Chapter 111 - 120

Villagers boarded the boat to help unload the goods. Zhou's mother kept a close watch, afraid someone might try to steal the silver ingots.

She spotted Tian Caihua and quickly said, "Ahua, come help sort the fish and sell them, it's getting late!"

Tian Caihua ignored Zhou's mother and went to two bags of oysters, examining them. "You've shucked so many oysters again today? The ones I shucked yesterday were quite plump, are they plump today?"Full novel: After transmigrating into the book, she became wealthy in the 1980s. — read the rest free on N​o⁠v​e⁠l​C⁠o​d⁠e​x⁠.​o⁠r​g⁠

Afraid she'd find the large silver ingots, Zhou's mother hurried over, stepping on the opening of a snakeskin bag. "The plump ones were mostly shucked yesterday, today's aren't as plump. Do you want to take some home to eat?"

Tian Caihua's gaze fell on the snakeskin bag at Zhou's mother's feet.

Her mother-in-law was so anxious; it seemed she'd found pearl oysters again.

She knew it; although they'd told her husband they'd found pearl oysters, they wouldn't actually tell her where.

They wasted a whole day at sea yesterday, only bringing back two nets of fish and a few bags of oysters, earning a mere twenty-odd yuan.

Twenty-odd yuan is nothing; it's not even a fraction of what Jiang Xia earned.

Tian Caihua said with a dark face, "No need. Chengxin and I dug for oysters all day yesterday. We have nothing else at home but plenty of oysters. What's the point of coming back? I'm a bit busy today; I haven't cooked yet. The fish are mostly divided up, so I'm going home."

With that, she left, her face dark, no longer in the mood to divide the fish.

Seeing her eldest daughter-in-law storm off, Zhou's mother knew she was upset about the boat full of fish.

She probably thought her parents were being biased again.

Actually, Zhou's parents loved their children and grandchildren very much, but right now they did favor Zhou Chenglei and Jiang Xia a little more.

That's because they felt sorry for their youngest son, who had risked his life to earn so much money for the family, take care of his second and eldest brothers, and was expected to support them in their old age. Yet, in the end, he had no house, no boat, and almost lost his wife.

As parents, they naturally wanted all their children to have a better life, so

they were a little biased. Moreover, their youngest son was extremely filial and responsible; he had been like that since childhood. His character made him responsible to everyone. When he resolutely joined the army, knowing he might die, he essentially entrusted his parents to his two older brothers, and he felt indebted to them. Therefore, he always took extra care of them over the years.

While he was in the army, he sent most of his earnings home to his parents.

Later, he even arranged a job for his second brother and built a new house for his eldest brother.

He could be said to have taken good care of everyone in the family, except for Jiang Xia.

After all, he had discussed giving his job to his second son with Jiang's parents and received their consent.

However, he called from the army to ask for Jiang Xia's opinion. Jiang Xia was at school and not home at the time, so he asked Jiang's parents to ask Jiang Xia. Later, when he called again, Jiang's mother said Jiang Xia had no objection. Who knew she didn't know about this and completely disagreed, crying, making a scene, and threatening suicide to get a divorce.

Fortunately, all that is in the past, and the two are now loving and affectionate.

Therefore, the two elders are trying their best to help the couple get back on their feet as soon as possible, hoping they can have a house and a boat. Although she is a little biased towards her younger son, Zhou's mother still helps her older son with housework, but living with her younger son makes it difficult to treat them equally.

The three fathers and sons, along with several villagers, spent about twenty minutes unloading the fish to be sold from the boat.

Weighing also took nearly half an hour.

The three amberjack kings weighed a total of 306 jin, at 1.3 yuan per jin, for a total of 397.8 yuan.

The two stingrays were less valuable because Zhou's mother had removed their gills, and they only sold for 29 yuan.

The remaining amberjack, mackerel, and other miscellaneous fish sold for a total of 282.8 yuan.

Zhou Chenglei decided not to sell the last catch of mackerel, but to take it home to dry.

Fresh mackerel sells for 0.2 yuan per jin (500g), and dried mackerel can sell for 0.8

yuan per jin. This time, after deducting the fish he took home, he made a total of 709.8 yuan.

This didn't even include the seven or eight-pound amberjack and four three-pound amberjacks that Zhou Chenglei had left behind, along with a yellowfin seabream, two bags of oysters, a basket of small miscellaneous fish, and over two hundred pounds of mackerel.

Zhou Chenglei handed a large stack of ten-yuan notes to Jiang Xia, then carried the two bags of oysters onto the cart.

Zhou's father held the silver ingot in his hand, finally feeling relieved.

The three of them loaded the remaining fish onto the cart.

Zhou Chenglei gave Zhou Chengxin the two amberjacks and a bucket of shellfish he had specially saved, telling him to take them back for his nephews.

Zhou Chengxin smiled and agreed.

The family happily went home.

When they were almost home, Jiang Xia looked at the thick smoke in the distance and panicked: "Zhou Chenglei, look, is that smoke coming from our house?"

The whole family saw it and their faces changed!

Zhou Chenglei put down the cart and ran off, shouting, "Mom, you push the cart, I'll go check!"

Zhou Chengxin, Zhou's father, and Jiang Xia all ran quickly.

Zhou's mother, pale-faced, pulled the cart forward hastily, tears streaming down her face.

Jiang Xia also ran with all her might.

If the house burned down, where would they live?

Not only Zhou Chenglei's family ran home, but other villagers, seeing the thick smoke, also rushed out with buckets of water.

Someone saw Zhou's father and asked, "What happened? Is your house on fire?"

Zhou's father was extremely anxious, but still replied, "I don't know, I just came back from sea! I guess some kids were playing with fire at home."

Zhou Chenglei was the first to reach home. He rushed inside and saw thick smoke billowing from the kitchen. His

great-grandmother's family was carrying buckets of water in and out!

Zhou Wenguang and his sister Zhou Zhou stood in the yard, their faces pale.

Great-grandmother quickly reassured Zhou Chenglei, "It's alright, it's alright, it can be put out, don't panic!"

Zhou Chenglei grabbed a basin of water that Great-grandmother had just filled and rushed in.

Zhou Yongguo ran out of the kitchen carrying a bucket of water and saw him, saying, "Cough cough... It's alright, the fire is out. It was the firewood in the kitchen that caught fire, the other things didn't burn. Cough cough..."

Great-grandfather also rushed out, "It's almost out, but the smoke was too thick."

Zhou Chenglei was grateful, "Thanks!"

he said, and rushed in to pour water onto the still-smoking pile of firewood.

Zhou's father, Zhou Chengxin, and other villagers also ran over.

Great-grandmother, while fetching water, reassured him, "Don't worry, don't worry, the fire is almost out, it didn't catch fire!"

Jiang Xia only ran back at this time, and breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this. She leaned against the door frame, panting, and didn't go forward to cause trouble.

Then Zhou's father, Zhou Chengxin, Zhou Chenglei, and other villagers successively carried two more buckets of water in and poured them on the firewood until it stopped smoking.

Zhou's mother returned with her cart, relieved to see the fire was out, but her legs were still weak. She asked, "What happened? How did it catch fire?"

At that moment, Pan Daidi came out of the house, also looking terrified: "Yes, I don't know what happened! It scared me so much, I went in to check if anything else was on fire!"

Jiang Xia leaned against the doorframe, panting, and glanced sideways at Pan Daidi.

Zhou's mother was taken aback when she saw Pan Daidi come out of the house. She handed a snakeskin bag to Jiang Xia and was about to say something when Zhou Zhou stepped forward with her head down and took the initiative to admit her mistake: "Grandma, I'm sorry, I burned down the kitchen."

Her brother had come to help her, and she hadn't been watching the fire properly when she was boiling water.

Zhou Wenguang immediately said, "Grandma, it's not Zhou Zhou's fault. I boiled the water. I accidentally burned down the kitchen."

Zhou's mother's attention was completely drawn to the two siblings. She looked at her eldest grandson: "Who burned it?"

Zhou Zhou: "I burned it."

Zhou Wenguang: "No, not Zhou Zhou, I burned it!"

Zhou Zhou's eyes reddened: "I was the one who started the fire. You poured the water in because I wasn't strong enough."

"A real man should admit his mistakes. I burned it."

...

Seeing the two siblings vying to admit their mistakes, Jiang Xia thought: The Zhou family's children are really well-educated.

Zhou Chengxin didn't think it was Zhou Zhou. His little niece had helped with the fire since she was little and had never made a mistake. How could she have accidentally burned down the kitchen? It was his son who was careless and irresponsible, running to the outhouse several times even to do his homework. Besides,

his son was the eldest brother, so he bore more responsibility!

He picked up a broom from the corner: "It's good that you admit it! You almost burned the house down. Your carelessness could have ruined someone's life. Don't you think you deserve a beating?"

"Yes." Zhou Wenguang stood there with his head down, waiting for his father's scolding.

He bore the greatest responsibility for the kitchen fire.

He had to admit his mistake and stand firm if he was going to be punished.

Just as the broom was about to hit Zhou Wenguang, Zhou Chenglei grabbed it: "Don't rush, let's find out what happened first."

Zhou's father also quickly stepped forward and pulled Zhou Chengxin back: "Why are you hitting me? When you were little, did I ever hit you brothers for making mistakes? How can you hit me like this without even knowing what happened!"

