Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

  “Good-For-Nothing, time to change fishing spots!” Jin Er carried his fishing gear and walked a few steps before he turned around to see Good-For-Nothing lying down.

  Snowball, on the other hand, was following closely behind Snowy.

  Good-For-Nothing lazily looked at its master, it had no intentions of tagging along.

  Jin Er let it lay down, it wouldn’t get lost in the villa area anyway.

  Snowy noticed that both his hands were full, so she tried to help him out, but he rejected the notion. “If your old man knew that I had you carry a bucket for me, he’d break down my door in the middle of the night just to fight me.”


  It was rare for someone to ask him about fishing, so he carefully searched for the best spot.

  The reason why Jin Er frequented the lake to fish was the serenity. It was able to temporarily take him away from his many business affairs and responsibilities, and allowed him to empty his mind and relax his body.

  During the winter, the lake would be exceptionally quiet. There were no sounds of birds chirping or wind brushing against the trees.

  Jin Er wasn’t a professional fisher, but after fishing here for so long, he was familiar with the geography of the lake. He could guess where the Crucian Carps gathered in the water.

  He swept his gaze across the lake and pointed not too far off. “Snowy, look over there. Right over there, underneath the ice, the water flows much slower. It’s sheltered and faces the sun, and based on my experience, that’s where the Crucian Carps should be.

  Snowy carefully avoided stepping on dirt, or else she’d be reprimanded when she returned home. “Isn’t this lake man-made? How does the water still flow?”


  “There’s a water pump to maintain water flow,” Jin Er said. “It seems like the home association fees weren’t for naught.”


  Even though Snowy didn’t know how much the yearly home association fees were, she felt that it was reasonable.

  Jin Er found a flat space by the lake, and put his fishing gear down before he cut a hole in the of ice using the dip net.

  Good-For-Nothing had followed, but didn’t come close.

  Jin Er opened his folding chair and told Snowy to take a seat.

  Even if Snowy lacked common sense, she knew that the person fishing had to be seated, so she kindly refused and told Jin Er to sit instead.

  Jin Er sat down and dug through the cooler before pulling out a live lizard.

  “That’s disgusting!” Snowy frowned as she turned away.

  “The lizard might be disgusting, but it’s a must for fishing in the winter.”


  Jin Er had misunderstood her. The reason why Snowy felt disgusted wasn’t because of the lizard, it was because Jin Er kept the lizard in the same cooler as the chicken.

  Jin Er took out a hook and fishing line, and strung them onto the fishing rod before putting the lizard onto the hook. He took out a small amount of fermented sticky rice and sprinkled it on the water, this acted as bait to attract the school of fish.

  After all the preparation, Jin Er sat on the chair and threw out his fishing line. With a tiny splash, the fish hook sank into the water.

  They waited for a long time. Fishing is a sport that involves luck and tests your patience.

  After a while, Snowy got tired so she squatted until her legs became numb, then she stood up again. She had to be careful not to let Snowball lie on the ground, or else it would turn into a mudball.

  On the other hand, Good-For-Nothing wasn’t discourage by the dirt. It laid down when and wherever it wanted to.

  Usually, when Jin Er was fishing, he was calm. Not today. Jin Er didn’t want to lose face in front of Snowy, he stared at the fishing float with a frown on his face, and tried hard to suppress the urge to change locations.

  He started thinking that he wasn’t getting any bites because his cast was too deep You have to fish deeper in the winter, but not too deep.

  Fishing requires patience. During the year, you’d have to wait about 30 minutes for a reaction. In the winter, it usually took like an hour or two, but that’s under the notion that there was actually fish in the water.

  Those that weren’t patient ended up with nothing. Only those willing to cultivate themselves were patient enough to fish.

  Jin Er didn’t want to waste Snowy’s time. “Why don’t you head home, eat your cake, then come back? Your mother might come out to look for you.”


  Snowy thought it seemed reasonable. If her mother did come out looking for her, she wouldn’t be able to avoid her nagging.

  So she called Snowball over to head home, and told Jin Er that she’d be back after the cake.

  When Snowy finished her cake, drank her red tea, and went back to the lake, Jin Er’s bucket was still empty.

  “Uh…” Jin Er’s embarrassment was written all over his face.

  It was at this moment that the fishing float moved.

  “Holy sh*t! There’s a bite!” Jin Er blurted out words that he hadn’t said in years.