Chapter 495: Don't
Chapter 495: Don't
Zhou Fu handed the luggage bag to Zhou Chenglei, "This is the money for this sea voyage."
Zhou Chenglei took it.
Zhou Fu raised a finger and laughed, "This time, we finally broke the ten-mark."
After deducting labor and costs, it barely broke the ten-mark and even had an extra eight hundred.
No wonder he had taken so many photos of Wang Wang to attract wealth! For this voyage, he had taken several photos of Wang Cai, a wealthy-looking dog, and plastered them all over the ship's east, south, west, and north sides.
Attracting wealth with wealth!
Big or small, mini or giant, all kinds of wealth were invited in!
Jiang Xia smiled, "It seems Dad's sea voyage this year is going well, but the first net didn't bring in a huge fortune."
Zhou Fu excitedly said, "It's the spring flood season, so we caught more. And it's not because I'm lucky, it's because you two are lucky and know more."
One attracts wealth and the other is familiar with the sea and the fishing grounds.
They knew exactly when and where to go for the best fishing spots.
Before their departure, the younger son had suggested that they didn't need to go so far this time; they could just head north to the neighboring province's coastal areas.
There was a sea area there where the spring flood for shrimp occurred from March to April.
Shrimp had always been a relatively expensive catch, and this time, they earned over thirty thousand yuan just from shrimp alone.
Additionally, during spring, many fish would form fishing floods in specific sea areas.
Following the route provided by Zhou Chenglei, Zhou Fu sailed and dragged the net along the way.
At first, they dragged the net during the day and used lights at night to lure squid.
However, Zhou Fu didn't just use a few light bulbs like Zhou Chenglei; he hung light bulbs all around the large ship.
He first attracted the squid with bright lights, gradually dimming them until only one or two were left, luring the squid to gather by the ship, and then he raised the net.
This method caught many more squid than Zhou Chenglei's small boat.
Selling the squid also brought in over thirty thousand yuan.
Shrimp and squid were both valuable catches.
Later, they reached another sea area with no small tube squid, so they dragged the net during the day and used lights at night to surround and catch balang fish.
On this voyage, Zhou Fu felt like his fishing boat was surrounded by fish.
The fish finder showed fish everywhere, in all directions! Schools of fish surrounded them from all sides.
He wished he could split the fishing boat into eight or ten smaller boats and sail off in all directions! In the end, they could only choose the largest and closest schools of fish to pursue, abandoning the others or those further away.
Of course, saying there were fish in all directions was a bit of an exaggeration, but there were indeed many fish.
Zhou Chenglei took the luggage bag, opened it, and revealed stacks of large bills. He planned to give his father two thousand yuan.
Zhou Fu waved his hand, "No need, no need to give it to me! I've already taken my share! I took eight hundred yuan, and the rest is yours. Keep it for the remaining payment for the ship or to install those net cages."
Zhou Fu had indeed taken his share, eight hundred yuan.
During the Chinese New Year, the couple had given him and his wife ten thousand yuan, which was more than they could spend. Now, the elderly couple felt they had more money than they could ever use in their lifetime.
Jiang Xia said, "Dad, don't worry. We've prepared the money for the net cages long ago, and we also have enough for the remaining payment for the ship. Take it! We earned this money by going out to sea on a large ship with you. How can you not take the money after working so hard?"
"I've already taken my share, and the rest is yours! Take it and buy a few more ships! I saw others using two fishing boats to surround and catch bluefin tuna, which is a valuable fish. They earn more in one net than we do in a month!"
That ship was also large, and Zhou Fu envied it immensely!
He only hoped that his son would also be able to afford two such large fishing boats in the future.
Let him feel the wind beneath his wings too! Jiang Xia guessed that Zhou Fu was talking about bluefin tuna surround-net fishing boats.
"I'm going to sleep. You two should get some rest too," Zhou Fu pushed away the large bundle of money Zhou Chenglei handed him and left.
Zhou Fu was genuinely exhausted after almost twenty days at sea, feeling like a worn-out dog.
Despite the fatigue, he didn't want to return home, especially with the Qingming Festival approaching.
Not only did he not want to return, but the others also didn't want to come back at this time.
Such an abundance of fish was a rare sight, and they all wished they could live in the sea forever.
Every day, watching as huge bags of fish were unloaded onto the deck, the feeling was simply incredible.
