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Chapter 54: Father Zhou Feels the Burn
Chapter 54: Father Zhou Feels the Burn
Zhou Chenglei returned home around one in the afternoon.
Jiang Xia noticed he was drenched in sweat and asked, "Have you eaten?"
"Not yet." Zhou Chenglei parked his bicycle and handed her a cloth bag, glancing at her pale face. "Is your stomach still hurting?"
"It’s fine now. What’s this?" Jiang Xia took the bag and opened it, her eyes lighting up in surprise.
"Did you go out just to buy this for me?"
"Not exactly. I had some errands to run in the city and picked this up on the way." Zhou Chenglei replied casually, then went to the well to wash his face and hands. His face was covered in dust from the long bike ride.
"Thanks." Jiang Xia, unaware of how hard it was to get, believed him.
Jiang Xia put the item back in the cabinet in her room, taking a piece to put in her pocket before heading out.
She had left him some food and helped set the table. "Hurry up and eat."
"Okay." Zhou Chenglei was drinking water when he heard her. He had planned to come back and cook for her, but got delayed.
Jiang Xia quickly went out to change, unable to bear it any longer. She hadn’t dared to move much all morning, fearing it might fall out or break.
After Jiang Xia left, Zhou Chenglei went back to their room, glanced at the college entrance exam books on the desk, and then walked to the large cabinet. He tucked two small packets and a box of talcum powder into a corner, covering them with clothes.
When Jiang Xia returned, he was already eating.
In the afternoon, Zhou Chenglei was called by the production team to help repair a tractor. He only returned in the evening. Jiang Xia was about to start cooking, but Zhou Chenglei insisted on doing it himself. He moved a recliner into the yard for her to rest.
Jiang Xia wanted to help with the fire, but Zhou Chenglei, knowing she wasn’t feeling well, took care of it himself. She lay on the recliner, reading a book.
In her previous life, Jiang Xia had started helping with chores at the age of three and had never been treated with such care.
After finishing the meal, Zhou Chenglei went to the dock to help unload fish. When they returned, he brought back a few squids and a sea bass, which his mother had set aside for Jiang Xia.
Zhou Chenglei prepared the squid with a quick boil and steamed the fish. Jiang Xia was surprised by how good the food tasted.
During dinner, Jiang Xia asked, "Dad, how was the fishing today?"
Father Zhou smiled. "It was okay, about fifty bucks. We just didn’t run into any big schools of fish."
He seemed a bit disappointed. After a typhoon, the sea usually had plenty of fish, and most villagers had earned around eighty bucks. Fifty wasn’t enough for him.
Zhou Bingqiang, who owned two boats, had caught schools of fish, earning over a hundred bucks per boat, totaling over three hundred. He had been gloating in front of Father Zhou, saying that the last time Father Zhou didn’t listen to his advice and brought a woman on the boat, he started having bad luck!
Jiang Xia could tell from his tone that Father Zhou was unhappy. She smiled and said, "Maybe the fish that are meant for us just need more time to grow. Let them stay in the sea a bit longer, and we can catch them another day. As long as we have the boats, we’ll never run out of fish."
Father Zhou chuckled, his mood lightening. "You’re right."
It was always nice to have someone educated around, who could speak so reassuringly!
If his eldest daughter-in-law had known they earned less than the others, she would have been sulking and complaining as if the sky was falling.
Life isn’t always full of good things. It’s better to smile more and keep a positive attitude. Those who smile often have good luck!
Father Zhou was generally easygoing, but he didn’t like losing to Zhou Bingqiang.
They had been competing since childhood, and even in old age, they still couldn’t stand each other. Despite this, Father Zhou enjoyed the rivalry, and so did Zhou Bingqiang.
The next day, Chenglei and Zhou's father set out to sea, but it wasn't convenient for Jiang Xia, so she didn't go with them.
That day, they earned over five hundred yuan. They encountered a large school of fish and caught two full nets. They also found a stranded bluefin tuna on the island, weighing over two hundred kilograms, nearly three hundred. It was likely the tornado had carried it to the beach. Though it had some surface injuries and had just died when Chenglei found it, it was still fresh, and they were very fortunate.
They sold the fish directly at the city dock to Jufu Tower, but Jiang Xia didn't see this happen.
Jiang Xia thought to herself that in this era, earning several hundred yuan a day was no wonder Chenglei quickly accumulated his first pot of gold, bought a second boat, and later bought more and more, eventually investing in other ventures and becoming the wealthiest man in the region.
On the third day, it was Chengxin's turn to go out to sea, while Zhou's father and Chenglei took the opportunity to repair the roof of the storage room and fix the leaky spots.
Jiang Xia's period ended after three days, and the wound on her foot had formed a tender scab. Today, it was Chenglei's turn again.
Chenglei got up, and Jiang Xia followed him out of bed.
Chenglei said, "You should sleep a bit more. Don't get up so early."
Jiang Xia turned on the light. "I want to go out to sea with you today."
Chenglei turned to look at her, his Adam's apple moving slightly. "Are you clean?"
Jiang Xia felt his gaze as dark as ink, as if he had spotted his prey. Her heart skipped a beat, and she avoided his eyes, mumbling, "Um, almost."
With that, she walked out to brush her teeth and wash her face.
Chenglei raised an eyebrow, took off his shirt, and got dressed before heading out.
The boat "puttered" out to sea, the sky still dim, with a thin line of white light appearing on the eastern horizon, signaling the dawn. Summer days grew light early.
While they were dragging the net, Chenglei noticed Jiang Xia looking a bit bored and asked, "Want to go fishing?"
Today, he had brought a fishing rod and, while buying diesel, had also picked up some dead small fish and shrimp as bait at the acquisition center.
It was just to give her something to do and pass the time.
"Did you bring bait?" Jiang Xia knew Chenglei had brought the fishing rod.
"Yes, it's in the black bucket. I bought it." Chenglei handed the bucket to Jiang Xia. "It's hard to catch fish while driving the boat, but it can help pass the time."
"That's fine, I just want to pass the time."
Jiang Xia picked up a fishing rod and took a dead shrimp from the bucket, hooking it onto the line.
She found a spot that wouldn't interfere with the netting, mimicking the way others cast their lines, and threw the line out with a "whoosh."
She thought her motion was quite graceful, but the shrimp wasn't hooked tightly and flew off!
Jiang Xia: "..."
Chenglei couldn't help but chuckle.
Jiang Xia quickly turned around, and Chenglei pretended not to see, lowering his head. She calmly reeled in the line. "It wasn't hooked tightly. It fell off."
Jiang Xia squatted down and picked another shrimp to hook.
Seeing she had hooked it wrong, Chenglei squatted down and took her hand, guiding her. "You need to hook it like this to make it secure and more lifelike in the water."
Jiang Xia's hands were enveloped in his larger ones, and her heart couldn't help but race.
Chenglei let go after hooking it properly. "There, you try. Don't use too much force when you cast."
Jiang Xia's face flushed, and she stood up quickly, accidentally bumping her forehead into Chenglei's. The pain made her eyes well up with tears.
Chenglei also felt the pain but quickly wiped his fingers on a towel and gently rubbed her forehead with his clean palm. "Does it hurt?"
Jiang Xia clutched his shirt, and the two of them were almost hugging.
Zhou's father felt like he was being force-fed dog food! He looked up, feeling very out of place.
Were they treating him like a decoration?
(End of Chapter)
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