Upon hearing this, Zhou Chenglei and Jiang Xia went into the kitchen together.
Aside from Zhou's father, no one in the courtyard paid any attention when Jiang Xia said she wanted to eat conch meat.
Tian Caihua had also found a conch today, but she sold it; she knew Jiang Xia would eat it, and was willing to spend the money.
In any case, she wasn't as willing to spend as Jiang Xia.
Zhou's father glanced at the people diligently cleaning the fish, put down his cleaver, picked up a fish, and stood up: "I'll get a fish for Xia to cook."
No one paid much attention; the whole fish was valuable, and the meat could fetch a good price, but with so many fish, it was normal for the family to eat only one.
Zhou Chenglei was taking out the conch meat in the kitchen.
Jiang Xia saw Zhou's father come in with the fish and asked, "Dad, do you want to eat fish? How do you want to eat it?"
Zhou's father put the fish in a basin and said softly, "No, I just wanted to see it; I wanted to witness a moment of history!"
Jiang Xia: "..."
Where did Zhou's father's inexplicable confidence come from?
At this moment, Zhou Chenglei took out the conch meat.
Zhou's father hurriedly urged Jiang Xia, "Xia, go look for it! You two look together!"
He didn't trust anyone else's hands, only Wangcai's lucky hands! Of course, a husband and wife teaming up was even more trustworthy.
Zhou Chenglei gave the snail meat to Jiang Xia.
Jiang Xia took it and searched carefully, immediately finding a round, hard object.
She squeezed it directly.
A bright orange-red bead with flame-like patterns was pried off!
Zhou's father glanced at it and smiled!
Sure enough, there was something there!
Although this bead was a bit small, not as big as he had imagined.
But the probability of this kind of conch shell opening into a pearl is one in several thousand!
People in their village had found this kind of conch shell many times, but no one had ever opened a pearl!
Only Wangcai had this luck!
Even a small dragon pearl is still a dragon pearl!
Zhou's father loved pearls with festive colors and auspicious names!
Jiang Xia also thought that this bead was a bit small. Melo pearls can be very large; she had heard that the largest Melo pearls could reach 200 carats, and this one was probably only a dozen carats.
But to have opened one at all was already very lucky!
Jiang Xia washed the bead in the water, then carefully examined it in her palm. The more she looked, the more excited she became. She whispered, "Zhou Chenglei, look at the patterns on this bead. What do you think it looks like?"
Zhou Chenglei leaned closer.
His father, hearing this, couldn't resist leaning in too!
The father and son examined it carefully for a while, then Jiang Xia asked again,
"What do you think it looks like?"
Zhou's father couldn't tell, but he thought it was very beautiful.
This dragon bead was a bit small, but the color was truly beautiful!
The entire bead was crystal clear, with a lustrous sheen, flawless.
Zhou Chenglei: "It looks a bit like a chrysanthemum."
Although it was only a bit like, that slight resemblance was enough to elevate the bead to a whole new level.
Jiang Xia laughed: "I also think it looks a bit like a chrysanthemum."
Haha… This bead was indeed a bit small, only about 6mm in diameter, but the color was wonderful! Its color was a ripe papaya orange-red, its shape perfectly round, perfectly translucent, with a crystalline luster like porcelain. The flame patterns inside were yellow, distributed beautifully in fine strands, resembling a blooming yellow chrysanthemum at first glance.
This was truly remarkable!
Upon hearing this, Mr. Zhou immediately asked, "How did you know?"
The value of a pearl with random patterns and one with patterns resembling a specific object is completely different!
Jiang Xia handed the pearl to Mr. Zhou, whose eyes practically leaped out of their sockets as he gazed at the Melody Pearl. Mr. Zhou
took it and fiddled with it in his palm: "How do you know it looks like a chrysanthemum?"
Jiang Xia extended a finger and rolled the pearl in Mr. Zhou's palm: "Dad, look at it this way, doesn't the flame pattern at the bottom look like a blooming chrysanthemum supporting a pearl?"
As soon as Jiang Xia said this, Mr. Zhou thought it looked like one!
"It does! It looks very much like one! It looks incredibly much like one!"
Even if you can't tell, you have to say it looks like one!
That way, the bicycle can turn into a motorcycle!!
"This bead could sell for over a thousand yuan, right?"
Melo Pearls, also known as Dragon Pearls or Flame Pearls, are extremely rare and precious pearls.
They can't be artificially cultivated. If it were in modern times, this bead would probably be worth hundreds of thousands.
Jiang Xia couldn't guess how much this bead would sell for in this era; it was still a bit small, less than 8mm.
But a thousand yuan was definitely possible.
"Okay!" Jiang Xia casually continued to feel the snail meat, looking for any other pearls she
had missed. She was really just looking randomly, but she unexpectedly found
another one. And, it seemed like there was more than one!!
And, it seemed a little bigger than the previous one?!!
Jiang Xia quickly picked it off.
A bead similar in color to the previous one, but half the size larger, was picked off by Jiang Xia and placed in the bowl.
This one was estimated to be sixty carats!
A very large one!
Zhou's father's eyes widened: "There are actually two?"
He knew Wangcai's luck couldn't be this bad!
"Not just one, there's another one!" Jiang Xia pulled out another.
The third one was even bigger, noticeably larger than the second!
The other two looked like its babies next to it!
This one was huge, probably 150 carats!
The three pearls were also similar in color, all orange-red.
The most expensive and beautiful color among Melo pearls!
A conch shell had produced three dragon pearls, all perfectly round and flawless!
Hahaha... No wonder it's Wangcai!
Zhou's father felt that a house in town was now a sure thing!
Jiang Xia carefully examined the flame patterns on the remaining two pearls.
The flame pattern on the second pearl was not obvious, very fine and fragmented, so the whole pearl looked like a night sky filled with scattered stars, mysterious and dazzling.
Sparkling!
The flame pattern on the third pearl was almost invisible. If this pearl was like an orange sunset, then its flame pattern was like a peony quietly blooming deep within the sun.
Incredibly understated,
yet exceptionally noble.
This is the king!
The king of pearls!
After seeing these three pearls, Zhou's father felt that a house in town was within reach again!
A conch shell and three flawless dragon pearls—the siblings were almost complete!
If they were auctioned together, their value would probably more than triple.
Jiang Xia was overjoyed. She gave the pearls to Zhou Chenglei: "Hide the pearls well, I'll cook."
Good luck today, they had to celebrate with a delicious meal.
Zhou Chenglei first took the three pearls back into the house and hid them on the roof beam, then came out to cook with Jiang Xia.
After witnessing history, Zhou's father went out to kill fish!
There were still a pile of fish waiting to be killed and a pile of fish maw waiting to be processed in the yard.
Dinner was cooked by Zhou Chenglei and Jiang Xia together, with Zhou Zhou helping to tend the fire. They
made pan-fried golden threadfin bream chunks, steamed yellow croaker, chopped chili fish head, stir-fried snail meat with chili, and cold seaweed salad and greens.
After the yellow croaker was steamed, lifting the shell revealed it was full of roe, the golden roe making one's mouth water.
The roe was sweet and fragrant, and the meat was tender and sweet!
This was definitely the best crab Jiang Xia had ever eaten.
The other dishes were also incredibly delicious: the fish pieces were crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, the snail meat was refreshing and chewy, and the fish head was spicy and appetizing.
While eating the crab, Zhou Chenglei scraped off the crab roe with a spoon and handed it to Jiang Xia, saying, "Today, Xia and I bought a few stalls and seafood stands at the seafood market under construction in the city. I think the prices are quite reasonable, brother, do you want to buy some?"
Zhou Chengxin was stunned for a moment. Buying shops and stalls was something he had never considered.
His current goal was to buy a boat.
Zhou's father immediately caught the key point!
Several!
Tian Caihua also understood and immediately asked, "How many did you buy?"
Zhou Chenglei didn't hide anything: "Ten stalls and five shops."
Tian Caihua was dumbfounded: "Is it cheap?"
She wouldn't even buy ten apples, so when she heard Zhou Chenglei say ten stalls and five shops, she instinctively thought it was very cheap and a good deal; otherwise, Jiang Xia wouldn't have bought so many!
Zhou's father was also shocked!
Ten stalls and five shops!
After the shock came ecstasy!
Hahaha… his son and daughter-in-law were amazing!
"Two thousand eight per stall, ten thousand per shop. Buying now is definitely a good deal."
Tian Caihua gasped, almost dropping the bowl in her hand.
Two thousand eight per stall, they bought ten! Ten
thousand per shop, they bought five!
She thought it was two mao eight per stall and one yuan per shop!
So how much money did Zhou Chenglei actually make on his trip to the open sea?
Everyone was roughly equal when the family split up, how come there's such a big difference in just three months?
Jiang Xia added, "It's not finished yet, and it hasn't officially started selling, so it's cheaper. The price will probably go up next year when it officially opens."
Jiang Xia understood Zhou Chenglei's reasoning; sharing good news with his brothers was a matter of loyalty. Whether they bought it or not was their business.
Tian Caihua couldn't help but say, "It's not even finished yet, and you dare to buy it? Are you trying to scam us? What if you run off with the money and don't build it?"
Zhou's father: "..."
This jinx!
Even food can't shut her up!
Zhou Chenglei: "Probably not."
The seafood market is a vegetable market, essential for people's lives, and it's the city's first seafood market. The government will guarantee its completion.
