The onlookers around, seeing that the fish had all been sold, prepared to disperse, still chatting about what had just happened as they walked away.
"Good grief, 500 bucks for a single fish! That's practically a year's wages. Wang Chu'an has struck it rich today!"
"You can say that again! I should've asked him where he caught it so I could go try my luck later!"
"In your dreams! Do you really think he's going to just hand over his fishing spot like that?"
"What if he does?"
……
Seeing that the crowd had scattered, Wang Chu'an beckoned for Li Zhengwen and his brother to follow him. Walking over to a deserted spot, he pulled two bills from the wad of cash he was holding and, with a smile on his face, said to the two brothers:
"Thanks for your help with the landing and carrying today. Take these 20 bucks."
The two brothers looked at the money Wang Chu'an was offering, but didn't take it. Unhappily, they said:
"Do you not see us as brothers?"
"Of course I do. What's that supposed to mean?"
"If you see us as brothers, what does giving us money mean? Looking down on us?"
It finally dawned on him that he had said the wrong thing. If he had just said this was a lucky bonus from selling the fish and wanted them to share in the good fortune, none of this would have happened.
"My bad, I misspoke. How about this—after my wedding tomorrow, I'll have A-Jie and Xiao Lei over to my place in a couple of days for a get-together, and I'll down three drinks as a penalty."
Hearing him say that, the expressions of the Li brothers finally improved.
"That's more like it. Talking about money between brothers hurts the relationship. It was just a helping hand anyway, why talk about money?"
"Right, my mistake! Forgive me, Big Brothers, this junior was just clueless."
With that, he pulled out a pack of cigarettes, offered one to each of their mouths, and struck a match to light them.
Li Zhengwen took a drag, laughed, and said, "We'll let it slide this time. Pay attention next time!"
"Will do!"
Wang Chu'an gave a playful salute.
Seeing him act so goofy, the two brothers burst out into laughter.
"Haha, why are you even more mischievous than before?"
Actually, it was only natural for Wang Chu'an to act like this. In his past life, he entered society relatively early and mainly interacted with people older than him, which had completely suppressed his natural playfulness!
Exchanging jokes and laughter, the three of them parted ways at the corner to head home.
Just as they were about to leave, Wang Chu'an called out with a reminder:
"Come over early tomorrow, don't forget to help me welcome the bride!"
"I know, how could I forget something so important!"
……
Returning to the old house, he put his things away and placed the sea bass from the bucket into the stone pool to keep it alive.
Since they lived off the sea, practically every household built a small pool to temporarily hold seafood they couldn't finish eating right away.
Once everything was settled, Wang Chu'an checked the time and saw it was only three-thirty in the afternoon. His father and the others probably wouldn't be back until around four.
His mother and the women weren't home either; they were either working the fields or weaving fishnets over at his eldest sister-in-law's place.
Usually, everything was done right here at the old house, but since he was holding his wedding banquet here, having all those supplies stacked around made the place look messy, so they had moved everything over to the eldest sister-in-law's side first.
He walked around for a bit, unsure of what he should do. After all, he had never been married in his past life, and weddings back in this era were different from those in the future. Back now, aunts, uncles, and neighbors would all pitch in to help, creating a warm sense of community.
In later times, families with a bit of money would hold banquets in hotels, or else hire a chef to cook at home—and those hired chefs brought all their own ingredients, leaving you with nothing to do but finalize the menu in advance!
Today's "Scan" chances were all used up; going down to the shore now would be entirely a matter of luck.
"In this heat, I'd better pass!"
He went back inside, originally intending to take a shower, but abandoned the idea when he remembered he still needed to go down to the pier to help out.
Sitting on a chair in the living room, he smoked a cigarette and wondered what he should do with his life going forward.
He wasn't cut out for running a business; he had been a chef in his past life, so was he supposed to open a restaurant now? He quickly dismissed the thought—he couldn't spend two lifetimes doing the exact same thing!
He didn't understand any other businesses. People used to say that in this era, as long as you were bold and dared to act, you were bound to get rich!
Still, he didn't feel he had that kind of daring or brains. After all, in neither of his two lives had he even set foot in high school; at best, he could make a modest living by relying on the perspective of a future era.
As for protagonists in novels who transmigrated and dared to stir up storms across various industries just because they knew the course of history, he knew he didn't have that kind of capability.
Writing novels or composing songs was completely out of the question—the web novels he read couldn't be published anywhere in this era, and as for songs, he could only hum a few lines.
"Wumeng Mountain connects to the mountains beyond mountains, moonlight spills over the echoing rapids..."
As his thoughts drifted, he unconsciously began to hum out loud.
Didn't wealthy people in the future always yearn for a pastoral life? Wasn't his current life precisely the life they longed for?
When there was work, he would go out and cook banquets for others; when there was free time, he would go fishing and beach-combing. Relying on his Golden Finger, he could live quite comfortably without having to exhaust himself playing mind games with people.
Once he earned some money, he would buy a few more houses and wait for demolition payouts so he could live the life of a rentier.
Judging by future standards, this town would sooner or later be developed into a tourist attraction. After all, it had mountains, water, and a natural harbor; in just a few years, some big boss was bound to come and develop the place.
If he bought a few properties in advance, when the development came through and demolition started, he could just settle into the life of a landlord collecting rent!
Just thinking about it made him feel warm inside. By then, he could buy a fishing boat and head out to sea to fish whenever he felt like it.
Once he figured that out, he stopped hesitating. Make a little money, take good care of his small family—bite off only what you can chew, thinking too much was pointless.
Peace and health—that is true blessing!
……
Leaning back in his chair to rest for a moment, he checked his watch, figured it was about time, and headed out toward the pier.
Along the way, villagers kept stopping him to ask if it was true that he had caught a Bahaba fish and sold it for 500 bucks. He knew right away this story would become everyone's after-dinner gossip tonight.
Every single person who came to ask and received a confirmation from Wang Chu'an reacted differently: some were envious, some were jealous, and others made sarcastic remarks.
"A'an, you're so lucky! How did you stumble into a windfall like that?"
"What's so special about that? Didn't someone in the neighboring village catch a tuna weighing over a hundred pounds a while ago and sell it for several hundred bucks too?"
……
Still, Wang Chu'an didn't take any of their comments to heart. After all, he was the one making the money; letting them vent a bit wasn't going to cost him a piece of flesh.
Mainly, there was no helping it—could he really stand there and get into a shouting match with them?
Arriving at the pier, he spotted his childhood friend, Xu Wenjie, and walked over, casually tossing him a cigarette.
"A-Jie, waiting for your dad too?"
Seeing it was Wang Chu'an, Xu slapped him on the shoulder and laughed.
"Heh, A'an, the moment I got to the pier today, I heard you struck it rich. Time to treat us!"
"Sure, no problem! Once the wedding's over, you guys come over to my place and we'll have a get-together."
"Alright! Usually when we ask you to cook, you always make excuses and say it's too much trouble. This time you've got to whip up a few more of your signature dishes!"
"Done. Leave the arrangements to me!"
……
As the two of them chatted, boats began to enter the harbor one after another, and Wang Chu'an spotted his family's boat as well!