Back to the small fishing village in 1982

Chapter 1011: Talking about the Fresh Ship (7000 words)
"Yes, if we go back and pass by the county town, we have to go to the shore to ask, just to show our concern for the progress of the matter. After all, it was you... No, we were also witnesses. We saw the boat sinking at the time, so it's okay to ask out of curiosity."

Ye's father originally wanted to say that he was the one who reported it, but then he quickly stopped talking. Old Pei didn't even know that they had already salvaged two boxes that night.

Father Pei interrupted, "I think they may have felt it was impossible to salvage the shipwreck, so they gave up. Or they may have tried to search for it in the water but couldn't find it. After all, it's winter and it's not easy to salvage it. It's not easy to find a shipwreck on the seabed with only a rough coordinate and no guidance on the sea surface."

"No need to guess, just go and ask."

Ye Yaodong was not sure either, but he would be docking tomorrow anyway, so he would ask when he returned.

"It's already dark, past 7 o'clock. Let's have a meal later and cast one last net around. Then we can quickly dock in the city and sell all the goods on the boat to the wholesale market before dawn."

Father Ye took a look and saw that the goods were almost ready and stacked, so he quickly agreed, "Okay, then let's not waste time, just drag one more net at the end, and then go directly to the shore in the city."

"Then we will go fishing separately..."

"Oh, by the way, uncle, after we sell all the goods in the city, we will sail back directly. Can you let me take all the cheap fish on your boat back to dry in the sun as usual?"

Just as he remembered this, he quickly gave a heads up in advance.

"Let's do the same as last time. We'll go to the market and find out how much each product is selling for, and then we'll go by the market price. This way we don't have to bring a bunch of cheap goods to the market to sell, and the tractors at the dock have to make several trips to pull them, and we have to pay the freight for several trips. It also saves the market stalls from taking three points from both the buyer and the seller."

Pei's father nodded in agreement. He would sell the goods at the market or take them home to dry in the sun. There was no difference. The fuel consumed in carrying the load was lower than the freight and commission of hiring a tractor.

What's more, he had just received benefits from Ye Yaodong, so there was no reason for him to refuse. After all, they were relatives.

"If you want to take it back to dry, isn't that just a matter of asking? I'll leave it all to you. The sundries have been collected two days in advance and are piled on the deck for you. The whole ship is almost full."

"Harvest! The name of this ship is not wrong. Harvest brings a good harvest every day."

"Ha ha……"

Ye Yaodong smiled and said to the two boatmen, "It's getting dark now. After we sell the goods on the boat, I'll give everyone a big red envelope. Then we can go home happily."

Everyone smiled and spoke politely.

"Don't worry, don't worry, we can talk about it when we get home."

"That's right, take your time, we are not in a hurry..."

"We'll talk about it when we get back. Now we need to get down the net and then get to the shore. We can talk about the red envelope later..."

"After I sell all the goods in the city tomorrow, I will send them to you on board." Ye Yaodong said again affirmatively, and then used a bamboo pole to prop up the Harvest and move the two boats a little further apart.

Father Ye also returned to the cockpit to drive the boat.

The two boats also started to move. From afar on the sea, the two light spots that were close to each other were getting more and more separated, and then they sailed on their own, responding to each other from a distance, maintaining a distance that was neither far nor near.

Ye Yaodong also went to take a look at the boxes that had been moved in. Almost every box had been opened. Uncle Pei probably also wanted to confirm what was inside and whether every box was the same.

He also randomly sampled three boxes and found that there were only five cans of caviar in each box with slightly different labels.

I don’t know if Uncle Pei discovered it or paid attention to it when he opened the box to check.

There shouldn't be any. If there was, you would have mentioned it when we were chatting just now. Why are some of the cans different?
Anyway, who cares about him? No matter whether he knows or not, when the time comes, when several boxes of goods are packed up and given to him to deal with, he can just casually mention it and pick them out.

As I said, there were so many people on the ship, and they had many eyes and mouths. When they returned to the village, some people still liked to brag, saying that they had salvaged cargo from the sunken ship. He also casually mentioned the value of caviar that night, and it would definitely be brought up for bragging.

After the random inspection, Ye Yaodong put the canned fish back and arranged them neatly. There was no need to check the rest. He already knew that they should all be the same, so he just checked it.

After he was done, he also went to eat. The food on the boat had already been prepared, but he didn't have time to eat, so he let others eat first.

Two people were assigned to help lower the net little by little, while the other two went to eat first so that they could take turns later.

After Ye Yaodong has finished eating, it’s his father’s turn.

