Transmigrating to the Ancient Times with Lu's Convenience

by Usui Takumii

not mine, melisa Garcia and ye yiluo, on ao3. Beware Bl.

37. 37

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…

…

Chen Xiao Cai returned to the County Yamen, greatly excited from his first sailing experience.

Chen Xiao Mi glanced at Chen Xiao Cai with a radiant smile on the face, "Hey, Cai, you're in a good mood!"

Chen Xiao Cai nodded, "There are many interesting things in the Fish Cabin County! Big Brother, why didn't you go for the trial voyage with us today?

Chen Xiao Mi shook his head. "There are too many people today. There will still be many opportunities in the future."

Chen Xiao Cai nodded. "That's right, the entire team is on board today. And many villagers were watching us on shore, it indeed could make people feel uncomfortable."

"Big Brother, I got a strange-looking fish from a fisherman today. I plan to open an aquarium to display all the strange-looking fish we can find," Chen Xiao Cai said.

"Yes, it's a good idea." Chen Xiao Mi's eyes sparkled.

Chen Xiao Mi heard that Lu Lin mentioned something called aquarium in modern society. It was said that in modern society, people would put ornament fish in a fish tank made of glass, glass was a solid and transparent material, people could watch the fish through glass.

Chen Xiao Cai said joyfully, "Really? Big Brother, do you think it's a good idea too?"

Chen Xiao Mi nodded and said, "Of course, many rich people like novelty. If we can collect enough strange-looking fish, we can even charge a small fee."

Chen Xiao Cai said admiringly, "Big Brother, this is a good idea! You are so smart."

Chen Xiao Mi waved his hand and said, "I've heard it from your Lin Ge."

…

After Lu Lin arrived at the Fish Cabin county, he set up a fleet and opened restaurants, attracting many people from neighboring counties.

The various seafood delicacies of the Fish Cabin county won a lot of praise.

Lu Lin had opened a high-end seafood restaurant next to the restaurant featuring Roast Whole Lamb. At first, he used the old restaurant's popularity to boost the business of the seafood restaurant. However, the seafood restaurant's popularity had surpassed the old restaurant. There was even a section displaying all the strange-looking fish in the seafood restaurants, a lot of families loved to visit that section.

The Roast Whole Lamb was a bit expensive for ordinary people. In comparison, the seafood restaurant next door was a lot more wallet-friendly.

The fishermen in the fleet had been handing over 20 percent of their fishing to Lu Lin.

"You can just put the unsalable fish in this basket, I will pay you accordingly," Qin Ming stood aside and comforted the fishermen who felt sad that they had some unmarketable fish in their net.

Han Feng walked to Qin Ming and said, "Captain Qin, no one wants this type of fish. Why would Magistrate Lu want so much?"

Qin Ming glanced at Han Feng and said, "Working for Magistrate Lu and Second Master Chen for so many years, I've learned something, there is nothing unmarketable in this world, you know?"

Han Feng scratched his head in confusion.

"You will understand later."

Qin Ming thought to himself, 'Magistrate Lu is going to open a buffet restaurant soon, we can make fish balls and fish cakes with these fish.'

As soon as Lu Lin's buffet restaurant opened, it attracted a lot of people. The price was very wallet-friendly, it was 10 cents per head, and on the opening day, it was 50 percent off, so each person could enjoy a seafood buffet with just 5 cents.

Although most of the villagers were not rich, 5 cents was still nothing to them.

Buffet was a new idea to the local people, they were thrilled by the idea of 'all-you-can-eat'.

…

After the number of the fishermen and their family members hit a hundred, Lu Lin had suspended the recruiting, the Qin brothers started to manage the team members according to regulations.

Qin Lang divided the fishermen into groups. Each month, the best fisherman could be rewarded.

"Wang He, how much did you sell for your strange fish?"

It had been a while since Chen Xiao Cai collected strange-looking fish. Wang He was lucky enough to find a strange fish days ago and sold it to Chen Xiao Cai.

"Five hundred cents," Wang He gesticulated a five with his fingers.

A few fishermen said with envy, "500 cents! It is half of my monthly income!"

Wang He smiled and said, "Second Master has given me three meal tickets as well."

" Tickets to the buffet restaurant, right?"

Wang He nodded and said, "Yeah! I heard they are sold for 10 cents each."

"It's true, it's half price on the opening day, but it has been 10 cents since that day. Wang He, you can go have a meal, treat yourself!"

"It's best to have dinner there and skip lunch, you know, so you can have a lot of food!"

"Right, right, don't drink too much water before you go."

"I can definitely make it worthwhile. I heard that there are a lot of delicacies, including buns, you know what, the worst scenario is I just eat 10 buns and make the money worthwhile."

…

The fishermen had a good time giving Wang He advice and suggestions.

The buffet restaurant was very popular, and many people went there in the hope of 'money well spent'. They would usually go there with an empty stomach, some people didn't even drink water.

Chen Xiao Cai sometimes would reward the best-performance fishermen with meal tickets.

With the stimulation of this reward, many fishermen worked extra hard.

…

Han Xiao was sitting on the bed when his father came back home. He immediately sat up straight and said, "Father, Chuan'er's father got two free meal tickets for free!"

Han Feng nodded and said, "Yeah! I've heard of it."

Jiang Xian was an expert in fishing, that was why Han Feng invited him to join the fleet.

Han Feng thought to himself, 'Jiang Xian, now you must feel so great that you have joined the fleet and your ability is being appreciated, hmm, joining the fleet is a wise decision, isn't it?'

Han Xiao Zhou held his chin and said, "Chuan'er said that his father wouldn't take him to the buffet restaurant, saying that he has a small stomach, it's not money well-spent."

Han Feng nodded, "Well, he is not wrong."

…

Chen Xiao Cai stood upstairs in the restaurant watching the customers coming and go, he turned around and smiled at Shen Chi, "A lot of people here have a big appetite, don't they?"

Shen Chi looked at the account book and said, "The profit is still very high. A lot of ingredients are from the fleet, the business is doing great."

Dried Shredded Squid

In the fisherman's dormitory.

"Father, how much money did you save this month?" Han Xiao Zhou asked casually with his legs crossed.

"I saved more than six hundred cents. If it wasn't for the medical fees that we owe Magistrate Lu, I should have saved almost one tale of silver. I'm able to save one tale or even more next month," said Han Feng with a smile.

"We've finally paid Magistrate Lu off!" Han Xiao Zhou sighed in relief.

Han Feng nodded. Although he knew Magistrate Lu did not care about that little bit of money, he didn't like the feeling of owing someone money.

Han Xiao Zhou said, "Although we need to hand over some fish after we joined the fleet, it seems that we are earning more than before!"

"Yeah!"

Han Feng usually earned seven or eight hundred cents in the past, but this month he had actually earned one tale of silver.

For fishermen, having caught unmarketable fish was almost inevitable, luckily, Lu Lin's restaurant was willing to purchase any type of fish. Han Feng did some math, he figured the fish he handed over in the fleet had balanced out the unmarketable fish that he had sold to Lu Lin's restaurant.

Two days ago, he was arranged to go fishing on the big pilot ship. He and the team went further in the sea and they fished more.

Lu Lin had been offering a really good price for squid recently, the team was very motivated to fish more squid.

Han Feng thought to himself, 'After joining the fleet, I seem to have earned more. It seems like it happened to not just me, but also the whole team.'

During this period of time, everyone seemed to be in a good mood. Those who had fished strange-looking fish were even more so, Chen Xiao Cai was willing to pay about 500 cents for a strange-looking fish.

It was getting colder and colder, but there was always free hot soup in the kitchen at night. The fishermen were all grateful for this benefit!

Han Xiao Zhou held his chin and said, "His Lordship is such a good person."

Han Feng nodded and said, "Yeah! His Lordship is much better than the previous one, and his brother-in-law has never thrown his weight about."

The previous magistrate's brothers-in-law loved idling about and doing no decent work. One of them loved taking advantage of the fishermen in particular, he would always do credit charge with the fishermen and never had he settled the account with the fishermen.

The fishermen were thrilled when Lu Lin flogged that notorious brother-in-law for pilfery, and the other brothers-in-law all had restrained themselves.

Chen Xiao Cai's image in the hearts of the fishermen was very tall and glorious, they were surprised that not only Xiao Cai was a decent human being, but they were more surprised that Xiao Cai was such a capable businessman.

After Chen Xiao Cai came, more and more seafood stores were opened in the Fish Cabin county.

Some people in the surrounding towns were attracted to the Fish Cabin county by its reputation and they loved the seafood this county had to offer, more often than not, they would spend some money in the seafood center and buy some seafood as presents to their family and friends back home.

The seafood in the Fish Cabin County became more and more famous.

There were also some similar seafood shops in the surrounding counties. The shop owners would always purchase and replenish their stock from Fish Cabin county. As a result, the seafood center in the Fish Cabin county became more and more popular.

…

A few months later, the empty space in front of the fishermen's dormitory was filled with squid dried in the sun.

The Grilled Squid in Sha County had become a signature night market food, but it was not easy to transport live squid. Lu Lin asked the fishermen to dry the squid in the sun thus they could store and transport the squid better.

