Chapter 10: Selling Fish

Gu Yi put the net bag and fish into the bucket and left them where they were, then hurried home.

She hadn’t run far when she saw her mother approaching.

“Shushu, it’s just up ahead! Almost there!” A familiar village boy called out as he looked back now and then, and soon her mother was right behind him.

Gu Yi’s mind went blank.

“Mother.”

Wang Yulan paused for a moment when she saw Gu Yi, then hurried toward her, looking left and right, checking her over.

“Mother, I’m fine.”

Dalang came over and casually said, “Mother, Big Sister just went swimming in the sea for a bit.”

Wang Yulan’s face changed immediately.

“Mother, don’t listen to Dalang’s nonsense. I just played a little before the sky got dark, and I came back up right away. Dalang is just trying to scare you.”

Dalang grunted loudly in response.

Wang Yulan’s chest tightened, her whole body trembling, unsure if it was out of fear or anger.

“Do you know how scared I was? I was terrified you’d drown in the sea! That sea is so dangerous—boundless and unknown. No one can measure its depths, it’s like a giant monster with eyes we can’t even see! How could you not be afraid?!”

Gu Yi’s eyes narrowed, a cold glare directed at Dalang.

She hadn’t expected that in her mother’s heart, her own credibility wasn’t as solid as Dalang’s.

Her mother didn’t believe her.

Wang Yulan’s tears began to fall. “Do you think I wouldn’t worry about you? Your father’s gone, and it’s just the few of us left. If something happened to you, it would be like tearing my heart out.”

Gu Yi quickly embraced her mother.

“Mother, I’ll never do that again. From now on, I’ll fish with others. I won’t go alone.”

“You don’t have to worry too much about me. Ask Dalang if you don’t believe me. I’m really good at swimming.”

Dalang reluctantly nodded. “Mother, Big Sister really has a talent for swimming. She’s excellent in the water.”

Wang Yulan sighed in slight relief. “Being good in the water is fine, but you still can’t go alone! And don’t swim too far!”

Gu Yi nodded repeatedly, promising her.

The family then made their way back home.

Gu Yi overheard Dalang thanking the village boy, “Da Shuan, you can head back now.”

“Is this your friend?”

“Yeah, just a friend.”

Dalang glanced at her. “Mother doesn’t not trust you, but after you tried to drown yourself, as long as she’s around, don’t expect her to stay calm. Don’t push her tolerance over this.”

Gu Yi was speechless.

Back at home, Jia Yue had already fallen asleep. Her little hand was wrapped up and tied to the bedpost, raised high to prevent her from moving and touching the wound during the night.

Second Brother hadn’t gone to sleep either. He stared at Gu Yi as soon as she came back, giving her a strange, unreadable look.

Gu Yi met his gaze and immediately got goosebumps.

She had intended to clean up the fish she’d caught, but the atmosphere at home was so tense that she quickly finished organizing, setting aside the starry groupers in a separate bucket to keep them alive.

---

The next day.

Gu Yi steamed some rice, cracked open a few sea urchins, and cleaned them.

As soon as Dalang saw her preparing the sea urchins, his eyes widened. “Gu Jiayi, what are you doing?”

Hearing his tone, Gu Yi glared at him angrily. “What did you call me? How disrespectful!”

“Are you out of your mind? Didn’t you see what happened to Jia Yue’s hand yesterday?”

At that moment, Jia Yue carefully held her little hand, walking out of the room with Wang Yulan.

The little one trembled at the sight of the sea urchins on her sister’s hands. “Ball ball, it’s poisonous. I’m scared.”

Gu Yi laughed helplessly. “This one’s not poisonous. This is a sea urchin, but it’s different from the one that stung Jia Yue. This one’s edible, and it’s really tasty.”

Everyone looked at her with skepticism.

“You can see, right? The spines on this one are shorter. The one from yesterday had longer spines.”

Dalang replied, “Don’t try to fool people. The villagers don’t eat these. I asked Da Shuan, no one eats them, no matter how short or long the spines are.”

Gu Yi raised an eyebrow in surprise. “That’s because they don’t know, they’re missing out on a delicious treat. I read about it in a book, and it’s supposed to be really good.”

Wang Yulan seemed to waver, her face showing signs of doubt.

“I’ll eat one to show you!” Gu Yi took a piece of yellow flesh with chopsticks and put it in her mouth.

Her face lit up with a look of enjoyment.

It was truly delicious—sweet, tender, and with a unique flavor.

She finished it, then spun around a bit, feeling perfectly fine.

The family watched in amazement. “Really?”

“Now do you believe me?”

They nodded, convinced.

Gu Yi pried open another sea urchin and showed them. “Remove the black parts inside. Only the yellow parts are edible.”

She scooped out the yellow flesh, and Jia Yue opened her mouth wide to eat it.

Her eyes grew wide in delight. “Yummy! Ball ball, it’s yummy!”

Gu Yi couldn’t help but laugh.

And so, they enjoyed a breakfast of sea urchin rice.

They ate until their bellies were full.

Gu Yi gathered the remaining fish into a bucket, ready to head to the pier to sell them.

Dalang came running up. “Mother, I’ll go with you.”

Gu Yi nodded.

The siblings went to meet Cao Shuan, and together they took the boat to the pier.

When Cao Shuan saw the fish in Gu Yi’s bucket, she couldn’t help but exclaim, “This fish is beautiful! I haven’t seen one like it in a while. This one’s especially nice—about three to four pounds. It’ll sell for a great price! If we sell it to a wealthy family or a big restaurant, we can get a higher price!”

Other villagers nearby looked on with envy. “Where did you catch this?”

Dalang hummed lightly.

Gu Yi smiled. “In a small puddle. I was just lucky.”

It truly was luck; they hadn’t seen a starry grouper in such a puddle in all their years.

At the pier, the villagers had learned their lesson and followed Gu Yi, selling their fish around her.

Cao Shuan couldn’t help but sneer. What a ridiculous group.

But Gu Yi didn’t plan to set up a stall.

She turned to Dalang. “Cao Shuan, we’re going to the county to try our luck.”

She had a new plan. Since the starry groupers were rare and the restaurants liked them, she could offer them directly and get a good price.

She remembered where the good restaurants were in the county.

They passed through the street and made a turn, heading toward the upscale restaurant named Yipin Pavilion, one of the best in the area.

Gu Yi made her way to the back door.

A buyer was standing there, with workers hauling supplies into the kitchen.

She approached and called out, “Master, would you like to see some fish?”