Chapter 765: Fish
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Early in the morning, the mercenary captain was topless, revealing his strong left shoulder, which was wrapped in bandages. He had a cool smile on his face.
After debriding and suturing Silva last night, the wound on the captain’s left shoulder was also treated by Ma Yanlin. His shoulder was bruised when he stopped the assault boat, which was lighter than Silva’s injury, but since he did not treat it at all, there were signs of swelling and inflammation.
Next to him was the dynamiter with a thigh injury. The dynamiter also had his thighs exposed, and his bulging muscles were wrapped tightly with white bandages. He took off his military trousers and put on a pair of Hawaiian shorts. If anyone just looked at his lower body, he will just look like an unlucky beach guest.
To the left of the mercenary captain was Silva, who was relieved from all his nervousness.
Silva had a bandage around his waist and looked as if he was shot. A nonchalant smile was on his face. He looked at the rising sun and said with a smile, “Captain, since it’s a free day, why don’t we open up the roads to Cuba Town?”
“How do we open up the roads?” The captain squinted as he looked at the wide water and the mud around him. He acted so cordially that it was as if he was attending a kindergarten parent meeting.
Silva looked at the river which was several hundred meters wide and had no idea. He just licked his lips and said, “Well, this is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. It’s a shame to not get it, considering it’s money we can get without firing a single shot.”
“After the river is a valley, and now, it’s all muddy. It may collapse all of a sudden. There is also the risk of mudflows. Even if we can pass through it, it’s still not considered opening the road.” The captain looked at the direction of Cuba Town and calmly said, “The original highway was destroyed, and there will be a lot of natural blockades. There’s only just a few of us. If we want to clear a few miles long mountain road, the risk would be no less than firing a gun.”
“That’s too wasteful,” Silva sighed and said a little reluctantly, “I thought the commission for this trip could be doubled.”
“We have arrived at the scheduled location. If we continue to protect Doctor Ling, the money would be enough for you to enjoy life for several months. Let’s protect our lives.” The captain did not by any means want to risk any lives. Although the distance between Cuba Town and Guozheng Charity Hospital was close, after the torrential rain, flood, and mudflows, the smooth journey that only required a few minutes of driving had become a dangerous area that was difficult to pass. Under the circumstances where there was no help from a construction vehicle, he did not think it was possible to open up a road.
Perhaps the team that was going to Cuba Town to borrow some manpower and equipment would have a plan, but the captain had no intention of opening up the road.
It was precisely because the hospital was dangerous and the chances of getting the reward were small that the captain took the initiative to come to the hospital.
As the manager of the team, he planned the entire operation carefully, and fortunately, the results were good. The hospital was also more comfortable than expected.
“It’s almost time, I’m going to cook some fish.” The dynamiter looked at his watch, took a deep breath, and a smile inevitably appeared on his face. “Today’s weather is not bad.”
The captain and Silva looked out at the same time. The rain seemed to be a little lighter than yesterday, but that just meant that it had regressed from a storm to heavy rain. Moreover, since it was a sunshower, the air was abnormally hot and humid.
However, the smile on the dynamiter’s face was very genuine.
“The last time I saw him laugh like this was when there were three burning tank cars in front of him.” Silva shook his head. “He won’t burn up the kitchen, right?”
The captain laughed. “Don’t worry, the thing that the boy does best is use fire. When he was fourteen, he burned the neighbor’s barn and put it out before the fire could get to his own house.”
“How did he do that?”
“He bought something at the border, and when the fire came over, he blew it out with an explosion. It was said that no fire extinguisher was used. As for this, I think he’s exaggerating things.”
Silva was surprised. “He’s very quiet when he fishes, I never imagined that he would have such a childhood.”
“It’s presumably because waiting for the enemy to step on mines is similar to fishing.”
Silva thought about it and nodded in approval.
..…
Early in the morning, Ling Ran took Ma Yanlin along to do the ward rounds. When they finished, the restaurant was already packed full of food.
Brazil was a country with abundant resources and lived up to its name as a land rich with resources. As a result, their dining tables had always been filled with plenty of food, and even when they were trapped in a hospital, the restaurant still offered buffets.
However, the dishes served today were still mainly fish and beef.
Based on the weight of the Zebu, it was still impossible to finish eating the one slaughtered the day before, and the fish were all freshly caught.
In truth, not only did the mercenaries like fishing, those who stayed in the hospital also liked fishing. In the absence of communication with the outside world, lack of electricity, and the fact that they could not go out to play, many people thought of ways to look for fishing gear. Some fished with a pole, some threw nets, and some went fishing with net cages.
Ling Ran, who had only slept for two hours, still looked healthy, energetic, and handsome. When he entered the room, he flashed a smile and took a plate to pick some food.
Ma Yanlin was a little bit sluggish, feeble, and weak, but also felt hungry as he followed closely behind Ling Ran.
The dynamiter in the mercenary team had been waiting in the restaurant. When Ling Ran appeared, he quickly came up to say hello, and with broken English, he said, “Doctor Ling, I made fish Chinese like, must try, please.”
“Okay.” Ling Ran did not object to this. Under the guidance of the dynamiter, he picked up a four-fingered wide, golden-colored fried fish steak.
“Try. Sprinkle some salt.” The dynamiter helped to grind some sea salt on the fish steak.
Ma Yanlin followed behind him and also took a small fish steak.
Ling Ran was not in a hurry to pick up other food. He just sat down with his plate and tasted the fish steak first.
The thick fish meat that was deep fried was golden and crispy on the outside, while the meat inside was very supple and somewhat firm when he bit down. At first glance, it looked like cod meat, but it was chewier. It was a texture that was a mix of fish and meat. Not only was it special, but also extremely delicious.
Ling Ran took two mouthfuls and asked, “What kind of fish is this?”
“Water-monkey,” the dynamiter answered with the name that was not quite commonly used for this fish.
“Monkey fish?” Ling Ran translated it to the name that was even more commonly used and asked, “Why would you say it’s a fish that Chinese like?”
“Because it’s a water monkey, I know Chinese people like this fish very much.” The dynamiter scratched his head like a mountain orang-utan, “I’ve been to Hong Kong twice, and they all like it.”
“Is it similar to humpback grouper or brown-marbled grouper?” Ma Yanlin’s brain was still functional.
As they were talking, Selena also came into the restaurant. When she heard the terms they used she could not help pursing her lips and smiling. She showed a professional expression and said, “Water monkeys are arowanas.”
“Arowana?” Ma Yanlin’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Like the golden arowana and silver arowana,” Selena said. “Brazilians don’t like to eat them very much. They feel that there are too many bones in them. They often only take fish fillets and discard the sides.”
Ma Yanlin said suddenly, “Ah… the Feng Shui fish.”
“That’s right.” Selena nodded.
Ma Yanlin quickly got up, picked a big fish steak, and stared at it before he said, “If this piece were in China, it would be worth at least three to five thousand. Over here, it was caught with just a bit of oil?”
The dynamiter listened to them speak in Mandarin and was even more anxious. He asked, “What are you guys saying?”
Selena thought for a while and said to the dynamiter, “This is a fish that the Chinese pray to for good luck.”
“Really? Well, what we currently need the most is good luck. I’d like to eat one too.” The dynamiter immediately stepped forward and picked a large piece of fish steak. Everyone around him heard what he said and went up as well.
“A fish that the Chinese pray to for good luck? If Doctor Ling believes it, we should also have a piece.”
“The fish that a sage likes would definitely bring good luck.”
“I caught a water monkey yesterday but chopped it into pieces to use as bait. But, it’s okay. I should still be able to catch another.”
“Let’s go fishing together.”
