Chapter 123: Returning to Sijiucheng

This catch is probably close to two hundred jin; it's fortunate that Zhang Ping'an is here, otherwise it would have been hard for Tao Laohan to handle it alone.

"Wow, so much!"

"Hahaha, we just got lucky this time."

"Huzi, Er Ya, I'll help you."

"Auntie, don't pick up the crabs, watch out for your fingers."

"Okay."

"Xiao Ling, be careful. Uncle Tao, I'm going down to take a look."

"Splash!"

"This little Zhang, tie a rope before going down!"

Zhang Ping'an dove headfirst into the sea, swimming toward the depths like an arrow released from a bow. He collected the passing sea fish into his space. Fearing that Wang Xiaoling might be worried on the boat, he surfaced after five minutes.

Seeing Zhang Ping'an surface, Wang Xiaoling's hanging heart finally settled.

"Little Zhang, your swimming skills are even more fierce than us people who live by the sea."

"Hehe, I've practiced since I was young. I'm going to take a look in the depths now, Xiao Ling, don't worry."

"Mm."

Afterward, Zhang Ping'an dove into the deep sea again. Using the Space Water, he quickly attracted a school of fish, and Zhang Ping'an took them all. He threw sea cucumbers, swimming crabs, lobsters, abalones, oysters, and Big Yellow Fish into the pond; he didn't expect them to be jumping around vigorously.

Zhang Ping'an collected two more batches before stopping. He also put plenty of seaweed, kelp, and small shrimp into the pond, leaving two large lobsters as he shot out of the sea surface.

"Look at what I caught, a lobster! Hahaha!" Zhang Ping'an threw the lobster onto the boat and vaulted onto the boat himself.

"This thing is delicious, the meat is tender."

"Uncle Tao, cast the net over there, there are many fish there."

"Okay."

The first net was mostly sorted; after casting one more, they could have a simple meal to replenish their energy, and then it would be about time to head back.

"Holy crap, Yellow Croaker!" Looking at the golden scales shimmering on the surface as the net was pulled up, Tao Laohan couldn't help but curse.

"We've struck it rich this time! Although the price of Yellow Croaker has dropped a lot these days, it can still sell for over two thousand per jin. This net alone can sell for over three hundred thousand. Little Zhang, this is all thanks to you; half of it belongs to you."

"Uncle Tao, you are too polite. I'll just pick a few to taste."

Zhang Ping'an and Tao Laohan worked together to pull the Yellow Croaker up.

"That works, Little Zhang. Let's call it a day. It's hot today, so we need to hurry back and sell the Yellow Croaker."

He didn't ask if Zhang Ping'an wanted to purchase them; the weather simply wouldn't allow it, as they would likely be rotten by the time they were transported to Sijiucheng.

"Okay."

Today was quite satisfying; they had collected quite a lot of the common seafood from later generations, so there would be no shortage of seafood to eat in the future. Wang Xiaoling had also changed from her initial excitement to a bitter face; this sorting work really wasn't a job for a woman.

However, with Zhang Ping'an joining in, bucket after bucket of seafood was sorted and put away, while Tao Laohan rowed the boat back.

"Huzi, Er Ya, hurry back and have your grandmother bring the donkey cart; we are leaving immediately."

"Okay, Grandfather."

"Xiao Ling, you go back with Er Ya and the others; I'll stay here and help Uncle Tao."

"Mm, okay."

"Uncle Tao, tonight at 8:30, at the bamboo forest at the entrance of the village, have everyone bring the goods there; our factory has a vehicle passing by."

"Got it. I'll start arranging it as soon as I get back from the city."

"Okay."

With Zhang Ping'an's help, the items on the boat were quickly transferred to the donkey cart, to be delivered to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative in the city by Tao Laohan and his grandson, Huzi.

Zhang Ping'an returned to Tao Laohan's house, and Wang Xiaoling had already finished bathing. Seeing Zhang Ping'an's puzzled look, she said:

"It was Tao Daniang. She had already boiled water a long time ago. Their house happens to have a bathroom, so I just used it."

"Oh?" Zhang Ping'an didn't expect there to be an independent bathroom in a small fishing village.

"It was specially prepared for Tao Daniang's daughter-in-law. Tao Daniang said her son married the daughter of a leader at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, and she couldn't let her bathe in the open air."

"Mm, the hearts of parents are truly pitiful." This was fine, and it was convenient for them too. Zhang Ping'an also went to take a cool shower.

