Joy of Life: The Mei Family's Son Grows Up

Chapter 46: Strange Stories
Mei Cheng'an grabbed a handful of minced meat-like fish food from the fish food box held by the housekeeper, held it tightly in his hand, then turned and walked out of the study.

After leaving the study, Mei Cheng'an put his hands behind his back, looked around, and walked slowly towards his yard.

Whenever he met a servant on the road, he would stop and stare at the person's face for a few seconds, which made the servant feel uneasy, and then he would turn around and walk away without doing anything.

He returned to the courtyard and went into his workshop. He poured the fish food in his hand onto the table and began to knead it to make fish bait. After he was sure that it could be stably hung on the fish hook and would not fall apart when it came into contact with water, he returned to his room with peace of mind.

The lunch break passed in a flash, and Mei Cheng'an set off towards the lotus pond with his maid as usual.

It was still the same process as before, except that Mei Cheng'an cancelled the tasks assigned to the three maids because their parasols were too small and the sunlight was too strong in the afternoon, and he was afraid they would get sunburned.

Mei Cheng'an was not in a hurry to "catch" the fish, as it would seem unreal and too abrupt if he did it too suddenly.

As the saying goes, when things are urgent, they should be slow, and when things are slow, they will be perfect.

So the following picture appeared by the pool.

Mei Cheng'an was playing chess with Green Ant, Huanggua was watching the game while fanning the young master, Blue Bird was taking notes, and Sweet Potato was painting under the smaller parasol.

The painting was suggested to Hongshu by Mei Cheng'an a few days ago when the lotus flowers were just in full bloom. He had been working on it intermittently and had never finished it. In the morning, Mei Cheng'an suddenly asked the other three to go fishing as well, so Hongshu insisted on staying by Mei Cheng'an's side and serving him, and therefore did not paint.

Now that he saw that the young master had someone to take care of him, Hongshu finally felt at ease to finish the unfinished painting of fishing in the lotus pond, which was only a little bit short of finishing touches.

Mei Chengan placed a black piece on the chessboard.

"Sixteen out of eighteen, you're already defeated, just admit defeat! Did Bluebird record everything? I won, hahahaha. Oh, here are sixteen out of eighteen. You're counting so slowly."

The green ant held a white piece in his hand and spoke with a smile.

"not necessarily!"

"Twelve out of thirteen."

Seeing the white piece fall on the chessboard, Mei Chengan's laughter stopped abruptly. He stared at the chessboard with an expression that gradually became solemn and finally became unbelievable.

"Can you still bet here? No, you had already started to set a trap for me dozens of moves ago? I thought you were making a bad move at that time."

"Young Master is a very good chess player and has an extremely sharp sense. If you want to trick him, you have to make a long preparation to make him let down his guard."

Mei Chengan's mouth twitched.

"Thank you for thinking so highly of me. I was surprised at the time. With your strength, such a vicious move was really not appropriate. I defended for a long time, but you refused to fight back and kept entangled with me on the side. As a result, I really forgot about this side while playing. You are so cruel!"

The green ant chuckled.

"Master, I'm glad to give in."

Mei Chengan rolled his eyes.

"No more, no more. Every time I lose a move, I get so upset. Sweet potato, have you finished drawing?"

Sweet potato stopped writing and looked up.

"Just a little bit left, I'll be done soon."

"How long will it take?"

"The last two."

Mei Chengan nodded and put away his fishing rod.

"This fish is really smart. It won't take the bait no matter what."

After saying this, he calmly pulled the bait off the hook, pretended to rummage through the bait bucket, and when he took it out, it had been replaced with bait made of fish food.

"Fish spirit, fish spirit, let me give you a fresh bait. I have been here with you for so long, I am out of patience. Don't be shameless. If you don't want me to have my men fish you out, just give me a big fish. I am not greedy, one is enough. If you give me this, I will leave and will never come here to disturb your peace again. Please consider it."

After saying that, he hung the bait on the hook, threw it out again, and set up the fishing rod.

The Green Ant, Cucumber and Bluebird looked at each other in bewilderment as they listened to the young master's weird words. Could they be really stupid? It would be strange if threats worked. Where on earth could such a fish spirit come from?

Mei Cheng'an looked at the maids' strange looks and asked with a smile.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

Cucumber spoke tentatively.

"Master, will this work?"

Mei Chengan shrugged.

"How should I know? This lotus pond is so strange. Let's give it a try. What if it works?"

Then he said to the green ant.

"Another plate?"

Green Ant nodded.

The two put away their chess pieces and started guessing the next move.

Just made two or three moves.

Cucumber suddenly exclaimed.

"It's moving, sir, the fishing rod is moving!"

Everyone looked over there. Could it be that there really was a fish spirit?
Mei Cheng'an grabbed the fishing rod and wanted to pull it up directly, but he couldn't lift it up for a while. The fishing rod was bent. The fish was incredibly strong in the water.

Huo, it’s still a big fish.

Mei Cheng'an stood up and pulled the fishing rod hard, but he was not in a hurry to pull it. He had to hold out with the fish for a while to drain its energy. It would not be too late to pull it after it was exhausted.

There was quite a commotion here, which attracted the attention of many servants.

"Are there really fish on the hook?"

"Yes, it is said that the fish is very big, and even the young master can't pull it."

"Thank God, you have been fishing for so long and are finally going to catch it. I told you that you can do it."

