Chapter 006 – The Parrot Spirit
Climbing back onto the boat, they saw Yaoguang sprawled out sunbathing on the bow. Zhao Zhao felt jealous. Compared to it, she and her brother looked like laborers from a landlord's house.
On their second dive, both were much more proficient. After scanning the area for any dangerous creatures, she let Da Linzi explore freely.
Zhao Zhao aimed the camera at the beautiful corals, seaweeds, schools of fish, and the floating plankton on large black rocks, trying to capture various stunning angles, determined to edit a beautiful underwater world video. She had spent a lot on this live streaming equipment.
Finally, a sea cucumber appeared in her view, and the online viewers watching the underwater world gasped in unison. The appearance of this sea cucumber was not flattering. This one was over half a meter long, dark brown, and covered in spines, looking rather disgusting. Zhao Zhao measured it and decided against it, pulling over the still-gathering-shells Da Linzi.
Da Linzi was very excited, gesturing frantically before going to grab the sea cucumber and putting it in the net bag. They scoured the coral reef area thoroughly, collecting 26 sea cucumbers over half a meter long, leaving a few smaller ones.
Sea cucumbers don't survive long out of water. They first placed them in a box with seawater, fearing they would die too quickly. Zhao Zhao also infused them with spiritual energy to keep them lively.
Happily, they headed back to retrieve their fishing net.
Yaoguang curiously looked over and gave a candid evaluation: "Ugly things."
The live stream chat was instantly flooded with 【hahaha】 making it lively.
Today’s luck was indeed excellent. Zhao Zhao glanced at the live stream chat and saw there were over 1,000 viewers. As amateur streamers, she felt their first broadcast was quite successful.
Da Linzi was still immersed in the joy of catching sea cucumbers, repeatedly murmuring that he and his father had never had such a haul before, completely forgetting about his initial camera shyness.
Zhao Zhao guided him to talk more. Da Linzi said, "Our island is poor. All the fishermen together don’t even have one decent boat. Without a good boat, you can't go far out to sea. Often, my dad and I go out and can't even cover the fuel cost. Zhao Zhao, today we definitely covered the fuel cost. The golden scallops alone can sell for 150 yuan now!"
Live stream comments:
【PiaoHua133: This little brother looks tall, but he seems quite young. Why is he fishing so early?】
Zhao Zhao replied, "He's 21, an adult."
Once Da Linzi finished changing out of his diving suit, Zhao Zhao aimed the camera at him and Yaoguang, starting to chat with the viewers. The chat was buzzing, refreshing rapidly.
【“Fishing is tough. My family is from a fishing village, and the nearshore areas are done for.”】
【“This parrot seems off!”】
【“Giant macaw? Only seeing it next to people can you tell how big it is.”】
【“It's not just the size. It seems to understand every word and responds appropriately!”】
【“Am I the only one who thinks the host brother is handsome? Such a sunny boy!”】
【“Came here to witness the parrot becoming a spirit.”】
【“Where in China is this?”】
【“Rich second-generation, huh? Fishing with a macaw and imported diving suits.”】
【“Are the golden scallops for sale?”】
【“Is the parrot for sale?”】
【“Does the host brother have a girlfriend?”】
【“The host struck it rich. I calculated these wild sea cucumbers can sell for tens of thousands. It’s like winning the lottery.”】
【“Such fluent speech from the macaw! First time seeing this.”】
【“This parrot starts at a minimum of 10,000 yuan, right?”】
【“Absolutely became a spirit! Did it miss the memo that spirits are banned after the founding of the PRC?”】
【“To the previous commenter, this parrot is foreign, so it's not under that regulation.”】
Zhao Zhao telepathically asked Yaoguang if it was acting too smart and should pretend to be dumb.
The big parrot pretended not to hear. Yaoguang’s majestic and intelligent image must not collapse.
Zhao Zhao chose to answer some questions: "We are from Chonghai Jinshi Island, a small island in the East China Sea. We hope everyone can come and visit. Our island also has a geological park with Cambrian geological features! All catches are for sale. Suitable ones can be listed in the shopping cart. The parrot is our live stream host, not for sale, and it hasn't become a spirit. The host brother is my younger brother, single, and still young. Now we are heading back to retrieve our fishing net and then go home. Interested in buying sea cucumbers? If any viewers are from Chonghai or Changshan Island, you might still have time. Sea cucumber soup is very nutritious."
