Xiaoxiao said sourly, "It's so lucky to have sisters, and four of them. When they come back for the New Year and other holidays, won't some carry pig's feet, some buy meat, some carry wine, and some bring cigarettes?"
"Of course I have to!" Ah Zheng raised his feet proudly and shook them continuously.
"Stop showing off," Ye Yaodong said seriously, "I'm planning to bring another load of dried fish to the city in the early morning. You can go with me tonight. It just so happens that you haven't been out to sea these past two days."
"Okay, sure. I can take a ride with you. If you need to bring any goods back, I'll pay for the freight."
Ye Yaodong nodded, "We'll talk about this later."
At this moment, a shout came from outside, "Ye Yaodong's phone, Ye Yaodong's phone~"
Everyone turned to look at the door. Ye Yaodong also stood up and looked at Ah Qing. "It must be my father-in-law calling. I'll go answer it."
"Then we'll go back too. There's nothing else to do anyway."
"Wait, your house is empty, and we have hundreds of kilograms of dried fish piled up at home. Do you want them to be sent over?" Xiaoxiao asked.
Ah Guang also said, "Yes, my two boats are catching fish there, and they have dried several hundred kilograms of fish. There are more than you have. My house is small, and I have no place to stay. I am also worried about the rain. How about I just bring it to you later? It doesn't matter if I pay you later, but I am worried that it will be damaged by the rain."
"It shouldn't rain, right? Aren't you still drying fish outside? Once they're all dried, why don't you send them over here? I'm planning to take over your father's friend Uncle Zheng's several thousand kilograms of dried dragon head fish now that my house is empty. I've already promised him that, but I didn't have anywhere to put them, so I didn't weigh them for several days. I'm really embarrassed."
"Ah, that's right. We have to weigh it first."
"So you can put yours aside for two days. I'll weigh the several thousand kilograms of dried dragon head fish this afternoon and send them to the city in batches over the next two days. Then I'll make room for yours."
"That's fine too. May it not rain these days..."
"You crow with a bad mouth..."
A Guang also slapped his own stinky mouth. Why did he say anything else but rain? What they were most afraid of now was rain. Everyone in the house had piles of dried fish, which meant money.
"Then Dongzi, it's settled. I'll go with you tonight. What time?"
"12 o'clock? The morning market will be open when we get there. If you want to buy several thousand kilograms of fish, you have to go early to choose. Remember to bring more money."
"OK."
They walked out while talking.
The villagers who had gathered at the gate of the courtyard before have all dispersed. There is no one at the gate. Only some people are still sitting in groups of three or four at the doors of nearby neighbors' houses, some killing fish and some sorting shells.
His two brothers and sisters-in-law were also busy next door, and his father and old lady also moved a stool and sat there to help.
He was in a hurry to answer the phone, so he said hello to a few friends and then rode away on his bike.
There was no doubt that the call was from Lin's father, and he was also talking about renting a house.
The village chief came over this morning and said that he could rent an old house of his own to him temporarily. The elderly person in his family is old and it is not convenient for him to live alone, so he plans to bring him to live with him and take care of him, which would be a good opportunity to free up the house.
It also has its own entrance and exit. There is a stove in the house and a shared well in front of the house. Lin's father also went to see it and thought it was suitable and convenient. He just needed to move the bed and daily necessities there.
Ye Yaodong also told him that he would set out for the city at night and go over to take a look at it when it gets light. If there were no problems, he would rent it. At least living in a nearby village would be safer and more convenient.
After hanging up the phone, he felt a little relieved as he could solve another problem immediately.
After the shop became vacant, he could send more dried fish over there, and also have a place to stock up on goods in large quantities.
Just after lunch, Uncle Pei's friend pulled over a cart full of dried dragon head fish. The sacks stacked on the cart were taller than a person and were tied up with ropes for fear that they would fall off when pushed.
Uncle Pei’s friends were very happy that they were finally able to sell several thousand kilograms of dried dragon head fish, with joyful smiles on their faces.
After he finished pushing a cart, he unloaded everything in the yard and then asked his son to push the cart back to continue transporting the goods while he stayed here to weigh the goods first.
It just so happened that Ye's father was also having lunch here at noon, and after lunch the father and son were busy weighing and moving the goods together.
They were busy from the hottest day of the week until after three o'clock, when the sun hid in the clouds, and finally weighed all the dried dragon head fish in their house and brought them into the house.
Ye Yaodong put his hands on his hips and took a breath. It had been two days and he was still busy and sweating. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and asked Lin Xiuqing.
"How many pounds in total? Have you calculated it?"
"Not yet. I'm still calculating. Not that fast. Wait a minute. It will be slower without the abacus."
While waiting, Ye Yaodong exchanged a few words with Uncle Pei's friends.
