Fang Yue thought he had misheard.
His sister was actually telling him to give some fish to Widow Yu. For a moment, he was so stunned he just stood there, motionless.
"What are you standing there for?" Fang Lan urged him again. "Hurry up. You still have to bring lunch to Father and Older Brother."
"Oh, right. I got it."
Fang Yue took the cleaned fish and headed out the door.
~~~~~~
Third Uncle and Seventh Uncle were both close relatives of Fang Yue's Family.
They also lived nearby, so the families would often help each other out if anything came up.
In situations like this, it was common for the families to share food with one another.
After all, they had more fish than their family could possibly eat.
There was no way to preserve it in this era. It would spoil after today, so it was better to use it to build goodwill.
Fang Yue went to Third Uncle's and Seventh Uncle's houses first. After delivering the fish, he passed by Widow Yu's home on his way back.
"Mama, Yue is here!"
A little girl was playing in the courtyard. She was still thin and small, but her complexion had a healthier, rosy tint compared to before.
She looked up, saw Fang Yue, and immediately called out.
A moment later, Widow Yu emerged from the room. She was dressed as before, her graceful and charming figure on full display.
She swayed with every step.
'What a siren!'
Ordinarily, propriety demanded he avert his gaze.
But Fang Yue possessed a soul from another world; he was naturally free of such shackles.
Besides, there was no one else around. He couldn't help but stare for a moment longer.
Widow Yu, of course, noticed his gaze. Her fair face instantly flushed red, all the way down to her neck.
She lowered her head, not daring to meet his eyes.
Although she had a bewitching and almost wanton beauty, she had come from a prominent family and understood propriety and shame.
If any other man had stared at her so rudely, Widow Yu would have cursed him as a lecher.
But Fang Yue was different. After all, she and her daughter owed him their lives.
'Yue is all grown up now,' she thought to herself.
"Ahem... Mrs. Yu, my sister wanted me to give this fish to you."
Sensing the awkwardness in the air, Fang Yue quickly held out the fish.
"We get to eat fish! Nu gets to eat fish today! We won't go hungry!"
Nu's cheerful voice rang out.
"Nu, go inside and wait."
Widow Yu, however, sent her daughter inside.
The next moment, she took the fish. She weighed it in her hand for a moment; it felt like two or three pounds.
'He gave us so much fish again today!'
For some reason, Widow Yu felt her nose tingle, her eyes welling up.
Her gaze fell on Fang Yue, fiery and intense. Recalling where his eyes had been moments before, she suddenly grabbed his hand and pressed it against herself.
"Feel for yourself...!"
"Widow Yu, what are you doing...? Let go!"
Fang Yue said the words, but his hand was much more honest—he made no move to pull away.
Never mind this life—he hadn't been with any women yet.
But in his past life, he'd been an experienced player, and even he had never encountered anything like this.
'It was truly unbelievable.'
The actual sensation was far more breathtaking than just looking.
Thankfully, this area was remote, and most of the villagers were out working in the fields. There weren't many people around.
Still, he had to be careful not to be seen. If they were caught, the village gossip would be vicious, and he might even end up being drowned in a pig cage.
"I have other things to do. I'll be going now, Mrs. Yu."
Without a second glance at the crimson-necked Widow Yu, Fang Yue turned and left, like a rogue who'd had his fill and was now wiping his mouth clean.
'I didn't expect him to be such a little lecher.'
Widow Yu watched him go and couldn't help but spit lightly. But she didn't look angry in the slightest; instead, her expression was filled with a kind of helpless, plaintive sorrow.
~~~~~~
「A month passed in the blink of an eye.」
The weather grew hotter as the village entered the height of summer.
Fang Yue's days continued as before: herding the ox and fishing.
When he caught a surplus of fish, he would share some with his relatives, Widow Yu, and Fang Ergou's family.
Slowly, word of Fang Yue's exceptional fishing skills spread throughout the village.
This attracted many fellow villagers who tried to learn from him, but no matter how they tried, they found their catches paled in comparison to his.
Clearly, Fang Yue had a special technique; there was more to fishing than met the eye.
Seeing this, many of them gave up.
After all, while fishing could provide meat, it was also time-consuming.
Fish couldn't be sold for money, used to pay taxes, or be preserved for long.
As a method of subsistence, fishing was simply inferior to farming.
One day.
After finishing his ox-herding duties, Fang Yue was just about to head home when Fang Ergou found him.
This time, at least, he didn't pounce.
Seeing so many villagers following Fang Yue to learn fishing these past few days had tempted Fang Ergou as well.
"Zhi, can you teach me your way of fishing?"
Fang Ergou said in a low, rumbling voice, scratching his head in embarrassment.
After all, fishing was a skill, a way to put food on the table.
Most people wouldn't just teach their livelihood to someone else.
"I... I can teach you archery."
Fang Ergou quickly added, perhaps feeling embarrassed by the one-sided request.
After all, the only real skill he possessed was archery.
How could a hunter's son not know how to shoot a bow?
"Nonsense, Ergou. If you want to learn, I'll just teach you. You don't need to trade anything for it."
Fang Yue was secretly delighted. 'Archery was a fine skill to have.'
You can never have too many skills. If he got good at it, he might even be able to go hunting in the mountains someday.
A skill exchange was an excellent deal for him.
Right then and there, Fang Yue began to explain, starting with how to make a fishing rod.
He explained what kind of bamboo to use, the ideal length for the pole, and how to treat it to make it tougher and less likely to break.
He also explained how to make a fishing line from tree bark, and even covered bait and chumming techniques.
He slowly imparted all this knowledge, even demonstrating the techniques himself.
Although Fang Ergou usually seemed a bit goofy, he wasn't stupid—just simple-hearted.
And people with a pure heart, free from distracting thoughts, actually learn things very quickly.
"Go back today and find the materials I told you about. The first step is to make the rod."
"When you come back tomorrow, I'll teach you how to actually fish."
After explaining the theory, Fang Yue headed home with Fang Ergou.
He didn't bring up the archery at all.
He knew that with Fang Ergou's character, he wouldn't go back on his word anyway.
Besides, his own strength wasn't sufficient yet; he probably couldn't even draw a bow.
There was plenty of time for that. There was no need to rush.