Chapter 79: A Pie Fell from the Sky

"Since you two can’t seem to agree, why not just give it to me?"

A scrawny man with a lecherous glint in his eye stepped forward, grinning as he spoke and reaching out a hand.

But he was immediately swatted away by both women.

"You shameless old bachelor! How dare you say something like that? The shit in my latrine is free for the taking—why don’t you go scoop some up and have a meal?"

"Why be so nasty? I was just making a friendly suggestion."

The crowd immediately erupted in scornful laughter.

The man had some serious nerve.

But they were also staring greedily at the leopard coral grouper. After all, it was worth seven or eight yuan a jin.

That one fish alone was worth more than ten yuan—more than all the seafood the rest of them had gathered combined.

Yun Xiaowu slapped his thigh in frustration. "If we’d just gotten over there sooner, that leopard coral grouper would’ve been ours!"

It had been so close to them, after all. It was no different than seeing a wad of cash at your feet, only to watch someone else sprint over, slide in, and snatch it away.

Yun Jiao was disappointed too, but she didn’t dare try to snatch it.

’I’m so small,’ she thought. ’What if I get trampled?’

"Brother, there are lots of little sea snails on this reef."

Yun Xiaowu took a look and saw she was right, his eyes immediately lighting up.

"Quick, gather them!"

He whispered the words and immediately bent down, starting to pluck the little sea snails clinging to the reef.

As Yun Jiao gathered the snails, she kept her ears perked, listening to the commotion.

Cai Jinhua and Widow Song’s argument had escalated. They had moved past simple insults and were now digging at each other’s deepest insecurities.

Cai Jinhua: "You damn vixen! You can’t go a single day without acting like a whore, can you? I’ve seen several men from the village messing around with you. Gouwa’s father has barely been dead and you’re already too lonely to bear it? Someone like you wants to fight me for a fish? It probably reeks of your sluttiness already. Who would dare take it?!"

Widow Song, not to be outdone, shot back: "You fat pig! With your triple chin and rolls of belly fat! When’s the last time you bathed? Just look at your hair and fingernails, all black and greasy. I’m afraid to even stand near you in case the fleas from your head jump onto me.

No wonder your husband can’t stand the sight of you and hangs around my doorstep every day. And take a good look at how you’ve raised your second son! You still expect a hundred-yuan betrothal gift for him? I spit on that!"

Cai Jinhua genuinely hadn’t known that her husband was loitering around Widow Song’s house. She instantly flew into a rage.

"You bitch! How dare you seduce my husband!"

She raised her hand and swung at Widow Song’s face.

Widow Song kicked her right back.

"Pah! If you’ve got what it takes, then manage your own husband! Who’d want a lazy drunk like him? I may be a widow, but I have my standards. Only you would treasure that Yun Dan. The two of you are a match made in a dumpster—just do the world a favor and don’t inflict yourselves on anyone else!"

The verbal assault was devastating. It drove Cai Jinhua completely mad. She dropped the fish and lunged.

"You bitch! I’ll kill you!"

Widow Song took a blow, dropped her own hold on the fish, and started fighting back with both hands.

"The leopard coral grouper!"

"I got it! It’s mine!"

"Bullshit! I clearly grabbed it first!"

"Stop fighting! Stop grabbing! Let me out of here!"

"Ow! Someone’s stepping on me!"

"Which bastard just groped my ass? Damn it, he even squeezed it!"

"Hahaha... Dazhu, you’ve got a nice butt! Ow, stop pushing me!"

The scene descended into chaos. What had been a duel between Cai Jinhua and Widow Song was now a full-blown melee.

Yun Jiao sucked in a breath. "I feel so bad for that fish."

’Is it still alive?’

Yun Xiaowu stood on a reef, also watching the spectacle. The sky had brightened, and he could see everything over there perfectly clearly.

"Oh, holy crap! Why is Mom over there?!"

Yun Jiao: "Huh? Mom!!!"

Shen Yunlian was trapped in the middle of the crowd, unable to get out.

Yun Jiao and Yun Xiaowu immediately rushed over.

