A Leisurely and Extravagant Life - Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Raising Loaches

When Luo Tianwang got home, Luo Baolin smiled and held up a basin for him to see.

“Tianwang, look, what’s this?”

Luo Tianwang leaned over and glanced inside, there was a whole basin full of loaches.

“You caught so many again today?” Luo Tianwang’s eyes lit up in surprise. What little kid doesn’t like fish?

“Later, I’ll have your grandma fry them up for you. You can eat as much as you want,” said Luo Baolin.

“If only we could raise them! Imagine having a whole pond full, then we could eat them whenever we liked,” Luo Tianwang said dreamily.

“These loaches aren’t easy to raise. Put them in the water and they’ll all escape,” Baolin shook his head.

“Then let’s eat half and raise half, okay?” Tianwang insisted. The boy’s interest had been piqued—once he got an idea in his head, he wouldn’t give up easily.

“If Tianwang wants to raise them, then let him. Later, fix up the pond by the house, put the water in, and then the loaches can live there. If we want to eat more, we can always catch some again, right?” Grandma Xiao Chunxiu, doting even more on her grandson, couldn’t bear to let him feel disappointed.

Baolin smiled helplessly. “Alright then. If you want to raise them, we’ll raise them. But your grandparents don’t know how to raise loaches.”

“I’ll learn!” Tianwang said happily, grabbing the basin and heading outside.

“Hey, where are you going now?” Baolin quickly stopped him.

“I’m putting them in the pond to raise them,” Tianwang said, puzzled.

“If you dump them in now, the next rain will wash them all away. Keep them at home for now. Once I’ve fixed up the pond, then you can put them in,” Baolin explained.

Loaches were hardy creatures—so long as there was a little water in the basin, they wouldn’t die. But by evening, Tianwang noticed a few of them looked weak, maybe injured when they were caught.

To Tianwang, these loaches were the start of his “career.” How could a little kid finally having something to work toward not take it seriously? He scratched his head in worry.

“Right, since those symbols can heal wounds, maybe they can heal these loaches too,” he muttered to himself.

A green symbol condensed in the air, flashed, and merged into the basin.

The loaches suddenly came alive as if injected with energy, thrashing and flipping in the water. Even the ones that had turned pale sprang back to life, looking completely different.

A smile spread across Tianwang’s face. It really works!

Watching her grandson guard the basin all afternoon, Chunxiu tugged on Baolin’s hand and whispered, “Look how much he cares… Huh, this afternoon he hasn’t even dozed off once.”

“Maybe because he’s so caught up with the loaches. Let him raise them if he wants. At worst, it’s just releasing a pound of loaches back into the wild. No real loss.” Baolin chuckled.

Actually, loaches weren’t cheap these days, they were more expensive than meat. Wild loaches from the fields were even rarer and pricier. But to Baolin and Chunxiu, no treasure in the world could compare to having a healthy grandson.

That evening, Baolin took a hoe and reinforced the pond by the house, raising and compacting the banks to keep water in. He cleaned it out, drew water from the canal, and filled it up.

“Now you can put the loaches in,” he said, not feeling tired at all. As long as it made his grandson smile, he had all the energy he needed.

Tianwang ran over, beaming, and poured the loaches into the pond. Normally, loaches quickly disperse to hide once in water, but these ones stayed clustered together, reluctant to part.

Only after Baolin stirred the water with his hoe did they scatter. Soon, they were leaping joyfully through the pond.

“Heh, why are these loaches so lively?” Baolin scratched his head, baffled. He didn’t know that Tianwang had healed them with his symbols.

That night, Tianwang was so excited about the loaches he couldn’t fall asleep. Eventually, he drifted off. By morning, Baolin and Chunxiu had already gone to the fields to harvest rice. As soon as Tianwang woke, he ran straight to the pond.

In the early morning, the loaches were especially lively, occasionally leaping above the water. He went back for some rice bran, sprinkled it in the pond, but the loaches weren’t very interested. When he washed his hands in the water, however, several loaches swam right up, circling and bumping against his fingers.

To his delight, more and more loaches gathered, crowding around his hands. He cupped a few in his palms, and instead of escaping, they lay lazily in his hands as if enjoying it.

“Tianwang, stop playing and come help Grandma cook!” Chunxiu called from the kitchen.

Reluctantly, Tianwang let the loaches slide back into the pond. Only long after he left did the loaches disperse.

Cooking was done on a wood-fired stove. Chunxiu could manage it herself, but she wanted Tianwang to take part.

As he sat before the stove, Tianwang froze. There were so many red light points here! They danced in the flames like little spirits. The stronger the fire, the livelier they became. But they were too active—very few entered his energy center, and those that did quickly slipped out again. He couldn’t keep them in.

He glanced toward where he’d left the tortoise shell—gone!

“Grandma, where’s the tortoise shell? Who moved it?” Tianwang asked anxiously.

“Wasn’t it under the cupboard?” Chunxiu looked—indeed, it was missing. “Maybe your grandpa put it somewhere.”

Tianwang ran off to find Baolin. “Grandpa, where did you hide the tortoise shell?”

“It’s at home, I put it away. I’ll get it for you later. Look at you, so worked up! Come on, let’s go home for breakfast.” Baolin packed up his things and led the boy back toward the house.