The villagers were envious to see that he caught 70 or 80 kilograms of scallops in just a few hours. No wonder Old Wang wanted to steal them.
Everyone was a little worried that those things they had grabbed into their arms might be shells. After all, the ones he caught were real and alive, so wouldn’t the rest be just shells
There were just too many people and too many shells, so it was impossible to pick them out slowly one by one. By the time you had time to pick, the people next to you would have already filled a sack.
Ye Yaodong looked at the heavy fishing net in his hand, with the scallops crowded together in the middle, and felt very happy.
He just watched the scallops run into the sea and felt it was a pity. Then he had an idea and decided to pull two fishing nets to give it a try.
Anyway, his work would not be in vain, and he could at least catch a little bit if he had nothing. However, he did not expect that the fishing net with a diameter of less than 10 meters could catch 70 or 80 kilograms.
Made a profit.
He grinned with joy, and together with Father Ye, he pulled the net closer to the center. His ears were filled with the envious discussions of his fellow villagers.
The net that several of his friends nearby were helping to collect had already been collected. They worked together, each grabbing a corner and carrying it towards him.
"Should we put the fishing net and the scallops together on the cart? Do we need to pour them out first?" asked Guang.
"No need to pour it out. Just put the fishing net and the scallops on the cart. We can pour it out and sort it out when we push it back."
As Ye Yaodong was speaking, he stretched his neck to take a look at the goods in their fishing net. There were quite a lot, probably similar to the ones in his net.
He had gone into the water earlier and scooped up half a sack. This morning, he had scooped up at least more than a sack.
Even though the villagers have a lot of sacks filled with scallops, if you pick them out, there may not be as many scallops as in his two nets.
It really was not a wasted effort. There are four rows of traps on the shore, so at least we can catch a few more fish.
"You are really good, Dongzi. Everyone is desperately trying to pull shells out, but you are the first to put the net into the water to catch the live ones."
"Excuse me, what time did you get up? You guys who live by the beach were the first to discover it, right?"
"There should be a lot of shells, right?"
"You should have picked up a lot of fish, right? I heard that everyone said that those who came early on the beach picked up a lot of big fish. You are right at your doorstep."
"Yeah, how many fish did you pick up? What kind of fish did you pick up? I heard someone just picked up a grouper."
After they put the fishing nets on the cart, they gathered around and asked questions one by one.
The villagers around were also talking there, and someone said that they caught a lot of fish last night when the typhoon and big waves were blowing.
Now the villagers asked again.
"Is it true? I heard that when the typhoon hit last night, a lot of fish were blown onto the shore. Did all the families living by the sea come out to pick them up?"
"Really? Are you so brave that you come out during a typhoon?"
"I heard that the waves brought all the fish up, and with the typhoon blowing there, the fish were like dumplings..."
“Isn’t that too exaggerated?”
The fat man was so surprised that he couldn't close his mouth. He asked Ye Yaodong again: "Really? It's like making dumplings. This is nonsense, right?"
Xiao Xiao stroked her chin, looked at the scallops in the bowl and thought, "It's possible. Look at the waves rolling up all kinds of shells and pushing them to the beach, forming a white coastline. Rolling up fish from the sea, what's the big deal?"
Ye Yaodong and his father were just lifting the fishing nets onto the cart after collecting them. Ye Yaodong answered casually, "I started to put out the nets when I came out this morning. It wasn't too late. People came out to see the tide at daybreak. Then word spread quickly and more people came."
Father Ye also said: "Everyone has packed a lot of bags, let's make way...let's make way..."
"So you guys really came out to pick up fish last night when the typhoon hit? Did they really make dumplings?"
"It's more than just making dumplings. It's almost like sacrificing to the Dragon King of the Sea."
"ah?"
"Make way, I don't have time to explain in detail right now, go ask the others." He was busy, so he didn't have time to just stand there and chat. "You guys just piled those things there, aren't you afraid of them being stolen? Hurry back and guard them, otherwise if someone secretly takes them away you won't be able to find them."
