Back to 1984: Earning Money, Raising Kids, and Keeping the Household Busy

Upon entering the yacht, you'll find yourself in the first-floor restaurant. The floor is carpeted, with a chef's cooking area on one side and a dining area on the other. The restaurant is estimated to be fifty or sixty square meters in size and is decorated in a very luxurious style, exuding the atmosphere of European aristocracy from the last century.

You can walk through the restaurant corridor to the front deck or to the fishing areas on either side.

Mr. Stephen is indeed a sea fishing enthusiast. The sea fishing equipment installed on the yacht is the most advanced. The fishing line can be launched, and when a fish is hooked, you can turn the handle to reel in the line. There is no need to worry about being dragged into the sea by a big fish.

The four children's eyes lit up when they saw something.

Mr. Stephen was very proud of the children's reaction. He explained how to use the tools in broken Chinese and said, "Let's have a competition! Let me see if our lucky ones can continue their good luck. If you win, I will give you a mystery prize, and you can take all the fish you catch home."

Ya Ya tilted her head and asked curiously, "Uncle, what if we lose?"

Everyone turned to look at Mr. Stephen.

But then he shrugged and smiled, winking and joking, "If you guys lose, some people will get anxious."

Mr. Lü and his companions were on tenterhooks, nervously watching the four children.

Since there were eight fishing spots on the yacht, several impatient staff members said they wanted to join in the fun.

Mr. Stephen readily agreed.

Lin Qin wanted to play too, but she was worried about the four children, so she kept a close eye on them from behind, planning to make her move if anything seemed amiss.

The yacht headed out to sea.

Lin Qin asked Boss Lü in a low voice, "Where are we going?"

"Reef Island, there's a lot of seafood around there, and it's all big stuff," Boss Lü said casually, his manner revealing just how familiar he was with the area.

Lin Qin nodded silently, appreciating the scenery on the sea with all her heart.

Soon the yacht arrived at the area that Mr. Lü had mentioned.

Mr. Stephen couldn't wait to bait the hook and cast his first shot.

He used professional sea fishing bait. There were many kinds of bait to choose from on the yacht, so many that the children couldn't understand them. Lin Qin looked bewildered.

They wouldn't know how to fish even if you gave them that thing.

Ya Ya and Ping An remembered seeing the chef processing some seafood when they passed by the restaurant, so they eagerly went to ask him for some small fish and shrimp and the seafood waste.

The chef gladly gave them a bucket of relatively clean small fish and shrimp.

The four children used these things to fish.

Mr. Stephen saw it too, but he didn't say anything. He could only silently remind him, "Big fish don't bother with such small shrimp."

The four children probably didn't listen, nodding perfunctorily and continuing to fish.

A moment later, the bobber on the fishing line stirred, and in the blink of an eye, his fishing line taut.

The government worker who had been watching the four children jumped up excitedly, laughing and shouting, "They've taken the bait! They've taken the bait!"

"Hurry, hurry, reel in the line!"

Ping An followed Mr. Stephen's instructions and turned the handle to reel in the line. He was not strong enough, so Lin Qin went over to help. The two of them used all their strength and finally saw a big fish gradually emerge from the water.

Boss Lü exclaimed, "Wow! It's a sea bass! A large sea bass! My goodness! This kid is amazing!"

The staff quickly lowered the landing net, and soon the large sea bass weighing five or six pounds was brought up.

With someone in charge, they can continue fishing.

This fish gave everyone a lot of confidence, and then Ya Ya also made some moves.

This time, what came up was a large tiger grouper, which amazed Mr. Stephen. "This is an angel blessed by God, a gift from God! Damn it, why doesn't God care about me?" Lin Qin suppressed a laugh. Then, Xu Jian and Xu Kang also made a move, and both of them caught sea bass.

Lin Qin muttered, "Could it be that we've stirred up a hornet's nest? Isn't there anything else?"

Mr. Lü was speechless. "Sister-in-law, we haven't caught anything decent for days. Your four kids have already done a great job by catching these four big ones. Don't be so ungrateful!"

Seeing his red-eyed expression, Lin Qin decided to shut up.

While the two were chatting, Ya Ya and Ping An took the bait again, this time with sea bass.

They caught three or four sea bass, and the kids were getting a little annoyed. Luckily, Xu Jian caught a red sea bass.

The children perked up again and put all their effort into catching different kinds of big fish, while picking and choosing the small fish and shrimp.

This operation truly opened Mr. Stephen's eyes, and he decisively abandoned his professional bait and chose the children's small fish and shrimp.

And believe it or not, this time they finally got him to deliver the goods.

After playing for three hours, everyone was tired.

The government officials accompanying the delegation were all grinning from ear to ear as they looked at the overflowing fish tanks.

The staff, in high spirits, asked Mr. Stephen if they wanted to take a group photo for everyone as a memento.

Mr. Stephen readily agreed and even asked the other party to include all the fish in the picture.

Two group photos were taken, and Mr. Stephen, his four children, and Lin Qin took two more individual photos.

A photo of each of the four children taken individually.

To thank Lin Qin for her help, Boss Lü took another picture of her separately.

After taking photos, Mr. Stephen treated everyone to a seafood feast on the yacht.

When the yacht docked, he gave each of the four children a set of professional fishing tools and life-saving equipment, and even packed up the fish they caught for Lin Qin to take away.

After saying goodbye to Mr. Stephen and his group, the four children were still excited and skipped around discussing fishing gear.

Lin Qin led them to sit on the beach in Nangang, watching the sunset, waiting for Chen Wenjun's tin boat to arrive, and chatting idly with Hong Weimin along the way.

"Cousin, I heard from my cousin's wife that Shaoyang is making a good living by setting up a stall back in our hometown. Have you considered building or buying a house?"

Hong Weimin grinned and nodded vigorously, "How could there not be! That stall was set up by Shaoyang and his grandmother, so they sell clothes for all ages. And let me tell you, clothes for middle-aged and elderly people are in high demand in our area."

My mom's point is that the village is too remote. She plans to buy land in the county town and build a house. Firstly, it's quick to buy land in the county town where we live, and secondly, we can register our household there. This will also make it easier for Shaohua and Shaorou to go to school in the future.

Another thing is to avoid our relatives in the village, lest they gossip and start asking us for money, which we won't be able to afford.”

Lin Qin nodded knowingly. That's how all the relatives in the village are. They hate those who have good fortune and laugh at those who don't. There are hardly any relatives who genuinely wish you well.

Keeping a low profile is the way to achieve lasting success.

As they were talking, the sharp-eyed child was the first to spot Chen Wenjun's tin boat.

Lin Qin ended the conversation, stood up, and waved to the tin boat.

As soon as the boat docked, the four children couldn't wait to share their sea fishing experience with Chen Wenjun.

Chen Wenjun was envious. "It's a pity I'm too busy, otherwise I could have benefited from your company and broadened my horizons today."

Ya Ya immediately said, "When I grow up, I'll buy my dad a yacht and take him sea fishing."

The adults burst into laughter upon hearing this. (End of Chapter)