"Catching... shrimp?" Xiang Ye raised his eyebrows as he looked at the daily task for the day.
The first types of shrimp that came to mind were river shrimp or sea shrimp.
But their city was nowhere near the ocean, so sea shrimp were out of the question. And river shrimp? Those were usually caught with a net, not a rod.
Still, just thinking about river shrimp brought a whole list of tasty recipes to mind—lightly sautéed river shrimp, deep-fried river shrimp... perfect with a glass of liquor.
Ahem—getting ahead of himself. He hadn't even caught any yet, so there was no point fantasizing about shrimp dishes.
"Where the heck am I supposed to catch shrimp?" he muttered, scratching his head. After thinking for a moment, he sent a message in his usual group chat:
"Hey folks, anyone know where I can go shrimp fishing?"
It was just after 6 a.m., but people were already up—and with Xiang Ye being the current hot topic in the group, his message instantly lit up the chat.
Liu Guangqing: "Shrimp fishing? What kind of shrimp?"
Zheng Jianping: "What else? Crayfish, of course. But it's a filthy business. Way easier to buy cleaned ones at the market."
Zhang Tianyu: "Not just crayfish—didn't a shrimp-fishing parlor open up nearby? They've got those Macrobrachium rosenbergii, too. Really tasty!"
Qi Hongbo: "I know a place that lets you fish for Boston lobsters. Want to give it a shot, Xiang Ye?"
Huang Kai: "Knowing Xiang Ye, I'd bet he's aiming for wild shrimp. The only ones you can reasonably catch in the wild around here are crayfish."
Yuan Tianguang: "I know a great spot for wild crayfish! There's a creek behind my family's place—tons of them. I'll drop you a pin. It's not far!"
As soon as Xiang Ye dropped his question, the group exploded with responses—some from people he knew, others from strangers—all eager to help out with tips on shrimp fishing.
He paused for a moment, a little stunned. He hadn't even thought about it that way—but yeah, crayfish, giant river prawns, Boston lobster... they were all shrimp!
The system didn't specify a type, so technically, any of them would count.
"@Yuan Guangtao, Yuan Guangtao, send me that location. I'll go give it a try!"
Yuan replied promptly with a private message and the GPS coordinates.
The location wasn't far—about an hour's drive—and Yuan thoughtfully included some tips on what to bring.
Turns out, catching crayfish doesn't even require a proper rod. Just a sturdy stick would do. But the line needed to be decent quality, and instead of a hook, you tied something super smelly at the end.
Worms worked. So did pork liver, chicken liver, pig lungs, chicken intestines—all good options.
Fortunately, thanks to the rain, earthworms would be out in droves along the field ridges. Easy bait, no extra prep needed.
With the location and method confirmed, Xiang Ye was ready to give it a shot.
After washing up, he headed downstairs and drove to his usual breakfast spot. He ordered a bowl of Mixed Noodles.
"You're heading out in this rain?" his neighbor asked, walking over after serving him his noodles. It was a quiet morning—the rainy weather kept most people at home—so she had time to chat.
"Yeah, just running a quick errand. Might pick up something for the car too. Shouldn't be long," Xiang Ye replied with a smile between bites.
"You bought a car?!" a nearby woman exclaimed curiously as she cleared some dishes.
She was one of the familiar aunties in the neighborhood. Xiang Ye had lived here for five years, ever since he graduated. She remembered that Ai Bai had a car, but Xiang Ye didn't—at least not before.
"Yeah, picked one up recently," Xiang Ye said, still smiling.
"That one out front?!" The auntie dashed to the door. There was only one car parked out there—clearly his.
"Yep, that's mine."
She whipped out her phone and snapped a picture, then sent it to her son while chatting away.
"Nice-looking car, young man. Real classy. My son's looking to buy a car too—I'll show him this one, get his thoughts."
"Uh, sure…" Xiang Ye said, a little awkwardly.
Truth be told, the Binli was an excellent car—spacious, powerful, comfortable, and perfect for hauling his fishing gear.
It had every smart system imaginable: adaptive cruise control, automatic parking, auto hold, hill-start assist—you name it.
The only downside? Random aunties often mistook it for a "13Di" (a local budget EV model), which was mildly frustrating.
Not that he looked down on the 13Di—in fact, if he hadn't gotten the Binli as a reward, he probably would've bought something like the Song Dami. Great value for money.
But now that he had this? No need to spend his own cash.
"I'm off!"
With a final grin, Xiang Ye didn't bother correcting the auntie. He paid his bill, opened his umbrella, and headed out. Once in the car, he set the GPS and started driving toward the creek Yuan Guangtao had mentioned.
Just then, the auntie got a reply from her son.
Son: "Mom, it's barely morning—why are you sending me car photos already?"
She chuckled and replied dotingly over the phone.
"Didn't mean to wake you. You've been talking about buying a car, right? This young guy who eats at our place just bought one. Looks really sharp. I figured I'd show you!"
A minute later, her WePay chimed again.
Son: "Mom… that's a Binli."
Auntie: "Binli? That's a 13Di model, right?"
Son: "No, Mom. It's a top-tier luxury car. Just know this—even if we sold our house, we couldn't afford it…"
Stunned, the auntie stared at her screen.
Could this young man really be some kind of second-generation rich kid?
Her neighbor, hearing this, chuckled.
"This auntie really is something else…"
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]