Chapter 14: New Feature! Quality 2 Wild Fish!
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Chapter 14: A New Feature! Quality 2 Wild Fish!
Back on Market Street, Qin Lin opened the rolling shutter, and the black dog immediately ran to his feet, barking as it welcomed him.
“Come on. I’m taking you home.”
Carrying two bags of dog food, Qin Lin took hold of the leash and headed outside.
“Woof, woof!”
The black dog seemed to understand him and grew visibly excited.
When they reached the little electric scooter, Qin Lin was wondering how to get the dog to cooperate and sit on it. Before he could do anything, the dog suddenly sprang onto the footboard, stood upright on its hind legs, and rested its front paws against the handlebars. It even let out another series of eager whines, as if urging him to hurry.
Qin Lin had seen short videos online in which certain dogs acted almost as though they had gained human intelligence. He had always assumed someone was secretly directing them, but now he believed that some dogs really were as clever as spirits.
He climbed onto the scooter and rode home with this new member of the family.
“Woof, woof!”
When Qin Lin reached the front door and took out his keys, the black dog began barking even more joyfully.
“Xiao Lin, why have you brought a dog home?” Lin Fen asked in confusion when she saw the black dog enter.
“Mom, it’s a long story…”
Qin Lin told her everything about the dog. “So, I’ve decided to adopt him.”
After hearing him out, Lin Fen crouched down and stroked the black dog’s head. The dog cooperated perfectly, lowering its head toward her and even licking her palm.
“What a clever boy!” Lin Fen praised it, then turned to Qin Lin. “Xiao Lin, then take good care of him. As the saying goes, when pigs come, the family grows poor; when dogs come, the family grows prosperous. Perhaps this dog has come to bring good fortune to our household. By the way, what’s his name?”
“His name? I haven’t decided yet.” Qin Lin felt that since he had adopted the dog, it was time to give him one. “Since he’s here to bring prosperity to our family, let’s call him Prosperity.”
“Then Prosperity it is!”
Lin Fen smiled and called to the black dog, “Prosperity!”
The dog was clearly stunned when it heard her call, but it was an intelligent creature. Realizing that she was calling to him, it immediately answered with a string of eager whines.
After dinner, Qin Lin found a basin and filled it with dog food for Prosperity. Lin Fen also found a cardboard box, opened it up, and laid it out as a bed. Their home was small, so it would have to do for now.
Back in his room, Qin Lin saw that the weeds had grown again in the game and cleared them away. Afterward, he chatted with Zhao Moqing on WeChat and told her about Prosperity.
…
The next morning, as soon as Qin Lin woke up, he looked at the game screen in his mind. He harvested the ripe strawberries and okra, then planted new seeds.
After finishing, he opened his bedroom door and saw Prosperity already sitting outside. The moment the dog spotted him, it gave two soft whines and ran over to rub against his legs.
“He got up early and has been sitting outside your door ever since,” Lin Fen said as she carried out a bowl of rice porridge. “But he’s very well-behaved. He hasn’t made a sound.”
Qin Lin smiled and rubbed Prosperity’s head.
This dog really knew how to make himself useful.
After eating two bowls of porridge, Qin Lin said goodbye to his mother and prepared to go to the warehouse to enter the game and retrieve the harvest.
“Woof, woof!”
Prosperity whined and ran out after him. He even caught the leash in his teeth and brought it to Qin Lin’s hand, as though saying, Don’t leave me behind.
Qin Lin had originally planned to leave the dog at home, but seeing this, he had no choice but to take the leash and bring him along.
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Qin Lin rode the little electric scooter to Market Street, switched to the three-wheeled cargo truck, placed Prosperity in the back, and headed for the warehouse.
Once he arrived, he locked the door. With a single thought, he entered the game, and his figure vanished from the spot.
“Woof, woof!”
Prosperity stared at the place where he had disappeared, his entire head rising sharply. He rushed over, circling anxiously and frantically pawing at the ground where Qin Lin had vanished.
When Qin Lin emerged carrying a basket of strawberries, the dog recoiled in alarm. Just as it was about to leap excitedly at him, Qin Lin set down the basket and disappeared again.
After this happened two or three times, the dog seemed completely bewildered.
Only after taking all the strawberries and okra out of the game and loading them onto the truck did Qin Lin take Prosperity to Great Prosperity Supermarket to make the delivery.
By the time he finished the entire job, two hours had passed.
…
After lunch, Zhao Moqing came over. Qin Lin had told her about the dog on WeChat the previous night, and she had come especially to meet Prosperity.
Qin Lin went forward to greet her at once and kissed her.
Seeing this, Prosperity seemed to understand that he ought to do something as well. He promptly ran to Zhao Moqing’s feet and rubbed himself against her legs.
