Chapter 456: Led Hu Zi Astray

The orca pod is not far away.

Wu An shouted a few times, Hu Zi responded with a call, but did not come over immediately.

After waiting a while, Hu Zi finally came over slowly.

Hu Zi came over and circled the fishing boat; Wu An fed him some ice cubes.

After eating the ice cubes, Hu Zi called out a few times.

Wu An turned his head to look at A Qing.

A Qing watched Hu Zi's movements, then looked at the orca pod not far away, and suddenly said, "Brother, Hu Zi is saying he didn't catch the sea turtle because he didn't find a chance to break away from the pod."

Mei Wu also stared, looking bewildered, and asked, "A An, do you think that's what it means?"

Wu An: "I think so."

Mei Wu: "Why?"

Wu An: "Because I, like you, can't understand it at all; since A Qing said so, that's it."

He also wanted to learn.

Although he could communicate with Hu Zi, usually it was him speaking to Hu Zi, Hu Zi couldn't speak, and his expressive actions were also abstract, so he really couldn't understand.

But A Qing understands.

Moreover, the previous few times, A Qing's guesses were roughly correct.

Although what A Qing said this time was a bit far-fetched, he could only listen to it like that.

Actually.

Upon careful thought, it actually seems to make some sense.

Killer whales usually travel in pods; it's rare for a lone killer whale to forage alone.

A Qing also said, "Brother, Hu Zi said the last time he went to look for the sea turtle, he got beaten up; this time he originally wanted to help you find the sea turtle, but as soon as he made a move, he got lectured."

Upon hearing that, Wu An felt a bit embarrassed and guilty, so he quickly fed the remaining ice cubes to Hu Zi and gave him an apology.

A Qing said, "Brother, what apology are you making?"

"It's nothing."

"Before, when I came to play with you, I don't know how many times my mom hit me; she even wouldn't let me leave the house."

Wu An blinked: "Really?"

"There's that too?"

"How would I not know?"

In his impression, as long as he greeted him, A Qing always followed him to play.

A Qing said proudly, "My mom doesn't let me leave the house, so I climb over the wall and run out when she's not paying attention; her chasing is useless, I run faster than her, hehehe."

"Hu Zi is definitely the same."

"He came over just to tell you not to worry; he'll find a chance to sneak off and help you look for the sea turtle."

Wu An poked A Qing, feeling both amused and exasperated.

Mei Wu suddenly realized, it's not surprising that A Qing can understand Hu Zi's abstract expressions regarding the sea turtle.

Wu An leaned on the boat's edge and spoke to Hu Zi.

He thought for a long time, but still didn't give up the idea of having Hu Zi help.

There's no way around it.

Ambergris is too valuable.

If he could locate the ambergris via the sea turtle, he could figure out how to salvage it, which would be far better than fishing work.

This is not neglecting his proper duties.

It's like knowing a lottery number that will definitely win; who could resist placing a bet?

This is quick money.

Money sent by heaven into one's hands shouldn't be refused for nothing.

Of course, it won't affect normal fishing operations later.

Watching Hu Zi nod and leave, Wu An felt like a societal big brother who leads good kids astray; looking at A Qing, in his past life he didn't behave well, didn't he just lead A Qing astray?

If he hadn't been reborn, perhaps A Qing following him would have ended up in the village no better than a stray dog.

Saying goodbye to Hu Zi.

Returning to the dock, just past mealtime.

Because this haul wasn't large, stone crab was the biggest catch, over a thousand jin; next was sea wolf fish, about three hundred jin; other miscellaneous fish like yellow-legged spicy, black bream, and sea bass together added up to a few hundred jin.

He called A Jin to chat, and finally decided to return to the village dock.

As for the price, it's roughly the same.

Lao Xie is also an old partner; during this time he hasn't returned to the village dock, Lao Xie didn't say anything but probably had some thoughts in his mind; this relationship also needs to be maintained.

Approaching the village dock.

Wu An checked the time; it was already 1 p. m., past mealtime, he hadn't cooked, and would eat after dealing with the catch.

They're all guys.

Being a little hungry is no big deal.

A Qing was somewhat excited, came out of the boat shed, and shouted outside, "Brother, A Wu Ge, my mom and sister-in-law are here."

Upon hearing that, Wu An and Mei Wu turned off the TV, put on their hats, walked to the deck, saw Mei Yueqin, and waved vigorously.

Mei Yueqin beamed, holding up her lunch box.

Li Juan also had something in her hand.

The fishing boat docked.

The two of them boarded the boat.

Everyone exchanged greetings.

Wu An asked, "Sister-in-law, how did you know we didn't have lunch?"

"Just a guess." Mei Yueqin said offhand, opening the lunchbox to reveal three layers: fried clams, poached chicken, steamed dumplings—a local specialty.

Wu An said, "Thank you, sister-in-law, thank you, aunt."

Mei Wu also chimed in, "Thank you, sister-in-law."

Mei Yueqin shot Mei Wu a glare.

Mei Wu chuckled, "I'm so hungry I'm stupid, so hungry I'm stupid."

Li Juan held a soup pot; opening it released the aroma of old duck soup.

It was very fragrant.

Li Juan slapped away A Qing's outstretched hand, saying, "Look at you drooling—go wash your hands."

A Qing turned around.

Wu An and Mei Wu had washed their hands, scratched their heads, and then rushed to wash them again.

Wu An beckoned Lao Fu Tou over.

The four of them squatted down, ate a hearty meal, washed it down with a bowl of old duck soup, finally let out a satisfied burp—so content.

They had just finished eating.

Lao Xie came rushing in.

He also brought three helpers.

As soon as they got on board, Lao Xie hastily passed out cigarettes, saying, "Sorry, sorry, a customer just showed up at the shop, holding us up for a while."

Wu An waved a hand, saying, "Lao Xie, given our relationship, you can have me wait a day—I don't mind."

"Come on, let's have a look at the catch."

Lao Xie saw the catch on the boat and could barely keep from grinning.

The boat held about two meals' worth of catch—just enough for him to eat; any more and he'd lack the means to sell it, becoming a hassle.

That's just right.

After looking at the catch, Lao Xie also offered a price.

It was basically the same as what A Jin offered; Lao Xie was fair, knowing Wu An only contacted him when coming to the village dock, so he didn't reduce the price—in fact, his price was higher than other stalls'.

In just over half an hour, the catch was all moved, weighed, and then sent to the cold storage.

Wu An and the others didn't slack off either; they helped move the cargo, all eager to finish quickly so everyone could head home early.

Having finally managed to return this early, nobody wanted to waste time at the dock.

All done.

Lao Fu Tou said, "A An, I'm not going with you to settle the accounts."

"I'll stay behind to clean up the fishing boat."

Wu An nodded, saying, "All right, thanks for the hard work, Lao Fu."

Mei Wu and A Qing, seeing this, also opted not to go settle the accounts, saying they'd stay to help Lao Fu clean up.

Wu An nodded and said nothing else.

If we lacked even this much trust, this time would have been wasted for nothing.