The families of his two brothers and the neighbors did not dry out much produce during this period. Each family only sold 20 to 30 kilograms at most. Adding the consumption in these days, Ye Yaodong only collected 120 kilograms from all the families together.
The goods they dried yesterday will take a few more days to process, and since several families have brothers sharing one boat, if the quantity is divided, each family won’t get much.
After Lin Xiuqing counted the money and gave it to her two sisters-in-law and the neighbors' sisters-in-law, they were still reluctant to leave.
Everyone knows how to do the math, and selling dried fruits can make much more money than selling fresh ones.
Although it takes a little more effort, as long as they can make money, what does it matter if they spend a little more effort and go through a few more procedures? The least valuable thing is their labor.
After everyone took the money, they continued talking there, reluctant to leave.
Mrs. Ye smiled and said, "There are only more than 100 kilograms here. Is that enough? If not, my mother's family still has..."
Sister Ye also said quickly: "My mother's family and my brothers' families also have..."
"We brothers also have..."
"How did things change so quickly? When you came back from the city the day before yesterday, you still had more than half of your products left to sell. Today, you still don't have enough to sell, and you have to collect the goods from everyone?"
"Yes, the day before yesterday, everyone was still regretting that they believed everything they heard. They thought your family had made a lot of money, so they kept all the goods back to dry. In the end, they found that you couldn't sell them and there were still so many left. At that time, they were still slapping their thighs and regretting, thinking that they would lose money if they couldn't sell them. Now, they see that the villagers were right, right? You have made a lot of money!"
"Did you guys hold back?"
"Why didn't you tell us in advance the day before yesterday? Otherwise, we should have left a little more cargo yesterday. I don't know if today's cargo will be in time. Have you returned to the dock yet?"
Lin Xiuqing listened to everyone's jokes and complaints, and quickly explained with a smile, "Sisters-in-law, you are joking. You also said that things changed so quickly. We didn't know that someone would suddenly want so many goods. We thought we would have to set up the stall for a long time, and we didn't know if we could sell them all. We were almost worried to death."
"Now, suddenly there's a boss who wants it, and we can't sell enough at home. If we had known earlier, we would have dried more, so that we don't have to charge the villagers when we don't have enough to sell..."
One sister-in-law suddenly became anxious, "Hey, it's okay, we all have dried fish. If you don't have enough, just ask us. We people living by the sea don't have anything else, so who is short of dried fish?"
"That's right. If your family doesn't have enough, just come and ask us. We'll dry more tomorrow..."
"Do you want more tomorrow?"
Everyone is looking at them hopefully, hoping to make more money, and no one wants to miss the opportunity.
Mrs. Ye Da and Mrs. Ye Er were not in a hurry. They just listened. The three brothers had already agreed last night that they would just sell all the dried fish from now on to Adong. They could make a lot more money and save trouble.
Lin Xiuqing smiled, "It's not clear. Who knows when they will need it? You can either do as you wish or leave some out to dry. If we need it, we'll collect it from you. If not, you can keep some for yourself."
"If I eat it myself, how much can I keep..."
"Alas, there is no definite answer, and we dare not expose it too much..."
Ye Yaodong was tying up the sacks and carrying the dried fish into the house. When he came out, he heard their conversation and he also said something.
"I can't guarantee it to you! Who knows if they will want it later? What if the product is too bad and they don't want it? If the quality is higher, they might still want it."
"When we deliver them, we have carefully selected them. They must be good. We cannot sell the bad ones to others. We keep the bad ones that are not pretty for our own consumption."
"Yes, they paid for it, so we can't give them bad things. We must take the good and beautiful ones. We will eat the bad ones at home."
Ye Yaodong would not make promises to everyone. Who knows how many times the troops will need it? He also cannot let the soldiers eat dried fish all day long. If they want it, he will take it. If they don’t want it, he will sell it in small quantities.
Anyway, he won't lose money, and together with the goods from his elder and second brothers, it is almost enough for him to sell.
"So you guys can do whatever you want. I don't have a definite number for whether I will collect money from you in the future, and I can't say for sure that you can post more. I didn't make a lot of money like everyone said. It's all hard-earned money, so I can't promise anything and I can't afford to lose it."
Everyone looked at each other and whispered to each other.
"It's hard to say whether I should get more sun exposure..."
"You can do whatever you want..."
Mrs. Ye couldn't help but ask, "Oh, by the way, I haven't answered the question I asked before. Do you still want it? If you do, I'll go to my mother's house and get it..."
"Yes, several of my brothers have it..."
