After the family had a simple breakfast, Ye's mother finished her housework and came over.
Lin Xiuqing was going to have a sterilization operation this morning, so she came here specifically to help them look after the child.
If it weren't for Secretary Chen's intercession, Lin Xiuqing would have been taken to get a sterilization the day after giving birth. Now that she's done with the confinement period, she should go as soon as possible to avoid making things difficult for them.
Lin Xiuqing squeezed out a large bowl of milk and kept it for Ye's mother so that the child would have nothing to eat when she left.
In fact, it wouldn't take much time if they went to the town's clinic, but Ye Yaodong was worried about the poor sanitary conditions in the town and the lack of a professional operating room for the operation, let alone disinfection.
I was also worried that my skills were not up to par, which would be bad for my health in the future and cause various problems. So I went against everyone's advice and decided to go to the county town to do it, which would only take a little more time by car.
He was also considerate enough to bring an extra blanket. After all, she had just come out of confinement, so he would wrap her up in it after the operation, and it could be used to pad the seat to make it softer.
Seeing Lin Xiuqing's face pale with no color after the operation, he felt distressed.
"It's okay, we're going home."
She didn't say anything, just nodded.
They were lucky on the way there and back today; they didn't have to wait too long for a car to arrive. There weren't many people doing sterilization surgeries in the hospital, so it was done quickly.
It was just past noon when they got home, and he considerately served her tea and water.
"I'll ask mom to stew two eggs for you to fill your stomach first, and ask her to come over during the day to cook for a few days. You can just lie down and rest for a few days."
"It's just a minor surgery. Many women in the village have done it. Don't make a fuss about it."
In fact, she was very happy and enjoyed it very much.
"It's okay. My mother is idle anyway, so I'll give her something to do so she doesn't get sick from idleness."
She laughed and said, "Nonsense, there are so many things to do at home and in the fields, how can she be idle? If she had some free time, she would weave two nets."
"Don't worry about it, just take good care of it. I'll go talk to him. If I get scolded, I'll just scold him."
Sure enough, as soon as he went out and told his mother to come over and cook for a few more days, he was immediately criticized.
"It's just a sterilization, it's not a big deal. You've already finished your confinement, and you can't cook? Whose wife in the village walked back home and went to work in the fields after sterilization? You're the only one who has too many problems..."
"I have my own wife, I take care of her myself. If you don't cook for me, I will. It's just right for me to rest at home for two days..."
"Why are you taking a break? You are used to being lazy. When will you change your lazy habits? It turns out that it is not your wife who wants to take a break, but you yourself. Your elder brother and second brother went out to sea at night, and you are still hanging around at home..."
"Everyone wants to catch as much as they can. The flood season is about to end. I want to go with them, but you are not in a hurry and you are cooking... Which man in the village cooks at home? If you tell others about it, they will laugh at you..."
Ye Yaodong said angrily: "What are you laughing at? What's wrong with men cooking? Men can't cook? Aren't all chefs men?"
"You don't even do your work, but you're still thinking about cooking at home. You're going to piss me off to death."
"Then just tell me whether you can cook or not?"
How could he still be so confident? Ye's mother picked up the spatula and wanted to slap him in the face, "Cook, cook, cook. I owed you in my previous life, and you are the one who is most worried. Your elder brother and second brother are much less worried..."
"It's quite worry-free. Last year, a person was defrauded of 1,000 yuan. Hey, if I wasn't defrauded, does that mean I made 1,000 yuan? Damn, I got rich? Then I can be fine if I don't go to the sea for a month or two..."
After hearing this, Ye's mother almost suffocated and tried to hit him with a spatula, but fortunately he was quick to avoid it.
"You bastard coffin, you just make me angry, I'll just beat you to death."
Ye Yaodong said with a chuckle: "Why are you so angry? After all, you have earned 1,000 yuan. You were also very excited at that time."
Mother Ye was very upset. "Go away! It's an eyesore."
"You can cook the eggs first, and then simply cook two bowls of noodles for a meal. It's almost 1 o'clock, so just eat something casually."
After Ye Yaodong finished shouting, he walked out. The squid season was almost over, and he would not be able to catch a large amount next time, so he had to arrange his longline fishing again.
He had to send the hooks in advance to have someone sort them out, and he also had to find Ah Cai to order the bait. He had to prepare everything that needed to be prepared in advance, otherwise he would be caught off guard.
It is impossible to take a break and the pace of making money cannot stop. Even if you don’t have the ability to make big money, you can still accumulate small amounts into a lot.
