While Ye's father was driving the boat, Ye Yaodong went to sort the fish. He only cast a net today, but the harvest was mediocre, with most of the fish being squid.
What a pity, it’s windy and I can’t do my homework.
The weather at the seaside is really unpredictable. Fishermen rely on the weather and luck for their livelihood. They don’t even know if they can go out to sea at night.
Although they finished work early today, they still caught about 500 kilograms of squid, of which more than 100 kilograms were picked up. Together with other fish, they sold more than 160 kilograms. The price of squid has also dropped to 30 cents, and it is estimated that the price will continue to drop.
The squids picked up by Lin's father and mother were sold for more than 37 yuan, one yuan more than yesterday. They were so happy that they almost lost their mind.
"It's a pity that I can't stay a few more days."
"Why can't you stay longer? Don't we have two brothers-in-law at home? Just leave the work to them. There are so many adults at home, and there are people there. Why do we need you? It won't be a problem if you stay a few more days."
Father Ye also agreed, "Yes, Dongzi is right. We can stay a few more days during the flood season and earn some money."
"That's what he said, but he felt bad when he didn't go to check on the family's fields for a few days. He would usually carry his hoe up the mountain to hoe it when he had nothing to do. He didn't trust his son to take care of the fields himself."
"Besides, we didn't plan to stay this time, so we didn't bring any spare clothes." Lin's mother explained with a smile.
Father Lin also said: "It's not a big deal that I didn't bring any clothes. I have been tending to the fields for decades, and suddenly I haven't been in the fields or up the mountains for a few days. I feel uncomfortable all over. I have to go back to check on them to feel at ease."
Ye Yaodong knew the old generation’s attachment to their land, so he didn’t force them.
"Then go back and hoe the fields for two days and come back. The flood season should still be a few days away. When you come out at night, ask my dad to scoop up a basin of sea water and check it out. It will be a few more days before the peak of the flood season begins."
"Okay, okay, let's go back and take a look first."
After selling the goods, they put the baskets and the leftover goods back on the cart.
The dock was noisy at this time, with crowds of people everywhere. The shore was filled with all kinds of large and small boats, and people were carrying things back and forth.
Baskets full of squids were carried off the boat, and everyone's faces were filled with joy of the harvest. During this period, the villagers mainly caught squids.
People who were familiar with each other were discussing today's gains, and they all talked about the wind with regret.
"I don't know if the waves are big at night. I wonder if I can go. It would be a pity if I can't go."
"Who said it wasn't? I can only come out and take a look at it at night..."
"How's your harvest? How many baskets have you collected today?"
"Nine baskets, that should be more than four loads."
"Hey? Ye Laosan, have you guys weighed it? How many loads have you collected today?"
Father Ye smiled and said, "It's not much different from yours, just over five loads."
When people calculated weight at that time, they seldom said hundreds of kilograms verbally. Most of them asked how many loads there were, because people at that time used shoulder poles to carry the loads.
One load is one hundred kilograms.
"That's a lot more than us..."
"We also picked up a load on the island."
"You'll be lucky if you can find an island with a beach. The island we looked for had low tide and the seawater could hit the rocks, but there was no beach to be seen."
Others also said: "It's good to find an island. There have been a lot of fights on the sea these days. Many people just throw their fish into the sea where no one is working. The harvest is not bad."
Father Ye smiled and said, "We have finished the weighing. Let's go first. We are tired after a day. Let's go back early."
"Go ahead, we still have to queue..."
Just as they were pushing the cart and preparing to go back, one of Ye Yaodong's cousins suddenly ran over in a hurry, then stretched his neck to look through the crowd, and then looked at the sea.
Ye Yaodong called him in confusion, "Jianjun? Who are you looking for?"
He turned around and saw Ye Yaodong in the corner. He quickly squeezed over and said, "Cousin, someone is here to seek revenge on you. They have blocked that group of people in the village. Some of them have gone home to get their weapons. My mother asked me to inform you as soon as possible. Auntie said you haven't come back yet and she's very worried. She asked me to come to the dock to check..."
Ye Yaodong glared, "Who's here to seek revenge? Come on, come on..."
He took two shoulder poles from the cart and handed one to his cousin Jianjun. Then he said to Ye's father and the others, "Dad, push the cart home first. I'll go over and take a look."
