Chapter 105: The Catch Gets Stolen

September 19, 2023

Author: Zi Tao

If she likes him, why did she turn down his proposal?

And even told others she didn’t like pretty boys like him?

Before, with Feng Chunhua stirring up trouble, Chu Xuan’s rejection could be seen as her thinking of his best interests.

But now, Feng Chunhua couldn’t influence Chu Xuan anymore.

If Chu Xuan liked him, she could just say so.

Could it be that she’s embarrassed because she rejected him before?

No, that can’t be it! Chu Xuan once said she’d never marry in this lifetime.

He must have been overthinking it.

Who would refuse to marry someone they liked?

Chu Xuan probably doesn’t like him—she just cares about him like a friend.

With this conclusion, Mu Chenze stopped dwelling on it.

When he got home, his big brother told him there was a pot of hot water boiling in the kitchen, told him to wash up and change into clean clothes, eat a bit of supper, and then go rest.

Even though his brother didn’t say he’d waited up for him, Mu Chenze could still feel the warmth of family.

Because usually, his brother would have been asleep by now.

It was only out of worry and care that his brother waited in the kitchen and made him a late-night snack.

He didn’t hear his brother whispering to his sister-in-law after returning to their room.

“I feel like Xiao Ze’s acting weird tonight. As soon as he came in, he said he forgot something in the truck and ran right back out. Came back empty-handed too. When has he ever been forgetful? And I think I heard a girl’s voice talking to him, but I’m not sure.”

Fu Qing mumbled sleepily, “Let’s just sleep, talk about it tomorrow.”

Mu Chenfu had no choice but to drop it.

At this moment, Chu Xuan returned home and had just changed into clean clothes.

Even though she’d just gone out and dirtied her clothes again, and was still a little scared, she didn’t regret going out.

She quickly wiped herself down, went back to her room, closed the door, and lay down.

Soon, she drifted off to sleep.

Around 3 a.m., Chu Xuan was jolted awake by the terrifying sound of wind slamming against the doors and windows.

The typhoon had circled back, bringing torrential rain.

On this day in her previous life, the typhoon didn’t bring fish right to her doorstep, but there was plenty of good stuff on the village beach.

She planned to sleep a little longer and go beachcombing after the typhoon passed.

At six in the morning, Chu Xuan woke up again.

Outside, the wind and rain had eased a bit, but it was still stormy.

Normally, not many people would go beachcombing in such terrible weather, but after yesterday’s windfall, there’d definitely be plenty of risk-takers.

Chu Xuan skipped breakfast, told her little brother she was heading out, changed into the clothes drying by the stove, put on her raincoat, rain pants, and boots, grabbed her beachcombing gear, and set out.

The big tree outside her house was still standing. The village committee had arranged for its branches to be trimmed ahead of time, so it had no trouble surviving this year’s typhoon season.

There were no neighbors nearby, so she couldn’t see any collapsed houses, but she’d seen it in her previous life.

Back then, over a dozen houses in the village had collapsed.

This time, she’d already warned Grandpa Wang.

Grandpa Wang had made preparations in advance, so there shouldn’t be any casualties. As for the houses, those that could be reinforced had been, so there definitely wouldn’t be as many collapses as last time.

Chu Xuan wasn’t in charge, but she’d done her duty by warning them. The rest wasn’t her responsibility, nor did she have the energy to care.

When she reached the village beach, the sight before her dazzled her eyes.

Seafood was scattered everywhere, but the most eye-catching were a dozen or so big fish flopping on the sand, struggling to get back to the sea.

Chu Xuan was the first to arrive, so she grabbed as many as she could.

She had just stuffed three black carp weighing over ten jin each and two Spanish mackerel weighing over twenty jin into her basket when the villagers started arriving.

Seeing all the good stuff on the beach, everyone was excited—whoever grabbed it first got to keep it.

Chu Xuan snatched up three octopuses weighing five or six jin each, and over a dozen big sea snails. Just as she was about to check the rocks for more, a huge wave crashed in. Luckily, she dodged in time and wasn’t swept away.

A few villagers weren’t so lucky and got knocked onto the sand.

At least they weren’t swept into the sea.

Beachcombing in such stormy weather was definitely risky.

