After Reincarnating as the Dragon King, I Made a Fortune with Seafood – CH36

Chapter 36: Invitation

After Lu Ao returned home, he was so exhausted that he collapsed into a chair and did not want to move.

From the backs of his feet to his calves, both legs were covered in large scrapes and bruised swelling. They looked rather shocking.

Song Zhou looked at his legs and frowned.

Lu Ao curled his toes and hid the tops of his feet back a little, feeling strangely embarrassed. “It’s fine. It doesn’t hurt.”

“Next time, don’t slap rocks.” As Song Zhou spoke, he said, “Wait for me.”

Lu Ao saw his figure disappear. A moment later, he reappeared in a hurry, holding a small porcelain bottle, which he handed over. “Apply the medicine first.”

“Alright.”

Lu Ao took the porcelain bottle and obediently went to wash his feet clean. Then he sat back in the chair and applied the medicine himself.

It was a semi-transparent green ointment. It smelled faintly cool and fragrant, like the wind after rain.

When the medicine was smeared onto his feet, it felt cool and did not hurt.

He started applying it from the tops of his feet. By the time he reached his calves and looked back at the tops of his feet, the redness and swelling there had visibly faded. When he pressed lightly, there was almost no pain anymore.

Lu Ao instantly understood that using this medicine to treat such small scrapes was a bit of a waste.

He held the medicine jar and looked at Song Zhou, hesitating over whether he should return it.

After all, he had used this medicine on his feet. Even if he had dug it out with a medicine spatula, it still felt somewhat inappropriate.

Song Zhou saw through his thoughts and said, “Keep it.”

“Is this medicine very expensive?”

“No. I made it myself.”

Lu Ao responded and held the medicine for quite a while before finally deciding to keep it.

In just the time it took them to speak, Lu Ao’s feet had almost recovered. Only a little redness and swelling remained. It was impossible to tell that five minutes ago, his feet had been covered in large scrapes.

He looked at Song Zhou and found it rather miraculous. “They’re healed?”

Song Zhou checked them over once and only nodded after making sure there was no problem.

Lu Ao was starving. Once his feet were better, he went to cook.

At this hour, it was neither early nor late, so there was no need to make a proper meal. A few packs of instant noodles, with eggs, vegetables, meat, and some sea fish added in, made for a hearty pot.

After the two of them shared it, Lu Ao finally felt alive again.

They had agreed to learn how to make rain this afternoon. They had to go to the fields to tend the vegetables and practice making rain while they were at it.

Song Zhou looked down and saw that there was indeed nothing wrong with his feet anymore, then nodded. “Let’s go.”

Lu Ao hurried to get straw hats. He took one not only for himself but also one for Song Zhou. Both were brand-new.

Even wearing straw hats, the two of them did not look like farmers.

Song Zhou looked at their matching hats, and his mood improved a little. “Are we walking, or should I take you there?”

“Take me there,” Lu Ao said. “We can be lazy for once.”

A hint of amusement appeared in Song Zhou’s eyes.

He reached out and placed a hand on Lu Ao’s shoulder. Their vision blurred, and they were already in front of the vegetable field.

Before Lu Ao could steady himself, his phone rang.

He took it out. It was an unfamiliar number.

He was a little puzzled. Song Zhou saw the expression on his face and asked, “Who is it?”

“I don’t know. Maybe a sales call.”

That was what he said, but he still answered. Recently, he had been taking part in the auction for a boat, so it was also possible that some staff member from that side was calling him.

“Hello, is this Lu Ao?” A warm voice came from the other end. “Are you back?”

“Yes. May I ask who this is?”

“It’s Shen Mingquan.” The voice on the other end became even more enthusiastic. “Shen Mingquan from Jiacheng Grand Hotel. Do you remember?”

“Manager Shen.” Lu Ao put down the basket in his hand and asked, “Is there something you need from me?”

“Didn’t you go to the Maritime Public Security Bureau a few days ago and help them salvage something? I happen to have some guests here. They heard about your reputation and also want to invite you to make a trip, to help with diving and catching some fish. Don’t worry, we’re not salvaging anything. We just want to catch some ordinary fish.”

Song Zhou became alert the moment he mentioned the Public Security Bureau. “Where did you hear that I helped the Public Security Bureau?”

“You don’t need to hear that from any one person in particular. Everyone knows. A problem that had troubled the Public Security Bureau for more than a week was solved in a single day after they invited you over. Everyone who mentions you gives a thumbs-up!” Manager Shen heard the wariness in his voice and said, “Our guests came to you because they saw that you’re lucky, careful, and reliable. Last time, when Mr. Shi Chen and the others had that accident, weren’t you the one who saved them too?”

Lu Ao was cautious. “What background do your guests have? Is it convenient to say?”

“They’re a scientific research team, from an international research institute. If you’re willing to help, they’re willing to pay a daily wage of two thousand. The scuba equipment and other gear will also be provided by them.”