“Qin Lin, is this Prosperity?” Zhao Moqing asked delightedly as she crouched down and wrapped her arms around the dog’s neck.
Prosperity whined at her, looking thoroughly adorable and eager to please.
Unable to resist his charming expression, Zhao Moqing took out her phone to take a selfie with him.
Prosperity actually bared his teeth in what looked like a grin and leaned forward, as though deliberately cooperating with her.
What surprised Zhao Moqing even more was that when she struck several different poses, the dog matched every one of them. She immediately broke into a radiant smile.
“Qin Lin, Prosperity is so clever! I absolutely adore him.”
Qin Lin watched the scene in astonishment.
Dogs certainly could not understand things like that—unless someone had often trained this one to pose for photographs.
This dog really did seem unusually perceptive. He appeared to know how to win over everyone around Qin Lin, from his mother to Zhao Moqing.
After playing with Prosperity for a while, Zhao Moqing reminded Qin Lin to keep a close eye on him before leaving for work.
Clearly, she had already grown fond of the dog in that short time.
Qin Lin stretched out on the recliner and controlled his game character to wander around the map, checking whether any quests would be triggered.
No quest appeared. But when the game character returned to the ranch, someone suddenly appeared in front of him, accompanied by a dialogue box.
Was this part of the story?
Qin Lin immediately used his mind to control the game character and speak with the newcomer. Only then did he learn that the man was named Zack, the game’s produce buyer.
Zack said, “The fruits and vegetables sold by your character have boosted the economy of Mineral Town. I hope you’ll keep up the good work.”
Zack also gave him a fishing rod and a packet of bait, telling him that he could fish by the river, where many kinds of wild fish lived. Wild fish were very popular in the market.
After Zack left, Qin Lin discovered that the game character’s toolbox now contained an extra fishing rod and a packet of bait.
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Another new feature!
Qin Lin knew where the river was, so he immediately controlled the game character to walk to the river that ran past the ranch.
He baited the hook, cast the line, and waited.
Before long, a notification appeared in the game: a fish had taken the bait. Qin Lin quickly controlled the game character to pull up the line, and moments later, a fish came wriggling out of the water.
He removed the fish from the hook and sent it to the storage room. Another notification appeared:
[You have caught a wild crucian carp (Quality 2)!]
Qin Lin knew about wild crucian carp. It was considered a renowned nourishing food. His mother, for instance, had always been physically frail, and crucian carp was believed to be highly restorative. It not only provided protein but also helped strengthen the spleen, dispel dampness, promote blood circulation, and improve the flow of energy through the meridians.
He often bought crucian carp for his mother to help nourish her health. Even an ordinary wild crucian carp could sell for thirty yuan per half kilogram.
What astonished Qin Lin was that the very first wild crucian carp he had casually caught was already Quality 2.
During this period, he had come to understand the game’s quality system. Ordinary items had no quality rating. Quality 1 items were already one level superior to ordinary goods, while Quality 2 items were two levels higher and possessed two enhanced attributes.
Everything produced by the game was at least Quality 1.
He immediately entered the small restroom in the shop and, with a single thought, entered the game.
The game’s storage room contained not only facilities for storing fruits and vegetables, but also several tanks that were clearly meant for aquatic products. One of the tanks was already filled with water, and a fish was swimming inside.
Qin Lin picked up the net beside the tank and scooped out the fish. Its description appeared before his eyes:
[Wild Crucian Carp: Quality 2, 10 pounds]
[Description: This is a completely wild crucian carp, a truly massive specimen. Game-produced items contain no pollution whatsoever.
Rich in protein +2; easy to digest and absorb +2; strengthens the spleen and dispels dampness +2; promotes blood circulation and improves the flow of energy through the meridians +2; stimulates the appetite +2; delicious +2; tender, fresh meat +2; texture +2.]
The long string of enhanced attributes filled Qin Lin with delight. This fish would be perfect for nourishing his mother.
And incredibly, it weighed ten pounds.
A farm-raised crucian carp needed at least three years to grow beyond five pounds. A wild one required even longer. Wild crucian carp weighing more than ten pounds were almost impossible to find. Pollution and relentless overfishing had made them exceedingly rare. In the market, even a two- or three-pound fish was considered large; most weighed less than a pound.
Qin Lin had once read a news report about a recreational fishing competition in which an eleven-and-a-half-pound wild crucian carp—a true king among its kind—had sold for more than two hundred yuan per half kilogram.
The one he had caught was a completely wild crucian carp weighing ten pounds, and it was Quality 2 as well—a genuine giant that money alone could not buy.
All he could say was that the game was incredible!
Catching such a huge fish on his very first attempt left Qin Lin brimming with enthusiasm.
He exited the game, once again controlled the game character to fish by the river, and before long, another fish took the bait.
[You have caught a wild crucian carp (Quality 1)!]
End of Chapter