He forced me to sever ties with my family and sleep on a dilapidated boat, then turned around and be

"You really want the top-of-the-line one?"

"At 10 yuan per square meter, 200 square meters would be 2,000 yuan. Can you afford that? And then there's building the house. With such a large area, I estimate it would cost between 15,000 and 20,000 yuan."

Niu Bayi said decisively, "Uncle Aiguo, don't worry. I've recovered my health and can go out to sea to fish now. At worst, I'll work from dawn till dusk and do a few more fishing trips, and then I'll have the money."

Niu Aiguo gave him a thumbs up.

"Bayi has really risen to prominence. He must have received the Dragon King's favor. Alright, you keep fishing and making money here. I'll try to head to the town government within two days to help you get some help."

"Wait for my good news."

He raised his hand and slapped Niu Bayi hard on the shoulder before turning and walking away.

Looking at Secretary Niu's retreating figure, a hint of gratitude appeared on Niu Bayi's face.

It's understandable that Niu Aiguo was initially unwilling to help him, but later agreed.

At the beginning, they would at most send a dozen or so kilograms of sea bass, which was far from enough to warrant his hard work and help.

But then, he saved his mother's life, which was an immense favor.

Niu Aiguo is grateful and will naturally be willing to help Niu Bayi, even if it takes a huge amount of effort.

This is a debt of life, far greater than a debt of gratitude!

When Niu Bayi arrived at the He family's house, the whole family greeted him excitedly as soon as he entered.

The courtyard was filled with the aroma of vegetables and meat, which made people hungry just by smelling them.

When He Laifu saw him come in, he rushed over and gave him a wolf hug.

Then, he patted him hard on the shoulder twice, making him cough.

"Bayi, you're amazing! You caught so many big fish with my sister at the beach. My dad and I go out to sea and we can't catch anything. Are you possessed by a god?"

Niu Bayi was very serious.

"I don't know either. I had a dream one night. In the dream, the Dragon King appeared and said, 'Bayi, you've had a hard time. You've been sick for over twenty years and your family has drained you dry. You're about to die, and they're even going to kick you out of your house.'"

"So, I'm taking you in as my godson. From now on, I'll protect you."

Niu Bayi spoke so vividly, even adopting the heavy and majestic tone of the Dragon King, leaving the He family members dumbfounded.

He Zhenzhen called out.

"My goodness, what Bayi said just now really sounded like the Dragon King possessed him. Could the Dragon King really have taken you in as his godson?"

Zhang Xiuli believed it immediately.

"There's no doubt about it, the Dragon King must have taken Bayi as his godson!"

"How else can I explain it? He was almost dying from illness, but suddenly he was full of energy again, catching so many abalone while fishing at sea, and also catching several big fish while fishing on the shore!"

Fishermen by the sea are quite superstitious, and they have completely bewitched the Dragon King.

Niu Bayi's behavior was so unexpected, and he said such things that no one would believe him.

He Rong slapped his thigh excitedly.

"Excellent, excellent, excellent! I never imagined that I, He Rong, could become related to the Dragon King through marriage. My ancestors' graves are emitting auspicious smoke!"

He Zhenzhen said in disbelief, "My goodness, does this mean I have to call the Dragon King 'Dad' from now on?"

Niu Bayi was laughing so hard inside, but on the surface he appeared very serious.

"That's right, from now on, you really will have to call the Dragon King 'Dad'."

Seeing how much everyone believed him, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

If you believe me, that's good. Otherwise, I really don't know how to explain how I suddenly became so amazing.

Everyone was overjoyed.

Moreover, they had already prepared the food. That's amazing, so fast!

The group quickly invited Niu Bayi to sit down for dinner, and even gave him the seat of honor.

He Rong said, "You are the Dragon King's godson, so you must sit in the first seat. You represent the Dragon King."

The others nodded in agreement, making Niu Bayi feel extremely embarrassed.

I absolutely cannot sit in the head seat.

It was only with great difficulty that He Rong was finally allowed to sit down.