The city leaders wouldn't be so inactive.
Tian Caihua looked at Jiang Xia: "Xia, do you think it's worth buying?"
Jiang Xia nodded: "It's worth it. I wouldn't buy it if it wasn't."
Tian Caihua was tempted. They didn't have 10,000 yuan, but they could afford 2,800.
Although Zhou Chengxin had always kept the money, he hadn't given it to her since ignoring her last time, unlike Zhou Chenglei, who gave all the money to Jiang Xia as soon as the boat docked.
Now he kept the money himself, only giving her living expenses.
However, Tian Caihua still knew roughly how much money the family had.
Watching Zhou Chenglei peel crab legs for Jiang Xia, Tian Caihua felt a pang of envy: of all the brothers, Zhou Chenglei was the most doting on his wife! And he was the best at making money too!
Tian Caihua asked Zhou Chengxin, "Should we buy one?"
Zhou Chengxin: "I want to order a boat first."
Zhou Chenglei: "Ordering a boat is good. Boat prices are going up. If you want to order one, go do it as soon as possible. Let me know when you're going, and I'll go with you."
Upon hearing that Zhou Chenglei was going to order a boat, Tian Caihua stopped thinking about anything else.
Ordering a boat was good!
The more boats they ordered, the more money they could make.
Then they could invite her older brother from her family to go out to sea with them and make money together.
Hearing that his eldest son was also planning to book a boat, Zhou's father was pleased: "If you're planning to book, you should do it sooner rather than later. The earlier you book, the sooner you can collect the boat."
Zhou Chengxin replied, "Yes, if we can't go out to sea tomorrow, we'll book it tomorrow."
Zhou's father laughed, "Good! Today is truly a good day. Let's have a few drinks, father and son. Wife, go get a bottle of wine; we have plenty of food tonight."
After the initial elation came the revelry.
The fish and fish maw were also prepared, so they could enjoy the meal at their leisure.
Thus, it was another day of overeating, and Jiang Xia felt she was bound to gain weight sooner or later!
Zhou Chenglei was also quite full, so he dragged Jiang Xia along for two workouts.
One was a walk on the beach to aid digestion.
One night, in bed…
In the end, the butter crab was a waste; Jiang Xia felt completely digested and even hungry before midnight!
The next day, at five in the morning, Jiang Xia woke up in Zhou Chenglei's arms.
She stirred, and he held her tighter. "Sleep a little longer."
"I wonder if we can go out to sea today?" Jiang Xia was still a little groggy, snuggling closer to him.
"We can go out to sea, Dad will tell us." Zhou Chenglei had been awake for a while, so he knew his father had gotten up and left around four.
Jiang Xia: "I've slept enough, get up! Aren't you going for a run?"
He'd wanted her every night for the past few days, but last night he hadn't gone too far, so they went to bed at eleven.
Slept enough? Zhou Chenglei raised an eyebrow, whispering in her ear, "Run, on your body…"
He spoke the last few words very softly, only Jiang Xia could hear them.
Jiang Xia blushed. Was this man using her as exercise equipment?
She had heard Zhou's mother moving around outside. She
wondered if Zhou's father would knock on their door when he returned from the beach.
Jiang Xia grasped his hand and pulled it away.
He turned it around and placed it on his head.
Zhou Chenglei rolled over and
began by kissing his forehead.
...
Zhou's father got up a little after four and rode his bicycle to the beach to check if the waves were big enough.
The waves weren't too big, so they could go out to sea. He went to inform his eldest son first, then went home.
Zhou's mother asked, "Can we go out to sea?"
"Yes, the waves aren't too big."
Zhou's mother said, "Then I'll go wake A-Lei and the others up. You should eat something quickly and prepare your things for the trip."
"Okay." Zhou's father parked his bicycle and replied.
Zhou's mother arrived at the couple's bedroom door and was about to knock when she heard a soft creak, the sound of the bed.
Zhou's mother quickly walked away.
When Zhou's father saw Zhou's mother come out, he asked, "Did you call her?"
Zhou's mother replied, "Yes, I did. Let's go out to sea a little later today! I'll prepare lunch, and I'll go out to sea with her in a bit. I'll ask Great-Grandma to watch the house for us. Zhou Zhou can go to Great-Grandma's for lunch after school. I'll take a fish with me."
Zhou's mother wanted to delay a bit so the couple could have some time together; otherwise, when would she ever need the fish maw she was drying? Zhou's
father nodded, "Okay."
A little later was fine.
Going out to sea didn't matter if it was early or late.
As long as they had Wangcai with them, they would make money sooner or later, and eventually become rich!
***
So, when the family went out to sea today, it was already past seven, almost eight o'clock.
Since they were already late, Zhou Chenglei decided to first haul in one net, then go to Pearl Island to check on the fish cages, then go to Coral Island in the city to check on the fish cages, and haul in one net on the way there. After that, they would go to the shipyard to order a boat.
No one in the family had any objections.
Today, Jiang Xia was dragged fishing by Zhou's father again.
Zhou Chengxin also wanted to fish but resolutely refused to go boating.
Zhou Chenglei didn't fish, but he also wouldn't operate the boat. He just stayed by Jiang Xia's side, helping her out.
Jiang Xia's limbs were still weak, and he was worried.
In the end, Zhou's mother became the one operating the boat.
"Have a son! Have a son!
They're all so unreliable!"
Jiang Xia cast the fishing hook Zhou Chenglei had prepared for her.
This time, after waiting a while without feeling a fish bite, Jiang Xia suspected the bait had fallen off, so she tried to pull it out to check.
Turns out, it was quite heavy.
Jiang Xia reeled in the line.
Zhou Chenglei watched from the side. He usually didn't lift a finger, only helping Jiang Xia with things like hooking bait and removing the fish from the water.
Too much help would ruin the fun of fishing for her.
Of course, when they encountered a big fish, he would help if he was worried Jiang Xia wouldn't be able to pull it in.
The line got shorter and shorter, and a large, black, square thing could be vaguely seen in the water. It
wasn't until the thing surfaced that Jiang Xia saw it was a box, covered in barnacles and tangled with some seaweed.
Jiang Xia looked at Zhou Chenglei: "Should we pull it up? It's a bit heavy. There should be something inside."
She wondered if they had any special rules about what was inside.
Zhou Chenglei said: "Pull it up and see what's inside. I'll do it."
Zhou's father, after looking at it, immediately said: "Of course we should pull it up! There might be some good stuff inside!"
Zhou Chengxin also glanced at it: "Quickly, bring it up and see!"
Throughout history, countless shipwrecks have appeared in the ocean, so fishing at sea sometimes offers the chance to find some treasures.
What you find in the sea, you keep.
Of course, except for cultural relics; if you find cultural relics, you have to hand them over to the state.
Seeing that the box was a bit big and heavy, Zhou's father gave Zhou Chenglei a net.
Zhou Chenglei used the net to scoop the box up.
Jiang Xia ran to find tools to open the box.
She brought back a pair of scissors, a hammer, and a screwdriver. Once
the box was out, it was clear it was a woven rattan box.
Zhou Chenglei took the scissors from Jiang Xia and cut the box open.
It didn't take much effort to pry it open, revealing two stones.
Zhou Chengxin: "Why are they just stones?"
Zhou's father: "Stones are even better! Who would put two stones in a box for no reason? These can't be ordinary stones. They might be jade or emerald! Chenglei, do you know how to tell? Quickly wipe them clean and see what kind of stones they are."
Having caught them by hand, Zhou's father absolutely didn't believe these two stones were ordinary.
Zhou's father casually picked up a rag and wiped them for Zhou Chenglei.
These two stones had been soaking in the water for so long that they were unrecognizable.
Zhou Chenglei took the gourd and began wiping it.
While steering the boat, Zhou's mother said, "Bring a bucket of water up; it'll be cleaner with
a loofah ." Zhou's father
immediately fetched a bucket. Zhou Chengxin went to find a loofah to help.
His father quickly stopped him, saying, "You fetch the water; I can't lift it."
They didn't even know if it was a donkey or a horse!
If his eldest son wiped it and it turned out to be a rock, he'd be furious and jump into the sea!
Zhou Chengxin didn't object and took the bucket to fetch water.
While he was fetching water, Zhou's father quickly handed the loofah to Jiang Xia, saying, "Xia, you wipe it! Wipe it a few more times!"
Jiang Xia chuckled and took the loofah, squatting down to wipe the stones.
The couple wiped for about fifteen minutes before cleaning the two stones.
The four of them stood there looking at the two stones.
Zhou Chengxin said, "It seems like just an ordinary stone."
Zhou's father said, "Shut up! Xia, tell me what it is!"
Jiang Xia: "..."
She didn't know anything about raw jade, so she didn't know if it was a stone or jade.
"I don't know either."
Mr. Zhou: "Just say whatever comes to mind, no, don't just say anything, say the best! Say it as good as it can be!"
Even if God discounts it, it won't be too bad, it can't really be a stone!
Jiang Xia: "..."
To satisfy the old man's fantasy, Jiang Xia seriously made up a story: "It looks like imperial green jadeite!"
Mr. Zhou laughed: "It must be! I think so too!"
Zhou Chenglei's lips twitched, but he didn't know anything about this, so he said, "We'll take it to the city and let Zhang Rui's second brother take a look."
"Alright! Take them in a bit!"
