Today, Chu Mingcheng didn't go grocery shopping and decided to catch a fish to solve the dinner issue.
So he switched to a rod with M hardness and tied on a 2.5-gram lure. Actually, such a small lure should be used with a thinner fishing line and a softer rod, but he didn't have one, so he made do with what he had.
Moreover, he was eating dinner alone tonight, so there was no need to catch a big fish.
After adjusting the drag of the spinning reel, with a "swish," the lure suddenly flew out more than ten meters before being reeled back in with a flutter.
If he had switched to a softer rod, throwing an extra ten meters probably wouldn't be a problem.
According to online videos, lure fishing should involve casting the lure out and then directly hooking a fish.
But in reality, after Chu Mingcheng, who had just casually caught an alligator gar, cast his line over and over for about thirty times, there was still no sign of anything.
Now he clearly understood the use of the "Golden Finger." Without a chance of catching a fish, he was just like any other fishing man; he could lure-fish all day long and end up with a sore back and no fish at all.
After casting for another fifteen minutes and with the sun setting, Chu Mingcheng sighed and prepared to make a trip to the vegetable market.
Just as the lure was almost back to the shore, suddenly a fish took the bait.
It was the first time Chu Mingcheng had used the M hardness rod that day, and it indeed felt different from the MH rod.
With the rod softened, its sensitivity was heightened. The fish on the hook was floundering on the surface of the water, and while it didn't look big, the force it exerted was not insignificant.
However, the fish was only five or six meters away from the shore. Chu Mingcheng pulled and reeled, and soon the fish was brought close.
He squatted down and picked up the landing net. The fish was effortlessly scooped up.
Taking the fish out of the net, he discovered that he didn't recognize it.
The color of this fish wasn't much different from that of a wild crucian carp, but its body was laterally compressed, taller in the middle, and slightly diamond-shaped.
The head was very small, and so was the mouth. It was only because he had chosen a lure small enough that the fish was able to swallow it. Any larger, and it would have been impossible.
Luckily, its body wasn't small. Chu Mingcheng estimated its weight to be about a pound and a half, maybe even two pounds, but he wasn't sure if it would taste good.
Since he couldn't recognize it himself, he decided to check if it was listed in the fish identification guide.
[Fish Identification Guide (Level 0)]
[Current Experience: (7/50)]
[Unlocked Catching Tools: Hands, Fishing Gear]
[Maximum Fish Level: 50]
[Unlocked Fish Species: Mud shrimp, Crucian Carp, Whitebait, Carp, Ground Tiger, Spicy Snail, Bian fish]
[Special Abilities: None]
"So this is called Bian fish."
Now that he knew what the fish was called, it would be easy to handle.
Chu Mingcheng took out his phone and looked it up. He found out that its flesh was very delicious and suitable for braising or steaming. With this, dinner was settled.
As night fell and hunger set in, and now with ingredients at hand, he promptly packed up his fishing gear and carried the fish home.
Upon arriving home, he put on the rice to cook, and then took the knife and cutting board out to the front yard.
Just then, Chu Mingcheng suddenly slapped his thigh, realizing he had forgotten to prepare a fish for the cat.
He had made a point of checking the front courtyard when he got home yesterday and noticed that the fish by the well were gone. He figured that tabby cat must have visited.
He stood up and looked around but didn't find any trace of the cat.
"Could it be that it came late today and has already left?" Chu Mingcheng wasn't very sure and decided to go prepare the fish first.
Picking up the knife, he used the back of it to knock the Bian fish on the head, which immediately calmed the still flapping fish.
"Meow~"
Just as he was scaling the fish, a cat's meow suddenly came from above.
Chu Mingcheng looked up and saw that the tabby cat had arrived.
"So you were hiding up there, no wonder I couldn't find you."
He had always wanted to keep cats and dogs, but his previous job didn't allow him to take care of them, so the idea was abandoned.
This was also why he was so attentive to this tabby cat after coming back to his old home.
Chu Mingcheng glanced at the fish, and after pondering, he finished scaling it, chopped off the head and tail, gutted it, and then took the remaining fish meat away from the well.
The tabby cat watched him the entire time, and after seeing him walk away, it stared at him for a short while before leaping down with a graceful jump.
It sniffed the fish head, tail, and guts that had been left behind, then looked up at him and meowed softly as if to thank him before starting to eat.
Seeing this, Chu Mingcheng smiled, and only after the cat had finished eating and left did he take the fish into the kitchen to start preparing dinner.
The remaining bian fish was cut horizontally into pieces, arranged in a circle on a plate, sprinkled with chopped green onion and a few slices of ginger, with some chopped chili peppers added on top, before being placed in the steamer.
The fish was cut into small pieces and didn't need much steaming time at all; five minutes after the water boiled would do.
The steamed fish was ready, and so was the rice. Chu Mingcheng, feeling the weather was nice, wiped down a folding table and set it up in the front yard.
He then returned to drizzle the fish with seafood soy sauce, followed by hot oil, and the freshly steamed fish was ready to be served.
Having served himself a bowl of rice and carried the fish outside, Chu Mingcheng sat in the front yard to enjoy his evening meal.
After tasting the fish, he found it smooth and tender without any excess fishy smell, and indeed the flavor was not much different from sea bass, except for the lack of that distinct ocean freshness.
But just as he had barely taken a couple of bites of rice, Chu Mingcheng noticed the tabby cat had returned.
And this time, it hadn't come empty-handed; it was holding a large mouse in its mouth that weighed at least one pound.
'It didn't eat its fill?' Chu Mingcheng was astonished.
Then, he watched as the tabby cat approached not far from him, and he heard the crunching sound of bones being crushed as well as the dying squeals of the mouse.
After a short while, once the mouse's spine and skull were crushed and it couldn't escape, the tabby cat brought it over to Chu Mingcheng, laid it down, and meowed.
It seemed to be asking, "Do you want some?"
"..." Chu Mingcheng's eye twitched as he forced a smile, "Thank you, but you should eat it, I don't need any."
After saying this, he also picked up his bowl of rice and the fish to show he was fine.
The tabby cat seemed to understand his gesture, picked up the mouse again, and returned to where it had eaten the fish before, crunching down on the mouse's head with a "crunch crunch" and the distinctive smacking sounds of a cat eating.
Chu Mingcheng clearly saw the mouse's blood flowing down and its head being eaten first by the cat.
"Ugh~"
Suddenly, Chu Mingcheng felt nauseous, and his previously good appetite disappeared in an instant.
"What a sin!"
He could only carry his rice and fish back inside the house to eat, out of sight, out of mind.
Unfortunately, his appetite was gone, and he barely ate any rice or touched the fish with his chopsticks.
Chu Mingcheng had no choice but to take the fish and rice back to the kitchen, pour the rice back into the rice cooker, and wrap the fish with cling film and put it in the fridge.
After cleaning up the kitchen, he went to the front yard to bring in the table, only to find the tabby cat frolicking with the half-eaten remains of the mouse, with pieces like the mouse's kidneys scattered all over the ground.
"Ground Tiger, I tell you, I really want to curse you, but you sure as hell can't understand, how aggravating!"
Now that he hadn't eaten, he didn't feel that disgusted, it was just an innate aversion to mice as creatures.
But it must be said, this tabby cat was a good cat. No wonder it looked plump and sleek despite being a stray; it turned out to be a regular mouse hunter.
In the city, it would probably have struggled for food.