I am the god of this land.

05: Meal

The two sat side by side, the floats on the water standing quietly for a while without moving. Li Ange spoke first: "Do you remember when we were little, we used to fish here?"

"How could I not remember?" Han Feng rested the fishing rod on his knees, put his hands behind his head, and looked up at the dense camphor tree leaves overhead. "Back then, you insisted on competing with me to see who could catch more fish. I fished for a long time and didn't catch a single one, but you caught three. When we got back, I was embarrassed, so I carried your three fish in my hand and told my mom that I caught them."

"How dare you say that!" Li Ange turned her head and glared at him. "Later, your mother came to my house to deliver fish. When my dad saw the three fish, he said, 'These fish are the fry I released the day before yesterday. They have markings on their mouths.' He exposed her on the spot. Your mother went back and beat you so badly that I could hear it from next door."

Han Feng laughed heartily, his fishing rod trembling with laughter: "That's why I've known since I was a child that Uncle Li is a man you can't fool; he has a very sharp eye."

Li Ange also smiled, her eyes crinkling like two crescent moons. When she smiled, the afternoon light fell on her face, and her fair skin was almost transparent in the sunlight.

"Hey, hey, stop laughing! Stop laughing!" Li Ange's expression suddenly changed, and the fishing rod in his hand sank sharply, the tip of the rod bending into a full bow. "There's a fish! A big one! Help me!"

Han Feng quickly put down his fishing rod, darted over, and grabbed Li Ange's fishing rod from behind. The two of them gripped the rod handle together. The fish in the water was incredibly strong, pulling the fishing line so hard it made a buzzing sound, and the rod bent so low it almost broke.

"Push harder, Han Xiaofeng! Haven't you eaten?!" Li Ange gritted his teeth, his voice trembling.

"Eat it! Eat it! Isn't this a lot of effort?!" Han Feng pushed off the rocks on the bank with his feet, leaned back with all his might, his face turning red. The two of them were wrestling with the thing underwater like a tug-of-war. After a stalemate of almost two minutes, the fish finally revealed a section of its dark back.

"It's a blackfish!" Li Ange's voice shrill with excitement. "A big blackfish! Pull it up, pull it up!"

Han Feng gritted his teeth and pulled back. The black fish rolled around in the water, splashing water all over his face. Finally, the two of them worked together to pull the black fish, which was as long as an arm, out of the water and threw it onto the grass on the bank. The fish was still jumping around.

Li Ange squatted down and counted them, clapping his hands with delight: "Wow, this must weigh over three pounds! I'll have my mom make sauerkraut fish tonight!"

Han Feng, panting heavily, wiped the water from his face, looked at the big black fish, then at his own fishing rod quietly soaking in the water, and felt a pang of sadness.

Over the next hour, Li Ange caught several more fish. Although they weren't as big as the blackfish, they were all small crucian carp, about the size of a palm, and very lively. In contrast, Han Feng's float remained motionless on the surface of the water, as if a flower had grown on his hook. Not even a small whitebait would touch it.

By the time the sun was setting, Li Ange's fishing basket was already quite full. Han Feng lifted the fishing rod and saw that the hook was empty; even the bait had been eaten up sometime during the day.

He sighed and was about to reel in his line when the float suddenly twitched. He quickly pulled it up, but it felt light and airy, not like a fish at all. When he looked at it, he saw a tiny carp, not even as long as his middle finger, silvery and wriggling pitifully on the hook.

Han Feng stared at the small fish for a long time before taking it off the hook and carefully placing it in his bucket, muttering, "No matter the size, it's still a catch. I'll make a dish tonight."

Li Ange was laughing so hard she couldn't stand up straight: "Han Xiaofeng, even the fish look down on you. No, you didn't catch it, you just found it!"

Han Feng was unconvinced, so he squatted down by the stream and turned over the stones. He did manage to find a few river shrimp, which were grayish and pitifully small. He threw the shrimp into the bucket, which at least made him feel a little better.

