A Cai casually tucked a cigarette behind his ear; he didn’t have time to smoke now.
"Oh, don’t worry. We’ve been friends for so long; I wouldn’t shortchange you."
“亲兄弟，明算账” (Between brothers, accounts must be clear). “You tell me a price first, then I’ll think about whether to sell or not. If it’s not worth it, I’ll just take it to Hongsheng myself. It’s too bad to go out in this typhoon weather; otherwise, I might have been able to sell that bass for a higher price myself…”
A Cai’s lips twitched.
That fish had already raised the price so much that he barely made two yuan out of it.
It was a total loss… and he had the guts to bring it up now.
“Brother, we’re from the same village. You know my old man’s goods come from your father, right? How could I not give you a fair price? Don’t worry. Let’s say this big red snapper is six yuan and fifty cents per jin. What do you think?”
“Isn’t your price the same as the bass? That fish barely weighed two jins, set at twelve yuan. This red snapper must be worth more than that, right? Don’t think just because we don’t come to the city often that we can’t tell good from bad. Eight yuan a jin; if it’s okay, let’s weigh it!”
A Cai felt a pang in his gut, his facial fat jiggled slightly.
Why was this guy getting harder to talk to? He kept stepping on his bottom line every time.
“Really, the profit isn’t that much, little brother. Just look at these seafood. Go ask around in town, and you’ll find out, too. I only make a few cents profit per jin. For dragon fish, I don’t make even a penny; it’s just three to five cents…”
Ye Yaodong patted his big belly without any courtesy. “With that big belly of yours, you must have earned quite a bit. Even if it’s just a couple of cents of profit, the quantity adds up, right? Besides, how can you compare dragon fish to this snapper? Isn’t it a bit embarrassing to mention just a couple of cents?”
The onlookers burst into laughter. “Yeah! Look at that belly of yours; it’s obviously filled with grease!”
“Right! Just eat a bit less, share something with us. Rich folks only care about the goods and don’t lack money. You can always sell it at a higher price after a quick turn!”
Old Ye was eager to bargain, “We have no problem with the other goods, but just add a little for the fish.”
Uncle Lin also chimed in, “Look at all of us; we’re as thin as bamboo poles. How can A Cai charge such a low price? Come on, it’s not easy to catch a red snapper. I’ve fished for decades and never caught one, and this one looks like it’s almost three jins. It should sell well.”
“Tsk tsk tsk… This vibrant color and quality really isn’t anything like what we have close to shore.” A Gui, who was collecting goods next door, also came over to join in. “A Cai, do you want it? If not, I’ll take it.”
“Go away! What’s it to you? Fine, eight yuan it is,” A Cai frowned, looking miserable. “I really didn’t earn much from you, little brother. The few fish you brought recently barely made me a few dimes…”
“Don’t dither. We’re all risking our lives on the sea to earn money. You’re just sitting here collecting goods but still act like you’re earning just a few dimes. How could you take that to heart? Quickly weigh it!”
A Cai fell silent.
If he earned less, he earned less.
He’d just take it as a way to get familiar with the bosses and weighed it directly.
“Two jins eight!” He noted it down. “Big red snapper, two jins eight, twenty-two yuan four dimes. Please bring the rays over to weigh them as well.”
Everyone focused on the several baskets of rays being weighed, discussing excitedly…
“These rays usually live on the ocean floor and are hard to catch. Ye Lao San really hit the jackpot…”
“I heard he caught three nets full of rays.”
“How did you catch them, Ye Lao San? I see you always come back with more fish than others. Got any tricks? Share some tips with us!”
Old Ye smiled as he watched the onlookers, “What tricks could I have? I let Dongzi, my son, drag the nets today, so all the catches are his doing. Maybe he just has good luck as a newbie.”
“Oh, really?”
“Is that true?”
Everyone pondered if they should give it a try too.
But after thinking it through, besides women and children, there were no newbies at home.
They couldn’t ask women and children to go out on boats.
So they just had to resign and envy others’ profits.
“Rays, three hundred eighty-six jins. That’s one mao eighty per jin—let me calculate… a total of sixty-nine yuan four dimes. Never mind, I’ll round it up to sixty-nine yuan five.” He rounded up on his own to avoid further chitchat from Ye Yaodong.
Actually, Ye Yaodong wanted him to round it up to seventy, but he held back.
Five dimes still wasn’t small change; he didn’t want to deal with fractions.
“Now, let’s weigh those three baskets of river fish…”
“Is that three cents a jin?” Ye Yaodong asked uncertainly.
“Yep!”
“Then don’t sell these river fish, Dad?”
So cheap—three hundred jiao for a hundred jins—might as well keep them for drying.
Ye’s mother smiled and said, “Today we caught quite a lot. These river fish aren’t worth much, and we all love to eat them. Why not keep them? Half to dry and half to pickle.”
“Alright, we’ll take them back later.” Old Ye nodded.
Today’s harvest was bountiful; they didn’t mind the three or four yuan for the river fish.
A few dozen jins for drying would be good enough.
In their seaside household, their meal table can never be without fish.
If there wasn’t even a bowl of fish on the table, it meant they didn’t have anything to eat.
After finishing weighing the shrimp and crabs, the total price came to ninety-six yuan five dimes.
Now everyone was genuinely envious.
If they had sold the river fish, they certainly would have earned over a hundred yuan in a day.
It was too tempting.
Once they finished weighing, it was Lin Jingye’s turn.
He shook his head with a smile. “Compared to you, mine is just a small sum.”
“Not bad! Yours should still be worth thirty or so, right?”
“If I hadn’t seen your haul, I’d still be quite happy. After the typhoon, there really seem to be more seafood than before.”
Ye Yaodong patted him on the shoulder. “Oh, Uncle Lin, you’ve brought back quite a bit. It’s better than before, right?”
“Indeed! It looks like you’ve improved a lot. Come help me lift this basket of crabs…”
“Sure thing!”
While lending a hand, they chatted a little.
Once they borrowed a cart, they moved the remaining river fish and miscellaneous fish onto it.
Today, Ye’s mother had specifically left a few thinner crabs for dinner, planning to make drunken crabs in the evening.
Since she had prepared extra flour dumplings earlier for the workers, it wasn’t long before they came back, washed up, and then ate dumplings to satisfy their stomachs before catching up on sleep.
They didn’t wake up until dinner time when they were called.
Ye Yaodong sleepily looked at Lin Xiuqing, who was sitting on the bed folding clothes, then moved over to hug her waist, rubbing against her back with his head.
“What time is it? Is work done?”
Lin Xiuqing shifted uncomfortably. “It’s six o’clock. I’m all sweaty. Don’t stick to me. Go eat first; I need to take a shower.”
“I just woke up. It hasn’t been long since I had a snack. Let’s wait before dinner. You wash up; I won’t look.”
“Then you go watch the kids. They have just finished showering, so don’t let them get dirty again.”
Basically, she just didn’t want him hanging out in the room.
“Alright then.”
It’s not like he hadn’t seen before!
(End of this chapter)