Lin Xiangrong had been silent as he carried an empty bucket with only a few pounds of river shrimps and some fish. He was very unhappy. He was originally afraid that the Chinese sturgeon would die and wanted to take it back to raise as soon as possible. Now there were only a few pounds of river shrimps and fish. Was he planning to go back
Although this was also their original purpose, they would not feel disappointed unless they caught anyone. Dozens of dollars were wasted, and they only got such a small amount of goods and went back. What's the big deal
He followed behind with a clatter, kicking the stones under his feet. With a "dong" sound, the stones fell into the river, but suddenly countless crackling splashes appeared on the water surface. Everyone looked over in surprise, and Ye Yaodong shone his flashlight over there.
Countless big fish jumped out of the water. He raised his eyebrows in surprise and asked his surprised brother-in-law, "Have you caught enough fish? Do you want to catch more?"
He didn't care much about these freshwater fish. As people living by the sea, they only liked to eat sea fish. After releasing the Chinese sturgeon, he felt a little uninterested and not as excited as he was at the beginning. Unexpectedly, Lin Xianghui took the flashlight from his hand and came forward to carefully take a look.
"It's a soldier fish!"
Lin Xiangrong also stepped forward in surprise, "So many military fish? I thought they were grass carp just now!"
"In the past few years, everyone had nothing to eat because the army fish in the river were overfished. We haven't seen them for a few years. I didn't expect that they would appear again now, and in such large numbers."
Ye Yaodong was a little confused as he listened to their conversation. What military fish
“Isn’t this a grass carp?”
Lin Xianghui smiled and said, "You live by the sea, so you don't know. This is a military fish, not a grass carp. It just looks like a grass carp and looks ordinary, but its scales are very large, several times larger than a grass carp. The price is also several times that of a grass carp, and the fish meat is very tender and smooth, without any earthy smell."
He took a closer look and saw that the scales were indeed quite large, but without comparison, he didn't think they were that big.
"And its scales are edible. We never scrape the scales off this kind of fish when we eat it." Lin Xiangrong added in a good mood.
Ye Yaodong raised his eyebrows, "Can scales be eaten?"
Please forgive his ignorance as a seaside man!
"Yes, if you get burned or scalded, you can just crush the scales and apply them on the wound. These military fish seem to be quite a lot in number. My second brother and I will go and catch them. You help us hold the flashlight on the shore." Lin Xianghui said as he took off his clothes.
"I'll go down, you guys take a break..."
"No, if you catch a cold, my dad will beat us to death. Let's just go down."
The brothers jumped into the water one after another, causing a large splash. The surface of the river had originally become calm, but now the military fish started jumping again.
Ye Yaodong had no choice but to hold a flashlight on the shore and help carry the bucket to catch the fish. He saw his brother-in-law catch three army fish with one net. Each one looked to weigh about eight or nine pounds, which was really big.
Lin Xiangrong was quite ruthless and caught four fish in one go, putting the heavy fish into the bucket.
Each of these army fish is about the same size. There are only a few of them, but the bucket is almost full. However, there are still many on the river surface. Without a container to put them in, the fish will die as soon as they come ashore. How can we sell them tomorrow morning
Ye Yaodong thought about it and saw that there was a lot of straw on the roadside. He simply used the bow fishing technique to tie up the fish so that he could free up the bucket to receive the goods.
This is a technique that helps fish breathe oxygen on land! It is a method of preserving fish in Jianou, Fujian Province, and it has been passed down to this day.
Pass a rope through the fish's nose and tie a knot. Bend the fish's body to the right into a bow shape. Tie the other end of the rope to the tail near the anus. After tying it, tie the rope tightly.
This will reduce the fish's struggle and not consume a lot of their physical energy.
It can also keep air flowing in, because fish cannot open their gills on land. Keeping the gills open at all times can ensure that the fish can breathe freely, survive longer, and thus stay fresh.
It is best to tie the fish up and put it into the water or fish pond, then the fish will spit out the mud. By tying it in this way, the fish can survive longer out of the water, at least for one or two days.
If it is not put into water to spit out all the mud, its survival time will be reduced, but it should still be able to survive until tomorrow morning. How long it can survive then depends on its luck.
He was very skilled in his job, but no matter how fast he tied the fish, he could not catch up with their fishing speed. He could only let them squeeze in reluctantly. Fortunately, the bucket was big and high enough.
After tying one, he threw it aside, saving the trouble of carrying things. He could just pick it up in his hands and carry it back later.
But these military fish seemed to be quite a lot in number, and the two brothers-in-law were still trying their best to catch them, but they didn't know whether they would be able to catch them all in a while.
