Chapter 318: Pitch Black

Just stepping onto the beach, he saw squids of all sizes stranded everywhere, scattered on the beach.

The surrounding tide kept pushing the dead squids in the sea up.

Ye Father said with a face full of joy: "Pick as many as you can, if we can't finish picking, come again tomorrow."

Saying this, he had already squatted down and picked them up impatiently.

"Hurry up, don't dawdle, don't look around, hurry and pick."

"I'm just looking at how many there are around?"

"No need to look... look at wha... ah..."

Ye Father's voice suddenly stopped abruptly. Ye Yaodong turned his head in doubt. "Ouch, damn, still alive?"

Only to see his father, unprepared, sprayed with ink all over his face by a dying squid, and then he even reached out and wiped his face...

Even more pitch black.

"Didn't expect it wasn't dead yet."

"Go into the water and wash it." After saying this, he also squatted down and started picking.

It's just that he hadn't picked a few before he was also sprayed with ink all over his face. Fortunately, he was a bit far away, the spray was a bit off, only sprayed on one side of his cheek.

Sprayed white yesterday, sprayed black today, black and white added.

He didn't care, just left it like that and continued picking. Anyway, he would definitely be sprayed again in a while, there were so many squids on the beach.

There is a saying: Squid belly blood and gall are like ink, can be used to write, its handwriting will disappear after a year.

Meaning the squid's ink can be used to write, but it will fade after a long time.

The reason why the squid is called "thief" is because someone once used its juice to write things, and what was written was an IOU.

And the ink of the squid will remain for a period of time after writing, but after a long time, it undergoes oxidation under the action of air, so the words are gone. In this way, people can default on debts.

In ancient times, there was a legend called "River God's Clerk", which was Jiangdong people using its ink to write contracts to defraud other people's money and goods.

Ye Yaodong squatted there, moving around, picking the squids in front of him one by one into the sack, occasionally picking up other stranded small fish and sea snails, and tossing them all into the sack together.

Not long after, his face and hands were also pitch black.

Looked at his father not far away, the face he washed white just now was washed white in vain, the two were half a catty to eight taels.

Twisted his neck and continued.

Sigh, it's a pity he couldn't bring that group of children out, could only pick them painstakingly by himself.

Just when they were picking until their waists were sore and backs were aching, a group of seabirds also flew over, snatching food from their tiger's mouth.

Most seabirds like to eat fish, squids, crustaceans, mollusks, etc., can be said to eat everything.

Ye Father looked at the group of seabirds pecking there continuously, his heart ached to death.

"Hurry and pick, just the two of us picking, not as fast as they are eating."

"Damn! They are everywhere, flew over as soon as the tide receded."

"No way, anyway we can't finish picking, can only be cheap for them."

"Still thinking about coming over to pick tomorrow, come over tomorrow, estimate not even a hair will be left."

Amidst Ye Yaodong's cursing, the sun gradually set behind the mountain, and there were more and more seabirds on the beach. Both of their sacks were almost picked full.

Ye Yaodong rubbed his sore old waist and sighed in his heart. This is all hard-earned money!

And reduced to snatching food from a group of seabirds, damn.

No, that's them snatching his, he was the first to discover it.

"Let's go Father, that's about it, the sun has set, it will be dark when we go back."

Just as he finished speaking, finished moving his neck and twisting his waist, and intended to grab the mouth of this sack of squids, a seabird actually arrogantly wanted to rush into his bag to peck at the squids.

He instinctively raised his hand and hit it, but it dodged it sensitively.

"Damn, there are still some on the beach, not eating, and deliberately coming over to steal."

"What are you saying? Let's go, let's go back."

Ye Father carried a sack he picked and, seeing him still murmuring there, his head turning everywhere, hurriedly urged him.

"Oh, coming."

He also grabbed the mouth of the sack tightly, then carried it on his shoulder and walked toward the fishing boat.

It was still in a receding tide state. Fortunately, he docked on the side, and also docked relatively far. The fishing boat wasn't stranded even when the tide receded to the bottom, and could barely get out.

After wading through the water and carrying the two sacks ashore, they immediately dumped the squids into bamboo baskets. Keeping them pressed would easily crush them, it was better to dump them into bamboo baskets.

"This bag is estimated to be 100 jin."

Ye Father nodded happily. "Almost, 3 mao and a few cents per jin, the squid flooding next will probably drop in price, but these two bags can also sell for sixty or seventy, plus the two nets dragged before, and the goods collected by longline fishing, and those caught by diving, should also be able to sell for nearly two hundred yuan."

Ye Yaodong was also in a very good mood. Hadn't been out to sea for many days, as soon as he came out, the harvest was not bad, and he also picked up so many squids for free.

"Go to the mountain to cut some firewood tomorrow, bundle more and throw them into the sea to lure and catch, take advantage of this fishing season to catch more."

"Go back and tell your eldest brother and second brother to also get more tree branches and bundle them up to throw into the sea, let them also catch squids next, there won't be few squids in this period."

"Hmm, go back, you drive the boat, I'll sort it out."

Ye Father heard this and knew he wanted to keep goods again, frowned and said painfully: "You keep less, don't keep those valuable sea cucumbers and abalone again, just keep a few miscellaneous fish to eat, that's enough."

"Got it, got it, you hurry and drive the boat, it's almost dark, I can barely see your face."

