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

From the depths of the sea, several bright red fish swam by, wagging their tails.

Bathed in the glow of the sunset, it was as red as a couplet, very festive.

These fish all weigh three or four pounds.

Locals call it the red lantern fish, and some people also call it the red friend fish.

Its scientific name is *Cyprinus purpureus*.

Both its appearance and taste are very appealing. The meat is delicate and sticky, making it absolutely delicious whether braised or pan-fried.

It's even suitable for making sashimi.

In 1984, this type of red lanternfish could sell for five or six yuan per kilogram.

The larger the size, the more expensive it is.

The largest red lanternfish weighs over 20 pounds.

Of course, a red lanternfish of this size would not be found on the beach.

Those weighing three or four pounds are quite remarkable to be here.

They were clearly attracted by the seawater that Niu Bayi poured into the space. As if they didn't see him, they swam to a spot not far from his feet, opened their mouths wide, and drank with great relish.

This seawater is something else; it tastes like beef bone broth. Don't waste it.

The water in the ocean can indeed be used as bait!

Niu Bayi suppressed his pounding heart, slowly raised both hands, aimed at the largest red lanternfish, and suddenly grabbed it!

It wasn't about grabbing its head and back.

This red lanternfish has very sharp, hard spines on its back, like the tip of a knife.

If you grab it directly, it will definitely cut you if it twists.

Therefore, there are techniques to catching a cow.

As soon as its gills opened, I suddenly tucked my left thumb in, wrapped my palm and other fingers downwards, grabbed it from below its head and lifted it up.

He also grabbed the fish's belly with his right hand and lifted it upwards.

Then toss it towards the beach.

boom!

The red lanternfish fell onto the beach and hopped around.

The beach is four or five meters away from the sea, so no matter how much it jumps and leaps, it can't jump back into the water.

Niu Bayi quickly turned his head to look, still wanting to catch other red lanternfish.

But they were startled, turned and darted into the sea, disappearing from sight.

Niu Bayi exclaimed that it was a pity.

If only I had a big net, I could scoop them up in one swift motion and none of the red lanternfish would escape.

However, the one he caught weighed about four pounds, enough for him to have a hearty meal.

Niu Bayi was full of hope for the future and his mind was filled with daydreams.

Using seawater in space, you can actually attract fish.

This is still on the beach. If we go out into the deep sea, won't we attract more and bigger fish?

Even if you just cast a net, you'll be able to catch a lot of fish.

This is definitely a path to instant wealth!

Niu Bayi became more and more excited as he thought about it, and started humming a little tune.

While humming, he found a few sharp pieces of broken seashells, and in no time at all, he gutted the red lanternfish and cut it into pieces.

Then, they gathered some dry firewood, stuffed it into the small stove, and lit a fire.

After thinking for a moment, he ran to the dock.

There is a large water tank by the dock, which is filled with a lot of fresh water.

If a boat needs fresh water to go out to sea, it will bring its own buckets to collect it.

After all, carrying fresh water from the village to the dock to board the boat is too much trouble.

Niu Bayi scooped up a bucket of fresh water and quickly ran back.

Next, place the cleaned iron pot on the small stove that was already burning brightly.

After pouring in fresh water, I dumped all the chopped fish meat into it.

Even if you're going to make fish soup, you should pan-fry the fish first; that will make the soup even more delicious.

Unfortunately, Niu Bayi didn't have the necessary conditions.

He's out of oil.

As long as you can eat it.

But there's no salt either.

He had a sudden inspiration and scooped some seawater from the ocean and added it to the pot.

This seawater tastes like beef bone broth; adding it to make fish soup might make it incredibly delicious.

It was completely dark.

Niu Bayi sat on the beach next to the wrecked ship, watching a pot of fish that was gradually boiling.

It's almost ready; a wonderful aroma is wafting through the air.

Look at the fish soup, it's been boiled until it's like milk, and it even looks a bit thick.

This fish soup must be delicious, and the fish must be tender and fresh.

Thinking of this, Niu Bayi kept swallowing.

Just then, he heard a soft, delicate, and somewhat anxious call coming from afar at the other end of the wrecked ship.

"Niu Bayi! Niu Bayi! Are you there? Are you there?"

Upon hearing the voice, Niu Bayi immediately jumped up in fright.

He was both surprised and delighted.

What is true!

Great! I'm reborn, and I can see He Zhenzhen again.

Niu Bayi couldn't help but shed tears.

He quickly went around the wrecked boat and sure enough, he saw a girl running towards him. She was simply dressed, but tall and voluptuous with a beautiful face.

Although she's a bit dark-skinned, after all, in a fishing village, no girl can be fair-skinned.

However, her complexion was very healthy and her skin was very delicate, making people want to kiss her.

Niu Bayi quickly ran over, shouting as he went, "It's true! It's true!"

Upon reaching the beautiful girl, Niu Bayi couldn't contain his excitement. He opened his arms and hugged her tightly.

He Zhenzhen screamed immediately.

"My God! What are you doing? Don't let anyone see! Don't hug me! Niu Bayi, you're going to die!"

He Zhenzhen instinctively wanted to push Niu Bayi away, but when she looked down at his thin and bony appearance, she couldn't bear to do it and could only let him hug her.

However, her face was flushed red with a mixture of shame and anger.

Niu Bayi murmured, "Really? It's so good to see you again. I thought I'd never see you again."

He Zhenzhen found it strange.

"Why can't I see you anymore? We've only been apart for four or five days at most."

"You're so sick, lying at home and can't come out. I don't want to go to your house either. I hate seeing your stepmother and that bastard Chen Dagui, but we have no agreement—"

"At least once a week, no matter what, we'll meet at the pier?"

As she spoke, she heard Niu Bayi's sobs.

She quickly raised a small hand and gently patted his back.

Her tone was both coquettish and tender.

"Stop crying. What's a grown man like you crying for? You haven't seen each other for a few days, and you're already crying like a girl. What if you never see each other again? You'll be crying your eyes out!"

It's been a lifetime since we last met!

Niu Bayi released her somewhat embarrassedly and said, "I wasn't crying, I was just too excited to see you."

Looking at the delicate and lovely girl in front of him, Niu Bayi was overjoyed.

The two are childhood sweethearts and have always loved playing together since they were little.

When playing house, He Zhenzhen never looked for other men, only Niu Bayi.

Although she was too embarrassed to say it now that she's grown up, she said many times when she was little that when she was able to get married, she would marry Niu Bayi.

After they came of age, the two actually started dating.

However, they met secretly and clandestinely.

Because He Zhenzhen's parents disagreed with their daughter marrying Niu Bayi, a sickly man, fearing that he might die of illness at any time.

It's one thing to die from illness, but if you're half-dead and unable to do anything, your daughter will have to take care of you.

But He Zhenzhen was determined to be with Niu Bayi, no matter what.

If he had any good food, he would secretly bring it to Niu Bayi even if he couldn't bear to eat a bite himself.

To be honest, the reason Niu Bayi has been able to persevere for so many years, despite not being able to eat well or even have enough to eat at home, and having to do all sorts of backbreaking work, without dying, is largely thanks to He Zhenzhen's frequent support.

In his previous life, Niu Bayi was kicked out of his home. Because he was dying, he was afraid of implicating He Zhenzhen, so he left the fishing village alone without telling her.

Two years later, he heard that He Zhenzhen had been forced to marry Chen Dagui.

Because she gave birth to five daughters in a row, she suffered various forms of abuse from Chen Dagui and his bastard mother.

She couldn't take it anymore and jumped into the sea to commit suicide!