Chapter 7

Ever since Lan Xiruo got a face full of ink from an octopus, she had developed a psychological shadow over the large mounds on the beach.

She cautiously approached one, stretched out her arm, and started digging with a small shovel. But with just one scoop, she knew she had misjudged.

A jet of water sprayed straight up. Lan Xiruo’s eyes lit up, and she quickly dug deeper, scoop after scoop, until she finally uncovered the true identity of the mound—a massive and thick razor clam.

It was longer than her shovel and almost as thick as a gourd radish.

Such a big razor clam—it would make a great dish!

Lan Xiruo held it in her hand for a while, then, making sure no one was watching, quietly tossed it into her personal space.

She had never eaten such a large razor clam before—this one was for herself!

She wandered around a bit more but only found a few small snails. With nothing else interesting, she sat on a rock and waited for Sun Yuqing and the others to arrive.

Before long, A’Dong arrived with Jiang Dazhu, Heiyu, and another team member, Shitou.

“Comrade Lan, leave everything to us. You should head back first and prepare with Uncle Jiang He.”

Lan Xiruo glanced at the things in front of her, didn’t refuse, and picked up only the sea bass, stingray, and jellyfish tied to a rope before heading off.

Just then, Lian Laidi, who had emerged from the reeds, saw this scene. Her eyes flickered with calculation, and an idea took root in her mind.

Lan Xiruo returned to their fishing boat, where she saw Sun Yuqing and Uncle Jiang He sorting the day’s catch. She joined in.

When Uncle Jiang He saw what Lan Xiruo had brought back, he was overjoyed.

“Comrade Lan, you had a good haul today!

The rest of us weren’t so lucky. We only caught some octopuses, swimming crabs, and picked up a few razor clams and snails.

With just this, do you think we’ll be able to borrow a boat?” Uncle Jiang He looked at the catch on the deck, a little worried.

After all, all the fishing equipment was publicly owned, and people were very protective of it. Borrowing it wouldn’t be easy.

He had spent his whole life working and had never asked for favors before. This made him uneasy.

“Uncle Jiang He, this should be enough. Let’s quickly finish sorting, then go find Jiang Donglai’s team to borrow a boat.”

—-

In Lan Xiruo’s memory, Jiang Donglai was the most loyal and easiest to talk to on the whole island.

The only problem was his wife, who was known for being petty. But as long as the benefits were good enough, she would become cooperative.

Sure enough, when Lan Xiruo and Uncle Jiang He arrived at Jiang Donglai’s house and explained their purpose, his wife’s eyes immediately lit up before he could even speak.

Lan Xiruo leaned in and whispered, “Auntie, we prepared a lot, and it wouldn’t look good to give it to you in broad daylight. How about we deliver it at night?”

Jiang Donglai’s wife was overjoyed inside but kept up appearances.

“Oh, you’re too polite! The boats belong to the commune, and we’re not heading out today, so you’re welcome to use it.

Times are tough, and you should really keep those hard-earned catches for yourselves. Why bring them here?”

Even as she spoke, she was already calculating how to distribute the fish and jellyfish Lan Xiruo had caught.

Earlier, she had seen Lan Xiruo’s “trophies” hanging from her waist.

Lan Xiruo easily saw through her pretense but just smiled.

At this point, Jiang Donglai spoke up.

“Uncle Jiang He, I can lend you the boat, but let’s be clear on a few things.

First, since it’s public property and everyone values it, I won’t refuse the gift you’re offering—that way, my team members won’t have any objections.

Second, the sea is full of floating debris right now, making the boat difficult to steer. I’d prefer if you were the one to handle it.”

Hearing that the boat was available, Uncle Jiang He grinned, his face full of wrinkles. He raised his hand in oath.

“I promise to bring the boat back exactly as it was, without a single scratch!”

Jiang Donglai nodded in satisfaction. “Alright then, Uncle Jiang He, come with me to get the boat.”

With the boat secured, they wasted no time. They loaded diesel and all the necessary fishing gear onto Jiang Donglai’s boat and set off.

The sea was full of floating debris, mostly reeds.

Seeing this, Sun Yuqing grew concerned. “The sea is such a mess. Even if we find the fishing nets, they might not be in good condition.”

“Let’s find them first,” Lan Xiruo reassured. “The debris is on the surface—maybe the nets underwater are still okay?”

In truth, she wasn’t confident either. In her past life, Uncle Jiang He had died, and several others were injured. The authorities hadn’t made them pay for the losses.

She hadn’t expected that after being reborn, she’d be burdened with all this debt. It was frustrating.

For the rest of the trip, everyone fell silent, focusing on scanning the sea for the missing nets.

An hour and a half later, Lan Xiruo suddenly pointed and shouted:

“Look! Ten meters to the right of the boat—isn’t that one of our net buoys?”

Everyone turned to look and immediately cheered.

“That’s it! That’s our fishing net!”

“Uncle Jiang He, we found it! Bring the boat closer!”

Uncle Jiang He, positioned at the stern, couldn’t hear clearly over the engine noise. The others gestured and repeated the message until he understood. His eyes brightened, and he carefully steered the boat toward the buoy.

“Okay! Stop! Stop!”

As the boat came to a halt, Jiang Dazhu leaned over the side, hooked the buoy, and handed the rope to A’Dong.

A’Dong took it and, along with the others, slowly started pulling the net up.

Bit by bit, the rope surfaced, revealing the net.

But their luck was bad—after just five meters, they saw a hole big enough for a person to fit through.

The excitement vanished instantly.

Seeing the heavy mood, A’Dong forced a laugh. “It’s fine, it’s fine! Just a hole—we can patch it up!”

Lan Xiruo smiled wryly. “Yeah, we can patch it up. Let’s keep pulling—who knows, maybe something big got caught in the net?”

Her words reignited their spirits.

Yes! It wasn’t time to give up yet. If they hauled in a big catch, their debt burden could be reduced.

Uncle Jiang He, watching from the stern, saw the damaged net. His heart sank, but he called out loudly:

“Comrades! Keep going! Don’t let a little setback get us down—we have to look at the bigger picture.

We found one net, so we can find a second one.

Even if half the nets are unusable, the other half will still save us money!”