The more Zhou's father looked at the two stones, each the size of a watermelon and a cantaloupe, the more unusual they seemed. "Ah Lei, move these two jade stones carefully. After you've moved them, you and Xia can set the net! Be careful not to drop them."
Getting hurt on his foot was a minor matter; Zhou's father was afraid that Zhou Chenglei might accidentally break his large jade stone!
Zhou Chengxin wanted to help move them, but Zhou's father pulled him back, saying, "Let your brother move them."
He didn't want his brother to touch them and lower the prestige of his imperial green jade stone!
Zhou Chengxin said, "Then I'll set the net."
Zhou's father pulled him tighter, saying, "No need, you go fishing! Ah Lei is back now, just let him set the net!"
Didn't the eldest son have any self-awareness?
With his clumsy hands, what could he possibly catch?
He had finally been looking forward to his youngest son returning to sea with Wangcai; couldn't he at least give him something to look forward to today?
Zhou Chenglei put the two stones in the basket, covered them with a cloth, and then set the net with Jiang Xia.
After casting her net, Jiang Xia stopped fishing.
She took out her yarn and started knitting.
She had so many sweaters she owed; she
had to hurry and finish them before winter was over.
Zhou Chenglei also stopped fishing, sitting next to Jiang Xia and reading an English science magazine, helping with the translation.
Only Zhou's father and Zhou Chengxin remained to continue fishing.
Zhou's father wanted to ask Jiang Xia for help, but seeing the couple sitting there, one reading and the other knitting, in their new, affectionate pose, he decided not to disturb them.
Zhou's father couldn't help but say to his eldest son, "You and Ahua should learn from Lei and Xia's way of getting along as a couple."
His younger son and Wangcai's relationship was always harmonious and warm, so pleasing to the eye.
The couple could fish, cook, and read together…
in short, they were always harmonious in everything they did!
Zhou Chengxin glanced back and said directly, "I can't learn! I don't speak English, and Ahua can't concentrate on knitting."
Zhou's father: "…"
His foolish son was beyond redemption!
Furious, Zhou's father gave up fishing and went to set sail.
Two hours passed quickly, and it was time to haul in the nets.
Zhou Chenglei and Jiang Xia put their things away and then went to haul in the nets.
This time, without Zhou's father's prompting, Jiang Xia pulled the net first before stepping aside. The
three of them hauled in the nets together.
Jiang Xia saw Zhou Chenglei's biceps bulging and jiggling, knowing that the catch was full of fish and shrimp again!
It took the three of them a lot of effort to pull up a large bag of fish.
Untying the net, fish poured out with a "splash," a deck full of yellowfin tuna.
They were quite big, almost all weighing about a pound.
Jiang Xia smiled: "These fish are delicious!"
Zhou's father chuckled: "These are the best fish! Take a few more home tonight. See if you catch any yellow croaker, golden bream, or grouper, and make a braised mixed fish stew at home, it'll be so fresh it'll make your teeth ache!"
This fish was his favorite!
Yellowfin trevally is known as the best-tasting fish, and Zhou's father thought it was even better than grouper and blackfin trevally. It also fetched a higher price, over a dollar per pound. This net would yield at least 500 pounds, making six or seven hundred!
Zhou's father happily sat down to start dividing the fish.
Zhou Chengxin steered the boat to Pearl Island to check the fish cages.
Jiangxia, Zhou Chenglei, and Zhou's father also sat down to quickly divide the fish.
Yellowfin trevally aren't large fish, mostly around a pound, but Jiangxia even found a three-pound king.
What luck!
Jiangxia decided to take it home and have a whole yellowfin trevally feast tonight.
The boat sped towards Pearl Island, and Zhou Chengxin saw a fishing boat anchored in the area rented by Zhou Bingqiang in the distance.
He said, "Dad, it's Uncle Qiang's boat."
Zhou's father immediately perked up: "Sail over there, I'll say hello."
A thriving first net—this joy had to be shared!
The sooner it was shared, the longer the joy would last.
Upon hearing this, Zhou Chengxin drove his fishing boat over there. It was on the way anyway, and taking a detour wouldn't take much time.
The boat soon arrived near Zhou Bingqiang's fishing boat. Zhou Chengxin didn't stop, just slowed down a bit, letting his father show off.
Zhou's father greeted Zhou Bingqiang loudly, "Bingqiang, what a coincidence! Are your net cages alright?"
Zhou Bingqiang's face darkened when he saw Zhou Yongfu's fishing boat!
But his son had just dived to the bottom of the sea to check the net cages, so he couldn't just leave.
Zhou Bingqiang said irritably, "I don't know, what about yours?"
Zhou's father replied, "I haven't checked mine yet. I was planning to go check it first thing this morning, but I encountered a school of fish, so I hauled in one net first."
Zhou Bingqiang also saw a boatload of yellowfin trevally.
In his experience, this boatload could definitely sell for five or six hundred yuan.
They had hauled in two nets this morning, all worthless small fish, which would only sell for a dozen yuan in total.
Their luck was much worse than usual!
And this was after the typhoon, when there was usually a good catch.
Zhou Bingqiang had never tried fishing after a typhoon before, let alone caught such a small amount.
In the past, he would earn two or three hundred, or even four or five hundred yuan after a typhoon.
Zhou Bingqiang began to genuinely suspect that his complaint against Jiang Xia's father had caused bad luck.
He was just that superstitious; Jiang Xia's words were like a thorn in his heart.
Having achieved his goal of showing off, Zhou's father chuckled and said, "I'm off! I need to check on my fish cages!"
Hearing this, Zhou Chengxin sped up and drove the boat away; he had many things to do today. Just
after the Zhou family's boat left, Zhou Guohua emerged from the water, wailing, "Dad! All our fish cages have been blown away! We can't find a trace of them!"
Zhou Bingqiang couldn't help but close his eyes!
Gone!
All the money invested was gone!
Indeed, one shouldn't do anything against their conscience.
***
Fifteen minutes later, Zhou Chengxin also sailed the boat to the location where they had placed their fish cages.
Zhou Chenglei and Zhou Chengxin donned their diving gear and went into the water.
It was midday, and Jiang Xia followed suit; she hadn't dived in a long time.
The three of them had barely reached the bottom when they saw the net cages lying there quietly, all intact.
The sea had been quite rough today,
but the waves in this area were much calmer, and they could barely feel the current.
The three swam over.
Jiang Xia noticed the net cages had been sitting on the seabed for a while, and some things were hanging from the nets.
But that didn't matter; the food would serve as fish food.
The fish inside the cages were swimming leisurely.
Seeing no dead fish, Jiang Xia was relieved.
She looked closer and noticed that many of the fish had grown considerably.
Zhou Chengxin tossed the small fish and shrimp he had brought down into the net cages.
The fish quickly swam over to eat them.
Although the holes in the net cages were relatively large, enough for some small fish, shrimp, and plankton to swim through, only a limited number of fish and shrimp could pass through each day. Therefore, to help the fish grow faster, feeding them daily or every one or two days was necessary.
After inspecting the net cages, Jiang Xia went to look at the pearl farming nets, which were also hung in rows in the seawater.
Jiang Xia glanced at the pearl oyster larvae attachment device.
This pearl oyster larvae attachment device was made based on one she had seen in her previous life.
Pearl oysters lay larvae that need attachment sites to survive.
Generally, pearl oysters lay their eggs in the sea, and the larvae they expel attach to fish gills or other surfaces, growing naturally until they reach a certain size and then detach.
Jiang Xia had her mother make some larvae attachment nets to collect the pearl oyster larvae.
She could see one or two tiny black pearl oyster larvae on these nets, very small, only the size of a grain of rice.
Each net had one or two, some even three or four.
Although not many, this proved that collecting pearl oyster larvae in this way was somewhat effective.
Jiang Xia beckoned to Zhou Chengxin and Zhou Chenglei.
The two quickly swam over.
Jiang Xia pointed to the tiny pearl oysters on the nets.
Zhou Chengxin's eyes widened as he looked closely!
Then he examined each attachment device, finding one or two on each device, and three or four on some nets.
They varied in size, but were all very small; the largest was no bigger than a peanut.
Seeing Zhou Chengxin watching intently, Jiang Xia pointed to the sea and gestured for Zhou Chenglei to swim up.
Zhou Chenglei accompanied Jiang Xia and helped her climb onto the boat.
He then boarded the boat himself.
Jiang Xia took off her diving gear, and Zhou's father eagerly asked, "How is it? The net cages are still there, are the fish alright?"
Jiang Xia smiled and said, "The net cages and the fish are fine, and the fish have even grown a bit."
Zhou's father laughed, "I knew they were alright!"
Zhou Chengxin quickly climbed onto the boat as well. He eagerly took off his diving gear and asked, "Xia, were those pearl oyster larvae just now?"
Jiang Xia smiled and said, "Yes!"
Zhou's father was excited upon hearing this: "You really collected pearl oyster larvae?"
Zhou Chengxin smiled and said, "Yes, we collected them. They've already grown to the size of rice grains. There were one or two in each net, and I counted twenty-six in total! If Xia hadn't noticed them so carefully, I wouldn't have known."
"Haha! Great! Although there are only twenty-six, there will be more and more in the future. Didn't Xia say that May and June are the peak season for pearl oysters to lay eggs?"
Jiang Xia laughed, "Let's take them down in a couple of days and put them in the mesh to keep them, so they don't fall off and disappear."