Dried squid was easy to make, it could be stored for a long time and it had made transportation feasible.

People could have them as a snack, a side dish and a stir-fry ingredient.

Dried Squid soon had become a specialty of the Fish Cabin county. The travelers passing by the Fish Cabin county liked to purchase some and take home with them.

"Captain Qin, this batch of squid is done, it's dried up evenly," Jiang Xian said.

Qin Ming nodded and said, "Then let's pack it. There seem to be a lot of order recently. There are a lot of orders from the capital city alone."

Lu Lin sent two boxes of dried squid to Chen Xiao Mai in the capital city a few days ago.

After that, for some reason, more and more squid orders came from the capital city.

Jiang Xian nodded, "Okay."

Jiang Xian thought to himself, 'Magistrate Lu is really capable! Before he came, the price of squid was extremely low, and no one wanted to eat it. After he came, the price started to soar. It is said that many of the nobles in the capital are interested in this fish.'

In the fishermen's dormitory, there were now many family members stayed in the dormitory when the fishermen went to sea. In the past, the fishermen had to take all the family members with them whenever they went to sea because they had no place to live. Now things were different. The fishermen would leave the children and wives in the dormitory relievedly.

The family members were in charge of cooking and drying the squid. Several family members had even built duck shed and chook run in the vicinity of the dormitory building. They enjoyed the life on shore, no need to lead a wandering life.

Lu Lin built two fisherman dormitories, which were both full now.

As more and more fisherman joined the fleet, Lu Lin was planning to build another dormitory building.

…

In the capital city.

Chen Xiao Mai cupped his face and hummed.

Seeing Ji Yun An enter the door, Chen Xiao Mai stood up and happily ran towards Ji Yun An. Although Ji Yun An was prepared, he was still stunned by Chen Xiao Mai.

"Yun An, the stuff sent by Big Brother has arrived."

"Aww, Big Brother has sent us stuff again!"

Chen Xiao Mai was the youngest in the family, Chen Xiao Mi always doted on him like a son, he often sent things over. Spicy sauce, seafood sauce, thirteen-fragrant-spices, sometimes it was assorted dry goods from Fish Cabin county.

A while ago, Lu Lin sent some dried shrimps. Although the shrimps were not too big in size, it would add more flavor in the soup.

Highness Cheng was very interested in what Chen Xiao Mi had sent over.

Every time Chen Xiao Mi sent things over, Highness Cheng would come over to take a look. There were many coincidences like this, and Ji Yun An could not help but wonder if the prince had hired an informer in his residence.

The seafood sauce in the Fish Cabin county tasted very good.

Once, Lu Lin sent a total of 10 bottles over, and Highness Cheng took half of them.

He showed zero interest in the dried shrimp though. He couldn't help but get worried about Lu Lin's circumstances on seeing the size of the dried shrimp.

The prince felt pity for Lu Lin, 'poor guy can only afford small shrimps like this', and he generously sent two big baskets of lobsters to Ji Yun An and Chen Xiao Mai the next day.

A few days later, Chen Xiao Mai treated Highness Cheng to a bowl of stewed porridge with dried shrimp in it and Highness Cheng fell in love with that flavor, it wasn't until no did he realize that Lu Lin sent shrimp not because that was the only stuff he could afford but because it was delicious.

"What has Big Brother sent this time?" Ji Yun An asked.

"Dried Squid!" Chen Xiao Mai said.

Ji Yun An said with excitement, "Wow, that's something new."

Chen Xiao Mai nodded, "Yeah! Big Brother has sent a box to Highness Cheng as well, now we don't have to worry he will show up and split half with us."

Ji Yun An beamed, "Isn't that great news."

Ji Yun An hid half a box of dried squid and decided to keep it for themselves.

Dried Squid from Fish Cabin County was a new favorite in the capital city, a lot of people wanted to try their luck from Ji Yun An and Chen Xiao Mai.

Chen Xiao Mi probably knew this too, so every time he sent stuff over, he would pack extra so that Ji Yun An could send some to his friends and colleagues.

People in the capital city paid great attention to formalities. They would reciprocate Ji Yun An with something more valuable whenever they got something from him. Most importantly, Ji Yun An had got something priceless — network.

Normally Ji Yun An was happy to share the stuff with his friends and colleagues, but he wanted to try the Dried Squid first before he gave them away.

…

In Highness Cheng's manor.

"Your Highness, the things are here."

Highness Cheng couldn't help but exclaim, "Really? Let's go take a look."

Two boxes of squid were carried to the manor. Highness Cheng looked at it and said, "Beautiful send them to the kitchen and tell them I want to try some for lunch today."

Stir-fried squid and bamboo shoots was a rare delicacy. The squid meat was very chewy and the bamboo shoots were crunchy.

Highness Cheng stroked his beard and savored every mouthful with relish.

Highness Cheng always professed to be Chen Xiao Mai and Ji Yun An's matchmaker and he always invited himself to their house for dinner.

As a matter of fact, Highness Cheng had the best chefs in the capital city, but he always preferred having dinner with Mai and Ji Yun An.

Highness Cheng had even written a letter to Lu Lin asking for more dried squid, Lu Lin dared not to delay, he sent two large boxes of dried squid to Highness Cheng right away.

"Isn't Lu Lin just so wonderful and creative? I've heard of squid before, but people used to avoid using it as an ingredient, but now squid has become a new favorite in the capital city thanks to Lu Lin. You know what, I think he should become a chef in the imperial palace, his current post is unworthy of his talent, what do you guys reckon?" Highness Cheng asked Mai and Ji Yun An.

The two exchanged a look in astonishment, they didn't think Lu Lin aspired to become a chef in the imperial palace.

Mai Has Made a New Friend

In the study room.

Lu Lin looked at the account book and said in a good mood, "It looks like people really like the dried squid!"

Chen Xiao Mi nodded. "The price has been raised a few times. The order hasn't decreased at all. Instead, it's getting more and more."

Lu Lin nodded, he was glad that now he had more money in hand so he could reward his fleet members even more.

"Maybe there are many people buying because the price has increased, " Lu Lin smiled smugly.

At the moment Lu Lin mainly sold the squid to the capital city. The capital city was not far from the Fish Cabin county, and the price offered by the people in the capital city was relatively high!

There were too many rich people in the capital city, pork was only about 10 cents per kilo, yet dried squid was sold for 30 cents per kilo. The demand exceeded the supply even though that was the case.

Lu Lin mulled it over and he figured he probably could raise the price a little more. Lu Lin recalled some strategy called hunger marketing in modern society and he itched to have a go.

There were many people in the capital city who were willing to pay anything for this trendy food!

"It is said that squid was in abundance in the past few years and everyone hated squid, no one was interested in putting it on the dinner table, however, the fleet finds it hard to fish squid recently," said Chen Xiao Mi with a worried face.

Lu Lin shook his head and thought, 'The power of foodies is daunting! We have driven the price up and maybe even overfished the squid.'

However, on second thought, Lu Lin didn't think his fleet had been overfishing. The fishing methods in this time and space were very eco-friendly compared to modern society, so he figured psychological factors played a big role in this. No one wanted squid in the past, and people would feel perturbed whenever they found squid in their fish nets. But things were different now, people would actively look for squid in the fishing net and they would feel disappointed whenever they found the real wasn't as great as expected.

"Credit shall be given to Highness Cheng now that the squid is so popular in the capital city," Lu Lin said.

Chen Xiao Mi nodded and said, "Mai mentioned in the letter that Highness Cheng always invites himself to their house and promotes whatever Mai has treated him. Sometimes he would stay in their house till his wife and concubine rush him back home."

Lu Lin laughed, "Is Highness Cheng staying at Mai's for food or some private time?"

"I don't know either, but let's not laugh at him, he is a great person!" Chen Xiao Mi had a very good impression of Highness Cheng and so did Lu Lin.

In Lu Lin's eyes, Highness Cheng was the best food ambassador! Anything that was eaten by the prince would soon become popular.

Highness Cheng was a firm believer of 'It is much more joyful to share the joy than enjoy alone'. He loved to promote the food he had tried in Mai and Ji Yun An's house.

There were a significant number of gourmets in the capital city, and a lot of them were highbrow food snobs who looked down upon on ordinary people's food. But they dared not say anything when Highness Cheng promoted it.

Highness Cheng had impressed some gourmets since he had introduced hotpot and Roasted Whole Lamb.

Lu Lin appreciated Highness Cheng's nature, and he saw Highness Cheng like a celebrity and his spokesman. Lu Lin was secretly thrilled that he didn't have to pay Highness Cheng a single cent for promoting his stuff. All he needed to do was send this spokesman some samples, and more often than not, this spokesman would return Lu Lin something more valuable.

Ever since Lu Lin sent two boxes of dried squid to Highness Cheng, many people from the capital city had placed orders. In just a few days, Lu Lin had raised the price several times, but for the rich people in the capital city, money was not a problem.

The only thing Lu Lin wished for was better transportation in this time and space.

…

"Did Ji Yun An send a letter?" asked Lu Lin.

