Page 35

After finishing the three dishes and soup, Lu Ao wiped his mouth in satisfaction and went back to his room for an afternoon nap.

The weather was scorching, but his room was pleasantly cool. He only needed to set the fan to its lowest speed.

With the cool breeze blowing, he quickly fell into a deep sleep and even had a dream.

In the dream, he arrived above Song Zhou in ancient times and flew circle after circle around the land. He saw the people of Song Zhou worshipping the God of Land and Grain during every festival. Later, the god gradually took on Song Zhou's face, gained life, and finally stepped down from the altar.

"Beep, beep, beep—" The shrill, urgent sound rang out, forcibly dragging Lu Ao from his role as an observer back into reality. He opened his eyes, and dark green flashed through them before quickly vanishing.

Lu Ao rubbed his temples, silenced the ringing alarm, and sat cross-legged on the bed. He let out a long breath and thought for a long while, but still could not understand why he had dreamed of that.

He did not know whether the dream had anything to do with Song Zhou or whether it had merely been an absurd, fleeting dream.

After washing up, he went to Lin Manzhang's house to meet up.

Only Lin Gongshang had arrived at Lin Manzhang's house.

Confusion showed in Lu Ao's eyes. Seeing his expression, Lin Gongshang hurriedly explained, "The other three all have farm work to do, and they didn't catch many Mud Crabs, so they're not coming. The three of us will go. Brother Niu happens to be looking for us too."

"Looking for us?"

"Really, he's mainly looking for you." Lin Manzhang came in from outside carrying a plate of iced watermelon. "A distinguished guest at Jiacheng Grand Hotel wants to go sea fishing. They said they want to get close to the life of authentic fishermen and head out to sea to fish themselves."

Lu Ao looked up. "Will that work?"

"Of course it will. Why wouldn't it?" Lin Gongshang picked up a large slice of watermelon and ate half of it in one go. Squinting contentedly, he sighed, "We used to host rich people like that now and then. You don't need to fuss over them much—just feed them whatever your family eats. Be a little welcoming, and it's best to let them try something new, like squid fishing or digging for Mud Crabs. It's easy money."

"Right, that's exactly it. Jiacheng Grand Hotel knows you're skilled and wants to hire you to host them. Three people are coming, and they said they'll pay three thousand a day. Just take them out to sea for a spin and let them eat some wild seafood."

Lu Ao considered it briefly, then refused. "Forget it."

"You don't even want three thousand a day?" Lin Gongshang looked deeply regretful. "Guests like these usually stay for three or four days. One trip can easily bring in over ten thousand, and you don't even have to pay taxes."

"No." Lu Ao refused lazily. "Too much trouble to arrange."

A trace of regret appeared on Lin Manzhang's face as well. "Fine. Then I'll tell Brother Niu in person later."

Lu Ao gave a sound of agreement, picked up the watermelon, ate three slices in a row, then stopped and wiped his mouth with a tissue.

Lin Gongshang's gaze could not help following Lu Ao's fingers. His fingers were as smooth, round, and slender as white jade, their whiteness gentler than that of the pale tissue.

Perhaps because he had eaten iced watermelon, his lips were redder than usual, standing out sharply against his snowy skin.

Lin Gongshang found it odd. Lu Ao had worked in the city before, so it was understandable that he was fair-skinned. But he had been back for nearly a month now, exposed to sun and wind every day just like the rest of them. How was he still so pale?

After the three finished eating watermelon and had rested enough, they moved the Mud Crabs into the trunk.

Lin Manzhang drove his van, taking Lu Ao and Lin Gongshang to Long Township Wharf.

Long Township Wharf was rather far away. Lu Ao had not slept well at noon, so he dozed off the entire way and was still somewhat dazed when someone patted him awake.

Lin Manzhang was puzzled. "Why are you so sleepy? Didn't you sleep well last night?"

Lu Ao rubbed his temples. "Digging for Mud Crabs this morning tired me out a little."

Lin Manzhang parked his van outside Niu Deyu's Deyu Fish Shop and honked the horn once.

It was already past five. There were not many people in the fish shop, and Niu Deyu was taking inventory. Hearing the horn outside, he stuck his head out to look. The moment he spotted Lin Manzhang, delight appeared in his eyes. He hurriedly set down what he was holding and strode outside, greeting them warmly, "You're here? Come in and have some tea first."

The three of them were taking the Mud Crabs out of the trunk.

Lin Manzhang turned and said, "Whenever we get something good, we think of you. Tea won't be enough—you should at least treat us to a meal."

"I will! I'll treat you to a feast!" Niu Deyu rubbed his hands and craned his neck around. "Where's that Butter Crab?"

"Lu Ao has it. He caught it."

Niu Deyu turned around. Lu Ao lightly tapped the bucket before him with his foot.

Inside, the huge Butter Crab, tied up tight, was trying to inch its way toward freedom.

"It's this big?!" Niu Deyu's eyebrows shot up, excitement flushing his face. He leaned close to the bucket. "Not bad! You managed to catch such a huge Butter Crab. Your place really is blessed land."

"Exactly. I always say our village has excellent feng shui, with outstanding people and fertile land." Lin Manzhang took over. "Look at the crab first. How much is this Butter Crab worth per pound?"

Niu Deyu carefully lifted the Butter Crab from the bucket.

The Butter Crab was larger than his face and weighed heavily in his hand.

When he held it up in the sunlight, the edges of its shell were full, its yellow legs plump and bulging, and even its joints had turned orange-yellow.

After running a fish shop for so many years, Niu Deyu had only seen Top-Hand Butter Crabs of such quality and size twice.

The first time was more than twenty years ago, when he had just opened this fish shop. Back then, Mud Crabs were still plentiful, and wild Mud Crabs weighing half a pound cost only ten or twenty yuan per pound.

The second time was now.

He could not bear to put down the Butter Crab in his hand. After turning it over and examining it for a long while, he named a price. "How about two thousand per pound?"

Seeing that Lu Ao did not respond, he hurriedly added, "There was a wild Butter Crab of this quality last year. Another fish shop bought it for eighteen hundred a pound. Yours is bigger, so I've raised it by two hundred. Any higher, and I'm afraid I won't be able to sell it."

That was indeed the truth.

Some premium seafood was exceptionally rare, but even at exorbitant prices, it might not necessarily sell.

If the fish shop took in the goods and could not sell them, it would have to cut the price and take a loss.

Lu Ao had checked Butter Crab prices before coming. Niu Deyu's offer was fair enough, so he agreed.

Niu Deyu smiled until his face wrinkled. "Come on, come on, let's weigh this Butter Crab first."