Twenty-six is indeed a small number, but pearl oysters lay their eggs directly in the sea, and the seawater can easily wash their eggs anywhere. Being able to catch twenty-six is already quite a lot.
Right now, they have no experience and don't know anything. Jiang Xia doesn't know either; she's only seen a little bit. The rest is all based on everyone's imagination and thinking it's feasible. They're just trying it out, and being able to collect twenty-six is already a small success!
Zhou's mother was also very happy, "Then I'll make more of these attachment devices, and we'll put more in the sea." Zhou
Chenglei looked at this area of sea. If they can really farm pearls on a large scale in the future, they'll have to hire someone to guard it.
Otherwise, if someone steals them, it will be a huge loss.
But there's no rush now; it's just the beginning, and no one knows they're farming pearls.
Even if the villagers knew they were raising fish, those with boats wouldn't waste their time stealing them; hauling in a net would be more profitable than stealing.
Those without boats couldn't even leave the sea.
So it was still quite safe, especially before their fish grew big enough to sell.
After checking that the fish cages were fine, Zhou's father sailed to Coral Island to check, while Jiang Xia and Zhou Chenglei set up their nets, hauling them in along the way.
The boat took about an hour to reach Coral Island, and the three of them began hauling in the nets.
This haul, though not as long as the morning's, was much heavier.
This net probably caught two or three kinds of fish, a bit mixed, but each one looked plentiful.
There were many yellowfin tuna, mackerel, golden pomfret, and tiger prawns.
Each prawn was as long as Jiang Xia's arm, quite large.
Each prawn weighed almost a pound.
Zhou's father picked one up and compared it to his palm, overjoyed: "This is another stroke of luck! Today the catch is truly overflowing with fish and prawns. We even encountered such large tiger prawns. I've been fishing at sea for many years, and I've caught prawns this big before, but I've never caught so many of these big!"
These kinds of prawns are expensive, and one this big could sell for two or three yuan a pound!
And each prawn weighs seven or eight ounces, so you tell me how big they are!
So it doesn't matter when you go out to sea; as long as you're lucky enough, you can earn more than others even if you go out later. Today, a thousand yuan is guaranteed.
Father Zhou chuckled and said, "Quickly sort the shrimp and put them in the live tank to keep them alive."
These shrimp are highly resistant to air, meaning they can be kept alive for a relatively long time, making them convenient for transportation.
Although it was a trawl, many of the shrimp were still alive and hadn't been crushed. Except for Zhou Chengxin, who was steering the boat, the whole family quickly started sorting the shrimp and putting them in the live tank.
Live shrimp, of course, sell for more than dead ones.
The boat soon arrived at Coral Island, and Zhou Chengxin moored it.
Zhou Chenglei stopped sorting the fish and put on his diving gear to check the net cages.
The net cages on Coral Island were fine. Zhou Chenglei swam to the cave and saw some abalone that had escaped, so he pried them off and threw them back in.
These abalone weren't very big, about ten each; he'd let them grow bigger before selling them.
They had previously found sea cucumbers in this area. After eating them, Zhou Chenglei searched the seabed to see if he could catch some more.
He only found three sea cucumbers after searching for a while.
There weren't many sea cucumbers, but they did catch two nine-toothed prawns and collect a few sea urchins.
These prawns have sweet and delicious meat, which Jiang Xia loves.
Zhou Zhou also loves steamed sea urchin with egg; tonight's dinner could be a bit more substantial.
Because they still had to go to the shipyard, Zhou Chenglei quickly returned to the boat.
Jiang Xia didn't go into the sea; she wanted to hurry and sort the fish. She also liked fish with many different kinds of fish, shrimp, and crab mixed together—it was easy to find unexpected surprises.
Just as Zhou Chenglei climbed ashore, Jiang Xia spotted a large sea turtle. This was the first time Jiang Xia had ever encountered a sea turtle.
Zhou Chenglei glanced at it.
This sea turtle was probably very old; its back was covered in barnacles, and its shell looked weathered, appearing to be over a hundred years old.
Seeing that they had mistakenly caught a sea turtle, and an old one at that, Zhou's father said, "Xia, this sea turtle must be released back into the sea."
People in their village always release sea turtles they catch because they believe sea turtles have a spirit, and releasing them can bring peace, especially old sea turtles.
Jiang Xia nodded, "I know, I'll remove the barnacles from its back and put it back in the sea."
Zhou's father handed Jiang Xia a fish-cleaning knife.
Zhou Chenglei took off his diving gear and walked to Jiang Xia's side, saying, "Let me do it."
This thing was difficult to pry open, and he was afraid she might accidentally hurt her hand.
Jiang Xia gave him the knife.
After Zhou Chenglei scraped off all the barnacles from the sea turtle, Jiang Xia used a loofah to polish its shell until it shone, gave it a bath, and then threw it back into the sea.
The sea turtle wiggled its four claws in the water, turned around, and looked up.
Jiang Xia waved to it, "Goodbye!"
Seeing Zhou Chenglei return to the boat, Zhou Chengxin steered it away.
Once the boat was far away, Jiang Xia didn't pay any more attention; there was still a boatload of fish waiting to be divided.
She quickly sat down to divide the fish.
Unexpectedly, the sea turtle in the sea kept swimming behind the fishing boat, and as the boat got further and further away, it swam faster and faster.
After dividing the fish for a while, Jiang Xia discovered an old sea turtle!
Zhou's father: "How come we caught so many old sea turtles today?"
Jiang Xia: "Could this sea turtle be a pair with the one we just saw?"
Zhou Chengxin laughed upon hearing this, "Maybe so. Let's quickly throw it back into the sea so the couple can be reunited."
Zhou's father then said, "Stop the boat, turn back, clean the turtle, and throw it back into the sea immediately."
Jiang Xia handed the turtle to Zhou Chenglei, instructing him to remove the barnacles.
Zhou Chenglei did as Jiang Xia did, even washing the turtle and polishing its shell until it shone.
Jiang Xia kept watching the sea, wondering if the turtle would chase after them.
To her surprise, she did!
"Zhou Chenglei, the turtle caught up!" Jiang Xia's voice held a hint of excitement.
Zhou's parents both looked towards the sea.
Zhou Chenglei, having just finished washing the turtle, stood up, holding it.
Jiang Xia tugged at his arm, "Quickly put it back in the sea."
Zhou Chenglei threw the turtle back into the sea, then habitually grabbed Jiang Xia's hand.
The two turtles swam towards each other.
Seeing this, Zhou's father chuckled and said, "They really are a couple."
After the two sea turtles met at sea, they both looked up at the fishing boat.
Jiang Xia smiled and said, "Could their son be on the boat?"
Hearing this, Zhou's mother quickly checked the remaining pile of fish and laughed, "No! No!"
The two sea turtles only paused at the surface for a moment, glanced at them, and then swam back to the seabed.
Zhou Chenglei held Jiang Xia's hand, watching the two sea turtles disappear into the sea together. He couldn't help but look down at the person beside him.
Jiang Xia also looked up at him, their eyes met, and they smiled at each other.
Jiang Xia intertwined her fingers with his, their hands tightly clasped, and they smiled at the sea.
Jiang Xia's gentle smile was captivating and beautiful. Zhou Chenglei wanted to pull her into his arms and kiss her passionately, but he restrained himself, only holding her hand tightly, suppressing the flutter in his heart.
Seeing the sea turtles swim away, Zhou's father looked away, but when he turned back, he saw his youngest son and Wangcai secretly holding hands. "Well
, I've become a memorial tablet again! "
Zhou, the memorial tablet, chuckled, pretending not to notice, and nudged his eldest son, who was practically a 50-watt light bulb, saying, "Go set sail, hurry to the shipyard to order a boat." "Okay." Zhou Chengxin went to set sail.
Jiang Xia tugged at Zhou Chenglei's sleeve, pulling her hand away: "Splitting the fish."
"Okay." Zhou Chenglei let go of her hand, and the couple squatted down to continue splitting the fish.
Zhou Chengxin steered the boat directly to the beach near the shipyard.
Then Jiang Xia and Zhou Chenglei accompanied Zhou Chengxin to order a boat.
After they disembarked, Zhou's parents set sail again to the city dock to sell fish.
This way, splitting up was faster.
Zhou's father could come back to pick them up after selling the fish. When
the shipyard manager, Zhou, heard that they had come to order another boat, he was startled.
He said irritably, "You haven't paid the deposits for those two boats yet! You're not allowed to order any more until they're paid in full!"
Trying to get something for nothing again? Don't even think about it!
This time, he resolutely refused!
Unwavering!
Jiang Xia laughed, "Isn't the deadline still pending? We'll just pay on time."
Zhou Chenglei asked, "Has that anchor been improved yet? Is it any good? I've come up with a new type of anchor."
Factory Director Zhou: "..."
In the end, Zhou Chengxin ordered a boat that cost over 8,000 yuan, but after discounts and promotions, it only cost 7,000 yuan.
He paid a deposit of 3,500 yuan.
Factory Director Zhou felt he'd been tricked by the couple again. The shipyard had decided to raise prices across the board during the National Day holiday to prepare for the Guangzhou Trade Fair.
After all, many of their ship technologies had improved, especially the Kent rings, welding preheating, and anchor technology, which were far more advanced than foreign technologies, making the price increase reasonable.
Now, the latest prices for all ships were out, and this wave of price increases was significant because many imported equipment were also increasing in price. Western countries were suppressing them, and the prices of some equipment were rising every month!
