Chapter 112: Duan Chunsheng Who Followed Along

After that person stepped out, he warily glanced around; moonlight fell on his face, and Ye Cheng and Xiao Hu immediately recognized him.

The two exchanged a glance, and each saw surprise in the other's eyes.

"Brother, that looks like Uncle Chunsheng."

"Yeah, it's him, but I don't know how he ended up here—did he come on his own, or did he follow us?" Ye Cheng was a bit unsure.

"Brother, what should we do?" If it were a stranger, Xiao Hu would still dare to go over and argue a few words, but now that he recognizes him, Xiao Hu feels a bit embarrassed.

"What can we do? We have to keep foraging; we can't just leave things behind."

"Hurry, there are plenty of pipa shrimp here."

Ye Cheng pulled Xiao Hu up, ignored Duan Chunsheng behind them, and straightaway took the net and started scooping shrimp.

As soon as the two stood up, Duan Chunsheng saw them and was instantly delighted.

He shouted at the two of them,

"Lao Er, Xiao Hu!"

Since they called out, Ye Cheng couldn't not respond; he had to stop, turn back, and wave at Duan Chunsheng, saying, "Uncle, what a coincidence."

Duan Chunsheng had been running toward Ye Cheng's side, but upon hearing Ye Cheng say "what a coincidence," his formerly cheerful steps turned uneasy, and his face flushed with embarrassment.

"That Lao Er, it's not really a matter of coincidence—I just came along with you." Duan Chunsheng said, head lowered, voice soft.

"No wonder it's such a coincidence—Uncle Chunsheng, you're actually following us." Xiao Hu said, looking at Duan Chunsheng.

"Uncle, why are you coming with us?" Ye Cheng said, his tone a bit cold.

Who would like having someone follow them, especially secretly?

Duan Chunsheng lifted his head, revealing a bitter expression, and looked pleadingly at Ye Cheng: "Lao Er, I just want to make some money with you; you know my family's situation—if we don't get the boat fixed, we'll have even less money, and I have no choice."

"So when I saw you guys come out at night, I followed you. When you shouted just now, I followed the sound over here."

Duan Chunsheng explained the whole situation.

After hearing Duan Chunsheng's words, Xiao Hu complained, "Back then, my brother voluntarily lent you money, but you refused it; now you're saying you have no money."

A hint of shame rose on Duan Chunsheng's already dark face; he lowered his head like a child who had made a mistake, not knowing what to say, which made Ye Cheng feel deeply moved.

The pain of middle-aged people is just like this—silent and unseen, even more painful than a knife cutting flesh.

All dignity and face are false; only the mouths waiting to be fed and the children waiting to buy books at home are real.

Ye Cheng remembered that when he was young, his father once took him to a leader's house to ask the leader to handle something.

His father back then was the same—wanting face but having to let it go; that awkward, embarrassed look Ye Cheng could remember for a lifetime.

He sighed, pulled Xiao Hu close, and said, "All right, Uncle, this sea isn't ours, so if you want to follow, follow; but this patch of pipa shrimp is something we discovered."

Duan Chunsheng glanced gratefully at Ye Cheng, then lowered his head to look at the dense pipa shrimp, a flicker of joy in his eyes—Ye Cheng and his companions' foraging really is different; things appear in sheets.

"Well then, Lao Er, I'll go over there—not far—so we can look out for each other." Duan Chunsheng walked over ten meters to the right and lowered his head to search for things.

Ye Cheng didn't dislike Duan Chunsheng; he was just an ordinary fisherman, but the last time he kindly lent him money and still got slandered, which really annoyed him; if he's coming along, let him come—staying nearby might let him enjoy a bit of the system's buff.

Ignoring Duan Chunsheng, Ye Cheng and Xiao Hu began gathering the pipa shrimp in this area.

This kind of foraging feels great—like picking up money off the ground—and Xiao Hu was so happy he started singing.

On the other side, Duan Chunsheng looked at the two busy people, then lowered his head to search on the beach; seeing those sheets of pipa shrimp made him envious.

If I could forage like that, I'd soon have enough money to buy a boat.

Beneath his feet, in the shallow water, a shrimp jumped; he took out his net and carefully scooped up two drum shrimp.

This kind of drum shrimp is distinctive—its two claws are one large and one small, recognizable at a glance.

Although drum shrimp aren't a high-end variety, their price is decent; if we could get several dozen jin of them, that would be good too.

With a harvest in hand, Duan Chunsheng searched more carefully, but he paid attention to one thing: following Ye Cheng.

He kept a certain distance from Ye Cheng—too close and he feared Ye Cheng would get angry; too far and he worried he wouldn't benefit from Ye Cheng's luck.

Although he didn't know exactly what Ye Cheng and Xiao Hu's "cat nip" was, he knew the key was Ye Cheng, so staying close to him was definitely right.

Ye Cheng looked up at Duan Chunsheng, who gave him a smile, then continued bending over to pick things up.

"Brother, there are several coconut snails over here—I feel the snakeskin bag won't be enough." Xiao Hu called out from over there.

"Coconut snails?" Hearing that, Duan Chunsheng's heart involuntarily jumped—how many have they picked up? The bag can't hold them all.

He looked at the snakeskin bag in his hand; no matter the harvest, he had brought out six snakeskin bags today.

After thinking it over, he still decided to walk over and give it a try.

"Brother, he's coming over." Xiao Hu, holding a coconut snail, pointed at Duan Chunsheng and said.

Ye Cheng stopped moving, frowned slightly, and wondered if Duan Chunsheng was coming over to forcibly take things.

The two stood still, waiting for Duan Chunsheng to approach.

Unexpectedly, he stopped just three meters away, shaking the snakeskin bag in his hand,

and said, "Lao Er, Xiao Hu, I still have snakeskin bags; if you need more, just take them."

After speaking, Duan Chunsheng put the snakeskin bag on the ground, then turned back to his original spot, ten meters from Ye Cheng.

Seeing the snakeskin bag floating on the water, Ye Cheng thought a moment and told Xiao Hu, "Go ahead and use it."

This time he formed a new impression of Duan Chunsheng—he knows his limits, has requests but doesn't overstep; he could be considered a talent among fishermen.

With the snakeskin bag, Xiao Hu no longer panicked; he filled one bag with pipa shrimp and another with coconut snails—he had only one left earlier, and if he got more coconut snails he felt he could find a belt loop to tie it around his waist.

Now that he had the snakeskin bag in hand, he felt at ease.

The two walked slowly along the shore, found eight more coconut snails, then came across another patch of pipa shrimp; their harvest was abundant.

After lighting a cigarette and resting a while, Ye Cheng heard a faint rustling sound coming from the beach ahead.

It sounded like something small crawling on the sand—looks like the goods have arrived.

Ye Cheng stood up and looked, then froze.