When some people saw their family members pushing carts over, they ran over. Some were afraid that their things would be stolen, so they went back to guard. Only the people around remained standing where they were.
While they turned their heads to look at his goods, Ye Yaodong saw that some people had left, so he pushed the cart directly towards the wide gap, walked towards his home, and said hello to his friends.
"Thank you very much. I'll push it back first. If you want to use a cart, come over and push it later."
"I just need to borrow some money. I'll go with you." A Zheng said quickly.
"Who's watching over your stuff?"
"Dad, my mom has gone to borrow a cart from my sisters. I don't know when she can get it. You can come faster."
"Yes, sure."
Anyway, after he takes the things back, he has to sort them out and pack them up before he can sell them.
Seeing that he was busy, the others did not ask any more questions. Only Ah Zheng wanted to use the cart, so he followed him back.
The two of them walked and talked, and Ye Yaodong also told him about the typhoon last night and how they risked their lives to pick up fish. Ah Zheng was surprised and envious when he heard it.
"You really know how to seize opportunities to make a fortune. What happened to your eldest brother later?"
"I was so scared that I went home. He never came out again, and we were there to pick him up."
"This is an opportunity that comes with danger. The higher the risk, the greater the reward. Fortunately, the typhoon and the big waves didn't blow away your house."
"You're talking nonsense. They are all stone houses, how could they be blown away? It's possible that the roof was blown off."
Ye Yaodong pushed the cart to the door of his house and asked his father to remove the rear baffle. Then he lifted the handles on both sides to stand the cart up. The scallops and fishing nets on it instantly slid to the ground.
"Give it back to me right away after you use it. I still need to sell some goods."
"knew."
Mother Ye was also surprised to see the scallops all over the floor. "You've only put the fishing net out for a few hours? How come you've got so many?"
Others came over to take a look and were also surprised.
"There are quite a lot of them? These scallops can really run..."
Mrs. Ye couldn't help but worry, "If they are alive and can run so fast, then what we brought back are all shells?"
Mrs. Ye frowned and slapped her thigh. "Hey, you, I was wondering why there are so many shells after picking half a bag? The ones with meat are just a thin layer at the bottom of the bamboo basket."
Mother Ye glanced at the pile of shells on the ground next to her. Basins, baskets and other containers were filled with various shellfish and clams picked out by the children.
The scallops indeed only formed a thin layer at the bottom of the bamboo basket, and there were more oyster shells in another basket nearby than scallops.
"Hey, you, why do you have so few scallops? I think my scallops are half and half empty shells. No wonder you kept talking about shells just now."
Ye Yaodong took off his wet pants, leaving only his vest and shorts. He walked forward to take a look and said, "Is this bag you poured out the one you picked up at the back? Maybe there will be fewer meaty ones at the back. The ones picked up at the front are faster, and fewer scallops escape, so there will be more."
Everyone who listened to this explanation felt that it seemed to make sense. Those that could run away had all run away, and the empty shells that couldn't run away were just piled there, right
Mrs. Ye had no idea when the bag she was picking was stolen, so she could only continue picking in frustration.
Ye's mother also comforted him, "Wait until you finish picking. It's not a waste of work anyway. It only took three hours to pick up so many things. You can sell these bags for a lot of money, so you can earn a lot."
Mrs. Ye couldn't help but say, "That's right, you picked up so many fish last night, those several baskets can be sold for a lot of money, and we don't have any yet."
She was also feeling quite regretful and upset, seeing that everyone had picked up so many goods last night, while they only had one bucket. She felt like she was being scratched by a cat, and she almost ran out to pick them up herself last night.
Upon hearing this, Mrs. Ye felt instantly relieved and a smile appeared on her face.
Everything depends on comparison.
This is how human psychology works. I get little, and when I’m sad I hear even less from you. Then I feel comfortable and am comforted directly.
"Ahua just pushed the fish to the dock. I don't know when he will be back, and I don't know how much he can sell it for."
"It's a must. I don't even have half a basket at home."
The more she talked, the more depressed she became. Mrs. Ye simply stopped talking and went back to her pile of shells to continue picking.