When they finished fishing, the sun had already sunk behind the mountains, and the clouds on the horizon were burned to an orange-red color, reflected on the water. The entire valley looked like it was soaking in a vat of pale gold water. The two of them, one carrying a bucket and the other carrying a fishing rod, walked back along the ridge of the field.

The roadside weeds grew very tall, with foxtail grass, dandelions, and morning glories crowding together. Han Feng bent down and plucked a dandelion. Taking advantage of Li Ange's inattention, he leaned close to her and blew a puff of air onto the fluffy seed head.

White fluff flew up like tiny umbrellas, scattering all over Li Ange's face.

"Han! Xiao! Feng!" Li Ange stomped her foot angrily, reaching out to swat the fine hairs on her face. Some of them even got into her nose, causing her to sneeze several times. "Are you asking for a beating?!"

Han Feng had already run several steps away, laughing, then turned around and walked backwards, still holding the bare dandelion stem in his hand, shouting, "This is for you! Isn't it pretty!"

"Look at you, my foot!" Li Ange bent down, picked up a small pebble from the ground, and pretended to throw it. Han Feng quickly took off running, his laughter carrying far into the twilight. Li Ange didn't throw the pebble in the end, but held it in his hand and watched Han Feng's retreating figure. He couldn't help but laugh himself.

The evening breeze swept in from the valley, carrying the sweet scent of rice blossoms. The sun had already sunk behind the mountains, leaving only a last sliver of orange-red light hanging on the horizon, turning the western clouds into a magnificent sunset. Two shadows on the ridge of the field were stretched long by the last rays of the setting sun, one in front and one behind, like two ink lines bent by the wind, slowly moving forward. In the distance, wisps of smoke rose from the village, dispersed by the evening breeze, like a thin veil hanging on the treetops.

Han Feng walked ahead, and for some reason, he started humming a melody—"I still remember you saying home is the only castle, running along the rice paddy river, smiling slightly, I know the dream I had as a child..."

Hearing this from behind, Li Ange chimed in, "You still listen to Jay Chou?"

"Everyone has a youth," Han Feng said without turning his head.

The shadows of the two people stretched longer and longer on the ridge of the field, fading as they walked, slowly blending into the deepening twilight of Shimen Village.

Upon reaching the village entrance, under the old banyan tree, Li Ange suddenly stopped and called out to Han Feng.

"Han Xiaofeng, don't cook tonight. Come to my house for sauerkraut fish. It's the big blackfish we caught today. My mom will make it. You remember eating it when you were little, right?"

Han Feng, carrying the bucket containing only a few small shrimps and a small carp, swallowed hard. He had only eaten a bowl of noodles that morning, and his stomach was already growling with hunger. When he heard the words "pickled fish," his stomach rumbled loudly, so loud that Li Ange could hear it.

"Your belly is quite honest," Li Ange chuckled, then turned and left. "Let's go, let's go."

Han Feng followed behind her, walking along the bluestone path towards the east end of the village. Li Ange's house was a two-story white-walled building with a pomelo tree in the yard and an old yellow dog tied up. The dog wagged its tail and barked twice when it saw Han Feng.

Li Ange pushed open the courtyard gate and called out, "Mom, I'm back. I brought a big black fish."

No one answered, so she called out again, took out her phone, made a call, hung up, and turned around: "My mom and dad went to help out in the next village. They won't be back for dinner tonight, so I have to cook for myself."

The two stared at each other for two seconds. Han Feng was about to say, "How about I go back and cook some noodles?" when Li Ange had already rolled up his sleeves, revealing two pale arms, and said aggressively, "I'll do it! You wait! As for sauerkraut fish, I've seen my mom make it eight hundred times, how could she not know how?"

Han Feng's heart skipped a beat, but he didn't dare to say anything.

Li Ange went into the kitchen, and Han Feng followed her in to help, but she pushed him out, saying, "Go sit down! Don't get in the way."

Han Feng had no choice but to sit under the pomelo tree in the yard. The sound of chopping vegetables came from the kitchen, followed by a sizzling sound as fish was thrown into the oil. The spatula was turned over, water was added, and the lid was put on. It actually sounded quite convincing.