A daily wage of two thousand was not particularly high, especially for deep diving.

The project itself sounded fine, though. He could go out to sea and take a look, and it would be with researchers. Participating in work like this could broaden his experience.

Lu Ao pondered for a moment. “Are the researchers Chinese?”

“There are Chinese researchers too.”

“What about the main body?”

Manager Shen laughed vaguely. “This is an international cooperation project.”

Lu Ao understood at once. “Then does this project have the corresponding permit?”

“Yes, yes, yes. All the documents are complete. It’s been approved by the state. A big hotel like ours wouldn’t dare do anything improper.”

Lu Ao asked, “When do we go to sea?”

“Board the ship tomorrow morning. We may have to stay at sea for about a week.”

“That’s too long. If I have to stay at sea for a week, my daily wage needs to double. At least four thousand.” Lu Ao said, “Manager Shen, ask your guests first. I’ll think it over too and call you tonight.”

“Alright. I’ll ask first and get back to you later.”

After Lu Ao finished communicating with him, he hung up.

Song Zhou looked at him from the side. “You’re interested in this project?”

“It sounds alright. Quite fun.” Lu Ao touched his nose. “But if I really go, I’ll probably have to find someone to help feed the geese and water the vegetables again.”

Lu Ao said “find someone,” but his eyes wandered toward Song Zhou.

Song Zhou curved his eyes. “If I help, what payment will you give me?”

“I’ll cook for you.” Lu Ao said, “I picked up two coconut snails this morning and kept the bigger one. For dinner, we can have stir-fried snail. Brother Zhang also gave me half a bucket of crabs, and there’s lamb at home. We can make a crab-and-lamb claypot.”

“One meal?”

“If you like, I can make a few more meals.” Lu Ao said, “As many as you say.”

“Alright. I’ll remember that.”

After they finished talking about miscellaneous matters, Song Zhou said, “You changed back into your dragon form today, so you should have a deeper understanding of water now. Look at that cloud. Try drawing it over.”

Lu Ao raised his head to look at the large clusters of white clouds in the blue sky, somewhat lost.

After a moment, he closed his eyes, his brush-like eyelashes lowering.

One second, two seconds, three seconds… more than a minute passed. The cloud was still there, without the slightest change.

Lu Ao opened his eyes and looked at Song Zhou, rare embarrassment appearing on his face.

“Again. That was pretty good.”

Lu Ao silently glanced at the sky, unable to figure out what exactly had been good about it.

He closed his eyes again. After a long while, he still felt nothing.

Just as he was about to open his eyes, he suddenly felt a coolness on his arm. A small droplet of water had fallen on him.

Could it be a raindrop?!

He hurriedly opened his eyes. Overhead, the sky was still clear for thousands of miles, but a few tiny beads of water drifted down.

Disappointment covered Lu Ao’s eyes, but Song Zhou said, “Not bad.”

Lu Ao exhaled. “I don’t have even the slightest clue.”

“At least you took the first step. For the next while, when you’re not busy, you can try changing back into dragon form more often.”

“Alright. I’ll work hard.” Lu Ao felt tired again. He carried the vegetable basket back to the ridge. “You make it rain.”

“Alright.”

Song Zhou summoned clouds, and a fine drizzle began falling.

Lu Ao walked over to the vegetable ridge where the scallions, ginger, and garlic were planted. He specifically pulled some scallions and garlic. Tonight, he was making crab-and-lamb claypot and coconut snail, and both seasonings were indispensable.

Aside from that, the vegetables in the field that could be harvested also had to be picked. Otherwise, after a while, they would grow old.

There were many vegetables in summer. If they could not be finished, they could be given to neighbors and friends or dried under the sun into preserved vegetables.

Dried vegetables had a different flavor from fresh ones. Especially in autumn and winter, adding some dried vegetables to a stew made it taste very good.

After watering the vegetable field, the two went to water the watermelon patch.

Lu Ao had planted quite a lot of watermelons too. By now, the watermelons had long sprouted and had begun to send out vines.

With Song Zhou around, there were no insects or weeds in the watermelon patch. A whole stretch of green watermelon seedlings looked extremely soothing.

Lu Ao returned home in a good mood to cook.

He deliberately pushed Song Zhou to sit in the courtyard. “I’ll cook today. You rest first.”

“No need for help?”

Lu Ao had not wanted to let him do anything, but when he heard this, his gaze swept over to the basin of mud crabs.

Mud crabs were actually rather hard to wash.

Lu Ao looked back and hesitated. “Can you use magic to scrub mud crabs?”

“No.” Song Zhou laughed. “But I can make rain and wash them clean.”

“Then forget it.” Lu Ao regretfully waved his hand and refused. “The clouds in the sky aren’t our faucet, where we twist them open whenever we want and let rain pour down. It would look too strange to outsiders.”

