https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-91-Another-Day-of-Bountiful-Harvest/12831797/
Chapter 90: A Mountain of Gold and Silver
Chapter 90: A Mountain of Gold and Silver
"Chenglei, look at that island in the distance. Doesn't it seem a bit different?" Jiang Xia tugged at Zhou Chenglei's sleeve.
Zhou Chenglei and his father turned to look.
Zhou Father: "It does seem different?"
Zhou Chenglei: "It looks bigger, maybe by a circle. Dad, let's sail over and check it out!"
Zhou Chenglei's words made Zhou Father realize the island did indeed seem larger than usual. He immediately started the boat, "Let's not cast the net yet. We'll go take a look first."
A larger island indicated a significant low tide, which might mean a good haul.
It was almost lunchtime, so Zhou Chenglei took out a lunch box, opened it, and handed it to Jiang Xia, "Let's eat first."
"Sure."
Jiang Xia called out to Zhou Father for lunch.
Zhou Father responded.
Today's lunch included fish jerky, steamed eggs with shrimp, and pickled vegetables.
Jiang Xia, who wasn't picky, finished most of her meal but left a small portion, which she gave to Zhou Chenglei.
After the three of them finished eating, the boat approached the island. Zhou Father found a spot to anchor.
They didn't dare to get too close, as the area was known for hidden reefs.
The water was still deep, but the clear blue sea revealed the sandy bottom.
Zhou Chenglei jumped off the boat first, tied it up, and then reached out to Jiang Xia.
The boat was quite high, so he said, "Jump down, and I'll catch you."
Zhou Father was right behind them, and Jiang Xia felt a bit embarrassed, "I can jump down on my own."
Zhou Chenglei, standing in water up to his thighs, replied, "You'll get your clothes wet if you jump. Don't worry, jump down, and I'll catch you."
Zhou Father, holding a bucket, stood expressionless behind them, waiting.
Ignoring him, as he had been gone for a long time, Jiang Xia, not wanting to keep Zhou Father waiting, stretched out her hand and jumped into his arms.
Zhou Chenglei caught her steadily, holding her close, and didn't budge even with the impact.
Jiang Xia felt the strength of his arms and the solid, reliable chest once again.
This man was truly powerful!
Zhou Chenglei carried her all the way to the beach before setting her down.
Zhou Father looked up, expressionless.
Zhou Chenglei turned to help Zhou Father with the bucket and other items.
After everything was handed down, Zhou Father asked his ungrateful son, "Do you want to catch me?"
Zhou Chenglei turned and walked away.
His hearing wasn't great, and his father knew it well.
Zhou Father, grinding his teeth in anger, took off his waterproof rubber shoes, threw them onto the beach, rolled up his pants, and jumped off the boat himself.
Indeed, he splashed a lot of water, wetting his clothes, but it didn't matter in the scorching summer.
Zhou Father glanced at Jiang Xia's dry clothes, not a single drop of water on them. Clearly, once a man had a wife, he forgot about his father!
Zhou Chenglei, holding the bucket his father had handed down, walked over to Jiang Xia and took her hand, "I saw many oysters on the rocks over there. Let's go check them out."
"Okay," Jiang Xia agreed.
Zhou Father also put on his shoes and followed. If the oysters were plump, they could dry them and sell them for a good price.
The island was already large, but now it seemed even bigger, with many rocks exposed. Zhou Chenglei had been here before.
Many villagers came to this island to collect oysters.
The three of them reached the rocky area.
The rocks exposed above the water were covered in oysters, but many had already been pried open and were empty.
However, a careful look revealed many unopened ones.
The shells of the oysters were sharp.
And the area was quite steep.
Zhou Chenglei, worried, reminded her, "Be careful, don't fall."
"Okay," Jiang Xia nodded, looking at the rocks in front of her. It was like seeing a mountain of gold and silver.
The smell of money was in the air!
Zhou Father pried open an oyster and ate it.
Zhou Chenglei also pried one open and asked Jiang Xia, "Do you want to try?"
Jiang Xia, who wasn't afraid of eating raw fish or pickled dishes, nodded.
Zhou Chenglei brought it to her mouth and fed her.
Jiang Xia held his wrist, leaned down, and sucked the white, plump oyster meat into her mouth.
Zhou Father, who was about to eat another one, saw this and decided he was full!
"Want another one?" Zhou Chenglei asked, tossing the shell into the sea.
Jiang Xia shook her head.
Eating them raw was indeed fresher and sweeter, with a hint of seawater, but she preferred them cooked.