The table was already laden with fine wine and food.

He Zhenzhen brought back two fish, one braised and the other steamed.

There was another one: a pot of fragrant fish soup was simmered, with white radish, soft tofu, and sprinkled with chopped green onions. The aroma of the fish was so strong that everyone was sniffing.

The table was also laden with various meat dishes, as well as rare finds like salt-baked chicken and braised duck.

He Rong took out two bottles of Jiujiang Shuangzheng liquor that he usually couldn't bear to drink.

Although Jiujiang Shuangzheng liquor has a low alcohol content, it is very smooth to drink. You can drink a whole bowl in one gulp without even frowning.

Zhang Xiuli was still a little embarrassed.

"Bayi, you had Zhenzhen bring back six fish. We cooked three, and there are still three left. I'm thinking we should sell them; we can't eat that many. You don't mind, do you?"

Niu Ba waved his hand.

"What's there to worry about? We've caught three big fish, so it's fine to sell the rest. We can catch lots and lots of fish in the future."

Zhang Xiuli nodded repeatedly.

"Okay, okay, that's good!"

Then, he pulled out a thin stack of banknotes from his pocket.

"The three big fish sold for a total of 42 yuan. Here, take the money."

Niu Ba stared wide-eyed.

"Aunt Xiuli, what are you doing? Keep this money."

Zhang Xiuli was still a little embarrassed.

He Zhenzhen said, "Mom, you can keep it if you want. It's not much money. You've already accepted 3000 yuan. Why would you care about accepting 35 yuan?"

Everyone at the table burst into laughter.

Zhang Xiuli smiled and put the money into her pocket.

"Okay, I'll keep it. I'll buy some better meat tomorrow!"

"Bayi, even if you don't want to live at our house, you can come over for meals if it's convenient. Your old boat is barely big enough to live in, but it's not good for cooking. Anyway, it's close by."

He Zhenzhen immediately raised her hand.

"Okay, I agree on behalf of Bayi."

Niu Bayi winked at her.

"Oh, she's not even married yet, and she's already making decisions for her man."

He Zhenzhen nodded earnestly.

"Of course, I'm just a junior member. You, the head of the household, will be the master from now on."

These words made Niu Bayi beam with joy.

If it weren't for her family being there, I would have definitely pulled her close and given her a few big kisses on her sweet little lips.

Next came the drinking and eating of meat in large quantities.

In his previous life, Niu Bayi would drink a little alcohol to relax after working hard, so he had a pretty good alcohol tolerance and drank about half a catty with the old drunkard He Rong.

Even He Laifu couldn't outdrink him.

During the drinking session, Niu Bayi also mentioned going to find Niu Aiguo.

Party Secretary Niu was willing to try every means to get him a plot of land as a homestead.

Once the approval is granted, we can start building the house.

After the house is built, I will marry He Zhenzhen.

He Zhenzhen was overjoyed upon hearing this, but He Rong sighed slightly.

"This is a good thing, but it will cost a lot of money. You are still registered under Niu Dazhuang's household registration, right? Even if the village and town can approve a piece of land for you, it will probably cost a lot of extra money."

This is someone who understands.

Niu Bayi said, "Secretary Niu told me that the land use fee is about 10 yuan per square meter. For 200 square meters, it would be 2000 yuan in total, plus a deposit of 500 to 1,000 yuan."

Let's say it's 3000 yuan.

"I'll work harder, go out to sea to fish, and earn more money. By the way, Uncle He, can I borrow your fishing boat tonight? Just like we agreed before, if we sell the fish, I'll get 70% and you get 30%."

He Rong quickly waved his hands.

Niu Bayi was stunned for a moment.

He Zhenzhen got a little annoyed and started yelling.

"Dad, what's wrong with you? You already agreed to lend us the boat."

He Rong said, "Of course I'm willing to lend the boat, but what I mean is that this 70/30 split is a bit inappropriate."

Niu Bayi's face immediately darkened.