After Reincarnating as the Dragon King, I Made a Fortune with Seafood – CH20

Chapter 20: Yellow Croaker

The next day, Lu Ao’s luck was pretty good. He caught some red snappers, white croakers, spotted scats, and black sea bream.

Lu Ao specially kept three plump black sea bream aside, kept them alive in a water tank, and took them to find Lin Qiyan.

When he went to find Lin Qiyan after selling the rest of the fish, Lin Qiyan had only just gotten up. His hair was a messy bird’s nest, and he kept yawning.

Lu Ao could not help looking at him a few more times.

Lin Qiyan scratched his head in embarrassment, rubbed his eyes, and said, “I was editing videos last night and slept pretty late. I usually get up quite early.”

Lu Ao smiled. “I came today to ask how to ship these fish.”

“That’s easy. Just go to town and have the courier station pack them with oxygen and ice. Wait for me a bit. I’ll wash up and go to town with you to send them.”

“Town is enough?”

“Yes. Don’t be fooled by how remote our place looks. In reality, many fishmongers come here every day, so the delivery industry is very developed.”

Lin Qiyan quickly went to the bathroom to wash up.

When his grandmother saw Lu Ao, she carried over the pancakes she had made that morning and warmly invited him to eat. “These are eggplant pancakes made with eggplants we grew ourselves. Try some.”

His grandmother’s surname was Ye. She was thin but sturdy, and looked very kind.

With an elder like that looking at you, probably no one could refuse.

Lu Ao hesitated for a moment, then reached out and took a pancake, putting it into his mouth and taking a gentle bite.

The texture of the eggplant pancake was surprisingly good. After being fried, the eggplant became soft and tender, carrying the fragrance of spice powder and the heat of chili powder. Paired with the flour batter, it was fragrant on the outside and soft on the inside, so delicious it was hard to stop eating.

Lu Ao took a large bite, held the eggplant pancake up in front of him, and looked at it. “This eggplant pancake is delicious. Grandma, how do you make it?”

“Marinate the eggplant with salt, spice powder, and chili powder. Mix the batter, combine the eggplant with the batter, then fry it in the pan.” Grandma Ye pushed the plate farther toward him. “Eat more if you like it. There’s still more in the pot.”

Lu Ao thought of his own grandmother and could not help taking another piece.

Grandma Ye smiled as she watched him eat. “You just came back from fishing?”

“Mm.”

“Fishing is hard work. It’s not easy for a young man like you. Instead of enjoying life in the city, you came back here to fish?”

“There are many fish here, and it earns more too.”

“That’s true. Our place is famous for having good feng shui. Lin Qiyan also says home is good. He doesn’t want to stay in the big city and enjoy life, so he specially came back.”

Lu Ao looked outside. Lin Qiyan was holding a cup and brushing his teeth by the drainage ditch.

Lu Ao said, “He came back because he wanted to keep you company.”

“He is filial.” Grandma Ye smiled. “When he first came back, I was quite worried and kept urging him to go back, but he insisted on staying.”

Lu Ao said, “There’s nothing bad about coming back. As long as he has a computer, he can work. The money he earns at home isn’t less than outside, and it’s peaceful too.”

When people grew old, they liked talking to others.

Grandma Ye pulled Lu Ao into a long conversation. In the end, when Lin Qiyan finished getting ready and eating, and they were about to go out, his grandmother specially stuffed a big bag of pancakes over for them to eat on the road.

Lin Qiyan was still very sleepy and refused with a yawn. “No need. We’re just going to town to mail a few fish. We’ll be back in half an hour.”

Grandma Ye scolded lightly, “Even if you won’t eat, won’t Lu Ao eat?”

Lin Qiyan knew Lu Ao’s appetite. Hearing this, he looked at Lu Ao and saw that Lu Ao indeed did not refuse, so he quickly said, “Fine, fine, fine. We’ll take them. Grandma, go to the shop and chat with people. Leave the clothes here. I’ll wash them.”

