https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-453-The-Brother-in-Law-s-Cowardice/13079737/
Chapter 454: Fearless
Chapter 454: Fearless
On the sixth day of the first lunar month, Ye Xian did not see Jiang Dong at his high school reunion.
She waited outside for an entire afternoon, until the reunion ended at nightfall, but Jiang Dong never showed up.
Not knowing any of Jiang Dong's classmates, Ye Xian approached a male classmate to inquire.
The classmate glanced at her, "I don't know. I heard he suddenly had to visit relatives and couldn't make it. Who are you? What do you need from Jiang Dong?"
Ye Xian's heart stirred, wanting to stir up trouble for Jiang Dong. She replied, "I'm his girlfriend."
Many classmates couldn't help but observe Ye Xian upon hearing this.
Of course, they were merely curious about what Jiang Dong's girlfriend looked like.
After speaking, Ye Xian turned and left.
Anyway, she didn't care whether Jiang Dong would get angry or not!
Nor did she worry that Zhang Fuyan would find out and argue with Jiang Dong.
If they broke up because of this, all the better!
What was there to fear?
Her studies were gone, her future prospects were gone, everything was gone!
What was there left to fear?
She was fearless!
Since they had pushed her to the brink, then no one should expect to have it easy!
Let's all go to the brink!
If not for the fear of getting caught, Ye Xian would have loved to borrow money from Jiang Dong's classmates under the guise of being his girlfriend, just to infuriate him!
After leaving, Ye Xian went to check on the situation at Jiang's residence.
As expected, Jiang Dong's jeep was not there, and neither were Jiang Fu and Jiang Mu's cars.
Jiang Fu and Jiang Mu were probably at work.
Jiang Dong was likely still accompanying his sister to visit relatives.
Jiang Dong was still the same; with just one call from his sister, he would eagerly rush over to be her chauffeur.
When they were dating, he always listened to his sister's every word.
It was as if Jiang Xia was just bossing him around and taking advantage of him! If not for Jiang Xia, she and Jiang Dong wouldn't have broken up.
Ye Xian made a phone call.
The person on the other end of the line also didn't know why Jiang Dong suddenly didn't attend the reunion.
The plan was disrupted.
She continued, "I'll think of a way to get someone to invite Jiang Dong out. You saw Jiang Dong yesterday, are Jiang's family and that family close relatives? Are they very close? Go back and check if Jiang Dong spent the night there."
Ye Xian: "They're not close relatives of the Jiang family, just poor relatives of Jiang Dong's brother-in-law."
Ye Xian had indeed found out about this.
The nearby villages were all part of the same production team, and everyone knew who had influential relatives, as long as they were a little gossipy.
So it was easy for Ye Xian to find out about the relatives.
The person on the other end of the call was very interested in the poor relatives and asked Ye Xian, "How poor are they? Do they have any difficulties?"
Ye Xian was speechless. Every family in the village was poor, and every family had difficulties.
But she still analyzed the reasons for their poverty.
Ye Xian loved to gossip, and she talked quite a bit.
"Their daughter is very beautiful, and many people have come to propose marriage for her, but she has rejected them all. I heard she wants to find someone with a stable job for her daughter. But her daughter just graduated from junior high, and without a job, who would consider her? People with stable jobs want to find partners with similar backgrounds and good careers!"
"You can't be too picky. For a girl, beauty is her greatest asset."
It seemed like she had found another way.
Jiang Xia's family returned home on the seventh day of the first lunar month in the afternoon.
Jiang Fu and Jiang Mu were not at home, and they were officially starting work on the eighth day. Jiang Dong was also alone at home, so he continued to stay in the fishing village to help with the work.
Although they didn't go out to sea in the first lunar month, it didn't mean there was no work to do.
The weather was not cold during the New Year, and the skies were clear. Zhou Chenglei planned to use this time to plant the wooden stakes for cultivating mussels.
In the afternoon, Zhou Chenglei rented a small stretch of beach from the production team to try out the cultivation.
The next morning, Zhou Chenglei and Jiang Dong went to the city to buy wood and also delivered the sugarcane, cassava, dried bamboo shoots, fresh bamboo shoots, taro, mushrooms, shrimp chips, dried sweet potatoes, and camellia seed oil they had obtained from his uncle and grandmother to the Jiang residence. The small storage room was filled with bags of these items.
Jiang Dong left a note and went with Zhou Chenglei to buy wood.
In the afternoon, the two of them hauled a large tractor full of wood back home.
Zhou Chengsen came out to help, asking, "Why did you buy so much wood?"
As he spoke, he joined in to help carry the wood.
Li Xiuxian, hearing this, came out of the courtyard, curious, "Why did Ah Lei buy so much wood?"
Zhou Chenglei explained, "We bought it to try cultivating mussels."
