I'm a Druid at a farmhouse.

Chapter 3: The Fisherman Never Misses a Match

The evening glow painted the water with a layer of orange-red fragments of gold, and mosquitoes began to buzz out in search of food.

Deng Shen slumped on the fishing box, looking utterly dejected.

He sat there for the entire afternoon, and apart from the first small crucian carp that was incredibly strong, the float remained motionless, as if it were welded to the water.

He brought two large bags of top-quality bait, which he used to feed all the fish in the water, but he didn't even get a splash.

The chat room was filled with a cheerful atmosphere.

"Host, it's getting dark, the fish's off work, let's pack up and go home too."

"Deng Shen, why don't you kowtow to the boss? Maybe he'll reward you with a fish to take home."

Looking at these jokes, Deng Shen didn't even have the energy to retort. He felt that his fishing career had truly suffered a Waterloo today.

Just as he was about to resign himself to his fate and pack his things to leave, the float in front of him sank slightly.

Just a moment, very slight.

Deng Shen's heart sank along with the float, and then a nameless anger surged up.

Come again?

They even tried to trick me with a tiny crucian carp the size of my palm.

He didn't move, staring intently at the float, planning to jerk the rod and bring the ungrateful little fish straight to shore to vent his anger if it made another move.

The viewers in the live stream also saw it.

"It's moving! The King of Carp is back at work!"

"Hang in there, streamer! Let's fight it for three hundred rounds this time!"

Deng Shen gritted his teeth and snorted at the camera: "You guys don't know anything! This is definitely different. It's steady and powerful; the big guys are probably testing us!"

He himself seemed a little guilty when he said that.

In the courtyard, Song You was leisurely watching Deng Shen's live stream on his phone.

A pot of freshly brewed iced tea sat on a small table under the grapevines, and a few fireflies danced in the vegetable garden at his feet.

Seeing Deng Shen's angry, stubborn, and prideful expression, Song You felt the time was right.

"It's about time," he muttered to himself.

Fishermen are creatures who forget the pain after the fish. As long as they get their satisfaction in the end and catch a big fish that they'll never forget, they'll forget all about the unpleasantness of the day and it might even become something they brag about.

Song You put down his phone and closed his eyes.

His consciousness, connected to this land, sank into the depths of the reservoir.

[Beast Talk] Ability activated.

A gentle thought spread through the collective consciousness of the fish: "Feast-satisfied creatures, the time for sacrifice has come. Elect the strongest among you to accept the cycle of nature."

The fish underwater do not possess independent intelligence, but they can understand the will of their protector. After a chaotic fluctuation of consciousness, a strong will responded to Song You.

A huge, black blue fish, nearly a meter long, was pushed out of the water by its companions.

It sensed the call, swam towards Deng Shen with its powerful tail wagging.

After finishing all this, Song You stood up and patted the dust off his pants.

"It's time to wrap things up."

He started walking slowly towards the reservoir.

......

"They're here!"

Before Deng Shenhua finished speaking, the float in front of him was suddenly pulled into the water by a huge force, and the rod tip was also deeply embedded in it!

"Buzz—"

The fishing line was instantly taut, making a piercing whistling sound!

The force pulled Deng Shen forward, causing him to stumble. He instinctively bent forward, lowered his waist, and gripped the fishing rod tightly with both hands, his arm muscles instantly bulging!

Holy crap!

He couldn't help but swear, his expression shifting from initial astonishment to ecstasy and disbelief.

"Family members! Family members! Do you see that?! A giant thing! A giant thing!" he roared at the camera, his voice distorted.

"This time it's for real!"

After a second of silence, the live stream room erupted in cheers.

"Holy crap! This tug-of-war is about to break the pole!"

"That force is at least 50 pounds! This streamer is going to defy the heavens and change his fate!"

"Quickly, buy it! Buy it! Today I'm willing to call Deng Shen a god!"

Deng Shen no longer cared about the comments; all his attention was focused on fighting the ferocious beast underwater.

The force was beyond imagination; the reel spun rapidly, and the fishing line was pulled wildly outward. He could only use all his strength to barely maintain the balance between himself and the fish.

This is definitely the toughest opponent he has ever encountered in his fishing career!

A man and a fish engaged in a tug-of-war in the last rays of the sunset.

Time passed second by second. Deng Shen's forehead was covered in sweat, his breathing became heavy, and his arms were so sore that he almost lost all feeling.

The thing underwater also began to show signs of fatigue, and its struggling strength weakened.

"Now!"

Deng Shen seized the opportunity, clenched his teeth, and pulled the line back sharply, leaning his body backward and pressing down with all his weight!

"Get up! For me!"

With his last ounce of strength, he let out a loud shout.