Chen Xiao Mi nodded and said, "Yes, Mai also sent a letter."

Lu Lin's mouth twitched and he thought to himself, 'I'm afraid only you can understand the letter written by Mai in the entire world, but it is no wonder, you two are brothers!'

"Mai is doing well in the capital city, yeah?" Lu Lin asked.

Chen Xiao Mi nodded, "It should be good."

Some ladies in the capital city had nothing to do all day, they beguiled time by shopping, playing chess and going to banquets…

Mai, on the other hand, was not interested in these things at all. He loved spending time cooking and brewing.

Lu Lin had taught Mai everything he knew about brewing, and Mai had excelled his master. It was said that Highness Cheng was a big fan of Mai's wine.

Chen Xiao Mi looked a little worried, He seems to have made a good friend."

Lu Lin was a little surprised, "Good friend? Really? That's great news!"

Chen Xiao Mi nodded. "An official's wife who is a Bio with a good family background."

There were few officials in the capital city who married Bio as main madam in the house, Bios wives found it hard to fit in the ladies circle, so they would usually have their own circle.

"I'm so happy for Mai, he's already made a good friend all by himself!" Lu Lin beamed.

Since Ji Yun An was busy with work and socializing, it was impossible for him to spend a lot of time with Mai. Mai needed to have his own circle and his own friends.

Chen Xiao Mi nodded and said, "He said that this new friend of his is learning cooking from him."

…

In the kitchen of Ji Yun An's residence.

Chen Xiao Mai was showing his new friend Song Yufei how to cook spicy crab. "Put these all in the pot, then you…"

"What is in this jar?" Song Yufei looked at the jar in Chen Xiao Mai's hand curiously and asked.

Song Yufei and Chen Xiao Mai met each other at a gathering held by the Bio wives, Chen Xiao Mai felt so reserved in the presence of other elegant and refined Bio wives, Song Yufei felt the same way. They became fast friends.

Song Yufei's parents had a pastries shop and he was very good at making pastries.

Chen Xiao Mai enjoyed cooking, Song Yufei enjoyed making pastries, and both of them liked to eat new food, so they always invited each other over after that gathering.

"This is spicy sauce. My brother-in-law Lin Ge made this. I can give you a jar."

Song Yufei's eyes lit up and he asked, "Really? How nice! I've heard of it from Highness Cheng! I'll bring you some cake next time."

Chen Xiao Mai licked his lips and said, "Thank you!"

The pastries shop owned by Song Yufei's parents was very famous in the capital city. Chen Xiao Mai liked the pastries in the shop, but because the price was too high, a small piece would cost hundreds of cents, Chen Xiao Mai would only treat himself to one or two for special occasions.

…

In the fisherman's dormitory, several fishers were busy.

"Zhou An, how's it going now?"

Zhou An nodded, "Pretty good, it's almost settled."

About a month ago, Zhou An saved a Bio boy who almost drowned himself. The Bio boy wanted to marry Zhou An to repay his kindness, so Zhou An reported this to Qin Ming and applied for accommodation for that Bio boy.

During the past month, Zhou An and the Bio boy grew more feelings for each other and they decided to get married soon.

Originally, Zhou An had a wife. Back then, he had spent a considerable amount of betrothal money to get married. After they got married, however, the woman felt that the life on the boat was too hard, so she made off with the little bit of money that Zhou An had saved.

In the next few years, Zhou An no longer wanted to get married or have a family, he always stayed at a respectful distance from women. And he was thrilled that this Bio boy he had saved didn't ask any betrothal money from him, he knew they had something real.

Zhou An was not young anymore, so he wanted to get married quickly. The two of them planned to keep everything simple.

Zhou An had been sharing a dormitory room with a few fishermen, but considering that he was going to get married, Zhou An felt that he couldn't continue like this.

Zhou An told Qin Lang that he wanted a private dormitory for the two of them. Qin Lang nodded and agreed. However, if he wanted a private dormitory, he would need to pay three taels of silver. The fish Zhou An had handed in was worth 500 cents, so he only needed to pay 2 taels and 500 cents.

Zhou An wasn't rich, but he had some savings, he paid the money without hesitation.

"Captain Qin said that I can choose from the newly built dormitory building." Zhou An beamed,

A fisherman patted Zhou An's shoulder and said, "Old An, I didn't expect you to get married so soon, congratulations."

Zhou An smiled, "Yeah, thank you!"

"Old An, do you know the background of your soon-to-be-wife?" A fisherman asked.

Zhou An smiled and said, "No, not really, but I don't care."

Zhou An lowered his head. He actually knew the identity of the Bio boy he has saved, his name was Li Xiaoyu. When he was 13 years old, his parents sold him to an old man as a concubine. Li Xiaoyu was treated as a servant in the old man's house and lived a very hard life.

The old man died a few days ago and Li Xiaoyu was thrown out of the house.

Li Xiaoyu, who was chased out, had no other option but return home. He accidentally heard his parents were planning to sell him to a dying man for money.

Li Xiaoyu was desperate. He was devastated that his parents were planning to sell him once more, it looked like his parents didn't care for his happiness at all. Li Xiaoyu fled his parents' house in a flurry, but his parents found that out and chased him by a lake, Li Xiaoyu was cornered, so he jumped into the lake out of grief and indignation.

The news of the Li Xiaoyu's parents cornering their son to death had spread in the village. The parents were afraid of causing a ruckus, so they had to report Li Xiaoyu's death to the government.

"It's not a big deal, Magistrate Lu has helped me to register Xiaoyu under my household. There won't be any problems," Zhou An said.

Zhou An moved into the dormitory with Li Xiaoyu soon.

Even though it was just a small room, Zhou An was very happy and so was Li Xiaoyu, they were excited to start the new chapter in life.

Zhou An and Li Xiaoyu didn't have many belongings, soon they had settled down in the room. The two of them didn't care for the formalities, Zhou An just took Li Xiaoyu to the buffee restaurant as a celebration, and that was it.

Li Xiaoyu was very excited, that was the first time he tried buffet. When Li Xiaoyu was at the old man's house, he was treated like a servant and he had little food to eat. Later, after he returned to his parents' house, his parents didn't offer him enough food on the excuse of their financial circumstances.

Li Xiaoyu didn't expect that there would be such a good place where you could eat all you want for only 10 cents Unfortunately, he wasn't a big eater and he had to call it a day after eating three buns. Li Xiaoyu sighed when he thought about all the yummy food he had missed.

Zhou An looked at Li Xiaoyu and smiled, "If there's anything you want to try, we can always come back."

Li Xiaoyu quickly shook his head and said, "No, it's too wasteful."

Zhou An smiled and said, "It doesn't matter. There are often tickets as rewards in the fleet. I can take you here as long as I work hard."

Li Xiaoyu said happily, "That's great, thank you! This fleet sounds amazing!"

Zhou An nodded and said smugly, "Yeah! The benefits of the fleet are good, and it seems to be getting better. I am one of the first people who have joined the fleet, I'm so lucky. It is not easy to join the fleet now."

To Uphold Justice

The rooms in the new dormitory building were bought one after another. Most of the people who bought dormitory had family members who were living with them. Sharing a room with other people could be troublesome for them, especially for young couples. Lu Lin charged a really fair price, most fishermen couls afford 3 tales of silver.

Chen Xiao Cai later learned that Zhou An got married, he gave Zhou An a big red envelop with cash gift inside, he also gave Zhou An six buffet tickets. Li Xiaoyu was very happy that his husband was working for such a thoughtful boss.

Zhou An and Li Xiaoyu held a simple wedding ceremony. Although the ceremony was very small and simple, Li Xiaoyu still was very excited.

Even though Li Xiaoyu's first husband had given him a lot of betrothal gifts, but his parents had taken them all from him.

Li Xiaoyu had been working in the fleet after he married Zhou An.

Li Xiaoyu was quick and neat with work, he always delivered no matter what his task was. Before this, he married an old lady to do a side room outside. He attributed it to the years he worked as a servant in his first husband's house.

Shen Chi and a group of fishermen was counting the squid when Han Feng rushed over to him.

"Madam Shen, bad news!"

Shen Chi glanced at the person running over and asked calmly, "What happened? Talk to me."

"A few people from Big Pear Village have come. They say that Zhou An's wife Li Xiaoyu is their son, they will take him back unless Zhou An is willing to pay them twenty taels of silver as betrayal gift." Han Feng said.

Han Feng thought to himself, "Li Xiaoyu's parents have gone too far! They want twenty taels of silver, and they are not willing to budge. We can still find a way to chip in and pool money if it's a small number, but 20 taels! I feel so sorry for Zhou An, does he have to part with his wife now?'

Shen Chi glanced at Han Feng and asked, "What about Zhou An and his wife? Have you talked to them about this?"

"Zhou An is here. His wife went out and hasn't come back yet," Han Feng glanced at Shen Chi in a strange way. Han Feng felt that Shen Chi was too calm, it almost felt like Shen Chi knew that this would happen.

Shen Chi nodded and said, "I'll go take a look."

Shen Chi walked to the open space in front of the dormitory buildings. Two old people, a young man and several villagers of Big Pear Village were confronting the fishermen.

