Chapter 18: Just Friends

The day she picked up over sixty jin of ribbonfish, Mu Chenze hadn’t gone out to sea.

That night’s prawns were only discovered thanks to his tip.

Was it really fate’s favor, or had Mu Chenze secretly left them for her?

She’d have to ask him face-to-face tomorrow.

The next morning at six, Chu Xuan got up. She wasn’t heading out to the shore today; she needed to stay home and wait for the construction crew.

She had to discuss the new house’s layout, how high to build the courtyard wall, and she also planned to renovate the toilet and kitchen.

Actually, it would be more convenient to have a well at home, but since they lived so close to the sea, they couldn’t get fresh water by digging. They had to fetch water from a stream on the other side of the village.

That stream was fed by mountain springs, the water crisp and sweet.

The water jar at home was almost empty, so Chu Xuan grabbed her buckets and headed out.

When she reached the stream, she happened to run into Mu Chenze, who was also there to fetch water.

She greeted him, “Not going out to sea today?”

“Nope.”

Mu Chenze set down his carrying pole and got ready to fill his empty buckets.

Seeing no one else around, Chu Xuan finally voiced her suspicion, “Did you put those prawns there ahead of time yesterday?”

Mu Chenze looked at her like she was an idiot, replying half-heartedly, “How much free time do you think I have, to go plant prawns on the shore just for you? Don’t flatter yourself!”

He filled his two buckets, then left without looking back.

Chu Xuan scratched her nose awkwardly. She’d been a bit too blunt today.

She didn’t notice that, after walking a dozen meters away, Mu Chenze finally let out a long breath.

Clearly, he couldn’t pull off stunts like that anymore.

But it would take several more trips to fill the water jar.

On her second and third trips, she ran into Mu Chenze again.

This time, Chu Xuan didn’t start a conversation.

Not until the fourth trip, after filling his buckets, did Mu Chenze take the initiative, smiling, “I heard you’re building a new house today. Is the crew handling everything?”

“Yes.”

“If you need any help, just call me.”

“No need. Don’t want the villagers to get the wrong idea. Mu Chenze, I’m actually curious—why don’t you hate me? Why do you help me?”

Mu Chenze didn’t hide it anymore. “Because I happened to pass by the old Chu house that day and overheard your conversation with Feng Chunhua. That’s when I realized it was her who forced you to scheme against me and my family. She demanded over a hundred yuan from you every month after marriage, and wanted even more in the future—she’s got some nerve! I’m grateful you didn’t marry me. So if you ever need anything, just ask.”

He seemed relieved after saying this.

Chu Xuan hadn’t expected him to know the truth. “I’m just glad you don’t blame me. I really do feel guilty about it.”

“What’s there to feel guilty about? It wasn’t your choice. From now on, I, Mu Chenze, will treat you as a friend, a buddy. See you!”

Mu Chenze hoisted his buckets and left.

Chu Xuan muttered under her breath, “Being buddies sounds good!”

Since the prawns weren’t a secret gift from Mu Chenze, she wouldn’t feel bad about keeping them.

Back home, Chu Xuan cooked the prawns and had a feast with Xiao Feng.

When Mu Chenze got home, he saw Qin Mahua looking like she wanted to say something but hesitated. He couldn’t help but laugh, “Mom, if you want to ask something, just ask.”

Qin Mahua made a money-counting gesture. “You didn’t go out to sea today—did you go buy and sell fish again? I checked under your pillow, and there’s no money.”

Mu Chenze laughed heartily and pulled out a wad of cash from his pocket. “Here it is! Over four hundred yuan.”

Qin Mahua happily took the money, counting as she asked, “Was it ribbonfish again this time?”

“Nope. Abalone. I left a few in the kitchen. I’ve already had breakfast—I’m going to nap, don’t disturb me.”

Mu Chenze headed to his room.

Soon after, he heard Qin Mahua’s surprised voice, “Oh my goodness, how many are there? That’s a whole pile of abalone! We should sell them—eating too many would be wasteful.”

Luckily, she didn’t go in and disturb Mu Chenze.