Zhou Chenglei didn't open any more for her. He ate two himself, and then they started collecting oysters.
Zhou Chenglei didn't want to stray too far from Jiang Xia and stayed close by her side, within arm's reach.
Prying the oysters off the rocks took some effort, and Jiang Xia wasn't as skilled at it as Zhou Chenglei. She accidentally used too much force, and one of the oysters flew out, landing in the sea.
Jiang Xia looked down and noticed a shell beneath the oyster!
It looked just like the pearl oysters she had seen in her previous life!
And not only here; she saw more of them in the crevices of the rocks underwater! There were quite a few!
"Zhou Chenglei!" Jiang Xia called out excitedly.
Zhou Chenglei and his father both looked over.
"Zhou Chenglei, take a look. Are those pearl oysters?"
Zhou Chenglei walked over and followed the direction of Jiang Xia's finger, looking underwater. "They do look like pearl oysters."
Zhou Chenglei's father stopped prying oysters and hurried over, nearly slipping and falling.
He saw the pearl oysters scattered among the sand and rocks on the seabed.
"They are pearl oysters!"
Good heavens, what kind of luck did this daughter-in-law have?
This was practically a treasure trove of pearl oysters!
Zhou Chenglei's father had been to this island before, but the tide hadn't receded this much, so the large expanse of rocks hadn't been exposed. Today, with Jiang Xia here, they were revealed, or they would have never found these pearl oysters.
Jiang Xia, excited, asked, "They look a bit deep. Can we pick them up?"
Zhou Chenglei's father: "We can!"
As long as they could see them with their eyes, they could pick them up.
Money is money!
Do you think they wouldn't pick it up if money fell on the ground?
Zhou Chenglei: "I'll go down and pick them up."
Zhou Chenglei's father: "Together!"
The pearl oysters were just underwater. After a brief warm-up, Zhou Chenglei and his father took off their shirts, grabbed their tools, and carefully entered the water, avoiding the rocks.
Jiang Xia leaned over and saw Zhou Chenglei and his father swim down to the seabed, deftly hooking the pearl oysters into their nets, moving as agilely as fish.
Jiang Xia could swim, and she felt a bit restless watching them. She remembered that last time at the market, Wu Qizhi had mentioned that she could swim, so the original Jiang Xia must have been able to swim too.
Just as she was about to enter the water, the two surfaced, and Jiang Xia quickly grabbed a bucket to collect the pearl oysters they had picked.
Zhou Chenglei had picked up more, about ten, while his father had only picked up five.
After dumping the pearl oysters into the bucket, they took a deep breath and went back down.
Jiang Xia poured the pearl oysters from the bucket into a burlap bag and left an empty bucket for them to use.
She didn't waste any time and continued prying oysters.
The father and son went down into the water four or five times. Zhou Chenglei's father couldn't take it anymore and came ashore to rest.
Zhou Chenglei rested for a bit and then went back down, making two more trips to finish picking up all the pearl oysters from the seabed.
Zhou Chenglei also came ashore to rest: "There should be more nearby. I'll go check in a bit. Dad, you don't need to go down again."
Zhou Chenglei's father nodded: "Go ahead! I won't go down. I'm too old for this. I can't keep up like I used to."
Zhou Chenglei rested for a moment and then went back into the water.
Zhou Chenglei's father, unable to sit idle, had come out to sea to make money, not to rest. He said to Jiang Xia, "Xia, I'm going to drag the net. I'll be back soon. You and Ah Lei stay here."
Jiang Xia nodded: "Okay."
Zhou Chenglei was just coming up, and his father repeated what he had just said.
Zhou Chenglei: "Be careful."
Zhou Chenglei's father: "I will."
After Zhou Chenglei's father left, Zhou Chenglei said to Jiang Xia, "I'll walk around the perimeter of the reef to see if there are more. You stay here and be careful."
"Okay."
This time, Zhou Chenglei didn't jump into the water but walked along the reef, checking the water as he went.
When he couldn't see clearly, he would jump into the water and swim down to take a look. If he found good fish, he would catch them, which took a bit of time.
Jiang Xia waited for a while and, not hearing any response, grew worried. She called out, "Zhou Chenglei! Zhou Chenglei!"
She carefully walked along the reef, calling out loudly.
Zhou Chenglei was on the other side of the island, currently catching lobsters underwater. His hearing wasn't great, and being underwater, he didn't hear her.
When he surfaced to take a breath, Jiang Xia had stopped calling out.
Jiang Xia, having called out several times with no response, grew anxious. After all, anything could happen underwater, so she jumped into the sea!
(End of Chapter)
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