So each ship had increased by more than 1,500 yuan.
The boat they ordered would have cost over 9,000 yuan after the price increase, but he had sold it to them for 7,000.
Factory Director Zhou looked at Jiang Xia and Zhou Chenglei, feeling both love and hate!
"Get out of here if you have nothing else to do! There's only one welfare apartment left for you!"
After discussion, the shipyard leaders decided to dedicate a team to producing fishing boats of this size to meet the fishermen's growing demand. Therefore, Zhou Chengxin's boat would be ready for delivery in six months.
Two more dedicated production lines were also established for export vessels to ensure quality and on-time delivery.
The shipyard had hired many new apprentices and technicians, and a batch of workers were about to be promoted to permanent positions, with many applying for welfare apartments.
Therefore, Jiang Xia's desire for two welfare apartments was essentially impossible; only one
was available. Jiang Xia smiled and said, "One is fine too."
Having one would be good enough.
Zhou Chenglei then asked Director Zhou if anyone wanted to trade in a small boat for a larger one and sell their old one. It didn't have to be a very large boat; a small wooden boat with an engine would be fine.
People usually ordered boats from the shipyard, but some who ordered larger boats wanted to sell their old small boats, and in such cases, they might ask the shipyard to spread the word.
Factory Director Zhou asked curiously, "You already have a big boat, why buy that small wooden boat?"
Zhou Chenglei replied, "I plan to raise fish in the sea. Buying a small wooden boat to go out to sea and feed the fish will save time compared to other boats fishing." Zhou
Chenglei was thinking that using the family's current fishing boat to take care of the fish in the net cages long-term wouldn't be worthwhile if it interfered with trawls.
After all, on a lucky day, trawl one or two nets could earn the equivalent of a small, old, beat-up boat.
Factory Director Zhou exclaimed, "You can even raise fish? Is there anything you and your husband can't do? You've made all the money!"
"Alright, I'll keep an eye out for you and let you know if there are any. Hurry up and pay the remaining deposit. Don't spend your money on this and that and then forget to pay me the deposit!"
Jiang Xia laughed, "Don't worry, we'll definitely pay on time! We've provided the shipyard with so many technical ideas for free, all of which are money-making ideas, and we haven't charged you a penny. Factory Director Zhou, you keep urging us, isn't that a bit unfair?"
Factory Director Zhou: "..."
Fine, fine! As long as they pay on time, he won't urge them anymore, okay?
Factory Director Zhou couldn't resist blurting out, "Next time you buy a boat, I'll give you a discount!"
Jiang Xia laughed, "Okay! Then give me an 80-90% discount!"
Factory Director Zhou wanted to slap himself!
After settling the matter, Zhou Chenglei figured his father had finished selling the fish and took his leave.
Zhou Chengxin, having gotten a discount of over a thousand yuan on the boat, walked with a swagger, kicking up dust!
Jiang Xia quickly covered her mouth and nose to avoid eating the dust.
Seeing this, Zhou Chenglei hurriedly said, "Brother, slow down! The dust is flying everywhere!"
Zhou Chengxin laughed, "Sorry, I couldn't help it!"
Jiang Xia smiled.
Returning to where the fishing boat had docked, their family's boat was indeed waiting.
The three boarded the boat, and Zhou Chengxin volunteered to steer it home.
Zhou's father took out the money from selling the fish, a total of 1286.7 yuan.
Each family received 640 yuan.
The two brothers each offered 100 yuan to their parents.
They refused, taking only the remaining 86.7 yuan.
Currently, Zhou Chenglei and his wife take care of all their needs, and the elderly couple rarely spend money.
They only occasionally buy things for their grandchildren and give them red envelopes during holidays. As Zhou Zhou grows up and goes to school, there will be more expenses, and it's not good to let their younger son pay for everything.
Although Jiang Xia now covers Zhou Zhou's living expenses and tuition, and the elderly couple doesn't have to contribute anything, their younger son and his wife also give them 500 yuan a month for living expenses, which is more than enough.
The eldest and second sons would also contribute, but not as much as the youngest son.
They were old and didn't know how many more years they had left. Their funeral arrangements would require a large sum of money, and the two elders didn't want their sons to pay, especially fearing that the youngest son would bear all the costs. Therefore, they wanted to save some money for their own funerals; otherwise, they wouldn't need to leave any money at all.
The saying "Raising children for a hundred years, worrying for ninety-nine" was truly aptly described in the case of Zhou's parents.
The two elders only thought about the good of their children, wanting to help them as much as possible and not cause them any trouble. Since their first child was born, their lives had revolved around their children; they hadn't thought about themselves or what their children could give back to them.
***
As the boat approached the village dock, Jiang Xia immediately spotted a large, unfamiliar ship.
Zhou's father asked curiously, "Someone in our village bought a big boat?"
Zhou Chenglei replied, "Probably not, it's probably a boat delivering fish fry to Uncle Qiang."
Zhou Chenglei guessed correctly; it was indeed a boat delivering fish fry to Zhou Bingqiang's family.
Zhou Bingqiang was talking to the fish fry deliveryman: "My fish cages have all been blown away, so we don't have any cages to raise fish anymore. We don't want these fish fry anymore and want to return them."
The fish fry deliveryman immediately waved his hand: "Return them? Are you kidding me? Because you said you wanted them delivered as soon as possible, I delivered the fish to you as soon as I got the call. I didn't expect there to be a typhoon here. I found a place to park overnight, and the wind and waves haven't subsided yet, so I braved the wind and waves to deliver the fish to you! Now you want to return them? Are you playing me? I don't care if your fish cages were blown away or not, the fish have been delivered to you, so you have to accept them."
Wen Wan also came back today. She had a dream last night, and she specially took the day off to come back this afternoon.
Wen Wan, after hearing the other party's words, patiently comforted them, "Comrade, I'm so sorry, all our fish cages were blown away. We don't know where to raise these fish! We didn't want this natural disaster. Everyone is helpless in this situation. How about this? We'll compensate you for double the round-trip fuel cost. You can take the fish, and you can deliver them to us again once our fish cages are ready, okay?"
The fish fry owner was amused and exasperated. Did he really care about double the fuel cost?
He had truly braved the storm to deliver this boatload of fish fry, arriving on time! Did they not know how dangerous sailing in the wind and waves was?
"Fine, I won't ask for more. You compensate me a thousand yuan, and I'll take the fish fry. Let's call it even!"
When Wen Wan heard that the fish fry supplier was asking for 1,000 yuan, she felt he was extorting money.
She patiently smiled and said, "Comrade, isn't 1,000 yuan a bit too high? It's not that we don't want the fish fry, it's just that the net cages were blown away by the typhoon, and we have no choice but to order them later. Once the net cages are ready, we'll still order fish fry from you. This time, we'll compensate you for the fuel and losses, how about that?" "
1,000 yuan is already cheap for me! Ordering fish fry requires a half deposit. You ordered 5,000 fish fry, totaling 1,500 yuan. The deposit alone is 750 yuan, and with a little fuel compensation, it's 1,000 yuan! If you want to return the goods, the deposit is non-refundable, you understand that rule, right? I trust you, I made a phone call and delivered the fish all the way here without even taking a deposit. Now, charging you 1,000 yuan plus a little fuel compensation is perfectly reasonable!"
Wen Wan felt this person was simply unreasonable, just trying to rip them off!
They didn't intentionally want to return the goods, and the net cages being blown away by the typhoon wasn't their fault! "
How can you raise fish without net cages? Isn't it normal to temporarily return the fish and reorder later?
Besides, they're only temporarily returning these fish fry; they'll send them back once they have net cages. It's not a real return.
" Wen Wan felt she couldn't let the other party make such an exorbitant demand, so she said directly, "We'll compensate you with 300 yuan. Take it or leave it! Anyway, we're not returning these fish; we'll take them back later! So there's no refund for the deposit! Boss, we're kind-hearted, but we're not easy to bully! 300 yuan for fuel compensation is definitely not low. With this 300 yuan, you've practically made a profit."
Since they hadn't even paid the deposit, if he didn't want the 300 yuan, then they could leave as they came!
Zhou Guohua also said, "Boss, we were inconsiderate this time; it was our fault. But 300 yuan is quite a lot; it's enough to compensate for your loss. We definitely can't take these fish fry today; we'll have to wait a few days. We'll compensate you with 300 yuan; how about you send them back in half a month?"
300 yuan was a lot! 300 yuan was almost a year's salary for an average worker.
The fish fry seller laughed in anger. Losing three hundred yuan and they acted like he'd made a fortune?
Did they even know how troublesome it was to transport these fish fry?
Did they think ensuring the fry survived on the ship was so easy? Didn't they need to feed them?
Oxygen alone cost a lot along the way.
And his big ship was fuel-guzzling!
Anyone who owns a big ship knows how much fuel it consumes!
Most importantly, their country hadn't even successfully bred the red snapper fry yet; they were all imported from island nations, making the cost extremely high!
Was three hundred yuan enough for fuel to bring them back from those island nations?
The fish fry seller pointed at Wen Wan and Zhou Guohua: "I can tell from your voice that you don't own a big ship! You haven't even looked into where these fish fry you ordered came from, so you think losing three hundred yuan is enough to make you think I've made a fortune? Such ignorant and heartless talk! Ignorance is terrifying! Heartlessness is even more terrifying!
