Chapter 18 Releasing Life

In the fishing area at the bow, Manager Gong and Lu Maowang were engrossed in fishing, while Sun Jiaojiao helped collect the fish from the deck, sending them towards Wenjun at the stern.

While bending down to pick up fish, Sun Jiaojiao didn't forget to exchange glances with Manager Gong.

Anna had just come out of the lounge when she saw the box of bloody mackerel and the bloody water used to rinse the fish at the stern. Her brow instantly furrowed, and her heart was filled with trepidation. The scene reminded her of the girl who jumped to her balcony, making her extremely uncomfortable.

"Xiao Jia, we can't possibly finish all these fish tonight, can we? Enough is enough," Anna said.

"Okay, I'll tell Manager Gong to stop them from fishing," Jia Wenjun replied, waiting for this very sentence. She had already asked the fishing men to stop, but no one listened. Now that the patron had spoken, they had to listen whether they wanted to or not.

"Hmm." Anna covered her nose, trying to block the bloody smell in the air, but it was too strong. She waved her hand, saying, "Never mind, I'll go tell them myself. You clean this place up first and use some detergent to get rid of the smell."

"Okay," Jia Wenjun readily agreed. She was planning to clean it thoroughly anyway, and of course it would be more effective if the patron spoke to Gong Dalong herself.

Gong Dalong had just caught another mackerel when Anna approached with a frown. "Manager Gong, Xiao Jia caught several big fish earlier, and now you've caught a bunch of small ones. That's enough fish for tonight. Dinner isn't just fish, is it? Let's release the ones you've caught."

Gong Dalong and Lu Maowang were in the midst of their fishing excitement. Hearing that it was over and that they had to release the fish they had worked so hard to catch, Gong Dalong chuckled and negotiated with Anna, "Sister Anna, let us fish for a little while longer. We'll stop soon."

Seeing their eager and pleading expressions, Anna remembered the master's words and didn't want to spoil their fun. She relented, saying, "Alright, you can fish, but from now on, every fish you catch must be released back into the sea. And these few as well, put them all back. Heaven values life, and all beings love life and hate death. All life is like this. Protecting and releasing life can foster good relationships and also bring health, career success, and family happiness. Look at all the benefits of releasing life. We have enough to eat tonight, we can catch more for tomorrow tomorrow, so it's settled then."

Although they were unwilling, Anna had mentioned the virtue of cherishing life. If they didn't release the fish, wouldn't they be going against the will of Heaven?

Gong Dalong didn't believe in these things, but he believed in the patron.

If Anna said to release the fish, then they had to release the fish. He exchanged polite greetings with everyone. They were all on Anna's boat, so they had to give Anna face. Everyone poured the mackerel from their fish boxes back into the sea.

Watching the fish jump into the water and swim away again, Anna silently recited "Amitabha" in her heart. She turned her head and saw Lili sitting on a deck chair, laughing and chatting with several male property owners who were fishing.

Thinking about Jia Wenjun working alone at the stern while Lili was enjoying herself, Anna frowned. She ran her own company and hated subordinates who didn't understand the situation. The property staff were on the boat to serve the owners, and Jia Wenjun was also an owner, but she was still conscientious and did her job well. Lili, on the other hand, really thought she was on vacation and had no awareness at all. This was why Anna preferred Jia Wenjun over Lili.

Anna called out to Lili, "Hey, you, Lili, right? Xiao Jia is cleaning the deck. Go take the fish she's prepared to the kitchen to keep them fresh, so they don't taste stale tonight. Oh, and while you're at it, wash the fruits I brought and cut them up for everyone to eat."

Lili didn't expect Anna to assign her work directly. She was unwilling because she had just applied hand cream and sunscreen, and dealing with fish would make her hands smelly. Besides, Anna wasn't her boss. Why should she listen to her orders?

Seeing Lili not moving, Gong Dalong became anxious and lowered his voice, gesturing to her, "What are you sitting there for? Didn't you hear what Sister Anna said?"

Lili looked aggrieved. "Manager Gong, I scratched my hand while hooking the bait. Can't Wenjun take the fish back to keep them fresh herself?"

Sun Jiaojiao sneered at Lili's attempt to flirt with Gong Dalong, tossing a handful of melon seeds into the sea.

Gong Dalong was in a dilemma. He usually just flirted with Lili and took small advantages, but Sun Jiaojiao was the real deal. If the real deal started making a fuss, he wouldn't be able to handle it.

Manager Gong rarely put on a stern face and scolded Lili, "It's just a little scratch, and you're embarrassed to mention it? If you hadn't put on a bandage so quickly, I wouldn't even be able to find the wound. Stop dawdling and get to work. All you do all day is slack off. I'm warning you, I might deduct this month's bonus."

Lili didn't expect Manager Gong, who usually turned a blind eye to her behavior, to reprimand her in front of so many people. She was both angry and annoyed. She stood up abruptly and walked quickly towards the stern in a huff.

Because she wasn't paying attention, she bumped into Zhao Di, who was coming out of the recreation room, almost knocking the electronic device out of Zhao Di's hand.

Zhao Di was live streaming. To maintain her kind and beautiful persona in front of the screen, she glared at Lili and suppressed her anger.

"Sorry, everyone. I slipped just now because the ground was slippery, and the camera shook a little. Can everyone hear me now? If you can hear me, double tap 666. Oh, Brother Tianya is asking what's in the fishing box. Let me show you the hard-earned harvest of my friends this morning."

Seeing Zhao Di come to the stern with her phone, wanting to film the fish that Jia Wenjun had prepared, Lili didn't want to provoke her, so she stood not far away and waited for her to finish filming. At the same time, she wanted to see if there would be a good show between Zhao Di and Jia Wenjun.

Jia Wenjun frowned as she watched Zhao Di step all over the area she had just painstakingly cleaned, leaving several footprints.

Zhao Di didn't care at all and smiled at the screen, saying, "Come on, everyone, take a look at these fish. They were all caught within an hour and have all been cleaned by this property service 'auntie.'"

When Zhao Di said "auntie," she didn't ask for Jia Wenjun's opinion. The camera directly showed Jia Wenjun's face, with unconcealed provocation and arrogance in her tone.

Zhao Di was deliberately using this method to mock Jia Wenjun for being older than her, but she didn't expect the comments on the screen to say, "Wow, this 'auntie' looks so young."

"Are the standards for 'auntie' so high now?"

"'Auntie,' hello, can we be friends?"

"This 'auntie' looks this good without makeup. If she put on makeup, she could probably beat a bunch of influencers."

Zhao Di wanted to humiliate Jia Wenjun, but she didn't expect this to happen. Angrily, she turned the camera away and put her own heavily made-up face in front of the camera, saying with a smile, "I used a beauty filter on the property service 'auntie' earlier so I wouldn't scare you. Okay, I've turned off the beauty filter now. Let's take a good look at the fish."

As she said this, she approached the basket of fish, about to take a close-up, when Jia Wenjun, who had been enduring her for a long time, suddenly stabbed a knife forcefully into a fish.

In an instant, fish blood splattered, some onto Zhao Di's face and some onto the camera lens.