Super Zoo-Chapter 371 - 367: Fishing Season Begins
The ingredients were ready, but Ding Jing began to worry again.
Experience exclusive tales on novelbuddy
How should she approach Hong Feifei about this matter?
Previously, she had not held much hope that Su Ming would be able to gather the ingredients, merely treating it as a shot in the dark, so she had not thought too deeply about what would follow. Unexpectedly, Su Ming had indeed managed to assemble the ingredients so quickly.
No one knew better than Ding Jing herself the origin of this recipe. No matter what, as long as the dish was involved, Hong Feifei could definitely guess that Ding Jing was behind it, and she might not accept their goodwill.
"Mr. Ding, you’re worried because you care," Su Ming chuckled. Ding Jing was considered a strong woman in Yangchuan City, yet she was stumped by such a trivial matter. Su Ming didn’t view this as a ’problem’ at all.
Ding Jing was startled and asked, "Do you have a way?"
"Just speak honestly." Su Ming briefly shared his idea with Ding Jing. After listening, she thought for a moment, and as if asking Su Ming or muttering to herself in resignation, said, "It seems like there is no other way. Let’s do as you say. Whether she agrees or not, we’ll leave it up to fate."
Ding Jing had little confidence, but Su Ming, on the contrary, was almost certain—about eighty or ninety percent sure.
When they visited the hospital again, from the moment they entered the ward until Su Ming left, the whole process did not exceed fifteen minutes. Just as Su Ming had predicted, Hong Feifei hesitated only briefly before readily agreeing.
Ding Jing was uneasy in the hotel; Su Ming had been gone for less than half an hour when the telephone rang. Her heart skipped a beat, and she asked subconsciously, "She didn’t agree?" A call in such a short time, Ding Jing felt, could only mean one thing: Hong Feifei had refused outright, without even giving Su Ming a chance to explain.
"She agreed, and not just that, she was so moved she was on the verge of tears," Su Ming said over the phone, his tone light.
"That’s good, that’s good," Ding Jing sighed with relief. She then asked with a mix of anticipation and anxiety, "Does she... know that I provided the recipe?"
"She could probably guess it, she’s not dumb. But it wasn’t brought up explicitly," Su Ming said with a laugh.
On the other end of the phone, Ding Jing fell silent for a few seconds before letting out a long sigh, "Mr. Su, it seems you men understand women’s hearts better."
The most uptodat𝓮 n𝒐vels are published on freёnovelkiss.com.
"This has nothing to do with gender," Su Ming said, not taking it seriously. He had never thought that Hong Feifei would refuse; Ding Jing was too emotionally involved and too anxious, which is why she had overthought the situation.
When Su Ming went to the ward, he told Hong Feifei directly that he had a recipe and the ingredients ready and asked if she was willing to showcase her culinary skills once again to reclaim her lost honor.
Upon seeing the recipe, Hong Feifei’s expression changed instantly, and her first question to Su Ming was where the recipe came from.
Su Ming did not mention Ding Jing at all, simply stating vaguely that it was from a friend.
Both knew the real provenance of the recipe; Hong Feifei was no fool to believe that some casual friend of Su Ming’s was privy to the secret formula of Hong Family Cuisine. By not addressing it directly, it was simply a way to save face for Hong Feifei.
The logic was simple. On one hand, there was Hong Feifei’s personal reputation in the culinary industry, and on the other, the 300-year-old brand of the Hong Family. Then, there were personal grievances. As long as Hong Feifei had any sense, she would know which to choose. Besides, there was the thin veil of pretense using that non-existent ’friend’ to avoid embarrassment for both parties.
As expected, after a brief hesitation, Hong Feifei begrudgingly agreed; though she didn’t cry, her eyes rimmed slightly red.
Throughout the conversation, Su Ming didn’t even mention what he wanted in return after the deed was done, and Hong Feifei did not bring it up either. Su Ming’s original intention in seeking out Hong Feifei was to hire her as a head chef, and now that she owed him such a huge favor, it was an unspoken understanding between them, essentially giving Hong Feifei a way to save face. Especially since she had rejected Su Ming that morning; changing her tune within a day would be too embarrassing otherwise.
Ding Jing hadn’t expected Su Ming, so young, to be so composed and was inwardly impressed, saying, "Then I congratulate you, for finding a top-notch chef."
Su Ming let out a chuckle, "Congratulations to both of us."
Ding Jing was startled, half-joking, half-serious, "From now on, Xiankelai has another competitor. What’s there to congratulate me for?"
"Her willingness to make the dish can be seen, from a different angle, as accepting your goodwill. Shouldn’t I congratulate you?" Su Ming countered.
Ding Jing hadn’t thought in that direction initially, but Su Ming’s reminder seemed to make sense. Since Hong Feifei could guess that the menu wasn’t from any ’friend’ but from her, yet was still willing to accept it and cook the divine meat, it showed that, deep down, Hong Feifei didn’t really hate her.
But what did that amount to? After an initial joy, Ding Jing’s heart sank even deeper. Perhaps she would have felt better if Hong Feifei truly hated her.
"Mr. Ding, are you okay?" Su Ming asked, noticing the sudden silence on the other end of the phone.