Ye's father felt sorry for him because he had to go into the water several times during the day without any rest. He was afraid that his body couldn't take it and he wouldn't be able to make it through the night and have to go ashore to sell goods in the early morning. So he went to take over after dinner and let him go back to the cabin to rest.

He was not being pretentious. He had to go to the wholesale market to sell the goods ashore. Once he went to the market, he would not be able to sell out the goods before dawn. He was not made of iron, so he had to rest when he needed to.

After returning from the sea a few days ago, he did not bring the quilt home to dry in the sun. Later, Ah Qing kept nagging him to go to the boat to get it the next day, but he was too lazy to go to the boat to get it, so he just left it there.

Well, the quilt has been smelling damp and fishy these days, and he is a little disgusted with it again.

When he returns to the village tomorrow, he reminds himself to remember to bring the quilts from several beds back to dry in the sun.

Forget about washing. The workers are not that particular and don’t like cleanliness that much. It’s good enough if they can dry them in the sun.

It was freezing cold, and there was no washing machine at home, so he felt bad for his wife. His own quilt, unless it was peed on by the child, might not be washed once in a winter, and he had to wash the quilt for other boatmen every now and then? It was wishful thinking.

After I go back, if I really want to sell these goods at Linji, I can go to his place and get a washing machine. That would be perfect.

As he was thinking, he heard the two boatmen beside him coming back to sleep, and he closed his eyes.

He slept for more than five hours, half asleep and half awake. When he heard the other two people waking up, yawning and farting, he woke up too. In fact, he had not been asleep at all.

After the two of them got up and woke him up, he also sat up and rubbed his temples.

The roar of the machines has never stopped in the past few days, except for the time when he went into the water during the day to communicate with the fresh water receiving boats.

He couldn't help but sigh again, it's hard to be a hard-working person, it's more comfortable to be a bad person, but it makes people around you suffer.

He touched the flashlight on the side of the boat, opened it and looked at his watch. It was already 1 o'clock. No wonder he was woken up. They should be reaching the shore soon.

After he got dressed in bed and went out, he looked at the brightly lit and busy dock in the distance while peeing. The timing was perfect as he got up at the right time.

There were not many fishing boats docking at this time. After all, there were only a limited number of boats like his in the city, so they didn't all dock at the same time. However, there were quite a few boats busy preparing to go out to sea for trawling. They all went out at night and returned during the day.

It was a bustling and noisy scene with many people coming and going. Some were pushing carts, some were carrying baskets and buckets onto the boats, and some were using carts to add fuel and ice to the fishing boats.

After their fishing boats came to the shore, they were worried that they didn't see any tractors, and they were struggling whether to call a few carts for transportation. However, the distance was not close, and the amount that a cart could carry in one trip was very limited, only a few hundred kilograms.

They had dozens of tons of cargo on the ship. Although most of the groceries were left to be taken back to dry, it was still too much to be hauled away in one or two trips on a cart.

He and Uncle Pei walked up to the dock, chatting as they walked. He was thinking about asking the local fishermen on the dock about tractors. Then he heard the sound of a tractor coming closer and closer, and soon it appeared on the dock.

They also breathed a sigh of relief. Even a tractor might not be able to complete the task in one trip, let alone such a small cart.

But just one tractor was not enough. As soon as they saw the tractor appear, they ran up to communicate and found out that several tractors would arrive soon.

"We have just delivered several shipments of goods to the wholesale market. A fishing boat just docked before you. Our four tractors delivered the full boatload of goods to the wholesale market. We just returned to the dock."

"I was wondering why there were no tractors at the dock today. It turns out they were all delivering goods to the market."

"Every day from early morning, there are fishing boats coming to the shore intermittently. Of course, I can't miss this business. Basically, they are always there, unless they are delivering goods, but they will come back soon..."

When Ye Yaodong was negotiating the price with him, the sounds of tractors began to be heard one after another. They all came back, so there was no need to worry about not being able to transport all the goods.

After agreeing on the price with them, two tractors were assigned to each of the two ships to transport the goods. For one trip, one tractor was charged 1 yuan, which was equivalent to 5 cents in fuel cost, and the tractor driver made a net profit of 5 cents.

He had accumulated more than 20 tons of goods over three days, of which more than 10 tons could be sold. It would take at least four or five trips with two tractors to transport them all. Fortunately, most of them were taken home, and the remaining more valuable ones only needed two trips with two tractors.

This is easy money to make, as long as a fishing boat docks, a tractor can earn about two or three yuan. (He doesn't count the fish he keeps back to dry.)

If there are five or six fishing boats docking every day, you can earn about ten yuan a day, which means three or four hundred yuan a month, and three or four thousand yuan a year.

