After Reincarnating as the Dragon King, I Made a Fortune with Seafood – CH19

Chapter 19: Cooperation

It was already the latter half of the night. The moon was bright, the stars were sparse, and the night wind blew gently, making one’s heart feel much more refreshed.

After being busy for so long, Lu Ao had long since become ravenously hungry.

After leaving the hospital, he found a late-night food stall.

There were quite a lot of people at the food stall even late at night. Judging from their clothes, they came from all walks of life. The noise and the aroma of food rushed toward him, full of the thick, lively atmosphere of ordinary life.

Lu Ao found a seat near the side and sat down in great relaxation.

The auntie taking orders came over, smiling as she poured him tea and handed him the menu. “Handsome, what would you like to eat?”

Lu Ao flipped open the menu and quickly ordered while reading. “One portion of chicken legs, one portion of chicken wings, one portion of stir-fried razor clams, one portion of shredded squid, one portion of duck stir-fried with sour ginger, one portion of hand-shredded chicken, one dozen oysters, one portion of stir-fried beef rice noodles, one portion of eight-treasure rice, and for dessert, iced mung bean soup.”

The auntie responded and swiftly handed over sterilized bowls and chopsticks. “How many people?”

“One.”

“Ah, one?!” The auntie’s eyes widened, and her voice rose involuntarily. “Just you alone?”

Lu Ao gave a faint hum.

The auntie looked at him and asked tentatively, “Are you taking it to go?”

“No. I’ll eat it all here.”

This time, the look in the auntie’s eyes could no longer be hidden. She quietly sized Lu Ao up, unable to understand how such a tall, slim, handsome young man could eat so much.

Lu Ao did not care about her gaze and handed the menu back. “Please serve the dishes quickly.”

“Ah, all right.” The auntie quickly took the menu back and turned around to get busy.

Lu Ao took a sip of the rough tea provided by the food stall and lowered his head to reply to the messages on his phone.

Lin Gongshang and the others had not come along, but they were extremely worried and had not slept all night either.

Lu Ao told them that Shi Chen and Liu Qiming were fine now, but Lin Gongshang needed to come over first thing in the morning and coordinate with the two families.

Lin Gongshang had been anxious all night, and now he finally relaxed a little. He sent several messages in a row: Okay, I’ll go to the county town and take the five-thirty bus. I’ll come first thing in the morning!

—Lu Ao, thank you so much this time. Without you, I really wouldn’t have known how to handle this.

—Crying.jpg

Lu Ao comforted him briefly. Suddenly, he sensed something different in the atmosphere. When he looked up again, a white-clothed figure had already sat down across from him.

It was Song Zhou again.

Lu Ao looked up at him, his movements pausing. “Mr. Song, why are you here?”

Song Zhou turned the teacup in his hand, his eyes curving slightly. “The people below saw that your movements shifted overnight from Chongxin Village to Xinluzhou and reported it. I came to take a look.”

“Oh.” The moment Lu Ao heard that, he understood that his movements were being monitored by them, and he did not feel particularly pleased.

Song Zhou looked into his eyes, knowing what he was thinking, and gave a light laugh. “There’s no way around it. We’re responsible to the people too. You’re an A-level dangerous individual, after all. This bit of treatment still has to be there.”

Lu Ao rather liked his frankness, but he was still gloomy. “Do you monitor everyone like me?”

“As much as possible.” Song Zhou said, “Our official name is the Extraordinary Personnel Supervision Bureau. Paying attention to you is our job.”

Lu Ao looked at him and raised a brow. “If you’re talking about supervision, aren’t you the most dangerous individual?”

“That is indeed true. The human side has also never relaxed its vigilance toward me.”

Lu Ao was puzzled. “Then you still work for them?”

Song Zhou smiled. “I’m not working for them. I’m only maintaining the safety of this land.”

Song Zhou patiently answered each of his questions one by one and only fell silent when the auntie brought the food.