He couldn't help but ask, "How much is this fish per pound? You caught so many? Is it easy to sell?"
"This fish is expensive. It costs 0.2 yuan per pound now, and grass carp is only 0.5 yuan per pound. Catch more. It's rare to see it."
"Fuck, this Danshui fish is also 20 cents?"
No wonder, this one is definitely worth 1-2 yuan, if you get 100 of them, can't you sell them for 100 or 200 yuan? You'd be a fool not to get them.
"Yes, some freshwater fish are not cheaper than fish in the sea. We haven't seen this fish for a few years. We thought it was because there were too many factories in the past two years and the water quality was not good enough. Now it seems that the water quality here is not bad."
"Catch them quickly, many have swam away."
They didn't have time to talk now. The more fish they could catch, the more money they could make.
Ye Yaodong sat on the shore and worked on tying the fish until they had swam up and down the river and didn't see any army fish.
They were very satisfied when they saw the tied fish all over the ground. At last, they had compensated for the loss of the Chinese sturgeon.
"How many are there?"
Ye Yaodong continued to speak: "Look for yourselves, there are dozens of them all over the floor, right?"
The two couldn't wait to count.
He shook the bucket again, and the army fish jumped twice. "I guess there are ten in the bucket!"
At this time, Ye Yaodong suddenly thought, is there anyone in the countryside who specializes in purchasing Danshui fish
How long will it take for you to sell retail products
It's not that he looks down on the purchasing power of country people, but people nowadays generally don't spend money on food and drink, and it's not easy to earn some money. With so many items, one item is not cheap. Families with two working people may be more willing to spend money.
The two brothers did not expect this, and were still counting excitedly. They had never caught so many military fish at one time. In the past, at most they could catch a few when they came here to fish.
Ye Yaodong couldn't bear to criticize them, "With so many, can you find a fishmonger to buy them?"
The two of them frowned instantly and couldn't count any more. It seemed that it was difficult to sell them individually, but the fishmonger...
I didn't know them. They were just ordinary farmers. They used to just catch a few and sell them at the market in the morning.
Now with so many fish, they also felt the situation was difficult and were only concerned with the joy of catching fish.
"We don't know anyone," Lin Xianghui said after a moment's hesitation. "There's a vegetable market in the village, and there's also a farmer's market in the town. Let's take some of them and sell them in a few markets tomorrow. We'll see how much we can get."
They didn't expect to catch so much at once. They were just in high spirits and didn't think too much about it. These fish can only be kept until tomorrow at most. They may not be alive the day after tomorrow. If they don't sell them, it will be a pity to waste them.
Lin Xiangrong's originally happy face suddenly drooped again.
Ye Yaodong consoled him, "Take it to the restaurants and hotels in town tomorrow and ask them. Restaurants and hotels consume a lot of it. If you sell it at a lower price, you should be able to sell a lot."
"Yes, you can take it to the restaurant and ask."
The two of them looked better immediately.
"Put on your clothes first, and let's go back. We'll sell as much as we can tomorrow."
There were so many fish that it was difficult to carry them in their hands, and they also had to carry other shrimp cages and hand nets, so they simply put all the fish into the fish bags of the shrimp cages.
The two brothers were carrying a net of army fish. Their moods fluctuated greatly that night and they were not in the mood to joke. They were worried about how to sell the fish tomorrow.
Ye Yaodong was also thinking about it, but apart from selling it to restaurants and hotels, he had no other good ideas. He could only wait and see tomorrow.
Lin Xianghui pondered all the way as he walked, and when he was almost home, he said, "Adong, get up early tomorrow to help us sell in the village. Arong and I will push the cart to the town tomorrow. He will sell at the entrance of the farmer's market, and I will go to the restaurants in the town to check out the food. After the sales, we will share the money."
"It's fine to help you sell them in the village. As for the money, forget it. I didn't do much anyway. You guys were the ones who fished in the river. I just tied the fish on the shore."
They have already suffered a loss by releasing the Chinese sturgeon, so let's just forget about this small amount of money.
Lin Xiangrong said calmly: "Let's talk about it after it's sold. We don't know how much it can be sold for yet. It's a bit early to talk about the money now."
"Yes, let's go back first. It's a bit late now, and we have to get up early tomorrow."
Ye Yaodong knew that his second brother-in-law was a little unhappy, but there was nothing he could do. A fishing ban on Chinese sturgeon would be issued next year, and the situation was probably very sensitive now. It would be better not to go against the wind. They were just ordinary people.
When we returned to the village, it was pitch black all around, without even a light. In order to save electricity, there was nothing to do in the countryside at night and everyone went to bed early. The Lin family was also quiet.
