Chapter 131: The Heart-Wrenching Feeling
Chapter 131: The Heart-Wrenching Feeling
Since Zhou Chengxin was also going out to sea, and Tea Caihua brought a piece of cured meat in the evening to help with the cooking, Zhou Mu decided to cook for her eldest son's family as well.
So, in the evening, the two families had dinner together at the old residence. After dinner, the entire family started to process the abalone.
It was then that Tea Caihua realized that the tarp bag contained abalone, not the oysters that Jiang Xia had mentioned! She stared at the abalone, each one larger than her palm.
Such large abalone, each worth a considerable amount of money, and with ten whole bags of them, how much could they sell for?
If they dried and sold them, each one could fetch at least five yuan, right? And the price would be even higher by the end of the year! Even if not all of them were this large, some were smaller, and once dried, a pound could still sell for ten to twenty yuan, couldn't it?
Tea Caihua couldn't help but quietly ask Zhou Chengxin, who was seriously processing the abalone beside her, "Will the money from selling these abalone be divided later?"
Zhou Chengxin's face turned dark immediately, "No, these abalone were discovered by Alei. I just went to help him catch them. Does that mean I can't even help my brother with some work?"
Tea Caihua: "..."
What did it mean for one's heart to be dripping blood?
Perhaps this was it!
Tea Caihua moved her lips, wanting to say something, but seeing Zhou Chengxin's dark expression, she ultimately decided to remain silent.
Forget it!
She had brought the meat over to cook dinner today with the intention of reconciling with Zhou Chengxin.
Though she didn't say anything, her heart was in turmoil.
If she had known that not cooking dinner that day would lead to this outcome, she would have definitely come over to prepare the meal! How could she have known that the old residence would almost burn down?
After being ignored by Zhou Chengxin for a few days, she had returned to her parents' home early that morning. Her mother said that Zhou Chengxin was upset because Tea Caihua was too calculative.
Her mother mentioned that they had been given the new house, and the elders didn't need to be supported by them. After such a big favor, she was still not satisfied.
Moreover, Zhou Chengxin earned thirty to forty yuan each time he went out to sea, equivalent to a month's salary for others in a single day. He could earn several hundred yuan a month, and yet she still complained about the money being insufficient. She was unhappy seeing her brother-in-law's family earning more, and she also resented her in-laws, who had helped raise her children, for being biased.
Who wouldn't feel cold-hearted in such a situation?
When one's heart turns cold, it becomes difficult to warm it up again. Her mother advised her to be more generous, as the elder sister-in-law should respect the elders and love the younger ones.
Tea Caihua also knew that fishing at sea depended on individual luck, and her in-laws had always treated her well. But with such a significant difference, she couldn't help but feel unbalanced.
Forget it, forget it. Otherwise, Zhou Chengxin would get angry again, and it would never end! Indeed, Zhou Chengxin was angry.
Tea Caihua was truly stubborn. Seeing her fourth brother-in-law catch so many abalone, she felt unbalanced again.
She thought that since he went out to sea with them, he should get a share.
But he joined them at sea because he saw her discontent, so he decided to help his younger brother, not for a share of the money!
Besides, it was Alei's good sea luck that led to the discovery of the abalone nest; it had nothing to do with him.
Zhou Chengxin was furious, and from then on, he ignored whatever Tea Caihua said.
Tea Caihua was so frustrated. She had only asked a question and hadn't demanded a share of the abalone money, yet he gave her a cold look.
Jiang Xia naturally noticed the cold war between Zhou Chengxin and Tea Caihua, but as it was a matter between husband and wife, she didn't want to interfere, so she pretended not to see it.
Jiang Xia turned to Zhou Chenglei and said, "Let's pick out the largest abalone and set them aside. We won't sell them but keep them for a few more years. They'll become heart abalone and be even more valuable."
Thinking of heart abalone, Jiang Xia also craved it!
Zhou Chenglei noticed her longing and smiled, "Okay."
Since she liked them, they would keep the largest ones for her to satisfy her cravings. Such large abalone were a rare find, and there were many ways to make money.
Jiang Xia continued, "Tomorrow, I won't go out to sea. I'll stay home with Mom, and help with drying the abalone."
With so many abalone, they needed to be cleaned, soaked, and hung to dry on cotton ropes the next day, and Zhou Mu might not be able to manage it all alone.
"Okay," Zhou Mu agreed.
