Chapter Ten: Pursuing Thunder

  Zhou Xindao said, "Thank you, Brother Lei." Although he was only in his early teens, he wasn't someone who didn't understand anything. He knew that having a boat meant that once he grew up, he could be independent right away. With this boat, he could get married and have children. A boat was everything to a fishing family.

  Lei Xingfeng patted Zhou Xin's head and smiled: "You're my little brother, so I don't need you to thank me."

  Zhou Tong knew this was Lei Xingfeng repaying Zhou Xin's lifesaving kindness and didn't say much, starting to prepare dinner instead.

  Zhang Lao Da carried a jar of strong liquor in one hand and a bamboo basket in the other, which was full of lively jumping prawns. He smiled and said: "I'm here, Little Xin, take care of these prawns in the basket, they're for your big brother to eat." After just a few encounters, everyone knew that Lei Xingfeng loved to eat prawns.

  Lei Xingfeng liked this kind of life, he knew that it was impossible for him to spend the rest of his life here, but being able to enjoy it a bit was good after all.

  Zhou Xin was busy cleaning the prawns, cutting off their whiskers with scissors and extracting their intestines. These were all methods taught by Professor Lei Xingfeng, which locals wouldn't normally do. Zhou Tong quickly lit up a charcoal stove, first cooking a large pot of rice before heading to the back of the boat to lift the net. The net contained live fish, and he scooped out several large red snappers and one big green fish before putting the net down again. He then carried the fish back to the bow of the boat to kill them.

  Zhang Lao Da was not idle either, he helped to wash the salted vegetables and fish, while washing, he said: "The Zhong family is indeed a big household, a new boat, said to be given away, haha, when I was working for a boat, I was busy for six or seven years, only then did I earn this small boat, little brother just opened his mouth and got one..."

  Lei Xingfeng smiled slightly and said, "Zhang Lao Da, how many people are in your household? Why do I only see you alone... where are the others?"

  Zhang Lao Da looked old, appearing to be over 50 years old, but in fact he was only in his 30s. He let out a bitter laugh and said: "Our family? Ha ha, I'm just like Zhou Lao Da, no, even more carefree than him - one person eating their fill is enough for the whole family not to go hungry! Ha ha, Zhou Lao Da still has a young nephew to raise, but I'm just a lone boatman, can't find a wife to take care of me."

  "You're not one who likes being free and easy-going, yet now you look like you're unwilling."

  Zhang Lao Da said, "Marrying a wife, at the very least I should find a wooden house in the market. I couldn't bear for my wife to follow me on the boat, running wildly in the wind and rain, it's too hard."

  "Others can just bring their wives and children along, but you have so many excuses. I think you just don't want to be managed by others, it's better for you to be alone."

  Two people were arguing, and Lei Xingfeng was smiling as he watched. In fact, the status of fishermen here is not bad. Having a boat means that they will never go hungry, as long as they can work, they will have food to eat. This waters is their treasure trove, an inexhaustible and endless treasure trove.

  Lei Xingfeng decided to cook a dish himself, he had been tortured by the light taste here, so he decided to cook big prawns and a plate of fish.

  There are no onions or ginger here, nor any sauces or seasonings that he knows of. However, when he was at Hu Yanbao's place, he had found some wild onions and ginger and cultivated them himself, storing them in his wheel storage space. These were things he hadn't thrown away because they didn't take up much space. There were also some sauces, which he had made himself. He had a heavy palate and bland food made him extremely uncomfortable. When cooking here, except for adding salt, nothing else was used, relying solely on the freshness of the ingredients to determine whether the food was delicious or not.

  What's even more hateful is that they put salt in the food, but it's really just a little bit, and he can hardly taste the salty flavor, so he'd rather eat smelly salted fish and pickled vegetables. The smelly dishes give him another kind of unbearable feeling, anyway, he's already gotten used to it, so he doesn't force himself anymore and starts cooking for himself.

  The lobster, to be exact, the braised lobster, Lei Xingfeng took out a piece of barbarian beef fat, which was extracted from the barbarian beef and obtained through frying. A large white block of barbarian beef oil quickly melted in the pot, emitting a wisp of smoke.

  Zhou Xin, Zhang Lao Da, and Zhou Da Shu almost simultaneously said: "So fragrant, such a great smell!"

  A handful of scallions and ginger were thrown into the pot, and a large shrimp was poured in with a sizzling sound, amidst which a rich aroma wafted out.

  Zhou Tong and Zhang Lao Da stared at it without blinking, Zhou Xin's eyes widened with excitement, saying: "Fragrant! Really fragrant! How can the big shrimp be so fragrant?"

  Add salt and soy sauce, Leixingfeng is going to make a savory shrimp dish, he doesn't care about other people's tastes, he wants to cook the dishes for dinner.

  Quickly cooked large prawns, followed by red-braised fish pieces, still using butter to fry the fish pieces, then using soy sauce for red-braising. In just a moment, the red-braised lake sturgeon meat was done. The aroma wafting out made people on other boats stick their heads out, sniffing hard with their noses and asking each other where the fragrance came from.

