Fu Gui chuckled and replied, "I think Miss Yu is an old acquaintance of yours, isn't she? Otherwise, why would she grab you and run away in front of everyone at the nightclub?"
"No, no, this is my first time in Donghai. I've never been here before, and I don't know Miss Yuqi..." Zhou Xuan shook his head, but facing Fu Gui's question, he really couldn't find a reason to answer. He tried to cover it up, then picked up a beer can and said, "Let's drink."
Fu Gui chuckled and picked up the jar, saying, "Drink, drink, drink... hurry up and drink, Uncle Yu and the others will be here soon!"
The two of them quickly finished the six cans of beer they had brought out. Fugui was about to get up to get more beer when Zhou Xuan grabbed him and said, "Brother Fugui, don't get any more. Don't drink too much. Eat slowly and wait for us."
Fu Gui nodded and said, "Alright, come on, have some shredded squid."
The squid strips he brought out were delicious, both spicy and non-spicy, and very flavorful; these were all products from Yujia Factory itself.
Because of the exceptionally large harvest achieved with Zhou Xuan's help, when the fish baskets were returned after disembarking, Zhao Chengguang did not let Zhou Xuan and Fu Gui carry them back onto the boat themselves, but instead hired a laborer to do it.
Besides, even if it were to be done, Zhou Xuan wouldn't do such a thing again. He earns five or six million at a time, why would he be made to do menial labor? It's unavoidable on the ship after going to sea, but it's unreasonable to make him do such work after returning.
Moreover, Zhao Chengguang is now treating Zhou Xuan as an extremely important investment; Zhou Xuan can be said to have become a crucial factor in his strategy.
When Zhou Xuan was with Fu Gui, although he was a bit vulgar and lecherous, she felt comfortable with him. She found him to be genuine and unpretentious, unlike some people who are polite and refined in public but do all sorts of bad things and are utterly immoral behind people's backs.
Actually, Zhou Xuan liked Li Wei back in the capital. Li Wei was just that kind of person, but he was much better than Fu Gui in nature. Zhou Xuan liked Li Wei's straightforwardness. After getting together with his sister Zhou Ying, he completely abandoned his previous personality. It wasn't an act, but a change after having someone he loved.
In many people's eyes, this transformation can be summed up in two words: "maturity".
While eating the shredded squid, Fugui sighed again and then asked Zhou Xuan a strange question: "Brother, with such ability, why don't you develop your own business? Why don't you become your own boss? Do you want to work for someone else your whole life?"
Zhou Xuan hadn't expected that the seemingly simple Fu Gui would think of such a thing. It seems that truly understanding a person is not so easy. Just when you think you understand someone, they might do something that you can't comprehend.
"Hehe, I haven't thought about it," Zhou Xuan chuckled and replied. "As long as I have food to eat, a place to sleep, and work, that's enough for me. I don't crave how much money I make."
Fu Gui stared at Zhou Xuan, then took Zhou Xuan's palm, examined the lines carefully, and looked up, saying, "Brother, judging from your palm, I don't think you're an uneducated country bumpkin. You're not interested in money. I think you look more like a spoiled young master who ran away from home after suffering a setback."
Zhou Xuan was stunned, and opened his mouth but couldn't say anything.
Fu Gui immediately reached out and patted his shoulder again, laughing, "Don't be angry, I was just talking nonsense. If we have nothing to do on the ship, we can't pass the time without chatting. We didn't order any fast food."
Zhou Xuan breathed a sigh of relief. Judging from Fu Gui's expression, he was just talking nonsense and didn't take it seriously. Perhaps he never dreamed that he was a richer person than his boss, Yu Changhe, and his Yu family.
With Zhou Xuan's current abilities, if we're only talking about making money, as long as he's not worried about the impact, he can easily earn money and won't have to worry about making a living.
What Zhou Xuan liked most about this ship was the seclusion and the life he had with very few people; this was the place he wanted to find after running away from home.
The two had almost finished eating, and Zhou Xuan, seeing that Fu Gui was still eating and drinking, said, "Brother Fu Gui, I'm a little hungry. The snacks you brought taste good too. Can I take some to my room to eat when I have nothing to do?"