He forcefully dragged a huge black shadow out of the water, creating a splash in the air.

But the thing was too heavy, and Deng Shen couldn't pull it all the way ashore by himself. Half of the fish's body was still in the water, violently slapping the surface, and it could break free at any moment.

"No! Landing net! My landing net!" Deng shouted anxiously. He had already reached the limit of controlling the rod with one hand, and he simply couldn't free his hand to grab the landing net several meters away.

Just when he was about to despair, a calm and unhurried voice sounded behind him.

"Do you need any help?"

When Deng Shen turned around, he saw Song You.

"Boss Song! Quick, the net! Help me get the net!" He saw his savior.

"Stay calm, don't rush, it's almost out of strength." Song You's movements were steady. He put his phone aside, walked to the net, easily picked up the huge net, and walked to the water's edge.

He seized the opportunity, dipped the net into the water, aimed it at the head of the big fish, and then exerted force with his arm.

"Splash!"

A huge bluefish of astonishing size was steadily dragged ashore and slammed heavily onto the grass, its tail still thrashing against the ground in resentment.

Deng Shen collapsed to the ground, panting heavily. He stared at the bluefish, which was thicker than his thigh, his eyes shining.

In the live stream, the giant bluefish occupied half the screen, and the barrage of comments had become uniformly "66666".

It took Deng Shen a long time to recover.

He climbed over to the fish, gestured with his hand, and touched its smooth, hard scales, his joy barely concealed.

"My God, my God," he muttered to himself. This incredible surprise, from hell to heaven, made all the fish he had caught before pale in comparison.

"Boss Song, thank you, thank you so much!" Deng Shen turned around and sincerely thanked Song You.

Song You handed him a bottle of water: "Congratulations, you've caught the king of fish."

Deng Shen took the water and gulped down more than half of it before remembering the live stream. He quickly pointed his phone camera at himself and the big fish.

"Family! Did you see that? That's skill! That's power!" he boasted proudly, completely forgetting his earlier embarrassment.

"This fish must weigh at least sixty pounds! Today, I, Deng Shen, will achieve godhood in one battle!"

Song You listened from the side but didn't expose him.

"The rice is already simmering in the pot," Song You said. "If you don't mind, I'll cook you a whole fish feast so you can try my cooking."

Deng Shen was taken aback; he hadn't expected that a young man like Song You could cook.

But then I thought about it again, this is a farmhouse restaurant, so it's normal for the owner to know how to cook.

He glanced at the big fish, and his mouth was practically watering.

"That's great! Let's go with this. Half steamed, half braised, and the fish head made into a soup." Deng Shen started ordering without any hesitation.

"No problem." Song You readily agreed and took back his phone from beside him.

The two of them worked together to carry the fish back to the courtyard.

Deng Shen haphazardly piled his fishing gear in the corner, plopped down on a wooden chair under the grape trellis, and let out a long sigh.

"Boss, your yard is so nicely decorated." He looked around and then realized that the yard was surprisingly spacious and charming.

Various vegetables and fruits are growing well, the air is filled with the fragrance of soil and plants, and a few unknown flying insects hover under the lamp. Everything seems so harmonious and natural.

"The philosophy behind my agritourism business is the natural cycle," Song You explained casually while tidying up his tools. "What we grow in the fields, we feed to the animals raised in the water, and finally becomes what we eat on our tables. We take from nature, and we must know how to give back."

Deng Shen listened with a mixture of understanding and confusion, feeling that the boss's words were somewhat mystical, yet also seemed to make a lot of sense.

He wanted to continue bragging to the viewers in the live stream, but when he touched his phone and power bank, he found they were almost out of power.

"Boss, is there a place to charge my phone?"

"Yes." Song You pulled a power strip out of the room and placed it under the table.

Deng Shen propped his phone up on a power bank and continued his live stream, boasting to his viewers about today's achievements and the upcoming all-fish feast.

He was engrossed in his conversation when he glanced at something and froze.

He saw Song You lift the huge bluefish onto a clean stone slab, but did not immediately cut it.

Song You gently placed one hand on the fish's head, closed his eyes, and moved his lips slightly, as if he were reciting something in a low voice.

"Thank you for nature's bounty, thank you for your sacrifice, your life will continue in another form..."

His voice was soft, but it was exceptionally clear in the quiet courtyard.

Deng Shen was dumbfounded. He subconsciously pointed his phone camera at Song You.

"Family members, look what this boss is doing! He's performing a ritual before even cleaning the fish?"

The moment he finished speaking, he saw Song You open his eyes.

At that moment, Deng felt as if the air in the courtyard had frozen.

Song You's entire aura changed. The amiable young boss from before disappeared, replaced by a focused and almost sacred solemnity.