Even when the weather was bad, with strong winds and rain, the chilling sea breeze and icy rain stinging their faces, it couldn't dampen the crew's enthusiasm for dragging and hauling the nets and sorting the fish.
But money and fish were endless, and Zhou Fu had promised his family he would return home for Qingming, but suddenly changed his mind. Worried that his family would be concerned, and with no way to contact them from the sea, he decided to return.
Jiang Xia, seeing that Zhou Fu wasn't taking any money, spoke to Zhou Chenglei: "Just save the money for Dad. You can buy him something later. Or save up more, and when there's a house or shop for sale in town, buy one for him and Mom. When they're old and can't work anymore, they can collect rent."
Jiang Xia imagined Zhou Fu, in the future, with a bunch of keys hanging from his belt, going around collecting rent every day. It seemed like a pretty good life.
"Okay," Zhou Fu agreed.
After Zhou Fu went downstairs, Li Xiuxian came out. Seeing him empty-handed, she was shocked. "Did Jiang Xia and her husband really not give any money to Dad?" This was too much! She deliberately asked, "Dad, why are you still up so late?"
Zhou Fu smiled and said, "Yes, I went up to check on Zhou Zhou and Yingying: I've already checked on them. They didn't kick off their blankets. You don't need to go up; go to bed early!"
Zhou Fu had indeed gone up to the third floor to check on them.
Li Xiuxian smiled and said, "Okay."
She knew he was just making an excuse to give money to his youngest son, Zhou Zhou, and Yingying.
At this moment, Zhou Mu entered, carrying a thermos and a bowl of abalone, lean pork, and yam porridge.
Li Xiuxian looked at the porridge, which had meat, shrimp, abalone, and yam. The aroma was enticing, and it looked delicious. She asked, "Mom, is there supper?"
Zhou Mu replied, "There's some yam porridge on the stove. If you're hungry, go and have some. I thought you were asleep, so I didn't make much of the abalone and lean pork porridge. The shrimp is from tonight's leftovers. To avoid waste, I peeled them and added them to the porridge."
Zhou Mu had made a large pot of yam porridge and also prepared the porridge for the next morning's breakfast.
Tomorrow, she would add some abalone and lean pork to the porridge and simmer it for a while, making it sweet and fragrant.
If she added the meat and abalone in the evening, soaking them overnight, the meat would become dry and the abalone would break apart, making it less tasty.
Jiang Xia's porridge was made by taking some of the prepared porridge, adding lean pork and abalone to it, and cooking it in a clay pot.
Zhou Mu continued, "Xia's belly is big, pressing on her stomach. She doesn't eat much at each meal, so I made her some porridge. I want her to have some before bed and some in the middle of the night. Otherwise, if she eats alone while the others are supplementing, I worry the baby won't get enough nutrition and will be born too small."
Babies born too small are difficult to raise.
Zhou Mu had given birth to seven children, so she knew this well.
She added, "Usually, Chenglei prepares food for Xia. Today, he was busy moving the dried fish all afternoon, so I made something for her."
Fortunately, when the other daughters-in-law were pregnant, Zhou Mu had always given them the best food and spared them from household chores.
Now, the youngest daughter-in-law was well-fed, and it was thanks to their own hard work. Although Zhou Mu felt a little guilty, she had a clear conscience.
Indeed, Jiang Xia was more considerate than the other two daughters-in-law.
Zhou Fu said, "I'm not hungry. There was so much food for dinner, and I ate too much. My stomach is still full. Only Xia ate the least, so you should give it to her!"
After saying this, Zhou Fu returned to his room.
Li Xiuxian forced a smile and said, "I'm not hungry either."
Zhou Fu had said that only Jiang Xia ate the least, as if she had eaten the most! How could she bring herself to eat now? Li Xiuxian also returned to her room.
Back in her room, looking at Zhou Chengsen sleeping soundly, she climbed onto the bed, unable to resist pulling at his blanket. She nudged him, then covered herself with her blanket and lay down, facing away from him.
Zhou Chengsen woke up from the nudge, opened his eyes to glance at her, too lazy to respond. He covered himself with his blanket, turned his back to her, and continued sleeping.
The next day was Qingming, and Jiang Xia, with her big belly, didn't go up the mountain.
(End of Chapter)
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