"Madam Shen is here, Madam Shen is here."

The fishermen had cleared the way for Shen Chi.

When Li Hong, Li Xioayu's older brother, saw Shen Chi, he raised his head and said arrogantly, "It looks like you are the boss here, aren't you? Here is the thing, one fisherman in your fleet has abducted my younger brother. We're here to take my brithe away," Li Hong was contemptuous of Shen Chi because Shen Chi was a Bio.

Shen Chi glanced at the fishermen beside him. Some of them had probably just argued with Li Hong considering how indignant they looked.

"Your brother? Who is your brother? "

"My younger brother's name is Li Xiaoyu. Oh, wait, I believe he goes by Zhou Yu now."

"Zhou Yu is Zhou Yu, Li Xiaoyu is Li Xiaoyu, why should I take your word for it and believe Zhou Yu is Li Xiaoyu? Then I say that he is your father!" Shen Chi pointed at a fisherman.

The fisherman chuckled and said with a glib tongue, "Good son, call me daddy."

The few fishermen started to cheer up. "Old He, your son is ugly!"

"Old He, your son looks nothing like you and he isn't behaving well, go teach him a lesson."

…

Li Hong's real father was there too, he blushed with embarrassment.

Li Hong's face darkened and he said, "Please don't talk nonsense. The people in our village have said that Zhou Yu looks exactly like my younger brother Li Xiaoyu."

"Who said that? Bring him to me! This is a big world, of course there are people who look alike," Shen Chi said calmly.

Li Hong and his parents were shaken by what Shen Chi just said, they actually didn't know whether Zhou Yu was Li Xiaoyu.

The fishermen held their heads high, "Exactly! There are people who look alike, how dare you charge into our place and slander us!"

Li Hong gritted his teeth and said, "If you are so sure about this, why don't you call Zhou Yu out and we can have a look!"

"You guys are from Big Pear Village, right? I remember that I heard that someone called Li Xiaoyu in Big Pear Village was sold to a dying villager for money, but the boy committed suicide to avoid being sold. You just want to find a similar person to serve as a stopgap, don't you? But mind you human trafficking is illegal," Shen Chi said with a stern tone.

The Li family's parents were frightened by Shen Chi's words. "It's our son, we are not doing anything illegal!"

"Your son is dead, he has committed suicide due to you! Ah, I see, you have already taken that dying person's money, so you just want to find a similar person to marry that dying man so you don't have to cough up the money, right?" Shen Chi continued.

Shen Chi thought to himself, 'Li Xiaoyu's parents sold him for 10 taels of silver, and they are now asking Zhou An to pay them 20 taels! How greedy!'

Shen Chi's words were reasonable. The fishermen all found that make sense.

"How dare you people bully one of our fellow fishermen in the fleet! It's not easy for him to get married, and now you are trying to take away his wife from him!" A fisherman shouted.

"Yeah! These bastards, all they want it money!"

…

Most of the fisherman felt that these people are here trying to take advantage of Zhou An, and there were fishermen who had guessed the truth, but none of them said anything because they didn't want to rub Shen Chi the wrong way.

"Get these people out of here, feel free to make them leave if they cause a scene," Shen Chi waved his hand.

The fishermen were more than ready to flex their muscles.

The fishermen all worked in the same fleet and they looked out for each other like real families, so they were more than willing to teach the Lis a lesson.

This was the fisherman's dormitory building, of course they could assemble a large number of people to defend themselves in no time.

Soon more than 50 fishermen showed up and they were ready to fight.

There were only about ten people from the Big Pear Village who were here with the Lis, they were clearly outnumbered.

"Brothers, someone is making a ruckus, time to teach them a lesson!" a young fisherman exclaimed.

It has been a while since they joined the fleet and worked side by side with each other, they genuinely saw each other as brothers. They didn't appreciate the Lis' doing.

The innocent villagers who were here with the Lis took to their heels, but several young fishermen blocked their way out.

Seeing that the situation was totally under control, Shen Chi waved his hand signaling the fishermen to stop.

When they saw that the people who came here to cause trouble were beaten down, the fishermen exclaimed and they were happy that they had protected their brother.

In fact, the villagers of Big Pear Village knew that the fleet belonged to Magistrate Lu. They hesitated when the Lis asked them for help, but they figured they were the victims and they had every right to take away Li Xiaoyu so they came with the Lis, and now they bit their tongues off.

Lu Lin actually knew who this 'Zhou Yu' was, he investigated it before he helped Zhou An to register his wife under his household. But he despised what Zhou Yu's parents had done to him, so he turned a blind eye to it.

And naturally both Chen Xiao Ca, and Shen Chi knew the truth as well.

Shen Chi glanced at Li Hong's retiring figure and said to the fishermen, "In the future, if these guys come again, just beat them up and drive them out!"

"Consider it done, Madam Shen."

"You are right, Madam Shen. We can't let anyone bully our brothers!"

"Exactly! Trying to bully our brother, we will make sure they regret for messing with us!"

…

The crowd burst into a warm echo.

Shen Chi waved his hand and asked everyone to go back to work.

Zhou An walked over to Shen Chi after everyone else had left. "Madam Shen, thank you so much, but actually…"

Shen Chi interrupted Zhou An, "Old Zhou, as I said earlier, there are many people look alike in this world. As long as your wife doesn't think he is Li Xiaoyu, then he is not Li Xiaoyu. You know what I mean?"

Zhou An was stunned for a moment and nodded violently. He suddenly understood that Shen Chi knew everything, and he was just helping him out.

Shen Chi waved his hand and said, "Go back to work now, you just got married, just work hard and I will reward you."

Zhou An was in a daze for a moment and hurriedly said, "Thank you, thank you so much, Madam Shen."

Shen Chi narrowed his eyes, he knew everything. Li Hong, Li Xiaoyu's elder brother, was a scoundrel. He didn't do anything all day, but his parents doted on him. It was Li Hong's idea to sell Li Xiaoyu to the dying person for money. He took the money before Li Xiaoyu knew about it.

After that, Li Xiaoyu committed suicide and people all thought he was drowned. The dying man's family asked Li Hong to return the money.

Li Hong had already gambled the money away, naturally he had to ask his parents to return the money for him.

Shen Chi was furious when he heard the story, he hated it when parents showed favoritism. Most parents thought less of their Bio kids just because they were Bios.

Zhou An walked into the house and found Li Xiaoyu.

"Xiaoyu, where did you just go?"

Li Xiaoyu blinked and said in a panic, "I heard that my family came just now. I was scared, so I hid."

Just now, there was a ruckus outside and Li Xiaoyu also wanted to come out to see the situation, but Han Xiao Zhou knocked on his door and asked him to hide away, saying that it was Shen Chi who asked him to do so.

Zhou An nodded and said, "It's good that you have hidden away, no need to talk to those greedy people. The matter has been resolved, you don't have to be afraid any more."

Zhou An then told Li Xiaoyu what Shen Chi said. Li Xiaoyu couldn't help but cry.

At dusk, Shen Chi returned to his residence.

"You're back?" Chen Xiao Cai looked at Shen Chi with a bright smile on the face.

Shen Chi blushed slightly and said awkwardly, "Why do you look at me like this? Did you hear anything?"

Chen Xiao Cai smiled and said, "I heard that you, Ah Chi, have upheld justice for our fisherman today."

"At the sight of injustice, draw a sword and render help, that's my principle" Shen Chi said casually.

Chen Xiao Cai narrowed his eyes and said, "To deal with that kind of person, you have to use some strategy. Ah Chi, you did well."

Li Xiaoyu's story reminded Chen Xiao Cai of his childhood, his Second Uncle tried to sell him for money as well. Chen Xiao Cai felt sorry for what Li Xiaoyu had gone through.

Shen Chi smiled and said, "Maybe. Our people have beaten them up, I don't think they have the guts to come to our dormitory and look for trouble again."

Oysters

In Big Pear Village.

Li Hong gritted his teeth angrily.

"This is too much, they are so savage and absurd."

The Bio boy who married the poor fisherman in the fleet was clearly his younger brother, but these people refused to admit it. They refused to pay a single cent and they even beaten him up.

Li Hong was a scoundrel in the village. Although he was shameless, people tended to give him what he wanted to avoid trouble. He was always the only one who bullied others, but this time, he was beaten up.

The moment Shen Chi raised his arm in a call for action, it had met with a quick response from the fishermen.

And the fishermen all concentrated forces against Li Hong instead of his parents, they didn't want to accidentally hurt the old couple.

Of course, there was another reason why the fishermen would attack Li Hong only. Li Hong was just too arrogant. He gave vent to a torrent of abuse to Zhou An and the fishermen who tried to help Zhou An before Shen Chi showed up and upheld justice for Zhou An.

"I told you that the people in the fleet are not to be trifled with, but you were bent on having your own way," Father Li sighed.

The fleet of the Fish Cabin County belonged to Magistrate Lu. When Li Hong said he wanted to charge into the fleet's dormitory and confront Zhou An, Father Li raised an objection.

Li Hong said hatefully, "Who knows that County Magistrate is in charge of so much?"