Zhou Chenglei: "..."

Did his father have a clear conscience saying that? When he was a kid, his dad chased and beat him all over nine villages!

Zhou Chengxin: "..."

How come he remembers being hung from a tree and beaten so often as the eldest brother? And often for not taking good care of his younger siblings.

And he was beaten whether he admitted his mistakes or not! When did he ever care about right and wrong? Who told him to be the eldest brother? If

his younger siblings made mistakes, it was his fault too.

It was wrong for the eldest brother to not set a good example.

Why is it that when it comes to his son, his dad suddenly starts talking about right and wrong?

Great-Grandma hurriedly said, "Don't hit the children. Wenguang and Zhouzhou just wanted to boil some hot water so that Grandpa, Grandma, Uncle, and Aunt would have hot water to bathe when they came back from sea. Their intentions were good. Not only that, they also wanted to cook, but I stopped them, saying that we would cook and they could come to my house to eat. Only then did they boil water."

"I'm responsible for the fire. I forgot they were boiling water. I asked Wenguang to help me catch a chicken and asked Zhouzhou and Ajie to go to the store to buy salt. I forgot they were boiling water."

Zhou Chengxin felt even more guilty. He had gone to his father-in-law's house early that morning to help repair the leaky roof. Knowing that his mother had also gone to sea, he had told Tian Caihua to remember to invite Zhouzhou over for lunch and to come over to help cook dinner!

Now that Great-Grandma was saying this, it proved that Tian Caihua hadn't come to help cook. His eldest son was probably invited by Tian Caihua to cook.

But since his eldest son had come, he should have done a good job. Burning down the kitchen was a big mistake!

If something had happened, the consequences would have been unimaginable!

Zhou Chengxin: "Great-Grandma, don't take their side! How can this be your fault? Wenguang is so old, and he still managed to burn the house down while boiling water! That's wrong! He'll only learn his lesson if he's punished!"

Great-Grandma: "Adults make mistakes, let alone children. I'm half responsible for the kitchen fire! Really! If you want to punish someone, punish me!"

Zhou Chengxin: "..."

Many neighbors came, all urging Zhou Chengxin to discipline his children properly and not to hit them.

Zhou Chenglei gave Zhou Chengxin a wink: "Alright, I'll discipline them."

Zhou Chengxin stopped moving, mainly because his children were all afraid of his fourth brother; if the children were truly wrong, his fourth brother would punish them even more severely than he would.

Zhou Chenglei looked at the two siblings: "Tell me! How did the house burn down? Don't just admit fault; I want the truth. I want to know what happened."

No one in the family was afraid of Zhou Chenglei when he had a stern face.

The two siblings tried hard to recall the situation.

To be honest, they didn't know how the kitchen caught fire; they weren't in the kitchen at the time.

Zhou Zhou whispered, "My older brother and I boiled water together. Because I'm not tall enough and not strong enough, my brother said I'd be in charge of tending the fire while he poured the water into the big iron pot, so I was the one tending the fire."

Zhou Wenguang said, "That's how it started, but then Zhou Zhou went to buy salt, right? So I took over tending the fire. Later, my great-grandmother called me to help catch the chicken. I saw the water was hot, and thinking the remaining firewood in the stove could keep heating it, I went out. Then, I don't know how, the kitchen caught fire."

Upon hearing this, the great-grandfather said, "Then the remaining firewood in the stove must have fallen down and caught fire."

Zhou Chenglei went into the kitchen to check.

The others followed.

The great-grandmother also followed, saying, "You see, this is really my fault. If I hadn't called Wenguang to catch the chicken, this wouldn't have happened..."

Pan Daidi, afraid she wouldn't be able to leave, quietly slipped out while everyone was in the kitchen looking for the cause of the fire.

Jiang Xia leaned against the doorframe of the courtyard gate, put down the snakeskin bag that Zhou's mother had just handed her, lifted one foot and placed it on the doorframe, looking at her calmly: quite the imposing figurehead.

Pan Daidi: "..."

She looked at Jiang Xia and smiled, "Ah Lei's wife, move aside, the fire's all out, your house is fine, I need to go home for dinner."

Jiang Xia calmly withdrew his foot and smiled as he walked towards her, "Thank you, Auntie, for coming to check if my house was on fire. But the fire was so big just now, did it burn you? Let me see!"

Jiang Xia immediately started groping her.

"Ouch, Auntie, it looks like your clothes are burned through."

Jiang Xia said, grabbing her and reaching into her pocket, pulling out several sanitary napkins!

"Hey, what are you doing! What are you doing?!" Pan Daidi shouted in a panic, desperately trying to stop him, but she wasn't as fast as Jiang Xia!

Then everyone's attention was drawn to the commotion on Jiang Xia's side.

Zhou Chenglei also came out.

Jiang Xia reached into another pocket and pulled out several more sanitary napkins.

Then she checked the two pockets of her clothes, finding more sanitary napkins there as well.

Using the excuse of checking for burns, Jiang Xia thoroughly searched her entire body, leaving no place untouched.

"Don't touch me! This is a robbery! Help! Help! Is there no justice? I came to help put out the fire, and I'm being searched! Everyone be careful, if anything goes missing from his house, he'll suspect you!" Pan Daidi, having failed to rob her, started fanning the flames again!

Jiang Xia found a total of ten sanitary napkins!

Did she think that since all the closets in her room were locked and there was nothing else to steal, she'd even take the sanitary napkins?

Holding the ten sanitary napkins, Jiang Xia sneered, "Don't you know how many years you'd be imprisoned for burglary?"

Pan Daidi's face changed: "What burglary? Don't put it so harshly! I didn't do such a thing, this sanitary napkin is mine! Give it back!"

Pan Daidi reached out to grab it!

Jiang Xia pulled her hand away, dodging her outstretched hand, her tone cold and fierce: "You won't admit it, huh? Then I'll have to ask the production team's militia captain to come and find out the truth! I also need the captain to check if the fire in my kitchen was deliberately set on fire, and then take advantage of the fire to break in and rob!"

Of course, Jiang Xia was just bluffing her, after all, Zhou Zhou and Zhou Wenguang couldn't explain how the fire started.

Pan Daidi's face changed drastically, "Don't make false accusations! I didn't set a fire! It was clearly your house that was on fire that I came to check, thinking of helping to put out the fire! Your great-grandmother's whole family can testify!"

She just ran into the house in the chaos to see if she could find her pearl!

Fortunately, she ran into Zhou Yongguo's family when she came in, otherwise she would have been unable to clear her name even if she jumped into the Yellow River!

Great-Grandma: "I didn't see anything! My whole family didn't see anything! We only saw you come out of the house, we didn't see when you went in."

Pan Daidi: "..."

Damn it!

They're all in cahoots! They're

deliberately bullying her!

They want to kill her, they want to put her in jail!

Just because a tiger doesn't show its power

doesn't mean it's a pushover! "Good deeds go unrewarded! You all bully me because I don't have a man, right! Don't think you can slander me with just a few words, I'm not afraid even if the militia captain comes! I didn't do it! You bitch, last time you almost made my son childless! This time you want to put me in jail, no way! You bitch, if I let someone harm me, I'll kill them!"

With new and old grudges combined, Pan Daidi became angrier and angrier, finally losing control of her emotions and raising her hand to strike Jiang Xia.

Jiang Xia made her move, but Zhou Chenglei was faster, grabbing her wrist and twisting it forcefully!

Just now, Zhou Chenglei, fearing Pan Daidi would hit someone, had sent Zhou Wenguang to fetch the militia captain, while he silently approached Jiang Xia.

"Ah!" Pan Daidi let out a bloodcurdling scream!

Zhou Chenglei: "Did you steal anything from my house?"

Pan Daidi felt her wrist being twisted off; to loosen her grip, her large body contorted: "I didn't steal anything! I just came to help put out the fire! Those sanitary napkins, I just borrowed them, just for a moment!"

Still being stubborn?

Jiang Xia sneered: "Borrow? Did you ask me? Taking without asking is stealing! Besides, you just said they were yours, and now you say you borrowed them?"

A ruthless glint flashed in Zhou Chenglei's eyes, and he increased the pressure.

"Ah!" Pan Daidi screamed again, her body contorted, cold sweat pouring down her back; she felt like Zhou Chenglei was about to twist her entire arm off.

The villagers watched, not daring to breathe.

Zhou Chenglei said coldly, "I'll ask you one more time: did you set the fire? And what did you steal?"

The fire clearly started from the woodpile; the firewood falling from the stove wouldn't have burned there!

Pan Daidi was in so much pain that tears streamed down her face: "No, really, I didn't! I didn't start the fire! Your cabinets were all locked, what could I possibly steal! I only took a pack of sanitary napkins, really!"

At this moment, the militia captain rushed in with his men. He had been nearby and had seen the thick smoke, so he was leading his men over when Zhou Wenguang came looking for him, which is why he arrived so quickly.

"What happened? I heard someone set fire to a house to steal?" the militia captain asked.

Zhou Chenglei then released Pan Daidi: "It was her!"

Pan Daidi was terrified and shook her head violently: "No! I didn't set the fire! I wouldn't dare set a fire even if I had ten lives! My house is right next door! Wouldn't I be afraid of burning down my own house? Wouldn't I be afraid of going to jail!"

It was a complete injustice! More wronged than Dou E!