What she saw was that when she got up and went to Ye Yaodong's cart to look at the scallops, the three children were laughing and throwing the clams they had picked out around, hitting each other and having a lot of fun.
But the clams were thrown all over the floor by them, and one hit her chest. She immediately got angry. She was already in a bad mood, and these three people even put her in trouble.
When the three men found out that they had hit my mother, they were so scared that they shuddered and stood up immediately.
If there were special effects, you would definitely be able to see the raging fire burning behind Mrs. Ye.
Seeing their mother's face suddenly fall, the smiles on their faces instantly turned into fear, their skin involuntarily tensed up, and their voices trembled.
"Mother..."
"Mother..."
"Mom... it was Ye Chenghe who threw it... you hit him..." Ye Chenghai decisively betrayed his brother, and then tried to take a detour and run towards the old lady.
"Ah, big brother, you are disloyal," Ye Chenghe looked at his mother who seemed to have turned into a fire-breathing dragon. He shivered in fear and quickly shirked the responsibility, "Mom, you can't blame me. Big brother threw it to me first..."
"You are talking nonsense..."
Mrs. Ye was furious and picked up the bundle of bamboo sticks that the old lady had just thrown into the corner.
She would catch whoever ran the fastest.
Ye Chenghai was terrified when he saw his mother running towards him, "It's none of my business! It was Ye Chenghe who smashed it."
"You make me angry every day. You don't take your work seriously. What's the point of raising you? Just beat you to death. You are so worry-free..."
"Why am I always the one who gets beaten..."
"You are the most naughty one... You can't even lead the way... Who else should I hit if not you? Get over here..."
"don't want… "
When Ye Chenghe saw his mother chasing after his elder brother and beating him, he instantly breathed a sigh of relief, while Ye Jingjing shrank her neck and stood silently in the corner, fearing that she would be implicated.
When Ye Chenghai ran to the old lady, he found her sitting there. He had nowhere to hide and the old lady had no intention of protecting him, so he hid towards Ye's father.
Ye's father didn't care that his daughter-in-law beat his son, he beat his son too.
Ye Chenghai hid beside Ye's father for twice, and when he saw that he was about to be caught, he hid behind Ye Yaodong again.
He was still pulling at his clothes from behind and trying to dodge, shouting, "Uncle San, save me! Save me!"
Ye Yaodong ignored the farce next to him. He was pouring out the scallops from the fishing net, but then a tail suddenly appeared behind him and kept pulling at his clothes, affecting his work. It was so annoying and not at all worry-free.
He turned around, picked up Ye Chenghai and pushed him to Mrs. Ye, then left him alone.
Ye Chenghai was caught off guard. After being shocked, he howled loudly, "Ah... Third Uncle... Mother... Oh~ Oh~ I wrongly trusted you, Third Uncle~"
"It's so noisy, sister-in-law, help me hit it a few more times."
Ye Chenghai looked at him with tears in his eyes. "You even asked my mother to beat me. That's too much. You are disloyal. I will never go to your house to play again."
"That's perfect. I just want some quiet time. If the tide goes out tomorrow, don't look for me."
"Ah?" Ye Chenghai also thought of the last time his third uncle helped him hide his private money. He didn't dare to say anything and silently accepted the baptism of the whip.
The three members of Ye Yaohua's family, who were standing nearby, saw Ye Chenghai being beaten and laughed at him without any brotherly love, gloating over his misfortune.
But sadness always comes so suddenly, especially for Ye Chengjiang, who was laughing the happiest, because suddenly, he was slapped on the back of his head.
"Are you doing this with your eyes closed? You can't do anything right, and you throw things everywhere. You have the nerve to laugh at others, but you will be the next one to cry."
Ye Chengjiang and his two siblings immediately became obedient.
Ye Yaodong looked at this bunch of kids and found none of them worry-free. Then he looked at his own two and felt that these two didn't seem to deserve a beating so much in comparison.
After he poured out all the scallops from the two nets, he handed them to his father to pack.