Fu Gui immediately pushed the snacks away, saying, "Take as much as you want, take as much as you want. I'm offering you good food, but you won't go. You like this kind of stuff. Don't worry, I'll bring you even more next time, so you'll have something to eat every day when you go to sea. It only costs a few dollars. Two hundred dollars' worth of stuff can last you a week."
Zhou Xuan smiled, and without any hesitation, scooped up a large bundle on the deck. Then, he returned to his cabin. Seeing that Fu Gui hadn't followed, he gently knocked on his door and whispered, "Miss Yu, Miss Yu, it's me. Open the door."
Yuqi quietly got up and opened the door a crack. Seeing that only Zhou Xuan was inside, she opened it wider. Zhou Xuan didn't come in, but handed her the snacks from outside the door, then said, "Lock the door. Don't open it unless I call you. And remember, don't make any noise. I left some instant food and cooked food in the room last time, as well as drinking water. It should be enough for you for a few days."
Yuqi nodded, her expression much calmer now, and she was no longer afraid. Perhaps she had been thinking a lot in her room, and now she had to face the facts and figure out how to deal with what she was going to face. Although she was unwilling, she still had to confront it.
Just as she was about to close the door, Yuqi stopped and stared at Zhou Xuan, asking, "Hu Yun, you won't betray me, will you? My brother will offer a hefty reward."
Zhou Xuan smiled faintly and said, "I can't be bothered with the Yu family's internal affairs. I'm just a worker; I'll just do my job. Your fighting to the death is none of my business."
Yuqi slammed the door shut in anger, making a loud noise. Zhou Xuan was startled and quickly ran out. Fortunately, Fugui thought he had closed the door himself and had no suspicions.
Today, we can't order fast food, so Fu Gui will find it rather boring. We can only eat and chat, but chatting with Zhou Xuan is still quite interesting. In some ways, he feels that Zhou Xuan is like a clueless teenager who hasn't experienced much in life. However, in other ways, he feels that Zhou Xuan is a mysterious and unpredictable master, far beyond his reach. But overall, he still thinks that Zhou Xuan is an honest and down-to-earth person.
Some secrets cannot be told, so Fugui didn't blame him. Even he himself had many dirty and sordid things he couldn't say. Everyone has their own secrets, and not being able to tell them doesn't mean that person isn't a good person.
Uncle Yu and his group finally arrived. Yu Qiang, Guan Lin, Fu Bao, Fu Shan, and Lao Jiang, the six of them, all got on the boat within a few minutes. There was no work to be done on the boat this time, as Zhao Chengguang had already arranged for someone to do it. They were just waiting for the boat to set sail.
As usual, Uncle Yu burned incense and prayed to the sea god on the deck, poured good wine into the sea, checked the time, and saw that it was still five or six minutes before midnight. He then said to Guan Lin, "Guan Lin, get ready in the cockpit. At midnight, Wu Dehu's ship will also be coming. This time, we will go out to sea together with our two ships."
This was arranged by Yu Changhe. First, a boat would follow Uncle Yu's boat to see how it went. If Hu Yun really had that ability, and if he returned with a full load again, it would prove that he did indeed have that ability, and there would be no further assessment.
The boat that Wu Dehu was sailing was also owned by the Yu family, one of the four boats owned by the Yu family. The reason why the other two boats were not allowed to follow along was because of the issue of the harvest. Fishing boats that go out to sea should not be too close together, as this would definitely affect the harvest. Although Yu Jinshan's boat had a harvest of five or six million last time, that could not be used to support the other boats.
Wu Dehu was initially dissatisfied with the order, but since it was Yu Changhe who gave it personally, he let it go. His orders were more effective than Zhao Chengguang's. The boss himself said that even if he didn't get anything this time, he wouldn't be afraid. He was just following his instructions, and the boss would be responsible for the harvest. He didn't need to worry.
Around midnight, searchlights lit up the sea to the right, and a whistle sounded, indicating that Wu Dehu's fishing boat had arrived.