  Zhou Xin was salivating, he felt that the large prawns were so tempting for the first time. Before, he didn't have much feeling towards large prawns, not even as good as fish meat to eat. Mainly because the shrimp shells were very troublesome, in order to eat the shrimp meat, you had to spit out a pile of shrimp shells, which was very annoying.

  A very sumptuous dinner, Zhou Xin almost swallowed his tongue, Uncle Zhou and Zhang Lao Da ate with relish, although the flavor was heavy, but occasionally eating once, it was incredibly fresh.

  Lei Xingfeng said: "Uncle Zhou, tomorrow, you teach me how to sail a boat, haha, at least we have a boat now, if I don't know how to use it, that would be too regrettable."

  Zhou Tong readily agreed, steering the boat wasn't difficult, apart from some techniques, mainly relying on having good strength. Lei Xingfeng was not lacking in strength, his power, even ten or a hundred Zhou Tongs couldn't compare to.

  ……

  The second day was still raining heavily, but unlike the stormy rain last night, today's rain was much gentler.

  With Zhou Xin, Zhou Tong and Lei Xingfeng driving the new boat to the open water surface, here is only a few hundred meters away from the dock, Zhang Lao Da also followed on the new boat, according to his words, eating Lei Xingfeng's Hu Xing python meat, how can you not put out some effort, anyway it's also idle, just come together.

  The boats here are powered by a single oar, placed at the stern, and there's some technique involved in rowing, but it doesn't require too much strength. Leixing Peak quickly mastered the skills of moving forward and turning. Leixing Peak learned extremely fast, and Zhou Tong and Zhang Lao Da couldn't help but feel amazed. They had all learned to row from a young age and had gradually become proficient through practice, but they had never seen anyone pick up oar techniques so quickly.

  The morning passed quickly, and at noon everyone ate casually. In the afternoon, Leixingfeng continued to study, and by dusk, he was able to skillfully control the small boat.

  When Lei Xingfeng was rowing with all his might, Zhou Tong, Zhang Lao Da and Zhou Xin were all frightened out of their wits. The small boat shot out like an arrow, the whole body of the boat creaking loudly. Just as Lei Xingfeng was testing it, a cracking sound was heard, and the oar broke into two pieces.

  Lei Xingfeng smiled wryly and said: "This boat is not sturdy..."

  Zhou Tong and Zhang Lao Da had nothing to say, this rattle is for ordinary people to use, you are a cultivator, so shake it vigorously, if this rattle doesn't ring continuously that would be strange.

  Fortunately, the distance from the dock was not far, and with half a stroke of the oar, the boat slowly sailed back.

  Soon, the Zhong family sent over a new oar, but this time it wasn't made of wood, it was made of steel. It's not just for rowing a boat, it's strong enough to be used as a weapon.

  After practicing for a few more days, Lei Xingfeng bid farewell to Zhou Tong and Zhang Lao Da, shaking the small boat as he left the market.

  ……

  On the vast lake surface, a small boat was speeding forward like an arrow.

  Ahead, lightning flashed and thunder boomed. The small boat headed towards that area of water. Leixing Peak exerted himself to row the oars. He was chasing after the area with lightning flashes. Some places had heavy rain, but no lightning or thunder. He needed a thunderstorm; only then could it be helpful for his cultivation.

  Heavy rain poured down, hitting his body with a cool feeling. Leixingfeng was wearing only a pair of cowhide pants, bare-chested. Since leaving the market town, he had been out for seven or eight days and still hadn't found any thunderstorms, which made him very depressed. He muttered to himself from time to time, "This is still his mother's rainy season, not as good as our place's thunderstorm snow!"

  At first, Leibao Laoren was looking for Leibao Xue, and it seemed easy to Leixing Feng, but he didn't know that if he looked for it himself, he probably wouldn't find any, as Leibao Xue is much rarer than Leibao Yu.

  Sometimes, Lei Xingfeng saw lightning flashing in front of him, but when he rushed to that area of water, there was only heavy rain, no thunder and lightning.

  This time he found another one, so he drove the boat to hurry over. Fortunately, the oars had been replaced with pure steel ones, otherwise, with his strength, the oars would have broken again. The small boat was almost flying on the water's surface, instantly crossing it. According to Lei Xingfeng's estimate, his speed was no less than that of a speedboat in his previous life.

  Barefoot, upper body, Lei Xingfeng's speed is extremely fast. The water surface here stretches as far as the eye can see, and all around are dense raindrops. In the field of vision, it's a vast expanse, but from afar, lightning flashes constantly, and the faint sound of thunder rolls in the sky.

  Chasing after lightning, this task is unexpectedly extremely difficult.

  The thunder grew louder, and Leixing Peak became more excited. This time, he used the wheel power to row the boat. Previously, he had been using brute force to shake the oars, but now he was using the wheel power to shake the oars. The speed of the small boat increased again, and if there were any obstacles like reefs in front, it would probably be able to crush the small boat instantly.

  The lightning's glow was already very clear, and Lei Xingfeng secretly prayed that this thunderstorm would never disappear.

  About ten minutes later, Lei Xingfeng's small boat rushed straight into the thunderstorm.

  ………

  It's still the third watch, this is the first one.