Chapter 26: Two Thick Stacks of Money
Chapter 26: Two Thick Stacks of Money
"Mom, come over here for a moment." Zhou Chenglei had just docked the boat and called out to his mother.
"What for?" Zhou Mother was in a bad mood and responded curtly. She was about to walk over when Jiang Xia, who was carrying a bucket to pick some shrimp, blocked her path. Irritated, she snapped, "Move aside!"
What was she standing there like a wooden post for? Claiming to be educated, but not a bit sharp!
Jiang Xia didn't argue. Soon enough, Zhou Mother would be the one feeling embarrassed.
Zhou Mother walked over to Zhou Chenglei, her tone even more impatient. "What is it?"
Zhou Chenglei pulled a thick stack of money from his pocket and handed it to her. "Mom, take this. Don't drop it."
Tian Caihua's eyes went wide at the sight of the thick stack. "Where did you get all this money?"
It couldn't be the old folks' secret stash, could it?
Zhou Chenglei replied calmly, "The money from selling fish today."
Zhou Father, who had just tied up the boat, also returned and handed over another thick stack of money. "I have some more here. Take it and give it to Ailei when you get back. Don't lose it. I'll unload the cargo."
Tian Caihua's eyes nearly popped out. "This is also from selling fish today?"
How could they have made so much?
Zhou Mother, holding two thick stacks of money, her hands trembling, asked, "This is from today's fish sales? This much?"
What kind of fish did they catch today? Goldfish?
Zhou Father said, "If it's not from today's fish sales, where else would it come from? We went straight to the city dock to sell the fish before coming back, so there's not much left on the boat."
He glanced at Tian Caihua. "Superstitions are nonsense. I've taken your mother out to sea before, and nothing bad ever happened."
This eldest daughter-in-law is hardworking, just a bit too petty.
Zhou Mother quickly chimed in, "Yes, your father used to sneak me out to sea."
Tian Caihua gave an awkward smile. "Oh, so you went to the city dock to sell the fish. Dad, you should have said so earlier. Yes, superstitions are nonsense. Hehe."
The villagers watched the two thick stacks of money, their eyes wide, trying to estimate how much it was.
"Yongfu, what kind of fish did you sell to make so much money?"
"Must have hit a fish school! And not just any fish school. It's like catching what the big boats get in the deep sea!"
Zhou Father looked at Zhou Bingqiang and the others and smiled. "We did hit a few fish schools, so we went straight to the city dock to sell and came back. If we hadn't returned early, we could have made another two hundred or so. I regret not listening to my daughter-in-law and pulling one more net. She has such good luck at sea, doesn't she?"
He glanced at Zhou Bingqiang again. Ha, little brat, taking a woman out to sea brings bad luck? I made two thousand today!
Zhou Bingqiang: "..."
"One net can make two hundred? What kind of fish did you catch? What fish can sell for so much? That's two or three thousand, right?"
Zhou Father chuckled. "Not quite two or three thousand, but about two thousand! We came back too early, around four in the afternoon. If I had listened to my daughter-in-law and pulled one more net, we would have made two thousand for sure."
About two thousand!!! Some people drew in a sharp breath.
Their savings weren't even two thousand!
Zhou Bingqiang didn't believe it. "Bragging! The big boats out at sea don't make as much as you. Did you strike gold or something?"
Zhou Father glanced at him. "Do I need to brag? Go to the city dock tomorrow and ask if anyone sold a few hundred pounds of flounder and yellow croaker today. Then you'll know if I'm bragging!"
"What? You caught a flounder and yellow croaker school?"
Zhou Bingqiang still didn't believe it. "Impossible! Flounder schools are rare around here. I've fished all my life and only seen someone catch one once."
"You even encountered a school of yellow croakers and a school of red sea breams at the same time? Are you telling me the ocean is your personal fish pond, and you can catch whatever you want? Stop blowing smoke!"
Just then, a boat pulled up nearby, and a voice shouted, "Zhou Yongfu, I knew those red sea breams and yellow croakers at the market were yours! The news at the city dock is that you caught a whole shipload of red sea breams and yellow croakers, and even a school of mackerel! They say you made a fortune of several thousand! What kind of incredible luck do you have?"
Today, he had encountered a school of mackerel and caught over a thousand pounds of them, so he had also gone to the city dock.
He thought his luck was already pretty good, but he never imagined someone could encounter schools of yellow croakers, red sea breams, and mackerel all at once!
Encountering a school of fish once was already a stroke of luck.
Encountering three schools in a single day? That was like receiving a blessing from the god of wealth!
The villagers were stunned. "What do you mean you encountered a school of red sea breams, yellow croakers, and mackerel? Really?"
"Made several thousand? Zhou Yongfu, that old grump, said he only made less than two thousand! I knew he was lying! That thick stack of money! It’s definitely more than two thousand!"
Zhou Bingqiang: "..."
He actually encountered schools of red sea breams and yellow croakers?
What are the odds? This must be once in a century! How can he not be flying high?
Zhou’s father looked smug. "Haha... you say I have incredible luck, but I don’t have that kind of luck! Today, it was all thanks to my young daughter-in-law. As soon as we set out, she heard the yellow croakers calling. I recognized the sound from her description—'gugu'—that’s the call of yellow croakers! I immediately sped up the boat, and when we got close, the sea was shimmering with gold. I was so excited, I almost had a heart attack..."
"Right after we finished catching the yellow croakers, I told Ah Lei to cast the net, and my daughter-in-law called out again, saying there was a red patch in the distance that might be a school of fish. I sped up again, and when we got there, the sea was filled with red sea breams, all glowing red. Ha, I knew good days were coming! I wished I had ten hands to work with..."
Zhou’s father then looked at Zhou Bingqiang and the others and added, "Thankfully, we didn’t listen to you and left Xia Xia at home. Otherwise, we would have missed the yellow croakers and red sea breams, and I wouldn’t have made this two thousand yuan!"
Zhou Bingqiang and the others: "..."
Zhou Bingqiang was irritated by his father’s smugness. He forced a smile and said, "May you have such good luck every day, for the rest of your life, and may your days always be prosperous!"
He didn’t believe he’d have such luck again!
Zhou’s father replied, "Thanks, I hope so! I also wish you the same good luck every day, for the rest of your life!"
Zhou Bingqiang was so angry he turned and walked away.
He had thought making two hundred yuan today was good luck, but compared to Zhou Yongfu’s two thousand, it didn’t feel like much.
Tian Caihua looked at Jiang Xia with mixed feelings.
She had earned so much money on her second day out at sea after the family split.
Did that two thousand yuan include her share?
She should have delayed the split by a day.
(End of Chapter)
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