"Pull it up!" Han Ruochen roared when she saw that the net was being dragged down.

As the handle of the net groaned, a flash of pure white and blinding light broke through the surface. It was a snow-skin grouper, a legendary deep-sea variant that looked like it had been carved from marble. Han Ruochen took a deep look at the snow-skin grouper; it must be more than sixty jin. She was not a skilled fisherman, but she knew that the flesh of this fish was prized by the elites in the city, for this flesh was translucent and jelly-like in texture.

"It’s a snow skin grouper!" Tong Zhaodi’s eyes turned as wide as saucers as she looked at the thrashing giant in the fishnet. It was a good thing that she was strong enough to hold it up, or else they would have lost it for good. "This...this fish alone can be sold for eight hundred yuan!"

Han Ruochen’s eyes darkened. It seemed like the other prey that she had her eyes on had escaped; however, she was not disappointed. She slowly turned the control of the boat and steered it towards the big dragon reef that was quite far from the shore. Her eyes were fixated on the adjusting frequency of the scanner. From the looks of it, this one was probably a static treasure. One that would not swim away.

[Target identified: Sunken limestone crevice. High Calcium Signature Species detected: Imperial Spiny Lobsters.]

When Han Ruochen heard the notification, she knew that this was a good thing. A sigh of relief escaped her lips when she thought about how she was smart enough to bring modified crab cages with her or else she was worried that she would have lost this treasure.

"Zhaodi, apply the paste made from earthworm and chiton on the crab cages." Han Ruochen pulled a lever and brought the boat to a rest. She turned to look at Tong Zhaodi and walked out of the small space where she was sitting while steering the boat.

In the space behind her, Tong Zhaodi was already taking out the crab cages that they had brought with them. Han Ruochen walked over and started helping out with the cages. The two of them neatly coated six or seven cages and then attached them to the custom-built steel winch.

"What now?" Tong Zhaodi asked as she watched the winch getting lower and lower. With a plop, the crab cages disappeared under the surface of the water.

"Now we wait." Han Ruochen glanced at the water that had returned to its former calm self. She turned to look at Tong Zhaodi and said to her, "Let’s go; we will eat our lunch while waiting for the cages to be filled."

Tong Zhaodi frowned when she heard Han Ruochen’s response; she wondered what the woman was talking about. The crab cages would take more than an entire night to fill. Could they take the crab cages out so quickly? However, she did not say anything as she believed Han Ruochen. She knew that Han Ruochen would never do something without a reason. Since she was determined to take the crab cages out once they finished eating lunch, she might have her own reasons.

So she simply nodded and followed Han Ruochen. The two women knew that they would not be able to catch anything good without going far from the shore, so they brought their lunches with them.

However,

"Is that all you have?" Han Ruochen looked at the seaweed soup that was floating inside Tong Zhaodi’s lunchbox and fell silent. There were a bunch of things that she wanted to say, but at the same time, she had no idea where to begin. She knew that even if Tong Zhaodi was not giving her entire salary to the Tong family, she was still handing them twenty yuan. While twenty yuan were not much when compared to hundred yuan that Han Ruochen gave to Tong Zhaodi, every time they went on a hunt, they were a lot, considering the entire Tong family’s earnings might not be comparable to Tong Zhaodi’s. But they were still not giving her enough food?

When Tong Zhaodi heard Han Ruochen’s question, she could only smile politely. It was not that she did not fight for food with her mother, but it was impossible to win against the members of the Tong family. Especially her mother, who hated her to the core. When she heard that Tong Zhaodi wanted to take lunch with her, she was clearly dissatisfied. According to her, Han Ruochen was the one who was hiring Han Ruochen to work for her. Since that was the case, she should be the one arranging the meals for Tong Zhaodi.

It was only when Tong Zhaodi reminded her mother that Han Ruochen gave her twenty yuan, which was higher than even a factory worker’s, that her mother gave her this seaweed soup. She even told her to bring some back, as she could heat it up and give it to her brother, who was growing up.

"That’s all my family cooked today."

Though Han Ruochen knew that the woman was lying, there was nothing she could say to her. She simply sighed and then said to her, "Here, eat some of the shredded pork noodles."

Tong Zhaodi went red in the face. She shook her head and said to Han Ruochen, "There is no need." She had always been a bit touchy when she thought about how Han Ruochen had always been helping her. She had never been able to get much help from Han Ruochen, but she had received a lot of help from Han Ruochen. Though her family wanted her to take more advantage of Han Ruochen, she could not do that. Her guilty conscience alone would not allow her to do it.

"Take it." Han Ruochen gave Tong Zhaodi half of her shredded pork noodles and said to her, "I have enough." Her father was worried that she wouldn’t have enough to eat, so he even packed some of the pork knuckles for her. She had more than enough food to keep her full till the evening.