https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-91-Another-Day-of-Bountiful-Harvest/12831797/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-93-Jiang-Xia-s-Hand-is-a-Golden-Touch/12831799/
Chapter 92: Unwelcome Visitors
Chapter 92: Unwelcome Visitors
As expected, when the Zhou family's fishing boat docked, it caused quite a stir.
The boat was filled with red and golden fish, impossible to overlook.
Even before the boat reached the shore, the villagers were already speculating. "Is that red fish another sea bream? And the yellow ones, are they another batch of yellow croakers?"
"Maybe not?" someone said uncertainly.
"Zhou Yongfu seems to encounter fish schools every time he goes out to sea. It's like he's fishing out all the fish in the ocean!"
"I wonder which part of the sea they fish in. Why do they always encounter fish schools?"
...
Zhou Mother, Zhou Chengxin, and Tian Caihua stood at the dock, watching the red and golden fish from a distance. Two of them smiled broadly, while one had a face as sour as a lemon.
Tian Caihua was also curious why Zhou Chenglei always encountered fish schools whenever he went out to sea. It wasn't like they were fishing in the open ocean; the chances of encountering fish schools in the coastal waters were very low.
When the boat finally docked, everyone saw that it wasn't sea bream or yellow croakers, but red fish and small yellow croakers. Although not as valuable as sea bream and yellow croakers, the sheer quantity meant that they could still fetch a good price—definitely over a hundred or even two hundred dollars.
Zhou Father, full of energy, jumped off the boat. It was time for him to show off his skills!
Sure enough, as soon as he landed, the villagers swarmed around him with questions.
"Zhou Yongfu, tell us, which god of wealth have you been worshipping lately? How do you keep encountering fish schools every time?"
Zhou Father laughed, "I've already told you, I haven't worshipped any god of wealth. I just take my daughter-in-law out to sea. She's a lucky charm for both the family and the fish! Every time she comes, the fish just swim right into our nets!"
Everyone was speechless.
Well, there went the conversation, completely ruined by his words!
But why did Zhou Chenglei always come back with a full catch whenever he took Jiang Xia out to sea?
Weren't they supposed to have bad luck when taking a woman out to sea?
Maybe they should all take their wives out to sea?
After enjoying everyone's expressions, Zhou Father continued, "How about your catches today? Did you do well?"
"Not really. We hardly caught any fish, only made a few dozen dollars. Your catch is much better than ours!"
"Today was bad, only thirty dollars. Looks like we'll have to follow you out to sea tomorrow. Maybe I can get a taste of the good stuff."
...
Zhou Father laughed, "Ha, you're welcome to follow. Maybe the fish will swim into your usual fishing grounds tomorrow. I'll go to your area and see what I can catch!"
He glanced around but didn't see Zhou Bingqiang. His family's two boats had already returned, so he must have been back for a while. It was a bit of a pity!
After showing off his catch, Zhou Father said, "I won't keep you. I need to unload and sell the fish before it gets dark."
Everyone was speechless again.
Zhou Father, having successfully outdone everyone, returned to the boat with a smile.
Zhou Chengxin and Zhou Chenglei each carried a load of fish off the boat.
The fish on the deck hadn't been fully distributed yet, but Zhou Mother and Tian Caihua joined in to help.
Zhou Father also picked up a load of fish and, thinking of something, said to Jiang Xia, "Xia, keep an eye on the burlap bags."
He didn't want the villagers to take anything while they were unloading.
Jiang Xia nodded, "Sure."
Tian Caihua, looking a bit stunned, glanced at the burlap bags in the corner.
The burlap bags were in the corner, their mouths open, and it was clear they contained oysters. Oysters were so cheap, why did they need to be watched?
Could there be something valuable under the oysters?
Tian Caihua wanted to ask but didn't, given the crowd. She'd find out eventually.
Even though she didn't ask, Tian Caihua couldn't hide her curiosity. Her eyes kept drifting to the burlap bags while they were distributing the fish.
Jiang Xia noticed but didn't say anything.
Half an hour later, they had sold most of the catch, leaving only a few bags of oysters and a basket of mixed fish.
Zhou Chenglei handed a stack of money to Jiang Xia.
Tian Caihua, unable to resist, asked, "Fourth Brother, how much did you make?"
They had made 206.60 dollars today, but Zhou Chenglei only said, "Not as much as before."
With that, he picked up two bags of oysters and left the boat.
Zhou Chengxin also took two bags of oysters off the boat.
Zhou Father carried the basket of mixed fish and a bag of pearl oysters off the boat.
The family loaded the oysters onto a cart and headed home.
Wen Wan had come to the dock to buy seafood. Her stepbrother wanted some, so her father had sent her.
Seeing the oysters Zhou Chenglei was pushing, she suddenly remembered she had forgotten to buy pearls!
Back at the old house, Zhou Chenglei gave a bag of oysters and a bucket of mixed fish to Zhou Chengxin.
Zhou Chengxin didn't take many oysters, just a small half-bag.
He pushed the cart home, but Tian Caihua lingered, asking Zhou Father, "Dad, what are you carrying?"
Zhou Father casually replied, "Oysters!"
Tian Caihua was speechless.
Who believed him? He had carried them all the way and hadn't even put them on the cart.
Tian Caihua was a bit upset.
Was he treating her like a thief? Was she not part of the family anymore?
He was so biased.
She left with a frown.
Unable to contain her frustration, she complained to Zhou Chengxin about how Zhou Father treated her like a thief.