Jiang Xia stepped out as well, "Second Brother, do you want to join us? Big Brother and Great-Grandfather's family are also planning to do it. It's not too troublesome to farm these. We're just renting a stretch of beach in the mudflats near the village."
Zhou Chengsen: "I'll consider it."
He needed to see if it was truly as hassle-free as it sounded.
The last time Zhou Chenglei brought back a bucket of mussels, Li Xiuxian tried them, but she didn't particularly enjoy the strong fishy taste. She couldn't help but say, "That thing doesn't even taste good. Will there be a market for it? Will it sell well? Would people around here even like it?"
Jiang Xia: "I'm not sure about that. We'll only know once we try. We don't even know if they'll survive, we're just giving it a shot. After all, this is something foreign, and we've never tried farming it before."
Li Xiuxian: "..."
They didn't even know if they could keep them alive, but Li Xiuxian knew that Zhou Chenglei's fish farming venture hadn't been profitable; he had invested too much money.
Jiang Dong was busy with his work, and Zhou Chenglei was occupied with his own matters.
"In that case, forget it. It doesn't sound as good as going out to sea for fishing; at least the fish in the sea are free."
Jiang Xia didn't bother responding to her.
Over the next few days, Zhou Chenglei, Zhou Fu, Zhou Chengxin, Zhou Yongguo, Zhou Kangping, and Jiang Dong took advantage of low tide to go to the beach and plant wooden stakes.
Zhou Chengsen had already started work, and in the afternoon when he returned, he joined them to help out, mainly to see if it was feasible.
This stretch of beach had more algae and plankton, and with ample sunlight, it was suitable for the growth of mussels.
Every morning, the group would set out by boat to release ropes and collect mussel larvae. After returning, they would wait for low tide and then go to the beach to plant the wooden stakes, and in the evening, they would twist grass ropes.
Some villagers who noticed their activity on the beach came down to inquire, "Yongfu, what are you guys up to? Are you planning to plant stakes and set up nets to catch fish?"
Zhou Fu laughed, "A-Lei is planning to farm mussels with these stakes."
"What are mussels? I've never even heard of them."
Zhou Fu: "They're a type of shellfish from abroad, with slightly green shells, and they taste pretty good."
One of the villagers chuckled, "A-Lei is really capable. He knows how to farm fish, and now he's even farming these foreign mussels! He's so knowledgeable! No wonder you've become successful at such a young age!"
Zhou Fu: "Are any of you interested in farming them? If you want to join us, just buy some wood to make the stakes."
Upon hearing this, the villagers immediately waved their hands in refusal, "We won't do it. We don't have the skills for it."
After watching for a while, they left. But as they walked away, someone commented, "They really have more money than they know what to do with, and now they're up to some nonsense again."
"It's not like that. Didn't A-Lei make a big profit from fish farming during the Chinese New Year? He earned over a thousand yuan!"
"Nonsense! He lost money! Look at how much he spent on renting two large sea areas, building those aquaculture tanks, and buying anchors to secure them. How much did he invest, and how much did he actually make? Didn't you see Zhou Bingqiang following their lead and losing everything in fish farming? In the end, he gave up and couldn't even cover the rental costs! I bet Zhou Chenglei won't renew the lease next year! Earning just over a thousand yuan in a year sounds like a lot, but it's not even enough to cover the rent for two sea areas!"
"Fish farming is one thing; at least it's something familiar, and they can keep the fish alive. But farming these foreign mussels? I've never even heard of them. Who knows if they'll adapt to our waters when they come to our village!"
"That's uncertain. After all, not all fish in every sea area are the same. But the ocean is connected, so who knows?"
"Young people are fearless; they dare to try anything! They'll learn to be more grounded after a few hard falls!"
...
Since they were planting stakes on the beach near the village, many villagers were discussing the matter.
There were all sorts of opinions.
In fact, the fish farmed in the sea cages this year didn't earn enough to cover the rental costs.
With Zhou Chenglei's previous loss in fish farming, many people were saying that they had too much money and were now wasting it on new ventures.
Jiang Xia and Zhou Chenglei didn't mind the gossip.
They remained unaffected and focused on their work.
It took the group a total of seven days to plant two hundred wooden stakes.
Jiang Dong, with his soft and delicate hands, ended up with blisters from the hard work.
The next day was the Lantern Festival, and in the afternoon, Jiang Dong would return home to spend the festival with his parents.
Zhou Chenglei and Jiang Xia also accompanied Jiang Dong back.
After the Lantern Festival, Jiang Dong would return to Jing City.
Jiang Xia planned to have a Lantern Festival reunion dinner with Jiang Fu, Jiang Mu, and Jiang Dong the next day at noon, and then return home to celebrate with the Zhou family in the evening.
(End of Chapter)
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