Mountain Looting: Targeted by a Leopard at the Start
Chapter 317 - 316: Field Fishing, Plump Rice Flower Fish!

Chapter 317: Chapter 316: Field Fishing, Plump Rice Flower Fish!

Xu Yang found the little crow that belonged to him in the forest.

It was just a little one, still in its nest.

The little guy couldn’t fly yet and just poked out its little head to look at him.

The bonding ceremony began.

The little fellow was white and looked very pretty.

"From now on, you’ll be called Little White."

"Grow up quickly."

Xu Yang looked up at the little crow and said with a smile.

This crow, like the Black Kite, would bond with its owner as it grew older.

It had its own life but often flew to Xu Yang’s side to seek closeness.

In the mysterious ways of the world, there seemed to be destiny at work.

In the following two days, Xu Yang rested at the farm.

He occasionally took a stroll through the farm’s fields, planning what to plant in the future.

It was already August, and the crops in the fields were ripe.

Xu Yang thought about planting some rice next year. Though it wasn’t valuable, it could be used to raise some natural Rice Flower Fish.

The so-called Rice Flower Fish were small fish raised in rice paddies, growing slowly from youth in the rice fields.

Opinions on Rice Flower Fish varied; some said they were delicious, while others thought they had too strong an earthy taste.

In truth, if the Rice Flower Fish were raised in natural spring water, they tasted excellent.

Every time, before they even grew big, the farm stay owners would come over to place advance orders.

However, it wasn’t easy for the Rice Flower Fish to grow; not only would birds prey on them, but the farm’s ducks would too.

Once ducks swam through the rice paddies, the fish would all be gone.

"Next year, plant some rice; raise some Rice Flower Fish or some ducks."

"Planting some eco-friendly rice seems quite nice."

Xu Yang pondered to himself.

Just then, the little foxes came running over from a distance, rushing to Xu Yang’s feet to act cute.

These guys were gradually growing up and started to venture into the mountains to play.

Some of them came back often, while others would only return occasionally.

They were growing up and had their own lives.

The forest was probably to them what big cities were to young people, holding a peculiar attraction.

They always wanted to live in it.

Xu Yang always respected their choices.

He thought it was rather nice.

To go wherever they wanted.

When the little foxes saw Xu Yang, they rushed over with a chorus of yelps.

There was no stopping them.

They each flopped down on the ground, wiggling their bodies, incessantly acting cute.

It felt like you couldn’t leave without giving them a few pets.

Xu Yang couldn’t help but laugh and petted them for a while.

The dogs also came over at this time. Seeing the foxes, they immediately gathered together and joyfully played.

There’s a saying, "fox and dog friends," indicating that since ancient times, foxes have liked to play with dogs.

Little Wolf joined in too; at first, the little foxes were somewhat afraid of it, but after spending time together, they weren’t scared at all.

After resting for a couple of days, Xu Yang felt revitalized.

He decided to go out for a stroll.

The next afternoon, with nothing particular to do, Xu Yang decided to take the little ones for a walk to the farmland to see if there was any Rice Flower Fish for sale.

The Husky didn’t want to move, and Little Wolf couldn’t run amok, so in the end, Xu Yang only took Little Black and Maquan with him.

He chose to ride an electric tricycle, the very common kind that wasn’t fast.

The weather was quite nice, and riding in the tricycle felt quite pleasant.

This kind of tricycle should only be ridden when it’s warm; if the weather turned cold, it would be torture.

Little Black and Maquan lay at the front of the tricycle’s bed, happily watching the road ahead.

And so they headed out.

Soon, Xu Yang saw vast expanses of farmland.

The road in between was somewhat uneven, a dirt road just wide enough for two vehicles to pass by each other.

There usually weren’t many cars here, mostly just farm trikes.

The crops in the field were all ripe.

Beside Xu Yang was a chili pepper field, the green pepper plants stretching as far as the eye could see, covered with red chilies.

The chili field was large, and the farmer had planted plenty.

Xu Yang estimated that this family would probably have to hire people to pick all these chilies.

But chilies are light, and their price isn’t high; it remained to be seen how the harvest would turn out.

It seemed like a tough way to earn a living.

Moving forward, another carrot field appeared.

The carrot field was thriving, the tops of the carrots were a vibrant green, standing tall, clearly good quality carrots.

Xu Yang suddenly felt like eating some.

In his childhood, he would often go with his village playmates to steal carrots.

Back then, when they went to the fields, they mainly stole carrots, eggplants, and tomatoes.

Carrots and tomatoes could be eaten raw, while eggplants were a bit more complicated.

They would prepare a tin can, also bring a packet of instant noodle seasoning, then they would peel the eggplant, break it into pieces, put it into the can, sprinkle it with the seasoning, pour some water in, and cook it over a fire.