"Oh, oh, it’s nothing, it’s nothing..." Ding Jing took a moment to compose herself, then hesitated to speak, "Su, do you have time right now?"
Men tend to keep their troubles to themselves, while women usually look for someone to talk to. Even a strong woman like Ding Jing was no exception. Given her situation with Hong Feifei, she could not confide in her friends. Encountering Suming, a man who seemed to understand women, she subconsciously wanted to chat with him.
Su? Suming on the other end of the phone was startled, even the way she addressed him had changed. What did that mean?
If she changes, I’ll change. He asked, "Sister Ding, is there something you need?"
Ding Jing was indecisive for a while and finally said, "Uh, never mind, Mr. Su. Please go on with your work. We’ll talk another day."
Having said that, she hurriedly hung up the phone.
"Ah, the foolish boys and girls of the world, working at high noon..." Suming shrugged and put away his phone.
"Brother-in-law, what are you muttering about? I know, working at high noon, had a daughter named Ziyan!" Nangong Huang mumbled with a big chunk of fish in his mouth, his words slurred.
"Do you have any culture? Did all your schooling go to the dogs?" Suming knocked on Nangong Huang’s head with his chopsticks. "Ziyan’s mother is Zhao Xianglu!"
Zhao Yun listened to the two of them talking nonsense on the side and shook his head helplessly. However, it was normal for men to chat about these random things when together. He was in a good mood that day, so he languidly said, "Then let me ask you an eternal riddle, who is Ziyan’s father?"
Suming and Nangong Huang rolled their eyes in unison and said in chorus, "You’re so boring!"
Zhao Yun: "..."
The night passed without incident at the hotel, with Hong Feifei’s battle to save face set for three days later. Suming had two days to himself, and the next morning at 5:30, just as dawn began to break, he rose early and joined Zhao Yun, Nangong Huang, and Su Meng at the riverside docks of Huayin County.
Dozens of fishing boats of various sizes were lined up along the dock, some already had their engines running, stirring the gurgling river water as they slowly left the dock, heading towards the Yangtze River. Occasionally, a few waterbirds skimmed across the river’s surface at low altitude, their clear cries echoing under the distant morning sun.
The nearly three-kilometer-wide river, standing by its edge, one could hardly see the opposite bank, only a distant and vague horizon line. From this angle, apart from the yellowish color of the water, there was little difference from the sea.
Suming couldn’t help but think, a river that’s five to six li wide gives one a feeling of endlessness. He wondered what kind of grand scene the hundred-li-wide Tongtian River in ’Journey to the West’ must be.
Gu had arrived even earlier than Suming and his group, already standing far away on a diesel-powered boat named ’Huajiang Fishery 2389’, waving at Suming from afar.
Suming and the others walked along the river embankment towards Gu’s direction. Along the way, they encountered several familiar fishermen, seemingly encountered at Gu’s house, who all waved at Suming from their boats. Suming, unable to recall their names, just smiled and waved back.
After a few dozen meters, they reached Gu’s boat. They boarded the fishing vessel via the gangplank. The boat was about fifteen meters long and just over three meters wide, with the captain’s cabin above the fish hold and fishing nets spread out to dry around the deck. Just outside the captain’s room, there was a small stove, seemingly for cooking and boiling soup.
Gu was considered a relatively well-off fisherman; at least a third of the fishermen in Huayin County were without homes, living on the water, their boats serving as their entire world.
"Hey, this big boat is nothing but a money pit," Gu said with a wave of his hand and a smile. "Setting out on the river, if you’re lucky, you can make a little bit of money. If not, you can’t even earn back the cost of the fuel. But just leaving it here, well, I can’t bear to do that either."
Zhao Yun pulled out his big sea fishing rod piece by piece, threading the thick fishing line, strong enough to strangle a bull, through the loops on the rod. While doing so, he said, "Gu, stop playing poor. With orders from the zoo, you’ve got a guaranteed income rain or shine. If you catch fish, that’s a bonus; if not, treat it as taking your big customers out for a tour of the river."
"I think it’s your fishing rod that’s dying to get wet!" Suming laughed. Zhao Yun had brought a big bag full of fishing rods, mostly sea rods, and now everyone in the group had one in hand.
Gu poked his head out from the pilothouse, "All right then, let’s set off!"
Whoo... The boat’s horn blared longingly as Gu’s fishing vessel, backing up like a car in reverse, slowly retreated. The propeller churned up large clusters of bubbles, and once the boat had cleared the line of vessels along the shore, Gu skillfully turned the wheel, and the fishing boat headed towards the deeper parts of the river.
"Xiao Erzi, come and help me with the nets!" About forty or fifty meters from the shore, Gu called to a young deckhand on board. A young man nicknamed ’Xiao Erzi’ began to cast the nets from the back of the boat into the water.
Dozens of fishing boats like Gu’s, each dragging nets, were engaged in fishing. Some were just a few dozen meters apart; others were several hundred meters away. Suming extended his spiritual power into the water and made contact with the Overlord Turtle lurking below.
"Be careful, and don’t get caught in the nets!" Suming cautioned.
About ten meters below the water surface, the Overlord Turtle bit into a passing silver carp and gobbled it up with a few crunches. As usual, as long as it didn’t encounter humans, it was the overlord of the river.