"That's not what you said before."

"That's what I said before."

"What are you arguing about? Let's go and take a look."

"Together."

As the news spread, more and more servants gathered around the lotus pond, all watching the young master fight the big fish intently.

"Huo, look at how the fishing rod is bent. This fish must be quite big." "It's also quite strong. Look, even the young master can't pull it."

"What do you know? The young master is just accumulating strength."

"You understand. You understand best."

"I just know better than you."

"Shut up, what are you arguing about? What if you disturb the young master? Do you want to be punished too?"

Mei Cheng'an turned a deaf ear to the discussions around him and waited with his eyes closed until the fish was exhausted.

At a certain moment, Mei Cheng'an opened his eyes and felt that the pulling force had loosened. He spread his legs slightly, found the right opportunity and pulled it up suddenly. A big fish about one meter long jumped out of the water. Without time to take a closer look, Mei Cheng'an swung it back suddenly and the fish was thrown onto the shore.

The fish landed on the stone slab and continued to roll and bounce.

Everyone looked at it and was surprised. This fish was so big, it must be about three or four feet long.

Mei Cheng'an let go of the fishing rod, walked to the front of the fish, carefully removed the hook, and looked closely at this fish that was about one meter long and extremely ferocious.

The body is flat and wide, the head is large, the mouth is wide and flat, and there are three pairs of tentacles.

The gray-black color of the back, the snow-white color of the belly, and the orange-red color of the tail fin are clearly demarcated.

I'm not sure about the variety of Mei Cheng'an, but you know what, it looks pretty good.

Mei Cheng'an raised his head and looked at the crowd, his lips slightly curved, and turned back to speak to the four maids.

"Since this fish demon is so kind, let's keep our word. Take the fish and retreat."

……

The matter of the fish spirit was very outrageous and bizarre. Although the Green Ant and the Blue Bird were surprised, they were not talkative people. But Cucumber was different. Of course he had to talk about such a magical thing, otherwise he would suffocate to death.

With some exaggeration, a new story with twists and turns soon emerged and quickly spread.

Young master, why couldn’t you catch any fish after fishing for so long? Because the fish in the lotus pond have become spirits.

Why were they caught again? It was because the young master lost his patience and threatened the fish spirit, telling him not to catch a big fish, so he ordered people to salvage them all. The fish spirit was scared and indeed gave away a big fish.

The young master convinced the fish spirit and kept his promise. He left decisively and did not bother her anymore.

Why don't you believe it? I saw and heard it with my own eyes. Didn't you see that the young master's parasol was taken down?

The young master can make clouds and rain with a wave of his hand. Even the fish monsters are afraid of him. He is so powerful.

……

Mei Chengan has already thought about what to do with this fish. He will send it to Wang Qinian's home as a gift tomorrow. If he doesn't show off such a big fish to Wang Qinian, it would be like walking in the night in gorgeous clothes. It's such a waste.

dinner time.

Dining hall.

"Brother, I heard you caught the fish spirit?"

"..."

What a mess this is. How can a one-meter-long fish be considered a spirit? But this is not in a river, lake or sea. After all, it is just a lotus pond. Such a big fish is indeed strange. It is reasonable to say that it is a spirit.

Mei Chengan pursed his lips.

"Have you heard all about this?"

"It's not just me. It's spread all over the mansion. Brother, you are so powerful that you can even subdue the fish monster."

Mei Cheng'an subconsciously glanced at Mei Zhili, who was silently concentrating on eating, and felt very embarrassed because there was someone who knew the truth sitting here.

“That’s an exaggeration.”

"That's an exaggeration, brother, tell me how you found out there was a fish spirit in the pond and how you threatened it. I'm so curious."

"Forehead…"

You should ask me in private. How can I talk nonsense in front of people who know the truth?

Just when I was worrying about how to deal with my sister, there was movement from Mei Zhili.

Mei Zhili tapped the edge of the bowl with chopsticks, and the scene suddenly became quiet.

"Eat quietly and talk less."

Mei Cheng'an looked at his father with gratitude. He felt relieved that his father had come to his rescue just in time.

My younger sister Mei Yuxi stuck out her tongue and lowered her head to eat obediently.

After dinner, Mei Zhili called Mei Chengan to the study again.

There was nothing wrong this time. Mei Zhili called him here to avoid being harassed by his sister Mei Yuxi.

He’s my biological father, so thoughtful!
After drinking two cups of tea in the study, Mei Cheng'an left.

What Mei Cheng'an didn't expect was that his sister had such a strong desire for gossip. When he returned to the courtyard, his sister was still waiting for him, with Hongshu and a few others standing beside her with helpless looks on their faces.

"Brother, you are finally back. I have been waiting for you for a long time."

"What are you waiting for me for?"

"Weren't you interrupted by dad during dinner? You haven't answered my question yet."

Mei Cheng'an pointed at Hongshu and the others.

"They have been by my side the whole time. They know everything clearly. Why not just ask them directly?"

Mei Yuxi came over and hugged his arm and acted coquettishly.

"I want to hear it from my brother himself."

Mei Chengan didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"Let me remind you that the real situation is not surprising at all. You may be disappointed after listening to it. Are you sure you still want to listen?"

Mei Yuxi didn't want to believe it and thought Mei Cheng'an was just trying to fool him.

"Yes, yes, yes."

"..."

(End of this chapter)