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Back at home, the old man had already heated a large pot of water in a straw boiler, eagerly awaiting their return for a bath.
Seeing the old man sweating profusely, Jing Tian couldn’t help but comment, “Grandpa, why do you still use the straw boiler when we have solar energy? Aren’t you feeling hot?”
The old man took a puff from his tobacco pipe and replied, “I have nothing else to do, and besides, it’s better to use that thing sparingly. I’ve seen many explosions on TV.”
Jing Tian rolled her eyes at him and didn’t say anything further. That’s just how the old man was.
“Xiaolong, you go ahead and take a bath,” she said.
“I’m not in a hurry. You go first,” Xiaolong replied.
“No, it’s better if you go first,” Jing Tian insisted.
The old man was getting dizzy from their back and forth. “You two little kids, why are you arguing about who gets to take a bath first? Xiaolong, you go ahead. We still need to unload the fish later.”
“Alright then.”
Yang Xiaolong was dumbfounded as soon as he entered the bathroom. In front of him were colorful bras and intimate clothing, undoubtedly belonging to Jing Tian. They were at least a C-cup.
“Tsk tsk, this is a bit wicked. I feel guilty, guilty,” he muttered, enjoying his bath.
Meanwhile, inside the room, Jing Tian’s face turned crimson. She had entered the room to find a change of clothes, but then she remembered that she had left the freshly washed clothes in the bathroom. Before she could go back, Yang Xiaolong had already walked in.
“What am I going to do? It’s so embarrassing,” she thought, her cheeks burning at the thought of her intimate garments being exposed to him.
“Jing Tian, I’m done showering. It’s your turn,” Yang Xiaolong loudly called from the doorway.
“I know,” Jing Tian replied from inside the room, but she didn’t come out for quite some time.
A few minutes later, hearing Yang Xiaolong’s footsteps going upstairs, she cautiously opened the door and tiptoed into the bathroom.
“Huh? Where are the clothes?” Jing Tian was bewildered. “Could it be that I misremembered? But that’s impossible.”
Scanning the bathroom, Jing Tian noticed her neatly arranged clothes hanging on a hook inside a phone pouch on the door.
“Ah!”
Just as Yang Xiaolong had reached the upper floor and was about to sit down, he heard a scream coming from the bathroom downstairs. It startled him, and after regaining his composure, he thought to himself, “The girl has quite thin skin.”
*Cough, cough!* Jing’s grandfather, squatting outside the bathroom while puffing on his pipe, nearly choked upon hearing his granddaughter’s cry.
“Jing, what’s the matter?”
“It’s nothing, Grandpa. There was a mouse,” Jing Tian replied, her hands covering her face. In the mirror, her fair skin, delicate features, and shoulder-length flowing hair made her look stunning.
Yang Xiaolong’s second-floor room didn’t have air conditioning, so he could only rely on the ceiling fan. After being exposed to the scorching sun all day, the room felt like a heated kang bed—hot and stuffy.
He decided to talk to Jing’s grandfather later and suggest installing a second-hand air conditioner. Otherwise, it would be impossible to sleep at night.
Half an hour later, they received a phone call from Third Uncle Jing, urging them to quickly come and unload the fish.
Just as Jing Tian finished washing up, she roughly blow-dried her hair and tied it up. They rode a large cart, and Jing’s grandfather brought several large basins and buckets. Some of the smaller fish sellers wouldn’t accept certain fish, so they had to bring them back and use an aerator to keep them alive. They would sell them at the early morning market the next day.
When they arrived at the pier, Third Uncle Jing was already helping with unloading. Yang Xiaolong quickly went over to assist.
“Uncle, sorry to trouble you.”
“What are you talking about? Don’t be so formal with your uncle.”
“Hehe, we’ll buy you something nice as a token of gratitude.” Jing Tian chatted as she worked.
A few minutes later, Jing’s grandfather slowly walked over, carrying a bucket.
“How did it go, Third Jing?”
“Don’t even mention it.” Third Uncle Jing sighed. “It’s really a case of the new generation surpassing the old. All of us old folks combined couldn’t catch as many fish as these two young ones.”