Pan Daidi cried out, "I just went in to check if the other houses were on fire, and then I couldn't resist taking a pack of sanitary napkins from Jiangxia. She has a whole cabinet full of sanitary napkins, a hundred or two packs in total. Can't we just give her a pack or two from our fellow villagers? How can that be considered stealing?"

The village women gasped. A hundred or two packs?

Those things seem very expensive, don't they?

One yuan a pack, a hundred packs would cost a hundred yuan, not to mention it's more than one yuan a pack.

As women, everyone couldn't help but look at Jiang Xia with envy.

So rich, so willing to spend!

Jiang Xia: "Captain, she entered my house without my permission, ransacked my things, and took them. Isn't that stealing? And at first, she even said these sanitary napkins were hers, unwilling to admit her mistake. She blatantly robbed me last time, and this time she's taking advantage of my misfortune! She comes to my house again and again, robbing and stealing, and I don't even know if she set fire to it. It seems the lesson from last time wasn't profound enough; she hasn't realized her mistake, which is why she dares to do it again!"

Zhou Chenglei: "It is indeed someone who deliberately set fire to it, Captain. You'll know once you go and see."

Pan Daidi's face paled: "I didn't set fire to it! Don't make false accusations! I only stole the sanitary napkins, I didn't set fire to it!"

The captain ignored her cries of injustice and went into the kitchen, immediately seeing the pile of firewood that had started burning from the middle, more than half of it consumed by flames.

Zhou Chenglei then asked Zhou Zhou, Zhou Wenguang, and the great-grandmother's family to explain the situation.

Pan Daidi was terrified. If someone had really set the fire, wouldn't she be the scapegoat?

"I didn't! I didn't set the fire!"

The militia captain, his face dark, hated incorrigible people who refused to admit their mistakes. He waved his hand: "Take her away!"

Arson and burglary weren't just a simple matter of being arrested and reprimanded.

The villagers stared at her in shock. Burglary and burglary when no adults were home—it was terrifying!

Everyone lived in the same village as someone like that, and they were neighbors. Who wasn't afraid?

After all, whose adults didn't work during the day and stay home all the time?

The villagers exclaimed, "Captain, don't release her once she's been arrested!"

"That's terrible! Lock her up for life! Don't let her out, otherwise who will dare leave their house? They'll leave in the morning and return in the evening with their houses gone!"

"This burglary with two children inside is practically murder! Murderers deserve the death penalty! Even if not the death penalty, lock her up for life. Don't let her out and harm others!"

...

Pan Daidi was terrified by the villagers' words and cried out, "Injustice! Injustice! I really didn't set the fire! Waaah... I just wanted to get my pearls back!"

She truly just wanted to take this opportunity to find her pearls! But she

couldn't find the pearls, and the cabinet was locked. Unwilling to give up, she took a pack of sanitary napkins, opened it, and divided them into several bags to take with her.

She'd heard from the village shopkeeper that these things were incredibly expensive, costing several cents a piece, and even money couldn't buy them.

She figured she could steal a pack and sell it for a few dollars. Besides, Jiangxia had so many sanitary napkins; if one or two packs went missing, no one would notice!

Waaah, if she had known someone had started the fire, she would never have stolen it!

Zhou Chenglei hadn't had a chance to look closely earlier because he was worried Jiang Xia would be bullied by Pan Daidi, but now, looking around, he noticed a footprint on the courtyard wall.

Zhou Chenglei saw the footprint and called out, "Captain Zhou."

Then he pointed to the footprint on the wall.

The militia captain followed Zhou Chenglei's finger and saw the footprint, or rather, only half a footprint.

The militia captain said, "It looks like a man's shoe print. It should have been left by the arsonist climbing over the wall to leave."

Pan Daidi heard this and also saw the footprint. Her face paled, and panic flashed in her eyes.

The militia captain said, "I remember the house next to this wall is..."

Zhou's mother immediately pointed to Pan Daidi, "It's her house! Pan Daidi's house!"

The militia captain said, "Go check her house."

Pan Daidi shook her head, feeling utterly hopeless. She gritted her teeth and said, "No need to go. I set the fire because I wanted to find my pearl. I thought of setting a fire to sneak into the house and steal the pearl in the chaos."

Zhou Chenglei said, "These shoe prints look like a man's."

Pan Daidi directly rubbed off one of her shoes, "You can take it and compare it."

Zhou Chenglei glanced at her dirty shoe and then looked at the militia captain.

The militia captain was speechless.

He resignedly picked up the worn-out shoe, which smelled bad even from several meters away, and then walked over and compared it with the half-footprint left on the wall.

After that, he looked at Zhou Chenglei, "It matches perfectly."

Zhou Chenglei didn't say anything more, although there were still some doubts, such as how a woman with such a large build could climb the wall in one step?

But with witnesses and physical evidence, and her confession, there was nothing else to worry about.

Zhou Chenglei had seen too many people and things like this; spoiling a child is like killing a child—sooner or later, one would regret it, and the other would be in jail.

Zhou Chenglei then said, "Captain, I'll go inside and see if anything else is missing."

The militia captain replied, "Okay, let's go together!"

"Alright," Zhou Chenglei responded, and led him inside to look around.

Zhou's father and mother also rushed inside.

Zhou Chenglei led the militia captain to check the house thoroughly; apart from the pack of sanitary napkins, nothing else was missing.

Zhou Chenglei always locked all his valuables in the wardrobe before going to sea.

After checking, the militia captain left with the silent Pan Daidi.

The villagers were amazed, but with something to watch, they couldn't resist joining in. Many had just finished eating and had nothing else to do.

Jiang Xia, remembering that there were still over two hundred jin of mackerel to kill, called out to the three aunties who had helped kill the fish last time.

"Aunties, I have over 200 jin of mackerel to kill. One yuan per person, are you interested?"

The three immediately replied, "Yes!"

"Me too!"

"Yes!"

Jiang Xia added, "Alright, let's start at 7:30, but you need to bring your own knives. Come over in a bit!"

Jiang Xia planned to hire five people, including her great-grandmother and her daughter-in-law, He Xinghuan.

Five people, killing over 200 jin of fish, 50 jin each, should be enough for an hour, plus half an hour for drying.

The three smiled and agreed, "Okay! We'll go home now to get our knives and cutting boards."

Two hundred jin of fish, three people killing them together, each capable of killing several fish per minute, should be enough for an hour.

Earning one yuan in about an hour, who wouldn't want to do it?

After everyone left, Great-Grandma smiled and said, "Alright, the fire was caused by someone, so you can't blame the children. Don't scold them either; they were frightened today. My family has prepared all the food, come and eat! I saw that Zhou Zhou, that little girl, couldn't even reach the stove, but I still had to cook for you, so I cooked along with her."

Great-Grandpa also said, "Yes, you should all come to my house for dinner; everything is ready!"

Jiang Xia was grateful and said, "How could I possibly accept this? You've gone to so much trouble."

Zhou's mother and father were both embarrassed: "This is too much trouble for you!"

Great-grandmother chuckled and said, "What trouble? Don't we cook at home? It's just a small matter. Hurry up and put your things down, then come to my house for dinner! Don't be so polite, you'll have to clean the kitchen and kill fish after dinner, you'll be busy. Chengxin, you and your father should come too!"

Zhou Chengxin was still angry, but he still smiled and said, "Great-grandmother, no need, Wenguang and I will go home to eat, Ahua should have finished cooking!"

Great-grandmother smiled and said, "Okay, whatever you like. Hurry up and pack your things and come to my house for dinner!"

The family responded and hurriedly carried their things back to the yard.

Zhou's mother told her eldest son and grandson to hurry home for dinner and gave him the bucket of fish.

Zhou Chengxin was very embarrassed, his dark face turned red, he responded, took the bucket of fish and went home with his son.

Jiang Xia told Zhou Chenglei to keep the silver ingot safe and also asked him to pack a bag of snacks to take to Great-grandmother's house later.

The yard and kitchen were a mess, so she took three red snapper to her great-grandmother's house to prepare them. She had originally planned to give two to her great-grandmother, but they wouldn't be fresh by tomorrow, so Jiang Xia decided to make sashimi from them all. There were over ten pounds of fish in total, filling two large plates.

Not long after, Zhou Chenglei arrived with a bottle of wine and a bag of snacks, Zhou's mother with a basket of eggs, and Zhou's father with a sack of oysters.

Great-grandmother scolded them for bringing so much.

Jiang Xia chuckled and patted Zhou Jie's head: "A gift for your grandfather!"

Zhou Jie, holding the bag of snacks Zhou Chenglei had given him, said seriously, "Thank you, little nephew, nephew's wife!"

Zhou Chenglei: "..."

Zhou Yongguo then pointed to the Moutai in Zhou Chenglei's hand: "Grandson, this is for your grandfather, isn't it!"

Zhou Chenglei's face darkened.

Both families laughed.

~

On the other side, Zhou Chengxin, his face dark, walked home with his son.

He had held back all the way, but couldn't resist asking his son as they neared home, "Where is Zhou Zhou having lunch today?"

Zhou Wenguang's heart skipped a beat. After a moment of silence, he replied, "Probably at Great-Grandma's."

Ha! Zhou Zhou was his third brother's orphan!

Tian Caihua, what a jerk!

"Did your mother ask you to come and cook today?"

Zhou Wenguang hesitated again, not daring to lie, and whispered, "I came by myself."