Li Hong was a person who bullied the weak and feared the strong. He didn't want to deal with Lu Lin, all he wanted was to sell his younger brother Li Xiaoyu for money.

Li Hong had the guts to start trouble in the dormitory building was partially because he heard that the new County Magistrate was very good -tempered, he was even afraid of his wife. He was only interested in opening restaurants and doing business.

"Maybe, that person married Zhou An just looks like your brother, he is not actually your brother, poor Xiaoyu, he has jumped into that river, we were all there when it happened."

Father Li originally thought that his son didn't die and ended up marrying Zhou An, but after Shen Chi made such a ruckus, Father Li was a little panicked. He recalled what he had heard from the villagers, what they said was Zhou An's wife looked like his son, they were not exactly sure whether that was his son or not. Now Father Li doubted it was true or not.

"How can it be? Father, don't you think they are just being guilty, they refused to let us see that Zhou Yu! " Li Hong said angrily.

"There are so many fishermen, and they are so fierce. I agree with Hong, I think they are trying to hide something," Li Hong's mother chimed in.

Even though the fishermen avoided hitting Mother Li accidentally, but everyone was in a great bustle, they had indeed accidentally kicked Mother Li several times and her body was bruised.

Mother Li was old, so she held a deep-seated hatred towards those fishermen.

Li Hong nodded. He didn't want to mess with the fleet anymore. Li Hong was a bully in the village, but he only dared to bully ordinary people.

The Li family was beaten up and there were some miserable and gloomy atmosphere at home.

Suddenly, there was a clamor outside. Father Li walked out and found that there were many people standing in the yard, looking so indignant.

"Old Li, my husband was beaten up, but he was just there to help you and Li Hong, you need to be responsible for this!"

"That's right, Old Li, same thing happened to my husband! And now is busy farming season, I really need him to work in the field!"

"You need to be responsible for this, everyone followed you because of our friendships. However, you it turns out you guys were just lying to us, you aren't even sure about the whole context!

…

Li Hong was fed up with the accusation and he said angrily, "You guys should go ask Shen Chi to be responsible for this. If you want some justice, go confront him, it's him who has asked the fishermen to beat us up."

Li Hong thought to himself, 'It was said that Shen Chi was Chen Xiao Mai's wife, that means Shen Chi is Magistrate Lu's sister-in-law, he was so fierce when he asked the fishermen to drive us out, he looks like a Bio, but he sure didn't act like one.'

The villagers also knew Shen Chi's identity, so of course, they didn't dare to confront him.

"Li Hong, you bastard, you want to extort money, and innocent people are paying for that!"

"Yeah! Li Hong, it's fine that you have been messing around in the village. How can you scheme to mess with the County Magistrate?"

"Yeah! Li Hong, how could you do that to us! You vowed to us that a fisherman has abducted your brother, but it turns out that person just looks like your brother, you aren't sure whether they are the same person, I dread to think what if Magistrate Lu investigates this?"

…

Father Li couldn't help but be frightened. Knowing that the fleet was owned by Magistrate Lu, Father Li begged several villagers to come along to boost their courage.

Li Hong choked on his anger. The villagers were here asking for money as compensation, Li Hong, cash-stripped, couldn't afford to pay them a cent.

The people who came here were not easy to deal with. Seeing that Li Hong was unwilling to give money, several villagers barged into the house and moved things they landed their eyes on. Father Li and Mother Li cried bitterly and loudly in excessive grief, but the villagers didn't stop.

After the commotion, all articles of value in the house were stripped.

…

After Zhou An's incident, the fleet enjoyed some uneventful time. Zhou An was worried that Li Hong would come back, so he asked Li Xiaoyu to stay low-key. The other fishermen and their family members were all very warm-hearted, they offered to keep .an eye out for anything suspicious.

The fishermen's family were mainly in charge of drying squid in the front yard and cooking for the fishermen, so they had a lot of free time in hand.

Shen Chi released a recruitment announcement. He encouraged the family members who had free time in hand to help out in the restaurants and the pay was 15 cents per day. There were already several family members who applied for the job on the first day the announcement was released.

Lu Lin looked at the list of the fleet and said, "There are more people buying dormitory rooms!"

Chen Xiao Mi nodded, "Yeah! Three tales of silver is a friendly price for our hard-working fishermen team." Chen Xiao Mi thought to himself, 'I wish I could buy a room with three taels of silver when I was in Big Stone Village so that me and my brothers could have a roof over our heads on rainy days.'

Chen Xiao Mi had noticed one more thing, there seemed to be many pregnant people on the team. Their living conditions had improved significantly since they moved to the dormitory building, Chen Xiao Mi felt so happy for the fishermen.

"Magistrate Lu, the things you want are here," Qin Lang walked to Lu Lin and handed him a box.

Lu Lin nodded and said, "Be careful."

Chen Xiao Mi glanced at Lu Lin and asked strangely, "Are you interested in the shells?"

The box that Qin Lang sent over was full of dried oysters. Although it was only a small box, it took a lot of effort. Oysters had large shells, the meat inside was small, and they shrunk even more after being dried.

"I want to send this thing to the capital," Lu Lin said.

Chen Xiao Mi blinked and said, "Do you still sell it to Highness Cheng? This thing doesn't look very pretty."

Lu Lin shook his head with a meaningful smile, "It doesn't matter that they don't look pretty, I can give them some packaging, I've already made some wooden boxes, we can put the oyster meat in the wooden boxes nice and neat!"

Chen Xiao Mi was a little surprised, "Wooden boxes? Is it really necessary?"

A while ago, Lu Lin had customized a batch of wooden boxes. Chen Xiao Mi knew about that, but little did he expect those wooden boxes were for oyster meat.

Lu Lin smiled and said, "You don't know what oyster can do, do you? In my hometown, we say oysters are like a gas station for men and a beauty salon for women!"

"A gas station?" Chen Xiao Mi tilted his head and asked.

Lu Lin showed a cheeky smile and said, "This thing can help men perform better in the bedroom."

Chen Xiao Mi covered his mouth and said, "Then we shall not send this to Highness Cheng, what if he is offended? What if he thinks we are mocking him in some way?"

Lu Lin rubbed his forehead and thought to himself, 'Xiao Mi is right! Better be safe than sorry. What if Highness Cheng takes it wrong and thinks I'm mocking him?'

"Is this thing really good for women, can they really help women maintain beauty and keep young?" asked Chen Xiao Mi curiously.

Lu Lin nodded, "It is true, oysters can delay ageing and beautify skin."

Chen Xiao Mi nodded and said, "Alright, let's send a batch to Ji Yun An and Cai."

"We don't need to worry about selling them, they are good products. Worst case scenario, we can eat them all by ourselves" Lu Lin said.

Chen Xiao Mi glanced at Lu Lin and said, "Watch out, you may overdo it."

Lu Lin scratched his head and blushed.

…

In the capital city.

"Mai, what is this?" Song Yufei asked curiously when he saw the wooden box.

Mai opened the box, he took some dried oyster meat out and said, "It is dried oyster meat, it's impossible to transport the fresh ones, my brother has to dry them and send them to me."

Song Yufei nodded and let out an "Oh."

Mai glanced at Song Yufei and said, "Don't underestimate this thing! Big Brother said that this thing could boost men's vigor, you know what I mean?"

Mai winked at Song Yufei.

Song Yufei blushed when he heard Mai just casually said 'boost men's vigor'.

"Really? Is it good for women too?" asked Song Yufei in a low voice.

Mai nodded and said, "Big Brother said they could make your skin glow and firm."

Song Yufei asked suspiciously, "Is it really that good?"

In the capital city, a lot of ladies dreaded getting old and looking aged, they willing to spend gold on cosmetics and skincare. Even though Song Yufei was a Bio boy, he was obsessed with skincare as well.

Mai nodded and said, "Big Brother said that. Big Brother has never lied to me."

Mai squatted down and checked the wooden box, Song Yufei squatted beside him and watched the oyster meat in a daze.

"Can this thing really strengthen your body?" Song Yufei asked in a subtly way.

Mai thought for a moment and said, "I think so even though I haven't tried, but we are about to find out I guess, all we need to do is try some."

Song Yufei nodded and said, "Yeah!"

…

There came a soft cough from behind. Chen Xiao Mai and Song Yufei turned their heads at the same time. It was Highness Cheng.

Song Yufei blushed. He guessed that the conversation between him and Mai was overheard by the prince already.

"Your Highness, you're here!" Chen Xiao Mai greeted Highness Cheng as usual.

Song Yufei glanced at Chen Xiao Mai's expression, and he was surprised that Mai acted so calm and collected. Song Yufei thought to himself, 'No wonder some people say Mai is a bit slow, but sometimes being slow is a blessing.'

"Your brother sent you something again!" Highness Cheng asked.

Chen Xiao Mai nodded and said, "Yes, I will pack some for you, Highness Cheng. This oyster meat is for both men and women."

Song Yufei looked at Chen Xiao Mai with concern, he was afraid that Mai might say something to the effect of 'enhancing performance in the bedroom', he let out a sigh when Mai stopped and handed Highness Cheng a wooden box.