There is no need to do other work. Just wait at the dock every day for fishing boats to dock and deliver goods to the wholesale market. This money is enough to earn from the tractor. Occasionally, take on other work, and the tractor will pay for itself in a year.

The money is easy to earn and decent. You just need to buy a tractor, which has a higher investment cost, but the return is also great. The main thing is that it will be a stable job for the next 20 years and you will make a profit as long as you don't lose money.

There are indeed opportunities everywhere in this era. As long as you are willing to work hard, you can make money doing anything. It is much better than farming.

Farming is the only thing that can’t make money, everything else can. Small money is easy to make, but big money depends on fate and luck.

But if you can earn a little money now and accumulate capital slowly, it will definitely be of great benefit in the future. Just don't be short-sighted and think that just driving a tractor will allow you to earn a steady income and provide for your retirement.

Ye Yaodong watched the workers moving goods while he was smoking a cigarette on the side. He had nothing to do and even did the math for the tractor master.

After seeing the cart full of goods, he called someone and asked him to sit in the front with him and go to the market with the goods.

After arriving at the market, they moved the goods in, and then sent someone to follow the tractor driver to the dock to continue delivering goods, while he stayed in the market to sell.

The last time I came, there were more tractors at the dock, and both ships of cargo were hauled in one trip. Maybe they docked early today, and some tractors had not yet come to work at the dock.

After Ye Yaodong entered the market, he started selling goods inside and had no time to go to the shops outside to greet his father-in-law. It was not until dawn that the goods were sold out in batches one after another. This time, Fengshouhao had more goods than him, but they did not sell as fast as him.

He said hello and went out with his boatman, asking Pei's father to meet him outside the shop after he finished selling the goods.

The lights were on inside the market, and it was also bright outside, but there was no sun. The wind was very strong outside, and the surroundings were empty with no buildings to provide shelter. As soon as I came out, I shivered in the cold wind.

"Oh my~ It's already March, but the wind is still cold. It's freezing."

"Haha, it hasn't rained recently, so it hasn't started to get hot yet. Every spring rain brings warmth, so it will probably be hot in a few days. It's the middle of the month now, and Qingming is coming soon. It will get hot after Qingming."

"Ah, bah, bah... Why are you raining? It can't rain. Let's just keep it cold. Let the cold wind blow for a few more days."

Ye Yaodong immediately changed his tone when he heard this. He had to go home later to pick up two more boatloads of fish to dry. What would he do if it rained? However, after drying this batch, he couldn't dry any more. He had to wait a while in case the spring rain really continued.

I don't know about other times, but it rains before and after the Qingming Festival. Otherwise, why is there a poem called "Rains Fall During the Qingming Festival"?

I forgot about this. Otherwise, this batch of goods should not be kept back to dry. They should be sold directly in the market, leaving only the groceries to dry.

unwise!

I hope God blesses me and it will be sunny for another four or five days.

He clasped his hands together and bowed twice towards the sky, muttering a few words without restraint, saying "don't blame me", then quickly put his hands away and put them in his pockets.

The boatman also laughed and said, "Probably not in the next few days. The spring equinox is next week. After the spring equinox, the weather will get warmer and the rainfall will increase."

"Uncle is really amazing? How can you judge the solar terms so accurately?"

"I'm old now, and I don't have much else to do. I remember all the solar terms, what to do on each day, and what will happen. I'm going back today, so I'll turn over everything I can in the next two days, and plant what I need to sow while I have free time. When it rains, the seeds will sprout quickly after they are moistened."

Ye Yaodong nodded. He knew that spring rain was as precious as oil.

"Let's go, have breakfast, and then go to my shop. Uncle Pei may not be well so soon."

As usual, he packed up 30 buns to eat and take with him, but he had to pay for them.

Seeing the couple's haggard yet happy expressions, we know that they are both in pain and happy. Making money is hard, and as long as you can make money through hard work, everyone will be happy to do it.

The most frightening thing is working hard but not making any money.

The couple were very busy. People kept coming to their door to buy buns. They both wished they had eight hands to keep busy. Ye Yaodong did not disturb them. He bought the buns and left. Seeing how busy they were, he had no time to greet them.

The crowd in the dried fish shop was not as busy as that in the breakfast shop, and the people in the shop were not surprised to see him coming.

A Guang came to the city a few days ago and told Lin's father and mother that the whole ship would go out to sea the day after he left, and it would be almost time for them to come back from the sea to sell the goods.

Father Lin took him to settle the account as usual.

"It's quite convenient now. Every time you come back from the sea, you can stop at the city and settle the bill while selling goods. It also saves me from having too much money in my hands, which is unsafe."

