Chapter 259: Distribution Based on Numbers
Chapter 259: Distribution Based on Numbers
Jiang Xia found it hard to believe what Zhou Chengxin said, as those boxes seemed well-sealed. How could anything possibly fall out?
Moreover, smaller items like rings would likely be stored in separate boxes.
However, she refrained from saying anything discouraging. What if they could indeed find something valuable?
The three of them quickly donned their diving gear, equipped with iron hooks and net bags, and went into the sea to collect sea urchins and search for treasures.
Jiang Xia dove into the sea and saw the colorful coral reef that Zhou Chenglei had mentioned.
It indeed looked just like what she had seen on TV.
With the light shining down, the seawater shimmered, creating a beautiful and awe-inspiring sight! This small patch was already so stunning; how much more breathtaking would it be if the entire seabed were like this? However, the fish near the coral reef had been scared away by the constant human presence.
When Zhou Chenglei had dived earlier in the morning, there had been many fish of various sizes swimming around the coral reef, making the scene much more beautiful.
Unfortunately, Jiang Xia hadn't seen it, so Zhou Chenglei decided to bring her down again tomorrow to show her.
Zhou Chengxin went to the cave in the middle of the coral reef to check for any fish that might have been missed.
Zhou Chenglei didn't follow; instead, he took Jiang Xia around the coral reef, admiring the view before leading her to where he had found the sea urchins earlier that morning.
Jiang Xia was amazed to see so many sea urchins!
Had Wen Wan and the others not seen them? But this spot was a bit far from the coral reef, so it was normal for them not to have noticed.
Fortunately, they hadn't seen them!
Zhou Chenglei knew that Jiang Xia didn't know how to collect sea urchins, so he demonstrated first.
Jiang Xia watched as Zhou Chenglei held the net bag with his left hand and the iron hook with his right, quickly scooping one sea urchin after another into the net bag with swift movements.
Jiang Xia understood immediately and imitated his actions.
Initially, Jiang Xia's movements weren't as quick as Zhou Chenglei's, but after a few minutes, she became more proficient, and her speed increased.
After another ten minutes or so, Zhou Chenglei and Jiang Xia had almost filled one net bag each with sea urchins, and finally, Zhou Chengxin swam over.
He spread his hands, indicating he hadn't found anything.
This wasn't surprising to Zhou Chenglei and Jiang Xia; after so many people had searched, it would be strange if anything had been left behind.
Knowing there were many sea urchins, they had brought along an extra net bag or two.
Once one net bag was full, Zhou Chenglei took it from Jiang Xia, and she switched to another net bag to continue collecting.
They continued until both Jiang Xia and Zhou Chenglei had filled two net bags each, and the sea urchins were almost all collected. The remaining ones could be left for Zhou Chengxin to gather, as he still had one net bag that wasn't full.
Zhou Chenglei took the full net bag from Zhou Chengxin as well, and then he led Jiang Xia back to the surface with the five net bags.
Zhou Chenglei first hung the five net bags of sea urchins on the ship's side, then climbed aboard and helped Jiang Xia up.
After that, he pulled the five net bags of sea urchins onto the ship.
Jiang Xia removed her diving gear, took out her watch, and checked the time; it was already past five o'clock.
Zhou Chenglei took off his diving gear, grabbed the water bottle, unscrewed the cap, and handed it to Jiang Xia.
Jiang Xia took a few sips and returned the bottle to Zhou Chenglei.
After the couple finished drinking, they emptied the sea urchins from the net bags into the basket, and by then, Zhou Chengxin had also returned to the ship.
Zhou Chenglei started the ship and headed towards the net cages. After feeding the fish, they returned directly.
By the time they reached the village's pier, it was already past seven o'clock, and Jiang Xia spotted a large ship from afar.
She laughed and said, "Dad's back!"
Zhou Chenglei saw it too and replied, "Yeah."
Zhou Chengxin smiled, "I didn't expect Dad to return so early; I thought he'd be back in a couple of days!"
Zhou Chenglei said, "There's probably a typhoon coming."
Autumn typhoons were quite active.
Soon, the fishing boat found a spot to dock.
By this time, it was dark, and many fishing boats had already docked. There weren't many people left on the pier, except for a few at the purchasing point, queuing to sell their fish.
Zhou Fu, Zhou Mu, Tian Caifa, and Tian Caixing were all waiting at the pier, and when they saw the fishing boat docking, they rushed over.
