Chapter 26: Two Thick Stacks of Money

“Mom, come here for a second.” Zhou Chenglei called out to his mother just as he finished docking the boat.

“What is it?” Mother Zhou replied irritably, her mood sour. As she was about to walk over, Jiang Xia, who was carrying a bucket and intending to fetch some shrimp, blocked her path. Annoyed, she snapped, “Move aside!”

Why was she standing there like a block of wood? People said she was educated, but she wasn't quick-witted at all!

Jiang Xia didn't bother arguing with her; she would be the one feeling embarrassed in a moment.

Mother Zhou walked up to Zhou Chenglei's side, her tone even more impatient: “What is it?”

Zhou Chenglei pulled a thick stack of cash from his pocket and handed it to Mother Zhou. “Mom, take this first. Don't lose it.”

Tian Caihua’s eyes went wide as she stared at the thick stack of money. “Where did this money come from?”

Could it be the old couple's secret savings?

Zhou Chenglei said indifferently, “The money from selling the fish today.”

Father Zhou, having tied up the boat, returned to the vessel and pulled out another thick stack of cash to hand to Mother Zhou. “I have some more here. Take it first and give it to Ah Lei when we get back. Don't lose it; I need to move the cargo.”

Tian Caihua’s eyes nearly popped out of her head. “This is also money from selling the fish today?”

How could there be this much?

Mother Zhou held the large stack of cash in one hand, her hands trembling. “This is the money from selling the fish today? This... this much?”

What kind of fish had they caught today? Fish made of gold?

Father Zhou said, “If this isn't the money from selling the fish, where would it come from? We went straight to the city pier to sell the fish before coming back, which is why there isn't much cargo left on the boat.”

After speaking, he shot a glance at Tian Caihua. “Superstition is unnecessary. I used to take your mother out to sea before, and nothing happened, did it?”

His eldest daughter-in-law was hardworking enough, but her temperament was too narrow-minded.

Mother Zhou hurriedly added, “Yes, your father used to secretly take me out to sea before as well.”

Tian Caihua gave an awkward laugh. “So you went to the city pier to sell the fish. Dad, you should have said so sooner. You're right, superstition is unnecessary, haha.”

The villagers stared blankly at the two thick stacks of ten-yuan notes, secretly trying to estimate how much money was in those stacks.

“Yongfu, what kind of fish did you sell to make this much?”

“They must have run into a school! And not just any school. This is comparable to a large deep-sea vessel!”

Father Zhou glanced at Zhou Bingqiang and the others, smiling. “We did run into a few schools, so we went straight to the city pier to sell them before returning. Sigh, if we hadn't come back so early and had cast one more net, making another hundred or two hundred yuan would have been no problem at all. I regret not listening to my daughter-in-law and casting one more net. Speaking of which, why is her luck at sea so good?”

After saying this, he glanced at Zhou Bingqiang again. *Hmph, little guy, you think taking a woman to sea brings bad luck? I earned two thousand yuan today alone!*

Zhou Bingqiang: “...”

“Two hundred yuan from a single net? What kind of school did you hit? What kind of fish can sell for that much? This must be two or three thousand, right?”

Father Zhou replied cheerfully, “It’s not as much as three thousand; that would be an exaggeration! It’s just about two thousand yuan! We came back too early; we reached the city pier around four. If I had listened to my daughter-in-law and cast one more net, we would have hit two thousand.”

*Almost two thousand!!!*

Some people gasped.

Their entire family savings weren't even two thousand yuan!

Zhou Bingqiang didn't believe it. “You're bragging! Even the large deep-sea vessels don't earn as much as you. Did you scoop up gold?”

Father Zhou glanced at him. “Do I need to brag? Tomorrow, go to the city pier and ask if someone sold hundreds of pounds of Scad and Large Yellow Croaker today, and then you'll know if I'm bragging!”

“What? You encountered schools of Scad and Large Yellow Croaker!”