The auntie found it rather strange and looked at Lu Ao a few more times. Just now, Lu Ao had firmly said there was only one person, yet in the blink of an eye, there was another.

This extra person was also extremely good-looking, and his aura was completely unlike that of an ordinary person. He seemed like a celebrity or some other important figure. However, his face was unfamiliar, and the auntie felt she had probably never seen him before.

Song Zhou nodded politely to the auntie and said, “Thank you.”

“Ah, no problem.” The auntie set down the stir-fried razor clams, shredded squid, and hand-shredded chicken. For some reason, she felt she did not dare look at him for too long and quickly said, “Enjoy your meal.”

Lu Ao was not in a great mood. Song Zhou moved the dishes closer to him. “Don’t be unhappy. I’ll mooch a meal, then take you back later.”

“It’s not like I dislike you mooching a meal.”

Hearing him mutter, Song Zhou’s eyes curved in a smile. “You’re quite close with those people from Linwu Village?”

“So-so. They’ve helped me quite a bit, so I helped them in passing.”

Running around all night could hardly be considered “in passing,” but Song Zhou did not expose him. He only smiled understandingly.

Very soon, all the dishes Lu Ao had ordered were served.

He was so hungry that even his hands felt weak. At this moment, he had no attention to spare for talking and swept through the dishes on the table with elegant ferocity.

Song Zhou did not eat much. Although he said he was mooching a meal, he was more keeping him company while he ate.

With one more person there, the large table of food Lu Ao had ordered finally did not seem so abrupt, and the people nearby no longer paid him much attention.

After the two had eaten and drunk their fill, Lu Ao narrowed his eyes in satisfaction.

After paying the bill, Song Zhou pulled him up. “Let’s walk first. I’ll send you back later.”

Lu Ao also did not want to perform a living disappearance in public. He obediently stood up and followed Song Zhou along the roadside toward the beach.

The two strolled slowly, treating it as a way to digest.

As they walked, Lu Ao suddenly remembered something and turned to look at him. “If I suddenly return from Xinluzhou to the village, with no travel record in between, will anyone suspect anything?”

“No. You’re registered with the authorities. As long as nothing major happens, no one will dare investigate you.”

Lu Ao gave an “oh.” “Even if I do other unusual things, will the higher-ups also turn a blind eye?”

“What do you mean by other unusual things?”

“For example, catching an unusually large amount of fish, raising unusually strong things, growing unusually good crops?”

“They won’t. Not only will the higher-ups turn a blind eye, they’ll also find ways to cover for you.” Song Zhou smiled. “Just live your life at ease. As long as you don’t do anything major that harms humanity, the authorities will be very friendly toward you.”

Hearing this, Lu Ao gave another “oh” and, for the first time, felt that being registered with the authorities perhaps was not so unacceptable after all.

The two strolled for more than twenty minutes and reached the beach. The surroundings were very quiet, with only the streetlights silently standing there, guarding this stretch of road.

Song Zhou stretched out his hand. “Let’s go. I’ll send you back to sleep.”

Lu Ao lazily reached out and placed his hand in his.

Song Zhou had originally only intended to hold his arm. Seeing him offer his hand, he did not mind and smoothly held it.

A cool, broad palm pressed against warm, slender fingers, and temperature passed between them.

Lu Ao felt something strange. Just as he was about to raise his head and look at Song Zhou, his vision blurred. In the next moment, he was already standing in front of his own courtyard.

Song Zhou said softly, “We’re here.”

Lu Ao looked at his locked courtyard, then turned to Song Zhou. “Mr. Song, I’ve noticed that every time you come, you only appear outside my courtyard.”

“Without the owner’s invitation, I generally won’t enter presumptuously.”

Lu Ao thought back to his behavior the past few times and realized that it really had been like that.

Song Zhou gently pushed him. “It’s late. Go back and sleep early.”