Grandma Ye was unwilling. “Leave them for what? I can wash them clean while I’m at it. They’re not even dirty.”

“What’s more convenient than using a washing machine?” Lin Qiyan pushed his grandmother by the shoulders, guiding the old lady into the house. “It’s settled. I’ll wash today’s clothes. Grandma, don’t wash them.”

Grandma Ye’s face was full of smiles, but she still muttered, “What’s wrong with me washing them clean? It saves water and electricity. You child, it isn’t easy for you either. Why do you spend money so freely?”

Even after the two left the house, Grandma Ye was still nagging.

Lin Qiyan was a little embarrassed and climbed into the tricycle bed. “My grandma is a bit naggy.”

“It’s fine. It’s quite nice to listen to.”

The two arrived in town and, under Lin Qiyan’s direction, went straight to the courier station.

He was an old customer at the courier station. As soon as the people there saw him, they waved from far away and smiled. “Lin Qiyan, you’re here to ship things again?”

“Yes, shipping a few fish.” Lin Qiyan said, “I brought you a new customer.”

“Oh, then I have to give you a discount.” The person from the courier station came over. “What are you shipping? Where to?”

Lu Ao lifted the water tank down and said, “Live fish. One order to the provincial capital, two orders to Xiding City.”

Aside from sending one to Song Zhou and one to his childhood friend Ge Ranzhou, Lu Ao also planned to send one to Old Zhang and his wife from the dumpling shop. Last time, he had eaten so much of their food, and this was just right for returning the favor.

“No problem. I’ll pack them with ice and oxygen for you. Usually, they’ll arrive tonight. As long as the fish aren’t especially delicate, they’ll usually still be alive when they get there. Fill out the shipping forms on your phone first, and I’ll print them for you.”

Lu Ao handed the fish over. The boss took them, lifted out the black sea bream, and swiftly packed them into bags.

He filled the burlap sacks with water, then pumped in oxygen, inflating the bags holding the fish like big balloons. After tying the bag openings, he piled a layer of ice outside, packed them properly, placed them into foam boxes, and added another layer of ice.

The fish were packed.

The boss weighed them. Each package was a little over four jin, calculated as five jin. After the discount, the shipping fee within the province was sixty yuan.

Lu Ao paid without blinking.

Lin Qiyan felt rather pained and muttered, “Shipping one fish is so expensive. That’s enough for someone to buy another fish locally.”

The boss chuckled. “That’s how shipping live fish is. If you ship chilled fish, thirty yuan is enough. Ah, I’ve received the money. Welcome back next time.”

Lu Ao nodded.

Lin Qiyan still needed to negotiate a discount with the boss for bulk shipping, so Lu Ao went back first.

He had already finished fishing in the morning. Now, after all this fuss, it was past ten in the morning. Once he got back, he would water the vegetables in the field, eat lunch, and take an afternoon nap.

He planned to get up around two or three in the afternoon to fish again, then tend the vegetables in the field at dusk.

Lu Ao’s days passed very peacefully.

Song Zhou, however, unexpectedly received a fish.

The fish was not sent to his home, but to the Extraordinary Personnel Supervision Agency.

Their supervision agency was located inside a certain courtyard, very quiet and low-key.

The address was one Lu Ao had specially looked up on the forum.

It was the courier’s first time delivering here. He checked the address several times before knocking on the door. “Is Song Zhou here? You have a package.”

“Whose?” The tree demon in the courtyard nearly had its eyeballs fall out.

They had lived here for hundreds of years, and this was the first time they had seen their boss receive a personal package.

“Song Zhou’s!” the courier called out, then asked doubtfully from outside the door, “Does Song Zhou not live here?”

“He does.” Song Zhou did not care about the expressions of his subordinates. He walked out to open the door and asked gently, “Mine?”

