https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-110-New-Posture-for-the-Divine-Presence/12933369/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-112-Who-Really-Started-the-Fire-/12933371/
Chapter 111: The House is on Fire
Chapter 111: The House is on Fire
As villagers came aboard to help unload the goods, Zhou Mu kept a vigilant eye and ear out, fearing someone might take advantage of the chaos and steal the silver ingot.
Spotting Tea Caihua's movements, she hurriedly called out, "A Hua, come and help separate the fish. We need to sell them, and it's getting late!"
Tea Caihua ignored Zhou Mu and walked over to the two bags of oysters, examining them. "You've harvested so many oysters today. The ones I collected yesterday were quite plump. How about today's batch?"
Zhou Mu, worried that she might uncover the silver ingot, quickly stepped forward and placed her foot on one of the burlap sacks. "Most of the plump ones were harvested yesterday. Do you want to take some home to eat?"
Tea Caihua's gaze fell on the burlap sack under Zhou Mu's foot.
The old lady's tension indicated that she had found a pearl oyster shell.
Tea Caihua knew that while they had informed her husband about finding the pearl oyster shell, they wouldn't reveal its exact location.
Yesterday, they had wasted a whole day at sea, only catching two nets of fish and harvesting a few bags of oysters, earning a mere twenty-odd yuan.
Twenty-odd yuan was a pittance, even less than the spare change Jiang Xia made.
Tea Caihua's face darkened as she replied, "No need. Yesterday, Chengxin and I harvested oysters all day. We have nothing at home except oysters. Why bother coming here? I'm busy today and haven't even cooked yet. The fish are almost sorted, and I need to head home."
With that, she left with a sullen expression, not even bothering to help with the fish.
Zhou Mu watched her eldest daughter-in-law storm off and knew that the sight of the boat filled with fish made her uncomfortable.
She likely felt that they were showing favoritism towards their younger son.
In truth, both Zhou Fu and Zhou Mu adored their grandchildren, but they did favor Zhou Chenglei and Jiang Xia a little more.
This was because they felt for their youngest son, who had risked his life and brought home a substantial sum, caring for his older brothers and even planning to support them in their old age. Yet, he had no house, no boat, and almost lost his wife.
As parents, they wanted each child to have a better life, which led to some favoritism.
The youngest son was exceptionally filial and responsible. He had always been this way, and his character ensured he didn't let anyone down. When he decided to join the military, knowing he might not return, he felt he owed his brothers. So, over the years, he took extra care of them.
While in the military, he sent most of his earnings home to support his parents.
Later, he even arranged a job for his second brother and built a new house for his eldest brother.
He had taken care of everyone in the family, except for Jiang Xia, whom he felt he had wronged.
Initially, he had given his job to his second brother after discussing it with Jiang Fu and Jiang Mu.
But when he called from the military base to ask Jiang Xia's opinion, she was at school and not home. So, he asked Jiang Fu and Jiang Mu to seek her opinion. When he called again, Zhou Mu said Jiang Xia had no objections. Little did he know that she didn't know about this and was vehemently against it, even threatening to divorce him.
Fortunately, all that was in the past, and now the couple was happily married.
Therefore, the parents tried to help the couple get their lives on track, hoping they would have a house and a boat. Although they favored their youngest son, Zhou Mu still helped with the eldest son's household chores, even though she lived with the younger son, making it challenging to treat them equally.
The father and his three sons, along with a few villagers, spent nearly twenty minutes unloading the fish from the boat.
It took almost half an hour to weigh the fish.
The three Red Gilt Fish Kings weighed a total of 306 jin, selling at 1.3 yuan per jin, earning a total of 397.8 yuan.
Two Devil Rays were less valuable as Zhou Mu had cut off their gills, selling for only 29 yuan.
The remaining Red Gilt Fish, Mackerel, and other miscellaneous fish sold for a total of 282.8 yuan.
For the last net of Barracuda, Zhou Chenglei decided not to sell them and instead brought them home to dry as fish jerky.
Fresh Barracuda sold for 0.2 yuan per catty, and after drying, they could fetch 0.8 yuan per catty.
Excluding the fish they took home, they sold a total of 709.8 yuan.
This didn't include the Red Gilt Fish that Zhou Chenglei kept, weighing 7-8 catties, four Red Gilt Fish of around 3 catties each, a Yellowfin Barracuda, two bags of oysters, a basket of small miscellaneous fish, and over 200 catties of Barracuda.
Zhou Chenglei handed a stack of One Yuan notes to Jiang Xia, then lifted the two bags of oysters onto the cart.
Zhou Fu held the silver ingot in his hand, finally feeling his heart settle.
The father and two sons moved the remaining fish cargo onto the cart.
Zhou Chenglei specifically set aside two Red Gilt Fish and a bucket of shellfish for Zhou Chengxin, asking him to take them home later for his nephews to eat.
Zhou Chengxin smiled and agreed.
The family happily headed home.
As they neared home, Jiang Xia noticed the thick smoke in the distance, her heart sinking: "Zhou Chenglei, is that smoke coming from our house?"
Everyone saw it, and their faces turned pale! Zhou Chenglei dropped the cart and dashed off: "Mom, you push the cart, I'll go check it out!"
Zhou Chengxin, Zhou Fu, and Jiang Xia all started running! Zhou Mu's face turned white, and she hurriedly pulled the cart forward, tears streaming down her face! Jiang Xia also ran with all her might.
Where would they live if their house burned down?
Not only was Zhou Chenglei's family rushing home, but other villagers also saw the thick smoke and hurriedly ran out with buckets of water.
Someone spotted Zhou Fu and asked: "What's going on? Did your house catch fire?"
Zhou Fu was extremely anxious but managed to reply: "I don't know, I just returned from fishing! Probably the kids playing with fire at home."
Zhou Chenglei was the first to reach home, and as he rushed through the door, he saw thick smoke billowing from the kitchen.
Great-Grandmother's family was busy fetching water, going in and out.
Zhou Wenguang and Zhou Zhou, the siblings, stood in the courtyard, their faces pale.
Great-Grandmother quickly reassured Zhou Chenglei: "It's okay, it's okay, we can put it out, don't panic!"
Zhou Chenglei grabbed a basin of water that Great-Grandmother had just filled and rushed in.
Zhou Yongguo emerged from the kitchen, coughing: "Cough, cough... It's fine, the fire's out. It was the firewood in the kitchen that caught fire, nothing else was burned. Cough, cough..."
Great-Grandfather also came out: "It's almost out, just a lot of smoke."
Zhou Chenglei felt grateful and said, "Thanks!"
He rushed in and poured water onto the still-smoldering pile of firewood.
Zhou Fu, Zhou Chengxin, and other villagers also arrived.
Great-Grandmother continued to fetch water and comforted them: "Don't worry, don't worry, the fire's almost out, it didn't spread!"
Only then did Jiang Xia return, and upon hearing this, she finally breathed a sigh of relief. She leaned against the doorframe, panting heavily, not daring to cause further chaos.
Following this, Zhou Fu, Zhou Chengxin, Zhou Chenglei, and the other villagers took turns carrying two more buckets of water and pouring them over the firewood until the smoke stopped, then they stopped.
It was only then that Zhou Mu returned with the cart, seeing the fire extinguished and feeling relieved, but her legs went weak. She asked, "What happened? Why did it catch fire?"
At that moment, Pan Daidi came out of the house, also looking terrified: "Yes, I don't know what happened either. It scared me. I'll go check if there's any other fire in the house!"
(End of Chapter)
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