The stick was on the boat and had not been taken down, and there was only a carrying pole on the cart.
Father Ye reminded him anxiously, "Be careful. Has Jianjun called the village head and secretary?"
"Dongzi...wait...let's do it together..."
"Uncle, please help us push the cart back home. I'll come to your place later to push it."
Xiaoxiao and A Zheng each took a shoulder pole from the car and followed, talking as they walked.
"Damn it, it must be the father and his two sons we beat up yesterday. They are looking for death and they actually came to our door. Let's go and take a look."
"It must be those three. How many people did they bring? Damn, they actually know which village I am from. That's amazing." Ye Yaodong also asked Lin Jianjun.
"We all have marks on our boats to indicate who owns what. I guess they went to ask around after they came back yesterday."
"Definitely. It came pretty quickly."
Lin Jianjun also trotted after them. "It looks like there are more than 20 people. They are a group of menacing people. Some are holding sticks, some are holding poles, and some are holding shovels. It's obvious that they are not good people."
"Fortunately, the villagers noticed them just after they entered the village, stopped them, and called the young men everywhere. Now they are pushing and shoving and cursing at each other."
"They were fiercely demanding that you return the diesel engine. Did you really move their machine? Everyone in the village was saying this morning that you brought another machine back yesterday. As soon as they said that just now, everyone knew it was you. What's going on?"
While running, Ye Yaodong told him what happened at sea yesterday.
"It's what they deserve! They should be emptied out. They even dared to rob. If the boat is damaged, we can use his boat as collateral."
Xiao Xiao said: "It may be that the wind has started to blow, and the villagers have all returned, so they came to visit us at this time."
Ye Yaodong frowned, "Who cares? Run faster..."
Just after they passed an intersection, they heard a noisy noise coming from a nearby bend. The shouting and cursing became louder and louder, and everyone couldn't help but quicken their pace.
When they got closer, they could clearly hear the shouting. When they turned another intersection, they saw a group of young men holding sticks and shouting.
"Call out the people who beat people and stole the machines."
"Come out~"
"Hand over the machine~"
"Get lost. This is Baisha Village, not your territory to run wild. Believe it or not, we have surrounded you and we won't let you leave today."
"Yes, surround them. They are so arrogant. The wind is blowing today. People from our village who are at sea will be back soon. Don't let them get away!"
At this time, the village committee came over and shouted: "What are you arguing about? Don't be impulsive. If you have anything to say, just talk it out. If you really fight, you will suffer the consequences and all of you will be arrested and taken to the border defense station."
"Yes, the border post is not far from here. You can stay there for a few days and then you don't have to catch squids anymore. Let's see whether the loss is greater because of other people's machines or because we can't catch squids."
After Secretary Chen shouted this, everyone who had been arguing with red faces and thick necks suddenly calmed down as if a bucket of cold water was poured on them.
The interests of others are certainly not as important as your own interests.
When it comes to their own interests, everyone is extremely sober. How can they sacrifice themselves for others? They can make a lot of money on this day.
"Everyone calm down, if you have anything to say, please..."
"It's him! It's him!"
Suddenly, a young man with a bruised face pointed at the four people who had just walked over and shouted, "It's them. They stole our machine yesterday."
Everyone looked in the direction of his finger.
The people in the village were not surprised at all and had already guessed that it was Ye Yaodong.
They carried the machines back yesterday and many people at the dock saw it. The news had already spread everywhere today, and everyone was guessing where he got all these machines from
He just brought one back some time ago, and now he has another one. Everyone is wondering if he is also learning from the pirates of Luzhou Island
Only after these people arrived did they realize that the person was robbed. However, before the person himself came over to explain clearly, they certainly could not let people from other villages come and act wildly, and then demand them to hand over the person in a show of force with weapons.
Ye Yaodong and several others came over confidently, each carrying a shoulder pole.
He said bluntly: "So what if we robbed it? We robbed you!"
"Yes, that's right. These shameless bastards were just let off yesterday morning. Yesterday at noon, they sneaked over to the island we occupied and started stealing squids. They caught several baskets."
"We cut the branches around us over several days and threw them into the sea to lure fish. These three were not human beings. They came here arrogantly to catch fish and even rammed Dongzi's boat. The boat was damaged and filled with water."
"Luckily we got back in time, otherwise the three of them would have climbed onto the boat to beat Dongzi and his father."