"Yeah, that's quite convenient. I can take it back directly after I settle the bill."

However, he would have to go to the shipyard later to inquire about the cost of building a freshwater boat.

After settling the bill with his father-in-law, Ye Yaodong also started chatting with A Guang, as he was planning to go back with them.

"I think this is not only convenient for me, but also for you. As long as we dock in the city, we can also take you back with us."

"It's just on my way, so I'll go back and take a look at the child. I can't just ignore her. Besides, it's still early for Huimei to give birth, so I don't need to be with her all the time."

"What month were you born?"

"She herself said it was probably around the end of June or the beginning of July."

"New calendar? Or lunar calendar?"

"It's the new calendar, so if it's the lunar calendar, then it's mid to late May."

"That's not bad. There are still 3-4 months left. I'll go back and tell my mom so she can have an idea as soon as possible."

Ah Guang also nodded. "This time is perfect. It's almost time to go jellyfish hunting. I hope it can start soon after the full term so as not to delay anything."

"Besides, the children are the most important."

"I am very sure of that."

"That villager had no suspicion?"

"No, at the beginning of last year, your father-in-law and his family came here, and then your brother-in-law came here to open a steamed bun shop. This year, we came here to help under the guise of being the daughter and son-in-law, which was normal, and no one in the village suspected anything. In addition, we all came to help at dawn and went back to sleep when it was almost dark. We basically didn't stay in the village, so if someone came to check, they wouldn't be able to find us."

"That's good……"

The two squatted at the door and chatted for a while, then Pei's father came, and they took the tractor together to the dock.

However, after knowing that he still had to go to the shipyard in the city, Pei's father planned to drive the Harvest back first.

After all, once they arrived at the county town, the Dongsheng would have to dock again, and he didn't have the time to wait.

Going back earlier would allow us to rest earlier, unload the goods earlier, and allow the workshop to start work earlier, so as to avoid having two ships dock at the same time. There would be too much cargo, which would easily cause confusion. A large batch of cargo on the Harvest ship still needed to be weighed.

Ah Guang stayed behind to keep him company and go back on his boat later.

He said he would also visit the city shipyard to see how the ships he had ordered were doing and when the first ship would be delivered.

I've placed the order half a year ago but I still haven't seen it.

Although we were in the city together, he only came to the city after the New Year and had settled down not long ago, so he didn't run around.

Ye Yaodong was of course happy to have a companion, as it saved him the trouble of going alone without anyone to help and speak.

The two stood on the side of the boat, looking at the sea and chatting while enjoying the cool breeze.

"You just ordered a bunch of ships, and they haven't even started delivering them yet, and now you want to order another ship to collect fresh produce. Didn't our parents express any opinions?"

"My mother doesn't know, and I didn't ask them to pay, so why should they express their opinions? I'm not a three-year-old child, do I have to let him make decisions all day and get their approval? My husband and I can just discuss it. They are old and don't understand this. I just want to live in peace and stability, so I don't need to worry about them."

"Third sister-in-law is quite easy to talk to."

"Marry a chicken, follow the chicken; marry a dog, follow the dog. I am the head of the family, so of course she has to listen to me. I earn all the money for the family, so what I say goes."

A Guang smiled and gave him a thumbs up.

"If you have the guts, go back and tell it to your third sister-in-law."

"Tsk, I'll let you see my family status when I get back."

"By the time my third sister-in-law doesn't say anything, my mother-in-law will be the first to scold you."

"Envious, huh? That's your mother too, I can let you get scolded first."

"I am the son-in-law. The more the mother-in-law sees her son-in-law, the more satisfied she is. To be honest, do you think that freshwater ship is worth pursuing?"

"Of course, but it also depends on how many fishing boats are docked and your connections. Ask first. Anyway, I haven't decided yet."

……

The shipyard was also built along the sea. When Ye's father was sailing, he had already asked the old fishermen on the shore how to get to the shipyard and how to drive the fishing boat there.

Then I followed the instructions of others and walked slowly along the edge of the coastline. It only took me about ten minutes to find it.

After getting off the boat, the two men went straight to the shipyard to talk to the person in charge. Of course, the person in charge of the large factory knew A Guang. He was a young man who ordered four ships in one go, so of course he left a deep impression.

Ye Yaodong's appearance and eloquence also left a certain impression on people. Although he did not book a boat, he had come here several times.

He came straight to the point and said that he wanted to order the first fresh-water boat and asked the factory to quote a price. The boats outside were waiting there, waiting for him to go home, and he didn't have time to dawdle here.

