Chapter 3: Cutting Ties? Beachcombing!

Chu Dashan paced back and forth in a panic. There were many valuable items in the house, and he couldn't let them be used to settle Chu Xuan's debts.

Chu Zhi, who had been wailing on the ground, suddenly sat up. "Dad, Mom, how could you forget? Didn't we just separate Chu Xuan and her brother from the family today? What does a three-thousand-yuan debt have to do with us?"

As he spoke, he winked suggestively at Feng Chunhua.

Feng Chunhua understood instantly. She slapped her thighs and beamed with joy. "That's right! We have already separated the household from Chu Xuan and Chu Feng. Their residence is the old house. Go over there and move your things!"

Just then, the village chief, Wang Depin, arrived in a hurry. He spoke politely to One-Eyed Dragon, "Dalong! Could you let me take a look at the IOU?"

The two knew each other and shared some level of friendship.

One-Eyed Dragon released Chu Xuan's collar and pulled the IOU from his pocket.

Wang Depin took it and confirmed that Chu Xuan owed three thousand yuan.

Returning the IOU, he negotiated with One-Eyed Dragon, "We both know each other. For my sake, could you grant them a few years' grace? I will act as a guarantor for the Chu family; I'll ensure they pay it off within three years. How about that?"

One-Eyed Dragon pointed to the wardrobe his men had just moved out. "For your sake, these can stay for now. However, the Chu family must pay one hundred yuan on the 20th of every month. If they fail to pay on time, we will come back to continue moving things! You won't be able to stop us then."

The village chief immediately promised, "I definitely won't stop you then."

One-Eyed Dragon waved to his men and walked out.

Everyone couldn't help but marvel at the village chief's influence.

Feng Chunhua hurriedly shouted after them, "Our village chief is guaranteeing for Chu Xuan! If you want to collect the debt in the future, go to the old house to find her. We've separated!"

One-Eyed Dragon turned back and glared at her fiercely. "Who can prove you've separated?"

He strode away.

Seeing that the debt collectors had finally left and the household items were temporarily safe, Feng Chunhua threw herself onto the ground, wailing, "I can't live like this! That brat Chu Xuan has caused such a massive disaster—a three-thousand-yuan debt! Isn't this trying to take my life and the old man's life? Village Chief, you must stand up for us and finalize the separation!"

Chu Zhi added viciously, "Not just separation, we want to sever all kinship ties!"

Three thousand yuan was no small sum.

The village chief said, "This isn't appropriate..."

But no matter how he tried to persuade them, it was useless.

It was useless when Chu Xuan and her brother pleaded.

It was useless when the villagers begged for mercy.

Feng Chunhua and Chu Dashan simply refused to budge, forcing Chu Xuan and her brother to sign the separation agreement and the severance of kinship papers.

In the end, besides the old house and their personal belongings, Chu Xuan and her brother received nothing.

The village chief hesitated to speak, but he didn't voice any further opposition. Severing ties might be for the best; it would make it easier for him to help the siblings later. As for the debt, perhaps he could contact Chu Xuan's biological mother to help pay it.

The onlookers gradually dispersed.

Chu Feng, having been forced into a separation, was in low spirits. It wasn't until he carried his belongings to the dilapidated old house that he burst into sobs. "There's nothing! The house is so broken, how can anyone live here? Won't repairs cost money? You accidentally broke Brother Long's jade ornament—how are we supposed to pay a hundred yuan every month?"

In her past life, Chu Xuan had endured this guy for years, but she wasn't in the mood to endure him now. She gave him a kick in the backside. "Go put your things in the room, grab a bucket, and come with me to scavenge the shore!"

It was almost five o'clock; the King Mackerel and the Golden Yuanbao had to be hers!

Chu Feng's backside stung from the kick. Immediately remembering his sister's ferocity, he didn't dare continue crying or fight back. He quickly went into the house to drop off his luggage, grabbed a bucket and bamboo tongs, and followed his sister out.