There is no need to choose by size. Anyway, once it is pulled outside the dock, it will be sorted before being weighed to prevent someone from taking advantage of the situation and mixing in empty shells.
He sorted out the fishing net and returned it to the owner.
Lin Xiuqing said at this time: "When you return the fishing net, take two watermelons with you. You are borrowing someone else's fishing net anyway, so just mention it when you take it over."
"I know."
At this time, Ye's mother muttered, "You saved someone last night, but they didn't even come to thank you..."
"Why are you in such a hurry? They might not be able to spare the time. Didn't you guys rush to the beach right out of the door in the morning without even having breakfast? And you've only just managed to get the goods back now."
Father Ye also agreed, "That's right, let's put it this way. Saving a life is saving a life, and you should be thankful for using someone's things."
"You must be mistaken. The fishing net didn't belong to the four people who fell into the water, so how can it be linked to the matter? If you are sensible, you will come to thank me when you have time."
"I just said this and you replied to me ten times. I didn't say it shouldn't be done."
Seeing that they were about to quarrel after just a few words, the old lady quickly changed the subject and said, "Dongzi and your father haven't eaten yet, go back and eat first, and then come back to work. Your mother and the others have just gone back to eat. How can you, a grown man, bear to be hungry..."
Her eyes were on Ye Yaodong from beginning to end, and it was obvious that Ye's father was just a passing mention.
"Got it, let's take care of this first."
"It won't be finished in a short time, go eat first..."
"Got it. I'll return the net first. You don't have to do anything. Xiaojiu is still sleeping in the room. Go in and help take a look. She can turn over now. Don't let her roll under the bed."
“Okay, okay…” The old lady quickly put down the work in her hands and went into the house.
The old lady is not afraid of working, but she is afraid that her family will not let her work, making her feel that she is a useless person with no place to use her talents.
The car had been borrowed and had not been returned yet, so Ye Yaodong put the sorted nets back into the bamboo basket, then went home, picked up two watermelons, put them in another basket, and carried them on a shoulder pole towards Landa and Zhou Laoer's home.
Several families were sitting at their doorsteps, gathering around to pick up shells. When they saw him coming to return the fishing net, the people who had fallen into the water expressed their gratitude, but said they were too busy to come and express their gratitude.
After being polite for a while, Ye Yaodong chatted with them for a few more words, satisfied their curiosity, and told them approximately how many kilograms of scallops were caught in the fishing net before returning home.
As for whether they would regret it, have any thoughts, or say something behind his back, he would not speculate. Anyway, on the surface, they were good neighbors.
When he returned the fishing net and got back to the doorstep, the cart had already been returned. He immediately went back into the house with Ye's father to carry the fish.
Everyone picked out some last night. We kept two baskets of those that were not worth much and picked out five baskets of those that could be sold. In particular, the half basket of large white pomfret with the golden-eye snapper lying on top looked particularly eye-catching, white and red, with a particularly strong smell of money.
"Mom, we still have two baskets of worthless fish, shrimps and crabs at home. See if you want to send some to relatives later. There is a little red light ahead, but there is no sun now, and we don't know when the sun will come out. If there is no weather, they will get rotten in the sun. You can do whatever you want while they are fresh."
"Got it. I'll pick up a few and send them to your aunt and uncles later. We haven't been out to sea for a few days, and we don't know when the waves will recede. It's just right to send them two bowls of food."
Just when Ye Yaodong had finished carrying the fish, shrimps and crabs and was about to carry on the scallops, the old lady came out with porridge. In addition to pickled mustard tubers, there were also two specially fried eggs on top, which looked particularly appetizing.
"I told you to eat early, but you haven't eaten for quite some time. Hurry up and eat while it's hot, or you'll be busy and you won't know when to eat."
“Why did you bring it out…” Ye Yaodong saw the old lady’s hands were shaking as she was holding the porridge, and he quickly took it, “I’ll eat it right away… I’ll eat it right away…”
Ye's mother pursed her lips and muttered, "You're already in your 20s, and you're still chasing me to feed me..."
Ye Yaodong picked at the food quickly, eating in big mouthfuls, and finished it in no time.