Highness Cheng took the box and fled the scene to avoid any possible awkward conversation.

Here Comes Highness Cheng Again

Oyster became No.1 popular beauty product in the capital city, which immediately aroused the curiosity of many people.

Many people did not believe that the oyster could help women maintain beauty and keep young, but this did not prevent many people from trying.

There were many ladies in the capital city who had got nothing but time and money in hand, all they talked about all day long was beauty secrets.

Ji Yun An repackaged and sold the dried oyster meat in small portions sent by Lu Lin.

For a time, oyster became the ultimate symbol of status in the capital city.

The benefit of 'boosting vigor' was soon discovered by people, and the prices kept rising.

The dried oyster meat was sold in exquisite boxes, each box was about 5 taels of silver, the demand for these goods exceeded the supply.

The oysters fished by the fleet were transported to the capital city continuously.

…

Several women were busy drying the oyster in the open space by the dormitory buildings.

"These oysters are very precious. Be careful," Qin Lang reminded the women.

"Captain Qin, who are buying these oysters?" A fisherman asked.

Qin Lang glanced at the fisherman with a meaningful smile, "That's none of our business, Third Master Chen and his husband have found great market in the capital city. All we need to do is fish more and send them to the capital city."

Qin Lang thought to himself, 'I heard Third Master Chen mentioned in the letter that oysters are now the most popular present in the capital city. Those wealthy people are willing to pay good money for them, and they will pay more for fancy packaging!'

The fisherman nodded and said, "We are getting a good pay from the fleet, I'm afraid Magistrate Lu will lose money."

Oysters were not hard to fish in this county, the fishermen all worked hard fishing oysters recently under Lu Lin's instruction. They could make more than one tale of silver per month.

The fishermen had never earned so much money before, they were thrilled on one hand, and they were worried Lu Lin would lose money from paying them so generously.

Qin Lang smiled, "Lose money? You don't have to worry about this. They know what they are doing, they are paying us generously because they appreciate your hard work."

Qin Lang thought to himself, 'These innocent fishermen, how could the young masters lose money? They are all genius merchants!'

However, the fishermen interpreted it as 'The masters are appreciating our hard work, so they are paying us generously even though it means they might lose money.'

…

On the coast, several fishermen were repairing the fishing nets and doing routine checks on the boats.

"Old Zhang, you're getting married too!" A fisherman asked.

The fisherman called Old Zhang scratched his head shyly. A while ago, he found a strange-looking turtle and sold it to Chen Xiao Cai for three taels of silver. After getting the silver, he bought a private dormitory.

"It's all thanks to the great benefits we have got from joining the fleet," Old Zhang said.

"Yeah! Magistrate Lu is a good official. It is said that when Magistrate Lu left Sha County, there were so many villagers gathering around saying goodbye to him. And now I know the reason," a fisherman said.

When the fishermen first joined the fleet, many of them were worried that they would be taken advantage of, and now they had completely changed their minds, they had become loyal supporters of the fleet.

During this period of time, more and more fishermen had got married. People used to think fishermen unmarriable because they were poor and rootless. And now they were all more than willing to betroth with fishermen who had a reliable organization.

Although many fishermen originally had the idea of being alone forever, they still wished for a wife and a child.

…

The Seafood Center in Fish Cabin County gradually became famous.

Quite a few merchants from neighboring counties would purchase in bulk from Chen Xiao Cai's stores.

Lu Lin was very satisfied, he was eager to expand the business.

More and more merchants were purchasing from the Seafood Cente, they usually would stay for a few days in the county when they were here to replenish the stock, as a result, the restaurants had captured their hearts as well.

When the merchants went back home, they couldn't help but promote the restaurants in Fish Cabin County.

When Lu Lin returned to County Yamen, he found that everything was surprisingly quiet. "Dash, where's Daddy Mi?"

Dash held his chin and said, "A grandpa was here. Daddy Mi just followed him out."

"Grandpa?" Lu Lin was confused.

Dash nodded and said, "Yeah! He is an old man with big airs. He seems to have lived in the Sha County yamen with us for a while."

Lu Lin looked at Dash with disbelief, 'Could it be Highness Cheng? How come I didn't hear anything at all!'

"Do you know where your Daddy Mi went?" asked Lu Lin.

Dash scratched his head, "I think they have gone to the seafood center and one of our restaurants. I wanted to go too, but daddy asked me to stay here and wait for you, father."

Lu Lin nodded and said, "Okay."

He tugged on Lu Lin's sleeve and said, "Father, let's go find out which restaurant they had gone to. I can't believe daddy just asked me to stay at home."

Lu Lin patted Dash, "Our chef at home is great, I don't get it why you like to go to the restaurants so much. All right, I will take you to the restaurants."

…

Highness Cheng went to the restaurant featuring seafood recommended by Chen Xiao Mi and Chen Xiao Mi ordered every single signature dish on the menu for him.

Highness Cheng praised profusely on seeing every dish.

"Color, aroma and taste, the dishes have got everything!"

Chen Xiao Mi served a pot of dried seafood, including shrimp, crabs, clams, lotus roots, vegetables, mushrooms, onions… Chen Xiao Mi was worried that Highness Cheng wouldn't appreciate the bold cooking method, to his surprise, Highness Cheng really enjoyed it.

"It's really delicious."

The seafood restaurants in Fish Cabin County had become more and more famous recently, and its reputation had spread to the capital city even. Highness Cheng had long wanted to come and take a look, but the plan had been postponed due to various reasons.

Highness Cheng had asked his chefs to cook seafoods for him back at home, but he didn't enjoy it as much.

During this period of time, there were too many annoyances in the capital city. Highness Cheng finally decided to come to Fish Cabin County to relax.

The seafood restaurant recommended by Xiao Mi did not disappoint Highness Cheng. He thought to himself, "This restaurant really lives up to its name! In contrast, the so-called seafood chefs I found in the capital city were just so-so.'

"I heard that you guys have opened a buffet restaurant, as long as you pay 10 cents for the ticket, you can eat whatever you want, is that true?" Highness Cheng asked.

Chen Xiao Mi explained helplessly, "We do have a buffet restaurant, but the ingredients we used at that restaurant are very common."

Highness Cheng nodded and said, "Of course, you need to control the cost, it's all-you-can-eat for 10 cents. Just be honest with me, are you guys losing money on that business?"

In Highness Cheng's opinion, no way would that business stay afloat. 10 cents for each ticket was beyond imagination.

Chen Xiao Mi didn't want to come across as smug, as a matter of fact, the buffet restaurant was doing great. During this period of time, Chen Xiao Cai was even considering opening a second buffet restaurant with a wider selection of dishes and a higher ticket price.

"To reply to Your Highness, we have organized a fleet, fishermen would hand in a certain percentage of seafood on a daily basis, so we are doing fine, the buffet restaurant can help reducing waste," Chen Xiao Mi said.

The fleet was established by Lu Lin, and Chen Xiao Mi was deliberately being ambiguous about it, Lu Lin was an official, he was not supposed to do that.

Highness Cheng nodded and said, "I see, I heard that after Lu Lin came here, he spent a lot of money building dormitories for the fishermen who don't have a house!"

Chen Xiao Mi smiled and said, "Yes, we are doing our best to offer a stable lifestyle to the fisherman."

The fishermen were all eager for a stable lifestyle, and a house was an essential part of it. Chen Xiao Mi and Lu Lin were happy to see more and more fishermen got married and settled down in the dormitory buildings.

…

Highness Cheng didn't stay in the County yamen this time. He booked the whole inn for 3 months.

The inn that Highness Cheng chose was opened by Chen Xiao Cai. Because it was a high-end inn, the vacancy rate had been quite low. Chen Xiao Cai was thrilled when he found out that Highness Cheng had booked the entire inn for three months.

The shopkeeper worked in the inn had no idea the elder man was Highness Cheng, Chen Xiao Cai just told him to treat the elder man with utmost respect.

Highness Cheng enjoyed his time in Sha County as fish getting to the water.

Chen Xiao Mi just showed Highness Cheng around in the first two days, and then he decided to let Highness Cheng do as he wished.

"Master, are you sure you are going to the buffet restaurant? " Highness Cheng's butler asked him with disbelief.

Highness Cheng nodded. He was just so curious about this all-you-can-eat restaurant for as little as 10 cents. However, Chen Xiao Mi said that they used cheap and common ingredients to control cost, he didn't insist on going there the first day.

Highness Cheng had been in the county for more than ten days now. He had tried all the high-end restaurants and how he couldn't wait to explore the buffet restaurant.

"Master, didn't Master Chen say that the ingredients are very common? Why do you still want to go?"

Highness Cheng was such a picky eater when they were back in the capital city. The butler didn't understand why His Highness was willing to lower himself to such degree.

Highness Cheng cast a glimpse at the butler unhappily and said, "If you don't want to go with me, just wait outside. I'll go in and take a look by myself."

"But, Your High… I mean, Master…"

Highness Cheng waved his hand impatiently, "Alright, just wait outside. I'll go in and take a look."

Highness Cheng walked in at a brisk pace, he handed 10 cents that he just got from the butler to a waiter and asked for a ticket.

