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

He suddenly widened his eyes and saw He Zhenzhen crawl over, bringing a pillow with her and placing it next to her.

Then, she nestled in his arms.

This straightforwardness left Niu Bayi somewhat bewildered.

"Zhenzhen, why are you sleeping here? Didn't you say we'd each have our own room?"

He Zhenzhen muttered.

"It's supposed to be one room per person, but... I think I can't sleep. It'll be more comfortable if I sleep with you. You have to behave yourself. I can touch you, but you can't touch me."

"Go to sleep, go to sleep, stop talking so much nonsense, I'm tired."

She raised her arms and hooked them around Niu Bayi's neck, pressing her gentle face against his heart.

Before long, soft snoring could be heard; he was sleeping soundly and peacefully.

Niu Bayi was both amused and exasperated. Helpless, he could only gently embrace her, not daring to make any other moves.

He Zhenzhen, on the other hand, was quite domineering. While she was sleeping, she raised one of her long legs and pressed it against Niu Bayi.

This is a single bed; theoretically, it would be quite cramped for two people to sleep in it.

But Niu Bayi and He Zhenzhen slept like they were one person.

He Zhenzhen practically treated the body of her future man as her bed.

Most of the person was pressed down on it.

So, it's not so much that it was crowded, but Niu Bayi was being pressed down so much that he couldn't stand it.

Fortunately, he soon fell asleep in a daze.

The next morning, I got up, went home, and had breakfast.

The two rode their motorcycle to town to buy all the necessities needed for the fishing boat, and then went to the county to buy some clothes.

The two of them were quite relaxed, and they ate lunch in the county.

It was past four o'clock when we got back to Jinlong Village.

The whole family helped carry the bags and packages to the dock, boarded a kayak, and paddled to the fishing boat.

Grandma came too. She climbed onto the real cow, looked left and right, and seemed very curious.

Even He Rong was visibly excited.

"Great boat, this is indeed a great boat. Ah, I can't imagine how awesome it would be to sail out to sea and fish in this boat."

Niu Bayi said, "Dad, when I make money, I'll buy you an identical boat. You can sail it, hire a few people, and go fishing in the open sea. Then we'll see who catches more fish."

He Rong laughed heartily and patted Niu Bayi hard on the shoulder.

"Young man, I can't compare to you. You always remind me of a saying, 'The Yangtze River's back waves push the front waves, and the front waves are left stranded on the beach.' I'm just saying, how could that be?"

Niu Bayi said seriously, "Dad, with your physique, you could fish for another thirty years without any problem. You'd be able to outpace countless younger generations."

He Rong said with a smile, "Anyway, I don't need you to buy me an identical fishing boat. I think you'll soon make a lot of money to buy an even bigger fishing boat, or even a fishing vessel."

"Don't even mention a hundred kilometers, you'll still go even if it's thousands of kilometers."

"When you get a new fishing boat, just let me drive this one you took off."

He Laifu immediately rubbed his hands together, looking eager to get started.

"That's right. With Bayi being so capable, he might be able to get an even bigger fishing boat in a year or two. Then this fishing boat will be for me and Dad to drive. Don't worry, we won't drive it for free. We'll split the catch 30/70 with you."

"We have seven, you have three."

Niu Bayi scratched the back of his head, looking somewhat distressed.

"Brother-in-law, is there any need to talk like that? If I really buy a big boat someday, this fishing boat is yours to drive. It's a gift. We're all family, so don't be so formal. What 30/70 split? That's outrageous!"

Zhang Xiufen also raised her hand and slapped He Laifu on the back of the head.

"Yes, that's outrageous!"

Grandma looked at it from left to right, touching it from top to bottom, and was so moved that tears welled up in her eyes.

"My dear grandson, my grandson is so amazing! You managed to get such a big and beautiful fishing boat. Your mother in heaven must be so happy she'll cry every day."

"Our son is promising; he'll definitely become a king of deep-sea fish in the future."

Both Niu Bayi and He Zhenzhen felt a pang of sadness.

Then, everyone helped to set up all the things the soon-to-be-married couple had bought.

I checked the time; it was almost five o'clock.

Niu Bayi looked towards the distant mudflats. The tide had receded, and many people were busy working there.

He said, "Zhenzhen, come with me to the mudflats over there and dig up some sandworms. The flounder in the sea love to eat these sandworms, so we'll use them as bait."

He Zhenzhen immediately nodded and agreed.

Upon hearing this, He Laifu's eyes lit up.

"Bayi, Zhenzhen, dig up more sandworms. Not only do flounders love to eat them, but we do too. Clean them up, coat them in flour, heat up a pot of lard, and fry them!"

"Even with just a little salt, it's a great snack to enjoy with drinks; it's even more delicious with soy sauce."

"A plate of fried sandworms for dinner would be perfect with some drinks, so satisfying!"

Zhang Xiufen patted the back of his head again.

"All you ever think about is eating! The August 1st expedition was to get sandworms for flounder, not for you to eat!"

Niu Bayi suppressed a laugh and said, "Mom, don't hit my brother-in-law. What he said makes sense. If we get a lot of sandworms, we can use some as bait to catch flounder tomorrow, and fry the rest tonight to have with our drinks."

Then, the He family took Grandma home and got busy.

Niu Bayi, pulling He Zhenzhen along, each carrying a sharp-tipped shovel and a bucket, quickly arrived at the edge of the mudflats.

On the mudflats, you can actually dig all sorts of things.

The vast majority of them are middle-aged or elderly women.

They dig up whatever they can find.

Some people's buckets were filled with oysters of all sizes.

Some people's buckets were filled with mussels, barnacles, and other things.

Barnacles are the cheapest and easiest to grow; when the tide goes out, the mudflats are covered with them.

Niu Bayi and He Zhenzhen are currently digging for sandworms, so they completely disregard other small seafood.

Both of them changed into big water shoes and walked unsteadily on the mudflats, leaving a hole with every step.

He Zhenzhen lowered her head and looked around carefully.

"Bayi, can you see any sandworms? I've heard they're quite scary, similar to centipedes. Sand worms are just a bit disgusting, but sandworms are really frightening."

Niu Ba nodded slightly.

"Sandworms do look a bit scary, and they're not as valuable or tasty as sand worms. They have a stronger fishy smell, which is why they're so attractive to big fish."

"You should look for a small hole, about seven or eight millimeters in diameter, surrounded by a layer of fine sand-like stuff. This is actually the excrement of sandworms."

"It's quite hygienic; it will expel the contents of its stomach out, which is different from other small seafood that are drilled."

He Zhenzhen nodded, then looked around helplessly.

"But it seems we're too late. Look, there are huge pits dug everywhere, and all the little treasures hidden in the smaller pits have been dug up. Where are we going to find sandworms now?"