Two days flew by, and before we knew it, it was the afternoon before we set sail.
Because the holiday was over, Qin Anning, although she wanted to go out to sea with Fu Wan and the others, had to say goodbye to everyone and go back to work at the camp.
This time, however, she didn't go back alone; Qin Mingzhu and Fu Ling also went to the camp with her.
Just yesterday, Qin Anning quickly arranged for Qin Mingzhu to enroll in school. The two children happily became first-grade students, carrying the military green schoolbags that Ye Xiaocui had made in advance.
There was no concept of preschool at that time. Fu Ling spent an afternoon at the school and fell in love with the camp environment.
Although Qin Mingzhu was not talkative, she was very adaptable. Fu Wan secretly observed from outside the classroom that both children listened attentively during class.
Since Fu Wan and the others were going out to sea this afternoon, she discussed with them when she took the two children to school this morning that they could stay at Qin Anning's place tonight, and Fu Wan would pick them up tomorrow afternoon.
Qin Mingzhu naturally had no objections, and Fu Ling hesitated for two seconds before agreeing as well, as she also liked Qin Anning, her sweet-smelling aunt.
So after dropping the two children and Qin Anning off at the camp in the morning, Fu Wan immediately bought fishing bait for their sea trip. Having not been out to sea for a long time, Fu Wan and the others were even a little excited.
"Ah Wan, should we bring crab traps and bamboo tubes on this sea voyage?"
Ye Lin picked up several neatly arranged hand-thrown nets and turned to ask Fu Wan.
"Take them with you. It's late October now, and there are still plenty of plump crabs with their shells on!"
Fu Wan buried herself in cutting sardines into pieces. There was bait on both sides that she had to deal with. If she cut them now, she wouldn't have to spend any more time getting back on the boat.
The men were all carrying fishing nets and other equipment onto the boat. Jiang Chunlan and Ye Xiaocui were also busy. One of them went to the vegetable garden, picked a basket of vegetables, and washed them. The other cooked a large pot of rice in the rice cooker.
Setting sail this afternoon means they won't be back at the dock until tomorrow morning. So, barring any unforeseen circumstances, they'll have to have dinner on the boat.
Previously, they always ate noodles when they went out to sea, but they got tired of it. Casting nets by hand was also a tiring job, so Ye Xiaocui thought of preparing some rice so that those who wanted rice could eat it, and those who wanted noodles could cook noodles.
When the weather gets cold, it's best to eat something hot on the boat.
Soon, all the preparations for setting sail were complete. Just as everyone was carrying the last fish baskets out the door, unexpectedly, Village Chief Fu arrived.
"Oh, so you're going out to sea?"
Last night, Village Chief Fu enjoyed a delicious roast duck at home. Liu San Niang was also happy and let him have a little wine, so when he came over, his smile never stopped.
"Yes, Village Chief, what's the matter?"
Fu Wan put down the bucket of bait in her hand, stopped and asked Old Village Chief Fu.
"It's nothing, I just wanted to let you know that your dad told me the day before yesterday about contracting the sea area, it might actually work out."
If you're really planning to take on the contract, be prepared. I've already inquired; the initial contracting fees shouldn't be much, but there's a condition: you can't damage the marine environment.
Fu Wan nodded, "Of course. Don't worry, Village Chief, our family is always ready."
Knowing they wouldn't let him down, Village Chief Fu smiled and said, "That's good. It's getting late, you should hurry up and head out to sea!"
"I'm going to the pier tomorrow morning to see what's going on."
Fu Wan sighed helplessly. Why do people nowadays like to watch other people's harvests at the dock? Doesn't it make them envious?
Little did she know that the villagers were simply looking at the fish because they couldn't catch them themselves.
Although many people were envious, everyone was convinced of her abilities, especially those who followed Fu Wan in catching a lot of octopuses with bamboo tube traps, who praised Fu Wan even more.
As the chains were untied, thick smoke rose from the diesel engine, and Fu Wan's family successfully sailed away from the dock.
To be honest, after visiting the hutongs, alleys, and courtyards of Beijing for several days, Fu Wan still missed the boundless blue sea.
Fu Ming is now steering the boat. Originally, it was Boss Fu who was in charge, but Fu Ming hasn't touched the rudder for several days and just stands there refusing to move.
Fu Laoda had no choice but to let him drive, while he followed Fu Liang, Ye Lin and the other two to tidy up the trawl net.
Because ships pass by every day, there is very little marine life in the waters near the pier.
Therefore, this place is not suitable for trawling. Boss Fu stood on the deck, and the ship was heading towards Swallow's Nest Island.
It was still early, with two or three hours until dark.
Ye Xiaocui and Jiang Chunlan decided to go to the island to take a look. They hadn't seen each other for several days, and there had been two days of wind and rain. Maybe there would be some unexpected surprises on the island.
As for casting nets for fishing, the nights are long, and it's the time when sea fish like to come out the most.
"Ah Wan, I haven't asked you yet, how much did you sell that piece of red coral for last time?"
Looking at the vast ocean, Fu Laoda recalled the scene of his family's last trip to sea a while ago, and then he remembered the piece of red coral that the finless porpoise had given to Fu Wan.
He'd been so busy these past few days that he'd forgotten to ask Fu Wan about it.
Fu Wan didn't hide anything from her own father.
"It's sold. It sold for over three million."
"Tao Shao?!"
Fu Laoda could hardly believe his ears. Seeing that his daughter didn't seem to be lying to him, he pinched his thigh hard, still in disbelief.
"Hey, I told you, that thing is definitely expensive!"
By the way, is that thing coral?
Fu Wan nodded, and didn't forget to give him a thumbs up in praise.
"Dad has a sharp eye. This thing really is red coral. Uncle Jin said it's top-grade oxblood red coral."
Boss Fu was so excited. Three million! He had never seen so much money, not even when he was a ghost in his past life.
However, Fu Wan was also puzzled as to how her father could recognize that thing as red coral.
Fu Laoda cleared up her doubts, "When I was young, I worked as a handyman on a ship. Some of the sea monsters who were diving found this thing."
It's not as big as yours, but the color is similar.
However, their employer eventually took the red coral, giving the man only a reward of ten silver dollars.
Even so, ten silver dollars made his fellow sea monster incredibly envious.
So Boss Fu had the image of this thing etched into his very being. When Fu Wan held that stone in her hand, he blurted it out.
However, he wasn't sure at the time, which is why he asked Fu Wan to take him to the capital to show others.
Now that he knows this thing was sold for over three million, Boss Fu is not only happy, but also a little wistful.
Back then, they thought ten silver dollars was already a lot of money, but now it seems that the employer probably cheated them out of a lot of money.
After listening to Boss Fu recount his story, Fu Wan couldn't help but sigh, "Indeed, no merchant is without guile."
Just then, Ye Lin and Fu Liang's shouts rang out.
"We've arrived at Swallow's Nest Island. We need to prepare to disembark!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com