“Song Zhou’s.” The courier looked at the form again. “It’s a live fish. You’d better take it out quickly, or the fish might suffocate inside.”

As soon as Song Zhou heard it was fish, he could roughly guess who it was from. A smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. “All right.”

The courier handed the foam box to him. “Please sign here.”

Song Zhou had not signed anything with a pen for a long time.

Holding that simple ballpoint pen, he wrote his name in one smooth motion.

When the final stroke of “Song Zhou” fell, the shipping form seemed to flash.

The courier looked at the shipping form, then looked at the gentle and handsome Song Zhou, suspecting that there was something wrong with his eyes.

Song Zhou handed the shipping form back to him and smiled gently. “Done.”

The courier quickly responded, put away the form, and turned to get onto his delivery vehicle.

After getting on, he could not help turning his head to glance at Song Zhou. He somehow felt that this unusually handsome man was in an especially good mood after receiving this package—so good that even a passerby could not help looking again.

Song Zhou nodded to him, then carried the foam box inside.

The courtyard gate closed softly, cutting off the courier’s line of sight.

The courier did not know that the moment the gate closed, the big tree in the courtyard immediately shook its branches. Its crown bent down, and it asked curiously in a rough, hoarse voice, “Boss, who sent you a package?”

A walnut-sized little head poked out by the window, speaking in a thin voice. “Boss, was it that A-level dangerous individual from Chongxin Village?”

“Boss, what kind of fish did he send you?”

Song Zhou did not answer. He looked at them and smiled. “Have you finished today’s work?”

Whoosh—

In an instant, all the curious gazes withdrew, and no one dared blindly inquire anymore.

Even the big tree in the courtyard straightened up, lifting its crown and pretending to be an ordinary tree.

Song Zhou carried the box back to his office. When he passed the living room, he glanced at the time. It was five-thirty in the afternoon, time for dinner.

His footsteps paused, and he detoured to the fridge to take out a large black-skinned watermelon.

The room full of humans, ghosts, demons, and spirits immediately turned their gazes toward him, staring closely at the big watermelon in Song Zhou’s hands.

Song Zhou said, “There’s still one in the fridge. I need to use this one.”

The others dared to be angry but did not dare speak. They did not even dare let their eyes linger too long.

Song Zhou carried the watermelon and foam box back to his office and gently closed the door. His figure soon disappeared.

The next second, he appeared on a field ridge.

Lu Ao was sweating heavily as he watered the vegetables. Sensing that the atmosphere was not right, he frowned and raised his eyes toward the field ridge.

A figure in a white long shirt gradually appeared.

Song Zhou held the foam box and watermelon. Even though he was rarely carrying so many things, he did not look the slightest bit disheveled. He still looked as clear as wind and bright moon, like a graceful nobleman.

“Mr. Song?”

“It’s me.” Song Zhou curved his eyes and explained, “I’m not very good at cooking, and I was afraid of wasting this fish.”

Lu Ao’s eyes fixed on the box in Song Zhou’s arm, the very box he had spent a lot of money sending out that morning. He felt deeply regretful. If he had known Song Zhou would come over, he would not have spent that unnecessary money.

Song Zhou raised the watermelon in his hand. “I also brought a watermelon. It’s still chilled. Shall we go back and eat watermelon?”

Lu Ao’s voice was a little muffled. “I haven’t finished watering.”

“That’s all right. I’ll help you make it rain.”

So Lu Ao walked out of the field and stood beside Song Zhou.

Above them, from within the bright evening glow, a patch of cloud instantly separated and drifted over. As it floated, it turned into a dark cloud, and then a fine drizzle began to fall.

The three mu of land by Lu Ao’s feet were all covered beneath the rain cloud, receiving the nourishment of the gentle rain.

Lu Ao stared at the rain cloud in the sky. After a long while, he said, “Mr. Song, teach me how to make it rain.”

