Chapter 6: Chapter 6: The Young Bird's New Call
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Ling Yi sat up, got out of bed, and walked steadily out of the room to the family's small courtyard.
At this moment, the house was empty. Both his father, Ling Xiaoshan, and his mother, Zhang Xiaoyu, had gone to the fields outside the village to prepare for the spring planting.
Over the past year, although Ling Yi had not shown any astonishing behavior, his obedience and understanding had reassured his parents and elders enough to leave him alone at home to play.
His eyes swept across the spacious courtyard, filled with the vibrant blue of the Blue Silver Grass. Without much hesitation, Ling Yi stepped on the Blue Silver Grass and walked straight to the side of the courtyard wall.
He then casually pulled a handful of thin yellow vines from the green Climbing Vine growing on the wall, sat down on the spot, and began to fiddle with them.
Fortunately, Ling Yi had never given Zhang Xiaoyu and others any trouble with personal hygiene, thus avoiding the awkward situation of wearing open-crotch pants and preventing the Blue Silver Grass leaves from coming into direct contact with his tender parts.
He pulled out one thin yellow vine after another, straightened them, and neatly aligned them on a patch of ground free of Blue Silver Grass in front of him.
The vines of the Climbing Vine usually have small thorns and are green, but these were not.
Dew Plant, as Ling Yi learned from his parents, was the name given to these yellow vines. The exact origin was unknown, but apparently, the entire Waterwood Principality called them that, and it was likely the same across the entire Douluo Continent.
Of course, in Ling Yi's eyes, this thing had another name—Dodder.
In his previous life, it was a common weed in his hometown, often parasitizing plants along the edges of fields, on sunny slopes, by the roadside, and near graves.
Ling Yi still remembered a Qingming Festival before his穿越, when he returned to his hometown to pay respects to his ancestors and saw many such plants along the rural paths, with some twisted trees looking sickly due to the parasitism.
Leaving the idle talk aside, Ling Yi's large, clear eyes reflected the scene of his ten tender, fair fingers moving nimbly. In no time, two objects, one large and one small, appeared in front of him.
"Phew~"
Ling Yi let out a light breath, looking at the items in his hands. He moved his lips but remained silent, mumbling to himself, 'It's been a while, my skills have really declined—'
Fortunately, the function was still good, even if it wasn't very pretty. Ling Yi didn't dwell on it.
He stood up, took a few steps to the courtyard gate, bent down, and lifted his buttocks, fiddling with something again.
...
The sun in the sky continued to emit its heat, dispelling the lingering cold from the earth.
Near noon, a series of footsteps approached the Ling family courtyard gate.
"Creak—!"
The seven-tenths worn wooden door made a somewhat harsh sound as a figure stepped in.
The person first glanced around the courtyard, filled with Blue Silver Grass, and a look of helplessness appeared on their face. They shook their head slightly and continued walking into the courtyard.
However, before they had taken a few steps, they felt something tighten around their ankle. If it weren't for the strength and stability gained from years of labor, they might have stumbled.
Looking down, they saw a thin yellow 'rope' wrapped around their ankle. A few inches away, a small, thumb-thick branch was stuck in the ground, with only a small part visible above the surface.
"What's this?"
Saying this, the person lifted their foot with a bit of force, breaking the yellow 'rope' and pulling out the small branch from the ground.
Kicking their leg a few times to shake off the remaining debris, they called out, "Xiao Yi! Come out! I see you—!"
Saying this, they looked towards the front door of the main house.
The next second, Ling Yi appeared there, running over to the courtyard gate, arms spread wide, and called out, "Uncle, you're here—!"
"Hey—!"
Zhang Dahé quickly squatted down and caught the running Ling Yi, lightly rubbing his chin, which had a bit of stubble, against Ling Yi's tender little face. Then, forehead to forehead, they looked into each other's eyes, "You little rascal, I was just telling your cousin Lei that you're obedient and sensible, and you pull this stunt?"
Saying this, Zhang Dahé held Ling Yi with his right hand and used his left to pull the yellow 'rope' from his ankle, showing it to both of them.
"Huh?"
Before Ling Yi could say anything, Zhang Dahé examined the 'rope' closely and asked in surprise, "Is this... Dew Plant?"
"This stuff breaks easily, but a few strands together almost tripped me?"
"Also..." Zhang Dahé picked up the small branch from the ground, looking at it and the 'rope' together, then turned to Ling Yi and asked, "Did you make this, little guy?"
Ling Yi nodded, his big, round eyes wide open, and said, "Uh-huh~"
Zhang Dahé asked with interest, "Do you have any more? Show Uncle~"
"Over there—" Ling Yi, leaning in Zhang Dahé's arm, pointed a few steps away and said, "There's another one..."
Zhang Dahé stood up with Ling Yi and walked to where he pointed. Bending down, he found a small, palm-sized yellow net among the Blue Silver Grass.
...
As the sun set, when Ling Xiaoshan and Zhang Xiaoyu returned home with the evening glow on their backs, they saw their brother-in-law, Zhang Dahé, crouched in the courtyard, fiddling with something.
Their obedient and sensible son, Ling Yi, was sitting on the steps in front of the main house, his white, tender hands busily weaving something.
Ling Xiaoshan and Zhang Xiaoyu looked at each other, unsure what the uncle and nephew were up to.
But as night approached, the fatigue from a day's labor and the hunger in their stomachs urged them to focus on the evening meal.
At noon, they had each eaten a steamed bun they had brought to the fields, which had long since been digested. Any questions could wait until the dinner table.
...
"So, Xiao Yi, the 'lasso' and 'net' you made can be used to catch wild chickens, wild rabbits, and even fish?"
Ling Xiaoshan's face showed a look of confusion as he looked at his grinning brother-in-law, Zhang Dahé, and then at his son, Ling Yi, who was busy eating.
How to put it, Ling Xiaoshan found it quite unbelievable.
A one-year-old and one-month-old child, playing with a small toy, could it really have such a use?
Although their son had been fiddling with Climbing Vine and Dew Plant vines for a few months, wasn't he just playing?
How did it suddenly become a hunting trap and fishing tool?
Seeing the disbelieving faces of Ling Xiaoshan and Zhang Xiaoyu, Zhang Dahé shook his head and said, "Don't doubt it. Although Xiao Yi's creation—"
Zhang Dahé pointed at the 'lasso' on the table and said, "I've never seen it before, but I experienced it firsthand at noon. Dew Plant vines break easily, but if it were Iron Bark Vine, I'd need to summon my 'hoe' soul tool to cut it..."
"Also~" Zhang Dahé pushed the small net next to the 'lasso' forward and continued, "This net, you shouldn't be unfamiliar with it, right?"
"Back at the market in Beikouhe Town, they sold similar fishing nets, just more refined and beautiful..."
Whether it was the lasso or the fishing net, Ling Xiaoshan and Zhang Dahé understood their uses.
The former, although unfamiliar, was similar to the animal traps they had heard of. They just didn't expect that such simple ropes and branches could form a trap.
As for the fishing net, it was a common tool in many towns and cities near water. Some people even had the 'fishing net' as their soul tool.
However, the biggest obstacle people often face is the cognitive barrier.
And the greatest obstacle to a person's growth is also the cognitive barrier.
That is, your current knowledge and beliefs can become a hindrance to your thinking, making it rigid and preventing you from growing and advancing.
Ling Xiaoshan and Zhang Dahé knew about fishing nets and that they could help catch fish in the water, but they had never considered making one themselves when they couldn't afford to buy one from the town market.
Even if such a homemade net would be less durable and more prone to breaking.
(End of Chapter)