Chapter 371: Desire for a Son
Chapter 371: Desire for a Son
After dinner, Zhou Chenglei and Zhou Chensen processed over twenty mullets, extracting their fish roe.
The mullet roe was golden, shaped like two connected eggplants.
Drying black caviar was more troublesome; after removing the roe, the blood vessels had to be scraped off. If the blood vessels were not cleaned thoroughly, the dried caviar would have black spots, affecting its appearance.
Once the roe was cleaned, it was coated with a thick layer of salt for brining. Then, it was pressed with a wooden board overnight to remove excess moisture. The next day, the surface salt would be rinsed off, and the roe could be sun-dried.
Zhou Mu was inside, mending fishing nets.
Jiang Xia was teaching English to Zhou Ying and Zhou Zhou.
Jiang Xia noticed Zhou Zhou's excellent language sense and memory, which was why she included her in the lessons.
Jiang Xia started from scratch, teaching once a week, and was still in the early stages of introducing English. There was no rush; cultivating interest was the most important.
Li Xiuxian was washing her daughter's and her own clothes in the courtyard. She glanced at Zhou Chensen, wondering why he wasn't helping with the laundry and only knew how to work for others.
Jiang Xia's clothes were always washed by Zhou Chenglei.
Zhou Chensen said to Zhou Chenglei, "If my father-in-law and my brother-in-law don't arrive by 6:30 tomorrow morning, you and Big Brother don't need to wait for them. Just go out to sea!"
Zhou Chenglei replied, "Mhm."
Li Xiuxian said, "My father and brother are still unfamiliar with the sea area!"
Zhou Chensen assured her, "I've already reminded them to come early, so they won't be late."
Li Xiuxian was skeptical.
Would they not be late if he had reminded them? Did he think she hadn't reminded them?
"They weren't very late today either; they arrived at 7:30. Fourth Brother, why don't we change the departure time to 7:30 tomorrow?"
Zhou Chensen replied, "No need. I've already told them that if they're late again tomorrow and can't make it by 6:30, they don't need to come. It's indeed challenging to wake up so early during winter. Next week, when I'm on vacation, I'll take them out to sea again to familiarize themselves with the area. They agreed."
Li Xiuxian was speechless.
So he was going to take them out to sea next week when he was on vacation?
Why buy a boat then?
Where would they keep it?
Li Xiuxian was truly exasperated with Zhou Chensen!
Not only did Zhou Chenglei go fishing every day to earn money, but he also translated at night to earn more.
Zhou Chengxin also went out to sea every day at 4:00 a.m.
These two brothers were so driven and hardworking! Why was Zhou Chensen so unmotivated?
Li Xiuxian glanced inside the house, where Zhou Ying was learning English with Jiang Xia.
Was it because she hadn't given birth to a son and only had Zhou Ying, that he lacked ambition?
After all, in the future, she only needed to provide a dowry for her daughter.
The couple would have pensions and wouldn't have to worry about their old age.
If they had a son, they would also have to consider buying a house and arranging his marriage. It was a situation where they couldn't afford to be unmotivated.
Li Xiuxian wanted to have another son.
Li Xiuxian looked at Jiang Xia.
Secretly having another child wasn't impossible. If she got pregnant now, the child would be around the same age as Jiang Xia's.
After a few months of raising children of the same age, it would be hard to tell them apart.
At that time, she could register the child under Zhou Chenglei's household.
After all, Jiang Xia was also expecting multiple births. She could say they were quadruplets if needed.
Li Xiuxian thought it was a great idea!
Not having a son was truly unacceptable.
Tian Caixia had four sons.
If Jiang Xia had three daughters, it would be fine, as they would eventually marry into other families.
But if Jiang Xia also had three sons, and one of their sons became successful, they wouldn't have to worry for the rest of their lives.
Especially Jiang Xia, with such a capable family, she was afraid that she would be wealthy for life.
Li Xiuxian thought about this and suddenly wanted to have a child!
That night, Li Xiuxian told Zhou Chensen about her desire to have a son.
Zhou Chensen: "What's wrong with you? Are you having a mental breakdown?"
With such antics every day, it's never the same!
Does she plan to quit her job now? Does she really want to make a living by fishing? She can give up her job at the school.
But if she has another child, his job won't be secure!
Didn't she earn much today? After deducting fuel costs and wages, she only made three jin.
Why is she receiving such a big shock?
Moreover, fishing at sea is like living at the mercy of the weather. It's normal to fish for three days and dry the nets for two.
Who can guarantee they can go out to sea every day?
Who can guarantee they'll make money when they go out to sea? Li Xiuxian expressed her thoughts.
Zhou Chensen laughed in anger: "Register the baby under Alei's household? Why not register under my parents' household and be my brother?"
Li Xiuxian: "..."
Li Xiuxian was so angry that it took her half a day to calm down!
"I'm serious with you. Didn't Xia want to register Zhou Zhou's household under their family? It's just registering a household, not asking them to raise our child. Others do this too."
"If I don't have a child, you can find someone else to have one!" Zhou Chensen had just dozed off and was woken up by the noise. He turned over and continued sleeping.
Li Xiuxian: "..."
What kind of person is this? Saying such things!
She wanted to have a son, but was it only for herself?
The next day, Li Fu and Li Qingmin were late again.
Zhou Chenglei arrived at 6:30 a.m. and immediately set sail.
Being late was one of the things he hated the most.
Jiang Xia, being pregnant, could still wake up on time despite her sleepiness. Were these two grown men pregnant with decuplets that they couldn't get up?
Li Fu and Li Qingmin arrived just at 7 a.m., which was an improvement from yesterday.
Li Fu and Li Qingmin searched around but couldn't find the fishing boat of Zhou's two brothers.
Li Qingmin: "These two brothers of Ah Sen are a bit too cold-hearted. They couldn't even wait for a moment."
Li Fu: "We can't blame others. Let's go earlier tomorrow!"
Zhou Chensen and his wife happened to pass by the dock on their way to work in town and saw the father and son.
Zhou Chensen: "Dad, you don't need to go out to sea these days. Wait till Sunday when I return, then we'll go."
Li Fu: "No need, we'll definitely go earlier tomorrow."
Zhou Chensen: "Really no need. My brother and my younger brother won't go out to sea tomorrow. Usually, they go out at 4:30 a.m. You don't need to go so early."
These past few days, he had promised to take Li's father and son out, which was why they were so late. Usually, his family members went out to sea at 4:30 a.m.
Before dawn was when most fish came out to feed.
There were also many fish during sunset.
Many fish were nocturnal.
So, fishing at night actually yielded more catches.
Many fishermen in their village went out to sea at night and slept at home during the day because they could use light baiting at night.
Li Fu and Li Qingmin wanted to go out on their own boat, but Zhou Chensen didn't agree.
On the way to work, Li Xiuxian said: "Why don't we hire someone in the village to go out to sea with my dad?"
It's not a problem to leave the boat there! She bought the boat to make money, not to have it as a decoration.
"Okay. Who do you want to hire?"
"How about Great-Grandfather? Isn't he already helping the fourth brother build his house?"
"That's fine. We'll ask him later." Great-Grandfather was reliable.
"Then let's go back to the village tonight and ask Great-Grandfather."
(End of Chapter)
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