“All right.” Song Zhou handed the watermelon to him and held the foam box himself. “Let’s go back first.”

Lu Ao was pulled by the wrist. His vision blurred, and he appeared in front of his own courtyard.

He opened the courtyard gate and brought Song Zhou inside.

The old courtyard was especially cool, particularly now that the evening breeze was blowing. Sitting in the courtyard, one could barely feel any summer heat.

Best of all, there were no mosquitoes or insects in Lu Ao’s courtyard at all, making the comfort of sitting there to enjoy the cool air rise sharply.

Lu Ao had Song Zhou sit. “Sit for a bit first. I’m going to shower.”

He had been fishing and watering the fields; his body was already filthy.

Song Zhou bent slightly and waved. “All right.”

Lu Ao returned to his room and quickly washed his hair and showered.

Song Zhou carried the still-cold watermelon away to wash it. After washing it, he placed it on the kitchen counter and lightly waved his hand. The watermelon was neatly sliced into several pieces by blades of air.

He found a large basket, placed the watermelon pieces inside, and carried it out.

When Lu Ao came out drying his hair, before he had even reached the courtyard, his nose first caught the fresh, faint scent of watermelon.

He had just used body wash and shampoo. Even though they were lightly scented, the fragrance was still rather strong. Yet at this moment, he could not smell them at all. The scent of watermelon had replaced them and domineeringly occupied his sense of smell.

Lu Ao poked his head out. “You cut the watermelon?”

“Mm. A little demon grew some watermelon. The taste isn’t bad, so I brought one for you to try.”

Song Zhou raised his head and looked at Lu Ao. Lu Ao was wearing loose shorts and a T-shirt, his straight, jade-white long legs extending from beneath the pant legs.

It was a very ordinary scene, but Song Zhou’s heart suddenly trembled slightly.

That tremble was so faint that even he himself barely noticed it.

Lu Ao went to wash his hands, then sat down opposite Song Zhou. He picked up a slice of watermelon and handed it to Song Zhou first, then took one for himself and bit into it.

As soon as the watermelon flesh entered his mouth, the fresh watermelon flavor swept through Lu Ao’s entire sense of taste like a storm.

The flavor was so fresh that Lu Ao’s eyes lit up at once.

Every year, he bought plenty of watermelon. Most watermelons were quite sweet and grainy, but they did not taste particularly stunning.

Those watermelons tasted a little like drinking sugar water. No matter how sweet they were, there was still a certain thinness to them.

The watermelon Song Zhou had brought was completely different. It had an extremely fresh watermelon flavor—not sweetness, but the unique flavor of watermelon itself.

This watermelon flavor even made people feel satisfied for no reason.

After one bite, the entire summer seemed to become light and airy.

Lu Ao narrowed his eyes and savored it carefully for a while. Suddenly, he put down the watermelon and ran into the house.

Song Zhou did not understand.

The next moment, Lu Ao came out holding a box of toothpicks, his eyes shining as he looked at Song Zhou. “This watermelon is too delicious. Can I keep some seeds?”

“What’s not allowed about that?” Song Zhou chuckled, reached out, and took a toothpick as well, learning from him as he picked out the watermelon seeds.

Lu Ao carefully finished picking out the seeds, then took a big bite with complete satisfaction. “This watermelon is too good.”

Song Zhou ate one piece. Seeing him like this, he simply changed jobs and began picking watermelon seeds for him.

Lu Ao quickly waved his hand. “No need. You eat.”

“I’m saving some room for dinner.” Song Zhou held the toothpick between his long fingers and picked the seeds out of a slice of watermelon in a few moves. He handed the slice to him. “If you like it, I’ll send you a few more.”

Lu Ao shook his head and refused, showing his neat teeth. “No need, no need. I’ll try planting them myself when the time comes.”

Lu Ao’s way of eating watermelon was actually quite elegant. The abundant juice did not get on his face or hands at all. Yet the sight of him eating in large bites, along with his slightly curved eyes, could easily stir someone’s appetite.

