Back to the small fishing village in 1982

Chapter 1023 Returning Halfway (7000 words)
Ye Yaodong bled the fish in the drizzle and then took it to the fish warehouse. He then added crushed ice to keep it fresh.

Such a top-quality fish is worth his personal effort.

After finishing all these, he put on his raincoat again and prepared to boil water for a bath. After being in the rain for a while, he had already sneezed several times. He felt that the medicine he had taken during the day would come in handy in the evening, but he didn't expect that it was for himself.

The raindrops kept falling, but the weight of the rain didn't get heavier. It was just that the sky was terribly dark, gloomy and pitch black.

In the past, on dark nights, there was always the moon and stars in the sky, and the sea surface looked sparkling under the moonlight. But tonight, the sky was covered with dark clouds, and the sky was as dark as the sea surface. If it were not for the faint light on the ship and the light on the Harvest not far away, everyone would have been terrified.

Fortunately, after everyone finished their work, they returned to the cabin and continued to lie down, and they could no longer see the inky black night.

Ye Yaodong turned his head to look at the sea while boiling water, muttering, "This pitch-black sea is scary enough, as if it is going through a tribulation... Damn, it's not going through a tribulation, right? That hairy fish just now was going through a tribulation."

"Well... it's not easy to grow that big. At over 100 pounds, it's almost time for me to make the leap. But I failed to make the leap and was beaten back. I was struck to death. It was a relief for me. How miserable~"

"What a pity! Amitabha, will this fish that failed to survive the tribulation be good for health if eaten directly? Even if it can make you an immortal instantly, it should be good enough to strengthen your body."

"Damn, no wonder they say that eating the fish's isinglass will make children grow taller. So that's the reason. It's a pity to sell it like this..."

No one talked to him, so he just sat there mumbling to himself. After a while, he felt that it seemed a pity to just sell it like this?

After that, the one-pound fish maw alone is worth a house. The bigger the fish maw is, the more valuable it is, especially the rare hairtail fish maw.

In addition to the top-quality yellow lip fish maw, the second to fourth places are hairtail, large yellow croaker and croaker respectively.

It is said that yellow lip fish maw is as precious as gold. One kilogram of yellow lip fish maw is worth three to four million yuan. Hairtail fish maw is slightly inferior, but it is also worth a house. Moreover, if the fish maw is kept intact, it will not be a problem to store it for forty or fifty years.

Thinking of this, he could no longer sit still. Although the current money was valuable, even if he was given the current money directly, he did not think that he could use the current money to generate the equivalent of 100 million in the future. He still knew his own worth.

Thinking about his two sons who would never grow up, he returned to the cockpit and prepared to ask his father, ignoring the boiling water in the pot.

At first, I was just happy about such a big catch and didn't think much about it. I just thought it was a lucky haul. This fish was so valuable that I was so happy.

Now that he had packed up and sorted out his thoughts, how could he bear to sell it just like that? It was not like he had never seen money before. He had a lot of assets on hand now and was no longer the poor boy he used to be.

Besides, he didn't have an urgent need for money and had plenty of cash on hand. It wouldn't make much sense for him to exchange this thing for money directly. At most, it would gain some favor and attract some attention. It would be better for him to keep it and accumulate more good things.

"Dad, can such a big hairfish be worth a thousand dollars?"

"Isn't that what everyone is saying? It depends on the price offered by the boss. It's hard to say how much it will sell for."

He said decisively: "Then I won't sell it. I'll take it out and dry it myself, and then preserve it."

"Why are you keeping it? It's so expensive, are you planning to keep it for yourself? Are you stupid? If you keep it for too long, it might get eaten by insects, and you'll lose money. You should exchange it for money while it's still valuable."

"It won't be eaten by insects. Just store it in the rice jar and change the rice frequently. Anyway, you and mom are eating at my place now, and the rice in the rice jar at home will run out quickly, so it won't go bad."

Moreover, this stuff becomes more expensive and more moisturizing as it ages. It will definitely not go bad if you store it for decades. It retains its value better than gold and increases in value even faster.

Oh my goodness, now that I think about it, I can’t sell it.

Why buy gold? You should stock up on some fish maw. Its price is several times higher than gold.

"But...if you let it go and don't sell it, then you'll lose money. Why don't you sell it quickly to make money? What if it's worth nothing in the future? Wouldn't that be a huge loss?"

