flashes of white light from the grass by the side of the path.

"Wait a moment," Han Qiwu called out, carefully approaching the source of the white light. He gently parted the grass leaves to take a closer look.

Within the dense grass lay six oval-shaped large duck eggs, resting quietly on the leaves. Their arrangement was disorderly, and there wasn’t anything resembling a nest in their vicinity.

What surprised him was that these six duck eggs actually had attributes.

[Fire Duck Egg (Silver-Star Quality)]

[Hatchable]

[Special Effect – Vigorous Growth: Hatch success rate increased to 80%]

[Hatch Outcomes: Male Fire Duckling, Female Fire Duckling]

[Note: A precious Fire Duck Egg. Handle with care.]

[Fire Duck Egg (Silver-Star Quality)]

[Non-Hatchable]

[Stamina +50]

[Health +50]

[Note: A delicious Fire Duck Egg. Savor its flavor.]

The six Fire Duck Eggs were split into two types, with three of each kind.

"What tasty treasure have you found there?" Tang Qingying walked over curiously to take a look.

Han Qiwu quickly stowed the three hatchable Fire Duck Eggs into his inventory and held up the three non-hatchable ones to answer, "Found three duck eggs."

"Duck eggs???" Tang Qingying stared curiously at the eggs in Han Qiwu’s hands and laughed. "I once found some wild duck eggs up in the mountains. After salting them, they were absolutely delicious—all oily goodness when you bite into them."

"Ah! These are Fire Duck Eggs," Aunt Hong Mei exclaimed in surprise after taking a closer look. "I haven’t seen wild Fire Duck Eggs in such a long time. Xiao Han, you’ve got sharp eyes!"

"Fire Ducks? What are those?" Tang Qingying asked curiously.

Han Qiwu chuckled and explained, "Fire Ducks are also called African Geese or Muscovy Ducks. Technically, they’re a type of goose that was bred into a special kind of large duck."

"What about the meat? Is it tasty?" Tang Qingying questioned with interest.

"Delicious. Fire Duck meat is plentiful and has a subtle eggy aroma. The texture is excellent as well," Aunt Hong Mei said with a smile. "Xiao Han, you can just take the eggs. Fire Ducks don’t recognize nests unless they’re the ones they build. They won’t hatch eggs left outside their own nests."

Han Qiwu nodded, "Alright then, we’ll make some soup with these at lunch."

After discovering the Fire Duck Eggs, an idea came to his mind. He decided he’d give it a try later.

Looking at the ingredients in his bag, he silently calculated in his mind. After some thought, he realized he was missing some meat.

Meat? Snails? Do those even count as meat?

"Aunt, where’s that pond you mentioned earlier? Let’s catch a couple of fish to cook for lunch," Han Qiwu suggested.

"Alright, let’s go to the pond first. But remember, don’t go too close to the water. That pond is very deep," Aunt Hong Mei cautioned. "There are plenty of mountain catfish in there, and they’re really flavorful."

"Mountain catfish? Do you mean freshwater cod?" Tang Qingying asked, astonished. "There’s such a thing in our pond? They have very high standards for water quality and die quickly if there’s even slight pollution."

"I don’t know if it’s the same as what you’re talking about, but you’ll know when we get there," Aunt Hong Mei said with a smile. "But it doesn’t look much like a catfish. It feeds strictly on clean prey like small fish and shrimp."

"Then it’s probably the one!" Tang Qingying exclaimed urgently, pulling on Han Qiwu’s arm. "Let’s go, go, go!"

Han Qiwu chuckled. Mr. Tang really had zero resistance to good food.

He grabbed Tang Qingying by the crook of her arm and smiled. "How about I lead the charge instead?" With that, he tugged her along, running excitedly down the trail for dozens of meters.

The mountain path echoed with their laughter.

If it weren’t for Aunt Hong Mei shouting, "Come back! You’re going the wrong way!" behind them, they might have kept running for several more minutes.

Half an hour later, the three of them arrived at the small pond.

"Splish splash, splish splash."

This small pond was created by erosion, with a five- to six-meter-high miniature waterfall cascading down nearby. The water in the pond was slightly greenish and full of algae. It appeared cold, and standing near it brought a chill to the skin.

Han Qiwu stood by the shore, staring into the water for a good few dozen seconds.

Hmm, he saw nothing.

Might as well start fishing right away.

After setting up the bait, Han Qiwu enthusiastically cast his line into the water.

"Alright! Go for it!"

Tang Qingying gave him a round of applause, looking at him expectantly.

Feeling a slight increase in pressure, Han Qiwu quickly focused all his attention on the fishing rod.

A few seconds later, the fishing game triggered.

Before it began, a mid-level guidebook tip popped up:

[Freshwater Cod: Movement pattern is stop-and-dart. No special abilities.]

What a great catch!

No special abilities? That’s excellent news.

Although he didn’t quite understand what "stop-and-dart" meant, it had to be easier than a "rush-type," right?

Full of confidence, Han Qiwu began fishing for the freshwater cod.

A few dozen seconds in, he finally understood what "stop-and-dart" meant.

Simply put, the freshwater cod would swim for a bit before suddenly dropping, making the fishing process unexpectedly challenging.

Fortunately, Han Qiwu had his own tricks up his sleeve.

First, zap it a little, then air it out.

After those two steps, this freshwater cod could only obediently get hooked.

[Freshwater Cod]

[Stamina +100]

[Health +50]

[Note: The freshwater cod is the only freshwater species among codfish.]