Reborn in the 1980s: Nine Stunning Beauties Get Pregnant Before Marriage

Lin Xiulian was cooking inside the house when she heard a noise outside the yard, so she wiped her hands and came out.

She was stunned when she saw Chen Yongqiang fiddling with the huge fish on the snowdrift.

"This...you caught this?" She was a little incredulous.

"Well, I'm lucky today. I finally caught one." Chen Yongqiang straightened the fish, trying to make it look nice after freezing so he could sell it for a good price.

Liang Meie was overjoyed, but she didn't want to show it too much in front of Lin Xiulian: "Yongqiang, I have to go back and cook for the children."

"Okay." Chen Yongqiang didn't try to keep her any longer.

News of Chen Yongqiang catching the giant fish quickly spread throughout Shimen Village.

Many neighbors came over to watch the excitement after dinner.

Qin Shan was close to Chen Yongqiang's family. He circled the fish twice, marveling, "Yongqiang, this is amazing! This fish must be worth a lot of money!"

"I don't know yet," Chen Yongqiang replied vaguely, handing him a cigarette.

Qin Liping followed her sister Qin Lijuan into the crowd. The little girl pointed at the fish head and muttered, "Sister, this fish is so ugly. Its mouth is so big, and it even has teeth."

The other villagers also started discussing it amongst themselves:

"I've never seen a fish this big in all my years of life!"

"Look at the spots on his body, they look like copper coins..."

"I used to hear older folks gossip about a 'Fish King' that eats people at the bottom of the Qingba Reservoir. Could this be it?"

Chen Yongqiang listened and shook his head with a smile: "It's not that far-fetched. Eating people is an exaggeration, but dragging a duck weighing ten pounds into the water is probably quite possible."

Lin Xiulian watched silently from the side, asking, "What are you going to do with this fish?"

"Let's leave it for now and talk about it tomorrow." Chen Yongqiang planned to take the fish to town to sell, but the people in Shimen Village couldn't afford it.

At this time, He Jun, who had always been at odds with Chen Yongqiang, also came to see what was going on.

He squeezed into the crowd, stared at the giant fish for a while, and then made a plan in his mind.

"Chen Yongqiang, how about you sell me this fish?"

"Not for sale." Chen Yongqiang didn't even look at him.

He knew that He Jun had recognized the value of the fish and wanted to resell it for a profit.

He Jun would be satisfied if he could earn a hundred or eighty yuan, but in Chen Yongqiang's eyes, it would be a waste for He Jun to get the fish.

"Do you intend to keep it for yourself?" He Jun, unwilling to give up, took two steps forward. "Let's sell it. The price is negotiable."

Qin Shan, who was watching the commotion from the sidelines, interjected, "He Jun, how much are you planning to spend?"

He Jun examined the fish and estimated, "This fish probably weighs a little over 100 pounds. Taimen, at most, costs about 80 cents a pound in the market. I'd pay a dollar a pound!"

He thought the price was already very high.

"Goodness, one yuan per pound? That's over a hundred yuan, almost half a year's salary!" A gasp of surprise rippled through the crowd of onlookers.

"I said, I'm not selling." Chen Yongqiang refused again, too lazy to waste words haggling with him.

He Jun's smile vanished. He hadn't expected Chen Yongqiang to refuse so decisively, without even haggling over the price.

"Chen Yongqiang, have you thought this through? One yuan a pound, you won't find this price anywhere else! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

Qin Shan, who was watching from the side, noticed that the atmosphere was a bit tense, so he stepped in to smooth things over: "He Jun, Yongqiang just brought the fish back, maybe he hasn't decided what to do with it yet."

Chen Yongqiang quickly changed the subject, "Uncle Qin, have you eaten? Want to grab something to eat together?"

"My wife has already cooked. I'll come over after I finish eating." Qin Shan knew that Chen Yongqiang wanted to have a drink with him.

Feeling ignored, He Jun didn't press the matter further. His expression darkened noticeably, and he muttered indifferently, "Fine, keep it and think it over. Let's see what you can come up with." With that, he pushed through the crowd and left.

When the villagers who had come to watch the spectacle realized there was no more excitement, they whispered among themselves for a few more minutes before gradually dispersing.

Chen Yongqiang fed Tianlang a piece of meat, "Keep a close eye on this fish tonight."

Since the fish are already out in the open, it's not appropriate to put them back into the space.

In the evening, several familiar neighbors gathered in Chen Yongqiang's kitchen to watch TV.

Chen Yongqiang moved a small square table and sat opposite Qin Shan, drinking some wine. On the table were a plate of fried peanuts and a plate of fried fish.

Qin Shan popped a peanut into his mouth. "Yongqiang, you really don't plan to sell that fish?"

"Of course I'll sell, but not to He Jun. He can't afford the price I'm asking for."

Qin Shan asked curiously, "So, how much do you actually estimate you can sell it for?"

Chen Yongqiang picked up a piece of fish: "To be honest, I'm not entirely sure. The exact number depends on whether there's anyone in town who knows their stuff. It's all about luck. I'll take it over there tomorrow and see."

"Do you need me to lend a hand?" Qin Shan asked enthusiastically.

Chen Yongqiang shook his head, raised his glass and clinked it with his: "Thanks in advance, but selling fish right now isn't hard work."

Qin Shan pondered for a moment and understood: "That's true. This fish is valuable, so we need to find the right buyer." He didn't ask any more questions and started chatting about other things.

As night deepened, everyone dispersed. Chen Yongqiang saw Qin Shan off and checked the courtyard gate once more.

Sirius lay faithfully not far from the taimen, its eyes gleaming faintly in the darkness.

That night, Chen Yongqiang lay on the kang (a heated brick bed), and Lin Xiulian slept beside him.

In the darkness, Lin Xiulian's voice rang out: "How much can that fish sell for?"

Chen Yongqiang turned slightly to the side: "It should sell for at least three or four hundred yuan."

This is his bottom line; if it's less than this amount, he'll take it to the county town to try his luck.

"Three or four hundred?" Lin Xiulian's voice rose in surprise. "That's enough to buy a television set!"

She rolled over, facing Chen Yongqiang, "Really that many? He Jun only put up a little over a hundred today..."

"He doesn't understand. To him, this fish is meat sold by the pound, but to some people, it's not like that at all. Go to sleep, you'll find out tomorrow."

Lin Xiulian stopped asking. If she could really sell it for three or four hundred yuan, then life would be much better from now on.

Late at night, a blurry figure silently slipped to the vicinity of Chen Yongqiang's yard, stopped behind a pile of firewood not far away, and peered into the yard.

Sirius noticed it almost immediately.

It crouched low, letting out a very low, almost silent, threatening whimper.

It's not a dog; it doesn't bark to bluff. It just waits, waiting for that figure to step into its designated territory, and then it pounces and solves the problem with its sharp teeth.

The figure seemed to sense that something was watching it from the darkness.

He tried to get a better look at what was happening in the courtyard, but his eyes met those of Tianlang, which glowed with a faint green light in the night.

The figure froze for a moment, clearly startled.

He didn't dare move forward another step. Instead, he quickly retreated behind the woodpile and disappeared into the deeper darkness, running away.

Sirius lay still quietly for a while, making sure the unfamiliar scent had gone before slowly relaxing, licking its nose, and lying down again near the taimen.

Inside the room, on the kang (a heated brick bed), Chen Yongqiang could vaguely hear something unusual outside amidst Lin Xiulian's even breathing.

After a while, apart from the sound of the wind, there was nothing unusual. He understood immediately. It seemed someone had ulterior motives.