"It's not a loss. Do you think I need a few hundred or a thousand dollars now? What's more, if it's worthless, I can feed it to my children to help them grow. Look at our genes."

"What's that chicken and dog sound?"

Ye Yaodong glanced up and down at his father's head with a blatant hint in his eyes, "I mean, look at our family's genetics. I'm the only one who stands out from the crowd, like I was picked up. You all..."

He stretched out his hand to gesture above his father's head, then slid his hand across his chest, "See? The whole family is of this size. Keeping this thing can also improve the next generation of the family."

When people have enough food and drink, their desires will expand and other needs will arise, which is why it is said that human desires are endless.

When Ye's father saw his gesture, his face turned black and he kicked him directly.

"Oh, oh, you are murdering me. I am just stating the fact. Is it necessary to be so angry?"

"Get out of the way, do whatever you want." Ye's father glanced at him unhappily, and directly closed the cabin door to block him out.

"Tsk, this old man is very bad."

Ye Yaodong rubbed his calf, sneezed twice, rubbed his nose, then looked up at the sea again, and adjusted the hat on his head to prevent it from being blown away by the wind.

The wind felt even colder because of the rain, and he shivered again.

"I'm really going to freeze to death in this spring. I'm freezing to death."

It was pitch black all around, with only the lights on the boat flickering. The rain was as black as ink, dripping down with a rustling sound. On the sea, darkness and rain intertwined to form a hole, as if it was the abyss of the universe, making people feel endless silence and loneliness.

Fortunately, there was the sound of machinery to break the silence, otherwise he would have been wandering on the deck alone, which would have been really scary.

After sneezing several times in succession, he brought a basin of hot water into the cabin, wiped his body with it, changed into clean autumn clothes and autumn trousers, put on a sweater, and took a sip of hot tea. Only then did he feel comfortable.

Even the quilt was still damp. He couldn't help cursing in his heart. He couldn't explain to his father, and he would have to explain to Chen Shi later.

He lay comfortably in bed, half asleep and half awake, until dawn, when he finally woke up. He touched the watch under the pillow and shone a flashlight around it. In an instant, he quickly sat up.

It’s already fucking 4 o’clock?

He actually slept for seven or eight hours in a daze?
I guess you have dragged two nets into the sea?
I turned around and looked at the other beds, and they had already changed shifts.

He hurriedly got up and put on his cotton coat and trousers. When he went out to look, he saw that the rain was still falling. In an instant he shrank back and put on his straw raincoat and hat.

It was 4 o'clock in the morning and it was still dark. There was no light at all except for two dark figures squatting on the deck packing up the goods.

"Drag up a few nets. Are these the ones that were just caught?" They spoke even louder in the rain, all by shouting.

"Just collected it a while ago."

"Is there still thunder and lightning?"

"Not for the last hour or two."

Seeing that both of them were busy with their heads down, he didn't want to disturb them and went straight back to the cockpit to find his father.

Ye's father was also waiting for him to wake up and take over. As soon as he saw him coming, he stood up quickly.

"It has been raining all night. Don't fall asleep. Stay alert."

"I know. How many nets have been collected since last night?"

"Four nets, this net was just put down a while ago. The fish jumped around a lot on the rainy day. These nets have a good catch, but if the wind starts to pick up and the rain gets heavier, we have to go back quickly."

"I know. Is there any more thunder and lightning?"

"That's not there."

Ye Yaodong nodded. If it continued to drizzle, that would be fine.

"Did you kill that fish?"

"Which fish? Oh, no, it's been raining all the time. Where can we hang it to dry after we kill it? The cabin is not ventilated, so it will go bad if we hang it inside. It's better to let it stay in the fish's belly first, where it can stay fresh for a few days. When we get ashore and go home, we can open the belly and take out the fish glue to dry in the sun."

"You really don't want to sell it?"

Father Ye was still struggling with this. He felt that it was a stroke of luck to be able to catch a fish and sell it for a few hundred dollars. If he didn't sell it quickly, he would have the money in his hands and would have to keep it at home, which would be a waste.

I feel like if I keep this at home, it will all go into his stomach, so how can I sell it for money?
That money-waster wants to try everything.

If you don't sell it immediately, the longer you keep it, the less likely you are to sell it, and in the end you'll end up with a bunch of trouble. That's something you worth hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

Father Ye just sat there, and the more he thought about it, the more distressed he felt. Even if he had money, he shouldn't just leave it there and waste it.

