Early November, after breakfast.
Chen Shu strolled along the shore, checking the fish traps and enclosed shallows one by one. He ignored the fish stranded in shallows he had not enclosed himself.
Soon, he found a pleasant surprise.
Two traps held sizable catches: two small Octopuses in one, a Little Azure Dragon in the other. In one of his enclosed shallows, he also found a black sea bream and two swimming crabs. They had not eaten black sea bream yet.
"Qingqing! Look!"
Chen Shu hurried over to share the good news with Qingqing.
At last, he could hold his head high.
Ning Qing merely looked at him calmly. "Didn't you say we were catching a Sword Pig for pork today?"
"Uh..."
Chen Shu froze. He refused to give up either the Twice-Cooked Pork he had been dreaming of or the catch he had won through his own cleverness. He quickly found a shallow pool cut off from the Ocean and put everything in it.
"I'll keep them alive until we want to eat them."
Secretary Ning said nothing.
She would let him be childish.
An hour later.
Chen Shu hacked through brambles with his sword, while Secretary Ning followed calmly behind him with a small basket on her back.
"There are loads of cherry tomatoes here, Secretary Ning. Let's take some. I can make tomato-sauce Abalone and Tomato and Egg Stir-Fry when we get back." Chen Shu picked tomatoes as he spoke. "These little ones taste pretty good—richer and tangier than big tomatoes."
Ning Qing silently stepped forward and turned her back to him.
Cherry tomatoes dropped into the little basket with a patter.
The two continued on.
Plants bearing all kinds of fruit lined their path. Chen Shu stopped now and then to pick one and taste it. Once