Chapter 142: The Money Was Stolen

The bluefin tuna lay quietly in the ice chest. The moment Yun Xiaowu, Mr. Yun, and the others saw it, they were overjoyed.

"Alright, don’t just stand around gawking. We have to get this fish delivered."

"Dad, there are still some silver pomfret on the boat. Have Ah Wang weigh them. We’re going to take this tuna to the Da Yun Restaurant in town to sell it first."

Mr. Yun nodded repeatedly. "Okay, you all hurry up and go."

"Have those two boys, Chendong and Chenxi, go with you."

Yun Xiaowu jumped up. "I want to go too! Dad, I want to go too!"

"You stay here. Dad will buy you something nice to eat and bring it back."

If Yun Xiaowu went, then Xiao Liu, Xiaoqi, and Little Eight would definitely want to go too.

"I don’t want to!"

Yun Xiaowu felt wronged. Why were they always the ones left at home?

Faraway places were one thing, but the town wasn’t even that far. Why not?!

Yun Xiaowu immediately started throwing a tantrum, rolling around on the ground.

Yun Jiao walked over to Yun Xiaowu, holding the little sea turtle.

"Daddy, let Older Brother go."

She patted her chest and promised, "Jiaojiao will protect my brothers."

She was just a little thing, but she was extraordinarily confident.

But with her strength, she certainly had reason to be.

"Alright, then let’s all go together."

His own daughter’s gaze was just too determined; he couldn’t bring himself to refuse.

Yun Xiaowu and the others immediately cheered.

They ran over, and each gave Yun Jiao a kiss on the cheek.

Yun Jiao felt dizzy. ’Stop kissing me, stop kissing me!’

Before leaving, Yun Jiao and the others went back to change their clothes, and the little sea turtle was placed in a basin of water.

Then, they got on the tractor with the bluefin tuna. The village chief’s son was driving.

He had volunteered as soon as he heard they were delivering a bluefin tuna.

The tractor went CHUGGA-CHUGGA-CHUG all the way to the entrance of Da Yun Restaurant in town.

Yun Linhe went inside to find someone.

When an employee at Da Yun Restaurant heard that a bluefin tuna had been delivered, he immediately went to find the branch manager.

"Where’s the bluefin tuna? Where is it?"

The banquet was the day after tomorrow. With a fresh bluefin tuna arriving at such a crucial time, there was no doubt that their Da Yun Restaurant would steal the show.

The owners would surely be very pleased as well.

"Was it just caught?"

Yun Lindong nodded. "Yes. Boss Lin, please go on up and take a look."

"Yes, yes, of course."

Boss Lin rubbed his hands together and climbed onto the tractor. He carefully inspected the bluefin tuna, confirming that it was fresh, had been caught just today, and was properly bled. He couldn’t have been more satisfied.

"Beautiful! Da Yun Restaurant will take this fish. How about seven yuan a jin?"

Yun Linhe replied, "Boss Lin, give us a fair price. When our boat docked at the pier, people were already bidding on this fish, and the offers reached seven yuan.

We only came here because we heard you were preparing for some banquet and your purchase price would surely be higher. Besides, we don’t just have the bluefin tuna. We also have a Humpback Grouper here."

Only then did Boss Lin notice the Humpback Grouper in the corner, which he had overlooked. The bluefin tuna was simply too eye-catching.

"A Humpback Grouper. Is this fresh, too?"

"It was caught around the same time as the bluefin tuna. Although it’s dead, it’s still fresh."

The Humpback Grouper was a good size, too. Their restaurant had relatively advanced preservation techniques, so keeping these two fish until the day after tomorrow would be no problem at all.

The Humpback Grouper is hailed as the king of all stonefish. Not only is its meat tender and delicious, but it’s also highly nutritious.

Finally, after some back-and-forth negotiation, the bluefin tuna was sold for nine yuan a jin.

The Humpback Grouper went for twenty-five yuan a jin.

By the time the fish were weighed, a large crowd had already gathered.

Bluefin tuna were incredibly rare. Usually, only deep-sea fishing vessels could bring back one or two, and rarely one this big.

"Did a deep-sea boat come back? Look at the size of that bluefin tuna."

"No, I heard it was caught by a small fishing boat. Not even a steel-hulled boat, just a little wooden one."

"What? Are you kidding me? A wooden boat caught a bluefin tuna this big?"

Amidst the crowd’s chatter, the weight of the bluefin tuna was announced.

jin.

Everyone gasped. It weighed as much as a full-grown pig ready for slaughter.

The most important thing was that this fish was much more expensive than pork.

The Humpback Grouper: 4.6 jin.

The tuna sold for a total of 2,097 yuan, and the Humpback Grouper for 115 yuan.

For a grand total of 2,212 yuan.

After receiving the money, Yun Linhai and the others were smiling from ear to ear.

This was even more money than they’d gotten for the Flame Pearl last time.

But then again, only an anomaly like Yun Jiao could catch such a huge fish, leading killer whales to corner it.

For any other fisherman, it would be difficult to catch even with a net.

Especially in a wooden boat. The sheer speed and power of a tuna could drag the boat and its crew across the sea for a long distance until it tired out.

If you were unlucky, it could actually capsize your boat.

Only a steel-hulled boat could withstand it.

So, catching such a large tuna was a huge risk.

But for this much money, even knowing the risks, who could resist trying to catch an expensive, top-tier ingredient like a bluefin tuna?

"Excuse us, please make way! We need to get through."

There were too many people crowded at the entrance. When Yun Linhai and the others came out of the restaurant, they were completely surrounded.

Yun Linhe frowned, a bad feeling rising in his chest. "Why are there so many people?"

The restaurant staff also came out to disperse the crowd.

Packed in like sardines, Yun Linhai clutched the money they had just earned.

Suddenly, someone bumped into him hard, right in the ribs.

The pain made him break out in a cold sweat.

"Daddy, there’s a thief!" Yun Jiao shouted.

"The money! My money!"

Yun Linhai was not only in pain but also terrified.

That jolt gave Yun Linhai a bad feeling. He reached for where he’d put the money and found a large gash in his clothes, just shy of cutting his skin.

The money tucked into his innermost pocket was gone.

That was over two thousand yuan!

Yun Linhai felt his vision go black.

"Quick, catch him!"

The thief took off as soon as he had the money, and the scene instantly descended into chaos.

"Dad, it’s my sister! Jiaojiao is missing!"

Yun Xiaowu and his brothers realized Yun Jiao was gone and started to panic.

Hearing that Yun Jiao was missing, Yun Linhai and Yun Linhe instantly forgot about the money.

"Jiaojiao! Jiaojiao, where are you?"

"Have you seen a pretty little girl, about this tall, wearing overalls?"

"Jiaojiao..."

The Yun family frantically searched for Yun Jiao.

Meanwhile, Yun Jiao was chasing the man who had stolen the money, having run out of the crowd.

Being so small, she saw the thief run and immediately slipped out through the gaps between the adults’ legs.

She had recognized the thief and gave chase.

"Stop, thief! Give back the money!"

’He dared to steal the money I worked so hard to earn by catching that fish!’

Yun Jiao’s little face flushed with anger, and her short legs pumped furiously as she chased after him.

The thief was also running very fast.

Yun Jiao chased him all the way to a deserted alley. When the thief saw that only a small child was following him, a malicious idea formed in his mind.

"Well now, you’re a brave little thing. Since you delivered yourself right to my doorstep, don’t blame me for what happens next."

’This kid is so good-looking, she’ll probably sell for a lot of money.’