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

Niu Bayi was displeased upon hearing this.

"Me, a grown man, need you to support me? That would sound terrible if word got out, people would say I'm a kept man."

He Zhenzhen chuckled.

"I never said I'd take care of you for life. I'll take care of you first, get you cured of your illness, raise you into a strong young man who can go out to sea to fish and do other jobs, and then it'll be your turn to take care of me."

"Aren't you right?"

Her gentle and persuasive words warmed Niu Bayi's heart and soul.

He said, "No need! I can go out to sea to fish now. When I make money, I'll build you a house, the best house in the whole village, and I'll buy you a big fishing boat!"

"Make a fortune every day, so you can live the life of a rich landlord's wife."

"My God!"

He Zhenzhen started shouting.

"You really know how to make me happy! I know you're bragging, but anyway, I love hearing it, hehe! Niu Bayi, how come your mouth has become so sweet? Did you put honey on it?"

Niu Bayi seized the opportunity and immediately pouted his big lips at her.

"Why don't you try it and see if it's sweet?"

He Zhenzhen hummed in agreement and actually pouted her cherry lips as she leaned in.

Their mouths were about to touch.

Niu Bayi closed his eyes, waiting to enjoy himself.

Suddenly, he was pushed away.

Suddenly realizing what was happening, He Zhenzhen stomped her foot again.

"Niu Bayi, you're being a pervert again! You think I'm stupid? You tricked me into kissing you, but let me tell you, I'm not stupid at all!"

Niu Ba opened his eyes and smiled helplessly.

"Okay, you're not stupid, just a little bit stupid. You almost fell for my trick."

This angered He Zhenzhen so much that she raised her little hand to hit him again.

Niu Bayi seized the opportunity to grab her wrist and walk around towards the wrecked ship.

"I'll take you to eat something delicious, I guarantee you'll be completely satisfied."

He Zhenzhen was taken aback: "Oh, what good food are we eating?"

At this moment, she had already been pulled to the other side of the wrecked boat by Niu Bayi, and suddenly sniffed.

"Wow, it smells so good! What is this? It looks like fish soup, but I've never smelled fish soup this good before."

At He Zhenzhen's home, they could occasionally have a bowl of fish soup, but it was always made with small fish, miscellaneous fish, or large fish that weren't fresh.

That can't compare to the fragrance we have now at all.

Niu Bayi pulled her to the side of the iron pot and pointed at it.

He Zhenzhen was stunned when she saw it.

Although the fish had already been cooked, He Zhenzhen, who grew up by the sea, could still tell at a glance what kind of fish it was.

"My goodness, this...this is a red lanternfish, and it's this big! This...this must cost five or six yuan a pound! Even if we say four pounds, this one would cost at least twenty yuan!"

"Where did you get this?"

Niu Bayi didn't dare to tell the whole truth.

After all, if he were to say it, he would have to reveal that he was a reincarnated person, which might scare He Zhenzhen into fainting.

So he only told half the truth.

"I was squatting by the sea, trying to catch a fish to fill my stomach, when suddenly this red lanternfish swam right up to me, as if it were offering itself up for me to eat. I caught it in no time."

He Zhenzhen was dumbfounded.

"Is there really such a good thing in the world? Such a rare red lanternfish swims right up to your feet, letting you catch it and eat it? Do you know how hard it is to catch this kind of fish?!"

"My dad goes out to sea fishing, and he might go out forty or fifty times, and he might not even catch a red lanternfish this big!"

"But you caught it so easily on the beach... what kind of luck is that!"

Niu Bayi said with a grin, "So, I'm so lucky. From now on, if you follow me, you don't have to worry about hardship; you'll only eat and drink well."

"I don't believe you for a second!"

He Zhenzhen glared at him fiercely, her face full of heartache.

"Such a valuable fish, if you sell it to a fishmonger, you could definitely get it for fifteen yuan, let alone twenty. Fifteen yuan can buy so many kilograms of rice, so many meat buns!"

"You just cook it like this? What a waste! Are we even living like this anymore?!"

"You spendthrift son, I... I'll beat you to death, you spendthrift son!"

She looked left and right, picked up a tree branch that Niu Bayi had just found to start a fire, raised it high, and was about to hit Niu Bayi's buttocks.

Even before the marriage was officially announced, the matriarch was already making a big show of it.

Niu Bayi neither dodged nor dodged, but said with a distressed expression, "At home, my stepmother beats me, and my stepmother's children beat me too. Now that I've been kicked out, you're going to beat me too."

"I can't live like this anymore."

Upon hearing this, He Zhenzhen immediately dropped the branch, moved closer to Niu Bayi, gently hugged him, and patted his back softly, as if coaxing a child.

"Alright, alright, don't be upset. I won't hit you anymore. Now I know you must be starving. You'll eat whatever you can get your hands on without even thinking about how much it will sell for."

"You're right too."

"People always need to fill their stomachs first before they can talk about making money, right? I was wrong just now, please forgive me, okay?"

Looking at this charming, adorable, and understanding girl, Niu Bayi couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Then, he pulled He Zhenzhen to sit down.

There was also a rough porcelain bowl that had just been washed.

He ladled out a full bowl of fish soup and several large pieces of fish, and handed it over.

"Zhenzhen, you treated me to meat buns earlier, now I'll treat you to fish and fish soup!"

He Zhenzhen said, "You eat first, you're hungry."

Niu Bayi said, "I'm not hungry at all. I ate five of your meat buns and my belly is bulging. I can't eat anymore. You should eat quickly, or it won't taste good when it gets cold."

"It tastes so good when it's hot."

Upon hearing this, He Zhenzhen couldn't help but swallow hard.

She took the bowl and carefully sipped the fish soup.

The girl's eyes immediately lit up.

"Wow, this fish soup is delicious! It smells so good, it's sweet, and it's a little sticky. I've never had such delicious fish soup before."

She didn't even care that it was hot, and drank several mouthfuls in one go.

Niu Bayi then handed over a pair of chopsticks made from tree branches.

"Don't just drink the fish soup, eat some fish meat too, that should be good."

He Zhenzhen nodded vigorously, took the chopsticks, picked up a piece of fish that looked like milk jelly, put it in her mouth, and took a small bite.

Immediately, her beautiful, bright eyes widened in disbelief.

"I never knew red lanternfish was so delicious. It's so much better than those small fish and other miscellaneous fish. The meat is so delicate, yet it has a nice chewiness. My goodness, I've never eaten such delicious fish before."

"So fresh! So sweet! So fragrant!"

She took a sip of fish soup, ate a bite of fish, and smacked her lips.

Suddenly, tears welled up and kept falling into the bowl.

Niu Bayi asked curiously, "Zhenzhen, why did you start crying while you were eating?"

He Zhenzhen choked up.

"Although my dad is a fisherman, he sells the better and bigger fish he catches. We only eat small and miscellaneous fish at home, or fish that are not fresh. I have never eaten such delicious fish or drunk such delicious fish soup."

"I never expected to get a drink from you, Niu Bayi, thank you."

Upon hearing this, Niu Ba felt a sense of感慨 (gǎnkǎi, a feeling of mixed emotions, including admiration and reflection).

We fishermen have it tough.

Indeed, if they caught any good fish, they would sell them to earn some money for household expenses.

Good fish are never eaten, let alone such a rare and expensive red lanternfish.

He said in a serious tone, "Zhenzhen, you're wrong. You shouldn't have thanked me."

He Zhenzhen blinked her big eyes and asked him, "What should I say?"