The couple stayed on the isolated island until two o'clock in the afternoon. Only when the tide began to slowly rise did they stop. Four large bags of various shells were piled on the beach next to them.
Lin Xiuqing looked at the barnacle shells on the reef wall with great interest, "We can't dig them all up even if we come here every day."
"Well, these are all things that no one wants. Who has the time to come here every day to dig them up? Only the big conches and oysters can be sold for some money. The others can't be sold for much money. It's not worth it to go out here specially. It's okay to come here occasionally to get some and take them back as a side dish with rice."
"Then I'll go back. I've been out for so long, and I don't know how my children are doing at home. I don't know if my daughter will cry and look for me."
Thinking about it, she felt bad. She had been thinking about her children at home the whole day. But since she was here, she couldn't go back empty-handed or go back halfway without loading much stuff. It would cost gas to go back and forth.
"Well, you go up, and I'll carry these and walk over on the water."
"Let me help you..."
"No, some of the reefs are uneven, and some are easy to slip. You can go first and get on the boat first. They are just a few sacks. I can carry them in a few trips. Leave the buckets to me."
"Can you do this by yourself? Will it be too heavy?"
"It'll be fine. You didn't fill it very full. I can just carry it back and forth a few times."
"Then I'll watch from here first."
"You go to the boat first, and you can help me pick up the goods later."
"Okay, I'll go over there now."
After Ye Yaodong persuaded her for a while, she got on the boat first.
Looking at the sacks beside him, he frowned and bared his teeth, touched his shoulder, and felt the pain before he raised it. He was about to feel the pain.
These shelled fish were heavy and prickly, and his shoulders were covered in red after carrying them all onto the boat.
After thinking about it, he decided to carry the lighter things first, such as a few buckets, onto the boat, and then he would carry the four sacks.
Lin Xiuqing watched him carry the bags onto the boat with great effort and thought that if she had known, she would not have dug so much. The couple dug so hard and carried the bags with so much effort, and they would have to share some with their neighbors when they returned. She felt sorry for her man.
"It's too heavy, and it's really hard to move. I should have asked Dad to come along. Is your shoulder red? Let me see."
"It's okay, it's all right once it's moved up. I'll go back and take a look. You sit down and take a rest. I'll go drive the boat."
"good."
Ye Yaodong shrugged his shoulders as he drove the boat, and after returning to the shore he had to carry the goods onto the cart.
Fortunately, there were many people on the shore, so I asked a few acquaintances to help lift the boat. Everyone was happy to lend a hand.
"Did you two go out to the sea this morning to dig up these shells on the island? These are worthless, and it would be a waste of effort to bring back so many. If you want to eat these, just dig up some. There are always available."
"Yes, it's really heavy. When you dig out the meat, there's only a little bit. It's hard to dig. Only my wife will go and catch some oysters when she's free. I'm too lazy to dig for other things."
"Who said it wasn't? Just let the women at home do it. Why are you going with them? With this much time, you can earn a lot by doing any job."
Ye Yaodong explained: "We just want to save trouble and convenience. My family is very busy now and doesn't have time to go dig in the surrounding stone walls every few days. There was no goods at sea these two days, and I was free anyway, so I went out to get some back."
"You...there are still a lot of fish in this bucket!"
"Did you pick all these up? Hey, there are so many dog sharks?"
"Is it the traps that are used to collect the goods? There is also a basket of fish, shrimps and crabs there. These dog sharks can survive for more than ten hours without water, so they are still alive."
"Your trap harvest today is pretty good. You actually caught so many dog sharks?"
"Hey? There's another grouper here, a tiger grouper?"
"Shit, there's a sesame seed in this bucket..."
"What good luck!"
"Damn, today's harvest is pretty good! You don't seem to have many traps, right? There are so many good things, this must have exploded several nets."
When Ye Yaodong came back, he collected a few traps. He didn't expect that these people would mistake the fish in his bucket for those in the traps. It was a perfect misunderstanding and he didn't explain.