Losing three hundred yuan makes it sound like I got a huge bargain! Let me tell you! These fish fry were imported from island nations; our country's technology hasn't been able to successfully breed red snapper yet!" "You think 300 yuan is enough for the fuel cost of the fish fry brought back from the island nation? Ignorance isn't scary, what's scary is being ignorant and pretending to be knowledgeable, generous, and kind! Losing 300 yuan is a huge profit? If you're ignorant and haven't seen the world, don't show it! It's laughable!"
Wen Wan and Zhou Guohua: "..."
Wen Wan blushed with embarrassment!
In her two lives, this was the first time someone had pointed their finger at her and called her ignorant, ignorant, and unsophisticated!
Bah, she had lived a second life, and her knowledge far surpassed his!
What did a fishmonger like him know?
She was a scholar, someone who made a living with her pen, not a fisherman. It was perfectly normal that she didn't know these fish fry were brought back from the island nation.
Zhou Bingqiang didn't know these fish fry were imported from the island nation either, which was indeed difficult.
One shouldn't be so heartless; one should have a clear conscience, otherwise it will affect one's luck.
"Old comrade, I'll compensate you 500 yuan." "Please help us raise these fish fry for a few more days. We'll buy them later. You know, my family really didn't want this natural disaster to happen. I'm truly sorry this time."
He had calculated that 300 yuan would only break even for the other party, and 500 yuan would be enough for them to make a profit, probably around 200 yuan. 1000 yuan was really too much.
Making 200 yuan on one trip should be worthwhile for the other party.
After all, he could resell the fish fry he delivered to make more money, and even if they didn't sell, he would order more of this batch of fish fry in a few days.
Zhou Bingqiang considered it a loss, a lesson learned, and a reminder to be more careful in the future.
Seeing this, the villagers couldn't help but chime in:
"Old comrade, I can testify, his fish cages really were blown away by the typhoon! He has nowhere to raise these fish fry! You brought them all this way, it wasn't easy for you, let Bingqiang compensate you a little, let's all compromise, let's just let it go, peace brings wealth, okay?"
"That's right! I can testify too! We all saw his fish cages blown away by the typhoon! Old comrade, please be lenient! We all make a living from the sea, it's not easy for anyone! Just accept the five hundred yuan compensation, let it go! A thousand yuan, how can we small fishermen afford to pay that much!"
...
With so many people talking, the fish fry owner, outnumbered and outmatched in another village, didn't bother to argue: "Fine, I won't argue with you! Six hundred yuan! Consider it tuition!"
Five hundred yuan was still a loss; they thought he'd made a lot, only six hundred would break even!
The fish fry owner decided he would never sell fish fry to them again!
In business, keeping your word is paramount. Doing business with someone who's untrustworthy will only lead to huge losses!
Zhou Bingqiang frowned. Six hundred was a bit too much; the other party was clearly trying to rip them off! But he decided against it. He told Zhou Guohua to hurry home and get the money, and apologized to the fish fry owner, "Alright, six hundred it is. We weren't careful this time, making you come all this way for nothing. I'm really sorry."
Zhou Guohua quickly ran home to get the money. They had just returned from the sea and had only earned a few dozen yuan selling fish that day; they didn't have that much cash on them.
At this moment, Zhou Chenglei approached with a basket and Jiang Xia.
Zhou's father and Zhou Chengxin each carried a load of golden pomfret, while Zhou's mother carried two buckets, following behind them.
The golden pomfret was to be taken home to dry, and Zhou's mother was carrying what would be their dinner that evening.
Zhou Chenglei saw the fish fry vendor stop and asked, "What are you doing here, Boss He?"
Boss He, seeing Zhou Chenglei's unpleasant expression
, relaxed a little. "Don't even mention it! This family asked me to deliver fish fry, and now they don't want them! I made a wasted trip, and I almost lost money on gas!" Zhou Bingqiang, seeing his father's displeased expression, felt he had lost face in front of him again. Hearing Boss He's words, he also lost his patience. After all, he had already paid compensation and apologized, yet they still had this attitude!
He said irritably, "Isn't it because the net cages were all blown away? Boss He, it's not that I don't want them, it's that I don't want them for now. I asked you to send them back first, and I'll send them back later. I didn't make you make a wasted trip. Didn't I promise to compensate you 600 yuan? That's quite a lot! If the net cages hadn't been blown away, I wouldn't have refused to take these fish fry."
Boss He sneered, "Yes! Compensating me 600 yuan, that's a lot! I made a huge profit! Bah! 600 yuan isn't even enough to cover my lost gas and labor costs, and you think I made a huge profit! I really thank you." "Ah!"
Zhou Bingqiang: "..."
Zhou's father glanced at Zhou Bingqiang and laughed, "Boss He, I can testify, his fish cages really were blown away!"
Other villagers also said, "Yes, they really were blown away, it wasn't intentional!"
Boss He: "The fish cages being blown away is his business, what does it have to do with me! He ordered the goods, I delivered them on time, so he has to accept the goods and pay! I'm braving the wind and waves to deliver the goods! We're all trying to make a living in the sea, who doesn't face risks?"
Zhou's father didn't know what to say, everyone had their own reasons.
Jiang Xia asked, "Boss He, how many fish fry did you deliver?"
When Wen Wan saw Jiang Xia speak, she couldn't help but look at her: Was Jiang Xia trying to play the good guy and take over this batch of fish fry?
No!
Wen Wan immediately thought that the reason they ordered fish fry was because Zhou Li overheard Jiang Xia's phone call!
Could Jiang Xia be colluding with this Boss He to swindle them out of their money?
Boss He turned to look at Jiang Xia, unable to resist taking another glance. Jiang Xia was simply too beautiful; he couldn't resist!
"Five thousand fish." His tone softened unconsciously.
Jiang Xia asked Zhou Chenglei, "Can our net cages hold five thousand fish?"
Zhou Chenglei: "Two more new net cages should be enough."
Wen Wan felt she had hit the nail on the head!
This time, Jiang Xia had definitely colluded with the fish fry boss to swindle them!
Jiang Xia had always been cunning and treacherous. Last time, she turned the tables with just one letter, making the whole village think she had harmed her and that she herself had been investigated.
That's when she knew Jiang Xia was a treacherous and cunning villain!
If Jiang Xia was ruthless, then she wouldn't be polite.
Wen Wan looked at Zhou Chenglei: "Brother Zhou, you know our fish cages were blown away by the typhoon. Since your cages can hold these 5,000 fish fry, could you temporarily take them in for us? Once our cages are ready, we'll immediately transfer the fry to them. It'll be quick, won't take up your cages for long, just a few days!"
Wen Wan then looked at Jiang Xia: "Sister Xia, is that alright? We're neighbors, and Brother Zhou is a soldier serving the people. You wouldn't refuse such a small favor, would you?"
Jiang Xia glanced at her, understanding her thoughts. Seeing everything clearly, he smiled and said, "No, how could I not help with such a small favor? You said we're all from the same village, of course we should help each other! I always believe that good deeds are rewarded! Since you've asked, let's go all the way and buy this batch of fish fry for you! You can just reorder another batch! No need to move them around so much!"
Jiang Xia then said to Boss He, "Boss He, it's not easy for you to deliver fish here. The typhoon just passed, you braved the wind and waves to come, right? How about this, my family will take these five thousand fish fry!" Zhou Bingqiang
's heart skipped a beat at Jiang Xia's words about good deeds being rewarded!
Before he could say anything, Wen Wan added, "Boss He, did you hear that? I found Jiang Xia and Brother Zhou to buy this batch of fish fry. They're such good people! This way you won't lose money, you won't have made a wasted trip, and everyone will be happy."
Boss He realized that Wen Wan was using moral blackmail; it seemed that they didn't want to lose money and were trying to cheat others!
Boss He looked at Zhou Chenglei: "Is this lady yours?"
Zhou Chenglei: "My wife."
Zhou Chenglei then introduced his father, mother, and Zhou Chengxin.
After they exchanged greetings, Boss He praised, "You and your wife look very much alike! Your whole family is so good-looking!"
The couple were so good-looking and perfectly matched!
It was hard to imagine that a fisherman couple could be so good-looking!
Zhou Chenglei rarely smiled in front of outsiders. He glanced down at Jiang Xia.
So, in the eyes of outsiders, he and Jiang Xia looked like a couple?
Were they a match made in heaven?
Wen Wan glanced at Jiang Xia. Was she pretty? Just a little fairer skin and a better figure, nothing else.
Jiang Xia's chin wasn't as pointed as hers!
Her nose wasn't as straight either.
Only her eyes and mouth were attractive; she had beautiful almond-shaped eyes and a small, cherry-red mouth with a beautiful lip line.
With such beautiful eyes and mouth, a full figure, a slender waist, and long legs, she was practically born to seduce men in ancient times.
Wen Wan had seen many men and couldn't help but secretly glance at Jiang Xia. She had also heard the men in the village say more than once that Zhou Chenglei was lucky to have married a beautiful, well-proportioned, wealthy, gentle, and beautiful wife who was also auspicious for her husband.
In just three months, everyone had forgotten how they had mocked Zhou Chenglei for marrying such a "goddess," how he was being cuckolded!
Women who are beautiful are easily forgiven by men!
Men are all driven by their lower instincts, and even someone like Zhou Chenglei was no exception!