In the evening, when Ye Yaopeng and Ye Yaohua came back, they were also there expressing regret. They had only caught less than 200 kilograms of catch today, even after picking and fishing. There might be even less tomorrow.
Fortunately, they still pulled up two nets and sold them for 20 yuan. Sister Ye Dasao and Sister Ye Ersao also dug up a lot of shellfish, seaweed and clams when they were free.
While helping to choose, Ye's mother said, "Have you heard? Recently, many people have dug up a lot of shellfish on the island because of squid fishing. Just after dinner tonight, I heard that several people in the surrounding villages have dug pearls out of shells in the past few days, and some have also dug them out of oysters."
She has been helping with the confinement care here recently, so she has fallen behind in the news, otherwise she would have known it long ago.
Ye Yaodong raised his eyebrows. When he went to the dock to buy fishing bait in the afternoon, he also heard that someone had dug up a Pinctada martensii oyster and opened a lot of pearls.
This is quite normal. Every year, pearls are accidentally produced in the surrounding fishing villages. The only difference is the quality and rarity. It is hard to say about these randomly produced things.
Oyster pearls and Melo pearls are very rare, which is no less than a stroke of luck. However, Pinctada martensii is more common. It is also one of the main oysters that produce pearls in the sea. It has a large output and good quality.
The depth at which the Pinctada martensii lives is generally near the low tide line to a depth of more than 20 meters. They usually live deeper in sea areas with strong winds and waves and unstable bottom. On the contrary, they live shallower in sea areas with small winds and waves and relatively stable bottom.
I guess these people are digging in the intertidal zone or low tide line, otherwise they wouldn't have the ability to dive.
"It's good luck."
In fact, clams can also produce sea pearls, but the probability is a little lower, and the number is too large. If you dig them one by one, the workload will be too large. And with so many, who knows if you can dig them out? It is better to sell them directly and save trouble.
The same goes for abalone, there is a chance of it being produced, but the probability is low. If it doesn't happen, you will suffer a big loss. There is no need to gamble on the extremely low probability. Just sell it directly and you will get a better price.
The reason why they just pry oysters open is because no one buys them in their shells, so they just pry them open and sell them at stalls.
"Indeed, those people are very lucky."
"Let's open these..."
"Don't dream. Even if you open it, there won't be anything. These are mostly just dried vegetables and clams. There's nothing there."
What truth are you talking about? Ye's mother rolled her eyes at Ye Yaodong and said, "It's better to dry it in the sun."
Ye Yaodong shrugged his shoulders and saw that they had finished picking out a basket of shellfish. He went to fetch water and help wash them. After washing, they had to cook them. After cooking, they had to dig them out and dry them in the sun. Only a tiny bit of meat was left when they were dried.
It's quite laborious and troublesome, so not many people are willing to pry these shellfish. Those without boats can't dig them, and those with boats are not willing to do this.
There is no shortage of food, so wouldn't it be nice to cast a few nets during this time? Recently, some women comrades have dug a little.
"Dongzi is going out to sea at night, right?" Ye Yaopeng asked while squatting aside.
"Yes, I have sent all my hooks to someone to sort them out. The squid season is almost over, so I'll get some other compensation."
"It looks like we have to fix it too."
Father Ye interrupted, "Put out more hooks. Recently, many fish have reached the spawning season. I heard that trawl nets catch a lot of small fish and shrimps, which are not worth much. It is better to use longline fishing to catch big fish."
Both brothers nodded.
At night, when Ye Yaodong got up, he also changed the child's poop bag.
There was no way, it really happened so coincidentally. I just got up to put on my clothes and heard her crying. I wanted to pick her up and comfort her, but I smelled a bad odor, and it was stuck to his fingers. The sticky feeling made him feel sick instantly.
If she wasn't so young and stopped crying once he held her in his arms, he would have wanted to spank her hard.
Lin Xiuqing woke up when she heard the baby crying, "Is she hungry? Does she want to eat?"
"You pooped, it's all over my hands. I'll go get some water, you just lie down."
Since he had already touched her, it was only natural for him to wash her butt. However, he didn't know how to put on the diaper, so he threw it to her mother.
Ye Yaodong scratched Ye Xiaoxi's nose and said, "I, your father, have only changed your shit bag."
Lin Xiuqing's mouth kept rising, "You go out to sea quickly, I'll take care of it."
"Um."
"I made you a hat yesterday afternoon. Remember to wear it. It's on the sewing machine."
"good."
Seeing that it was getting late, Ye Yaodong hurried out.