"Sit down and wait, uncle. Your dragon head fish weighing more than 30,000 kilograms is quite a lot. I estimate it will be no less than 4,000 kilograms. My wife can't add the numbers one by one that fast. Wait a minute and sit down and rest for a while."
"Okay, it's okay. As long as I can weigh the dried fish as soon as possible, I'll be worried. When I piled them up at home, I covered them tightly with nylon bags, fearing that the rain would ruin them."
"Yes, yes, this is my problem. There are just too many things piled up at home. I was busy going out to sea recently and didn't have time to ship them out. I'll weigh them today so you can sleep well tonight."
"Haha, you really know how to make money, fishing and running a shop at the same time."
"I can't handle it all by myself. Luckily, I have my father and father-in-law to help me. One goes out to sea with me, and the other helps me look after the store. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to do anything. A young boy like me..."
Ye Yaodong praised both of his fathers without hesitation, and Ye's father was extremely satisfied listening to him.
"By the way, uncle, I see that your boat is quite big. When you go out to sea to drag the net, it must be like a giant dragon. A net can drag thousands of pounds, right?"
"More than that. This boat is big and can travel farther. It also has complete equipment. A net can easily pull up 2,000 kilograms of goods. But they are all miscellaneous goods, both valuable and worthless. You have to rely on your luck."
"How long have you been here? Have you made your money back?"
Ye Yaodong was really curious. After all, he was about to own a big ship. He had only heard about the resources these days and had never sailed to distant seas to experience them.
I just went there to take a look a few days ago, but didn't have time to ask in detail. Today, I have some free time, so I might as well ask about it.
"I bought it last year. I partnered with two friends. I was going to ask your Uncle Pei to join us, but he ended up buying a smaller one for himself and didn't want to partner with us."
"Uncle Pei bought a boat last year and said he wanted to go to Shenjiamen to catch shrimp. Is he planning to go with you guys?"
"Yes, Ayyou, it's a good thing he didn't go. We didn't make as much as he did trawling at home. He could buy a second boat, and we haven't paid off our debts yet. He won't go this year and will just trawle at home."
Father Ye also asked curiously: "Old Zheng, how much did you pay for the boat? How much did you earn last year? Have you calculated it?"
"We asked someone to find a fishing team to buy it. It's quite cheap. A 26-meter-long one only costs 8,000 yuan, which is about one-third of the profit. The main reason is that the expenses outside are too high, and it costs a lot to hire people. Even if there is no work outside in bad weather, we still have to pay the workers and feed them. It's really hard. Sometimes we can't work for a few days a month."
Ye Yaodong and Ye's father also nodded in agreement. It was just like when they went to catch jellyfish. They would ask people to go out on the boat and pay them regardless of the weather or whether they worked or not.
They were lucky because they didn't encounter many rainy days. However, it was often windy when catching shrimp in autumn and winter.
Uncle Zheng added, "Besides, it costs a lot of money to go all the way here. But it's not bad. Everything is safe and sound. That's enough. As for money, we can earn it slowly. It's better to fish at home. The expenses are less. It's not that easy outside. So we gritted our teeth and came back again."
"Yes, I am also familiar with this sea area at home."
"I heard that the Mazu temple in the village is almost finished. When the time comes, I will also invite a small statue of Mazu to board the boat to ensure safety. I don't know if it's too late to donate money now? It's almost time to put up the beam..."
"It's not too late. You can get a small statue of Mazu anytime. On the 23rd of March, Mazu's birthday, I can go to the Mazu temple for a feast. May everyone have smooth sailing this year and make a lot of money smoothly."
Uncle Zheng nodded happily, "We must go to the feast. It's rare that such a large Mazu temple was built in the village. It's the only one of its kind in the entire county. I heard that it was your credit. Your name is the first one engraved on the monument of merit."
"Haha, I'm lucky. I fished out a big tripod. I can use it to exchange for the reconstruction of the Mazu Temple, which will also benefit the village. Otherwise, it would be in vain if I handed it in."
"Yes, it's all handed in anyway, so I have to get some benefits. My friend's new boat is almost finished, and he asked me to help him reserve a few seats, for fear that if he is late, there will be no seats. I heard that people are coming to reserve seats everywhere, so it will probably be very crowded."
"Sure enough, people who work in the sea know people who work in the sea." Ye's father said jokingly.
"Yeah, we all make a living on the sea. How could we possibly know an official? Hahaha, I don't have that fate. The boat my friend built is not small, it's also 26 meters long, and the boat technology is much better than my broken boat. It's really expensive, but you get what you pay for..."
Ye Yaodong's heart moved. This is a new ship, and it is 26 meters long. Could it be the 26-meter ship that the shipyard he ordered in the county is building
"Uncle, does he have a maritime radio installed on his ship?"
"Yes, for such a large ship, if it is sailing in the deep sea, it is better to install a maritime radio station for safety, and it is also convenient to contact the fish collection ship..."