Uncle Yu waved his hand and shouted, "Put the boards away, let's set off!"
Fu Bao quickly retrieved the bridge planks from the ship's side, while Uncle Yu went to the wheelhouse to contact Wu Dehu's ship. The others crowded around Zhou Xuan and led him into the cabin.
Of course, Yu Qiang was somewhat uncomfortable. Although he had received a large bonus thanks to Zhou Xuan, he couldn't bear to see Zhou Xuan suddenly rise to prominence and become much more powerful than him. In fact, Zhou Xuan had become the absolute authority on their ship. If this voyage was like the last one, it was conceivable that Zhou Xuan would be a force to be reckoned with on the ship, and even Uncle Yu would have to listen to him, let alone Yu Qiang and Guan Lin.
Once inside the cabin, Fu Bao and Fu Shan had already laid out a delicious feast. Old Jiang chuckled and said, "Consider this a welcome dinner for Xiao Hu. We won't be playing cards this time; everyone's won a large bonus, so we're not short of money."
Old Jiang's words made Yu Qiang somewhat unhappy. Last time, he inexplicably lost a large sum of money to them, which made him extremely upset. He and Guan Lin discussed it for a long time afterward and concluded that it was probably an unexpected situation, a matter of luck, and that there should be no problem with the operation. They couldn't blame anyone. But this time, things were much better. Everyone received a huge prize of forty or fifty thousand. If they could win big this time, even if they only managed to swindle half of the money from those fools on the ship, it would still be a huge sum of over one hundred thousand.
Guan Lin and Yu Qiang were both excited and ambitious, ready for a big harvest this time. They had prepared the Qianpai (a brand of handicrafts) and made sure everything was in order.
But now Lao Jiang suddenly said that he feels uncomfortable if he doesn't play cards, and he wants to find an opportunity to talk about it again. Otherwise, what's the fun in playing cards?
Although Zhou Xuan didn't look at Yu Qiang with his eyes, his supernatural ability didn't let him off the hook. He kept an eye on him and could tell from his expression that this guy and Guan Lin must have set up another trap. But whether they played or not, it didn't matter. If they played, he would secretly intervene and make them lose big again. As long as he didn't win any money, no one would suspect him. If they didn't play, then it was fine too. He could just go out to sea and do his job.
The East China Sea is rich in marine life because of its shallow average depth of just over 80 meters. However, in recent years, overfishing has been severely excessive, and the coastline is heavily polluted, so the situation is incomparable to previous years. All kinds of marine life are becoming increasingly scarce, and now that it is winter, the dry season, fishing is even more difficult.
Although there are no typhoons or other severe weather during the dry season, fish populations are indeed scarce, and the catch is pitifully small each time we go out to sea.
When Wu Dehu learned that Yu Jinshan's second uncle's boat had caught over 60,000 catties of fish and twelve tiger sharks in two nets on their last voyage, his first reaction was disbelief. This was an insurmountable miracle in the history of fishing. Moreover, it was the off-season in winter, and few schools of fish passed through. Based on his decades of experience, there were almost no large migrating schools of fish coming to the East China Sea during this season. It was impossible for the second uncle and his crew to catch 60,000 catties of fish in two nets.
However, when he went to deliver the seafood products to the Yu family's seafood factory, he heard Zhao Chengguang tell him the truth. It was indeed true that the twelve tiger sharks sold for nearly five million yuan. Wu Dehu knew that Uncle Yu had indeed caught so many fish this time, but was it really as he said, that he caught them with two nets? Or perhaps he and Zhao Chengguang were in cahoots, and in order to boost their sales figures, they might have transferred the fish they bought elsewhere to Yu Jinshan's name and claimed that he caught them?
This is indeed possible, because for Zhao Chengguang, he would pay out the same amount of money as he received fish, and he wouldn't pay less. However, it didn't matter whose account he kept the money on. Among so many fishing boats on the coastline, the vast majority of fishing boats and fishermen sold their fish to the Yu family. Therefore, it is highly likely that the fish registered under Uncle Yu's boat were registered under someone else's name.