Upon reaching the beach, Chu Xuan looked toward the direction where the King Mackerel was about to appear. The tide had not yet fully receded in that area.

Near that pile of rocks ahead, once the tide receded completely, a fish would get stuck between two reefs. She intended to go there and wait for the fish.

She pointed toward the rocks and commanded, "Xiao Feng, let's go over there and see if there's anything."

Chu Feng didn't dare say no and nodded in agreement.

Two minutes later, they reached the vicinity of the rocks.

Chu Feng spotted an octopus the size of a man's palm under a stone. He deftly used the bamboo tongs to pluck it out and happily tossed it into the bucket, feeling like they could have an extra treat tonight.

Chu Xuan was searching lower down. As luck would have it, she saw a small octopus under another stone. Just as she was about to grab it, Chu Feng had already bent down, snatched it, and thrown it into the bucket.

When it came to catching these, Chu Feng was even more eager than his sister.

In the past, they could scavenge for hours without necessarily encountering an octopus.

From then on, wherever Chu Xuan went, her little brother followed, obeying her every command.

With the upcoming big fish on her mind, Chu Xuan waited while searching through the rocks. She found a few stone crabs the size of fingernails and released them immediately.

The rock pile here was quite large. Fortunately, Chu Xuan had keen eyes. A few minutes later, just as the tide receded, a large fish was stranded between two rocks, spotted instantly by Chu Xuan.

Chu Feng didn't see it; he was busy searching for seafood.

Chu Xuan grabbed him by the collar, pointed toward the spot, and whispered, "There's a big fish over there! Don't make a sound. Let's get over there quickly."

She didn't want to attract people to come and snatch the fish.

The two of them ran over.

As they approached, Chu Feng recognized it immediately—it was a large mackerel. He saw the sheer joy reflected in Chu Xuan's eyes.

It was over a meter long and looked to weigh about sixty or seventy jin. It could truly be called the King Mackerel.

Mackerel meat is thick and firm, appearing in garlic-clove shapes; the flesh is reddish, delicious, and has few bones. Everyone in the village loved eating it.

At this moment, the large mackerel was gasping for its last breaths, at their mercy.

With almost no effort, Chu Xuan hoisted the large mackerel onto her shoulder.

On the beach, everyone who saw the large fish let out exclamations of surprise.

Those who wanted to rush up and snatch the fish couldn't act in time; the matter was already settled.

Since it was already on Chu Xuan's shoulder, it was difficult for them to steal it.

They all envied the good luck of the siblings; such a large mackerel was a rare sight.

Just then, a couple ran over, their eyes gleaming.

The woman spoke first, "This King Mackerel will definitely taste amazing! Brother Guang, you have to buy it for me! We'll go home and braise a few sections, make some mackerel dumplings with a few more, and salt the rest. It'll be enough for our family to eat for two days!"

Chou Daguang nodded repeatedly in agreement, rubbing his hands together. He was mentally calculating a suitable price; if the price was too high, he wouldn't buy it now—he could just go steal it tonight.

Chu Xuan recognized the couple at a glance. The woman was named Qi Hong and the man was Chou Daguang. They were famous in the village as a shiftless man and a lazy wife, experts at being slippery and dishonest.

In her previous life, this couple had tried to steal this King Mackerel when they couldn't buy it, but they were caught by the Chu family and failed.

The trade this couple engaged in was despicable: stealing fish from other people's nets at sea, and stealing vegetables, money, and all sorts of things on land. Later, they even turned to kidnapping children.

Chu Xuan couldn't be bothered with them. She hoisted the large mackerel and prepared to leave, her mind focused on going home to clean the fish and get the Golden Yuanbao, leaving no time for further scavenging.

Qi Hong spread her arms wide, blocking her path.

Chu Xuan and Chu Feng shouted almost simultaneously, "Get out of the way!"