But the old lady reached out and touched his stomach, muttering, "I didn't eat this morning, and it was just a bowl of porridge. Can it fill me up? Your stomach is still flat after eating this. I'll go in and fill some more for you. Eat more..."
"No, no, it's just to fill my stomach. I'll have lunch soon. If I eat now, I won't be able to finish lunch."
"How old is he? How can he still be hungry? Don't worry about it. Don't get in the way. You are busy. Do you still treat him as a three-year-old child?" Father Ye couldn't bear to see the old lady's caring look, so he said a few words.
Ye Yaodong stuffed the bowl into the old lady's arms, sent her into the house, and pushed the cart out to the dock.
Along the way, there were a lot of fish, shrimps and crabs scattered along the way. It seemed that a lot of seafood was rolled up from outside the dock last night. Everyone went to the beach to carry shells early in the morning. I don’t know who benefited from the goods outside, and who picked them up
Now only some worthless and unsightly goods were left, which were cheap for the ducks pecking at the food nearby. They were in for a treat today and could have a hearty meal.
The father and son pushed the cart outside the dock, but they were unable to pick up a single fish worth their attention as all were eaten up by the wind and clouds.
There were also many seabirds flying around the shore, and from time to time some of them swooped down and picked up small fish from the ground. Ye Yaodong couldn't help but wonder whether the fish washed up by the waves on the beach had all gone into the mouths of these seabirds
That would be a waste of natural resources.
"Dad, Dongzi, you guys are out too." Ye Yaopeng and Ye Yaohua had just finished selling the goods they picked up last night and were pushing a cart towards them.
Seeing Ye Yaohua's very happy face, smiling from ear to ear, I guess the selling price must be very considerable. However, Ye Yaopeng was not so smiling.
"Yes, how much are you selling them for? Are you just selling the ones you picked up yesterday? How much is a pound of scallops? Any questions?"
Ye Yaohua smiled happily, "We haven't sorted out the pile of shells yet, and we don't have scallops to sell, so we're selling the fish, shrimps and crabs we picked up last night. There's been a typhoon these days, so there's less seafood on the market, so the price is pretty good. Scallops are 37 cents a pound, and small ones are 37 cents."
Ye Yaopeng added: "But I heard from Ah Cai that this was the price before the typhoon a few days ago. The typhoon hit last night and suddenly there were so many scallops being washed up by the waves. The price may drop a lot because the quantity is so large. He said that we need to collect them first and take them to the market to see before we can set the price."
"He said that since there were so many scallops, the price would be the same no matter which company bought them, so we could rest assured to give him the goods."
Father Ye nodded. "That's normal. With so many of them coming out suddenly, it's normal for the price to drop."
"Push it over first, we still need to sort it out. Now that there is no one at the dock and everyone is still sorting at home, there is no need to queue up, so we can sell it quickly and go back to continue working."
Ye Yaodong could already imagine how bustling the dock would be in the afternoon.
Ah Cai was also surprised to see that they had sent over a sack of scallops early in the morning. "I heard that you set up a net on the beach early in the morning. Are these what you caught in the net?"
"right."
"Young people are smart. They are one step ahead of others! They are still picking up shells at home, but you have already delivered them."
Ye Yaodong suddenly had an idea. "I sent it here early. Can you arrange to send it away earlier? If you sell it earlier, while there are still few on the market, can you get a higher price?"
When everyone sends all of their goods here in the afternoon, the quantity is so large that the price will definitely drop.
Ah Cai smiled obscenely and tapped him twice with his index finger, "Your brain works pretty fast."
"Is that so?"
"Well, some other people just sent a lot of fish here. They all live near your beach. You braved the typhoon to go out and pick up fish yesterday. You really deserve to be rich. There are enough fish, so we can send them away with a tractor. We can sell them for a good price because there are fewer fish during the typhoon."
Ye Yaodong was also happy after getting a positive answer.
It was indeed a wise decision to set a net in the sea to catch live scallops. Being one step ahead of others, these more than 100 kilograms of goods can be sold at a good price.