Wen Wan pursed her lips, a hint of disdain flashing in her eyes, and said, "Boss He, now that Jiang Xia and Brother Zhou have bought your five thousand fish fry for us, we don't have to pay compensation, right?"
Boss He glanced at Wen Wan and said directly, "I can't sell this batch of fish fry to Comrade Zhou. You ordered these fish fry, so you should be responsible for them. Don't try to shift the blame onto others."
When Zhou Chenglei ordered the fish fry, he ordered the net cages and enclosure nets together. Those net cages were imported from Japan, specifically for raising red snapper. It was agreed that he would only deliver the fish fry after the net cages arrived and were installed! Now their ordered net cages haven't arrived yet, how are they going to raise red snapper?
Wen Wan smirked. See!
They really did team up to swindle their money!
"Boss He, why can't we sell to them? Why are you insisting we lose money? I think you two know each other all along, you're all ganging up on us to rip us off!"
"This is outrageous! We don't want these fish fry anymore! Don't even think about paying us back! We won't pay a single penny!"
The villagers were shocked! What's going on?
Boss He laughed angrily, looking at Wen Wan incredulously: "Are you sick? When did we gang up on you to rip you off? You called to order the fish yourselves, how did it become me and Comrade Zhou ganging up on you? You might as well say that the typhoon was also created by Comrade Zhou and me, that we started a typhoon in the ocean that blew away your fish cages!"
"This is outrageous! Absolutely outrageous! I've never seen anyone like you! You're crying wolf, heartless and shameless! To avoid paying compensation, you're even trying to smear those who wanted to help your family! Aren't you afraid of being struck by lightning for being so heartless?"
Zhou Bingqiang's face changed: "Fine! Fine! I'll pay! I'll pay a thousand yuan!"
Wen Wan was also angry: "We can't pay! He's just angry because I exposed him! Jiang Xia deliberately made that call in front of my aunt that day! He deliberately revealed his phone number, making us fall for his trick! Otherwise, why wouldn't he let us return the goods, or sell the fish to Jiang Xia? Instead, he insisted on paying a thousand yuan. They deliberately teamed up to swindle us out of a thousand yuan! Why should we pay!"
Jiang Xia was always responsible, admitting what he should and denying what he shouldn't. Leaving that aside, she nodded: "That's right, I did it on purpose! I deliberately called the production team to order fish fry! I deliberately let your aunt overhear, so she could secretly write down the phone number and know where we ordered the fish fry! I deliberately got you to order too! I deliberately let the typhoon blow away your net cages, so you ordered fish fry, had no net cages to raise fish, and then lost money! I did it on purpose!"
Boss He looked at her with even more contempt: "No wonder you were able to contact me, so you overheard someone's phone call and secretly wrote down my number! Now you're blaming others for conspiring to frame you! I've seen my share of shameless people over the years, but I've never seen anyone as shameless as your family!"
The villagers' expressions towards Zhou Bingqiang's family changed.
So it was a case of the thief crying "stop thief! "
After Jiang Xia and Boss He said that, everyone understood the whole story and knew who was shameless and who was dishonest!
"Making a phone call is considered deliberately ripping them off? There's only one phone in the entire production team. Where else could Jiang Xia make the call if not at the production team headquarters?"
"It's clearly their family that's dishonest. They eavesdropped on someone's phone call, secretly wrote down the number, used that person's connections to order fish fry, and then turned around and accused them of deliberately ripping them off. That's truly wicked!"
"If Jiang Xia hadn't lacked the ability to conjure a typhoon to blow away their fish cages, everyone would probably believe it!"
"It's like shamelessness itself is setting the stage for shamelessness; the whole family is utterly shameless!"
"We're all from the same village. What Zhou Bingqiang's family did was really excessive!"
"Not just excessive, it was excessive! They were dishonest when buying dried fish before, and now they're doing it again. It seems we should avoid dealing with them in the future, or we might get ripped off by them someday!"
"I regret speaking up for him just now! Boss He should be entitled to a thousand yuan in compensation. The fish they brought back from Japan traveled across the ocean; the fuel costs alone exceeded a thousand yuan! They should pay a thousand yuan, not a penny less."
"Wen Wan's character is terrible. Last time she wrote a fake letter that almost caused A Lei and Xia Xia to divorce. This time she's trying to frame Jiang Xia and Boss He for cheating her family out of money! How can she be so wicked?"
"She likes Zhou Chenglei! Can't you all see that? She's just driven by love to hate. I knew as soon as I heard it that she didn't want to pay back the money, so she insisted that Jiang Xia and the fish fry boss cheated her family out of money! She wants Zhou Chenglei to think that Jiang Xia is a treacherous villain! It's laughable! Would Jiang Xia go to such lengths to cheat her family out of a thousand yuan with the fish fry boss? A thousand yuan might be a lot of money for others, but is it a lot for Jiang Xia?"
"Don't you see how much Jiang Xia spends every time she goes to the city? Look at all the toys she buys for her kids, those things must cost at least a hundred or two! She's willing to spend that much! And these aren't even her own children, just her nephews and nieces. How rich does she have to be to be so generous? Jiang Xia is so rich, would she cheat people for a thousand yuan? Nobody would believe it!"
"Ever since Zhou Guohua married Wen Wan, Zhou Bingqiang's family has become increasingly outrageous!"
"Birds of a feather flock together! Not a single one of them is any good."
The entire dock was buzzing with whispers, saying all sorts of things!
Though the voices were low, they still reached the ears of Zhou Bingqiang's family and Wen Wan.
Wen Wan was both angry and aggrieved!
She knew Jiang Xia was cunning; with just a few words, she could get the whole village on her side.
She was certain that the phone call was deliberately made by Jiang Xia!
Zhou Li had fallen for Jiang Xia's trick!
Zhou Bingqiang also felt humiliated!
It was the first time he'd been called shameless to his face, and the villagers' pointing fingers and whispers were too much for him to bear; he was also afraid of ruining his family's reputation in the village.
Moreover, considering the particularly bad shipping conditions today and his recent string of misfortunes, and being quite superstitious, he decisively said, "Mr. He, don't be angry. My youngest daughter-in-law is still in school and doesn't know anything. She's just making things up and has misunderstood! I absolutely do not believe that you and Xia cheated me out of my money. I was wrong about ordering fish fry this time, and I'll compensate you with a thousand yuan!"
Well, so be it, consider it a lesson learned. Now, Zhou Bingqiang only wants to salvage his image in the village and have smooth sailing in the future.
Besides, he still needs to order fish fry from Mr. He in the future, and he can't afford to ruin the relationship.
"Dad..." Wen Wan was furious. Compensating him a thousand yuan now? Wasn't that admitting that she had just slandered Jiang Xia? Wasn't that a slap in the face?
But as soon as Wen Wan called out, Zhou Bingqiang glared at her: "I'm in charge of this matter. Don't talk nonsense anymore. Stand aside and don't say a word!"
Wen Wan: "..."
Talk nonsense? She
was furious!
Why did she speak up?
For herself?
It wasn't her money she was losing!
They even said she was talking nonsense!
Wenwan was both angry and aggrieved.
Just then, Zhou Guohua hurriedly brought over six hundred yuan. Zhou Bingqiang took the six hundred yuan and then told him to go back and get more money: "Go back and get another four hundred yuan!"
Zhou Guohua didn't understand what was going on. Why did Wen Wan seem like she wanted to cry? He glanced at Wen Wan and saw that her eyes were a little red, which made him feel a little sorry for her, but he still listened to his father and ran back to get the money.
Zhou Bingqiang said to Boss He, "Boss He, I'll give you the thousand yuan later."
Boss He glanced at Zhou Bingqiang, "You still have some conscience, but not much! I almost thought your whole family were beasts, no, even worse than beasts!"
Zhou Bingqiang: "..."
Zhou Chenglei didn't have much money on him, so he asked Jiang Xia, Zhou Chengxin, and his father for money. Now he had a total of fifteen hundred yuan, which he handed to Boss He: "Boss He, fraud is a serious crime. To avoid people saying we're colluding to cheat money, I'll buy this batch of fish fry."
"..."
"Slap!" Zhou Bingqiang felt like he had been slapped in the face!
He had already said he would lose a thousand! Zhou Chenglei still wanted to buy it. What was this?
Wasn't this a slap in the face?
Boss He waved his hand: "No need. When you ordered the fish, you saw my net cages. Didn't you say that the mesh size of your net cages is too big to keep such small fry, and they'd escape? You even asked me to order special net cages for you from Japan. I'll just ship these fry back."
Zhou Chenglei said nonchalantly, "It's okay, I'll buy them to release."
Zhou Bingqiang's face changed drastically!
He felt like he'd been slapped on the other side of his face!
Wen Wan looked at Zhou Chenglei incredulously.
For some reason, her intuition told her that Zhou Chenglei was standing up for Jiang Xia!
So, he spent 1,500 yuan to throw into the sea just to vent Jiang Xia's anger?
What does 1,500 yuan even mean? Aside from the families with boats, probably no one in the entire village had 1,500 yuan in savings!
At this moment, a young man in the village couldn't help but whistle: "Brother Lei is so generous!"
"He's absolutely domineering!"
"No wonder he's made so much money at such a young age, he deserves to be rich!"
"Brother Chenglei has always been incredibly domineering."
...
1,500 yuan worth of fish fry, released just like that!
1,500 yuan! That would have been enough to build a house back then.