Zhao Zhao noticed they had just been featured on the newcomer recommendation spot. Many people clicked in to see Yaoguang, with few genuinely interested in fishing. They were mostly here for the dazzling parrot.
When they reached the net, Da Linzi diligently started pulling it in. Zhao Zhao called out to the popular parrot, "Host, move a bit. New viewers think you’re a fake parrot. Can you tolerate that?"
Yaoguang flapped its wings and calmly said, "I can because I'm a human, not a parrot."
"Because humans are like that—strike first. If they doubt me, I'll outsmart them," Yaoguang thought, feeling quite clever.
Sure enough, the comments exploded.
The seaside live stream turned into a pet live stream, and later this segment went viral.
The net they cast into the sea pulled up quite a few sardines and two sea bass, but, as expected, they didn't catch any grouper.
After hauling in the net, they ended the live stream and headed back at full speed, aiming for the fish market at the Longshan Island dock. The golden scallops could be sold to hotel buyers waiting at the market, who would then sell them individually.
Once ashore, the folding cart they had stowed in the boat came in handy. The sea cucumbers and golden scallops, kept in seawater, were quite heavy, and they stacked four large boxes taller than a person.
The siblings hauled their catch to an empty spot in a quiet area. Before Da Linzi could even start calling out to sell, they were surrounded. It wasn’t the fish that drew attention but the massive parrot. Fishermen on the island had never seen such a large macaw.
People buzzed around, discussing the bird. Zhao Zhao quickly told Yaoguang not to cause trouble, but they were already surrounded.
"This is a parrot? How can a parrot be this big?"
"Does it talk? Can it say 'Congratulations on getting rich'?"
Zhao Zhao, feeling exasperated, thought she wouldn't bring the show-stealing parrot next time. No one was looking at the fish. "Excuse me, everyone, we have some big catches here. Want to take a look?" The crowd reluctantly turned their attention to the water tanks and were surprised by the substantial catch.
"Young lady, where did you get these sea cucumbers? Are there still sea cucumbers in these waters?"
Everyone pricked up their ears. "Not from these waters, it's quite far out. We also have golden scallops, market price, just out of the water and very fresh, handpicked big ones."
The onlookers, seeing the good quality, noted that the golden scallops were all the size of a fist and the sea cucumbers in the top box were half a meter long. But these were expensive, and the crowd of elderly shoppers just watched, not asking the price.
Soon, a chubby man squeezed through the crowd. Some people greeted him, "Boss Zhao, you're personally here at the market again? We have lobsters today, want to take a look?"
Boss Zhao squeezed through, wiping the sweat off his forehead with a handkerchief, smiling, "Everyone, make some room for me, give the fat guy a way out."
It seemed like this man was a regular at the market. He first picked up a golden scallop, weighed it, and said, "Indeed very plump, I'll take all of these at the market price of 150." Zhao Zhao, straightforward, agreed, "Deal."
Then Boss Zhao examined the sea cucumbers. "These are indeed wild, just out of the water, right? How much are you asking?"
Zhao Zhao said, "Boss Zhao, give me a fair price. If it's good, I won't linger here."
Da Linzi nervously watched him. His father had said that these sea cucumbers wouldn't fetch a high price on the island. As expected, Boss Zhao said, "These wild sea cucumbers can't survive out of water for more than a day, and few on the island can afford them. The highest I can offer is 700."
Zhao Zhao shook her head, "These are fresh, just out of the deep sea. Sea cucumbers over seventy to eighty centimeters long. I even have a live stream video of harvesting them. This price won't work; I'd rather take them back and dry them. The lowest I can go is 1000. In Chonghai, I can sell them for at least 1200."
Seeing her determined, Boss Zhao shook his head, unable to buy them all, and asked her to weigh the golden scallops. Zhao Zhao borrowed a scale from the nearby seaweed seller.
The golden scallops weighed 57 jins. After rounding down, the total was 8500 yuan. When Boss Zhao paid, he advised Zhao Zhao, "I can't take all the sea cucumbers, and they won't sell well on this island. It's getting dark; you should head home soon."
"Alright, take care. Da Linzi, help Boss Zhao load them onto his car."
"Got it," Da Linzi cheerfully carried the boxes to the car.