Chapter 20
The fish stone of the blue-armored fish was not retrieved by Lu Qing in front of Wang Da'an.
Instead, he kept it inside the blue-armored fish.
It wasn't that he was stingy or unwilling to show it to others, but it was difficult for him to explain this thing.
Now that no one was around, it was the perfect time to extract the fish stone.
In the kitchen, the large fish head of the blue-armored fish was placed in a wooden basin.
Lu Qing split the fish head and found the fish stone at the throat.
However, when he saw the fish stone, Lu Qing was extremely surprised.
In his previous life, Lu Qing had once caught a blue fish weighing over twenty pounds, and also obtained a very good fish stone.
But when he took that fish stone back then, it was more gelatinous.
After extracting it, it still needed to be cleaned, dried, and processed before becoming a fine fish stone.Now, as he touched the fish stone at the throat of the blue-armored fish, he found it was not soft at all; it had already hardened.
Lu Qing fetched a small wooden spoon and carefully dug out the fish stone.
After washing and drying it, he examined it again, becoming even more amazed.
This fish stone was about two centimeters in size and half a centimeter thick, shaped like a scallop.
Its texture was like stone and jade, smooth and warm to the touch, feeling very pleasant.
Its quality was far superior to the fish stone he had carefully nurtured in his previous life.
Gently playing with the jade-like fish stone in his hand, Lu Qing felt a sense of peace.
He knew this was not an illusion.
Because in his vision, the fish stone in his hand was emitting a thick white glow.
[Blue-Armored Fish Stone: A complete fish stone nurtured by an adult blue-armored fish, already jade-like.]
[It is said that a jade-level blue-armored fish stone, when worn close to the body, has a calming effect.]
After carefully playing with it for a while, Lu Qing found that this fish stone was nearly perfect.
It didn't need any additional polishing and could be worn directly.
He gathered some tools and carefully drilled a hole in the thin end of the fish stone.
Fortunately, although the blue-armored fish stone had become jade-like, it wasn't as hard as real jade.
With little effort, he drilled a perfect hole.
After drilling, he took the remaining hemp thread, twisted it into a sturdy rope, and threaded the fish stone.
After all this work, a simple fish stone pendant was made.
Admiring his creation for a while, Lu Qing called Xiao Yan, who was playing in the yard, into the house.
"Brother, why are you calling me?"
The little one ran into the house cheerfully.
"Brother made something nice for you," Lu Qing said, holding the pendant in his hand.
"What is it?" Xiao Yan's eyes sparkled.
"It's this."
Lu Qing let go of the hemp rope, and the fish stone pendant swayed in the air.
"Wow! What is this? It's so beautiful!"
The little one's eyes widened as she stared at the pendant.
"This is a pendant. I made it from the fish stone of the big fish. With it, you won't kick the blanket off at night."
Lu Qing untied the hemp rope and hung the pendant around Xiao Yan's neck, then tied it securely.
The knot was small enough that the little one couldn't take it off over her head, preventing her from losing it carelessly.
"Thank you, brother. I really like this gift!"
The little one played with the pendant around her neck, feeling extremely happy.
It was her first piece of jewelry, and such a beautiful stone.
Children are generally fond of pretty stones, and Xiao Yan was no exception.
The more she looked at the pendant, the more she liked it.
"As long as you like it. Remember not to lose it. Otherwise, brother won't be able to catch another big fish for you."
Lu Qing reminded her, seeing how much she loved the pendant.
"Xiao Yan knows. I'll take good care of it!" Xiao Yan said seriously.
Seeing that the little one had taken his words to heart, Lu Qing let her continue playing.
He then returned to the kitchen to deal with the large fish head.
For dinner, the siblings had a feast of fish head.
Lu Qing grilled one half and made soup with the other.
The siblings were thoroughly satisfied with the meal.
"Brother, the big fish is really delicious."
At bedtime, Xiao Yan lay in her small bed, touching her still full stomach, and spoke to Lu Qing.
"As long as Xiao Yan is good, brother will make more delicious food for you."
Lu Qing tucked her in.
Xiao Yan used to sleep in the same room as their parents. After they were gone, she cried every night, so the original owner moved her small bed to his room, allowing her to sleep more peacefully.
"Mm, Xiao Yan will be very good!"
The little one touched the pendant on her neck and nodded earnestly.
"Then go to sleep early. We have to visit Grandpa Chen tomorrow."
"Mm, I miss Grandpa Chen too."
As the little one spoke, her eyelids grew heavier, and soon, she fell asleep.
Lu Qing gently covered her with a light blanket.
The little one had had a tiring day.
They had gone fishing, helped carry the fishing rod, and played in the yard for most of the day.
It was impressive that she didn't get sleepy until now.
After making sure she was asleep, Lu Qing lay down on his bed.
Listening to Xiao Yan's soft breathing, he couldn't fall asleep immediately.
He was thinking about tomorrow.
Tomorrow was his acupuncture day at Old Doctor Chen's place.
According to the doctor's previous promise, after tomorrow's session, he would have half an hour to learn to identify medicinal herbs with the doctor.
Identifying herbs was secondary. With his abilities, Lu Qing wasn't worried about learning it.
What he needed to consider was how to use this opportunity to gain the doctor's favor and recognition.
There was also the matter Da'an mentioned about the market, which he needed to think about.
After these few days, the borrowed grain at home was nearly consumed.
More importantly, the salt and oil were running low.
In a few days, they would be gone.
So he had to find a way to make money quickly.
It wasn't the farming season, so there was no yield from the fields to think about.
Besides, he didn't even have money to buy seeds now.
He could only look for other opportunities.
The market might be a good choice.
But he didn't know much about it and seemed to have some special rules according to Da'an's hints.
Various thoughts swirled in Lu Qing's mind, and gradually, his eyelids grew heavy.
Finally, he fell asleep.
The room was quiet, and the siblings slept soundly.
Outside, the night breeze was cool, and the sky was full of stars.
Suddenly, a black shadow jumped into the yard, eyeing the fish meat hanging under the eaves.