Highness Cheng was dazzled by the selection he had for just as little as 10 cents. There were appetizers, seafood, soup and even desserts.

The restaurant looked very clean and well-maintained, the more Highness Cheng looked at it, the more upset he got. He felt unhappy that he had to pay so much money for the chef team he had at home while people in Sha County could enjoy such delicacies with just 10 cents.

Fish Cabin Restaurant

In the capital city.

Chen Xiao Mai held his face and said in confusion, "It's so strange. It's been a long time since Highness Cheng came to our house!"

Highness Cheng always invited himself to their house, which made Mai frown from time to time. However, Mai started to miss Highness Cheng now that he hadn't seen him for a while. Plus Highness Cheng was very generous and he would bring gifts every time he came.

Ji Yun An glanced at Chen Xiao Mai and said, "Highness Cheng is not in the capital city, you don't know that?"

Chen Xiao Mai was a little surprised. "Is that so? I haven't heard of it."

Ji Yun An smiled bitterly and said, "Yes!"

It was said that the trigger was the consort and the concubine had a dispute about whose turn it was to spend the night with Highness Cheng. Highness Cheng left the manor on the excuse of attending a banquet.

That night, the consort thought Highness Cheng spent the night with the concubine after he came back from the banquet, and the concubine thought Highness Cheng spent the night with the consort.

It wasn't until the next day that the two of them found that Highness Cheng wasn't home. And neither of them had any clue about Highness Cheng's whereabouts.

This wasn't the first time that the consort and the concubine fought for Highness's attention, the two ladies reported this to the emperor, blaming each other for Highness Cheng's runaway. However, the Emperor had heard enough of Highness Cheng's family affairs, he couldn't be bothered to give it any attention this time, he just comforted the two ladies by saying something like he was sure Highness Cheng would come back soon.

Chen Xiao Mai blinked and said, "I think Highness Cheng is in Fish Cabin County now."

Ji Yun An nodded, that was exactly what he thought as well. He knew Highness Cheng had long been considering visiting Lu Lin and his family.

Chen Xiao Mai tilted his head and said, "I also want to go visit Big Brother."

Ji Yun An said apologetically, "Sorry, you are staying in the capital city all because of me."

Chen Xiao Mai blinked and said, "No, don't say sorry, we are married now, I want to be wherever you are."

Chen Xiao Mai lowered his head and thought to himself, 'Husband and wife are supposed to be together. I occasionally misses Big Brother, but I'm sure I will miss Yun An all the time if I'm not with him.'

…

Lu Lin walked into the county yamen and saw Chen Xiao Cai waiting for him in the hall.

Chen Xiao Cai had moved out a while ago. Seeing Chen Xiao Cai at noon, Lu Lin was a little surprised, "Cai, is everything okay?"

Chen Xiao Cai held his chin and said, "Highness Cheng just went to the buffet restaurant."

Lu Lin nodded, "Oh, how come I'm not surprised, I know Highness Cheng isn't a snob like the young masters from the capital city we have met in Sha County!"

Chen Xiao Cai nodded. "Highness Cheng bought a ticket with 10 cents, but he left a 10-tale tip! No one in the restaurant knows who he is, they were all shocked. The shopkeeper rushed to my residence just now and reported it to me, I knew immediately it must be Highness Cheng according to the description."

Lu Lin's mouth twitched. 'His Highness is too generous, I appreciate his tips, but he better stop doing that just in case people figure out his true identity!'

"His Highness has been here for a while!" Chen Xiao Cai said that with a strange expression.

Lu Lin nodded and said, "Yeah!"

This time, he did not receive any letter from the consort or the concubine. However, Highness Cheng's butler had approached him several times, implying that Lu Lin should talk to His Highness and convince him to go back to the capital city.

Lu Lin understood where the butler was coming from, but he didn't think that he was in the position to say something His Highness didn't want to hear.

Lu Lin glanced at Chen Xiao Cai and said, "I remember you mentioned that His Highness booked one of your inns for three whole months, right?"

Chen Xiao Cai nodded and said, "Yeah, three whole months."

Lu Lin held his chin and said, "Hmm, I don't think His Highness will go back to the capital city any time soon. Ji Yun An said that His Highness left the manor without telling his consort or concubine."

Chen Xiao Cai chuckled and said, "Lin Ge, actually, it's good for our business that His Highness is staying for long."

Lu Lin nodded, "I know what you mean… but it's different this time, I'm worried what if His Highness enjoys his time here a bit too much and decides to extend his stay again and again now that the Emperor can't be bothered to write letters to rush him back."

…

Highness Cheng always managed to keep himself entertained in Fish Cabin County, he had even visited the dormitory building and had fun watching the women drying the seafood in the open space.

This day, His Highness asked Chen Xiao Cai to take him to the sea on the pilot ship.

Chen Xiao Cai was very against the idea, but he didn't have the guts to disobey His Highness.

"Captain Qin, who is this Master Cheng? He puts on such great airs." A fisherman asked.

"Yeah, he was just telling his servant that our boat is small! This boat! Small? I beg to differ!"

"Yeah! He said this boat reeks of fishy smell, and he said the boat is not pretty."

"Humph, this is a pilot boat for fishing! Of course it smells like fish!"

Qin Lang signaled the fishermen to keep it down and said, "This Master Cheng is a purchaser from the capital city, Second Master Chen told me he is very wealthy, let's treat him with utmost respect."

The fishermen nodded in agreement, "No wonder he is so picky, he is from the capital city, as a purchaser, he is a man of the world — he must have seen it all."

The consort and the concubine arrived at Lu Lin's county yamen when Highness Cheng was having fun on the sae.

Lu Lin didn't have much experience in dealing with women. Luckily, the two ladies didn't find fault with him and they left for the inn after some small talk with Lu Lin.

…

Highness Cheng decided to go back home after he saw the two ladies.

Chen Xiao Cai sat opposite Lu Lin and said, "His Highness is leaving soon."

Lu Lin said curiously, "Did you hear something?"

"His Highness are buying seafood in bulk, I think he must be doing that for his trip back."

Lu Lin nodded and said, "Great observation, and I think it's time we started restock, chances are more and more people will place more orders with His Highness's promotion after he goes back to the capital city."

Chen Xiao Cai nodded, the same thing happened when they were in Sha County, he firmly believed more and more orders were coming soon.

"Lin Ge, I'm considering opening a high-end buffet restaurant soon," Chen Xiao Cai said excitedly.

The all-you-can-eat-for-10-cents buffet restaurant was a hit. And recently, the people in Fish Cabin County were earning more money, they were willing to go to the restaurants more often and spend more money on gatherings.

The shopkeeper had suggested several times that a high-end buffet restaurant was a great idea.

Lu Lin nodded and said, "Sounds great, you have my full support, Cai."

Highness Cheng stayed for a few more days after the two ladies arrived in Fish Cabin County. Highness Cheng travelled light when he came here, but he bought several carriages to transport the stuff he bought on the way back.

All the shop owners loved this generous 'Master Cheng' who never haggled.

Just as Lu Lin had expected, His Highness started to send seafood presents to his friends right after he went back home. And it worked, more and more people were planning to visit Fish Cabin County.

As the saying goes, "It is better to travel ten thousand miles than to read ten thousand books."

It was the custom in the capital city that the young scholars would do a 'travel for study' program.

After the name of Fish Cabin County became more and more well-known, many young scholars decided to go there this year.

…

Chen Xiao Cai built a restaurant by the seaside where you could enjoy the sea view by the stairs on the second floor.

After the restaurant was built, it attracted quite a few tourists.

Ji Yun An's friend Wei Jiyu sat in the restaurant while enjoying the sea breezes, "Second Young Master Chen is such a genius."

Su Nan, a friend who came to Fish Cabin County together with Wei Jiyu, smiled and said, "I heard that it was Magistrate Lu's idea to build this restaurant."

"Really? The hot springs resort in Sha County seemed to be Magistrate Lu's idea as well."

A servant knocked on the door with a plate of roasted oyster with garlic in hand now.

Wei Jiyu had a taste. Oysters had been popular in the capital city for a while now. Both men and women had found they were beneficial to their well-being.

This was the first time that Wei Jiyu had the chance to try the fresh oyster, he was so excited.

Highness Cheng was the No.1 ambassador of Fish Cabin County tourism, he kept telling the young masters and the young scholars in the capital city that it was worth the trip to just try the different seafoods.

And now there were a lot of purchasers from the capital city who made a living by transporting seafoods from Fish Cabin County and selling them in the capital city.

Wei Jiyu held his chin and sighed in his heart. He felt that Lu Lin was something different. He just had the charm to bring life to the place he went, and people around him would benefit from that as well.

The Finale

There were already five Fleet Dormitories now, and most rooms were bought by the fishermen.

The seafood of Fish Cabin County was sold everywhere, and the fishermen all made a decent amount of money from it. To the fishermen, three taels of silver was nothing.

Some of them had even invested properties in town.

This fishermen's dormitory was closer to work. Although some of them had invested properties somewhere else, they were still living in the dormitory.

