CHAPTER 78: CHAPTER 77: RETURN FROM THE VOYAGE

"Yun Shang, your craftsmanship is really impressive! Thanks, I really like it," Lin Wanwan sincerely complimented, and tried it on to check the size. It was a perfect fit, showing Yun Shang’s genuine effort.

Being praised, Yun Shang tried hard to suppress the smile on her brows, her cheeks blushed, and she showed a shy smile, gently saying, "It’s what I ought to do. You overpraise me, ma’am."

"You even made my favorite parent-child outfits, you’re so thoughtful. Go and call Xiaoyu, I want her to try it on and see if it fits," Lin Wanwan flipped through the smaller dress, looking at it satisfiedly.

"Sure." Yun Shang performed a hand-crossed salute, holding back her joy, and briskly retreated.

Xiaoyu and her little friends were playing wildly; the cold winter couldn’t dampen their happiness. When called back by Yun Shang, her hands and face were dirty, and Yun Shang carefully wiped her hands and face before bringing her to Lin Wanwan.

"Ma’am, the little lady has been brought over."

Lin Wanwan finally raised her head from the delicate embroidery on the clothes, waving at Xiaoyu, "Sweetie, come and see the outfit your aunt Yun Shang made for you. Do you like it?"

Xiaoyu exclaimed with a cheerful jump forward, her smile as bright as a flower, excitedly saying, "It’s so beautiful, I like it, I want to wear it!"

After speaking, she began to take off her outer clothes. Lin Wanwan smiled and helped by the side, and once in the new attire, Xiaoyu moved around the room, full of vitality.

Only then did Lin Wanwan notice that the embroidery on the skirt and chest displayed different colors from various angles.

"Good heavens, the embroidery changes with the light! Yun Shang, your hands are truly skilled! Is this embroidery skill taught by the broker?"

Yun Shang bashfully said, "It wasn’t taught by the broker; I learned it as a child when wandering in Shu, from an embroideress."

"So this is Shu Embroidery? No wonder it’s so amazing," Lin Wanwan sighed, thinking that if Yun Shang lived in modern times instead of the Great Tang, she would be a Master of intangible heritage.

Lin Wanwan felt that wearing this dress might be somewhat of a sin, it should be framed as a collectible.

Yun Shang softly said, "The clothes bought from the ready-to-wear shop are nice, but they seem burdened with too much craftsmanship. Thinking you would be visiting relatives in the first month, perhaps you’d need them. So, I made two sets during my free time."

Lin Wanwan thought, her online-bought Hanfu only cost seven or eight hundred per set, all machine-embroidered, lacking soul. How could it compare to Yun Shang’s handmade embroidery?

After wearing the new clothes, Xiaoyu wouldn’t take them off. She clung to Lin Wanwan for a while, then like a lively lark in her new attire, chirped away towards her friends.

Lin Wanwan chuckled, shaking her head, thinking that loving to show off must be inherited from her.

The love for beauty is universal.

When she was young, she was raised by her grandparents. Though she was never deprived in terms of food and drink, their aesthetic tastes were generations apart from young people.

The frugal elderly couple rarely bought new clothes, thinking children grow fast, they preferred buying bigger sizes that looked rustic and could be worn for years.

She often remembered being looked down upon at school because of her clothes. Eventually, she resorted to wearing school uniforms daily.

Now, raising her own child, she loved buying various well-fitting outfits for little Qingyu, dressing up Qingyu was like dressing her younger self, mending her childhood regrets.

Standing by the window overlooking the happily playing little Qingyu, Lin Wanwan couldn’t help but smile contentedly.

This life is truly wonderful.

The seawards returned, as they followed the beacon on the pagoda atop Houtao Mountain. The men who spent half a month drifting on the sea felt excited as they neared the dock.

A glass lamp with a huge candle swayed at the bow, illuminating their way home. Being able to return to land, with everyone in tow, is truly a blessing.

This time, the long journey saw good harvest, catching a bluefin tuna. This fish from the deep Pacific Ocean was caught with such simple primitive fishing equipment, leaving them amazed.

Lin Wanwan wasted no time and packed it in a large wooden box to bring to modern times. If this fish were auctioned at the Japanese market, it could easily fetch tens of thousands per pound.

She previously heard Lu Shouyue talk about fisheries auctions, where top-notch bluefin tuna becomes frantically contested at the scene, though she lacked time to delve into this field.

Thus, after arriving in modern times, she promptly contacted Jie Yuting as before. Though she encountered a minor hurdle when transporting fish, the ride-share driver refused due to potential car odors, eventually resolved by calling Transporter.

"Maybe I should get a driver’s license and buy a car," Lin Wanwan thought for the first time.

For delivery to Xie Yuting’s private restaurant, the other party awaited at the door.

Having missed seafood deliveries for two consecutive weeks, he grew anxious.

After all, the seafood she brought was always of excellent quality, all top-notch wild stocks. Coupled with Xie Yuting’s culinary skills, it’s a marvelous success, attracting eager patronage despite high prices.

Soon enough, the seafood Lin Wanwan brought was transported to the kitchen. Xie Yuting’s fleeting smile brightened as he looked at the size of the bluefin tuna in the wooden box, nodding, "This fish is good."

Lin Wanwan proudly replied, "Of course, everything I bring is purely wild and pollution-free, absolutely free from microplastics."

The current ocean has been plagued by plastic pollution, generating nearly ten million tons annually. Microplastics are detectable in many fish, incomparable to the water quality during the untouched Great Tang era.

Beyond plastics, there’s also an unscrupulous Japan dumping nuclear waste into the sea secretly.

Jie Yuting didn’t respond to Lin Wanwan’s words, but quickly cut a slice of bluefin tuna meat, inspected it briefly, and tested the flesh quality with an instrument.

He operated with silent efficiency, unfond of trivial small talk. Once finished, he directly commented to Lin Wanwan, "The quality is A-grade top-tier, with a total weight of 299 kilos, priced at 500 yuan per kilo. Deal?"

Lin Wanwan appreciated his prompt style, immediately chuckling, "Deal. But I’m not selling it all; please slice and freeze some for me here. Whenever I want to eat, I’ll come by, and you can personally slice it for me, how about it?"

"Alright," Jie Yuting agreed readily.

Just that single fish earned Lin Wanwan 140,000 yuan, alongside other miscellaneous seafood amounting to nearly 160,000 yuan from Xie Yuting.

Such goods wouldn’t fetch much at Great Tang’s docks, hardly getting 10 cash unless directly sold to aristocrats in Chang’an. Yet, ordinary fishermen couldn’t freely traverse Great Tang’s lands like merchants without permits for each step.

Most ordinary fishermen from Mao County’s reach was limited to the sea and local townships.