He had come specifically to cook because his mother wasn't coming, and his father had told him to, but who knew this would happen?

Zhou Wenguang couldn't help but say, "My mother must have forgotten, Dad, don't blame her."

Forgot! Zhou Chengxin was even angrier!

Could Tian Caihua be any more unreasonable?

When they went out to sea, his mother always helped with cooking, watering vegetables, feeding the chickens and pigs—she did all the housework. How could Tian Caihua be so unreasonable?

If she didn't want to do it, she could do it herself. She shouldn't have asked him to help her family mend the leaky roof today!

He treated her parents and siblings as his own, but what did she treat his parents and siblings as?

"Mind your own business!" Zhou Chengxin stormed in, carrying a bucket of fish.

He was usually very good-tempered, but this time he could

n't hold back. She was really becoming more and more outrageous!

As soon as he entered, Tian Caihua was eating with her three children. Seeing them return, she said irritably, "Coming back so late, I thought you two had already eaten! What's wrong? You were all rushing off to help with the chores, didn't anyone invite you to eat?"

Zhou Chengxin went up and overturned the table.

If you don't want to live a peaceful life, then don't!

After the two families finished their lively meal, Jiang Xia's family went home.

Great-Grandma's family also came; Great-Grandma and He Xinghuan came to help clean the fish, while Great-Grandpa and Zhou Yongguo came to help tidy the kitchen and yard.

Zhou's mother led several people to clean the fish, while Jiang Xia didn't clean the fish but instead tidied the kitchen.

It took so many people an hour to finish cleaning the kitchen and yard.

By then, everyone had cleaned the fish, salted them, and laid them out to dry. Zhou's mother smiled, paid them, and saw them off. Then she closed the yard gate and went to take a shower.

She was exhausted after a long day!

Just then, Zhou's father came out of his shower.

Zhou Chenglei prepared hot water for Jiang Xia, moved a reclining chair, and called her over to wash her hair.

He was about to help Jiang Xia wash her hair when there was a knock on the courtyard gate. Zhou Chenglei spoke a few words to the person outside, then returned to Jiang Xia and said, "I can't wash your hair tonight. I'm going to my older brother's house and also to the production team to get my bicycle back. Leave your clothes there after you shower, and I'll wash them when I get back."

"Okay," Jiang Xia replied.

Zhou Chenglei hurried out.

Jiang Xia finished washing her hair and taking a shower; it was already past nine o'clock.

Zhou Chenglei hadn't returned yet, and she didn't know what had happened.

She yawned, feeling a little sleepy, but remembering that she didn't have to go out to sea tomorrow, and only needed to be at the city dock by 7:30 to pick up Jill,

she took out her book again and began checking her translation.

Not long after, Zhou Chenglei returned. He took a shower before going back to his room, and then saw a beautiful figure bent over a desk, writing furiously, under the dim light. Her long hair was draped over her shoulders, and she looked so focused, gentle, beautiful, and captivating…

Zhou Chenglei walked over, and Jiang Xia seemed to sense his presence, turning around with a soft smile: “You’re back? Why are you so late?”

Zhou Chenglei didn’t speak, but walked closer and picked her up. He

reached the bedside and bent down to place her on it.

He braced himself on the bed, looking at her, and called out, “Jiang Xia.”

Jiang Xia met the man’s gentle, deep gaze, smelling the fresh scent of his shower, and softly responded, “Hmm?”

“Thank you.”

Jiang Xia was confused: “Thank you for what?”

Zhou Chenglei didn’t explain, but simply lowered his head gently.

Tonight seemed particularly long.

It was utterly devastating.

As Jiang Xia drifted off to sleep, her last thought was what had triggered him tonight.

Zhou Chenglei helped Jiang Xia clean herself, dressed her, and took care of her. Then he went to wash the tools he'd used, only to find they were broken!

He frowned, a little worried

. He calculated that the danger period seemed to have passed, so he threw them away .

Returning to bed, he glanced at his watch; it was already past one o'clock.

He kissed Jiang Xia's forehead before lying down.

Jiang Xia unconsciously raised her hand to rub her forehead, then rolled over, draping her arms and legs over him, snoring softly.

Zhou Chenglei couldn't resist turning his head and kissing her again, then intertwining his fingers with hers and closing his eyes. He'd

gone to his older brother's house tonight because his nephew had found him, asking him to persuade his brother to come out for dinner. His nephew had said that after returning home, he'd overturned the table and locked himself in his room.

His brother said life was unbearable! He

said that if husband and wife weren't of one mind, there was no point in continuing, and in the end, parents wouldn't be parents, brothers wouldn't be brothers, and everyone would abandon them.

Zhou Chenglei thought back to the past.

He was grateful to Jiang Xia for giving him a chance, for staying, and for being willing to live a good life with him.

He was grateful for her kindness to his parents and niece.

He was even more grateful for her kindness to him.

At that moment, an ancient saying came to mind: "With a wife like this, what more could a husband ask for?"

*

The next day, when Jiang Xia woke up, Zhou Chenglei was no longer beside him.

She pulled her watch from under her pillow and checked the time: 5:45.

She jumped out of bed and ran to the wardrobe to change.

Zhou Chenglei lifted the curtain and pushed open the door, seeing her standing in front of the wardrobe, searching for clothes.

Last night, he had casually helped her put on one of his shirts.

The shirt was long and loose on her, making her legs look straight, long, and radiantly white.

There were still traces of his touch from the previous night on it. His

Adam's apple bobbed slightly, and he quickly closed the door.

Jiang Xia turned back: "You go out first, I need to change."

Zhou Chenglei didn't respond, but instead stepped forward, took the clothes from her hands, grabbed her waist, and pulled her into his arms, his voice low and husky: "I'll help you."

Jiang Xia: "..."

Fifteen minutes later, they left the room. Jiang Xia only had time to wash her face and brush her teeth; she had packed her breakfast to take on the boat.

The dock around six in the morning was relatively quiet.

Most of the boats had already gone out to sea, and the fishing boats that had gone out to fish the night before hadn't returned yet.

Now, only a few boats are moored at the dock, including the Zhou family's.

Zhou Guohua has been waiting on his boat for two hours, but Zhou Chenglei and the others haven't appeared yet. He couldn't help but say, "Xiao Wan, are they not going to go out to sea today? It's already six o'clock, everyone has gone out to sea!"

Wen Wan was translating a science magazine. This one was difficult, with many words she didn't understand, and there was no dictionary to look them up.

She said impatiently, "What's the rush? Let's wait a little longer. If they don't show up by then, we can go out to sea. Don't bother me while I'm translating!"

Zhou Guohua didn't dare to say anything. He knew Wen Wan was translating, and this thin book could earn her fifty yuan.

It was supposedly a foreign science magazine, full of scientific knowledge. Wen Wan was really amazing!

The men in the village were all jealous that Zhou Chenglei had married a woman from the city—she came from a good family, was educated, and was beautiful.

But Zhou Chenglei's wife only graduated from high school. Once Wen Wan got into university, she would definitely be miles ahead of her.

Moreover, Wen Wan was very beautiful; among the nearby villages, she was the most beautiful, though her skin wasn't as fair as Jiang Xia's, but that was because of her years of hard labor.

Zhou Guohua was happy just thinking about his future wife being a college graduate, the top student in the village, and everyone envying him.

The more he looked at Wen Wan, the more he liked her, and he couldn't resist leaning over to kiss her cheek.

Caught off guard by the stolen kiss, Wen Wan's face changed, and she slapped him: "What are you doing?!"

The "slap" resounded, and Zhou Guohua felt a burning pain in his face; he felt his face was swollen, and he stared at Wen Wan in disbelief.

Disgusting! Wen Wan vigorously wiped her face with her sleeve, glaring angrily at Zhou Guohua, only to meet his shocked expression.

Wen Wan: "..."

She forgot, they were dating.

Wen Wan took a deep breath, suppressing her disgust and anger, and lowered her head, feigning shyness as she said, "What if someone sees us in public? What about my reputation? Besides, we're just dating. These things are things we'll do after we're married. Normally... we can only hold hands."

Wen Wan felt she was right. People were still very conservative in this era. Holding hands secretly was the limit for dating!

Even married couples wouldn't do anything intimate in public. Not everyone was as shameless as Jiang Xia, who would hug a man's waist while riding a bicycle. And after marriage, she still corresponded with other men—despicable and base!

Zhou Guohua thought she was exaggerating. Holding hands was only appropriate for couples who had just started dating and didn't know each other before.

Besides, he had already seen couples kissing in cornfields, and even more outrageous things.

Wen Wan felt it necessary to give a warning: "I'm a person of high moral character! I don't want any inappropriate behavior before marriage. I still need to take the college entrance exam, and if my reputation is ruined, it will be a big problem. I hope our relationship is based on affection but restrained by propriety, and is noble! You're not only thinking about those things when you're with me, are you? That's lust, not love!"

Zhou Guohua panicked upon hearing this and hurriedly said, "No! I really like you, I promise, it won't happen again. You said after marriage, so it's after marriage!"

That's more like it!

At this moment, several figures appeared by the roadside. Wen Wan recognized Zhou Chenglei and Jiang Xia at a glance, and she said, "They're here! Let's take the boat out first, without letting them recognize us, and then follow them."

She had dreamed about them again last night, and today she had to stay close to them and not let them discover her!