Chu Xuan decided she’d gotten enough and stopped.

She shouldered her catch and headed back to shore. Since Mu Chenze wasn’t buying seafood today, she planned to sell it to Li Tong’s family.

Suddenly, someone shouted, “Gao Meijuan’s been swept into the sea! Help!”

Chu Xuan looked and saw someone in the water, but couldn’t tell if it was Gao Meijuan.

She didn’t have time to worry about her catch—she set down her basket, grabbed the spare rope inside, and ran toward the person in the water.

As she got closer, she saw it wasn’t Gao Meijuan at all—it was Liu Dapeng.

No time to wonder who’d shouted the false alarm—saving him was more important.

She threw the rope to Liu Dapeng.

A few others rushed over to help.

In the chaos, Liu Dapeng finally managed to grab the rope, and Chu Xuan and the others pulled him back together.

Once he was safe, Liu Dapeng burst into tears. “Wuwu… Someone pushed me while fighting over fish! Thank you for saving me!”

Chu Xuan remembered that in her previous life, Liu Dapeng hadn’t been pushed or swept into the sea. Back then, his house had collapsed, and he was too busy finding shelter to risk beachcombing.

This time, Liu Dapeng and his mother had been relocated to the village office, so he had the energy to come beachcombing.

Chu Xuan rubbed her forehead, feeling a headache. She put away the rope, didn’t say anything to Liu Dapeng, and headed back to shore.

Huh? Where’s my basket? Where’s my catch? Where’s my beachcombing gear?

She shouted, “Who helped me look after my basket, my catch, and my tools? I really need to thank them!”

She was giving the thief a way out—if they returned it, she wouldn’t make a fuss. If not, she’d deal with it then.

At the same time, she tried to recall if anyone had stolen things on this day in her previous life.

She really couldn’t remember.

So she tried to remember the voice that had tricked her into rescuing someone.

It was a woman’s voice.

It sounded familiar.

After thinking it over, she realized—it was Qi Hong.

Chu Xuan searched the crowd for Qi Hong.

Qi Hong looked smug and gloating.

Ever since Qiu Daguang had taken the fall and run off, Qi Hong had kept a low profile, but today’s temptation was too much—she couldn’t resist.

Chu Xuan looked at the basket on Qi Hong’s back. It wasn’t hers, but the small shovel inside had a mark—her own.

Qi Hong felt a chill as Chu Xuan stared at her.

She tried to back away quietly.

But Chu Xuan quickly stepped forward and blocked her. “Qi Hong, thank you for looking after my catch and my tools. Where did you put my basket?”

At the same time, she grabbed Qi Hong’s basket.

Qi Hong stiffened her neck and refused to admit it. “This is my basket. Everything inside is what I picked up.”

“But my name is carved on the shovel! Still not admitting it?”

Reminded by Chu Xuan, Qi Hong immediately put down the basket and took out the shovel to check.

Sure enough, the wooden handle had the character “Xuan” carved on it.

She immediately changed her tune. “I must have picked up the wrong one! I’ll give it back to you!”

She shoved it into Chu Xuan’s hands, and didn’t forget to shout to the crowd, “Who took my shovel? Give it back to me!”

Chu Xuan looked inside the basket. It was full of her own catch and beachcombing tools—nothing missing.

“Qi Hong, don’t play the thief crying ‘Stop thief!’ You stole my catch and my tools.”

She’d given her a way out, but Qi Hong refused to take it—so don’t blame her for tearing off the mask.

Qi Hong was stubborn. “I didn’t! You’re framing me! I’ll report you! None of these fish have your name on them! As for the other tools…”

At this point, she noticed that every tool had the character “Xuan” carved somewhere on it.

So she changed her story. “Fine! I admit the tools are yours—I picked them up by the shore. But the fish are definitely mine! My basket has my name—Qi Hong—carved on it!”

Just then, Fu Qing brought over a basket. “Xiao Xuan, I found this nearby. Your name’s carved on it, but it’s empty.”

Chu Xuan thanked Fu Qing with a smile. “Of course it’s empty—Qi Hong stole everything, so how could it not be?”

Qi Hong flopped to the ground, not caring about the rain or mud. “I didn’t steal! Heaven, open your eyes and strike down whoever’s falsely accusing me!”"