Song Zhou watched him, amusement entering his eyes.

Before meeting Lu Ao, Song Zhou had gone more than three years without eating anything at all.

On a certain level, he was already a god.

Gods had no desires and no needs. They did not need human food to fill their stomachs.

Many people would call this kind of severing of desires transcendence, or something similar, and regard it as a sign of successful cultivation.

However, this kind of transcendence was not necessarily good for the one transcending.

Song Zhou understood in his heart that if he continued transcending like this, once the day truly came when he had no desires or needs, he would not even have consciousness anymore. He would turn into something even more ethereal and vast.

At that time, there would be no Song Zhou.

Lu Ao could eat quite a lot, so a large watermelon was not much to him.

One person passed slices over, and the other ate. Very soon, they had finished most of the watermelon, leaving only the last two pieces.

Lu Ao handed one slice back to Song Zhou. “Only two pieces left. Here, one piece each. Let’s finish it together.”

Song Zhou was just about to refuse when Lu Ao stuffed it into his hand. “One more piece shouldn’t make you too full. We’ll have hotpot later.”

Only then did Song Zhou accept the watermelon, his eyes curved as he took a gentle bite.

After eating the watermelon, Lu Ao went to simmer the soup base for seafood hotpot.

His family had changed to a double-door refrigerator, and it had every kind of ingredient inside. Needless to say, there were shrimp, crab, snails, and fish, and there was also quite a lot of pork, beef, chicken, and so on.

Lu Ao used chicken and fish bones to simmer the broth.

The freshness of seafood and chicken merged perfectly. With a little chili, a little Sichuan peppercorn, and two juicy red tomatoes added, the whole pot of seafood soup base gave off an extremely tempting aroma.

Lu Ao simmered the broth while Song Zhou helped cut vegetables beside him. He first processed the black sea bream Lu Ao had sent.

His knife skills were extremely impressive. The fish beneath his hand was cut thinly and evenly. When picked up, the slices were semi-transparent. Arranged on a plate, they looked like a blooming flower.

After the meat was sliced and the vegetables were washed, the two carried the ingredients into the courtyard. The hotpot was set on the induction cooker.

Fresh vegetables and meat were blanched and eaten immediately. Wrapped in each person’s favorite sauce and placed into the mouth, the meat slices carried a slight scalding heat, and their delicious flavor made one want to swallow even their own tongue.

Lu Ao narrowed his eyes in satisfaction.

This meal lasted until past eight.

It was rare for Lu Ao to eat until he was truly full. He collapsed into his chair and did not want to move.

Song Zhou cleaned up the aftermath.

If it were any other time, Lu Ao would never have let a guest clean up.

However, today was simply too comfortable. This comfort shortened the distance between the two, and for once, Lu Ao did not stand on ceremony with Song Zhou.

After Song Zhou finished clearing away the bowls and chopsticks, he said goodbye to Lu Ao.

Lu Ao saw him off, asking eagerly, “Song Zhou, when will you be free to teach me how to make rain?”

“Tomorrow afternoon.”

“Okay. Then tomorrow I’ll buy more vegetables and keep more fish.”

Song Zhou went back. Lu Ao turned around, washed up again, then lay on the bed, playing on his phone while digesting.

Lin Gongshang had stayed in the provincial capital to look after Shi Chen and Liu Qiming for two days.

Both had already more or less recovered. After waking up, both of them were frightened in hindsight, but neither blamed Lin Gongshang.

They settled the food and lodging fees for Lin Gongshang’s family, returned the rescue helicopter fee Lu Ao had advanced, and additionally gave each of them ten thousand yuan as hardship pay.

After explaining the whole story on WeChat, Lin Gongshang left Lu Ao a message: The money is all with me. I’ll transfer it to you when I get back.

—Mm. No rush. When are you coming back?