"Okay. I'll go start the boat right now." Zhou Guohua obediently went to start the boat immediately.

The family arrived at the dock. Zhou Chenglei boarded the boat first, then turned back and extended his hand to Jiang Xia.

Jiang Xia smiled slightly, took his hand, and boarded the boat.

Zhou Chenglei's eyes and brows were full of smiles. He tightened his grip on her hand, pulled her onto the boat, and even supported her waist before letting go after she was steady.

Zhou Chengxin also went out to sea today, mainly because he didn't want to stay at home facing Tian Caihua.

At this moment, he followed Jiang Xia onto the boat, head down, looking dejected.

After Zhou's father took down the rope, he followed behind him, poking Zhou Chengxin's spine with his finger whenever he saw him.

Zhou Chengxin turned to look at his father.

Mr. Zhou gestured towards Jiang Xia and Zhou Chenglei with his chin and whispered, "Learn from him."

Zhou Chengxin paused, then turned to look. He saw Zhou Chenglei sit down next to Jiang Xia, take the green military water bottle from his shoulder, unscrew the cap, take a small sip himself, and hand it to Jiang Xia only after confirming it wasn't too hot: "Drink some water before breakfast. The temperature is just right, you can drink it now."

Jiang Xia had many good habits, but none were particularly health-conscious.

For example, she wouldn't drink a glass of water on an empty stomach before eating anything in the morning.

She also liked to drink very hot water, porridge, and soup, which wasn't good for her esophagus.

Zhou Chenglei would pour her a glass of lukewarm water every day before breakfast.

Jiang Xia took the water bottle with a slight smile and began to drink it in small sips.

Zhou Chenglei took out two eggs from the basket and peeled them for her, along with two ears of corn, both still a little hot to the touch. He put them in a bowl to cool them down. "The eggs and corn are here. Peel more if you

need more. I'm going to start the boat." Jiang Xia glanced at the kettle. "I can't finish all this."

"Eat until there's nothing left. Eat more. You're too thin."

He could hug and kiss her for a long, long time with just one arm

. Zhou Chenglei replied, knowing she was afraid of the sun. He reached out and adjusted her straw hat, then pulled up her sleeves to cover the small section of her fair arms that was exposed, before going to start the boat.

Zhou's father chuckled and patted his eldest son's shoulder. "Remember to watch and learn more today. This is a way to make money."

Zhou Chengxin assumed his father wanted him to observe how his fourth brother fished and how he located fish.

He couldn't possibly be as clingy as his fourth brother, could he?

It was an eyesore!

He was already full even without breakfast.

He nodded. "Okay."

Zhou's father was satisfied.

He had already told his eldest son the secret to wealth; his two sons would surely prosper from now on.

The boat had to sail a distance before hauling in the net, and Zhou Chengxin sat down.

Jiang Xia noticed he looked a little haggard but didn't ask why. She simply asked, "Brother, have you had breakfast? Mom prepared a lot; I can't finish it. Do you want some corn? Dad and A-Lei have already eaten."

Today, Zhou's mother had boiled eggs and corn, knowing she wouldn't have time for breakfast, so she packed six boiled eggs and four ears of corn for her to take on the boat.

Zhou Chenglei and his father had already eaten; she couldn't possibly finish it all by herself.

Zhou Chengxin hadn't eaten yet and was about to refuse, but hearing that his father and son had eaten, he smiled and said, "Okay."

Jiang Xia then handed him all the corn and boiled eggs in the basket.

Zhou Chengxin didn't take that much; he only took two ears of corn and two boiled eggs.

He asked his father if he wanted the rest, but his father declined, wanting to save room for seafood noodles for lunch.

Jiang Xia ate one and a half ears of corn and one boiled egg and was full,

so she gave the rest to Zhou Chenglei.

Zhou Chenglei was steering the boat when he glanced at her. "My hands are busy, you feed me."

Zhou Chengxin immediately said, "Dad, if you're not eating, you go steering the boat!"

Zhou's father secretly pinched the tender flesh on his back hard. "Do I need you to boss me around? You talk too much, even food can't shut your mouth!"

He was told to learn more, but what had he learned?

He had no sense at all!

How dare he block his path to wealth!

Zhou Chengxin: "..."

He touched his burning back, not understanding what he had done wrong.

Jiang Xia glanced at Zhou's father and Zhou Chengxin, then glared at Zhou Chenglei. "Hold it yourself."

He could clearly steer with one hand.

Zhou Chenglei looked at her unmoved, his mouth wide open, waiting for her to feed him.

This stalemate was even more awkward. Jiang Xia glared at him, but still held the half-eaten corn cob to his lips.

Zhou Chenglei smiled, took a bite of the corn, chewed gently, his eyebrows almost flying up. "The sunrise was beautiful today."

Afraid of embarrassing her, he tried to distract her.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Xia looked towards the eastern horizon; the sun had already risen.

But today the sky was very blue, and the sea was very blue too. Every now and then, a few seabirds would fly across the surface; it was truly beautiful.

As Jiang Xia looked away, she saw another fishing boat following behind.

"Do you know whose boat that is?"

Zhou Chenglei glanced at it. "It's from the next village, Zhou Guohua's uncle's."

Jiang Xia didn't say anything, and offered him the corn

again. Zhou Chenglei took a bite

. "This corn is very sweet, you should eat some too." Jiang Xia shook her head.

Zhou Chenglei didn't force her. "You eat the egg white, leave the yolk for me."

Jiang Xia smiled and ate the egg white; she liked egg whites.

Zhou Chenglei glanced at her, a slight smile playing on his lips.

He had long noticed that she didn't like egg yolks.

But she would eat them even if she didn't like them.

She would just chew a couple of times and swallow them whole, only savoring what she liked.

But with him there, why should she force herself?

He could have what she didn't like.

The couple enjoyed the sunrise over the sea while sharing their food, both wearing faint smiles, completely forgetting the two large lights behind them.

Mr. Zhou watched with a chuckle.

Well! Another new way they'd shown affection.

Today's catch was definitely good!

Zhou Chengxin had long since looked away, finding the corn in his hand cloyingly sweet and unable to eat anymore.

How did his father always manage to act so nonchalant when they went out to sea?

It felt like they were superfluous on the boat!

The two ate half a corn cob and an egg for half an hour. Finally, Jiang Xia fed the egg yolk to Zhou Chenglei. She picked up the water bottle, unscrewed the cap, took a sip, and handed it to him.

Zhou Chenglei took it, drank a few sips, then took the cap from her, screwed it on, and said to Zhou Chengxin, "Big brother, you drive the boat, Jiang Xia and I will fish."

Mr. Zhou instantly perked up, immediately standing up and saying, "I'll drive the boat!"

Then he kicked Zhou Chengxin's butt: "You go fishing too, learn a thing or two!"

Zhou Chengxin: "..."

Fine, I'll learn, but why does he always have to get handsy with me!

"Fishing can lead to unexpected results?"

Zhou Chengxin rubbed his backside and stood up to go fishing.

Zhou

Chenglei, as usual, assisted Jiang Xia. After baiting the hook, he handed the fishing rod to Jiang Xia.

Jiang Xia took it and cast it casually.

She was quite skilled at casting now, able to cast quite far.

Zhou Chengxin smiled and praised, "Not bad! You cast pretty far."

Jiang Xia smiled, "I practiced a lot before I learned."

Zhou Chengxin believed her; it's all about practice, you get the hang of it with repetition.

He picked up another fishing rod and squatted down to bait it. Before the bait was even on the hook, he heard Jiang Xia shout, "Zhou Chenglei, it looks like a fish has taken the bait!"

Zhou Chengxin: "..."   So fast?

Afraid of a repeat of last time, Zhou Chenglei had been standing beside Jiang Xia, watching closely, and instantly gripped the fishing rod.

Zhou Chengxin quickly stood up and watched from the side.

Zhou Chenglei was carefully reeling in the line.

As the fishing line shortened, Zhou Chengxin's eyes widened when he saw a large fish struggling fiercely in the water:

a tiger grouper?

And it looked quite big!

Based on his experience, it definitely weighed over ten pounds.

A tiger grouper king right from the start! No wonder his dad always said Jiangxia Shipping was good!

Zhou's father, unable to see, excitedly asked, "What kind of fish?"

Zhou Chengxin grinned, "A tiger grouper, over ten pounds!"

Zhou's father laughed, haha… he knew today's fortune was exceptionally good!

Zhou Chenglei: "Big brother, get a net."

Seeing the fish struggling so fiercely, Zhou Chengxin quickly grabbed a net from the deck and said to Jiangxia, "Xia, move aside, A-Lei and I will get the fish up."

Zhou Chenglei: "…"

Zhou's father: "…"

"Okay." Jiang Xia responded and quickly stepped aside, making room for Zhou Chengxin.

Zhou Chengxin took Jiang Xia's place and went to Zhou Chenglei's side, putting down the net and frantically scooping up fish.

Zhou Chenglei glanced at him, his eyes sinister.

Zhou's father really wanted to kick Zhou Chengxin into the sea to feed the fish, but his legs weren't long enough.

Damn it!

He thought his eldest son just hadn't grasped the secret to wealth, but he turned out to be a spendthrift!

After all that, he brought a spendthrift onto the boat.

Zhou's father's feet were itching to get down to business.