Zhou Bingqiang still didn't believe it. “Impossible! Scad schools are rare around here; I've been fishing my whole life and have only seen others encounter them once. And you hit Scad and Large Yellow Croaker schools at the same time? You think the ocean is your private fish pond where you can catch whatever you want? Keep bragging!”

Just then, a boat pulled alongside, and someone shouted, “Zhou Yongfu, I knew it was your boat selling Scad and Large Yellow Croaker in the city! The news has spread all over the city pier—you caught a boatload of Scad and Large Yellow Croaker, and even hit a school of Spanish Mackerel! They say you earned several thousand! What kind of crazy luck is that!”

He had encountered a school of Spanish Mackerel today and caught over a thousand pounds, so he had also gone to the city pier.

He thought his luck was already good, but he never expected someone to encounter Large Yellow Croaker, Scad, and Spanish Mackerel schools all at once!

Usually, encountering a single school was considered lucky.

To encounter three schools in one day—was he walking straight into the arms of the God of Wealth?

The villagers were shocked. “What? They hit Scad, Large Yellow Croaker, and Spanish Mackerel schools? Is it true?”

“Earned several thousand? That old man Zhou Yongfu said he earned less than two thousand! I knew he was lying! With two stacks of money that thick, it's definitely more than two thousand!”

Zhou Bingqiang: “...”

They actually encountered Scad and Large Yellow Croaker schools?

The odds of that must be once in a hundred years. Why didn't he just fly to heaven?

Father Zhou looked smug. “Haha... you said I have crazy luck, but I don't have luck that good! Today was all thanks to my younger daughter-in-law. She had a winning start the moment she went to sea; she was the one who discovered the schools. It's her good luck at sea. I'm not lying—it wasn't several thousand, it wasn't even two thousand. Really!”

“I don't believe it's less than two thousand! Enough, people in the city are saying you earned several thousand, stop denying it! Quick, tell us how you found the Scad and Large Yellow Croaker schools? Where was it? I'm going tomorrow too!”

“Yeah! Where was it? I want to go too!”

...

The surrounding villagers curiously asked how they had encountered the schools of Large Yellow Croaker and Scad.

They wanted to encounter them too!

Father Zhou vividly recounted the experience. “As soon as we went out today, my daughter-in-law heard the sound of the Large Yellow Croaker. When I heard her describe the sound, my heart jumped. That 'gugugu' sound—isn't that the sound of Large Yellow Croaker? I immediately steered the boat at full speed. As we got closer, it was a shimmering golden expanse! I was so excited I almost had a heart attack...”

“Right after we finished the Large Yellow Croaker, I told Ah Lei to cast the net, and my daughter-in-law shouted again, asking if that red patch over there was a school of fish. I immediately went full speed. My god, a whole sea of Scad, all bright red! Haha, I knew my prosperous days were coming! I wished I had ten pairs of hands...”

At the end, Father Zhou looked at Zhou Bingqiang and the others and added a few words: “Luckily, I didn't listen to you lot today and leave Xia not taking us to sea. Otherwise, we really would have missed those Large Yellow Croakers and Scad! I wouldn't have made this nearly two thousand yuan!”

Zhou Bingqiang and the others: “...”

Seeing Father Zhou acting so smug made Zhou Bingqiang unhappy. He said with a fake smile, “Then I wish you such good luck every day, good luck for your whole life, and a prosperous life forever!”

He didn't believe he would be this lucky next time!

Father Zhou: “Thanks, I'll take that blessing! I also wish you luck as good as today every day, for your whole life!”

Fuming, Zhou Bingqiang turned around and left.

He had originally thought earning two hundred yuan today was good luck, but compared to Zhou Yongfu's two thousand, it didn't feel that way at all!

Tian Caihua looked at Jiang Xia with complex emotions.

They had just split the family yesterday, and on their first day at sea, they had earned so much money.

There wouldn't be a share for her family in this two thousand yuan, would there?

If she had known, she would have waited one more day to split the family.

(End of Chapter)