How could they eat something so expensive? It was painful to think about it.

"I won't sell it. I'll keep it for future use. If my three children don't grow tall, there'll be nowhere else to buy this thing. It's not like the Peng fish gills. If you have money, you can go to a big store to buy it. After I sold the one hanging there to dry, I felt a little regretful. I was obsessed with money all of a sudden."

When I suddenly realized the value of it, I felt a little inflated. Without giving it much thought, I immediately sold it for money as soon as someone wanted it.

The common people were greedy for bargains and just wanted to get more money. They didn't think about the fact that they were already wealthy people with some assets.

After all, it's because I was used to being poor.

In unexpected situations, sometimes our minds don’t change immediately.

Being poor is a disease. Even if you become rich, it cannot be cured all at once.

“Who knows if it’s a lie…”

"Hey, stop nagging me. Do you think I'm short of a few hundred or a thousand dollars? It's easy to earn a few hundred or a thousand dollars. Once the things are sold, it's hard to buy them back."

It would be even better if my son had good food and drink all his life and grew taller rapidly but didn't need any of the money. It would be worth a house 40 years later if he kept it.

Father Ye shook his head and there was nothing he could do about it. The son had grown up and was no longer under the control of his father. If he didn't want to sell it, then forget it. If he really kept it well in the rice jar and it wasn't eaten by insects, then it wouldn't go bad. He could take it out when he was really short of money.

Ye Yaodong sat in the cockpit without taking off his raincoat. Although it was thick and took up a lot of space, making it difficult for people to turn around, the windshield was covered with rain, making it difficult to see clearly, and he couldn't see around the fishing boat, so he needed to come out and take a look from time to time.

After Ye's father went to bed, he concentrated on taking over the fishing boat. He had to be extra alert in this kind of weather.

Fortunately, it is already past 4 o'clock and it won't be long before dawn. After dawn, the light will be better and there will be no danger at night.

The spring rain is fine and continuous, never getting heavy, but it never stops.

The rain did not ease off until the sky gradually brightened and the darkness was gradually dispelled. However, the entire sea surface was still shrouded in fog and rain, appearing hazy, and visibility was extremely limited.

Also because it rained all night, their fishing boats did not dare to sail towards the East China Sea, but continued to work on the way back.

Yes, the fishing boats returned to work after it rained last night. They did not continue to head towards the East China Sea, but they did not return directly either. They just shortened the return distance and just kept circling around the surrounding area.

In case it rains heavily, you can rush back as fast as you can without wasting too much time.

This is also because it started raining just as we went out, and we were unwilling to go back directly. When we came out, we had already spent several hundred dollars on gas and ice, so we thought we could catch as many as possible to reduce the losses.

He was considered to have made a profit because he had picked up a hairy catfish for free, but the Harvest did not have any. Although the two old men were worried about their safety, they were reluctant to go back like this.

The drizzle continues.

When it was completely light that day, Ye Yaodong called out to the two people who had just finished picking up the goods and were standing at the cabin door to avoid the rain to prepare to raise the net.

At this time, lightning began to flash in the sky again. The sky, which was originally bright because of the dawn, began to become dim and covered with dark clouds.

Two lightning bolts streaked across the sky in succession. He raised his head and frowned, saying, "I won't go to the Internet cafe if I put away the net. The rain just stopped and there is lightning again. We should go back directly."

Chen Shi and another boatman nodded quickly. They had wanted to go back for a long time. When there was thunder and lightning at night, everyone had already considered retreating. However, the wind and waves were not strong at that time, and the thunder and lightning were just a flash and disappeared.

Unexpectedly, after finally making it to dawn, lightning started again.

Ye Yaodong asked them to prepare to raise the net, and then he began to connect to the Harvest. If the rain had subsided this morning, they could still barely continue the operation. But now it started thundering and lightning again, so it would be better to go back as soon as possible and not gamble on the sea. Who knows when the spring thunder and rain will stop.

He was also a little worried about the goods at home. It had been four or five days since he last docked. A small part of them should be dry, but most of them were still half-dry and wet. He didn't know if the nylon bag above his head would be useful if it rained, and whether it would be attacked by wind and rain.

When the network was being launched, he also connected to Fengshou, but the person who answered the call was an old friend of Uncle Pei. Uncle Pei had been up all night and went to bed this morning to take over his shift in the morning.

