Chapter 100: Encountering the "Big Killer Fish" at the Aquarium

Chapter 100: Chapter 100: Encountering the "Big Killer Fish" at the Aquarium

For the first time, Yun Zhen found herself fretting over earning so much money that her pockets couldn’t hold it all. Fortunately, she had her mental treasure land. Stored inside, her money was safe from being lost.

Seeing her stuff the cash into a black plastic bag and bundle it up, Granny Sun couldn’t help but worry for her. "Should you double-bag it? A single plastic bag is too thin. What if it gets snagged by a branch on the road and tears, dropping all your money? You should buy a bag to keep your money in. A bag won’t get pierced by branches. It’s much safer." She was even more worried that Yun Zhen would be robbed carrying such a thick stack of cash. Although public security was good nowadays, you could never truly know a person’s heart. There were bound to be bold, greedy criminals out there.

Yun Zhen had her mental treasure land to store money, which was safer, and she didn’t need a bag. However, she thought of another issue. The mental treasure land was secure, but taking money out was inconvenient. If she had a bag to use as cover, she could reach inside and retrieve cash from her mental treasure land without drawing attention.

Yun Zhen vowed, "Grandma Sun, I’ll buy a bag as soon as I get back. I’ll be extra careful today. The money won’t be lost; I’ll hold onto it tightly."

Speaking of buying a bag, didn’t she already have a few in her mental treasure land? There were bags of all sizes. She had scavenged them from unwanted piles when she ran into someone moving during her last scrap-collecting run.

Granny Sun nodded. "All right, be careful."

"Grandma Sun, I’m taking off now. I have to go to work at four this afternoon," Yun Zhen said as she bid her farewell.

Granny Sun frowned. "Did your agency find this job for you? You’re a minor, what kind of work can you do?"

Yun Zhen quickly explained, "I asked the agency to find it for me. I want to earn a bit more money."

Granny Sun nodded thoughtfully, a look of pity on her face. They always said children from poor families learned to manage households early. But it was truly heartbreaking to see this orphaned child entering society so early, setting up street stalls and working part-time jobs. Fortunately, the child had a craft. She was self-reliant, hardworking, and capable. Her future days wouldn’t be too unbearable. Smiling, Granny Sun waved. "Go on, then."

Yun Zhen left with her bundle of cash. Once out of sight, she tossed the money into her mental treasure land and took out a black cloth bag to carry in her hand. Then, she found another crowded spot to sell her goods.

She believed her crocheted dolls would be just as popular at Jiuzhou Mall as they were at the school gates. From now on, she could earn double the income: one portion from the crocheted dolls, and another from her purely handmade woodwork. She would earn a lot of money so she could build new houses for everyone after the snow disaster passed.

At four in the afternoon, she arrived at Sister-in-law Liu’s vegetable stall on time for work.

Li Mei said, "Yun Zhen, the crochet material kits you bought have arrived. I’ll go with you to pick up the package after work. My husband is picking up the kids tonight, so we can stroll around the neighborhood after we get it."

Yun Zhen nodded. "Sure!"

After work, she rode in Li Mei’s electric tricycle to the package pickup station. Carrying the heavy package of materials, Li Mei said, "I bought these from the same shop as before. They threw in two extra bags of crochet kits, so there are seven large bags in total. The crochet hooks are also from their shop. Check them when you get back to see if any are broken. We can get a refund or an exchange for the damaged ones. Let me know tomorrow."

"Okay!" Yun Zhen happily took the crochet materials. "Where are we going to stroll around?" she asked, staring at Li Mei.

She still needed to buy some things. Tonight, the village was making mutton soup, and they had agreed to wait for her return before eating. If she went back late, the villagers would definitely go hungry. However, Li Mei had helped her so much. When asked to accompany her shopping, Yun Zhen found it hard to refuse.

Li Mei thought for a long moment before saying, "Yun Zhen, do you know how to fish? I remember there’s an aquarium around here that connects to the sea, where you can fish. It’s twenty yuan for an hour. My husband is cooking tonight, and his fish soup is the most delicious. I want to catch a fresh fish for him to stew."

"I don’t know how to fish," Yun Zhen said, confused. "If you want fish soup, why not just buy a fresh fish?"

