After the fishing net was fully collected, the three of them avoided the tail and worked together to lift the fishing net and the huge black-backed ray onto the wooden table.
Father Ye was grinning so hard that he couldn't close his mouth. "We didn't catch a whole net of manta rays, but it's still a profit to catch such a big one."
"This one is so heavy, it must be over 100 pounds. At 0.20 cents per pound, that's over 20 yuan! I'm rich. This is the first time I've seen such a big one..."
"Who would buy such a big one? Isn't this just a 50% discount? When eating seafood, it's all about size. The bigger it is, the more prestigious it is to eat it."
Ye Yaosheng looked at Ye Yaodong in confusion. What does this mean
Father Ye guessed what he was thinking, "Are you going to send it to Hongsheng?"
"Of course. Only the young master over there wants chicken of the sea feet. No one else knows what they are. Since we have to make the trip anyway, we must send this black-backed ray as well."
"It's this big. I can't say there are none, but they are not common either. Send it over to have a look. An extra two dollars is still two dollars. It's a side trip anyway. Don't bring it back to Ah Cai."
If you don’t make money, you’re a bastard!
Father Ye nodded in agreement. "Right, right, right. Rich people like to eat rare things. They bought such a big fish last year. This one should be easy to sell as well. The more dollars we can get, the better."
Ye Yaodong stroked his chin and said, "I don't know if such a big fish is delicious or not. How to eat it? If there are eighteen dishes, it will be enough for 20 tables, right?"
It's a pity that I didn't have any experience the first time I caught it. Next time I meet it, I will definitely cut off one of its whiskers and keep it for myself.
"Why do you care how people eat? Use something to poke the fish to see if it is dead. Each one of them is poisonous. It is so big, I am afraid it will not look good if I cut off the tail. What if I can't sell it at a good price? I heard that some people are very particular about keeping it intact."
The tail spine of the black-backed ray is highly toxic, just like the dorsal spine of the stonefish. Once stung, it can cause unbearable pain at best, and shock or even death at worst.
However, under normal circumstances, black-backed rays disdain to use poison and will only release toxins when their lives are threatened. They are so willful and kind.
Ye Yaosheng turned around and took a short stick. He whipped its tail a few times, but it didn't move. "It should be dead. We can free it now. Lift it into the basket and it can probably be used as a lid."
"Let me do it. I'm better with gloves on."
Ye Yaodong stretched out his hand and gestured. It felt like it was a whole circle bigger than a toilet lid. There was nothing wrong with the analogy made by his father and brother A Sheng. It took up most of the table, and there were two shoe-like fish pressed underneath. Fortunately, they were flat fish to begin with.
He untied the fishing net skillfully, ignoring the other fish, and first dragged out the black-backed ray by picking its nostrils. Ye's father and Ye Yaosheng also helped to untie the fishing net from the black-backed ray and helped to support its body.
There was no room on the table, so they untied their clothes and dragged them onto the floor.
"It's really heavy..."
"It's only valuable if it's heavy. I'll go get a basket and some rags to cover it. Don't let it get exposed to the sun. Even though it's winter, it's not good to be exposed to the sun for too long..."
"If I can get a good product every day, why would I worry about not being able to make money?"
"Then you should go to the Mazu Temple more often to worship and burn incense..."
"Drag it into the cabin first..."
After being busy for a while and settling the black-backed ray, they continued to collect the net. All they talked about was the black-backed ray, and their excitement was evident.
They waited until the sun went down before pulling up all the sticky nets from the sea. Then they started casting the nets again, ready to collect them again tomorrow. It was a rare few days of good weather, so they had to hurry up and work.
After setting the net and returning to the shore, there was only a little light left in the sky, and the return journey took nearly an hour.
However, their boat was not the only one that returned late. It was because they had not been out to sea for a long time and everyone was reluctant to finish work and come back early. There was no wind in the evening, and except for some small wooden boats parked on the shore, all the big ships were still outside.
There were quite a lot of people coming and going on the shore. Some were waiting for their family members, some were helping to pick goods, and some had just returned from land.
They were not in a hurry to lift the small wooden boat and the black-backed ray onto the ship. Instead, they lifted the other goods that needed to be weighed first, and then lifted the goods that were to be kept back for drying onto the cart. Finally, they lifted the black-backed ray.
At this time, two large boats also came ashore, one on the left and one on the right, directly on both sides of their boat. Before their huge black-backed ray was lifted off the boat, it had already attracted the attention of the people on the fishing boats on both sides.
"Ah? Dongzi, my God, you caught such a big manta ray?"
"Such a big one! I've only heard of it before, but this is the first time I've seen one caught by one of our villagers."
"Dad, how did you catch it? Did you get caught with a sticky net?"
"This is bigger than the pot on our clay stove..."
One of the two boats that just docked belonged to Brother Ye and Brother Ye II. Today they brought their wives to the island to dig for shells, and they came back late because it was getting dark, so they just happened to catch the boats that docked together.