Father and son were both pitch black, and had no time to clean up. They had been scrambling to snatch from the seabirds earlier. After carrying them onto the boat, they immediately followed up to organize.

However, it wasn't a big problem. Men, after all, don't care much about their image. Anyway, no one saw them on the sea.

And there was no mirror, father and son both felt their faces were a bit wet and just wiped their faces casually, neither needed to laugh at the other.

Expecting them to gently wipe each other's faces, that was impossible.

Ye Father worriedly urged two more sentences, saying they just need to get a few miscellaneous fish and crabs, enough for a meal, don't need to keep others for them, let him keep less himself...

"Got it, you hurry and drive the boat, I have a count in my heart."

Because Ah Qing gave birth, his old mother had to take care of the confinement meals. During this period, his old father, old mother, and old lady were all eating at his place, saving his mother from running back and forth and starting fires on both sides.

After driving his old father to drive the boat, he carried the bucket with his back to him, and took the lead in extending his magic claws toward those squids, one per person!

And today, tomorrow, two days' amount.

This squid will shrink when boiled, one per person is not much, take it to braise, it's very fragrant.

And sea cucumbers, keep 4 today, Ah Qing and the old lady one each, eat for two days.

Others forget it, keep a little shrimp for the two children to match with rice, just wait until they go ashore and pick some miscellaneous fish to braise in soy sauce.

Seaside people can only eat seafood for every meal, stir-fry one or two vegetables, and it's enough for the whole family.

After picking what should be kept, and going through the menu in his mind, he was satisfied and carried the bucket to the corner.

The sky gradually darkened. After the fishing boat docked, it was already dark.

Ye Mother was waiting anxiously on the shore. It was already dark before she saw the familiar boat dock.

As soon as she ran to the shore, she was almost scared out of her wits. "You... you..."

"What's with the look of seeing a ghost? Hurry up and come up to help."

Ye Yaodong looked at his father. "Isn't it a ghost look?"

Hearing two familiar voices, Ye Mother was relieved. "Why are you both pitch black? Went to be pirates?"

"Picked squids, was sprayed all over the face, and had no time to clean up." Ye Yaodong said while wiping his face, instantly a few black streaks and a few yellow streaks...

Ye Mother didn't want to look. "In the middle of the night, people will be scared to death if they see it, take a handkerchief and dip it in water to wipe it, isn't that fine."

Ye Father also made the same action, wiping his face. "Blindly particular, what does it matter, anyway it's black to begin with, water is all used to cook, where is there time to fetch seawater."

Two rough men, Ye Mother was too lazy to talk, went on the boat to help.

"Other boats all docked early, why are you at this point?"

"Didn't I say picking squids? Aren't there several baskets in the corner?"

Ye Mother only then noticed that what he said was picking.

"Picking? Not caught?"

"No, these squids died after spawning, were washed by seawater to the small island and stranded, we picked for half an afternoon and picked two bags."

"Ah? There's such a good thing," Ye Mother was overjoyed, "It's the squid fishing season, then we can go pick tomorrow, it's a pity, I have to take care of the confinement, otherwise I would follow you to help."

"Not necessarily tomorrow, a pile of seabirds are circling on that island, we left, they haven't left yet, they ate more than we picked."

"What a pity."

"Nothing to pity, picking 200 jin is also not bad. Tomorrow cut some tree branches to lure and catch, faster than picking."

"Also, I saw them dragging nets back today and there were also some squids, estimate it will start luring and catching next."

"Lift it down first," Ye Yaodong urged.

Several collection points had already closed, only Ah Cai's was still open there, mainly waiting for Ye Yaodong's goods.

Ye Yaodong's fishing boat goods were all collected by him, no matter how late he had to wait for the fishing boat to return and collect the goods before closing. Generally, it wouldn't be very late.

Ah Cai saw their goods carried over and couldn't help but say: "Why so late, you are the only boat that hasn't returned, other boats all returned early."

"Don't you know the finale is always the last to appear?" Ye Yaodong replied glibly.

"What good things again? Sea cucumbers, abalone, small lobsters?"

"All have."

"Okay, every time you go out to sea you can get them, is there any secret base?"

"Do you think I'm raising them myself?"

"I also suspected that."

Ye Yaodong rolled his eyes. "Stop talking nonsense, hurry and weigh, my wife is still waiting for my fish to help with lactation."

"Fine, fine, fine, how much was the fine?"

"Isn't it all unified at 500?"

"You have a good relationship with Chen Shuji, I thought you could have a little less."

"Thinking beautifully, Chen Shuji is fair and selfless, everyone is the same."

"Can give birth is fine, 500 yuan is not much for you."

"Who said that, 500 yuan is a huge sum for me, almost emptied my family's bottom."

Ah Cai was speechless, believe his ghost, how much money he earns, can he not have a count in his heart? Only more, not less!

"How much is squid recently?" Ye Yaodong changed the subject.

"3 mao 6 fen, squids have increased in the past two days."

"Will it drop in price again?"

"Almost, it should drop a few more cents when it increases next."

"Got it, hurry and weigh."

Ye Yaodong put the goods he kept into the bucket he kept earlier, handed it to his mother, and let her carry it back first. There were old people, children, and lying-in women at home.

Ye Yaodong put the share he kept for himself into the bucket he had set aside earlier and handed it to his mother, telling her to take it back first, as there were still elderly people, children, and a woman in confinement at home.