Chapter 73: Don't Take Up Space

It had been nearly two hours since lunch, and the meal had mostly digested by now, making it a good time to prepare something else to eat. Jiang Zheng lit the barbecue grill, letting it burn on the side.

For grilling, it was always best to wait until the charcoal was fully ignited. That way, there would be less open flame, and the smoke would be minimized.

Jiang’s mother unzipped the tent and stepped out.
“Mom, you’re awake? Not going to sleep a bit longer?” Jiang Zheng asked.

“No, I’m done. The ground in that tent is too hard—just can’t get used to it,” she replied.

“That’s the way it is with tents—nothing like the beds at home,” Jiang Zheng said.

“Are you starting the barbecue?” she asked, noticing the lit grill.

“Yes, I figured it was about time, so I went ahead and got the fire going. That way it’ll be ready soon,” Jiang Zheng answered.

“That’s fine,” she nodded, then asked, “Where’s your father? He’s not back yet?”

“No, not yet,” Jiang Zheng shook his head.

“Honestly, your father is something else. We agreed to come out and camp together, and he just runs off to fish and leaves everything behind,” she said with a sigh.

“Mom, just let Dad fish. He rarely has the chance to do it,” Jiang Zheng replied with a smile.

“It’s not that I won’t let him fish. It’s just that he always loses track of time once he starts,” his mother said.

“Look at it this way, Mom—at least Dad enjoys fishing. That’s much better than spending his time drinking or gambling,” Jiang Zheng pointed out.

“That’s true,” she admitted, nodding.

“Is there anything you need help with?” his mother asked.

“No, all these skewers are prepped already. As soon as they’re thawed, we can grill them. Let me see… they’ve almost thawed. Now we just need to wait for the grill to be hot enough,” Jiang Zheng replied.

She nodded at his words.

After they sat for a while, Jiang Zheng said, “Why isn’t Dad back yet? I was hoping to use his fish for grilled fish.”

“Maybe he didn’t catch any. If you really want grilled fish, why not go buy one now?” she suggested.

“I think I’d better go check on how Dad is doing with his fishing. Mom, you can just start grilling the skewers—don’t bother with any extra seasoning,” Jiang Zheng said, getting up.

He walked toward the other side of the campsite.

Their campsite was next to a small stream. The water was gentle but clear, flowing down from the mountains. In winter, the stream would shrink or even dry up, and only during the rainy season of summer would it swell with this much water.

Following the stream for about a hundred meters, it merged with a river. The river wasn’t wide, but it attracted plenty of anglers.

Jiang Zheng arrived and quickly spotted a familiar figure.

He walked over.

On the way, Jiang Zheng passed several other fishermen.

When he reached his father, he asked, “Dad, how’s the fishing? I’m waiting for your catch to make grilled fish.”

Jiang’s father looked a little upset and muttered, “Wait a bit.”

Sensing something was off, Jiang Zheng asked gently, “What happened, Dad?”

“It’s nothing. You go back first—I’ll be over soon,” his father replied.

Instead of leaving, Jiang Zheng smiled and said, “Actually, I don’t know how to fish. Let me watch and learn from you.”

At that moment, mocking laughter came from nearby. Jiang Zheng glanced sharply in that direction and saw three young men fishing, looking over with sneers. They seemed to have overheard the conversation.

“Zheng,” his father called softly.

Jiang Zheng frowned slightly and turned his gaze away.

He stood by his father’s side, watching. Soon enough, a fish took the bait.

“Dad, you’ve got a bite!” Jiang Zheng announced.

His father brightened, quickly lifting the rod and beginning a tug-of-war with the fish.

“Come on, Dad! You can do it!” Jiang Zheng cheered.

His father responded, focusing on the struggle. Just as he was about to reel the fish in, it suddenly slipped off the hook.

“What a pity, just missed it,” Jiang Zheng said regretfully. That fish looked to be four or five pounds—a good size for this river. Catching one that big here was already impressive. As for those massive fish weighing over ten pounds, they were rare and hard to land even if you did manage to hook one.

River fish were nothing like those from a pond.

A shadow of disappointment passed through his father’s eyes. He said nothing, just quietly picked up his rod.

At that moment, the young men nearby spoke up.

“Uncle, you ought to let us have this spot. Look at you—how many times have you lost a fish already? Giving you this spot is just a waste.”

“Exactly. If it were us, who knows how many we’d have caught by now. You still haven’t caught anything. If you ask me, Uncle, you just don’t have what it takes. You shouldn’t even be out here fishing.”

“With skills like yours, hogging the best spot? I’d be embarrassed.”

Their words were like daggers, stabbing mercilessly into Jiang’s father’s heart.

His face flushed red, and he hung his head, unable to say a word.

At that moment, Jiang Zheng’s eyes filled with fury. He finally understood why his father had seemed so off when he arrived. It was these three punks.

“What did you just say? Apologize right now!” Jiang Zheng demanded sternly.

The three young men were a little intimidated by Jiang Zheng’s commanding presence, and a flicker of fear passed through their eyes. But soon, one of them sneered, “We’re not apologizing. What, are you going to hit us?”

With the first one speaking up, the other two gained confidence.

“Yeah, go ahead, try and hit us!”

“If you lay a finger on us, I’ll call the police.”

Jiang Zheng, burning with rage, took a sudden step forward. The three of them all retreated, clearly frightened.

For all their bluster, they were still afraid. After all, nobody really wants to get beaten up.

“Zheng!” his father suddenly grabbed his arm. “Don’t do anything! The moment you resort to violence, you lose the moral high ground.”

Jiang Zheng took a deep breath, seething inside. Dealing with people like this was even more infuriating than facing real criminals. If it were a knife-wielding thug, at least you could handle the situation directly. But with people like these, all they had was a vicious tongue—if you retaliated physically, they might even extort you. No matter how you looked at it, it was a losing battle.

Seeing his son’s anger and fearing trouble, his father hurriedly said, “Son, let’s go back. If we don’t, your mother will start worrying.”

For the first time, Jiang’s father regretted coming out to fish. If he hadn’t, none of this would have happened. Now, seeing his son ready to throw a punch at the slightest provocation, he was even more anxious.

Jiang Zheng was still in university. If he got into a fight and the other party was determined to cause trouble, a stain on Jiang Zheng’s record could ruin his future.

At that moment, there was only one thought in Jiang’s father’s mind—to pull his son away and prevent any physical altercation with the three young men.

But he soon realized he couldn’t budge him—Jiang Zheng was too strong. He tugged, but his son didn’t move an inch.

“Son, come on, let’s go. If we don’t hurry back, your mother will be worried,” he urged softly.

Jiang Zheng did not respond.