Lin Xiuqing smiled and said, "Yes, there is still a long way to go..."
Ye Yaodong glanced at her and interrupted her directly, "It's true that we're still a little short, but we have to ask our relatives and friends first. I just thought that since we're all neighbors, we must take care of them. Let's take yours first. A distant relative is not as good as a close neighbor. We all have a good relationship with each other in the same hometown, so we must take care of them first."
These words were beautifully said, and everyone felt extremely comfortable after hearing them.
"Yes, yes, we have to take care of our relatives first..."
"Yes, if I have to, I will first accept relatives..."
Everyone nodded in agreement, with smiles on their faces.
Ye Yaodong added: "I will ask the relatives first. If the quantity is still not enough, I will tell the sisters-in-law. If there is more to collect next time, I will also notify you."
"Okay, okay, just tell me if you need anything."
"Yes, let's keep it in the sun for a while. It won't go bad anyway. If you need anything, just let us know."
The couple both nodded and said some polite words.
Everyone walked out while talking, as they all had to go home to cook.
After Lin Xiuqing and the others left, he said, "You are so thoughtful. I almost forgot that I should have asked my relatives and friends first. Otherwise, everyone will gossip about me behind my back. Why don't you give the money to your relatives first, but to outsiders?"
"These people don't have much weight on hand, and it's both scattered and troublesome, so I just want to take care of the neighbors. I'll go to Uncle Lin's place later. Uncle Lin left a lot before, so he must have a lot at home."
Mrs. Ye smiled and said, "Okay, then you guys go ahead and do your work. If the quantity is still not enough, tell us. We will also go home to cook dinner."
"good."
After they left, Lin Xiuqing hesitated and whispered, "What do you think, sister-in-law and second sister-in-law, will they weigh all the goods from their mother's house, put them in their own house, and then sell them to us? So that their mother's family can earn more money?"
"It would be fine if it was just my mother's family, but I'm afraid that all the aunts and uncles would collect all the fruits and keep them in their own homes, and then sell them to us. The quantity is too large, and we're afraid that we won't be able to sell them all. But if they've already been sold to my eldest brother and second brother, it won't be easy to take them back."
"Uh... I'm really hard to say..." Ye Yaodong frowned, then immediately relaxed.
"Their family only has a small wooden boat, and they catch all kinds of fish. There aren't that many of them, and I don't want that many kinds of fish. This dried fish must be sold in the same way to sell well. Dried fish is just a by-product."
"When the time comes, we will collect two or three times. If there are too many miscellaneous fish, we can say that the uniform varieties are easier to sell and there is not a need for so many miscellaneous fish. It is also true that fresh ones are not valuable and there is no cost."
Lin Xiuqing nodded. "You decide. I don't understand these things."
"Well, let's not make assumptions about things that haven't been seen yet. I'll go to Uncle Lin's house to check on him. I don't know if he's back yet."
It takes too long to collect scattered crops of a dozen or twenty kilograms. Of course, taking care of relatives is just a nice thing to say, but you have to consider making things easier for yourself first.
Uncle Lin also has a good relationship with his father and is very nice to him. Last year, he lent him the rolling wheels for most of the year.
Since you want to receive the goods, you must first ask the other party whether they sell it or not. If there is money, of course you should give it to him first.
Seeing him walk out empty-handed, Lin Xiuqing hurriedly stopped him, "Why don't you just take the scale with you? It's already four o'clock now. If Uncle Lin hasn't come back yet, you can weigh it first. Wait until he comes back to ask whether he wants to sell it or not. You can know how many kilograms it is first, and then go to your relatives to calculate the purchase price, so as not to waste time."
"also."
He turned around and took both the big and small scales with him, and pushed the cart as well, so that he could collect the goods wherever he went and save the trouble of carrying them.
It's cold, and it gets dark after five o'clock. It's already four o'clock now, and he still has to collect over 500 kilograms. He doesn't know how long it will take him to finish picking and collecting all the way.
"When my parents come over for dinner, remember to ask them to help me after dinner. I'll go to Uncle Lin first, then to A Guang, A Zheng and Xiao Xiao, and finally to the aunts and uncles."
"knew."
It was a very cold day, and it was not yet dark, but there was no one on the streets in the village except for some children who were running and jumping around without fear of the cold. Those children were all blowing their noses, but they were still running around and playing.
Occasionally, he could hear some desperate cries, calling their children to go home for dinner, cursing as they shouted. After catching someone, they would grab the clothes by the shoulders, cursing and dragging the person into the house...