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墨書 Inktalez
Tilting her head, Qing Luan watched the boat gradually approaching the dock. After a moment of thought, she turned to Qin'er and said, "You all go ahead first. Return home for now; I’ll take a look..." Her keen intuition told her that there was definitely an opportunity here. Money was something everyone could use more of, so she had no intention of letting this chance slip away.
Besides, they needed to eat and live; the money would eventually run out. It wasn't in her nature to sit idly by and waste resources; it was better to earn more silver.
"Yes!" Although Qin'er no longer called her 'Miss,' the respect in her tone was unmistakable.
Baskets of fish were being unloaded from the boat, allowing Qing Luan to see clearly from her elevated position. There were Ribbonfish, Water Lanterns, Cuttlefish, Red Shrimp, crabs, and Yellow Croaker... Seeing these fish reminded Qing Luan of a teacher from her past life who had once laughed and told them that in the old days, one could simply dip a basin into the sea and catch fish without effort; sometimes the fish would even jump right in. Now, however, not even a small fish could be seen.
In comparison to that situation, Qing Luan felt a sense of nostalgia.
"This Dragon Head Fish spoils easily and isn’t tasty; don’t take it with you," Qing Luan snapped back to reality upon hearing their conversation. She saw a stocky middle-aged man with dark skin carefully selecting the Water Lanterns while tossing the Red Shrimp and crabs into another basket.
"Don’t take too many Ribbonfish either; if they don’t sell, carrying them back and forth will be too tiring," he advised, clearly concerned for his wife as he meticulously instructed her on what to do.
Qing Luan observed attentively, understanding that they referred to the Water Lanterns as Dragon Head Fish while the Ribbonfish kept its name. As for the shrimp and crabs, there wasn’t much distinction; they were all tossed together.
The busy dock was filled with people, each focused on their own tasks, eager to make a profit before the storm arrived—there wasn’t even time for greetings.
Once the women carrying baskets had left, Qing Luan leisurely strolled over to the man who had been so attentive to his wife. Tilting her head, she looked at the Dragon Head Fish in his basket and softly asked, "Uncle, can you sell me this fish?"
The busy man turned around with a smile upon hearing someone wanted to buy fish. However, when he saw a slightly tanned child with delicate features dressed in coarse cloth—different from the villagers—he curiously asked, "Whose child are you? I’m Old Ma; I don’t think I’ve seen you before."
"I..." Qing Luan began to introduce herself but was interrupted by a robust woman with dark skin.
"Old Ma, you certainly haven't seen her before. She just moved in and bought the house at the Village Entrance, Old Jin's House. There are four siblings, and not a single adult," the woman said, her imagination running wild. "She looks pitiful; I bet she's just craving some fish. Old Ma, why not give her a few?"
Upon hearing the woman's presumptuous words, Qing Luan couldn't help but twitch her lips in silence. However, Old Ma took it seriously and boisterously said, "Little one, if you want to eat fish, just say so! Living here makes you one of us in the village. No need to be polite. Just tell Uncle what kind of fish you want, and I'll get it for you."
A black line appeared on her forehead as she lowered her head and chuckled bitterly. Then she looked up at the kind-hearted uncle before her and softly yet firmly said, "Uncle, I want to buy Dragon Head Fish. I have a few copper coins; if you sell it to me, then I'll take it." Her determined gaze momentarily stunned Old Ma.
"This Dragon Head Fish isn't worth much. We can't finish it anyway and end up throwing it away," Old Ma replied awkwardly. If it were any other fish, he wouldn't mind accepting a few copper coins, but how could he bring himself to charge for this one?
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