Mu Chenze would never tell anyone that those abalone were actually meant as a secret gift for Chu Xuan. But since she was already suspicious, he couldn’t do it again.

Otherwise, if he got found out, Chu Xuan would definitely pay him back for the ribbonfish and prawns.

At eight in the morning, the construction crew arrived at Chu Xuan’s house—ten people in all, led by a man named Lin Lou.

Today’s tasks were to tear down the collapsed rooms and courtyard wall, mark out the site, and dig the foundation.

The demolished parts were just crumbling mud bricks and rotten wood.

Lin Lou suggested that, after the new house was built, Chu Xuan should tear down the remaining two rooms and rebuild them as well.

Chu Xuan had thought the same, but she didn’t have enough money for that yet.

She’d need to earn at least another thousand yuan before she could build more.

Around ten in the morning, Gao Meijuan and her daughter came over to help.

Gao Meijuan’s daughter, Wang Shasha, was the same age as Chu Feng, but a whole head taller.

That made Chu Xuan even more determined to improve her little brother’s nutrition.

For lunch, she made stir-fried clams, pork belly and prawn stew with cabbage and vermicelli, steamed mixed-grain buns, and mung bean soup.

The buns were made with cornmeal and wheat flour, sweet and tasty.

With such fragrant dishes, the workers ate happily and worked even harder in the afternoon.

By the end of the day, the foundation was dug and reinforced with stone, red bricks, and concrete.

There weren’t many building materials left, so more would have to be brought in tomorrow.

They didn’t bring everything at once because there was no courtyard wall yet, and theft was a risk.

Word was that Qiu Daguang had been arrested and taken all the blame, so Qi Hong got off scot-free.

Around eight in the evening, Chu Xuan grabbed her gear and headed to the shore.

Even though she was tired, nothing could dampen her enthusiasm for foraging by the sea.

Living by the sea meant living off the sea.

She needed to gather more seafood and earn more money.

Mu Chenze was out for a post-dinner walk along the shore. Even in the dim light, he spotted Chu Xuan right away.

Mainly because her figure was hard to miss.

This time, he didn’t go up to her.

Chu Xuan, flashlight in hand, followed the receding tide.

She spotted a sea bass weighing three or four jin.

She set down her bucket, grabbed it easily, and tossed it in.

Moving forward, she found a 15-centimeter-long sea cucumber.

Then she came across a group of stranded anchovies.

Anchovies are small and full of bones, but they’re delicious fried!

In no time, she’d filled half a bucket.

Further ahead, she found a dozen sea urchins.

Their spines were still moving—they were alive.

She was having good luck today, so she used tongs to collect them.

Sea urchin was delicious, but Chu Xuan couldn’t bear to eat them herself—she planned to sell them at the dock.

The price for sea urchin varied depending on quality.

After collecting the sea urchins, Chu Xuan found another sea bass and grabbed it for her bucket.

A bit farther on, she picked up two more sea cucumbers, each 17 or 18 centimeters long and plump—each must weigh half a jin.

Satisfied with her haul, Chu Xuan headed back.

Every time she passed another villager out foraging, they’d shine their flashlight into her bucket.

Everyone agreed she’d been especially lucky lately, and were all curious about her latest finds.

At the dock, Chu Xuan went straight to Li Tong’s stall. “I’m keeping the anchovies, but you can buy the rest.”

“Alrighty.”

Li Tong quickly weighed everything.

The two sea bass came to seven jin and four liang, and the sea urchins three jin and seven liang.

When it was time to weigh the sea cucumbers, Chu Xuan stopped him. “We know each other well—just give me a flat price for the sea cucumbers.”

She figured the three sea cucumbers were top quality—rare and valuable. She wouldn’t sell for less than eighty yuan.

To her surprise, Li Tong looked troubled. “Last time I gave you a flat price because a customer needed them urgently. Today, I have to weigh them. They’re good quality, so I’ll give you fifteen yuan a jin. These three are just over a jin. If you’re not happy with that, you can take them to a hotel in the county—they might fetch a better price there.”"