Transported Into The Book, She Thrives In The 80s Chapter 57: Dividing the Spoils - Novel Cool

Chapter 57: Dividing the Spoils

Chapter 57: Dividing the Spoils

As Zhou Chenglei’s boat docked, the crowd at the pier gathered around two large fishing vessels.

Zhou Bingqiang had a stroke of luck today, encountering a school of golden thread fish. Basket after basket of the gleaming fish was unloaded from the boat, leaving onlookers envious.

While golden thread fish were inexpensive, the sheer volume made a difference, especially with two fully loaded fishing boats. It was no wonder everyone was green with envy.

One of the villagers on the boat remarked, "Old Qiang, how do you always have such good luck? You seem to catch a school of fish every few days. You must have made a couple of hundred yuan today, right?"

"Old Qiang has the best luck in the village! Otherwise, how could his family own the largest and most boats in the village? He’s the envy of everyone!"

"Uncle Qiang’s luck is no joke. Even without a school of fish, he makes at least seventy to eighty yuan a day. We’d be over the moon if we made thirty to forty yuan a day!"

Zhou Bingqiang, with his tanned face and a wide grin, said, "Don’t exaggerate. How can my luck compare to Zhou Yongfu? He makes in a day what I make in a year!"

"Zhou Yongfu has his lucky days, but most of the time, he’s just like us, making twenty to thirty yuan. When it comes to fishing, you’re still the best!"

Zhou Bingqiang nodded, "That’s true. Today, he even took his daughter-in-law out to sea. She’s lucky, so they might have caught a school of yellow croakers or red snappers, maybe even a bluefin tuna. They could make over two thousand yuan!"

"That’s impossible! Women bring bad luck. If they don’t bring misfortune, it’s already a good day. His previous luck was just a fluke; it can’t happen every time."

"Old folks say that taking women out to sea is asking for trouble. It’s only a matter of time before things go downhill."

A village charlatan who fancied himself a face reader chimed in, "I’ll only say this now that he’s not around. I’ve seen his daughter-in-law’s face, and she’s not a good, obedient woman. She looks like a fox spirit, and such women are promiscuous and bring bad luck to their husbands. She’ll ruin the family’s reputation. Taking her out to sea is just asking for trouble. Remember, I told you Zhou Chenglei wasn’t cut out for an official position. Look at him now, back to fishing! He’s destined to be a fisherman, barely making ends meet. His fox spirit of a wife will never be satisfied with his simple life. But Old Qiang’s wife and daughter-in-law, now they bring good luck!"

Zhou Bingqiang chuckled, "Ha, my wife and daughter-in-law are indeed great! But I agree, Zhou Chenglei’s wife doesn’t bring good luck. She’s too thin!"

The charlatan added, "When it comes to choosing a wife, you should go for someone with a round, sturdy face. They bring good luck to the family. A fox spirit will only bring trouble. Just wait and see! Of course, good luck isn’t something you can judge in a day or two. Wait and see what happens in the future!"

Suddenly, someone yelled, "Zhou Yongfu’s boat is back!"

Everyone turned to look.

Another villager commented, "There seem to be a lot of fish on the boat!"

"Not just a lot, it’s brimming with fish!"

As Zhou Yongfu’s boat docked, the crowd saw baskets upon baskets of golden thread fish and mackerel filling the vessel.

Someone shouted, "A king mackerel! Zhou Yongfu caught a king mackerel!"

The pier erupted in excitement as people swarmed around Zhou’s boat. "It’s a king mackerel! What a massive fish!"

"Good grief! It must weigh a hundred pounds!"

"The king of king mackerels!"

What kind of luck was this, catching such big fish and schools of fish every day?

Someone went to find the charlatan, asking if this wasn’t a sign of good luck.

The charlatan had already fled!

Zhou Bingqiang glanced at the king mackerel and quietly turned to leave.

Zhou Yongfu, scanning the crowd, spotted him immediately!

He shouted, "Zhou Bingqiang, the sea was generous today. Your two boats must have had a good catch, right?"

Zhou Bingqiang pretended not to hear and quickened his pace.

While his two boats had a decent catch, the golden thread fish were too cheap, far from matching the value of golden pomfrets and mackerels, let alone a giant grouper.

Zhou's father jumped off the boat and swiftly chased after him, grabbing his arm. "Why are you running! Come and see the giant grouper your daughter-in-law caught! Compare it to the one you caught a few years ago and see which one is bigger."

Zhou Bingqiang quickly shook off his father's hand. "What are you doing! Don't grab me like that. I've caught giant groupers before. I'm busy; I need to go back and eat."

Zhou Bingqiang shook off his father's hand and ran away.

Zhou's father watched his son flee, feeling a sense of triumph.

A couple of days ago, when he went out to sea, he only made less than fifty yuan. The typhoon had just passed, and every boat was making around seventy to eighty yuan, but he only made a little over fifty.

Zhou Bingqiang, with his two boats, made more money and gloated in front of him.

They said he started having bad luck after bringing a woman on the boat.

"Hmph, I happen to have the best luck when I bring a woman on the boat."

Many people climbed aboard the Zhou family's boat, envious. "Wow! I haven't seen such a big giant grouper in a long time. A few years ago, Zhou Bingqiang caught one, but it wasn't this big! This one must sell for a hundred yuan, right?"

"It should sell for a hundred yuan. This giant grouper looks like it weighs a hundred pounds! How did you catch it?"

Zhou Chenglei replied, "It was caught by Jiang Xia."

"Your wife caught it?" The man looked at Jiang Xia in surprise.

Zhou's father ran back and pushed Zhou Chenglei aside. "You go unload the cargo; I'll tell the story!"

Zhou Chenglei: "..."

Then, Zhou's father began his performance for the villagers. "Yes, it was Little Xia who caught it! She and Ah Lei caught it together! And this whole bucket of fish was caught by Little Xia. Come and see what she caught. My daughter-in-law has incredible luck at sea! Her fishing speed is just... amazing!"

Zhou's father animatedly described Jiang Xia's fishing process in great detail, with vivid expressions and gestures. Jiang Xia, who was dividing the fish, felt a bit embarrassed listening to him.

It wasn't like she was catching fish one after another without stopping; it was just that she caught one every few minutes.

Jiang Xia reminded Zhou Chenglei, "Go to the village committee and call Master Hou to ask if he'll buy golden pomfret fish jerky."

Jiang Xia gave him Master Hou's phone number, which she had memorized when he mentioned it.

"I'll go right away." Zhou Chenglei told his father and ran to the production team to borrow a phone.

Fortunately, the production team wasn't far from the dock, and he arrived in just a few minutes.

Soon, Zhou's mother, Tian Caihua, and Zhou Chengxin arrived.

Zhou's mother, seeing the boat full of fish, exclaimed happily, "Did you run into a school of fish again? What's this big one? It looks like a giant grouper!"

Zhou Chengxin, also delighted, couldn't resist squatting down to touch the giant grouper. "It is a giant grouper! It's even bigger than the one Uncle Qiang caught a few years ago!"

Zhou's father, busy as he was, couldn't help but interject, "Of course! His was just a shrimp compared to a giant grouper. Ours is the king of giant groupers!"

Tian Caihua, looking at the boat full of fish, felt a pang of envy!

Yesterday, they only made a little over sixty yuan, but today, with the fourth son out at sea, a giant grouper alone must be worth more than sixty yuan, right?

She couldn't help but ask, "Dad, did you catch this giant grouper?"

If Zhou's father caught it and sold it, would he share some of the money with them?

Otherwise, it was too unfair for him to help Zhou Chenglei out at sea every day!

(End of Chapter)

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