The eve of the storm
My uncle's house isn't far away; it's right behind the convenience store, and it only takes a few minutes to get there.
When Chen Zhiyao arrived with her things, her older cousin and sister-in-law were in the yard sorting through the leftover fish.
"Brother and sister-in-law, you had a good haul today!"
Hearing Chen Zhiyao's clear voice, Shen Qingmei turned around and smiled:
"Tangtang, you've come at the right time. I saved two fish for you. Your brother was just about to take them."
“We’re really on the same wavelength. There are quite a few crabs in the crab trap today. I’ve brought some blue crabs and clams over.”
As she spoke, Chen Zhiyao, with a beaming smile, handed the bucket of water in her hand to Shen Qingmei.
"Tangtang, you're here."
Just then, the uncle who heard the noise came over with a bucket containing a black sea bream weighing over 1 jin (approximately 500 grams) and a turbot weighing about 2 jin (approximately 1 kg).
Seeing the orchid crabs in the bucket, the thrifty Chen Daqiang muttered to himself:
"Why did you bring so many orchid crabs? They're quite big. You should sell them."
Chen Zhiyao replied with a grin, "Then why don't you sell this fish, Uncle?"
Chen Daqiang glared at him, feigning displeasure. "You little brat, you dare to talk back? Your second brother will be back from his holiday in a couple of days, come over for dinner then."
“Great! I haven’t seen my second brother in a long time.”
Chen Zhiyao has two older cousins. Her eldest cousin, Chen Feng, has been fishing with his family since he was a child, and now he has even converted the fishing boat into a fishing boat.
My second cousin didn't like being a fisherman, so after graduating from university, he became a nine-to-five office worker.
The family's fishing boat has been making good profits lately, and Chen Daqiang is thinking of calling his youngest son back to help.
When I came out of my uncle's house, I saw many dark clouds gathering on the horizon, looking rather oppressive.
"Looks like it's going to rain." Chen Zhiyao carried the bucket and hurried home.
The two fish we brought back were caught by my cousin and his friends at Seagull Island today, and they're still lively and jumping around.
Seeing that the two fish were quite lively, Chen Zhiyao put them in the water tank in the yard to keep them.
In addition, the bluefin bream from this morning was also kept in the tank.
The water tank in the corner is a square with a length, width, and height of one meter, and there is a small aerator on the side.
We usually keep the fish that we can't finish eating here temporarily.
In addition, there is a rectangular tank next to it, which contains some small seafood such as oysters, clams, and white clams.
When Chen Zhiyao returned to the kitchen, she could already smell the delicious aroma; it was going to be another seafood feast that night.
The huge steamer was divided into two layers. The top layer was filled with plump and roe-filled orchid crabs, while the bottom layer was filled with whole, unsalted oysters.
In addition, there was freshly cooked braised sea eel, and clams and white clams that were about to be cooked.
Chen Zhiyao diligently assisted from the side, while also learning from the others.
Yan Shuting timed her cooking perfectly. Just as Chen Zhiyao put the last dish on the table, two footsteps, one light and one heavy, came from the doorway.
Chen Zhiyao was quite familiar with the footsteps around the house, and she knew immediately that her father and grandmother had returned.
More and more dark clouds gathered in the sky, and it started to drizzle when we were only halfway through dinner.
Although there was no wind, it felt rather muggy, somewhat like the precursor to a typhoon.
Chen Zhiyao turned her head and looked at the yard that was already wet from the rain. It seemed that she couldn't go out to sea tomorrow.
Fishermen rely on the weather for their livelihood; if it rains or there are strong winds, they can't go out to sea.
Yan Shuting was dismantling crabs when she suddenly remembered that her daughter had rented a place in Guangzhou before, and it seemed that she hadn't yet terminated the lease.
"Tangtang, have you still cancelled your lease on the apartment you rented before?"
Chen Zhiyao, who was focused on eating clams, was taken aback; she had really forgotten about it.
“I had completely forgotten about my house in Guangzhou until you mentioned it. I still have a lot of clothes and other things there. I’ll go back later and pack them up and send them back.”
Chen Zhiyao lived there for two years, and the rented room contained quite a lot of things.
"Then you should go back and pack your things to check out of the house as soon as possible. Since you're not going back to Guangzhou, the rent is just going to be paid to the landlord for nothing."