Lu Ao yawned. “You too. Thank you for today.”

“No need. Good night.”

After Lu Ao returned home, washed up, and finished getting ready, he fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow. He was truly too tired. This sleep lasted straight until past one in the afternoon.

After getting up, he cooked himself a rich pot of noodles. After eating, he took his fishing gear and went out to fish.

Marine resources were limited, especially nearshore resources.

He was too good at fishing. In just over a month, the sea area he often visited no longer had many big fish. Lu Ao made a rough estimate. At most, he could fish here for another month before he would have to look for a new fishing spot.

Their village only had so many fishing spots. Aside from this place, the others were all places Lin Manzhang and the others often visited.

Lu Ao did not plan to fish with Lin Manzhang and the others. First, there were many unusual things about him, and it would not be good if Lin Manzhang and the others saw them. Second, he was too good at fishing. If he joined them, the big fish in those waters would soon be cleared out as well. At that point, it would be difficult for Lin Manzhang and the others to make a living.

He had to find a way to try going out to sea to fish. However, his fishing qualification certificate was still being processed. If he wanted to go out to sea to fish, he would have to wait a while longer.

That afternoon, the wind and waves were relatively strong, and the seawater was muddy, so visibility was average.

Lu Ao fished for three hours and only caught a little over twenty jin.

He sent them directly to town to sell, then bought groceries and came back.

As soon as he returned home, he saw from afar that Lin Qiyan was clumsily helping feed the geese in his goose pen.

Lu Ao walked over and lightly knocked on the goose pen door. “Why are you the one feeding the geese?”

“Lu Ao, you’re back?” Lin Qiyan was pleasantly surprised, then explained, “Lin Gongshang went to the provincial capital, and Brother Zhang and the others are busy fishing. I’m relatively free, so I volunteered to come help feed the geese. By the way, your geese are really cute.”

Lin Qiyan crouched down and gently touched the fluffy geese, his eyes full of envy. “Seeing them makes me want to raise some too.”

“As pets?”

“…Yes.”

“Then take one back.”

“No, no, no. I just said it casually. I’m not trying to ask you for a goose.” Lin Qiyan stood up and smiled. “Forget asking for geese. I want to cooperate with you on something else.”

“Cooperate on what?”

Lin Qiyan scratched his head. “Don’t you guys go fishing every day? Especially you, you catch so many fish, and they’re all genuine wild sea fish. Some of my fans asked if they could buy some fish from us. They’ll pay the shipping.”

“Where are your fans from? Will the fish still be fresh by the time they’re delivered?”

“Fresh, definitely fresh. If they’re in this province or nearby provinces, I can send the fish directly to the station and have them delivered by rideshare. If they’re from other provinces, we can send them by air from town. It only takes a few extra hours. Don’t worry. Preservation technology is so advanced now. We’ll pack them with ice and oxygen and send them out. Usually, they’ll arrive the same day. When the fans receive them, the fish eyes should still be clear.”

Lu Ao fell into thought.

Lin Qiyan looked at him eagerly. “You know I don’t know how to fish, so I can only ask you guys.”

Lu Ao did not refuse. Selling to anyone was still selling. Selling to Lin Qiyan would even save him a few steps.

“Tomorrow, then. After I catch fish tomorrow, I’ll send you photos. See which fish you want, and I’ll keep them.”

“Great. Then I’ll wait for your message tomorrow.”

Lu Ao nodded. After thinking for a moment, he added, “How do you ship the fish? I also want to send two to some friends.”

“Where are you sending them?” Lin Qiyan said readily, “Anyway, I’ll be sending fish to my fans too. Just give me the fish and the addresses, and I’ll ship them for you.”

“They’re both within the province.” Lu Ao said, “Tomorrow, after I see what fish I catch, I’ll tell you.”

Lu Ao wanted to send two fish.

One to his childhood friend, Ge Ranzhou.

One to Song Zhou.