Father Ye smiled happily and said, "It was caught with a sticky net. I was shocked to see that such a big fish could be caught. This one weighs over 100 kilograms."
"Dongzi is really lucky. He often encounters big fish like this..."
"I collected it. It wasn't him who collected it today."
"Did Dad collect it? That's amazing..."
Ye Yaodong and Ye Yaosheng carried the baskets off the boat, while Ye's father walked beside them and kept looking back and chatting with the two brothers. Even a fool could hear the happiness and pride in his tone.
People on the shore who had not left yet also saw it. Everyone was whispering and saying that it was rare to see such a big manta ray.
Ah Cai ran over happily to help carry it. "This is a black-backed ray. This one is really big and rare. We have found a treasure. Yesterday, I heard someone from the neighboring village caught a 40-50 kg manta ray with a trawl. That one was big enough. I didn't expect yours to be even bigger. It's a whole circle bigger than the sieve..."
"Hey, hey, hey? Where are you carrying it to?"
"Lift it onto the cart!"
Ah Cai's happy expression froze for a moment, "You won't sell it? It's so big, it's worth dozens of dollars, why don't you sell it?"
"No! Take it home first to protect the house."
Ah Cai: “???”
"What kind of house is this? Hurry up and carry it in so I can weigh it for you. You don't even know how heavy it is..."
"That's fine..."
Ye Yaodong signaled Ye Yaosheng to carry the goods into the shed first, put them on the scale, and then lift them onto the cart.
The others were also curious about how much such a large black-backed ray weighed, so they followed.
Even Brother Ye didn't bother to unload the goods and came over to take a look. How many pounds could such a large cargo weigh
"It must be 100 pounds~"
"I also think it must be more than 100 pounds..."
"It's definitely bigger than the one that was pulled up from Gutao Village yesterday..."
"Of course, they weigh only a few pounds, this one is obviously bigger..."
Everyone was guessing and watching Ah Cai constantly adding weights to the big scale.
"Hey, 108 jins, it's really over 100 jins, wait... wait... I have to deduct two jins from the box... 106 jins..."
"That's big..."
"How much is this one?"
"About 20 bucks..."
"That's not bad... It's worth two or three websites..."
Ye Yaodong was also very happy as he hadn't caught such a big fish in a long time.
"Thank you~"
"What are you thanking me for? I'll calculate it for you..."
"Hmm? No need to count. I want to carry it back."
Ah Cai was shocked. "You really took it back to protect your house? You're using it as a lucky charm?"
"Don't you think this little look is very domineering?"
Ah Cai: “?”
Everyone: “?”
Ye Yaosheng: "Little?"
Ye’s father: I just admire his words.
Ye Yaodong doesn't care what others think, he says whatever he wants.
After saying that, he raised his hand to signal Ye Yaosheng to help carry the basket away and put it on the cart.
Ah Cai watched the big fish pass by, cursing in his heart, "What a thief! He kept the good ones and only gave him the unwanted ones!"
The crowd was also whispering, saying that he didn't even want to sell it and was carrying it away
"Did you take the wrong medicine?"
"Are you really going to carry it back to protect the house?"
"Nervous... It's obvious where to sell it at a higher price, right?"
"Oh yes, there are shops in the city..."
"Comparing yourself to others makes you angry... I'm actually shaking just by looking at him..."
"Yeah... I heard there are two stores..."
"It's only been a short time, and we already have everything..."
Everyone was whispering, but it didn't affect Ye Yaodong at all. If he is not envied by others, he is a mediocre person.
The cart was already full, and there were still two baskets on the ground that couldn't be stacked any more. Ye Yaodong asked his father and brother Asheng to push one cart home to unload it, and he would wait here first.
Ah Cai thought about it and came over again, "Are you really planning to deliver it to the city yourself? Aren't you selling dried fish? Suddenly you got a fresh one..."
"It doesn't affect..."
"You have no ice... Even though it's cold..."
"Oh, yes, you need to spread a layer of ice cubes and then cover it with a cloth to keep it fresh. This is safer. Please get me a bucket of ice cubes later. Thank you."
As he said that, Ye Yaodong called his second brother to borrow an empty bucket. He hung the bucket that he had not used just now on the cart and asked his father to pull it back.
Ah Cai glared at him. He hadn’t made any money yet, but he still wanted to stick up a bucket of ice
Too much talk!
"Why are you staring at me? I've just sold you several baskets of goods. Go get busy. My elder brother and second brother have already carried the fish in. I'll pack the ice myself later. I'm familiar with the process. I don't need you."
As he said this, he waved at him and told him to go on with his work.
Acai looked helpless.
At this time, the people in the hut were also asking him to weigh the goods, so he had to shake his head and turn around to walk inside.
If you don’t want to sell it, then don’t sell it!
Ye Yaodong was getting bored while waiting, so he took out a cigarette and thought while smoking that it was already dark and it was too late to go to town, so he could only wait until tomorrow.
Then we have to call one more person tomorrow to go out to sea with his father and Brother Asheng.
I'll go back and ask his father to call one himself.