Once heated, they could enjoy the eggplant.

When I was little, there wasn’t much to eat, so playing like this was especially thrilling.

The farmers who grew carrots would, by unspoken agreement, reserve a small patch near the road for people to eat.

Since it was all villagers, taking a few wouldn’t matter much, so it was no big deal.

Xu Yang looked to his side and saw that the edge of the carrot field next to the road had been trampled into a patch of mud, with the carrot tops all bent and twisted, a sign that many had been pulled out.

As a child, he would have pulled them, but now things were different.

The fields were planted with all kinds of crops.

Further on, one could see fields of eggplants, tomatoes, and corn.

Everyone was trying to make money from the land.

Yet, such farmers were often not wealthy.

They earned very little money throughout the year.

Xu Yang continued forward.

Before long, he came upon vast expanses of rice paddies.

There was a lot of rice in the Northeast.

With abundant water resources here, rice was grown more than wheat.

Xu Yang saw two farmers in rubber boots busy going back and forth in the rice paddies.

Xu Yang drove his tricycle over and stopped.

The two farmers looked up at Xu Yang.

Xu Yang asked with a smile,

"Uncle Zhuzi, do you have any Rice Flower Fish for sale? I’m craving some."

Upon hearing Xu Yang’s words, the middle-aged strong man called Uncle Zhuzi immediately laughed and replied,

"I don’t have any left here. This year when the seedlings were planted, I put a few dozen in, but in no time, they were all gone. The birds here are too formidable."

"If you want some, you’ll have to head north. Over there are large areas of rice paddies, and some places raise Rice Flower Fish."

Xu Yang looked at the rice in the fields, and indeed there wasn’t a ripple to be seen.

Catching Rice Flower Fish was not going to be easy.

"Alright, I’ll go take a look."

Xu Yang rode off on his tricycle once again.

Watching his retreating figure, Zhuzi and another farmer chatted idly.

"That big boss doesn’t put on any airs at all; he’s really something."

"Yeah, who knows how much he’s made. I’ve heard that his tractors cost over a million each, and every time the village harvests rice, they have to pay him to do it."

Xu Yang’s reputation was well known in the area.

After all, he was a well-known livestreamer nationally, so the locals definitely knew of him.

And they didn’t dislike him.

Many livestreamers appear glamorous on the surface, but locals disdain them once they come up in conversation, as they know what those livestreamers are really like.

But Xu Yang was someone the locals particularly liked.

Xu Yang drove his tricycle deeper into the area.

It had been a long time since he’d driven it, and it felt quite pleasant.

This too was a kind of convertible.

Soon after, Xu Yang’s vehicle entered a broad expanse of rice fields.

The rice stretched as far as the eye could see, and the people here all cultivated rice.

Xu Yang started asking around where he could buy Rice Flower Fish.

This fish wasn’t easy to find, and even if someone raised them, they were often pre-ordered by others.

However, orders mostly came from owners of rural recreational centers, and if one wanted to buy, it was still possible.

Xu Yang quickly struck a deal with a farmer.

He put on rubber boots, stepped into the rice paddies, and decided to catch a few himself.

The rice crop was doing well, a golden hue, and harvest time was approaching.

Xu Yang walked into the paddies and brushed aside a layer of rice.

With a sudden whoosh.

Several golden Rice Flower Fish darted away in a flash.

Rice Flower Fish are actually carp or crucian carp that are put in the paddy when young, and as the rice flowers bloom, they grow by feeding on the flowers, thus the name Rice Flower Fish.

Now, when the rice matures, they can feed on the fallen grains, which helps them grow even faster.

The rice flowers are nice, and after eating them, the fish’s meat is naturally delicious.

Every time before the rice is harvested, these Rice Flower Fish are also collected.

Xu Yang timed it to come looking for Rice Flower Fish just before the harvest.

He was looking for the genuine Rice Flower Fish.

There are many dishonest business people nowadays, and some would try to pass off regular fish as Rice Flower Fish.

In places like this, the Rice Flower Fish are purest.

Xu Yang held a net in his hands.

The net’s mesh was fine, so if there were loaches, it could scoop them up as well.

Xu Yang parted some rice and saw several Rice Flower Fish gathered together.

These guys had even made a nest!

Seizing the opportunity, Xu Yang covered them with the net and scooped up.

He caught all of the Rice Flower Fish in one go.

A complete success!

Xu Yang smiled in satisfaction.

This single catch was enough.

He looked at the Rice Flower Fish, noting their fine scales and even color—a very nice catch.

He thought to himself that he should raise some too.

Come fall, he would come to catch them.