Yan Shuting felt a pang of heartache at the thought that this month's rent had been wasted.
Chen Zhiyao thought for two minutes before stammering out:
"The small single room I rented only costs 700 yuan a month, while the fishing boat costs 4,000 yuan a month. I'll wait until the rental period for the fishing boat is over before making a decision."
Chen Zhiyao said nice things, but she just wanted to stall for time and didn't want to go back to pack her things.
There's too much stuff, it's giving me a headache.
No one knows a daughter better than her mother, and Yan Shuting saw through her little scheme at a glance.
“Isn’t it raining outside? It looks like there’s going to be a typhoon. Why don’t you take this opportunity to go back to Guangzhou and get these things sorted out?”
Chen Zhiyao's procrastination kicked in again, and she shook her head with a grin:
"No rush. I've been out at sea every day lately, and I've lost weight from exhaustion. I want to rest for a couple of days."
"Anyway, the rent isn't expensive. I'll go back to Guangzhou to check out when the fishing boat lease expires, and visit some friends for a few days."
Chen Weiqiang chimed in, "It's only 700 yuan in rent, let her have it."
Yan Shuting thought about how hard her daughter had been working these past few days, leaving early and returning late. The 700 yuan rent wasn't much, so she decided to leave it at that.
Chen Weiqiang suddenly patted his daughter on the shoulder, "Didn't you want to buy a car before? You can use my current minivan."
"Ah, you gave me the car, so what are you going to do?" Chen Zhiyao didn't expect the topic to change so suddenly, and looked at Chen Weiqiang with a blank expression.
"I'll buy a new one," Chen Weiqiang said with a sly grin.
"..."
Okay, so I was just a tool for you to buy your new car.
"But I don't have a driver's license yet."
Chen Zhiyao originally came back to rest and take her driver's license test, but she had completely forgotten about it while going out to sea and fishing.
Moreover, she now sails out to sea every day, so it seems that it doesn't matter whether she takes the driving test or not.
Yan Shuting glared at Chen Weiqiang. "Your car is perfectly fine, so keep using it for now. Tangtang drives a fishing boat every day, so she doesn't need a car anymore."
Chen Zhiyao thought about it and realized that she didn't need a tricycle anymore since she was now sailing out to sea, but she could buy an electric car for transportation.
In the village, electric vehicles are still more practical.
Grandpa Chen, who had been silent until now, suddenly suggested:
“If you don’t want to buy a car, you can buy a boat. Tangtang has been having a good haul at sea lately. I think we should buy Hehua’s old boat.”
Chen Zhiyao's eyes lit up when she heard about buying a boat. "Grandpa, how much would it cost to buy Aunt Hehua's boat?"
The old man thought for a moment and said, "That boat is only 7.8 meters long, and they've had it for more than 7 years. It's not worth much. I estimate it can be bought for tens of thousands of yuan."
Grandma Chen didn't quite agree, feeling that buying a boat wasn't worthwhile.
"The Lotus family has used that boat for 7 years. Even if we buy it, it won't last more than a few years. Besides, many things on the boat are old and the repair costs will be more expensive than buying the boat."
If it's tens of thousands of yuan, that's basically a year's rent. Chen Zhiyao thought about it and was tempted.
She has a beachcombing system, and she can unlock a fishing section later. If this boat can be used for several years, it will be very worthwhile.
Seeing his daughter's eager expression, Chen Weiqiang persuaded her:
"There's no rush. Let's wait until the boat's rental period expires before taking a look. Besides, there are quite a few boats in the village that are being rented out, and some of them are quite new."
Chen Weiqiang complained that his current fishing boat was too old and that he should buy a newer one, since the price difference wouldn't be too much.
Yan Shuting knew that her daughter had made a lot of money by going beachcombing and fishing these days, and she agreed with her.
“Buying a boat is a big deal, so you should think it through carefully. Besides, you don’t necessarily have to buy this particular boat. I’ll ask around in the village to see if there are any other boats for sale.”
She's at the convenience store every day, surrounded by people, so she's very well-informed.
Chen Zhiyao nodded happily, "There's no rush. Let's talk about it when the fishing boat's contract expires."
Grandma Chen didn't say much, but just told her granddaughter to think it over carefully.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com