Street Hustler and His Policewoman Wife-Chapter 148: Naturally Rotting, Forty-Nine Days!

On the way, Old Chen was talking about the stories of those fishermen by the river.

But nowadays, in the countryside around Chen Xiao's hometown, anglers are just anglers.

Even the rods they use are mostly bamboo, and it's rare to encounter a professional fisherman at this time.

As for Lin Xi, she was just here to join the fun.

If there's no movement after more than ten minutes, she starts to mumble.

Why do others have fish biting, and she doesn't?

Either her bait doesn't smell good enough in the water, or Chen Xiao sneezed next to her, scaring away her fish.

Whenever Chen Xiao mentions her lack of patience, Lin Xi can argue with him for half a day.

She has plenty of examples of how she can stakeout for hours to catch a criminal, whatever example you need, she's got it.

Eventually, Chen Xiao got smart and just went along with her.

Old Chen never spoke, just quietly fished, but the corners of his mouth never dropped.

At this moment, they suddenly heard voices not far away.

Feeling bored from fishing, Lin Xi immediately looked over out of curiosity.

It seemed like a fishing expert had arrived, and the other anglers were gathering around to learn something from him.

Lin Xi listened to the commotion and asked, "Dad, is that person really good at fishing?"

"He's quite skilled. One time I was having bad luck and didn't catch anything, and he gave me some fish, otherwise your mom would have scolded me when I got back."

Lin Xi chuckled, "Then he must have some special method."

"Fishing, what special method can there be? It's just about choosing the right spot and bait. I don't think there's much difference between mine and his. Just watch, I'll show you a thing or two today."

Old Chen seemed a bit unconvinced, and Lin Xi flattered him with a few words, making Old Chen beam with pride.

But it wasn't long before there was no movement on Old Chen's side, while the other side had caught a few-pound grass carp.

Lin Xi, the one who came to join the fun, exclaimed "Wow" along with the others, making Old Chen scratch his head, unable to figure out what was wrong with his bait today.

As the opposite side caught more and more fish, there was less and less movement on this side.

At first, everyone was surprised, but gradually each of them started to feel something wasn't right.

This was obviously fishy.

Even Chen Xiao found it strange. After exchanging glances with Lin Xi, Lin Xi said, "Hubby, should we go see if there's something fishy going on?"

"Let's go!"

The couple said they'd go and went, causing Old Chen to huff in dissatisfaction.

Chen Xiao led Lin Xi to the side of the fishing expert, and as soon as he got there, he noticed the expert's bait was indeed different.

Fragrant.

But others' bait was fragrant too, and it all had a boozy aroma.

At this point, in Chen Xiao's understanding, everyone made their bait at home. Like Old Chen, who used baijiu to enhance the aroma. (Professional fishing experts, take it easy. The author is just writing about childhood memories fishing with the old man.)

Of course, some people used residue from oil pressing. There were many methods, but most of what Chen Xiao had seen was like Old Chen's.

The unique aroma made Chen Xiao ask, "Uncle, your bait has a very unique boozy scent?"

The old uncle nodded proudly, "Yes, it's a secret recipe, unique to this area!"

Lin Xi, even more curious, said, "Uncle, can you sell us some? We'll take it back to study."

"Hey, I'm not boasting to you young folks, but even if you take it back to study, you'll never figure it out."

Chen Xiao pinched a bit of bait and sniffed it, finally understanding what was different.

"Sir, have you ever drunk Jade Ice Burn?"

The old uncle's face tightened at hearing those three words, "Wow, have you even heard of such a rare thing?"

Chen Xiao nodded with a smile, "A friend brought some from out of town for me to try before. It's said to be the most famous local wine from that area. Its aroma is very different from what we know of as wine aroma. It's called, ferment fragrance, right?"

The old uncle gave a thumbs up, "Impressive, impressive, you seem to be quite the expert on wine." 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Chen Xiao shook his head, "I can't call myself an expert, just drank enough to have some insights."

Then, Chen Xiao suddenly changed the subject, "But you added something else in this bait, right? And your Jade Ice Burn doesn't seem pure either."

The old uncle squinted and asked with a smile, "Then take a guess, what was added?"

"The brewing process of Jade Ice Burn is very special, and since your bait is so enticing to the fish, I guess you use rotten meat in the brewing, right?"

The old uncle's eyes widened instantly.

"Wow, since I came back from out of town years ago, I haven't met someone as knowledgeable as you. You're not just experienced, you're practically a wine king, truly impressive!"

Lin Xi immediately mocked, "He either doesn't drink, or when he does, he's dead drunk. So uncle, you're wrong about the 'wine king,' he's just a gullible drinker."

Chen Xiao corrected, "You could simplify that and just call me a lightweight."

"Hmm... Lightweight? That's a good adjective." Lin Xi quite agreed with the popular term from the future.

The old uncle didn't have spare time for chatter. He earnestly said, "Young man, I'll give you half of this bait, but you must keep this secret for me, okay? At my age, I'm just hanging onto a bit of pride."

Chen Xiao accepted the bait and nodded, but asked, "Uncle, is there any problem with the rotten meat you used for the wine?"

"What problem could there be? Just get a piece of pork and let it naturally rot for fourty-nine days and it's... " The old man cut himself off, suddenly closing his mouth and eyeing Chen Xiao warily.

Chen Xiao laughed, "As long as it's pork, that's fine."

"Of course it's pork, what else could it be, human?" The old man said and then hurriedly urged Chen Xiao to leave, afraid his secret would be cracked.

Chen Xiao took the bait with Lin Xi back to Old Chen, but he didn't let Old Chen use it.

Mainly because he was uneasy with naturally rotted pork meat for fourty-nine days and thought if the fish ate it, it might not be appetizing when cooked.

Just as he put the bait down, Chen Xiao suddenly remembered something.

So he asked Old Chen, "Dad, did you bring any cigarettes? There's something I want to ask that uncle."

Old Chen handed Chen Xiao the good cigarettes that Chen Ding had given him in the morning, asking suspiciously, "Why ask him? Are you really interested in fishing?"

"No, that uncle also went out to work back in the day, and learned a skill in winemaking. The place he went wasn't far from where Uncle Wan De is rumored to have disappeared. I'm going to ask him about it."

Old Chen nodded, "Then go, ask him a lot, give him this pack of cigarettes!"

"Okay."

Chen Xiao stood up again, heading toward the old uncle.

As the cigarette was lit, the uncle's guard gradually eased.

But as soon as Chen Xiao asked about "Wood Town," the old man's face changed, exclaiming, "That place is spooky, really spooky!"