"You're talking nonsense. It was clearly the four of them that were chasing us."
"If you're here for no reason, why would I chase you? Can't I just catch a few more squids? Why should I waste time chasing you?"
The young man with a bruised face and red neck was so angry that he pointed his index finger at him and said, "Just because we approached the island, you said we occupied your territory, so you wanted to beat us up. You beat us up and took away the machine."
Ye Yaodong and the other two were so angry that they almost laughed.
It's a blatant case of putting the blame on someone else!
Ah Zheng slapped his finger away and said, "Don't point your finger at me."
The young man was also full of youthful vigor. He immediately rolled up his sleeves, glared at the opponent and rushed forward to fight, "Break the chicken..."
“What…what are you doing…you want to fight, right?” The villagers in front of them stopped people one after another.
The people from the other village on the opposite side also came to their senses and helped to hold the man back, "Aqiu, talk properly, talk properly."
Everyone pulled and tugged until they finally stopped the young man named Qiu.
Ye Yaodong also stepped forward and said, "There are traces of your collision under my boat yesterday. Do you want to go to the beach to take a look? You are so shameless. You came here to catch squid so brazenly and are so arrogant."
People who had just returned from the sea also joined the crowd and helped to speak up: "Yes, Adong's boat did have signs of being hit. We saw it when we just landed and were wondering. Who would use their own boat to get hit for no reason? They must be lying."
"That's right, it's so shameless, the thief crying thief."
The father and his two sons all blushed.
"That's because he's chasing us and we can't get away."
"That's because you secretly cast nets around the branches we placed to hold the eggs. Why should we plant the trees while you pick the fruits? Who do you think you are?"
"You're talking nonsense!" the young man named Qiu shouted weakly.
People's eyes are sharp.
One side is full of confidence and has a well-reasoned argument; the other side is obviously lacking in confidence and looks full of shame and anger.
The difference is immediately apparent.
Even the people in their own village knew about it.
At this time, Secretary Chen said, "You should have a general understanding of the whole story. If there is still something unclear, please repeat it again."
Ye Yaodong has already repeated it once, and just said a few more sentences. He doesn’t want to repeat it a second time. He’s been tired after a whole day, who would have the patience to deal with it
Xiaoxiao impatiently took over the conversation and explained the whole thing again, and everyone understood it clearly.
If he wasn't afraid that the fight would get out of hand and everyone would have to go to jail for a few days and miss the flood season, he really wanted to beat them so hard that they couldn't leave the village today.
"Don't believe what he said. We wanted to place branches around the island, but they occupied it and didn't allow us to place them. They also stopped us from leaving and beat us up on the boat, and took away the mechanical fishing net on our boat."
Anyway, no one saw it, so he could say whatever he wanted.
"You are avoiding the main point. You just admitted that you rammed my boat with your boat. Get out of here! You can't possibly pay me back. My boat was damaged in the ram. I'm glad I didn't ask you to pay for it."
The villagers from another village on the other side helped to speak up, "It will cost several hundred yuan to buy a new machine, and it won't cost much to repair the boat, only a dozen or twenty yuan at most. Why don't you just let him pay for the repairs, and you return the machine to him, and the matter will be over today, and there will be no need for anyone to get upset..."
"Yes, everyone should take a step back. We all make a living on the sea, and it's not easy..."
He was scolding with his face red and neck thick just now, and now he says this.
"You're just dreaming. Our two boats were delayed for so long that we didn't catch many squids and had to return. Are you going to compensate me for the loss of the goods?"
"That's easy for you to say. It shouldn't be your own loss. You just open your mouth and close it. Do you have the final say on everything?"
Ye Yaodong sneered. The delay yesterday meant that their two boats together caught several hundred kilograms less fish.
This diesel engine can only be sold second-hand to compensate their losses. Do you have the nerve to just ask for a dozen or twenty dollars to get rid of it
Where does the face come from
After hearing what he said, the people on the other side also felt that it made sense. With more time, they could catch more fish.
"Didn't you carry away all the squids we poached? What did you lose?" The people next to him pulled Aqiu, but it was too late to stop him from saying it.
"Oh~ You've confessed!"
The people around them immediately looked at them with understanding.
"You can't make excuses now, right? We are decent people and we never lie or slander anyone!"