If this tiger grouper wasn't caught, or if they didn't catch any big fish next, he'd kick him overboard to wake him up. He

hadn't drunk enough salt water, his brain wasn't working properly.

How dare he let his Wangcai (Zhou Chengxin's pet fish) go?

Fortunately, the tiger grouper was eventually caught.

Zhou Chenglei then baited the hook for Jiang Xia and handed her the fishing rod.

Jiang Xia cast the bait out.

This time, Zhou Chengxin stopped fishing and stood on the other side of Jiangxia, watching him fish.

Zhou Chenglei glanced at him, but held back his anger.

Soon, another fish took the bait.

The bite was swift; judging by the reaction, it was another big

fish! Or at least a rather fierce one.

It turned out to be a red sea bream.

Over four pounds.

"Xia, you're amazing!" Zhou Chengxin was thrilled watching Zhou Chenglei help Jiangxia reel in the fish, forgetting all his worries.

While Zhou Chenglei was deflating the fish, he quickly handed his fishing rod to Jiangxia.

"Xia, let's continue, don't waste time."

Zhou Chenglei: "..."

"Okay." Jiangxia took the rod and cast. After

deflating the fish, Zhou Chenglei put it in a bucket to keep it alive, then baited the hook again.

At this moment, Jiangxia had another fish on the hook!

Zhou Chengxin realized that Jiangxia's fishing skills were truly remarkable.

Every time, a fish would bite within minutes of the bait being cast.

Zhou Chenglei stood up, wanting to help Jiangxia.

Zhou Chengxin was even faster than Zhou Chenglei, grabbing the fishing rod and excitedly saying, "Xia, let me do it! I'll help you pull it up."

Zhou Chenglei: "..."

Zhou's father: "..."

"Oh, okay!" Jiang Xia quickly let go and stepped aside, watching Zhou Chengxin reel in the line with anticipation.

Fishing is like opening a blind box; it's quite exciting.

Zhou Chenglei glanced at Zhou Chengxin, walked to Jiang Xia's side, and took her hand to prevent her from accidentally falling into the sea.

Jiang Xia looked back at him, smiled, and then looked back at the sea.

It was a sea bass, looking rather small, about a pound.

Zhou Chengxin chuckled and said, "Not bad, it's a sea bass."

When Zhou's father saw that Zhou Chengxin had caught such a small sea bass, he couldn't help but feel a headache coming on: Xia had never caught such a small sea bass before!

This spendthrift Zhou Chengxin was infuriating him.

"Zhou Chengxin, you take the helm!" Zhou's father roared!

Don't block his precious fish from making money.

Zhou Chengxin, caught up in the moment, didn't even turn his head: "Dad, go ahead! I want to fish."

Fishing with Xia was just too awesome!

Zhou Chengxin was a true fisherman, genuinely passionate about fishing!

Zhou Chengxin then said to Zhou Chenglei, "Lei, take the fish out and keep them. Xia, let's continue."

"Okay!" Jiang Xia replied, pulling her hand away, intending to go over.

But Zhou Chenglei didn't let go, tightening his grip on her hand and saying to Zhou Chengxin, "Big brother, you and Dad fish together! Dad wants to fish too."

Then he said to Jiang Xia, "Come on, I'll teach you how to drive the boat."

He and Jiang Xia were fishing to cultivate their marital bond, and his older brother, this five-thousand-watt light bulb, was shining

like the sun!

Too dazzling.

Learning to sail a boat? Jiang Xia looked at him in surprise: "You can learn? Is it difficult?"

"Not difficult, even my mother can learn."

Zhou's father: "..."

What does that mean!

Isn't he afraid he'll tell his wife!

Zhou Chenglei pulled Jiang Xia to sail the boat, and Zhou's father gave up his seat to go and lecture that spendthrift boy.

Zhou Chenglei gripped the rudder and asked Jiang Xia: "I remember you already learned to drive?"

Jiang Xia replied: "Yes."

If he remembered, then it couldn't be wrong.

Anyway, she could drive in the modern world.

"Sailing a boat is quite different from driving a car. The rudder's direction of movement is opposite to the boat's direction of movement, unlike driving a car, where turning the steering wheel to the left turns the car to the left."

Zhou Chenglei demonstrated and explained to Jiang Xia.

“When you turn the rudder to the left, the stern will turn to the right, and the bow to the left. Turning the rudder to the left creates a reaction force underwater, causing the boat to move in the opposite direction, and vice versa… In short, the direction of the rudder and the direction of the boat are opposite. When you want the boat to turn left, you need to turn the rudder to the right. Try it.”

After explaining, he let Jiang Xia try it.

There were no boats in front of her or to her left or right. He was familiar with the direction to the city, and the boats following behind were a bit far away, so he could let her try without worry.

With him by her side, there wouldn't be any mistakes.

As for how to identify directions, he would teach her later.

Jiang Xia was very focused on learning to sail, and Zhou Chenglei patiently guided her.

She had taken off her straw hat and hung it on her back. The sea breeze ruffled her hair, sometimes obscuring her vision.

Zhou Chenglei stood beside her, patiently tucking her hair behind her ears.

It was said to be easy, but it was actually quite difficult because she was used to driving and had certain habits.

Jiang Xia hadn't learned how to steer yet when they were almost at the city dock. The fishing boat needed to dock, a much more complicated operation, so Zhou Chenglei took over, steering the boat himself while explaining to Jiang Xia.

Once the boat was slowly moored, Jiang Xia waved to Amy on the shore.

The little girl had already waved happily when she saw her.

Jill and John were standing behind her.

Several boxes were laid out on the ground.

Zhou Chengxin, noticing this, took the helm.

Zhou Chenglei pulled Jiang Xia along to invite them aboard.

*

Behind them, Zhou Guohua and Wen Wan followed at a distance, but seeing Zhou Chenglei's boat dock at the city dock, they didn't follow.

Zhou Guohua looked at Wen Wan: "So they weren't here to fish in this area of ​​the city. They probably have business to attend to. Shall we fish around here ourselves?"

Wen Wan stared at the Zhou family's boat without blinking: "Wait! They seem to be picking someone up."

Zhou Guohua looked over: "Looks like foreigners?"

He saw Jiang Xia chatting and laughing with the two adults and one child among the foreigners, and couldn't help but say: "You guys went to high school, that's really impressive, you all know foreign languages. Those foreigners are like gibberish to me, I can't understand a single word."

Wen Wan said irritably: "Do you think Jiang Xia, who took the college entrance exam three times, can communicate with foreigners? Couldn't it be that those foreigners know Chinese? Didn't you see that those three foreigners didn't have a translator with them? Most high school graduates don't have the ability to communicate normally with foreigners!"

Zhou Guohua thought about it and agreed: "You're right, not everyone is as capable as you."

"They've set sail, let's follow them! Today we'll find out which island they're going to, and we'll come back tomorrow."

"Okay."

As a result, after following them for more than two hours, Wen Wan saw the Zhou family's boat stopped in the sea.

Then, one after another, figures in diving gear jumped into the sea.

Wen Wan: "..."

Zhou Guohua was also dumbfounded and couldn't help but say, "Xiao Wan, they went into the sea wearing diving gear."

That means they went quite deep!

But they didn't have any gear!

There's nowhere to buy that stuff!

Wen Wan felt a sense of unease, like a cooked duck flying away, and said irritably, "I'm not blind!"

She was furious!

She'd wasted several hours following them, a whole morning gone.

Zhou Guohua looked at Wen Wan's ashen face and asked softly, "Should we follow them to take a look?"

That's right, following them would only mean watching!

But he had given her a red envelope when he borrowed the boat, spending twenty yuan, not including fuel.

Twenty yuan wasn't a lot for him; one net of fish would bring in enough, but it wasn't a small amount either.

His family hadn't separated, and he wasn't married yet. Every time they went out to sea, he was given two yuan as pocket money, and the rest was saved for his wedding.

Although he didn't spend much money normally when he went out to sea every day, he had saved it all, but now that he was dating, he knew he would have more expenses in the future, so he wanted to earn it back.

Wen Wan looked at the distant island, "Let's go check out that island."

Leaving so soon was impossible; she wanted to see what they could find underwater.

Last night, she dreamed that Zhou Chenglei had found a cluster of red coral.

Red coral was the most valuable type of coral, known as the "ruby of the sea."

In modern times, she had heard that one gram of coral was equivalent to one tael of gold.

In her past life, Wen Wan had heard from the villagers that Zhou Chenglei's house had a large red coral ornament worth millions.

Zhou Chenglei had acquired it when he was young, while at sea.

In her dream, Zhou Chenglei found the red coral on the beach, so she decided to go to that island to see it!

*

On the Zhou family's boat,

Jiang Xia held Amy's hand, watching Zhou Chenglei, wearing diving gear, take Jill and John into the sea.

Jill and John gave them two sets of diving gear, five pieces in total, packed in a box and clearly very expensive.

One set was for men, and one for women.

The women's set originally belonged to Jill's wife, but she had to return to her country unexpectedly, though it was newly bought.

The men's set was bought by John from a friend, and it was also new.

Several people had come this time; some were there to buy a boat, others were there to explore opportunities to open factories in China.

Hearing there was a large sea here, they prepared diving gear, but since they couldn't find a yacht to go out to sea, John was able to buy diving gear from a friend who suddenly had to return home.

