Chapter 14: Going to Chase the Sea

The watermelon was clearly soaked in well water, making it rather cool; after eating several pieces, Wu An took out the money he had divided, reasoning that the fish were caught together, so this time they would split it evenly, and later calculate shares based on contribution.

In his previous life, the people he kept company with despised him like a dog, and only A Qing still regarded him as a person; after many years apart, when they met again he still called him brother.

A Qing treated him as a brother, and he also regarded A Qing as a half‑brother from different parents.

Seeing so much money, A Qing shouted, "Brother, what are you doing?"

"I already said I don't want the money."

"Whatever you say, I haven't taken any."

"Oh, right, my mother has already cooked all the fish, and there's more than we can eat; the leftovers aren't good after a night, so you can stay and have some together."

Wu An fell silent upon hearing that; who said A Qing was foolish?

He finished the watermelon in his hand, wiped his mouth, and said, "Even among brothers we settle accounts clearly; each of us takes a share. The fishing gear I borrowed counts as a share, the fishing spot I chose counts as a share."

"Then you take a quarter."

A Qing still shook his head: "No, that's not right."

"The fish I caught aren't more than yours."

"You're not a stranger; I don't want to take advantage of you."

Wu An set his face sternly: "A Qing, listen to me!"

"This isn't just us brothers fooling around."

"From now on we are fishermen, living off the sea; this is a career!"

"Do you understand what a career is?"

A Qing nodded vaguely, half‑understanding.

Wu An didn't care whether he understood, and continued, "Since it's a career, we can't be sloppy."

A Qing nodded: "Brother, I'll follow your word."

"Then I'll take these."

While speaking, he took two red banknotes and said, "If there's more, I don't want it."

"If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have earned a single cent."

"Brother, don't give me more money; I feel uneasy holding it."

Wu An nodded: "Alright."

"From now on when we go out to sea to fish and chase the sea, the harvest will always count you as ten percent."

"You can discuss this with your mother."

A Qing nodded.

After eating the watermelon, leaving half, A Qing said to set it aside for his meal, and he didn't refuse.

He is already determined to become a new person; after the prodigal returns, he will surely be taken back into the big family by Father, his brother and sister‑in‑law, and then, once home, there will be food and drink, so, let's enjoy and cherish it.

Soon, Li Juan's voice came from the kitchen: "Clear the table, it's time to eat."

Wu An helped tidy up.

He went to the kitchen to carry plates, and fetch bowls and chopsticks.

Don't ask how he knows this so well.

The folding table was small; a few plates barely fit; there was steamed Sea Bass, braised Black Bream, stir‑fried water spinach, fried shredded potatoes, and on the floor a rice cooker containing Stone Nine Public's stewed tofu soup.

Four dishes and a soup, fresh and richly fragrant.

A Qing said, "Mom, this is the money I earned."

Two hundred yuan slapped onto the table.

Li Juan looked at the money and smiled, "Alright, I'll keep it for you."

She picked up the money, stood, and found a metal box to put it in.

This money is different from other money.

It was earned by her son.

She must save it well.

A Qing laughed, "Mom, this amount of money isn't that much, is it?"

"One day, my brother and I will still go chase the sea to fish; this little metal box probably can't hold all the money I earn."

Li Juan said, "Don't brag."

"Earn it first and show me, Mom."

"If the metal box can't hold it, Mom, you'll buy a safe to keep it at home."

Don't be fooled by her blunt words; inside she's delighted.

The son is ambitious and wants to earn money; that's better than anything.

Wu An said, "No need to wait for another day."

"Auntie, I still need to ask you, what time does the tide go out tonight?"

"I plan to take A Qing to the tidal flat to chase the sea."

The tidal flat is near the sea mouth.

After the tide recedes there, the ground is covered in mud, and everywhere are treasures: clams, blood clams, razor clams, etc., most common, also sea snails, crabs, scallops.

He didn't decide on a whim.

The reason he said to go to the tidal flat is that, in his previous life when he fled the small fishing village in a mess, there was a "green crab migration" at the tidal flat, and someone happened to make a big profit.

Because it was so long ago, his memory is fuzzy; he recalls that the "green crab migration" only occurred under very special circumstances, sparking much village gossip.

At that time he was jealous, feeling that Heaven was unfair—why wasn't he the one who discovered it, so he could make a fortune without having to run away.

He just thought of going to see it now.

If luck is good and we meet it, we could just snatch it.

If we don't meet it, that's fine; now he is no longer Wu Xia A Meng. The sea's resources are abundant, treasure everywhere—rocky reef fishing, tidal‑flat sea‑hunting, water‑pumping pits, going out to sea to fish—all are good ways to make money.

With a hook on you, earning money is just a matter of grabbing it.

Li Juan said, "Why go after the sea at night? It's too dangerous."

"At night the shore is too dark; even on a full moon, if you go far you can't see any silhouettes, and if something happens you won't know how to rescue."

"Don't go out there without catching any sea goods and end up giving yourself to the sea."

Wu An set down his chopsticks and said seriously, "I'll be careful."

"I've heard many villagers also go sea‑hunting late at night."

"If we can't go after the sea, A Qing and I will come back."

"Aunt, A Qing and I have already sworn to be upright, to be good people, to work hard to earn money; you have to support us."

Li Juan hesitated, then finally nodded, "Alright."

"The ebb tide is around 1 a. m."

"Don't sound so nice; you won't be able to get up then."

A Qing shouted, "I can get up, I can get up."

"If I don't sleep, that's fine."

"Hehe."

Wu An raised his thumb, "Now who can tell the difference between you and Einstein?"

A Qing scratched his head, "Huh?"

Wu An coughed, "Just praising your wit."

A Qing realized, "Yes, yes, yes, I know, Einstein, a great scientist."

Li Juan called, "Don't just talk."

"Eat quickly, eat quickly."

"A An, try Aunt's cooking and see if it suits your taste."

"First ladle the fish soup; by the time we finish the rice, the soup will be cold."

Very quickly.

The dishes on the table dwindled rapidly.

Two fish and two plates of vegetables were eaten clean, the fish soup was down to half a pot; after Wu An finished, he let out a satisfied belch and then felt sleepy.

Full and sated, he just wanted to lie down.

Helping clear the dishes, he checked the time on A Qing's wall clock and saw it was already 8:30 p. m.; yawning, he said goodbye, staggered home, and fell straight to sleep.

In that sleep he dreamed a lot, two lives tangled, turning over and over; in the dream, A Qing kept calling him, shouting "bro, bro, bro" even though he was right in front of him.

"What are you shouting about?"

"I'm not deaf."

Wu An suddenly rolled over and sat up, realizing he was on his bed, that it had been a dream, and outside the house A Qing's shout was still audible.

He shook his head, got up and went to open the door.

A Qing, wearing a headlamp and carrying a water bucket that also held a clamp and a shovel for sea‑hunting, said, "Brother, you finally woke up."

"Your snoring was really loud; I could hear it from outside the house."

"Someone who didn't know would think it was thunder."

Wu An thought that snoring just meant he wasn't too tired; after crossing the long river of history and being reborn, he's just exhausted, too lazy for idle talk with A Qing, and asked, "What time is it?"

A Qing shouted, "I left the house at around 1:10."

Early the next morning.

The system must have refreshed.

He grabbed the clamp from the bucket.

Luck Value: 33 (18).

Target: Sea‑hunting clamp (+).

Description: This is a clamp used to snatch sea goods; after being imbued with Luck, in areas with seafood it has a chance to grab the seafood, and the more Luck is infused, the lower the chance of the seafood escaping.