"Move aside! Mom, we’re here!"

"AHHH!!! Move it, get out of the way! These scissors don’t have eyes, so if I accidentally stab someone’s butt cheeks, it’s not my fault!"

Yun Jiao had only just managed to squeeze partway in before she was shoved back out.

She plopped down on the sand with a stunned expression.

Even though she was strong for her size, she was small, her legs were short, and her center of gravity wasn’t stable. She simply couldn’t push her way through.

Just as she was about to get up, a dark shape suddenly fell from the sky.

She instinctively reached out and caught it.

PLOP.

The familiar blue fish landed in her arms.

’A gift from the heavens?’

Yun Jiao’s reaction was swift. In one smooth motion, she turned, hid the fish in Fifth Brother’s bucket, and then dumped the squid from her own small pail on top to conceal it.

"Where’s the fish? The leopard coral grouper, who took it?"

"I didn’t see it! Where’s the fish? Dammit, whoever picked it up, say something!"

In a tiny voice, Yun Jiao went, "Squeak~"

With the leopard coral grouper gone, everyone gradually began to calm down.

Only Cai Jinhua and Widow Song were still fighting.

Yun Xiaowu and Shen Yunlian pushed their way out of the crowd.

Shen Yunlian patted her chest. "That was terrifying. I nearly fell over."

"Jiaojiao, are you okay?"

Yun Jiao pointed to the sandy patch on her backside.

"Couldn’t get through. I fell."

"Are those two still at it?"

"Someone should break them up."

The fish was long gone, but the two women were still going at it. Seeing how heated they’d become, others decided it would be bad if they weren’t stopped before something serious happened.

The village chief’s wife took the lead, and with the help of a few other strong women, they managed to pull the two apart.

Even separated, the two women looked like they wanted to tear each other apart.

"Let’s get out of here, quickly."

’So vicious.’

Shen Yunlian touched her own hair. "We can’t get any closer. Cai Jinhua really does have fleas in her hair."

Yun Jiao immediately grabbed her mom and Fifth Brother by the hand. "Let’s go, let’s go."

Fleas were something most country folk had in this day and age.

Their family, however, was quite clean, so they had never had a problem with them.

Those little bugs made one’s scalp incredibly itchy!

Once they were a safe distance away, Yun Xiaowu noticed that Yun Jiao had dumped all the squid and small sea snails from her bucket into his.

"Mom, look! We caught a lot of squid."

He lifted the bucket and gave it a little shake, revealing a small section of the leopard coral grouper underneath.

Even though it was just a small part, its color was eye-catching enough.

"What’s th—"

Shen Yunlian pushed the things on top aside, and the leopard coral grouper was fully revealed.

Her eyes widened instantly.

"Leopard—"

She didn’t dare say the other two words, quickly glancing around.

Thankfully, no one was around. Shen Yunlian’s heart hammered in her chest, and she was so excited her face flushed red.

"Is this the one they were fighting over?"

Yun Xiaowu was just as shocked. ’He really had no idea what was going on. How did a leopard coral grouper just jump into his bucket?’

Yun Jiao giggled.

"I caught it. It just went WHOOSH and fell right into my arms."

Shen Yunlian: "..."

Yun Xiaowu: "..."

’Something like that can happen?’

’But this was a good thing!’

"It’s dead, but it’s still fresh. You two play here by yourselves. I’m going to go sell this fish."

If she waited any longer, it wouldn’t be worth as much.

A dead leopard coral grouper wasn’t as valuable as a live one, but it was still worth much more than ordinary seafood.

Shen Yunlian emptied the seafood from their buckets and hurried off. Just as Yun Jiao and Yun Xiaowu were about to continue their foraging, a familiar voice drilled into her mind.

’Human, where are you? Come out and play...’

The killer whale’s call was powerful and penetrating, but ordinary people couldn’t hear it.

Yun Jiao grabbed Yun Xiaowu’s arm, her tone sincere and laced with a hint of temptation.

"Fifth Brother, do you want to play with a killer whale?"