The fishermen would always hold gatherings to talk about work and to promote friendships.

They would always go to the restaurants in town for the gatherings, and their favorite was still the buffet restaurant.

"Zhou An, I heard that your wife is working at the fancy restaurant now?"

Zhou An nodded, "Yeah, he is loving it!"

"I heard that restaurant was very pricy, the average price for a dish is like 30 cents or so!"

Zhou An nodded and said, "Although it's expensive, there are still many customers."

"It is said that there are a lot of young masters from the capital city frequenting the restaurant."

Zhou An nodded and said, "Yeah! Second Master Chen said that young masters from the capital city don't mind spending money as long as the restaurant has a good atmosphere and vibe. And don't ask me what a vibe is."

"These people like to have their meals in the restaurant, then they will hop on the tourist boats for some sea breezes. Do you know that the boat ticket is sold for one tale of silver?"

"So expensive, and people are still paying for that?"

"The tourist boats might not be practical for fishing, but they are very beautiful, so yeah, they are very popular among the tourists."

…

Time passed by quickly, Lu Lin's fleet and seafood center both had grown over the past three years, and soon it marked Lu Lin's first tenure in Fish Cabin County, and Lu Lin chose to retain his post.

Knowing that Lu Lin chose to stay for one more tenure, the people in Fish Cabin County were very happy.

The members held a celebration for Lu Lin after they found out that Lu Lin was staying for three more years.

Lu Lin found that the public seemed to approve of him. He felt fully satisfied and contented that the public all spoke highly of him.

Yuan Bao was a teenager now, he had been helping out in Chen Xiao Cai's restaurants, and now he was able to work independently.

Lu Lin sent Dash to school. Dash always got good results, everything seemed to be on the right track.

Yuan Bao stood on the boat, he looked at the waves and he was fired with boundless enthusiasm in the heart.

Over the past few years, Yuan Bao had done a few successful businesses, and he loved ocean carriage business the best, he was no stranger to going to the sea.

Yuan Ba was as fierce as Chen Xiao Mi. The people in the fleet initially looked down on this boy, but as time went by, they started to admire this valiant fighter.

…

The fisherman's dormitory.

"Old Li, you've bought a house!" A fisherman asked the fisherman surnamed Li.

The fisherman surnamed Li nodded and said, "Yeah! I bought one in town."

In the past few years, all kinds of seafood had been sold very well. The fishermen's standard of living had improved significantly. Many of them bought a room at the dormitory building and invested in a property in the village or town.

"Old Li, is it because your son is going to get married soon?"

Old Li nodded and said, "That's exactly the case."

A few years ago, fishermen had a hard time getting married. As soon as the matchmaker heard that it was a fisherman, she would frown. However, it was different now. The young fishermen were the most popular.

Sometimes, there were girls from the villages who came to check out the fishermen on the excuse of buying fish.

Chen Xiao Cai had organized an elite fishermen team, the team specialized in working on the pilot ship. The members in the elite team were all great swimmers and great at fishing.

They enjoyed excellent perks, they would have great wages and holiday presents as well.

All fishermen aimed to enter the elite team. The young members in the elite team were all as popular as hot cake. Old Li's son was one of them, several matchmakers had approached him as soon as he made it to the elite team.

Old Li smiled and asked, "This is all thanks to Magistrate Lu! A few years ago, I can't imagine my son will get married so smoothly."

A few years ago, Old Li was worried whether his son would be a bachelor forever. Old Li never imagined that girls would fight with each other to marry his son.

Several fishermen all nodded, they completely agree that they needed to thank Magistrate Lu for his great leadership.

In the past few years, the fishermen all had earned some money. There were quite a few villagers around here who had learned fishing as well.

"Old Li, where are you going to hold your son's wedding banquet?"

Old Li smiled and said, "The buffet restaurant of course."

The fishermen smiled and said, "Excellent choice."

It was quite troublesome to prepare a wedding banquet, you needed to prepare tables, chairs, cutleries and such. They used to do it in a simple manner to avoid trouble until they found that they could have the banquet in the restaurant, all they needed to do was to pay for the meal tickets. 10 cents for a ticket was very affordable.

Chen Xiao Cai offered to give the fishermen who held wedding banquets in his restaurants some discount, the fishermen all appreciated that, and more and more fishermen chose to do that.

…

In the fancy restaurant, many people were drinking tea and chatting.

This fancy restaurant was one of the most popular sites for the tourists who came for the seafood and ocean view.

The business of this restaurant wasn't that great when it first opened, but thanks to Highness Cheng's promotion, the business had become better and better.

Now the restaurant had become a 'must-go' for the young masters who traveled to Fish Cabin County, they would chant poetry and paint pictures here. The restaurant had prepared writing brushes, ink sticks, paper and inkstones for the young masters, and the best works would be displayed in the restaurant.

In the past few years, the size of the restaurant has been expanding.

Lu Lin built a towered ship, this towered ship had cost him more money than the pilot ship, and it wasn't for fishing, it was just made for tourists.

Although the fishermen all found the towered ship impractical, this ship had actually brought a huge amount of income to Lu Lin.

…

Chen Xiao Mai stood in the courtyard, craning his head with excitement.

Ji Yun An looked at Chen Xiao Mai and said, "Don't worry. They will be here soon."

Chen Xiao Mai nodded and said, "I know, but I can't help it."

After Ji Yun An ranked the third in the national civil examinations, Chen Xiao Mai spent most of his time in the capital city with Ji Yun An for his official career.

Chen Xiao Cai and Yuan Bao wrote them a letter days ago saying they were coming to the capital city for a visit, and Chen Xiao Mai had been waiting impatiently since he got the letter.

"How's your little brother doing?"

Ji Yun An pouted, "Who cares?"

Chen Xiao Mai nodded and said, "Yes, I don't like him either, I don't actually care how he is doing."

For the past few years, Ji Yun An had a meteoric rise in his career, but his father, Zhao Heng, was not as lucky. Maybe it was because Ji Yun An had enjoyed unhindered promotion, Zhao Heng had been very strict towards Ji Yun An's half-brother Zhao Qinghe.

Zhao Qinghe hated it the most when he was compared to Ji Yun An. As time went by, there has been piled-up grievances.

Zhao Qinghe always went out to avoid conflicts with his father.

Zhao Qinghe might not be very good at studying, but he had inherited his parents' good looks, and he was quite popular. Just a couple days ago, Zhao Qinghe had a fight with the Director of the Board of Rites' son over a prostitute, he had broken the other party's leg.

The news was so big that it had reached the Emperor's ears that Zhao Qinghe had already been detained.

For the sake of this son, Zhao Heng had been begging everyone he knew, he had even asked Ji Yun An for help, and Ji Yun An ignored Zhao Heng.

As a matter of fact, this matter was related to Ji Yun An.

Zhao Qinghe was very dissatisfied that his father thought he was inferior to Ji Yun An. He was wild for revenge, so he had been spreading rumor that the reason why Ji Yun An got promotions was because Chen Xiao Mai had cheated on him with Highness Cheng, and Highness Cheng felt sorry, so he promoted Ji Yun An as compensation.

As the rumor reached Ji Yun An's ears, Ji Yun An was furious. Ji Yun An deliberately designed Zhao Qinghe to make this big mistake.

The Director of the Board of Rites' son was the only son in the family, Zhao Heng's official position was not high enough to smooth this over. Zhao Qinghe would suffer for sure this time. Zhao Qinghe was Liu Qingmei's life. If Zhao Qinghe suffered, that meant Liu Qingmei would suffer as well.

…

Lu Lin sat in the courtyard while enjoying a drink with Chen Xiao Mi.

Lu Lin sighed, "In the blink of an eye, it has been so many years!"

Chen Xiao Mi nodded, "Yeah! Over ten years already."

Lu Lin took a sip of the drink and said, "It's a pity that this is the last bottle of Sprite."

Lu Lin's alcohol tolerance was not very good. He used to like drinking red wine mixed with Sprite, but there was only a limited number of Sprite in his convenience store.

Chen Xiao Mi blinked and said, "Such a magical drink, this Sprite, it's a shame you can't drink it anymore."

Chen Xiao Mi blinked and didn't understand why this drink made his tongue feel numb. Every time Chen Xiao Mi drank it, he felt magical, "Do you know what ingredient this is?"

Lu Lin frowned, "I only know the basic ingredients, but I don't have the right machine to make it."

After more than ten years of consumption, the stuff in the convenience store had become lesser and lesser, the store had become a warehouse to stock the stuff in the time and space. Lu Lin suddenly realized that he had become more and more integrated into this time and era.

Chen Xiao Mi looked at Lu Lin and blushed, "I often thought about when we first got married recently."

Lu Lin tilted his head. "What happened when we first got married? Haha, it was embarrassing, I was carried to your house on a piece of door plank."

Chen Xiao Mi felt a little dazed under the influence of alcohol, "I'm so grateful that it's you who I married!"

Chen Xiao Mi felt that God indeed had treated him kindly whenever he thought he married Lu Lin.

Lu Lin smiled, he grabbed Chen Xiao Mi's hand and smiled, "Maybe I came to this world because of you."

Afterword

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