There are threshing grounds in northern villages, and fishing villages have drying grounds. As the saying goes, "Three days to fish and two days to dry the nets." In fact, this should not just describe people's laziness. Drying the nets is very important for fishermen. manual labor.
The two main functions of the drying area are to dry the nets and to dry the catch. Dried fish fillets and various dried seaweeds are all hung here to dry.
The drying ground of Wangjia Fishing Village occupies half of the village. Behind the village is a huge drying ground. In short, it is a flat and wide dirt field with many smooth wooden shelves for drying fishing nets and catches.
When he walked to the edge of the drying field, Wang Bo saw his father at a glance.
Dad Bo is an old fisherman in his fifties. Years of exposure to wind and waves have made his skin dark and rough, his hair is gray, and his back is stooped. He looks to be sixty years old.
However, life at sea has tempered a man's physique. Bo's father looks old, but he is actually very strong. Wang Bo used to envy his father's strong muscles.
At this time, the old man was chatting with some old friends while sorting the fishing nets. Someone saw Wang Bo first, subconsciously rubbed his eyes and asked: "Hey, second brother, is that Xiao Bo?"
Dad Bo didn't even look back. He quickly opened the tangled fishing nets and said, "Little Bo is still in New Zealand. He just called yesterday..."
"What a Xiao Bo." The other two people also said.
Hearing what his friends said, Bo's father quickly turned around. When he saw the smiling Wang Bohou, he was also full of surprise. He stood up and shouted: "Son, why are you back suddenly?"
"I got on the plane yesterday, can't I fly back in one day? Technology changes life, Dad!" Wang Bo said with a smile, coming up to greet the elders in the village one by one.
He started to pack up the fishing nets, and the fourth uncle in the village said: "Why are you still busy here? My son is back for the New Year, so hurry back and prepare good meals!"
Seeing his son, Bo's father was the happiest one. He laughed and said: "My friend, the fishing nets are almost ready. Fourth brother, please help me to fix them again. I will take my son back first, and I will call you and your brother later." Get up and drink at my house!”
Wang Bo added: "I brought a lot of food and drinks back from New Zealand. Fourth uncle, all of you, please come over and try the foreign seafood to see if it tastes the same as what we have here!"
Several people agreed wholeheartedly, and the father and son went home happily.
For dinner, his mother indeed prepared fried salted fish with corn pancakes for him, plus a steaming pot of small miscellaneous fish. It was an authentic fisherman's dinner.
Wang Bo also steamed lobster and king crab. He wanted to cook two more dishes, but his parents didn't allow it, saying they would be reserved for the New Year.
After returning home, his father scolded him several times when he saw the things he had brought. Even though he had fished all his life, he was shocked by the seafood Wang Bo brought back. The king crab that looked like a small pot lid was something he had never seen before. Not to mention food.
It gets dark early in winter, and a family of three gathers around the stove. There is an iron pot on the stove, in which palm-length small yellow croakers, small croakers, and small pomfrets are stewed. The longest one is the small Spanish mackerel. Just a little longer than chopsticks.
There are golden corn tortillas smeared around the iron pot, and peanut oil is smeared under the pancakes, so as the pancakes are steamed, the aroma of the oil comes out.
The fish soup gradually heated up and boiled, and the small miscellaneous fish inside began to slurp. The delicious fish aroma gradually overpowered the oil aroma and corn tortilla aroma.
Wang Bo first scooped a bowl of fish soup for his parents. His father pushed the bowl to him while smoking and said, "Your mother and I have had enough of this stuff. You eat it and you can enjoy it."
The whole family is welcome. Wang Bo first drank a bowl of the fragrant fish soup, then scooped out another bowl and soaked corn tortillas in it. He picked up the fried salted fish and ate it deliciously.
My son came home and seemed to be doing well abroad. The two old men were in a good mood and had more dinner than before.
Wang Bo kept introducing New Zealand to the two of them and showed them the photos taken on his mobile phone. Their parents were surprised. They didn't know that there are still countries where summer is...
After a good night's sleep, Wang Bo went to sea with his father the next day.
The New Year is coming soon, and every household in the fishing village will go to sea to catch some seafood for the New Year. They are not allowed to go to sea for a week before and after the New Year. This is an ancient tradition passed down from generation to generation.
There are no big boats in the small fishing village. Wang Bo's family only has a small sampan. As long as the wind and waves are slightly stronger, it cannot go out to sea, and even if the wind is calm, not much can be caught.
In most people's minds, places closer across the sea seem to be places that became rich earlier. In fact, this is a misunderstanding, because not all seasides are suitable for building seaports.
A seaside fishing village without a harbor cannot develop at all.
Selling caught seafood? The ocean is the same all around. Who do you catch and sell to? Moreover, in the past, logistics, transportation and freezing technology were not good enough. The catches caught in bulk could not be kept fresh for a long time, and even if they were shipped out, they would not be sold at a high price.
In Wang Bo's memory, big houses with blue bricks and red tiles were rarely seen in their village until his boyhood. It was a very difficult time.
Fortunately, with the popularity of farmhouse entertainment and fishermen's banquet tourism in recent years, the village took the opportunity to develop tourism and improve its economy.
His family's fishing boat is a large sampan. The only modern feature is the diesel engine at the back. There is no shelter on the boat. The sea breeze will blow and the skin on the face will be sore.
Seeing Wang Bo grinning, his father laughed loudly: "How is it? Are you excited?"
Wang Bo also laughed. Since entering college, he has almost never gone to sea again, and the feeling of the winter sea breeze has been somewhat forgotten.
The fishing boat sailed a certain distance, and Bo Dad stood at the stern of the boat and cast a trawl net. The next step was to use experience to judge where the fish were, and then put the net away after dragging for a while.
For local fishermen, experience is important. Most of them do not have advanced machinery such as fish finders and underwater radars. Once their judgment is wrong, it means a waste of effort, time and diesel.
The fishing boat towed for fifteen or six minutes, and Wang Bo put away the fishing net at his father's signal.
There are only a few sporadic dragon-headed fishes inside, the big ones are less than 20 centimeters long, and the small ones can't even be seen.
Father Bo lit a cigarette and took two strong puffs, then opened the net and threw the small fish back into the sea, leaving a few big fish behind and sighed: "Let's keep it for stewed tofu, alas, this net is a loss." "
Wang Bo smiled optimistically and said: "It's okay, you can't have a good harvest online, right? Dad, you can go on and get off the net, I have confidence in your experience."
Dad Bo shook his head helplessly and said: "Experience doesn't help. There aren't many fish in the offshore area. In the past two years, several factories have been built on the seaside, and there are even fewer fish that can survive!"