“And watering the fields every day doesn’t look like a faucet?”

“When we water the fields, there’s no one nearby. Now it’s dinner time. Everyone in the village is home.”

Lu Ao’s house was a bit far from the other village households, but they were all in the same village. Every family had a small western-style house. If someone stood on the rooftop and looked, they could see everything.

Song Zhou did not force it. Seeing Lu Ao enter the kitchen to cook, he went to Lu Ao’s room, found a book, and brought it out. He half-reclined on the lounge chair in the courtyard and read.

Lu Ao took the mud crabs to scrub them.

He cleaned them one by one, scrubbing a total of thirty-two crabs before he finished all of them.

The cleaned crabs were placed in a basin. He stabbed a chopstick into each crab’s mouth, gently prodding once, and the crab was killed.

After killing the crabs, he turned them over and tore off their abdomens.

Mud crabs grew in mud. If their abdomens were not removed, or if the intestines were not squeezed clean, the finished dish would have a slight smell. This was also why many people did not like eating mud crabs.

After removing the abdomen, Lu Ao flipped the crabs back over, opened the top shells, removed the stomach sacs and gills, then washed them again to scrub away the mud and sand inside the shells before chopping them into pieces.

The crabs prepared this way were already very clean.

He added cooking wine, soy sauce, and other seasonings to marinate them briefly. Then he heated a pot, poured in oil, and fried the crabs until they were golden and crispy. After that, he added scallions, ginger, garlic, chili, and other aromatics and stir-fried everything together.

The stir-fried crabs were scooped out. He added some base oil, then poured in the lamb and stir-fried it over high heat. Once it was cooked and seasoned, he added the crabs back in, poured in beer, and stewed it.

The crab-and-lamb claypot was done. Once the sauce reduced to about the right level, it could be carried out directly, placed on the induction cooker, and eaten while it continued to simmer.

Song Zhou was reading outside. As he read, he smelled the aroma and found that he could no longer focus on the book. He simply got up and came to the kitchen. “Is it ready? Need help?”

“No, no. I’ll stir-fry two more dishes, and then we can eat.”

Lu Ao answered while wrestling with the coconut snail.

The shell of a coconut snail was famously hard. Most people who wanted to eat coconut snail would use one of three methods.

Some people directly used a large iron hammer to smash the shell, then took out the meat and washed it. This method easily smashed the meat, and broken bits of shell could also remain inside the snail meat.

Some people boiled the snail in water before taking out the meat. The drawback was that it was easy to overcook, and part of the flavor would be lost.

Others used a trick: they hooked the snail meat with a large iron hook and hung it up. It was said that under the pull of gravity, the coconut snail would slide out of its shell on its own, making it easy to remove the meat.

Lu Ao did not need any of these three methods.

He was extremely strong. Snail meat that others could not take out, he easily pulled free.

The snail meat was removed and sliced thinly. He heated the wok until it was roaring hot, then poured the snail meat in and stir-fried it over high heat, only cooking it until just done before scooping it out.

“Dinner’s ready—”

Lu Ao called out and carried the snail meat outside.

Steam still rolled off the snail meat. The reddish-brown sauce dotted the surface, occasionally rolling down, making it visually very appetizing.

Song Zhou helped scoop rice. “Today’s dishes smell very good.”

“I think so too.” Lu Ao swallowed. “I’ll go bring out the crab-and-lamb claypot.”

The two prepared to eat. On the table were one crab-and-lamb claypot, one stir-fried snail dish, and one stir-fried pumpkin dish. Just three simple dishes, yet they gave off an indescribable fragrance.

Lu Ao first took a bite of the coconut snail slices. The milky-white snail slices were wrapped in reddish-brown sauce and still steaming. Once they went into his mouth, fresh, crisp, hot flavors burst open, a taste hard to describe. A large amount of saliva immediately welled up.

Almost at that instant, one sentence immediately surfaced in Lu Ao’s mind—so fresh it made him want to swallow his tongue!

His eyes lit up.

Across from him, Song Zhou also took several bites in a row. He looked very satisfied with the dish.

The snail meat’s performance was stunning. Lu Ao eagerly went to try the crab-and-lamb claypot.

The crab meat had been fried first, then stewed, sealing all the fresh flavor inside. One bite was perfectly seasoned, with the rich crab flavor brought out beautifully.

Then he tasted a bite of lamb. The lamb had a rich flavor, without the gaminess of ordinary mutton. Instead, it carried a faint milky note, just a little, followed by the freshness of the lamb, the freshness of the crab, and the fragrance of chili, garlic, and other seasonings all rushing up together.

The flavors of crab and lamb were distinct, yet also blended together. It was indescribably wonderful.

Lu Ao could not help quickly shoveling several mouthfuls of rice into his mouth, his eyes full of surprise.

This dish was simply too delicious. Its flavor far exceeded his expectations.

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