Jiang Xia had never dived before and was eager to try, but with Amy there, it wouldn't be right to leave her, a little guest, alone in the water.

So, after they went into the water, Jiang Xia took Amy fishing, while Zhou Chengxin eagerly joined in—no, not eagerly, but at Zhou Chenglei's request, to accompany Jiang Xia fishing!

Zhou Chenglei led Jill and John down to a depth of about 100 meters. As soon as they reached the surface, they saw several large lobsters swimming on the seabed.

He swam over and skillfully caught one, putting it in his net.

Jill and John saw it too and immediately chased after the lobsters.

Zhou Chenglei wasn't going to be outdone; after catching one, he went to catch a second, and then grabbed two tentacles from a crevice in the rocks and pulled one out! He

caught three in total, all quite large, weighing about two pounds.

Then he saw several black, caterpillar-like things crawling on the white sand.

They were sea cucumbers!

These are good for your health and can strengthen your body.

Jiang Xia gets fevers so easily; he's just too delicate. He should eat more sea cucumbers.

He swam over and picked up the sea cucumbers one by one.

It has to be said, the seabed was quite abundant in this era.

He continued forward, encountering sea cucumbers, starfish, conches, crabs, scallops, geoducks… he didn't miss a single one!

These were things they normally couldn't catch.

After about half an hour, Zhou Chenglei's two nets were full. He looked at John and Jill, gesturing for them to come up.

Their catch was good, though not as extravagant as Zhou Chenglei's. They returned the gesture and swam upwards.

Zhou's father and Zhou Chengxin breathed a sigh of relief when they saw them come up and quickly took their nets.

Jiang Xia noticed that all three had nets full of good stuff, and his eyes crinkled with a smile.

Amy excitedly called out to Daddy from the boat, telling Jill that she and Jiang Xia had gone fishing together, catching many fish and taking lots of pictures.

She gestured wildly, describing how good she was at fishing!

Seeing his daughter so happy, Jill was pleased and thought he should properly thank Jiang Xia.

Zhou Chenglei looked at Jill and John, asking if they wanted to continue underwater or go back to the boat to rest.

John hadn't had enough fun yet and gestured that he wanted to go back underwater.

Jill had originally wanted to go back to the boat because he was worried his daughter would be lonely, but since Amy and Jiang Xia were clearly having a lot of fun, he gestured to Amy that he would go underwater again.

Amy was also enjoying fishing and happily agreed.

So the three of them went underwater again.

This time, Zhou Chenglei swam further. He saw many black sea urchins on the rocks and hooked them one by one into his net.

Later, a giant grouper swam out from a crevice in the rocks, and he chased after it, swimming even further until he watched it swim into a cave in the rocks.

The dark cave entrance was covered with abalone,

many of them quite large.

Zhou Chenglei was about to swim over when John and Jill swam over, showing little interest in the abalone.

They loved lobster but not abalone.

They'd been down there for almost half an hour and were getting tired, gesturing to go back up.

Zhou Chenglei glanced around, familiarized himself with the surroundings, and followed them.

He'd bring Jiang Xia next time; she'd be thrilled to see this mountain of abalone.

Zhou Chenglei could already picture Jiang Xia's eyes lighting up with surprise.

He eagerly swam up.

The three of them swam to the surface, and Zhou's father and Zhou Chengxin took their nets and pulled them onto the boat.

Jiang Xia was pleasantly surprised to see how many sea urchins Zhou Chenglei had caught.

John and Jill, on the other hand, had only sea cucumbers in their nets; they'd only wanted to catch lobsters.

They'd picked up the sea cucumbers because they'd seen Zhou Chenglei collect so many.

Jiang Xia glanced at the time; it was already past eleven. She asked, "Shall we go to the island to cook something?"

Jill and John immediately replied, "Okay!"

So, Zhou's father steered the boat to a distant, isolated island.

By the time the boat docked, Wen Wan and Zhou Guohua had already explored the entire island but hadn't found anything of value.

Wen Wan searched the entire beach but couldn't find any red coral.

There were plenty of mussels and barnacles, though; they collected some mussels to take back.

There was only one convenient place to moor the boat on the island, so the two boats docked together.

As Wen Wan walked towards the fishing boat, she saw Zhou Chenglei jump off and reach out to catch Jiang Xia.

She pursed her lips, silently looked away, and rolled her eyes at the sea: So dramatic!

Suddenly, Wen Wan felt a pain in her foot. She felt something poking her foot, moved her foot, and looked down, discovering a small red spot peeking out from the sand.

Wen Wan's heart pounded!

Wen Wan quickly squatted down, carefully digging through the sand, revealing a section of blood-red coral, resembling a tree branch.

Red coral! The red coral from my dream!

"Ah! I finally found it! I finally found it!" Wen Wan jumped up excitedly, screaming.

Jiang Xia, being carried by Zhou Chenglei towards the beach, heard the scream and looked over.

Wen Wan also subconsciously looked at Jiang Xia.

Not all good things go to Jiang Xia.

This time, she finally grasped the hint from her dream!

She finally seized the initiative, instead of Jiang Xia always taking what belonged to her!

Their eyes met, she raised an eyebrow at Jiang Xia, her eyes defiant, then grinned.

From now on, she would never let Jiang Xia take away anything hinted at in her dream!

Jiang Xia, inexplicably provoked: "..."

How inexplicable!

After provoking Jiang Xia, Wen Wan happily squatted down to continue digging for her red coral.

She moved cautiously, but inwardly she was overjoyed!

Zhou Guohua also discovered it was red coral, but he wasn't as excited as Wen Wan, after all, it wasn't very valuable in this era.

He still smiled and said, "Little Wan is so lucky! You actually found red coral!"

Jiang Xia immediately remembered the content of the book.

In the book, the male protagonist found a red coral at sea, which would be worth millions in modern times!

The villagers all said he had foresight and didn't sell the coral back then.

She then understood what Wen Wan's provocative look meant.

It turned out that she had found that red coral that would be worth millions in the future!

Wen Wan had been reborn, so she probably also knew that Zhou Chenglei had found a cluster of red coral in the future, which was why she had been going out to sea with them every day these past two days.

Jiang Xia was a little annoyed that she hadn't thought about Zhou Chenglei's good fortune in the book and seized the opportunity.

She gave Zhou Chenglei a resentful look.

Alas, the chance to become a multi-millionaire in the future had just slipped through her fingers.

Zhou Chenglei carried Jiang Xia to the beach, and as soon as he put her down, he met her resentful gaze.

Zhou Chenglei: "..."

Still want to hug?

He put his arm around her waist and whispered, "Hug me again tonight, for as long as you want. We need to attend to our guests now."

Jiang Xia: ???

What is he thinking!

Jiang Xia's ears burned as she glared at him: "Get lost!"

Zhou Chenglei smiled and tightened his grip on her waist: "I'll go unload the things first."

He released her and turned to walk towards the boat, unable to resist glancing up at the sun high in the sky.

It's only midday!

Jiang Xia ignored him and looked down to find some shellfish to cook noodles for later.

Not far away, Zhou Guohua squatted down, wanting to help Wen Wan dig.

Wen Wan slapped his hand away: "Don't touch me!"

Zhou Guohua smiled without minding and withdrew his hand.

Wen Wan carefully dug and dug.

Then, after digging a couple of times, she was done!

A section of red coral, about a tiny bit longer than her finger, was completely dug out and poured onto the sand.

Wen Wan: "..."

Wait!

That's it?!

Shouldn't it be a clump?

Shouldn't it be quite tall?

Where's the rest? Under the sand?

It must have broken off, so painful!

Wen Wan continued digging at the pile of sand with both hands.

But there was nothing!

How could there only be a small piece?

Absolutely impossible!

She frantically dug downwards.

Zhou Guohua: "..."

Jiang Xia was digging for white clams when, out of the corner of her eye, she was drawn to Wen Wan's frantic movements. Turning her head, she saw a small piece of red coral, no longer than her palm and shaped like a "V" sign, lying to the side.

One piece turned into one section?

"Pfft!" Jiang Xia quickly turned away, covering her mouth!

"Hahaha..."

Forgive her for being so unkind, but she just couldn't help it!

So rude!

"Haha..."

What to do, she couldn't hold it in!

Zhou Chenglei had just carried Amy off the boat when he turned around and saw Jiang Xia covering her mouth, her shoulders shaking as if she were crying.

He quickly put Amy down, rushed over, and grabbed her shoulders: "What's wrong?"

"Nothing! Hehehe..." Jiang Xia waved her hand, then covered her mouth and laughed again.

Zhou Chenglei only then realized she was laughing. He didn't know what had triggered her laughter, and fearing she might laugh herself sick, he pulled her into his arms, gently patting her back, and asked, "What are you laughing at?"

Jiang Xia buried her face in Zhou Chenglei's chest and laughed heartily, letting out a muffled "Hahaha..."

Zhou Chenglei held her, gently patting her back to help her calm down. Why

was she laughing so suddenly? Was it really that funny?

Zhou Chenglei's attention, aside from what he was doing, was entirely focused on Jiang Xia. He had only glanced at the people on the beach before disembarking to confirm who they were and hadn't paid any more attention. He had also turned his back to Wen Wan, so he truly didn't know what Jiang Xia was laughing at. It took

Jiang Xia a while to recover.

Amy ran over to ask if Jiang Xia was alright.

Jill and John also came over to inquire.