“Hehe.”
Third Uncle Jing’s words were a bit exaggerated. While Yang Xiaolong did catch the most fish on this trip, it wasn’t an outrageous amount.
The four of them combined had about one to two thousand kilograms of fish, and Yang Xiaolong himself had around seven to eight hundred kilograms at most.
The fish were taken out from the live fish compartments, and the frozen fish from the freezer were also brought out.
As for the fish weighing and pricing, Yang Xiaolong didn’t have to worry about it.
They were all regulars in the fishing industry, and they knew the several fish buyers who came to collect the fish.
The horse mackerel was priced at fifteen yuan per kilogram, totaling four hundred kilograms.
The groupers, sharpbeaks, black pomfrets, and other fish added up to over three hundred kilograms. Together with the crabs and eels, the total sales from the fish amounted to twenty thousand yuan. Some of the smaller fish were sorted out and not included in the sale.
After selling the fish, Yang Xiaolong also paid the four thousand yuan for the fuel for the trip. He then grabbed two packs of cigarettes from a nearby convenience store.
He handed one pack to Jing San. Jing San had been a great help on this trip, and he gave another pack to the old man. Without him, Yang Xiaolong wouldn’t have had the opportunity to go out to sea.
With everything settled, Yang Xiaolong and Jing Tian loaded the remaining fish into the car.
There were various types of fish, crabs, and quite a lot of them, estimated to weigh several dozen kilograms. They would sell them early in the morning.
Back at home, Jing Tian followed Yang Xiaolong upstairs.
“Brother Long, all the money from selling the fish is here, along with the account book. Take a look.”
“Mhm, as long as you remember it correctly.”
“No, that won’t do. Since we’re partners, we need to be proper and follow the rules. That’s what my grandfather always said.”
Yang Xiaolong took a couple of photos of the account book. The money was relatively straightforward since both of them were present during the settlement, so there shouldn’t be any issues.
Jing Tian organized the colorful bills. The total was 20,383 yuan. After deducting the 4,000 yuan for fuel expenses, they had 16,383 yuan remaining.
“Brother Long, here’s 8,000 yuan. Count it.”
Yang Xiaolong took the money and counted it with his fingers. “Mhm, it’s correct.”
“For the remaining 383 yuan, here are 200 yuan for you.” Jing Tian handed him two 100 yuan bills.
“Forget it, I didn’t contribute anything this time. We used your fishing net, so consider it as depreciation.”
“That won’t do. Each thing should be accounted for. If it weren’t for you helping me find fish, I might have ended up at a loss.”
They playfully pushed each other.
Yang Xiaolong stuffed the money into her pocket. “Alright, this time you’ll listen to me. If it happens again, I’ll go by myself next time.”
Jing Tian couldn’t argue with him and had to give in.
“Oh, Brother Long, are you saying that you will go out to sea again?”
“Yeah, I’m planning to go to the shipyard tomorrow and see if there are any affordable small boats.”
This time, he had figured it out. It wasn’t sustainable to always rely on partnerships, and it wasn’t possible to encounter offshore fishing opportunities every time. If he wanted to continue in this line of work, he needed to buy his own boat for convenience.
“Brother Long, can you take me with you?” Jing Tian whispered, feeling somewhat embarrassed.
“Well…”
Seeing him hesitate, Jing Tian grew anxious. “Brother Long, don’t worry, I’ll pay for it.”
Yang Xiaolong grinned. “That’s not what I meant. I haven’t decided what kind of boat to buy yet.”
“That’s easy.” Excited that he agreed, Jing Tian became spirited. “I’m familiar with the shipyard. I’ll take you there tomorrow.”
“That works too.”
“Brother Long, to celebrate us officially becoming partners, let me treat you to a meal.”
“Well, that’s really kind of you, but I’ll treat you instead.”
Jing Tian took out the remaining few hundred yuan from her pocket and shook it. “Let’s not be polite. We’ll use this money tonight.”
The two of them agreed and headed downstairs towards a nearby seaside food stall.