Boss He was truly impressed. From the first time Zhou Chenglei came to his door, he felt that this man had extraordinary bearing and sharp eyes, and now he was even more impressed!
So generous! So domineering! Absolutely domineering!
Why should he put up with this humiliation!
Releasing them is good!
"Alright, I'll sell it to you, I won't make any money off you! I'll only charge you half the cost price! Consider it a joint release with you!"
Boss He waved his hand generously, "Come on! Comrade Zhou, get on my boat, let's release the fish! Fellow villagers, uncles and brothers, if anyone wants to release fish, come on my boat, let's all share in Comrade Zhou's good fortune."
People live for pride, and Zhou Chenglei's actions were exactly what Boss He wanted.
It was satisfying!
Zhou Bingqiang: "..."
He felt like his face had been slapped!
This time, he was truly humiliated!
They caught so many fish, releasing some back is a good thing!
Most importantly, it's cathartic!
Zhou's father chuckled and shouted, "Anyone who wants to release fish and share in the good fortune, hurry up and get on the boat!"
Zhou's mother laughed, "Ah Lei, give me your basket, you and Xia Xia go release fish together. Ah Xin, you and your dad go too!"
Zhou Chenglei handed the two stones in the basket to Zhou's mother to watch over, then took Jiang Xia's hand, gesturing for her to get on the boat.
Jiang Xia, with Zhou Chenglei holding her hand, took off her bag with one hand and handed it to Zhou's mother. Turning around, she saw the production team members coming out. Zhou Li, standing in the crowd, glanced at Wen Wan, then turned back with a look of utter despair, before meeting Jiang Xia's gaze.
Zhou Li: "!!!"
She tried to force a smile at Jiang Xia.
However, before she could even manage a smile, Jiang Xia looked away and walked away with Zhou Chenglei, as if she hadn't seen her at all.
Or rather, she hadn't even given her a second thought!
Zhou Li: "..."
It's over!
Her job!
Jiang Xia and Zhou Chenglei followed Boss He and Zhou's father towards Boss He's large boat.
Many villagers, hoping to share in the good fortune and enjoying the excitement, followed suit and boarded the boat.
Zhou Bingqiang watched the villagers board one by one, his face extremely complicated!
Why hadn't he thought to buy the fish fry and release them? How could
Zhou Chenglei have gotten such a good thing, letting Zhou Yongfu steal the limelight in the village?!
He was the one who ordered the fish fry, and it turned out like this!
If he had thought to buy and release them, he wouldn't have ended up so humiliated and disgraced! He
had even ruined his family's reputation!
Once the boat was full of people, Boss He set sail from the dock, heading towards a more distant sea area.
The sea is wide enough for fish to leap freely; releasing them in a more distant area would be better for the fish fry.
After the large boat had sailed far away, those who hadn't boarded started their own business.
They hadn't even sold their fish yet because they were so busy watching the gossip!
Zhou Li watched Jiang Xia leave, feeling like the sky was falling!
She was rebuffed by Jiangxia and felt a surge of anger. Turning around, she saw Wen Wan and slapped her hard across the face. "Who told you to talk nonsense!"
she yelled. She was going to get herself killed!
*Smack!* Wen Wan staggered, her head spinning.
But Wen Wan wasn't one to be trifled with. Regaining her senses, she retaliated!
And so, the niece-in-law and the great-aunt started fighting!
The villagers, forgetting their fish-selling duties, stopped to watch the spectacle.
What a juicy story today!
Zhou Guohua happened to run back, and he and Zhou Bingqiang quickly pulled them apart.
Zhou Bingqiang felt a headache coming on!
It was so annoying!
Were they not embarrassed enough? They'd really
lost face today!
Zhou's mother felt a wave of fear. Thank goodness she hadn't arranged for Wen Wan to marry A Lei. If she had, she would have regretted it terribly!
Luckily, before she could make arrangements, A Lei returned saying the commander had arranged a marriage for him.
What a relief! Half an hour after the boat started sailing,
Boss
He stopped the boat and handed Zhou's father a net.
Zhou's father chuckled and waved his hand, "I won't release any. I'll just watch the fun. Give it to A-Lei and my daughter-in-law!"
Releasing fish is a good thing; let these blessings be left for the younger generation!
He'll just stand there as a memorial tablet.
If the children are blessed, his memorial tablet will be filled with incense offerings!
Zhou's father assumed the proper posture for a memorial tablet and stood to the side.
Boss He then handed the net to Zhou Chenglei, "Comrade Zhou, here
you go!" Zhou Chenglei took the net and pulled Jiang Xia over, "Let's do it together."
Jiang Xia grasped the net.
Zhou Chenglei stood behind Jiang Xia; she held the net, he held her hand, and together they half-embraced each other as they scooped fish fry from the hold.
Zhou's father watched with a smile as the young couple lovingly and carefully scooped a net full of fish fry from the hold, then poured them back into the sea.
One by one, small red fish, about five centimeters long, fell into the sea with a splash, then quickly scattered and swam away, beginning their life's journey of conquering the ocean.
Haha, good fortune spreads in all directions, and wealth will flow in from all directions in the future!
Jiang Xia looked at the small fish fry. The mesh of her net cage was a bit too big; fish fry of this size could really break free and escape!
After the two of them released a net full of fish fry, they stepped aside to let others release theirs.
There were too many people on the boat, and Zhou Chenglei was afraid that Jiang Xia would be bumped into, so he pulled her to the side, placed her in front of him, and put his arm around her waist to protect her. This way, she could watch everyone release the fish without being bumped into and falling into the sea.
Someone saw this and joked, "Ah Lei, are you afraid your wife will fall into the sea? Why are you holding her so tightly?"
Zhou Chenglei nodded, "Yes, she's clumsy and not a good swimmer. I don't feel at ease if I don't keep an eye on her."
Jiang Xia blushed and secretly pinched his arm. He was the clumsy one!
Zhou Chenglei let her pinch him; anyway, his flesh was firm.
Jiang Xia hadn't noticed Zhou Chenglei's arm around her; after all, he'd even help her off her bicycle, so she was used to it.
Now, with people talking about it and so many people on the boat, even she, with her thick skin, felt embarrassed and pulled his hand away.
Knowing Jiang Xia was shy, Zhou Chenglei withdrew his arm from her waist and instead held her hand.
Jiang Xia let him be and continued watching everyone release the fish.
There were quite a few people, and everyone was moving around.
Zhou Chenglei, holding Jiang Xia, used his hand to separate those who approached, and unconsciously
, he was back in her arms. He truly didn't realize it; whenever someone got close, he instinctively pulled her into his arms, protecting and holding her—it wasn't intentional, just a subconscious action.
Zhou's father, watching from the side, saw the unspoken, unconscious intimacy between the two, his eyes crinkling with a smile.
He felt that everyone on the boat had become memorial tablets, incense smoke rising, and wealth flowing in!
A bad wife brings misfortune to three generations, and vice versa!
Marrying a good wife brings blessings to three generations!
Xia Xia is definitely a good wife without a doubt!!!
An hour had passed since all five thousand fish fry were released.
Back at the village dock, it was already dark!
Zhou Chenglei invited Boss He to his home for dinner and to stay overnight.
Boss He waved his hand: "I appreciate the gesture, but next time, next time I deliver net cages to your house, I'll come and chat a bit more. I have to rush back now! I'll definitely deliver the net cages and fish fry you ordered on time."
Zhou Chenglei: "No rush, as long as they're delivered safely."
Boss He smiled, "Okay. I'll be going now!"
See, this is a man who gets things done; even a few words make one feel at ease.
Zhou Chenglei and Boss He exchanged a few polite words.
Boss He then sailed away under the cover of night; he really had something to rush back to.
After the large ship had sailed far away, Zhou Chenglei took Jiang Xia's hand and went home together.
Zhou's father had already led Zhou Chengxin far ahead, leaving the couple to walk slowly behind. Dinner was sumptuous: pan
fried yellowtail, baked yellow croaker, braised golden pomfret and mixed fish stew, steamed garlic prawns, spicy tiger prawns, and steamed blue crabs.
Having seen Jiang Xia cook before, Zhou's mother noticed her cooking was becoming increasingly sophisticated and the flavors were improving.
During dinner, Zhou's mother recounted how Zhou Li had slapped Wen Wan, leading to a fight between the aunt and niece.
Jiang Xia wasn't surprised; she could see through Zhou Li's intentions, and Wen Wan had ruined the image she had built up in the village over the years!
Besides, if the production team leaders found out she had secretly noted down someone's phone number, she might face criticism.
Even if she wasn't fired, she would likely be reassigned.
Answering the phone was such a good job—easy and conducive to Zhou Li's opportunistic nature, allowing her to cultivate relationships with the villagers and gain advantages.
Now, with such a good job potentially ruined by Wen Wan, it was no wonder she couldn't tolerate it.
After dinner and a shower, Jiang Xia combed her hair in front of the mirror in her room.
Zhou Chenglei, still damp from his shower, walked in and, as usual, picked Jiang Xia up, placing her on his lap. He pressed his face against hers and they looked in the mirror together. "Look," he said, "don't we look like a couple?"
Looking at their reflection, Zhou Chenglei agreed they did.
However, Jiang Xia's skin was much fairer than his, soft and supple. Having just showered, it appeared even more radiant and rosy, like a ripe peach, making one want to take a bite.
And then he couldn't resist…