Fortunately, we went out to sea to fish for three consecutive days. We noticed that there were fewer squids, and the number was decreasing gradually day by day.
The daily catch was 600 to 700 kilograms, then 500 kilograms, and then more than 300 kilograms. On the third day, because of the rain, we only caught 100 kilograms and were forced to call it a day.
Raindrops as big as beans fell down with a crackling sound. Ye Yaodong and his father were soaked from head to toe. They were still holding up the nylon bags to cover the goods to prevent them from getting wet.
"I've only done a few jobs, and the goods are getting less and less every day. It's also raining. It's only two o'clock, and there are still several hours to waste. I don't know how long it will rain."
Father Ye also felt a little sorry, but luckily they went into the water in the morning and caught some Jiang Yao, which could make up for today's loss.
"No need to wait for the rain to stop, just go back. It's already past three o'clock now. Who knows when the rain will stop?"
Ye Yaodong nodded, and went to drive the boat directly to pick up his two brothers-in-law, and also called little A Zheng to go back together. The waves were big on rainy days and the visibility was blurry, so having one more boat would also provide one more person to look after.
The two brothers-in-law did not feel too sorry, as they had already picked up most of the catch in the afternoon, and the squids were obviously becoming less and less recently. In the afternoon, they would go to pry shells from the rocks or go fishing around the island.
Probably because the waves were strong today, they caught a lot of crabs, including more than a dozen blue crabs. They also picked up a lot of fish and clams, as well as a big sea bass weighing more than eight kilograms. They were so happy that they almost didn't want to go back.
Ye Yaodong was also very happy to see the harvest of his two brothers-in-law. "It's a good harvest, but it's a pity that we have to go back early. The baby is one month old tomorrow, so we need to take a day off. It's raining, so we can come back in two days."
Lin Xianghui smiled and said, "We will go back after the baby is one month old. We have troubled you for so many days and have earned a lot of money..."
"We are all family, no need to be so polite."
"I'm not being polite. I think we can pick the bayberries on the mountain. There's a lot of work to do at home. Our parents are old, so we have to go back and help them. I think the squid season is almost over, so we can go back after the full moon."
"Okay, then you guys decide for yourself."
"We'll keep the goods we caught today and not sell them. We'll prepare a good table tomorrow. Thank you for your hard work these past few days."
"Okay, let's go back and talk about it. The rain is getting heavier. You guys can go to the small cabin and take shelter."
On rainy days, the rain would obscure the view of the lake and reduce visibility. Ye's father was worried about letting Ye Yaodong drive the boat, fearing that he would not be able to tell the direction or that he would run aground. So he took out a spare straw raincoat from the cabin and put it on, then drove them all into the cabin and took over the job of driving the boat himself.
Xiaoxiao and Azheng were both inexperienced, but luckily, Father Ye was driving the boat in front to lead the way, so they just had to follow.
After all, Father Ye was experienced. Although the rain was getting heavier, he managed to reach the shore safely in the heavy rain.
There are also many small boats that have already docked at the pier. These small boats cannot go too far and can only fish in the waters around the coast. The harvest will be a little worse, but they have made a lot of money during this period.
Everyone's harvest was generally poor today, and there was not much cargo piled up at the dock, which was much worse than the previous few days. However, the purchase price of squid did not go up at all, as supply really exceeded demand.
There is less goods on rainy days and there is no need to queue up to sell goods. Ye Yaodong takes all the goods except the ones that are left over to be weighed.
The villagers who were taking shelter from the rain at the purchasing point were also discussing that today's harvest was not as good as before, and the squid season was probably almost over.
"Ah Dong, how many loads did you catch today?"
"You guys have always gotten more than everyone else, so you should get quite a bit today too, right?"
"No way, what I caught was about the same as everyone else. The extra ones were picked up by my brother-in-law. I only caught a little over one load today. It was almost all in vain."
Seeing the two brothers Lin Xianghui and Lin Xiangrong carrying Jiang Yao over, the villagers stretched their necks to look.
"You picked up a lot of Jiang Yao again? You're lucky, there are some every day recently."
"It just happened to happen. It will probably be gone tomorrow."
In fact, he had almost dug up that area, and he would look around to see if there was anything else.
"Your harvest is not bad. A little bit of goods here and there is not a small amount."
"We have to find a way to get to Hukou, right? There's one more mouth to feed at home. I just paid a large fine, so I have to find a way to earn more. We can't just fish for three days and dry the net for two days, living one day at a time." Ye Yaodong responded while weighing the goods.
"You have caught about a thousand bucks in this period, right?"
"More than that!" Acai replied while weighing the goods.
Ye Yaodong glared at him, then said to the gossiping villagers, "You're talking as if you didn't sell for a few thousand yuan. You've been catching a lot these days, 500 to 600 kilograms, 600 to 700 kilograms on and off for many days, not less than me, and I was fined a large sum of money."
