Chapter 1

My dad was a fisherman, and he specialized in catching fish to make fish sacs.

The fish sacs themselves had no real medicinal value. They were made specifically to sell to men who wanted to boost their performance.

As long as you wore one of the fish sacs my dad made, even the most useless man could stand tall again.

It was only later that I learned there was no such thing as a fish sac that could restore a man’s glory. They were all really the wives of men who had cheated.

...

My dad was the most famous fisherman in the village. He didn’t fish to eat. He fished to make fish sacs.

One fish sac could sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

But my dad never made them casually. If you wanted to buy one of his fish sacs, you had to meet two conditions.

First, no kids. Second, weak performance.

I was in the yard gutting fish for my dad when a timid man who didn’t even dare to look up suddenly came to our house.

I knew him. He had come a few days ago to ask my dad to make a fish sac for him.

But when he came, he had brought a beautiful woman and a proud-looking man with him, and when he left, he was alone, holding a long object wrapped in red cloth in his arms.

I figured it must be the fish sac my dad had made.

“Kid, go call your dad for me. Tell him Eli is here to pick up the fish oil and get the fish sac fitted.”

“No need. I saw you from far away. Did you bring the fish sac?”

Before I could say anything, my dad’s tall figure came out of the inner room.

Eli quickly pulled the long object from his arms like he was offering up a treasure, and without thinking, he was about to open it and hand it to my dad.

My dad roared and rushed over in fury, slapping the man across the face.

“Are you trying to get me killed? I warned you. Once the fish sac is finished, no one but you is allowed to look at it!”

Eli hurriedly dropped to his knees and apologized to my dad, and then promised over and over that he would pay more. Only then did my dad’s face finally look a little better.

“Come with me. If we don’t fit it now, it’ll lose its vitality.”

As soon as Eli heard that, he followed my dad into the inner room, nervous and excited at the same time.

I had lost all interest in gutting fish. After thinking it over, I kept replaying what my dad had said in my head.

I had never seen the fish sacs my dad made, not even the semi-finished ones. He never let me look at them, always saying I shouldn’t rush, because I would have a fish sac of my own someday too.

I didn’t care before, because I thought I had no issues at all.

But one year ago, when I was with my girlfriend in bed, I realized I was wrong. I did have a problem. A big one.

I pressed my ear against the wall and secretly listened to their conversation.

But strangely enough, what I heard was a woman’s voice.

That sound was just like the noises my girlfriend made when we were together.

But there wasn’t even a woman in there!

The strange noises grew faster and faster, and only then did I vaguely hear Eli’s voice.

The sounds went on for half an hour before they finally stopped.

Then I heard my dad say, “It’s fitted. Is the size right? Does it feel too tight?”

Eli’s voice came in bursts, as if he was holding something back, but he still sounded full of energy. “Brother Sun, your craftsmanship is amazing!”

They were coming out. My face turned red, and I hurried back to pretending to gut fish.

When my dad and Eli came out, they glanced at me. Eli seemed to know I had been eavesdropping, and gave me a sly, greasy smile.

But when I saw him, I was stunned.

Was this still the hunched, weak-looking Eli from just now?

Had he always been this tall?

Eli came over, patted my head, and asked my dad, “Your kid’s old enough now. This craft can’t be passed down and left to die, right?”

My dad snorted, sounding a little impatient.

“He’s still too young. He doesn’t even have a girlfriend yet. He helps me gut fish every day. Besides, maybe there’s nothing wrong with his body. He doesn’t need to learn this!”

Eli didn’t say anything. This was a family matter, so he just said he’d send the money over later and left.

The second he was gone, I couldn’t hold it in anymore. I grabbed my dad and said, “Dad, I actually already have a girlfriend. I... I have a problem.”

My dad’s usual angry expression vanished all at once. He looked shocked, and kept muttering, “How could it be this early? Is this really the curse of the Sun family?”

Then he stared at me with an unreadable expression for a long time, leaving me with goosebumps.

“You... sigh...”

“Is it the girl from the next village, Emma? I warned you. Emma is not a good woman. She has no shame, she’s loose, and back then when she got into college, you weren’t the one who heard those rumors. Who else would you go after? Of all people, why her...”

“Dad! What are you talking about? You believe those rumors about her sleeping her way into college? Emma got in on her own ability.”

“Emma is a good woman. I know her!”

I argued back firmly and cut my dad off hard for the first time, arguing with him until my face turned red.

My dad waved a hand and let out a defeated sigh.

“Fine. It’s all fate. Bring her here. Have her come eat at home. If she passes my test, then I’ll pass this craft on to you and let you become a real man.”

I was so excited I rushed out at once to call Emma over.