Ye Yaodong groped his way into the house in the dark under the moonlight, but when he lay down he woke up the sleeping Lin Xiuqing.
She said in a dazed voice, "You're back," and fell asleep again.
Maybe she was tired after walking a long way with the child in her arms today. Ye Yaodong originally wanted to talk to her, but he had to give up and closed his eyes to sleep.
But it was difficult for him to fall asleep deeply when he had something on his mind. It was still very dark when he heard faint voices outside the house and woke up immediately.
After listening carefully, it seemed to be my brother-in-law's voice. Is it time to go to the farmers' market
He quickly put on his clothes and went out, only to see him talking to Lin's father.
He was a little confused, as he thought it was the two brothers-in-law talking there.
"Adong got up so early?"
"I got up when I heard the noise. Why did Dad get up so early?"
Father Lin frowned and said, "Arong is missing. I just asked his wife and she said he went out half an hour ago."
"Ah? Where did he go? Didn't we agree that he and the eldest brother would go to the town to sell fish, and I would go to the vegetable market in our village to sell. I thought it was the eldest brother and the second brother talking, and I thought they were going to the morning market and leaving."
Lin Xianghui was also very confused. "I don't know either. He didn't tell me about the sudden change of heart. I don't know where he went before dawn."
"Are you unwilling to give up and go and catch that Chinese sturgeon?"
"Ah? No way?"
Father Lin quickly asked, "What Chinese sturgeon? What happened when you went out last night?"
Lin Xianghui told his father what happened last night, while Ye Yaodong went to their small firewood shed to look for some fishing gear and found that everything was there and nothing was missing.
"It's time to release it. Don't be afraid of ten thousand things, just be prepared for the unexpected. You can't get yourself into trouble just because of a fish." Old people are very afraid of things.
Ye Yaodong heard this as soon as he came out of the woodshed. In fact, if the fishing ban policy was issued later, then they would have been caught. If he didn't catch any, there would naturally be a large number of people fishing. The key point is that fishing will be banned next year, which means that the number of fish is really small now.
"Is all the fishing gear here?"
"Yes, he probably didn't catch the Chinese sturgeon."
"Then where did he go when he ran out before dawn?" Lin Xianghui's brows were furrowed so much that they could pinch a fly to death. He actually failed at the critical moment, which really made him angry to death.
"Don't worry about him for now. I'm going to the town with you to sell fish. If we don't leave now, it will be too late. It will take another half an hour to get to the town. By then it will be dawn. The morning market opens at four o'clock."
Father Lin was very anxious. He didn't know how many of the fish he could sell.
"Okay, let's go first."
Lin Xianghui gave 10 fish to Ye Yaodong. According to the purchasing power of the villagers in his village, it would be very good if he could sell half of them. He put the rest on the cart and sold as many as he could. If he couldn't sell them, there was nothing he could do. He also put a bucket of live fish on the cart.
Ye Yaodong followed the cart. On their way to the town, they would pass by the village vegetable market, so they could go along with the cart so he wouldn't have to carry anything.
It was just after four o'clock and it was still pitch black outside, requiring a flashlight, but the village vegetable market was bustling with people and the noise could be heard from a long distance away.
Every stall in the market was lit with dim orange light bulbs. Ye Yaodong was carrying two buckets of fish, with a torn straw mat tucked under his arm, and squatted down in a random corner.
After spreading the straw mat on the ground, he laid out the fish one by one on the mat, looked around, and shamelessly hawked his wares in accordance with local customs.
I haven’t been to the market to sell fish in my two lifetimes, so it feels quite novel.
The morning market is quite lively, with quite a lot of people coming to buy and sell things early in the morning. It's not even dawn yet, but there's already a faint light on the horizon.
At this moment he was still hawking his goods with great interest and looking around, but when the sun rose high in the sky, he could no longer smile.
Several hours have passed, and only 3 have been sold. Is it possible that they can’t sell anymore
What a fucked up situation.
He threw all the fish back into the bucket and planned to roll up the mat and go back directly.
I didn’t sell any of them during the busiest time of the morning market, so how could I expect to sell them when the market is almost closed? There are not many people around.
Just as he was rolling up the mat, he heard a commotion not far away and felt that there were many people talking. With curiosity in his heart, he quickly rolled up the mat under his armpit, picked up the bucket and followed directly, asking people as he walked: "What's the commotion? What happened in the village?"
"I don't know! I haven't heard about it, and it hasn't been broadcast on the radio."
"You'll find out when you go and see."
As soon as Ye Yaodong approached the crowd, he heard the villagers discussing something about the Ocean Bureau and what kind of fish they were here to catch.
He was surprised. Could it be that they were here to catch Chinese sturgeons