Zhou Chengxin, annoyed, shot back, "Do you want to tell Dad how much we've saved and how much you've hidden?"
Tian Caihua: "……"
Zhou Chengxin didn’t say anything more.
Did she not realize that her loose lips were always spilling the family’s secrets? How many troubles had she brought to the Zhou family?
Dinner was already prepared by Zhou’s mother. She had picked some fish, crabs, and oysters from the boat and returned early. She made a mixed fish stew, steamed crabs, and steamed oysters.
Today’s fish had many bones, but Zhou Chenglei knew that although Jiang Xia wasn’t picky, she didn’t enjoy eating fish with bones. So, he carefully picked out a bowl of fish meat and placed it in front of her.
Jiang Xia was enjoying the crabs, which were especially fatty today. She was thoroughly satisfied and smiled warmly at him when she saw the bowl of fish meat. "You eat too, don’t worry about me."
Zhou Chenglei loved seeing her smile, and his own expression softened. He lifted his hand to wipe the crab fat from the corner of her mouth. "Don’t eat too many crabs."
Crabs were cold in nature, and they had them every day since they went out to sea. She was on her period and had a stomachache, and he was worried that eating too many would make her feel worse.
Zhou’s father, who had been eating voraciously, stopped: "……"
He was full!
Zhou’s mother smiled. "Right, don’t eat too many, especially when you’re expecting. Eat more oysters; they’re good for you!"
It seemed they shouldn’t steam crabs every day from now on.
Zhou’s mother opened two large oysters and placed them in front of Jiang Xia and Zhou Chenglei.
Oysters were a man’s energy booster and a woman’s beauty elixir. Their young couple should eat more; it would be beneficial for having children.
Jiang Xia: "……"
During the meal, Zhou Chenglei was fed over a dozen oysters by Zhou’s mother, while Zhou’s father got only one, receiving a glare from his wife each time he tried to take more.
After dinner, Jiang Xia eagerly went to lock the courtyard gate, preparing to open the pearl oysters.
Zhou’s father had already prepared the tools for opening the pearls.
Zhou Chenglei poured a basin of water for Jiang Xia to wash her hair and even set up a reclining chair. "You should wash your hair and take a shower first."
Jiang Xia: "What’s the rush? Let’s open the pearls first!"
Zhou’s father: "Right! Why rush to wash and shower? We should open the pearls first."
The father and daughter-in-law were excited, each grabbing a small stool to sit and open the pearls.
Zhou Chenglei: "……"
Had she forgotten that she said she wanted to go to bed early tonight? After opening the pearls, it would take her at least an hour and a half to wash her hair and shower.
Zhou Chenglei silently looked at Jiang Xia and then quietly moved a small stool to sit beside her, taking the tools and pearl oysters from her hands. "Opening these can easily cut your hands. Let me do it."
Fine, they weren’t going out to sea tomorrow, just to the shipyard. They could sleep in a bit.
"Alright." Jiang Xia, unfamiliar with the process, also feared scratching the pearls, so she handed everything over to him.
The father and son each held a pearl oyster, ready to pry them open, when a loud knocking on the courtyard gate interrupted them.
"Zhou Yongfu, are you home? Zhou Yongfu……"
Zhou’s father’s face darkened when he heard Zhou Bingqiang’s voice. He told Jiang Xia and Zhou Chenglei, "Hold off for a bit. I’ll get rid of him!"
This guy never brought anything good!
Zhou’s father put the pearl oysters back into the burlap bag and went to open the gate, yawning at Zhou Bingqiang. "What do you want? I went out to sea early this morning and caught over a thousand pounds of fish, earning more than two hundred yuan. I’m exhausted and was about to take a shower and go to bed!"
Zhou Bingqiang paid no attention to Zhou’s father’s words, grabbing his arm with a smile. "Why go to bed so early? Come to the dock and sit on my son’s new boat. We can bask in his good fortune. Zhou Chenglei has been making money lately; he’ll surely buy a new boat soon. My new boat only cost a little over seven thousand yuan. But I ordered it last year and only got it this year. The shipyard said it would cost over eight thousand this year! You should buy a boat soon; the shipyard said the price will go up by the end of the year! My new boat might cost over nine thousand or even ten thousand by then!"
Zhou’s father felt a pang of jealousy. Another boat? They already had three fishing boats!
He shook off Zhou Bingqiang’s hand. "Congratulations! But I’m really tired today. I’ll come by tomorrow to take a look and get some good luck."
With that, Zhou’s father slammed the courtyard gate shut.
Zhou Bingqiang didn’t really need Zhou’s father to come; he just wanted to show off and irritate him.
So what if he had been earning more these days? He still couldn’t afford a new boat!
Now he had three boats, and with all three out at sea, they would definitely earn more every day than Zhou’s family!
Did Zhou Yongfu want to compete with him? Did Zhou Chenglei want to compete with his son?
They would never catch up!
Zhou Bingqiang shouted from outside, "Alright, then get some sleep. Remember to come with Zhou Chenglei tomorrow to take a look. It’ll be a good reference when he has enough money to buy a new boat!"
With that, Zhou Bingqiang whistled as he walked away.
Zhou Chenglei was still living in a dilapidated house. Even if he earned money, he needed to save for a new house first. Once the house was built, he would need to save more to buy a boat. By then, Zhou Bingqiang’s family might have a fourth boat.
(End of Chapter)
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