As a worker, he couldn't make the decision. He could only wait for Uncle Pei to wake up two or three hours later and ask for his advice. He said that the current net of the Harvest had only been cast for half an hour.

Ye Yaodong hesitated for a moment, but still told him to follow the Dongsheng and return slowly, working as he went, and wait until the Fengshou was ready to close the net, then reconnect and wake up Uncle Pei.

This can be considered as a buffer period, and then they can decide whether to continue their journey or continue their work depending on the situation.

He also decided not to continue casting the net. After collecting the fishing net, he planned to drive the fishing boat back slowly.

It takes more than ten to twenty minutes to collect the fishing net. If there is no need to lower the net, it will be placed directly on the deck after it is collected.

Ye Yaodong also walked out of the cabin and looked at the large net of fish that was poured out in the drizzle. The harvest was quite good, about four or five thousand kilograms.

Fresh fish were bouncing all over the deck and crabs were crawling around. Only some fish that were crushed to death by the bags of seafood did not move. The two people below quickly picked up baskets and began to sort them.

At this time, another flash of lightning streaked across the sky, splitting the dark clouds in the sky into two. The sky was bright for a moment before darkening again. Ye Yaodong stood on the deck and watched the lightning strike directly towards the sea. Then a rumbling sound rang in his ears.

"Fuck it, it really is, go back, go back..."

After all, he was the second in command of the Harvest. When the lightning struck the sea and the thunder sounded, he immediately reconnected to the Harvest and directly directed the boatmen to collect the nets.

But the other party was a little hesitant. Maybe the boatman thought he was too young and had a criminal record, so he looked down on him and said he wanted to wake up Uncle Pei and tell him about the situation.

"Grass!"

After cursing, he opened the cockpit and walked out. Looking out from the wheelhouse, he felt that the rain had gotten a little heavier. But at the same time, he also discovered that there was a piece of white stuff floating on the sea, swaying in pieces with the wind and waves.

Another flash of lightning flashed across the sky and struck the sea in the distance. The momentary bright light allowed him to see with his 5.3 vision that the white patches were fish with their stomachs turned upside down.

That large group of people were electrocuted to death by lightning.

Water is conductive, and you can imagine the conductivity of seawater.

However, sea water also has electrical resistance. Even if lightning strikes the sea, it will not cause any harm to the fish in the deep sea.

However, the fish living one layer below the sea level are probably not so lucky. Because they are close to the sea level, the electric current they have to withstand is very strong, which leads to their fate of eventually becoming grilled fish.

"Mad, your life is more important."

He didn't even think about trying to retrieve the thing, but immediately returned to the cockpit to control the boat, preparing to speed back. However, before running away, he had to speed up and approach the Harvest while reconnecting.

"Sai Linmu, hurry back. There are constant thunder and lightning. Do you want to live? Leave quickly and say that I said so. Otherwise..."

"I know. I'm already setting up the net. I'll be able to speed up in 10 minutes. You can start first..."

It was Pei's father's voice that interrupted him.

Ye Yaodong was immediately relieved and did not move closer to him. As long as the connection was agreed upon, it was fine. He adjusted the direction and went ahead.

In ten minutes, in this foggy weather, we can at most get out of the sight of the Harvest. By then, if we speed up from behind, we should be able to catch up.

When the boatmen at the warehouse door saw that the fishing boat had accelerated back, they felt relieved and took off their raincoats and lay back down.

This trip was not in vain and was worth it. He didn't feel sorry at all and sailed back without any worries.

However, as the fishing boat sailed longer and got closer to the coast, the sky became brighter and the rain gradually became lighter, until they reached the county town, where the rain stopped completely. The sky was bright, no longer gloomy and dark as in the deep water area.

He was also lamenting in his heart about the horrible weather. The weather was very different just two hours away from the sea. He just didn't know whether it was raining in the village.

Ye's father was sleeping in the cabin and had no idea that the ship had returned. No one went out of their way to wake him up. Anyway, the ship had already returned and there was no work to do, and Ye Yaodong was the one who drove the boat.

It was not until the fishing boat was approaching the village dock that Ye's father was awakened and realized that they had returned.

"Isn't it a nice day? It's so bright, why did you come back?"

He had already walked to the cabin door and put on his raincoat, but when he looked at the bright sky without a drop of rain, he immediately took it off.