"Although the freshwater collection boats don't use the equipment of trawlers, they are not much cheaper than trawlers. After all, they need more storage space. And stronger lighting equipment should be installed on the top of the cab and the pole to facilitate nighttime collection activities."

"The crew's living quarters are concentrated in the stern and superstructure, and they also need to have certain beds. There is no difference. However, there must be a good insulation layer around the fish hold. When it is used for collecting fresh fish, the temperature of the hold must be maintained at 0℃±2℃."

"It also needs an ice storage room, a fresh water tank, a diesel storage room, etc. It's basically exchanging the engine and trawling equipment for the equipment needed for the freshwater ship."

Ye Yaodong nodded in agreement, "I know, I understand all of this, so just give me a price and give me some reference."

Ah Guang also said, "Quote a lower price. We will also ask a few more shipyards to see which one has the lowest price and quickest delivery. Besides, we are all acquaintances. I have ordered several boats from you and even brought my friends here. You have to tell me the real price."

"We all know this. We are following the rules. This is not our private factory. You haven't told me how big you want it to be."

"More than 30 meters will be enough. Can you help me calculate how much is more cost-effective? Also, can you help me design the storage space inside and calculate it?"

"Okay, then let's go to the office and I'll do the math for you. We can also talk about your personal needs and the price limit you can afford."

"Okay, but hurry up, we're in a hurry to get back."

"Since you want to order a boat, we must communicate in detail so that we can get a quote. If you go to someone else to order a boat, you can't do it in a hurry. You have to explain your requirements in detail before they can give you a quote."

Ye Yaodong responded perfunctorily.

"Young people nowadays are getting more and more confused. They are more capable than the other. They don't even need to be brought by their elders to come and ask for prices. It's really amazing."

"Am I young?" Ye Yaodong touched his beard which he hadn't shaved for a week. His beard was scruffy and he looked very old. How could anyone know that he was young?

"Haha, I just didn't shave. It's not necessary to be so particular on a ship. You look fair and tender, and the tone of your voice doesn't suggest you're that old."

The person in charge smiled and led them into the office. "Sit down, have a couple of cups of tea and we'll talk in detail."

It's really enjoyable. The office also has tea sets for making and brewing tea.

People in Fujian Province just can't live without tea.

"My only request is that the storage space is bigger. There is nothing else. For a freshwater ship, of course the capacity is important. Also, the fuel consumption ratio. You have to calculate it for me. How many meters and how much load it can bear? I need to have an idea in my mind."

"Then let me tell you how long the freshwater boats we built are. Let me introduce them to you."

"it is good."

The three of them sat in the office and talked for more than an hour, using pen to scribble all over a piece of paper, writing down various requirements and quotations, as well as information about other fresh-collecting ships. The paper was filled with writing and drawings.

Ye Yaodong and A Guang read it again and again, "Let's take this draft paper back and think about it, and discuss it with my father. If I come to the city in a few days, I will reply to you."

"Okay, that's right. Of course, buying a boat requires the approval of the elders in the family. If they have no objection, then we can make the decision."

"Thank you for taking up so much time."

"This kind of preliminary consultation work is necessary. It's not a delay. If you are in a hurry, go back and discuss it first. Anyway, the earliest delivery time is the end of the year. There are still relatively few people who order such large ships. The most popular ones are the trawlers of more than ten meters. Oh, yes, the ones that your friend next to you ordered several of them."

The two nodded.

"Then we'll leave first."

…………

　The dried sea slugs that were raffled at the beginning of the month were only partially sent out after we started work today because express delivery was suspended during the Chinese New Year. We also sent out part of them because there was not enough stock. The rest will have to wait for the fishing boats to come back and dry them in the next few days!

　　The dried sea slugs that Sister Baili found are truly the best of the best!
　　They are all caught at sea and dried right after being brought back. They are really expensive, and shipping is not included. Half a pound costs 65, and the shipping fee is 15, so half a pound costs 80!!!
　　It really doesn't save me money at all. I pursue quality. As long as everyone enjoys the food, that's enough.

　　You get what you pay for. Expensive things are not necessarily good, but good things are definitely not cheap.

　　This freshly dried food does not require any complicated preparation. Just cut some ginger into shreds and steam it in a pot.

　　Really don't cook a bunch of messy things together, it will only destroy the original deliciousness.

　　Just cut the ginger into shreds and steam it, then take it out and dip it in garlic vinegar to eat with wine, y yds!

　　To test whether the seafood is fresh, steaming is the best.

　　Fresh seafood does not require any messy cooking methods, it has its own freshness, and only steaming it can bring out its original flavor.

　　I am truly sincere and conscientious in doing this for everyone's benefit. Without your support, there would be no book today. Thank you! Bow!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)