Li Mei explained, "Store-bought fish eat too much feed, so their meat is mushy. As soon as you boil it, it falls apart at the bottom of the pot, and it’s tasteless. This aquarium connects to the ocean, and the fish in the ocean live by the law of the jungle—big fish eat small fish, and small fish eat shrimp. Their meat is firm, and the flavor is much more delicious than artificially bred ones."

Was that really a thing? Yun Zhen asked her, "Are you sure you can catch a fish?"

Li Mei grinned. "There’s a pond near my house that has fish. My friends and I love to go fishing there when we have free time. Although my luck is just average, I’ve never gone home empty-handed since I started fishing."

Yun Zhen was surprised. "You catch something every time?"

Li Mei nodded, her eyes sparkling. "That’s right, every time! You can come with me to the aquarium. Even if you don’t fish, you can enjoy the scenery. You’ll see great white sharks, humpback whales, big fish, small fish, and all sorts of bizarre, unnamed marine life. Once you step inside, it feels like you’re at the bottom of the sea!"

That sounded pretty good. She had seen snakeheads, carps, crucians, and catfish, and the largest fish she had ever seen weighed a full ten pounds. This place called an aquarium was probably a place for raising fish. She wondered if there were any ten-pound fish inside.

"Let’s go," she said.

Li Mei said happily, "Great! Just for an hour. I’ll go fishing, and you can explore the aquarium. It’s a pity today isn’t the weekend, or you would’ve gotten to see the mermaid show."

Li Mei took Yun Zhen to the aquarium.

Normally, the aquarium was free to enter. They only charged for fishing or participating in various fish-catching and shrimp-netting activities, which cost twenty yuan an hour. Most of their revenue came from anglers, who usually sat there for the entire day. The aquarium made a tidy profit. Of course, during holidays, they would charge hefty fees to limit the flow of people. First, there would be a fifty-eight yuan admission ticket, and the prices for fishing, catching shrimp, and getting photos taken by professionals inside would also increase. Since it wasn’t a holiday right now, entering the aquarium was free.

Yun Zhen followed Li Mei into the aquarium. Inside, the lights were as bright as day, illuminating everything in plain sight. Yun Zhen touched the wall and was surprised to find it was made of glass.

She turned her head and jumped in fright.

"WOW!"

A monster!

Yun Zhen saw a monster larger than a house, its massive, bloodthirsty maw wide open, its teeth glinting with a cold, terrifying light.

Li Mei chuckled and said, "This is called a shark. You probably haven’t seen one before. Don’t worry, it can’t get out."

Yun Zhen patted her wildly pounding heart. "It’s a fish, too?" she asked in disbelief, wondering how there could be such an enormous fish.

Li Mei nodded. "Sharks are the overlords of the sea. This one is considered small. The big ones can be as tall as a seven- or eight-story building, and they can eat hundreds of thousands of small fish in a single bite."

Seven or eight stories high? Yun Zhen had never seen such a thing. The largest fish she had ever laid eyes on weighed only ten pounds, and that was fished out of the village pond. She had never seen a fish as tall as a seven-story building. This "killer fish" in front of her would be enough to feed the entire village for half a year.

Yun Zhen asked Li Mei, "Can you catch a fish this big when you go fishing?"

If a fish this big could be caught, should she join in? A twenty-yuan gamble!

"PFFT!" Li Mei burst into laughter at Yun Zhen’s naive expression. "This is a shark. Very few people eat them. If they do, they only eat the fins. I heard their meat is tough and doesn’t taste good, and their bodies are toxic. Besides, I only weigh about a hundred pounds. How could I possibly have the ability to reel in such a huge fish?"

So this big fish didn’t taste good.

"I’m going to go fish now. Take a walk around here, but don’t wander too far. I’ll come find you when I’m done," Li Mei said.

Li Mei left Yun Zhen to watch the fish in the aquarium while she headed off to the fishing area.

Yun Zhen wandered from one side to the other. She wondered, "Except for that scary-looking ’killer fish,’ the rest of the fish look so beautiful. This flat fish looks like a fan, and it’s actually smiling at me! Why is this one’s mouth so pointy? And that fish has such vibrant colors. Brightly colored mushrooms are poisonous, and eating them will kill you. I wonder if eating a brightly colored fish will kill you, too? Are these three blue fish a family? They look exactly alike."