After Ye Yaodong sold the remaining fish of various sizes, he calculated that he had sold nearly 50 yuan in total, and about 8 kilograms of soft silk, which he sold for more than 5 yuan.
The villagers who had not left yet were tempted again. Compared with the harvest, what was the money for the bait
I asked Ye Yaodong and he said he had cast a thousand hooks, but only collected two rounds in total, yet he sold so many goods. I can figure it out.
With 1,000 hooks, it is incredible to catch a few dozen fish in one round plus other goods. You have to know that there are no small fish caught by longline fishing, and you can catch several rounds at intervals throughout the day.
Ye Yaodong didn't mind the villagers following suit as the sea was so vast.
He had loaded so much cargo that there were still baskets of fishing lines and hooks on the boat that had not been taken off the boat yet. Everyone could see it.
After putting away all the receipts, he caught two of the four remaining soft silk fish and gave them to his father, each weighing more than half a catty. He also kept two horse mackerel weighing about 2 catties, and gave one to each of them.
Goods need to be sold, and food needs to be eaten.
After agreeing on the departure time at 3 a.m., Ye Yaodong pushed the cart home. In addition to the bait, the cart also contained ten baskets of hooks.
He wanted to ask someone to fix it and send it over overnight. The damage to the hooks today was not too great, so it should be almost fixed after two people fix it in two or three hours. He would probably have to rest and repair it slowly the day after tomorrow.
When he got home, it was already dark. The two children, one adult and one child, had not eaten yet and were waiting for him.
Ye Yaodong said helplessly: "Didn't I tell you, if it's too late, don't wait for me, you and the two children should eat first."
"It's not too late now, it's just getting dark early. Let's eat first and take a shower later."
"I brought back a mackerel. You can do whatever you want with it tomorrow. I caught a lot of soft-shelled fish today and brought back two. You feed the little one and I'll boil some water to blanch them."
Lin Xiuqing nodded. The youngest son was the most troublesome to feed.
Except for fish, other seafood is very fresh when blanched. There is no need for complicated cooking methods such as frying, stir-frying, deep-frying or stewing. People living by the sea also like to eat light food.
After the two soft strips are cooked, they are cut into pieces like donuts. It is easy and delicious to eat with soy sauce and vinegar. Not only adults like it, but his two sons also eat it directly with their hands.
After the separation, he would keep whatever he wanted every day, and he would bring back something different every day. He also asked his wife to cook dry rice, and if there was not enough rice, he would spend money to ask the villagers to share some. The two children's complexions were obviously much better and they had gained some weight during this period.
Lin Xiuqing was the same, her face looked much rosier.
Before, it was difficult for Ye's mother to provide food and drink for the whole family.
After Ye Yaodong had a hearty meal, he did not even bother to take a shower. After taking a look at the ambergris that was still in good condition in the house, he hurried to A Zheng's house to borrow his hand-cast net while it was still early, and also found a piece of wood.
After he came back and took a bath and the children went to bed, he finally had time to touch the ambergris.
Lin Xiuqing also came out of the house wearing a coat, "What is this? Why does it smell fishy? You look so mysterious."
Ye Yaodong smiled happily, "Don't ask what it is. You just need to know that it is a great treasure. It is more valuable than your Melo Pearl."
“Just such an ugly piece of stone?”
Lin Xiuqing was surprised. Although Melo Pearls looked small, they were beautiful and particularly pleasing to the eye. How could this ugly piece of stone in front of her be more valuable than Melo Pearls
She was a little bit unbelieving.
"Well, don't tell anyone. If this thing gets out, our family won't be able to live in peace. Take it out and air it out at night. It can only be stored after it is dry."
"What is it?"
"You'll know it later. Don't let the children see it. Children are not very careful with their words."
"Okay, then I won't ask." Although she was curious, she didn't have to know.
Ye Yaodong used a knife to carve the piece of wood he brought back into shape based on the shape of the ambergris. He wanted to make the forgery as soon as possible just in case.
It doesn't have to be exactly the same, as long as the general shape is similar. After all, people only saw it from a distance, how can they remember it so clearly
"What are you doing?"
"Make a replica, just in case."
"Is this thing really so valuable? Do we need to be so cautious?"
Ye Yaodong thought about it and decided to tell her what happened at sea, but he didn't say what it was.
"You think they will keep coming to your door."
"Don't be afraid of a thousand, just be prepared for the worst. If the family comes to their senses and remembers what this thing is, they will definitely come to our door. Making a fake one can shut them up and save trouble."
"oh."
After Ye Yaodong carved the shape into a similar one, he went out to a small shop and bought two buckets of paint, one white and one gray. The piece of ambergris was light gray, and he tried to make it more similar.
Fishing boats at the seaside often need painting and maintenance, and it is very convenient to buy two buckets of paint in the village.
"Go back to your room and sleep. The paint smell is strong. Try to smell it less. I'll just use the back door to clean it up."
Lin Xiuqing nodded. She felt that he was being a little bit unreasonable.
Ye Yaodong took a piece of broken tile, put a little bit of two colors of paint on the tile, stirred them together, and mixed the colors until they were almost similar. Then he painted the wood and made some repairs after that.
