Mingjing glanced back at her. She was about 1.65 meters tall, thinner than a coffin lid, and her jet-black hair was braided into two pigtails that hung down in front of her chest.
Calling it a chest is inaccurate; it should be described as a steel plate. It's not the face; you can't tell the front from the back at all. Its only redeeming quality is its eyes, which are big and bright.
Mingjing remembered that it was Mingzhu, the daughter of Ming Lao Er, and the original owner's cousin. The original owner was beautiful and had a good personality, which made many boys like her.
Xie Fan, Mingzhu's sweetheart, was one of them. Mingzhu was jealous of the original owner being with her, so she pushed the original owner into the sea while she was out at sea.
Ming Dahai walked out of the house, frowning. "What nonsense are you talking about, child? Isn't your sister standing right here?"
"Dad, I fell into the sea, and a kind person brought me back," Mingjing said, staring intently at Mingzhu as if he wanted to devour her.
Ming Dahai frowned. He had been too busy today and had forgotten to ask Ming Jing how she got back. He would have to ask her later which kind person had helped him.
"It's good that my sister is alright." Mingzhu felt uneasy, as if something was amiss.
She thought for a moment and said with difficulty, "Uncle, Aunt, since my sister didn't help, we can't share the profits with you. What do you think we should do about Grandma's support?"
The Ming family also has an old lady named Lan Qiuxiang, who is eighty years old this year. The two families take turns supporting her. Ming Dahai's family is dirt poor, and Lan Qiuxiang has always lived with the second son.
Mingdahai gives 30 yuan alimony every month, but Mingliang keeps emptying the family's savings to pay off the debt. The family has gradually run out of savings. They had originally planned to go out to sea to catch abalone to pay off the debt.
Ming Laoda is an expert at touching abalone, but as departure approaches, he has a stroke. Mingliang is unwilling to go, so he can only ask Mingjing to help pull the fishing net.
Unexpectedly, this happened, and Ming Dahai was in a dilemma. He owed 30,000 yuan in debt and also owed his mother alimony. He was so anxious that he kept scratching his head.
"Go back first, come and get the money tomorrow!" Mingjing turned around and squatted down to continue washing the dishes.
Mingzhu chuckled, "Uncle, my dad said things are different now. Thirty yuan is the old price. Starting this month, it will go up by ten yuan."
"What? It's going up by ten yuan?" Sun Yunmei's eyes widened.
These fishermen can only make money if they find a big catch, but it's not that easy to find a big catch. In these poor, remote areas, every family is so poor that they can't even afford to eat.
Add another ten dollars; this is trying to drive them to their deaths.
“Auntie, you know how many people are in my family. Grandma isn’t in good health and takes medicine all the time. There’s nothing we can do about it. Otherwise, you could tell my dad your trick for touching abalone, and we can discuss the money.”
"Okay, you can go back now," Mingjing said, picking up a basin of water and splashing it at her.
Whoosh!
Mingzhu jumped back, puffing out her cheeks, "Sister, forty yuan tomorrow, not a penny less!"
After saying that, she turned and left, tossing her two braids.
Sun Yunmei's already worried face became even more gloomy.
"There's no trick to touching abalone, it's just about being willing to endure hardship, put in the effort, and take risks. You'll naturally get it if you touch it a lot. The second brother always thinks I have a trick."
Ming Dahai was so worried that he kept pulling at his hair.
"Dad, Mom, don't worry, I have a plan. You can just go to sleep," Mingjing said, getting up to comfort them.
Although Mingjing seemed confident, Mingdahai only thought it was a comforting remark; forty yuan a night was more than a robber could earn.
Unlike other pearls, a single pearl can sell for tens of yuan. Over the years, he has relied on pearls to support his family. However, pearls are extremely rare, and he has only ever seen less than fifty of them.
Ming Dahai stood up, supporting his back, and sighed, "I'll go touch Bao Zhu and try my luck."
“Dad, you can’t get cold with your gout. I’ll go. Don’t worry, I have the Sea Goddess protecting me,” Mingjing patted his chest and started bragging.
Sun Yunmei and Ming Dahai blinked and looked at each other.
"The Sea Goddess?" Ming Dahai narrowed his eyes, then a thought flashed through his mind. "It was the Sea Goddess who saved you?"
The fishermen by the sea revere the Sea Goddess the most; she is their savior, and they have no choice but to believe in her.
"Yes, she was a mermaid, very beautiful. She brought me back."
As soon as Mingjing finished speaking, Ming Dahai, disregarding his pain, pulled Sun Yunmei to kneel down and kowtowed towards the sea, saying, "Thank you, Goddess of the Sea, for your protection! Thank you, Goddess of the Sea!"
“Mom and Dad, the Sea Goddess said that she will protect me from now on, so you don’t need to worry.” Mingjing also knelt down, her expression serious.
Ming Dahai wiped away his tears and stood up.
"Mom and Dad, don't worry, I'll definitely pay back the money we owe. Tonight I'm going to go beachcombing again and catch some good stuff."
Sun Yunmei was incredibly excited, but then she looked at the weather and became worried again, "But looking at the sky, it looks like it might rain tonight, and today there's a high tide, I'm afraid..."
"Mom, don't worry. I'm going to work on my skin like Dad and earn money to support the family. With the Goddess of the Sea protecting us, what's there to be afraid of? But we can't tell anyone about this."
Mingjing didn't tell her parents the whole truth. The Sea Goddess could only live in their hearts. She didn't dare to imagine what would happen if they saw her.
Human nature is not something to be gambled on, not even by one's own parents.
Ming Dahai nodded, quite pleased with himself, feeling that daughters were indeed more useful than sons.
"Mom and Dad know," Ming Dahai patted her shoulder. There always needs to be a pillar in the family. If the son can't be relied on, then it's the daughter.
"Sis, I want to go too!"
Mingyue stepped forward, her face full of fighting spirit.
She felt that Mingjing had become a better person, and she was happy to be with her sister.
"No, it's too dangerous today. You stay home and watch the house. I'll take you tomorrow during the day."
Mingjing patted her head, turned around and took down the still-wet fishing net from the wall, took the rusty clips, went inside and clipped them under her armpit with a flashlight.
He then selected a thick nylon rope in the yard and carried it on his shoulder.
"Mom and Dad, I'll be back in a bit," Mingjing said as she left home, fully equipped with her gear.
You can't make money during the day; if you want to make money, you can't let anyone see you.
As darkness fell, the streets of the fishing village were nearly deserted. The faint light from the flashlights was barely enough to make out the path beneath our feet.
A salty, damp sea breeze swept in, cooler than usual. Mingjing could even hear the waves crashing against the rocks, surging and fierce.
She remembered something and turned a corner to go to the convenience store.
The lights were on in the small shop in the fishing village, and an old man was sitting inside reading a newspaper.
"Uncle Wang, I need two big fishhooks!"
She doesn't have enough points to redeem a fishing hook, and she can't catch big fish without one.
Old Wang glanced at Mingjing and muttered irritably, "What do you need a fishhook for so late? You can't go stealing anything else now."
Mingjing used to steal her neighbor's cured pork with a fishhook because she was greedy, which became known to everyone in the village. Now everyone is wary of her.
“Sea fishing!” Mingjing said, her tone displeased.
She's not the original owner of this body, so why is she being falsely accused of stealing right from the start?
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