"Not bad! Today's harvest is not bad. I haven't been out to sea for many days and I was almost out of business. With these goods today, at least I can hold on for a while."
"You are exaggerating. No matter who has to suffer, it is not your turn to suffer."
"You've made so much money, and you still say this."
"Well, didn't I just buy a shop in the city a while ago? I have to pay the rent soon. How much will be left after I pay it? My family is counting on me to make money. It's winter now, and the harvest is really bad. It's windy every day."
"It's like this when you depend on the weather for your living. You'll freeze to death if you go out to sea. If it gets a little colder, you might catch a cold and you won't even have enough money to buy medicine."
"That's unlucky..."
Seeing that all the things had been loaded onto the cart, Ye Yaodong asked Ah Qing to watch while he weighed and sold the goods that could be sold.
When Ah Cai saw his catch, he also teased him, "You have the most catch among the trap nets and Korean nets that came back today. The rest of the trawl nets haven't come back yet, so I guess there won't be much."
"It's just a way to make a living."
"That's a modest thing to say. When we need to pay the bills at the shops in the city, why don't we go together? We'll have company, and we'll all be going to the same place anyway."
"Sure, no problem."
Ye Yaodong chatted for a few minutes, and after he sold the goods and got the order, he turned around and showed it to A Qing and asked her to keep it. He then grabbed the two handles of the cart and prepared to push it.
But at this moment, he saw A Guang coming out again, and there was a mouse following him
Following A Guang again
They saw him too and walked straight towards him.
"Dongzi, are you going out to sea today?"
"Take your sister-in-law out to dig some shells. Take advantage of the good weather these two days and bring some back to dry in the sun. That way you won't have to worry about running out of stock when it gets cold and windy. Why are you out so early to pick up the stock? Haozi is here too!"
"I thought it seemed like the wind was about to pick up, and I didn't know when they would be back. So I went out early to wait, so that I wouldn't be too late and the boat would have already docked."
Haozi also said: "Haha, I didn't work these two days, so I went to visit Ah Guang. He happened to be out receiving the goods, so I followed him out to help."
Ye Yaodong's mouth twitched when he heard this.
I thought she would rely on him, but she chose A Guang. Does she think A Guang's family is richer than his, or what
Have you been visiting A Guang's house often these days
It is obvious that the real purpose is not drinking.
He glanced at A Guang, but saw that A Guang's face was full of helplessness, but he could do nothing to help. He would rather see his friend die than let him die.
"After I go back and divide up the goods, I'll have my mother send some to you."
"I'll pick it up from your place after I finish collecting the goods. I don't have to ask my mother to make a trip. Besides holding the baby, I have nothing to do at home."
"It's all right. It's up to you. Did Haozi bring anything that can be packed? I'll pack a basket for you."
Mouse quickly smiled and said, "No, no, I'll go home and get a basket later and come back to your place to get some more."
"Well, that's fine. You guys can handle it on your own and collect the goods slowly. I'll go back first."
He pushed the cart, greeted them and left first.
Lin Xiuqing just smiled and greeted A Guang, asked a few more questions about Huimei and the child, and then they left.
After waiting until there was no one behind or beside him, Lin Xiuqing said, "Is your friend called Haozi going to A Guang's place every day these days?"
"It's hard to say. Maybe it's because A Guang's family has two boats and his father has made a lot of money. On the surface, their conditions are definitely better than ours. Also, he wants to be the captain of A Guang's other boat and take advantage of it, so he might come to visit more often."
"Hey, they are good friends. If there were no conflicts, he might have bought a boat. He wouldn't have to work so hard."
"Every family has its own problems. His wife's family is not doing well. No matter how much help others give, it can't fill the bottomless pit. He has to stand up on his own first. I don't know how he is doing after I reminded him the day before yesterday?"
"What happened to his wife's family?"
Seeing that she was a little confused, Ye Yaodong explained to her what happened when he encountered them yesterday.
"Well, I don't know if Guang has agreed to let him drive the boat for a few months."
"You should have agreed, right? Otherwise, why would you go to his house again today? You'll know when Guang comes over later just ask him."