Lin Gongshang was probably on his phone, because his reply came quickly: Tomorrow or the day after.

—Actually, I could come back today, but I feel too embarrassed to leave. I’ll take care of them for two more days.

Lu Ao: Are they all right?

—They’re fine. The doctor said they were brought in very promptly. If it had been delayed another night until organ failure set in, things would’ve gotten really troublesome. They’re all very grateful to you now. Silly-smile.jpg

Lu Ao: It’s good that they’re fine.

—There’s nothing much wrong now. They can be discharged the day after tomorrow.

—Oh right, Lu Ao, Mr. Yan asked me about you.

Lu Ao frowned slightly: What did he ask?

—All sorts of random things. He said he wanted to make friends with you.

Since childhood, Lu Ao had met plenty of pursuers, both men and women. Wanting to be friends was merely the most ordinary way of putting it.

He replied: Got it.

After thinking about it, he added: If Yan Zhengning asks more, just say you don’t know.

—Okay. Actually, I didn’t say much. Mainly because there’s a lot I really don’t know. Scratching-head.jpg

Lu Ao: Mm. We’ll talk when you get back.

—Okay. This time was all thanks to you. When I get back, I’ll definitely treat you to drinks.

Lu Ao chatted with Lin Gongshang for a few more lines. Feeling less full, he turned off his phone and went to sleep.

The next day, he went fishing and sold fish as usual, but at noon, he received a call from Yan Zhengning.

Yan Zhengning’s voice was a little excited. As soon as the call connected, he asked, “Hello, Lu Ao? My friend’s fishing fleet has a spot for yellow croaker fishing. Are you going?”

“Yellow cucumber” was the fishermen’s local nickname.

Its scientific name was yellow croaker. It was also called stonehead fish or river fish.

Nowadays, if a wild yellow croaker weighed a full jin, it cost more than a thousand yuan per jin. For fish weighing over one jin, every additional liang doubled the price. Large yellow croakers over two jin were more expensive than gold.

Last year, a fisherman in their province caught a large yellow croaker weighing six jin and eight liang, and sold it for 570,000 yuan.

However, even with prices this high, catching wild large yellow croaker was extremely difficult.

Some people rented boats to fish for yellow croaker. They might earn tens of thousands in a single day, or they might go an entire month without catching anything and lose ten or twenty thousand instead.

Even so, every year, large numbers of sea anglers drifted on the sea, hoping to catch a large yellow croaker and get rich overnight.

Lu Ao had not paid attention to this matter before, so when he heard Yan Zhengning say this, he was somewhat surprised.

Yan Zhengning said, “How about it? Are you coming? Your fishing skills are so good. Maybe you can earn several hundred thousand in a month.”

Lu Ao asked, “Are you going too?”

“I’ll go fish for two days. There are matters at the company, so I can’t leave for too long. You can fish for a few more days. My friend is very easy to talk to. It’s fine if you fish for more days.”

“Where are you fishing?”

“This year, it’s around Xiding City. Isn’t your home there?” Yan Zhengning said. “You can go back home while you’re at it.”

Lu Ao was not surprised that he knew where his home was. After thinking for a moment, Lu Ao said, “Let me think about it first. I’ll reply to you tonight?”

“Sure. Then I’ll keep the spot for you first. Reply to me as soon as you can.” Yan Zhengning said, “You don’t have to worry about fishing rods and lines. If you don’t have any, you can use my friend’s.”

Lu Ao said, “No need. I have them.”

“All right. Then I’ll wait for your good news tonight.”

After hanging up, Lu Ao searched online.

This year, there really were quite a lot of people fishing for yellow croaker in the waters near Xiding City.

Because it was close to the Dragon Boat Festival, wild yellow croaker was also selling at a high price now.

Lu Ao estimated that as long as he could catch two or three a day, earning over ten thousand would not be a problem.

This was an extremely tempting job.

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