At that moment, Zhou Mu remembered the day's broadcast, "The radio mentioned a typhoon approaching in a couple of days, advising everyone not to go out to sea."
Zhou Chengxin said, "It's been so hot these past few days, I figured there'd be a typhoon."
Zhou Fu frowned, "Another typhoon, who knows how many days it'll delay this time."
Jiang Xia frowned. With the typhoon, it would rain for several days, and she was worried about the abalone drying. After all, these abalone were so large and thick-fleshed, making them difficult to dry, and if they spoiled, it would be a huge loss!
Tian Caihua agreed, "That's right!"
Her family hadn't gone out to sea for many days already!
"There's no other way," Zhou Mu smiled and said, "I went to consult the calendar today, and it said we can start construction on the eighth day of the eighth lunar month."
Jiang Xia thought for a moment and then smiled, "That's great, it's less than half a month away."
Zhou Fu laughed, "If the typhoon comes, and we can't go out to sea, we can go order some bricks and get prepared."
Tian Caihua anxiously asked, "What date? Why order bricks? Are you building a new house?"
Could they be building a new house already? It's been less than two months since the division. How could they have enough money to build a new house?
Zhou Fu smiled and replied, "Yes, Alei and the others are planning to build a new house."
Tian Caihua's heart couldn't help but sour again. How could they have enough money to build a new house so soon?
"Fourth Brother, how big of a house are you planning to build?"
Zhou Chenglei said, "Two and a half stories."
The first floor would be for his parents and Zhou Zhou, and the second floor would be for him and Jiang Xia, with stairs to climb. This way, it would be more convenient for everyone.
Tian Caihua was speechless.
Two and a half stories? The new house only had one story!
"Building a house now is much more expensive than a few years ago, right? Building two and a half stories would probably cost over ten thousand yuan, right?"
Do they have that much money?
How much did the in-laws subsidize them for the new house? Every time it was Zhou Fu's turn to go out to sea and fish, the money he earned probably all went to the old fourth and his wife.
Zhou Chengxin couldn't help but give Tian Caihua a cold look.
Tian Caihua fell silent.
Forget it, she wouldn't ask anymore.
Seeing that Tian Caihua had stopped talking, Zhou Chengxin smiled and said, "We'll start construction in August, and we should be able to move in by the New Year."
Zhou Mu smiled, "I was thinking the same."
...
The entire family finished processing ten tarp bags of abalone in just one hour. They placed the abalone in ceramic jars, salted them, and waited until the next morning to continue cleaning off the black residue and mucus. Then, they would further process the abalone.
Drying abalone was a tedious process, and doing it well was even more challenging.
However, Jiang Xia wasn't afraid of the tedious work; she was only worried about drying the abalone improperly. She just hoped there wouldn't be any mishaps!
After finishing all the tasks, Tian Caihua and Zhou Chengxin finally headed home together.
On the way, Tian Caihua took the initiative to start a conversation, "Tomorrow morning, I'll come over again to help Mom dry the abalone. Are you going out to sea tomorrow?"
Zhou Chengxin replied nonchalantly, "Yes."
There were still many abalone in that cavern, and he needed to help catch them quickly. Otherwise, if others discovered them, it would be a loss for them and a gain for outsiders.
Moreover, diving into the seabed was always dangerous, and having more people would be safer.
Tian Caihua breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, he responded to her question. She said, "Okay, tomorrow I'll wake up early to prepare breakfast. I made sticky rice balls today, so tomorrow, bring some extra on the boat for Dad and Fourth Brother to try."
"Mhm."
That night, it was already eleven o'clock when Jiang Xia and Zhou Chenglei went to sleep.
Zhou Chenglei didn't want to tire Jiang Xia, so he didn't ask her to join him.
The next day, Zhou Chenglei still went out to sea at four in the morning. Jiang Xia also woke up and helped Zhou Mu clean the abalone, rinsed them, and then used cotton ropes to carefully thread and hang them to dry.
Tian Caihua arrived at seven o'clock with a few children to help.
They worked until noon before finishing drying all the abalone.
However, in the afternoon, a strong wind blew, and by the evening, the wind grew even stronger. Jiang Xia went to the wharf to wait for the fishing boat to return. The waves crashed against the wharf, and the spray rose as high as half the sky! If the waves were this big here, they would be even bigger out at sea! Her heart was filled with unease.
(End of Chapter)
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