Conjunctivitis can be found everywhere, but luckily he has no handle to report him now. As long as he doesn't show off his wealth and cries about being poor, even a millionaire cannot hold him responsible. It's just that Ah Cai talks a little too much today.
"Speaking of which, when can we get the money from selling the squid? It's a huge sum of money, Acai, please don't run away with the money."
As usual, let’s change the subject first!
Ah Cai had just finished recording the accounts when he heard this. He looked up and glared at him.
"What nonsense are you talking about? I have always been honest in business, and I make a lot of money every year. Am I so cheap that I have to run away?"
"That's not necessarily true. Usually, the goods are scattered, and you settle them every few days, so the accumulation is not much. The amount of squid in the past few days was huge, several thousand kilograms a day, and the money you received was several times the usual amount. No, you have to pay me part of it today, otherwise I will go to your house tonight and stay there."
Originally he thought that since he was talking so much today, he might as well jokingly change the subject to him, but as he was talking he really became worried. These goods were not just from his family, but also from other families, so it was really a lot of money.
Nowadays, it’s hard to find a criminal if you just run away. Without an ID card and no cameras, you can just get on a train and start a new life in any city.
The villagers also said, "Yes, yes, let's settle part of it first. The flood season is almost over anyway."
"Yes, yes, my family is in urgent need of money, and I want to come to your house in the evening to settle the bill with you first."
"That's right. I'll calculate part of it today, and the rest after the flood season is over. If the payment for the goods hasn't arrived yet, it's okay to pay it two days later. I'll give you some today. Everyone has to make friends and make a living."
"Why are you in such a hurry? I haven't received the payment for the goods yet." Ah Cai said depressedly. He was also anxious to get the money, but who would advance the money for him
"So many days have passed, there must be some that are gone. Let's settle some of it first."
"exactly… "
"Okay, okay, I'll advance you some money. Why are you in such a hurry? Can I really run away?"
Ye Yaodong smiled and said, "Anyway, if you put the money in your hands, you have to give it to us after one check. Let's just settle a little with each person first, so as to avoid the situation where the amount is too large and gets stolen. What should we do? There are many dishonest people in the village."
"Yes, yes, yes. Even the wood is stolen."
"Yes, everyone knows that you have a rich family. They might take advantage of the abundant goods and money during this period to directly come to your house."
"If anyone dares to come into my house, I will chop off his hands." He looked at Ye Yaodong again, "We should give the Xu family bastard a good beating and break his legs. That idiot, I find him disgusting every time I see him."
"Then I'll leave it for you to break your legs. We agreed to go to your house in the evening to settle the score. I'm going back now. I'm all wet and uncomfortable..."
I don’t know when the rain will stop. We are all soaking wet anyway, so we don’t mind getting wet for a while longer. We can go home earlier and take a hot shower earlier. It’s easy to catch a cold with the change of seasons.
After Ye Yaodong returned, he calculated in his mind how much he had earned from squids during this period. Two thousand yuan was at least, because he not only caught squids, but also caught a lot of fish from the sea.
After deducting the fine for having more children than allowed and the money for buying an internet machine, he estimated that he could still earn a thousand yuan. His hard work during this period was not in vain. He bought this and that, and his family assets did not decrease but increased.
After he finished his meal, he took a shower and took a nap. He didn't get up until the evening to settle the accounts.
It was still drizzling at this time, and many people came to Acai's house to count their money after hearing the news. He had a large amount, so he took 500 yuan first, while the others only took two or three hundred, but it was also very good.
The villagers were originally in a bad mood on rainy days, but now no one felt that way anymore. There was money to be shared, and everyone looked very happy. They all said nice things, saying that they would wait until the rain stopped so they could catch more tomorrow.
God knows how much he can earn tomorrow. Anyway, he has no time to go. The baby will be one month old the next day, and he has to accompany Aqing to get sterilized on the third day.
Fortunately, the flood season is almost over. He has made so much money, so he doesn't feel bad about not being able to go out for the next two or three days. He just treats it as a holiday. He has been really hard during this period. His face has been tanned like Bao Gong, a completely different color from his butt.
It's not summer yet, and it will be even hotter then. No wonder the fishermen look old.
Lin Xiuqing also felt sorry for him. When he came into the house shirtless to get clothes after taking a shower in the afternoon, she saw that he had sun spots on his back, neck, and chest, with white spots here and there.
Holding a handful of the submitted Great Unity in her hand, she smiled and said, "Let's go to the drugstore later to see if there is any ointment. I'll buy one for you to apply. Your back and neck are all sunburned and peeling."
Ye Yaodong said nonchalantly: "It doesn't matter what's on my body, but I should see if there's any whitening oil on my face. It's only been a year and I'm already so dark. In a few years, people might think I'm your dad."
Lin Xiuqing was amused by him, "How can it be so exaggerated? At best, people will just think you are Xiaojiu's grandfather."
"ah?"