The boatman who was standing next to him and peeing said, "You fell asleep and didn't know anything. When it was just dawn, there were lightning and thunder on the sea. It was so scary. It was clearly early in the morning, but looking at that day, it felt like it was already evening. It was so dark and scary that we hurried back."

"Like this? I didn't hear any movement in the cabin."

"My ears were filled with the sounds of machines, and I was half asleep and half awake, so it was normal that I didn't know anything. I did hear a little thunder, and when I got up and took a look, I realized how scary it was. I simply didn't sleep afterwards, as I couldn't sleep anymore. I just stayed on the deck and watched.

"As we were on our way back, the sky gradually became brighter and the rain became lighter. Now you couldn't even tell it had rained."

Father Ye nodded. "The weather looked bad last night, but there wasn't much thunder and lightning after nightfall, so I felt relieved. I didn't expect it to start again at dawn. It's better to come back early so that you can feel more at ease. The weather at sea is always unpredictable."

After saying that, he went to the fish warehouse to check the harvest and found that it was not much different from before he went to bed, so he went to the cockpit to find Ye Yaodong.

Ye Yaodong had already taken off his raincoat and threw it directly on the ground of the wheelhouse. When he saw his father coming over, he quickly told him, "We are almost at the shore. Tell the people below to move all the goods out in advance."

“It’s already moving.”

Father Ye muttered again that the weather before he went to bed and now when he woke up was only a few hours different, and it was only a little after 8 or 9 in the morning.

"Luckily I contacted Uncle Pei several times this morning and asked someone to wake him up. Otherwise, when he wakes up now and sees that there is no wind or rain at this moment, he might even blame me for coming back straight away."

"That shouldn't be the case."

"That's hard to say."

Seeing is believing, hearing is not. How can I believe it completely if I haven't seen it with my own eyes? He is not my son, so I will always feel uneasy. After all, I lost money. I will think that he is too young and has not even grown all his hair, so how can he make a decision?

Moreover, the Dongsheng made money and caught a hairtail. There is no harm without comparison.

"Don't make blind guesses. We know the weather is bad out in the open sea, with thunderstorms and lightning all the time. It's better to come back early. At night, we saw the lightning strike directly to the sea surface and hit a big fish, and it was not far from us. It was unsafe to think about it. Fortunately, we came back early."

"You haven't even seen it. This morning when it was just dawn, lightning struck the sea surface one after another, and a large number of fish on the sea surface floated up. I also saw the amazing lightning and thunder, and the sky was as dark as evening, so I hurried back. Anyway, we didn't lose anything."

"Um……"

Their fishing boat was approaching the village, and the Harvest behind had already caught up. The two boats stopped at an appropriate depth, one in front of the other.

They just set out at noon yesterday and returned to shore this morning. No one expected this, so no fishing boat came to pick them up after they docked. Their fishing boats all went out to sea at night and had not returned yet.

They were not in a hurry for the moment and they all sorted out the goods on the ship first.

After waiting for about 10 minutes, a small wooden boat swayed towards them. This was a small boat that helped to pick up people at sea. Sometimes the sea was too shallow and the trawler was not suitable for docking, so they would stop directly in the middle of the sea like they did, and then rely on this small wooden boat to pick them up ashore, and then they would pay a small fee for the boat fare.

At other times, small wooden boats still set out nets to collect catches at sea.

While they were sorting the cargo on the ship, they were also waiting for this kind of small boat to slowly come closer.

Who in the whole village didn't know who owned the Fengshou and Dongsheng? It was obvious that if they docked at this time, they definitely didn't have a boat to pick them up, so they had to rely on a small wooden ferry.

When their boat came in just now, the small wooden ferry boats saw it, and they all stopped collecting their nets and came over to take on the job.

The cargo on their ship certainly could not be accommodated by a small wooden boat. Although it was only for one day, it still required three or four small boats to transport it.

Fortunately, there were several small wooden boats approaching, and several followed closely behind. Most of the villagers had seen the boats full of goods every time they came back, and they were very enthusiastic to approach.

If they are transporting goods, it costs ten cents per trip. If they are sending people ashore, it costs five cents per trip.

The Harvest was very familiar with the situation. After all, the last few times it docked were all at noon, and the Dongsheng always came back late, in the evening or after dark. There was no need for this ship at all. One or two of their own ships would be enough to carry the cargo.

(End of this chapter)