Mrs. Ye and Mrs. Ye waited until their men had carried all the goods to be sold off the boat and moved all the goods to be taken back to dry onto the carts before they asked Ye Yaodong to help them watch over the boat as well.
They have to send a truckload of fish back first, and then come back to carry those in shells, so they will be busy in the evening.
They have been away from home for a whole day, so they have to go back to see if the children are well behaved and naughty.
Ye Yaodong nodded, it was just a coincidence.
Their boat was also piled with sacks at this time. Seeing that it was full and had a rich harvest, one could tell at a glance that the two sisters-in-law had worked very hard today.
They have to kill fish and open shells. I don’t know if they can handle it at night. How long will they have to work? Can they still go out to sea at night
The two sisters-in-law really work hard to make money.
He also felt a little itchy. In fact, it was quite fulfilling to dig these shells on the reef wall, especially if there was any unexpected discovery, it would be pure profit.
I wonder if they looked around the shore more when they were digging for shells on the island today, and whether they found any good stuff? I forgot to ask just now.
Ye Yaodong stood on the shore, puffing smoke. He would greet people he knew and look off into the distance at those he didn't know.
There was a pile of crushed cigarette butts at his feet. He didn't count how many cigarettes he had smoked. Anyway, he had no time to smoke during the day while working. Now that he finished his work, he had nothing else to do, so he made up for it.
He is not a heavy smoker, but he still smokes when he needs to. One pack of cigarettes a day makes him as happy as a god.
After he put out another cigarette, Ye's father and Ye Yaosheng finally arrived, pushing a cart.
He stepped on it and chased it for a while, then picked up the bucket that his second brother had just given him, "Dad, put these in the car first, I'll go to Ah Cai to get a bucket of ice."
"Keep this manta ray fresh?"
"Yes, he said. Even though it's cold, it's best to keep it fresh with ice. It's free, so why not?"
"Then go ahead and we'll carry it to the car first."
Ye Yaodong went and came back quickly. Acai was busy weighing the goods and had no time to care about him. The ships behind also came back one after another and were unloading the goods onto the shore.
When he met someone he knew, he would greet them and take a look at what they had caught.
After looking around and finding nothing remarkable, he returned to the cart and said to Ye's father.
"The small wooden boat hasn't been taken down from the ship yet. Brother Sheng and I will go and do it. You wait here for a while. There's still some space on the cart. The boat isn't big, so it can barely fit on it. At least it's good enough to be able to push it."
Father Ye nodded.
Baskets of fish were coming and going on the dock. Everyone was using flashlights, and with the lights from a few small huts nearby, it seemed quite bright and the road could be seen.
Nowadays, everyone has very good eyesight, and the few people who wear glasses are all intellectuals.
Avoiding the villagers who were carrying a large basket, the two climbed onto their own boat. It was high tide when he came back. The water level rose, so the fishing boats did not need to stay outside, but could dock at the shore.
Two people came down, one in front and one behind, carrying a small wooden boat, which attracted the villagers who were moving goods back and forth.
"Hey, you? Where did the boat come from? Did you pick it up from the sea? It's covered with barnacles and shells. How could there be so many?"
"What's the point of picking up everything? It's just shells. This boat looks useless. It may not even burn if we pick it up as firewood..."
"That's fine. Ask your wife to knock the shells off the boat. You can dig out some meat and eat it for two or three meals. Eating fish and shrimp every day is tiring. It's okay to eat these shells occasionally. They make soup delicious."
"That's right. People visit the shore every day. Now there are only a few green gulls on the stone wall that can be picked to make fried eggs and salad. There are very few of these with shells."
"What a pity. I don't know how long this small wooden boat has been floating. I guess it can't be used anymore. Otherwise, it would be nice to pick up a small boat for free."
"The whole ship is full of shells, so densely packed, it must be ruined..."
“I wonder if there are shipworms in it… I guess there are…”
"That can only be known after it cracks open. If it hasn't cracked open yet, you can't see it, and it won't show up..."
It was already dark, so they didn't have time to crack the shells here. They had to transport them back home first. They didn't know if they could dig up all the shells on the boat that night. If not, they would have to leave them for digging early tomorrow morning.
Only when the digging is almost finished can he hand the boat over to Brother Asheng, so that he can slowly split it and have another meal.
Seeing that they had picked up another small boat for free, everyone was a little curious and kept their eyes on them.
As a result, when we saw them lifting the boat up, we didn't know whether it was covered with various shells, or it had been soaked in the sea for too long, so it was too fragile and too heavy, so they lost control.
The small wooden boat accidentally fell down and landed directly on the ground, breaking into two pieces in the middle.
Fortunately, they jumped back quickly when they saw they failed, otherwise they would have hit their feet.
"Hey, how could you fall so carelessly?"
"That's it, it can't be used..."
“It can’t be used in the first place, right?”
"Ah, there really are shipworms. They look disgusting..."
"Where? There really is..."
I saw many small holes in the middle of the broken wooden fishing boat, with white worms wriggling in each hole. There were white worms in every small hole, and they looked quite dense in the middle of the fault.
The women around rubbed their arms in disgust, thinking it was too disgusting. There were really not many people in their village who would eat this. Only some older people were discussing whether it would taste better if fried.
These elderly people have truly experienced famine and have eaten everything.
Ye Yaodong was also disgusted. "Okay, go get a bucket from my eldest brother and second brother's boat, catch all the shells you can, put them in the bucket, and take them back later. As for the rest, dig up the shells on the boat, and I will send the two halves of the boat to you. It should be delivered tomorrow morning."
"Okay, no rush."
As he said that, Ye Yaosheng went to the boat and got a bucket, then squatted there and started catching them seriously.
Ye Yaodong kindly gave him a flashlight. Under the light of the night, the bugs looked even more disgusting, and they kept wriggling there.
The difference between them and real maggots is probably that one is longer and the other is shorter.
This is something I got unexpectedly today. It’s good at the moment, but also really disgusting. I’m going to skin the stonefish and stew it when I get home to replenish my body and calm my nerves.
After he finished catching them, they lifted the two sections of the boat onto a cart.
Ye Yaopeng and Ye Yaohua also came over after weighing the goods. There was no need for him to check the goods on their ship, so he and Brother Asheng pushed the cart back first.
His father looked at the many shells on their boat and decided to stay and help move them.