"Tao Daniang, how should I cook this Yellow Croaker to make it delicious?"

"Girl, Yellow Croaker is best steamed."

Next, Wang Xiaoling asked Tao Daniang for advice on how to cook other seafood, so she wouldn't be clueless in the future.

By six in the evening, the grandfather and grandson returned. Seeing the joy on Tao Laohan's face, one could tell that today's income was good.

"Old woman, cook all the Yellow Croaker we kept today. I'm going to have a good drink with Little Zhang tonight."

"Hehe, okay."

"Little Zhang, just the Yellow Croaker sold for nearly four hundred thousand today. Adding the rest, today's income is about four hundred and twenty thousand. This is about three months of income for us. You two are truly our lucky stars. Here, take half of the Yellow Croaker's earnings."

"Uncle Tao, you caught this with your own skills; it doesn't have much to do with us. If you really feel bad about it, just give us some dried goods before we leave."

"That works, I guarantee you'll be satisfied."

That night, Zhang Ping'an and Tao Laohan drank together. Having various kinds of seafood with their drinks was a pleasure. It really had to be these wild resources raised by nature that tasted good; the ones fed with feed in later generations didn't have any seafood flavor at all.

"Xiao Ling, I have to go out with Uncle Tao and the others tonight to take inventory of the goods. Go to sleep early, don't wait for me."

"Mm."

At eight in the evening, Zhang Ping'an and Tao Laohan went out, and everyone arrived at the bamboo forest at the village entrance driving their donkey carts one after another.

Zhang Ping'an checked everything briefly and began to weigh them.

"Four hundred and seventy jin of dried baby shrimp, five hundred and twenty jin of dried shrimp skin, three hundred and eighty jin of sea cucumber, three hundred and sixty jin of dried abalone, four hundred and fifty jin of kelp, five hundred and five jin of various sea fish, and two hundred and ten jin of dried squid."

Each jin was basically priced at one or two thousand; the total was just under ten million. After paying, Zhang Ping'an had them repackage a few of the bundles.

"Uncle Tao, you can go back after unloading the goods; I'll just wait here."

"Alright, I'll wait for you at my doorway."

Tao Laohan had also just seen Zhang Ping'an distribute several large and small bags, and he reckoned there was still a gift-giving stage, so it was indeed inconvenient for them to be here.

"Good."

Waiting for the Flashlight beam to disappear, Zhang Ping'an only then stored all the items into his space, and by the time he rushed back to Tao Laohan's house, it was already nearly nine o'clock.

"Sorry, Grandpa Tao, for making you wait so long."

"It's nothing, this hour isn't late either."

Zhang Ping'an washed up briefly, and using a sweep of his space, he saw Wang Xiaoling sitting on the bed nodding off like a chick pecking at rice.

"Knock, knock, knock."

"Xiao Ling, I'm back."

"Oh, I'll open the door for you. Did you get everything done?"

"Mm, let's sleep."

The wind by the seaside was strong, and it was still colder here at night than in Sijiucheng; Zhang Ping'an held the cat-like Wang Xiaoling in his arms and pulled the quilt over them, which was just right.

The night passed without incident, and the weather remained very good for the next two days; Zhang Ping'an and Wang Xiaoling watched the sunrise and sunset by the seaside, and during this time they went out to sea again, with a bountiful harvest.

"Grandpa, Grandma, we are going back tomorrow."

"Alright, I'll see you off tomorrow morning; come back and visit again when you have time in the future."

The harvest from Tao Laohan's two trips out to sea this time was almost catching up to his usual harvest for half a year, and in his heart, he was truly a bit reluctant to see Zhang Ping'an leave.

"Good."

In four days' time, Zhang Ping'an felt he had tanned a bit more, but Wang Xiaoling's cold, fair skin seemed to have no changes, which made Zhang Ping'an cherish her even more.

The next morning at six, after eating breakfast at Tao Laohan's house, the two of them, Zhang Ping'an and Wang Xiaoling, took the parcels prepared by Tao Laohan and sat on the donkey cart.

They arrived in the city before eight o'clock, sent off Tao Laohan, and the two of them wandered around the city again, only heading back in the afternoon while carrying their large and small bags.

The two of them arrived in Beijing just after five o'clock and casually hailed a pedicab, preparing to go home, but they didn't expect it to be Daniel Wu Cai Quanwu again.