You care for me, and I must show filial piety to you.

Most parts of Hecheng were water towns, so eating fish was a basic routine; every household knew how to prepare fish.

Within Lin Mo's divine sense, Ah Ka's mother moved with agility, an old kitchen knife seemingly coming to life in her hands.

Scaling, gutting, and removing the organs—the entire process flowed as smoothly as running water. In just the blink of an eye, that large black carp was cleaned thoroughly.

With a creak, the wooden door to the inner room was pushed open, and Ah Ka walked out, yawning.

"You actually managed to catch this, you're pretty amazing. It's truly impressive that your rod didn't snap."

Feng Binbin waved his hand. "It wasn't me, it was Mo Yu who caught it."

Lin Mo called out politely, "Brother Ka, long time no see."

"Oh, it's Mo Yu! Impressive! I knew Binbin was too lame for this."

"Hey, hey, hey, you can't say it like that."

Feng Binbin was displeased, craning his neck to retort, "Without my selfless support, could he have done it alone? This is called teamwork, understand?"

Ah Ka curled his lip, just about to shoot back, when his mother came out carrying a heavy plastic bag, wiping her hands on a rag with her other hand.

"You brat, instead of inviting them inside for a cup of tea, you just know how to bicker out here."

Seeing this, Feng Binbin quickly stepped forward. "No need, Auntie. We're heading back now, we won't bother you."

Saying that, he swiftly took the plastic bag from Ah Ka's mother's hand. It felt quite heavy.

"Come fishing again when you have time!" Ah Ka waved from behind.

"Will do!"

The two turned and left. After walking a short distance, Feng Binbin couldn't wait to open the bag and peek inside.

"Whoa! She gave us the fish tail. Auntie is truly generous!"

The tail of the large black carp, the section near the caudal fin, had firm, chewy meat and rich fat; it was one of the prime parts of the whole fish.

"Today's haul is perfect." Carrying the bag, Feng Binbin's footsteps became much lighter.

"Not quite." Lin Mo shook his head.

"Huh? This still isn't enough?"

"A bottle of ice-cold cola for each of us—now that would be perfect."

Hearing this, Feng Binbin's eyes lit up. "Yes, yes! Let me tell you, Second Great-Aunt guards against me buying cola like she's guarding against a thief. Now that you're back, my good days are here."

"I'm much more well-behaved than you, so of course it's different," Lin Mo patted his chest, as if claiming credit.

Feng Binbin pursed his lips. He really wanted to retort, but felt there wasn't much need to.

He could only grumble in annoyance, "Right, right, right, you're the most well-behaved. You're the model student, happy now?"

The small convenience store at the bridgehead looked the same as always, with an old, buzzing freezer standing at the entrance. The two each grabbed a glass bottle of cola exuding white mist, twisted off the caps with a hiss, tilted their heads back, and chugged furiously.

The icy liquid slid down their throats, washing away the last trace of late summer heat.

"Refreshing!" Feng Binbin burped.

After finishing, still wanting more, they bought a large family-sized bottle to take back and drink slowly.

Halfway back, they ran head-on into Grandma, who had just woken up from her afternoon nap and was heading out with a basket to buy groceries.

"Oi! Second Great-Aunt!" Feng Binbin raised the plastic bag in his hand from afar, shouting as if presenting a treasure. "No need to buy meat, we're having big fish tonight!"

Grandma approached, first peering into the bag at the fish, and nodded in satisfaction.

"Alright, I'll go up ahead and buy some scallions and ginger."

As soon as she finished speaking, her gaze swept over like a radar, accurately landing on the large bottle of cola Lin Mo was carrying, and her brows instantly furrowed.

"For goodness' sake, you two shouldn't drink so much of this junk! It's no good for your health!"

"Okay, okay, okay, last time, I promise it's the last time!" Feng Binbin brushed her off verbally while his feet were already pulling Lin Mo away to escape.

Lin Mo looked back, watching Grandma shake her head helplessly and turn toward the grocery store. Then he looked ahead at Feng Binbin carrying the fish tail, his steps so light he was almost flying.

The afterglow of the setting sun spilled onto the bluestone path, stretching their shadows out long.

A scene like this was truly wonderful.

That night.

In the living room, the television was playing a domestic family drama. Grandma watched with great interest, occasionally chiming in with a few comments.

Lin Mo sat nearby, quietly peeling an apple.

Feng Binbin had long since gone out to run wild with a group of friends. Young people were full of energy; coming back for college break, they were either bragging over a barbecue grill at home or screaming in a KTV, along with all sorts of other entertainment activities.

"Little Mo, why didn't you go out to play with Binbin?" Grandma's gaze shifted from the TV and landed on Lin Mo.

Feng Binbin had asked Lin Mo before heading out, but Lin Mo had refused.

"Not going, it's too noisy."

Lin Mo cut the peeled apple into small pieces, pierced one with a toothpick, and handed it over. "Besides, keeping you company while watching TV is much more interesting than listening to them howl like ghosts and wolves."

He genuinely wanted to spend more time with the elderly woman.

"You're the most well-behaved," Grandma cheerfully took the apple, her heart feeling as sweet as honey.

She looked at her grandson before her, growing more pleased the more she looked.

Suddenly, as if remembering something, the old woman finished the apple piece in her hand and stood up.

"Wait for me a moment."

Saying so, she slowly made her way toward the second floor.

Lin Mo's divine sense had long since followed her up, clearly seeing Grandma enter her room, step onto a small stool, and shakily retrieve an old biscuit tin from the top of the large wardrobe.

Opening the tin, inside was the money she had saved for more than half her life. She carefully pulled out a few crumpled red bills, then fumbled out a brand-new red envelope from another corner, and stuffed the money inside.

Watching this, Lin Mo's eyes grew slightly hot, but he could only show a helpless smile on his face.

A short while later, Grandma came down holding the red envelope, her steps a bit lighter.

"Little Mo, it must be hard studying all alone in Yangcheng."

She pressed the bulging red envelope into Lin Mo's hands. "Grandma doesn't have much ability and can't give you much. Take this, and don't think it's too little."

Lin Mo didn't decline. He knew that refusing would only make the old woman feel uneasy.

He accepted it calmly; it felt quite weighty in his hands.

"Why say things like that, Second Great-Aunt? Besides, I'm not having a hard time in Yangcheng at all."

Lin Mo smiled, and casually pulled a kraft paper envelope from his own pocket, handing it to Grandma.

"You dote on me, so I have to show my filial respect to you too, right?"

"Oh? What's this?"

Grandma thought it was a certificate or a report card and accepted it with a smile. "Your teacher even called me last time, saying you ranked first in the whole school. So promising!"

Lin Mo was slightly taken aback. Chen Xiaoya had actually spoken to Grandma on the phone? He really hadn't known about that.

Grandma casually opened the envelope, took a single glance inside, and froze completely.

That thick stack of red banknotes made her dizzy.