Zhou Chengxin's father laughed and said, "So late, did you catch a lot of fish today?"
Although Zhou's father only saw three baskets of sea urchins, he couldn't believe that Wang Cai had gone out to sea and only brought back a few baskets of sea urchins!
He estimated that the big fish had been sold at the market pier.
However, with so many sea urchins, they could still fetch over a hundred yuan.
Jiang Xia smiled and replied, "Not bad. When did you get back, Dad?"
Zhou's father chuckled, "I returned around 3 pm."
If Wang Cai said it was "not bad," then today's earnings must have exceeded a thousand!
Tian Caixing had never seen sea urchins before and didn't know what these spiky little creatures were. He boasted, "Coming back so late, and you only brought back a few baskets of these things? Who would want these spiky creatures? Did you even cover the fuel costs today? It's better to go out with me! We can catch a whole boatload of fish every day!"
Tian Caifa kicked him and whispered, "These are sea urchins! They're more expensive than many fish. One basket is worth more than your whole boat of fish!"
What's the use of catching a whole boatload of fish? It's only worth these few baskets of sea urchins!
Tian Caixing's eyes widened in disbelief, "What? These spiky creatures don't look like they have much meat, yet they're more expensive than fish?"
Tian Caifa thought her brother was so embarrassing!
How could he not even recognize sea urchins?
Do people eat sea urchin meat? Sea urchins are prized for their roe!
Although Tian Caifa didn't like eating sea urchins either, she couldn't understand why they were so valuable.
Zhou Chengxin was surprised that Tian Caixing hadn't left yet. Ignoring his words, he carried a load of sea urchins towards the purchasing area.
Tian Caixing immediately followed, eager to see how much money these spiky creatures could fetch.
Zhou Chenglei helped Jiang Xia off the boat and returned to the boat, pointing to the black seabream she had caught, half a bucket of small squid, and a half-full net bag of sea urchins. He said to his father, "Dad, these are for us to eat at home."
Zhou's father laughed and said, "Good, I'll ask your mother to cook them tonight."
Coincidentally, he had also brought back some fish from the far sea, so he invited his eldest son's family to eat at home.
Zhou Chenglei picked up the remaining basket of sea urchins and headed towards the purchasing area.
Zhou's mother smiled at Jiang Xia and said, "Xia, your father-in-law called today and asked you to give him a call when you're free. He left a message saying that he wants you and A-Lei to come home for a meal when you're free."
Jiang Xia acknowledged, but since the production team was already closed, she could only call Jiang Fu tomorrow.
Zhou's father unloaded the fish and called out to his wife to go home and cook it. Jiang Xia followed them, not waiting for Zhou Chenglei and the others; it was too late, and she was both tired and hungry.
Since there weren't many people selling fish, Zhou Chenglei and Zhou Chengxin quickly sold the three baskets of sea urchins.
In total, they made one hundred and twenty-eight yuan, six jiao, and eight fen.
Tian Caixing deeply regretted not going out to sea today!
If he had gone, he would have received over forty yuan, divided among the three families!
The money from the previous fish sales had already been divided, and Zhou Chengxin counted out eighty-six yuan to give to Zhou Chenglei.
Tian Caixing couldn't help but speak up when he saw the amount, "A-Xin, you've made a mistake! Isn't it supposed to be divided between two families? Each family should get sixty-four yuan. You counted eighty-six yuan! You've miscalculated!"
Zhou Chengxin calmly replied, "No, it's divided among three people. The sea urchins were collected by the three of us together."
Tian Caixing frowned upon hearing this. How many sea urchins could Jiang Xia, a woman, possibly gather from the sea?
With so many spikes, would she even dare to pick them up?
Was Zhou Chengxin trying to help his younger brother, or was he intentionally giving more money to Zhou Chenglei to secretly stash away some personal savings?
This wasn't right. He had to tell Ah Hua about this! Even if Zhou Chengxin wasn't trying to hide money, his actions were still inappropriate.
They had agreed that the two families would split the earnings equally. Why was it now being divided by the number of people?
If they were dividing by the number of people, why didn't they invite him and Ah Hua to join the trip today? That way, they could have divided even more money!
In the future, if they were going to divide the money by the number of people, they should have invited the Guangzongyaozu brothers and their brothers-in-law to join the fishing trip. That way, they could see who got the bigger share!
(End of Chapter)
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