Future Pet Shop

Chapter 76: Grilled Fish by the River

"Gently, gently! It won’t be fresh if it’s dead." Shen Yibin hurried over with the bucket, rescued the small fish from under Hah’Er’s paw, and tossed it in. ’We’ve only caught this much so far, not even enough to get stuck in my teeth. I’d better let it stay alive for a while.’

"Hah’Er, I never knew you had this trick up your sleeve!" Shen Yibin circled Hah’Er, looking him up and down. He had only heard that pandas occasionally ate fish, but he had never seen one actually catch one.

Still, he had seen videos of Alaskan brown bears catching salmon on TV. Pandas and brown bears were distant relatives, so maybe Hah’Or had learned it from his brown bear cousins? Shen Yibin could only reason it out that way. After all, this was a Panda from the Future Pet Shop, so it stood to reason that he would be different from the pandas of today.

"Hah’Er, keep up the good work and catch a few more so we can eat sooner," Shen Yibin said, patting Hah’Er’s head encouragingly. Of course, he didn’t forget to add a word of caution. "But you can only stay in the shallow water by the riverbank. Don’t go where it’s deep."

"Mmm!" Overjoyed at being praised, Hah’Er scampered back into the river, lowered his head, and resumed staring intently at any movement under the water. Shen Yibin couldn’t be bothered to continue fishing himself and just waited on the bank, ready to assist Hah’Er.

"Hah’Er can catch fish?" Bai Yanni put down her fishing rod and walked over. A panda catching fish was a rare sight indeed. Compared to this, the simple pleasure of fishing was nothing.

"Shh, keep your voice down, or you’ll scare the fish away," Shen Yibin quickly whispered. "Yeah, he just slapped a fish right out of the water a moment ago. Startled me, too." ’I guess I’ll have to bring this little guy out to the wilderness more often. Who knows what other surprises Hah’Er will pull?’

"Mmm!" Right as he spoke, they saw Hah’Er swing his paw powerfully at the water’s surface once more. Another small fish inexplicably went from being a submariner to an airman, landing on the sandy bank of the river.

"I’ll get it, I’ll get it!" Bai Yanni quickly put down the phone she was using to film Hah’Er and started to go for the fish. But she was a step too slow. Before she could even get close, Cheeky suddenly swooped down and pinned the pitiful little fish under his claw.

"You can’t catch them with a rod, and you can’t run fast enough to grab them on the ground. Tell me, what are you even good for?" Cheeky tilted his head, giving Shen Yibin—who was walking over with the bucket to pick up the fish—a look of utter contempt, before flying back to a large rock by the river to continue watching Hah’Er.

’One of them slaps the fish out of the water, and the other one catches it. It seems I’ve really become just a spectator.’ Shen Yibin felt quite dejected. Bai Yanni, however, couldn’t care less. Seeing there was nothing for her to do, she simply found a spot with a good angle and started furiously taking photos of Hah’Er. ’If I show these to my colleagues, they’ll die of envy! Has any of them ever seen a panda catch fish?’

Gradually, Hah’Er’s movements became more and more skilled. Shen Yibin watched with his mouth wide open as one little fish after another went sailing onto the bank, white bellies flashing. Each one was then pinned by Cheeky’s claw, preventing it from hopping back into the river, while he himself just ran around with the bucket, picking them all up and tossing them in.

"Alright, alright, that’s enough! We won’t be able to eat any more than this." Seeing that their haul was more than enough for lunch, Shen Yibin quickly put a stop to it. Judging by how enthusiastically Hah’Er was playing, if you didn’t stop him, the little guy could probably fish the Yunshui River to extinction.

"I’ll make you some grilled fish in a little while. Let’s go find some wild vegetables for soup first." After taking out a towel to help Hah’Er dry his paws and legs, Shen Yibin led the group into the woods by the river. ’Hm, there’s a lot of shepherd’s purse over here. It’s perfect for making congee.’

"Hah’Er, this is shepherd’s purse. It’s the tastiest wild vegetable. When you see some, pick the tender leaves just like I’m doing." He demonstrated for Hah’Er and Bai Yanni, and then they all split up and bent down to start picking.

Before long, Shen Yibin and Bai Yanni had each picked a large armful. Hah’Er, on the other hand, was getting frustrated. He couldn’t figure out how to hold onto the vegetables he’d already picked like Shen Yibin could. The moment he finished picking one bunch and went to pick another, the first would scatter on the ground. It was like a bear trying to carry corn cobs; the little guy was so flustered he started to grunt and whine.

"Okay, okay, we have enough vegetables now. Let’s head back and start cooking." Shen Yibin picked up all the shepherd’s purse Hah’Er had scattered. ’Sigh, you must have picked up this bad habit from your other cousin, the bear, huh?’

Back at the bank, he set up the barbecue grill and a portable pot. He washed the wild vegetables and started the congee, then gutted and scaled the small fish. He skewered them on freshly peeled willow branches and arranged them on the grill.

"Skewering them on fresh willow branches gets rid of any fishiness and gives them a unique, fresh aroma. It’s a trick I learned from the nomads in the Northwest," Shen Yibin explained to Bai Yanni as he threaded the fish onto the sticks.

"Where are the seasonings, like cumin and pepper?" Bai Yanni asked, rummaging through the spice box and finding nothing of the sort.

"You don’t need them at all. With little fish this fresh, their natural umami is more than delicious enough. All you need is a little salt, at most. Any other seasoning would just spoil the taste," Shen Yibin explained, then handed a finished skewer to Hah’Er.

"Mmm! Mmm!" Hah’Er seemed to grunt in agreement with Shen Yibin’s point. He then expertly placed the skewer on the grill and began to cook. ’His technique has definitely improved since last time.’ The timing of each flip was perfect. Of course, it would have been even more perfect if the little guy didn’t keep glancing over at the beer that was set to the side.

Since Hah’Er wasn’t very big, the fish he’d slapped ashore were all small ones. It didn’t take long for them to be grilled until they were crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. He stared dopily at the finished skewer, about to take a bite, when he remembered the others were there, too.

"Mmm~ Mmm!" He turned his head to look at Shen Yibin, then Bai Yanni, then Cheeky. In the end, he offered the first skewer of grilled fish to Shen Yibin.

"Give it to Officer Bai first. We’ve caused her enough trouble today." Shen Yibin’s heart swelled with pride. ’Looks like spoiling you rotten wasn’t for nothing. Mmm, I’ll give you an extra half-bowl of beer later.’

"Thank you, Hah’Er!" Hah’Er obediently presented the skewer to Bai Yanni, making her so happy her eyes crinkled with a wide smile. ’This outing has been full of surprises! Grilled fish, personally cooked by a Panda. Who’s ever eaten that before?’

"The second skewer is for Cheeky. Let me take the bones out for you first." Shen Yibin took a plate, placed the deboned fish on it, and passed it to Cheeky. The third skewer went to Hah’Er, and he finally took the fourth for himself.

"Mmm! Delicious!" Shen Yibin and Bai Yanni exclaimed at the same time. The fish Hah’Er had grilled was crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, and bursting with flavor in their mouths. It was so much tastier than the generic fare from the night markets.

"Hah’Er, another one!" they both said, reaching their hands out to him simultaneously.