With the help of the light in the room, he put the two objects together and compared them. They were very different when viewed up close, but from a distance, they were very similar and one would think they were the same thing.
Anyway, he doesn't have to make it the same. Li Laoer has never held it in his hand to look at it. It's enough to just look at it from a distance.
After finishing, he put both of them in a hidden place to dry naturally. Fortunately, their house was in a good location and there were no residents around. Even when his eldest brother and second brother went to the toilet at night, they could not reach his side.
After the ten baskets of hooks were sorted and delivered to him, he checked them before putting them away and going back to the house to sleep.
I got up early in the morning to put away the two real and fake ambergris. I put the fake one directly on the cart and took it with me when I went out to sea. I agreed to bring it with a float, so that it would look real when I used it.
Since the real ambergris would not dry up overnight, he put it in a basket, put a towel inside, and hung it on the wall near the door to dry. He told his wife not to go out unless necessary, and just sit at the door to weave the net and watch.
After finishing breakfast and taking a box lunch, he pushed the cart out. However, he did not expect that the wind would blow again at night. The boat had not gone far when the waves started rolling. The boat was shaking violently and people had to hold on to something to stand steady. The waves hit the boat from time to time, so he had to return.
The other ships also went out not far, but turned back when they saw that it was too dangerous.
My hope of going out to sea was dashed, but I couldn't waste the bait. I bought some ice and sent it directly to Acai, and I will come back to get it tomorrow when I go out to sea.
Ye Yaodong went back and took another nap.
Since he couldn't go out to sea today, he planned to go to town to buy materials and ask his mother to help him weave a big net.
"Would you like to go for a walk around town together?"
"You're not going? I don't have much to do there. I don't have anything to buy."
"Go buy some cloth and some cotton and make some thick cotton-padded jackets. The weather is getting a little colder. In two months, it will be inconvenient for you to go out. I have to make two thicker cotton-padded jackets for the old lady. I won't buy these."
Lin Xiuqing frowned, "The whole family is doing it? Isn't that too much? Isn't it too early?"
"What's more? Feel the cotton-padded jackets in your closet, they're all clumsy. Just make them in advance and put them away so you don't have to rush when the time comes. If you suddenly get cold, the clothes won't keep you warm, and you'll have to spend money to buy medicine. We have some money on hand now, so we don't have to live so tightly, right? Didn't I just earn over 170 yuan yesterday and give it to you?"
"All right."
Spending money on medicine convinced her.
After Ye Yaodong brought the two children to Ye's mother, he took the ambergris into the room and hung it there, then locked the door before leaving with peace of mind.
The fishermen in the countryside don’t have receipts and don’t go to the supply and marketing cooperatives on purpose. There are many things in the alleys that can be bought without receipts, and the prices are cheaper than those in the supply and marketing cooperatives, so their sources are not very legitimate.
Lin Xiuqing went around several shops in the alley, comparing and shopping again, before finally buying two 3-meter-long pieces of thick cotton cloth with different patterns, 9 meters of the cheapest navy blue thick cotton cloth, and 6 kilograms of cotton.
"Is it enough?" Ye Yaodong didn't know how to make clothes, but he felt that 6 kilograms of cotton was too little.
Lin Xiuqing glanced at him without saying a word. She just paid the bill and left, then urged him to buy materials for the fishing net.
Seeing that she had bought everything, Ye Yaodong had to go to the fishing tackle store to buy materials for making nets. After returning home, he found out that his wife had bought all the cloth for the whole family, bought two sets for the old lady, and bought nothing for himself.
No wonder he felt that there was not enough floral fabric. The last time she made him a piece of clothing, she told him to buy two meters, and the same went for cotton.
He pursed his lips and looked a little unhappy.
Lin Xiuqing explained: "I thought that I could make two sets of cotton by removing the cotton from the old cotton-padded jacket. There is no need to spend that money..."
Seeing his dark complexion, she felt a little guilty for some reason. She was obviously trying to save some money. She had spent more than 60 yuan on fabric, cotton, and fishing net materials today...
She pulled his sleeve with an apologetic smile, "I've been at home and haven't gone out, and my two children are still growing, so there's no need to make new clothes for a festival like this. I'll make them with you guys after the New Year. Today, I only bought one set for you guys, except for the old lady's."
It would have been fine if she didn't say anything, but after she did, Ye Yaodong's face turned even darker, it turned out that the amount had been reduced again...
"You only bought the fabric and cotton for a set of cotton-padded clothes and trousers?"
"Two sets of old ladies!"
“Am I not working hard to make money now?”
Lin Xiuqing had never seen him angry before. He was always smiling and showing his sullen face to others. After being married for several years, he had never been angry with her. Suddenly, she felt very uncomfortable and lacked confidence...
I also felt like I had done something wrong.
She stole a glance at him, carefully hooked her fingers around his, and asked tentatively, "Are you angry?"
Ye Yaodong looked at her rare guilty conscience and was silent for a long while before he sighed helplessly and held her hand with his backhand.
"Why do you treat yourself so badly? I can make money now, I'm not useless anymore."