"Mom, come over here for a moment." Zhou Chenglei had just moored the boat when he called out to Mother Zhou.
"What is it?" Mother Zhou was in a bad mood and answered gruffly. Just as she was about to walk over, Jiang Xia came carrying a bucket of water, intending to fetch some shrimp, and blocked her way. Already irritated, she snapped, "Move aside!"
Why is she just standing there like a block of wood? She even says she's educated, but she isn't the least bit quick-witted! Jiang Xia did not argue with her. In a moment, the one feeling awkward would be her.
Mother Zhou walked over to Zhou Chenglei, her tone even more impatient. "What is it?"
Zhou Chenglei pulled a thick stack of money from his trouser pocket and handed it to Mother Zhou. "Mom, hold this for now. Don't drop it."
Tian Caihua stared at the thick stack of money, her eyes going wide. "Where did all this money come from?"
Could it be the old couple's private savings? Zhou Chenglei said calmly, "The money from selling the fish today."
Father Zhou finished tying up the boat and returned aboard. He then pulled out another thick stack of money and handed it to Mother Zhou. "I've got some more here. Hold it for now, then give it to A'Lei when we get back. Don't lose it. I'm going to unload the cargo."
Tian Caihua's eyes nearly popped out. "This is also money from selling fish today?"
How could there be so much? Mother Zhou held one thick stack in one hand, both hands trembling. "This is the money from selling fish today? This... this much?"
What kind of fish did they catch today? Fish made of gold? Father Zhou said, "If it isn't money from selling fish today, where else would it have come from? We went straight to City Pier to sell all the fish before coming back, which is why there isn't much cargo left on the boat."
After saying that, he glanced at Tian Caihua. "Superstition is no good. I used to take your mother out to sea too, and nothing happened, did it?"
His eldest daughter-in-law was certainly hardworking, but she was too narrow-minded.
Mother Zhou hurriedly said, "Yes, your father used to secretly take me out to sea too."
Tian Caihua smiled awkwardly. "So you went to City Pier to sell the fish. Dad, you should have said so earlier. You're right—superstition is no good. Hehe."
The villagers stared at the two thick stacks of Da Tuanjie, secretly estimating how much money such a thick stack might contain.
"Yongfu, what kind of fish did you sell to earn this much?"
"You must have run into a school of fish! And not an ordinary school, either. This is almost as much as those big boats that go out to the Far Sea!"
Father Zhou glanced at Zhou Bingqiang and the others and said with a smile, "We did run into several schools of fish, so we went straight to City Pier to sell them before coming back. Alas, if we hadn't returned early and had dragged the net one more time, we definitely could have earned another one or two hundred yuan. I regret not listening to my daughter-in-law and dragging the net one more time. Speaking of which, how is she so blessed with sea luck?"
After saying that, he glanced at Zhou Bingqiang again. Hmph, so taking a woman out to sea brings bad luck? I earned two thousand in one day!
Zhou Bingqiang: "..."
"One net can earn two hundred? What kind of school did you run into? What kind of fish sells for that much? There must be two or three thousand here, right?"
Father Zhou cheerfully replied, "It's not as much as three thousand. How could it be that exaggerated? It was only about two thousand yuan! We came back too early—we reached City Pier after four. If I'd known, I would have listened to my daughter-in-law and dragged the net one more time. Then it would have been a full two thousand."
Nearly two thousand!!! Some people sucked in a sharp breath.
Their families' savings did not even amount to two thousand!
Zhou Bingqiang did not believe him. "You're bragging, aren't you? Even the big boats that go out to sea don't earn as much as you. Did you dredge up gold?"
Father Zhou cast him a sidelong glance. "Why would I need to brag? Go to City Pier tomorrow and ask whether anyone sold several hundred jin of Red Seabream and Yellow Croaker today. Then you'll know whether I was bragging!"
"What? You ran into schools of Red Seabream and Yellow Croaker?"
Zhou Bingqiang still refused to believe it. "Impossible! Schools of Red Seabream are rare around here. I've fished my whole life and have only seen other people encounter one once. And you ran into schools of Red Seabream and Yellow Croaker at the same time? What, is the sea your fishpond? You can catch whatever you want whenever you want? Keep bragging!"
