"Why are there only shells in this coconut shell? Where's the meat?" Mother Ye was also helping to sort through the catch. “Check in the basin, maybe we can slice it for lunch.”
“It’s already been opened; there’s nothing inside.” Ye Yadong spoke without hesitation, but Lin Xiuqing, a bit guilty, stole a glance at him.
He made a strange face and then said to her, “You should go take a bath. We wouldn’t want you to catch a cold. Your mother and the others are here.”
Understanding his intention, she nodded and headed back inside to hide the beautiful pearl she had found.
She was worried it might fall out, so all the way back she held her pocket tightly, fearing it would be lost.
They left behind a blue crab with small pincers, a few small fish, and some shrimp, while most of the valuable catch was sorted out by Mother Ye and kept in a bucket for him.
“While it’s not raining too much, hurry back and remember to put on the raincoat.”
Ye Yadong quickly spotted the old raincoat hanging in the corridor and didn’t mind putting it on.
It was much easier than using an umbrella, as it wouldn’t turn inside out.
As he carried the two buckets outside, the women in the house started to prepare fish and cook rice, and also topped up the water for the clams, sprinkling a bit of coarse salt for preservation.
Usually, the village buzzed with life, with women sitting either at the front or back of their homes, weaving nets.
Today, however, every door and window was tightly shut, and the streets were devoid of people.
When Ye Yadong reached Ah Cai’s house, he found him shirtless at the back door sharpening a knife and preparing fish.
Hearing someone approach, he came out holding the knife.
“What are you doing, Brother Cai? I’m delivering goods, not here to rob you. Is there a need to come out brandishing a knife like that?”
“Oh? Haha.” Ah Cai awkwardly glanced at the knife in his hand and explained, “I was just cleaning fish. Why did you come out on a typhoon day? Your father won’t go out to sea in this storm, will he? Isn’t that risking his life?”
“No, no, I just picked these up on the beach when the tide receded.”
“Really? You’re clever to know that there’s stuff to pick up in such rough weather. Let me see what you’ve found.” He tucked the kitchen knife behind his waist and leaned forward to look at the water buckets.
“Not bad, there are five or six blue crabs here? They’re quite big. Is that an eel at the bottom? And what’s this? A bass? It’s a bass, right?” Ah Cai squatted down in surprise at the patterns on the fish.
Ye Yadong felt a bit proud; it was just a bass, yet it amazed him.
If Ah Cai knew he had found a beautiful pearl over two centimeters in diameter, he would surely drop his jaw in shock.
“Give me your price! How much will you pay?”
He kicked the bucket, startling the fish inside, sending a splash of seawater onto Ah Cai’s face.
Not bothered, Ah Cai wiped his face with his hand.
“This fish is rare around here; you might occasionally catch it at the fishing port. Let’s weigh it first.”
Ye Yadong nodded and followed him into the house with the buckets.
It was a bit tricky to weigh live fish, but fortunately, they had a basket at home.
He placed the fish in it to get a quick reading on the scale and promptly returned it to the bucket.
“Eight taels per pound; I’ll give you eight coins for it, how about that?”
“Isn’t it worth at least five coins a pound? Just add a bit more; if you sell it to some wealthy customers, you could make double! We’re all in the same village; do you really want to cheat me?”
“Nonsense! Who is cheating you? Who would buy at double the price? You think making money is that easy?”
“Tch, we have quite a few knowledgeable customers in town. For a rich person, a few dozen coins is just the cost of a meal. They only care about good quality; money is secondary. I’ve seen people at the Hongsheng Hotel spend hundreds on a bottle of wine, easily racking up a thousand in one night; don’t outsmart me!”
Ah Cai glared at him and said grumpily, “That’s the hotel’s profit; isn’t it normal for restaurants to mark up prices several times? How much can I, just a fish vendor, make?”
“I won’t argue with you. Let’s settle at twelve coins; I’ll sell it to you!”
“What? You’re robbing me! That’s too much! I’ll lose money…”
“Then I’ll take it to Ah Gui’s place…” referring to another purchase spot at the dock.
“Hey, hey, wait! You youngsters are so impulsive; we haven’t even finished talking and you want to leave. Ten coins, at most ten coins… Alright, alright… let’s go with twelve… twelve…”
Ye Yadong rolled his eyes.
After much fuss, it was clear that they would settle on his price.
He knew Ah Cai was crafty and had earned plenty.
This fish, if sold to a restaurant, would surely cost a lot more.
There was no way he would lose money.
The prices for the rest of the blue crabs and fish were quite fair as they were settled at the usual purchase rates.
In the end, he made only a little over twenty coins.
Ah Cai didn’t mention paying later but counted the cash right away for him.
“Here you go; we’re all settled now.”
“Thanks a lot!”
“Don’t mention it. Bring more good stuff next time. It’s a hassle in this typhoon weather; I still need to send them to the dock to keep them alive…”
Ye Yadong unfastened the raincoat and put the money away before hurrying home.
The weak morning sun had long disappeared, and strong winds had picked up, with drops of rain stinging his face; truly dreadful weather.
Upon returning home, the delicious aroma of food wafted through the air, and the whole family was gathered together for once.
Father Ye saw him come back and quickly set down the shredded tobacco in his hand, “How much did you sell that bass for?”
“Twelve coins!”
“That high?”
“Yeah, I was just testing the waters with my price, and I didn’t expect him to agree.”
Father Ye was speechless.
Was it really possible to price it like that?
Mother Ye was stir-frying with a spatula but did not forget to ask, “How much did all the goods sell for?”
“Twenty-five coins and eight dimes!”
“Not bad at all! You just went out for a little while and earned so much; it’s worth the same as someone fishing at sea for an entire day.”
Sister-in-law Ye could not help but interject, “Yadong's luck has really been good lately. Every time he goes out, he comes back with a big harvest; he must’ve made hundreds already!”
That tone made him roll his eyes inwardly.
“Yeah, I’ve been lucky recently. I’m going to take a shower first.”
“Dongzi, wash with hot water. You were out in the rain, so don’t take a cold shower; you could catch a cold.” The elderly woman was sitting by the stove, happily handing him a thermos of hot water.
“Alright.”
Although he preferred cold showers, he would listen to her words.
It was raining outside, so he had to carry the water inside to wash up before handing over the money to his wife.
As soon as he entered the room, he saw her sitting by the window, picking at the palm of her hand with a needle.
“What’s wrong? Did sand get in?”
“Yeah, it did.”
“Let me help you with that!”
“Just wash up first; I don’t want you to catch a cold.”
“Oh, this is the money I just sold; you keep it. There’s also eighty coins; I left some for myself.”
Lin Xiuqing took it, counted, and exclaimed, “So much sold?”
“It’s mainly because that grouper is expensive, and those few blue crabs are fat. One of them even weighs two pounds; the other fish were much cheaper.”
“That’s great! We only went out for half the morning and made so much; we hit the jackpot!”
“Yeah, you did keep the beautiful pearl safe, right?”
“Don’t worry, I hid it well.”
(End of Chapter)