Zhou's father and Zhou Chengxin rushed over with their things.

Jiang Xia calmed down, left Zhou Chenglei's embrace, and replied with a smile, "I'm fine. I just thought of a joke."

Amy then asked her what joke she had thought of.

Jiang Xia casually made up a French joke she'd heard in modern times.

Amy giggled along.

John and Jill both laughed.

John even complimented Jiang Xia, saying it was very funny.

Jiang Xia replied with a thank you in English, then asked them how they wanted the lobster.

Wen Wan naturally noticed Jiang Xia's loud laughter.

Knowing Jiang Xia was laughing at her, Wen Wan was furious.

She wanted nothing more than to grab a handful of sand and throw it at her!

How heartless!

How could someone be so malicious?

Taking pleasure in others' misfortunes!

However, what bothered and terrified her even more was Jiang Xia's fluent and natural conversation with several foreigners in a foreign language.

She wasn't speaking English, but it was clear she spoke it very well!

Wen Wan was shocked and frightened.

Zhou Guohua was also seeing someone communicate so naturally and fluently with foreigners for the first time.

He asked Wen Wan, "Xiao Wan, is Jiang Xia speaking English?"

He had never heard a foreign language before, so he didn't know the difference between English and French, and couldn't understand either.

He assumed it was English because Wen Wan was translating an English magazine.

Wen Wan shook her head, annoyed, and said, "No, English is hard to learn, and it's not that hard to hear! If she was speaking English, only the word 'thank you' was pronounced correctly! The rest were all mispronounced; I couldn't tell the difference. I guess foreigners could only guess."

Wen Wan had never heard French and didn't know what language Jiang Xia was speaking.

Zhou Guohua agreed; few people speak English, let alone other languages.

Only university students or those who have studied abroad could understand them!

Wen Wan was annoyed by Jiang Xia and didn't want to discuss her, so she said to Zhou Guohua, "This piece of coral is clearly broken; let's look elsewhere."

She was determined to find the whole coral.

"Okay, I'll help you look."

So the two of them conducted a thorough search of the beach.

Wen Wan and Zhou Guohua were conducting a thorough search.

Jiang Xia and the others prepared all the necessary tools and started grilling lobsters and cooking.

There were nine lobsters in total, and they planned to grill seven, one for each person, all cut in half.

Jill and John loved lobster and decided to cook it themselves, saying they wanted to thank Jiang Xia and the others for taking them out to sea.

Jill wanted Jiang Xia to try his French-style baked lobster; he was very confident in his cooking skills.

The two also brought cream, cheese, white wine, and other condiments, clearly people used to eating, drinking, and having fun.

The only problem was that the cream and cheese had melted a bit because of the hot weather.

Jiang Xia was worried that Zhou's father wouldn't like it, so he also cooked the seafood noodles he had been craving.

However, Zhou's father didn't really like the French-style baked lobster and quietly told Jiang Xia, "It's not good. The taste is strange; you can't taste the original sweetness of the lobster at all. It has a milky taste. Your seafood noodles are much better!"

Jiang Xia smiled.

Then, Zhou's father, while devouring the cheese lobster, gave John and Jill a thumbs-up: "Good!"

"Very good!"

He only understood these two phrases and could only say them.

This time, Jiang Xia added some sea cucumber to the seafood noodles.

Jill and John also ate a large bowl of Jiang Xia's seafood noodles, praising them highly.

Whether they genuinely thought they were delicious is unknown, but their praise was certainly sincere.

Amy was the favorite; she especially loved Jiang Xia's seafood noodles.

The aroma of the food wafted far and wide. Wen Wan watched them devour the lobster and sea cucumber with gusto, clenching her fists. One day, she would live such a life.

After eating and drinking their fill, Jiang Xia and his group packed up their things and returned to the ship, departing.

Wen Wan and Zhou Guohua were still there, meticulously searching for red coral, determined to find it no matter where they went!

Returning to the city dock would take about two hours, so Jiang Xia and Zhou Chenglei simply lowered their nets and hauled in a catch of fish.

Amy had never seen a fishing boat trawl before. When they hauled in the net, she was astonished to see a huge bag of fish dumped on the deck, covering the entire surface.

Amazing!

With her camera hanging around her neck, she snapped a picture.

She took many photos today.

For the last roll of film, at Amy's request, when the fishing boat docked at the city pier, Jiang Xia saw the Marquis and asked him to take a group photo for them as a souvenir.

Amy said she would develop the film back in France and send it to Jiang Xia, asking for his address and reminding him to write to her often.

Gil said he would come to China again in October for the Guangzhou-Autumn Trade Fair, and he would see her then. The Guangzhou-Autumn

Trade Fair—Jiang Xia knew about it. It was a trade event that had generated hundreds of millions of foreign exchange for the country since the 1950s, hailed as "China's No. 1 Exhibition," a barometer of China's foreign trade.

He wondered if his mother's garment factory was also participating; she had mentioned last time that they were preparing to exhibit in Guangzhou and were very busy lately.

After seeing Jill and John off, they left all their belongings on the boat.

They didn't want the two diving sets anymore, too lazy to take them, so they gave them to Zhou's father and Zhou Chengxin.

Luckily, Zhou's father and Zhou Chengxin were both tall, about the same height as them, so they could use them.

Zhou's father sat there chuckling as he divided the fish, saying something profound: "It seems like we didn't make any money today, but it also seems like we made a fortune!"

Zhou Chengxin, who was steering the boat, looked at his father in disbelief.

This was supposed to be "seemingly not making any money"?

Although they only hauled one net of fish today, it was mostly golden pomfret, probably over 200 jin (approximately 100 kg). Lei said they'd dry them and sell them, which should fetch 80 or 90 yuan.

There were also the fish Jiangxia caught, and the sea urchins, conches, and scallops that A-Lei and Jill collected on the seabed. They had just sold them to that nobleman at the dock for about fifty yuan.

He usually only earned thirty or forty yuan a day at sea.

And that didn't even include the diving equipment. A-Lei also left two large lobsters, a big bag of sea cucumbers, more than twenty sea urchins, and a geoduck clam unsold, saying he would take them back for Xia.

Even the middleman couldn't help but give him a second look, thinking he was wasting such good things, not selling them but taking them back to eat!

He even heard the other man say, "Your wife's stomach must be made of gold."

Zhou Chengxin thought his father was getting arrogant. Earning fifty yuan wasn't considered making money, and these four sets of diving equipment must be very valuable, right?

Zhou Chengxin asked Zhou Chenglei, "A-Lei, how much do you think a set of these diving equipment costs?" Zhou Chenglei replied,

"You can't buy them in China for less than a thousand or a hundred yuan, and even if you wanted to, it would be difficult to find."

This brand of diving equipment is very famous and expensive in the world. Zhou Chenglei, using the diving equipment, felt these sets were the most advanced diving equipment from abroad.

Zhou's father: "..."

He misspoke earlier, not "seems," today is definitely going to be a day to make a fortune!

Zhou Chengxin: "..."

His father was right, Xia's luck was truly amazing! He just spent a day like this and earned a thousand yuan, and it was a tool that could generate more money!

"Jill and John are so generous! Giving away four thousand yuan worth of stuff like that."

Zhou's father said, "They are indeed generous, but four thousand yuan is probably just a drop in the ocean for them. They each spent tens of millions to buy ships at the shipyard and signed orders worth hundreds of millions."

Zhou Chengxin: "..."

What does tens of millions mean? They could make the newspapers if they became a household with tens of thousands of yuan.

His biggest goal in this life was to become a household with tens of thousands of yuan.

Zhou Chenglei, thinking about ordering a ship at the shipyard the next day, couldn't keep it from his older brother, so he said, "Brother, I've ordered a ship. I plan to go with Dad to pay the deposit tomorrow."

Zhou Chengxin couldn't help but be happy for Zhou Chenglei: "Going to order a ship? How big is it? I'm not going to sea tomorrow, but I'll go take a look too."

Amazing! His fourth brother has the money to order a ship so quickly.

He didn't want to go to sea with Tian Caihua tomorrow

anyway, so he decided to accompany his fourth brother to order the ship. Zhou's father always loved boasting, even to his own son, so he readily took over the conversation!

Ordered a big ship worth 18,000 yuan?

He felt the wind at sea was a bit strong today; he was a little dizzy, even hallucinating!

~

That night, outside in the courtyard, a woman was cleaning fish. Zhou Chenglei returned to his room after showering. Jiang Xia was translating at her desk. He picked her up, sat her on his lap, and placed her in a chair.

"Almost finished translating this page," Jiang Xia said.

"Don't translate yet, I have something to tell you."

Jiang Xia looked at him, waiting for him to continue.

Zhou Chenglei unconsciously tightened his grip on Jiang Xia's waist: "That thing broke last night."

Jiang Xia didn't react immediately, her mind still on translating, and subconsciously asked, "Which thing?" "

The family planning device.

" Jiang Xia: "..."

Broken? He actually broke that thing!

But considering his situation, it wasn't surprising at all.

"I'm sorry." Zhou Chenglei kissed her.

Jiang Xia was stunned for a moment: "Sorry for what?"

Zhou Chenglei looked at her, not wanting to miss any of her emotions: "If you got pregnant, would you have the baby?"

He knew she really wanted to go to university, but if she got pregnant, would she want it?

Jiang Xia: "..."