Just then, a boat happened to pull up alongside them, and someone shouted, "Zhou Yongfu, I said the boat selling Red Seabream and Yellow Croaker in the city looked like yours! The news has spread all over City Pier. You caught a whole boatload of Red Seabream and Yellow Croaker, and even ran into a school of Spanish Mackerel! They say you earned several thousand! What kind of dog-luck did you have?"
He had encountered a school of Spanish Mackerel today and caught more than a thousand jin of them, so he had gone to City Pier as well.
He had thought his luck was already pretty good, but unexpectedly, someone had run into schools of Yellow Croaker, Red Seabream, and Spanish Mackerel all at once!
Encountering a school of fish once on an ordinary day was already considered lucky.
Three schools in one day—had he crashed straight into the lap of the God of Wealth?
The villagers were stunned. "What? You encountered schools of Red Seabream and Yellow Croaker, and even a school of Spanish Mackerel? Really?"
"Several thousand? That rotten old man Zhou Yongfu said he earned less than two thousand! I knew he was lying! With two stacks that thick, it must be more than two thousand!"
Zhou Bingqiang: "..."
They really had encountered schools of Red Seabream and Yellow Croaker? The odds of that had to be rarer than once in a hundred years. Why didn't he just ascend to heaven?
Father Zhou looked smug. "Hahaha... You all said I had dog-luck. How could I be that lucky? It was all thanks to my younger daughter-in-law today. The moment she went out to sea, she got us off to a flying start. She discovered all those schools. She's the one with good sea luck. I wasn't lying—there weren't several thousand. It was less than two thousand, really!"
"I don't believe it was less than two thousand! Enough, people in the city all said you earned several thousand. Stop denying it! Hurry up and tell us how you found the Red Seabream and Yellow Croaker schools. Where did you encounter them? I'm going tomorrow too!"
"Exactly! Where did you find them? I'm going too!"
The villagers all around curiously asked how they had encountered the schools of Yellow Croaker and Red Seabream.
They wanted to encounter them too! Father Zhou vividly recounted what had happened. "As soon as we went out to sea today, my daughter-in-law heard the Yellow Croaker calling. When she described the sound, my heart leaped. Wasn't that 'gugu' sound the call of Yellow Croaker? I immediately drove the boat forward at full speed. As soon as we got close, the whole surface was glittering with golden light. I was so excited I nearly had a heart attack..."
"After we'd just finished hauling in the Yellow Croaker, I told A'Lei to cast the net. Then my daughter-in-law called out again and asked whether that red patch over there was a school of fish. I immediately went forward at full speed. My heavens, the whole sea was full of Red Seabream, bright red from end to end! Hahaha, I knew the days of prosperity were coming! I wished I could grow ten pairs of hands..."
At the end, Father Zhou looked at Zhou Bingqiang and the others and added, "Luckily, we didn't listen to you and leave Xiao Xia behind today. Otherwise, we really would have missed those Yellow Croaker and Red Seabream! I wouldn't have earned my nearly two thousand yuan!"
Zhou Bingqiang and the others: "..."
Seeing Father Zhou's smug, carried-away expression, Zhou Bingqiang felt annoyed. With a smile that did not reach his eyes, he said, "Then I wish you luck like this every day, and luck like this for your whole life. May your whole life be prosperous and flourishing!"
I don't believe you'll be this lucky next time!
Father Zhou said, "Thanks, I'll take that as a blessing! I also wish you luck like today every day, and luck like this for your whole life!"
Zhou Bingqiang was so angry that he turned around and left.
He had originally thought earning two hundred yuan today was already great luck, but compared with Zhou Yongfu's two thousand, he no longer felt that way. Tian Caihua glanced at Jiang Xia with mixed emotions.
They had only separated from the family yesterday, and she had already gone out to sea and earned so much money on the second day.
There isn't a share of that two thousand for my family, is there?
If only I had known, I would have waited one more day before splitting the family.
Before you continue