Chapter 991: Selling cargo ashore

Ye Yaodong went to the cabin to offer three incense sticks to Mazu, and then returned to the deck to help, by the way, listening to the uncles chatting and talking about the past.

At this time, his father suddenly emerged and patted him on the shoulder, "Dongzi!"

Scared him, the fishing boat was swaying, and he sat directly on the ground, his hands were full of slippery small trash fish.

"What are you doing, patting me so hard suddenly."

He was thinking about things, thinking that he could earn one or two thousand in just one day, then what if he drifted for a few more days?

Saliva was almost flowing down, but was woken up by his father's slap.

Ye Father was full of smiles, "Just connected to the in-laws, his harvest is a little less than ours, just finished counting the cargo."

"Then what is there to be excited about? I said it, I must have netted more. I chased the light circle earlier than him, and it took a while for him to discover and chase over."

"He also caught a lot, just didn't finish counting, just said that yesterday's harvest is comparable to two or three days in the past, and also said that the day of going to sea yesterday was good."

"Chatted for a while, asked him about calling the fresh-collection boat, his fish hold is not full yet, but it should be about the same when it is night. Thinking that we are in a hurry to sell, he also wants to be together."

"However, the fresh-collection boat discounts heavily. There are many valuable cargo in this boat. He wants to go ashore to sell, saying to connect to other friends who have boats, see if anyone knows the price on the shore in the past few days after the year, compare the shore and the fresh-collection boat, and then decide."

Ye Yaodong thought for a while, don't know if the luck will be good next, and how the harvest will be.

Five or six thousand jin of Beryx splendens can sell for nearly two thousand yuan after going ashore. Ten or twenty thousand jin of toadfish, 4 big manta rays, a few big sharks, and other valuable fish cargo, etc., add up to one or two thousand jin, which is not small.

If going ashore can sell for 3000 yuan, it can sell for a thousand yuan more than selling to the fresh-collection boat. Under normal circumstances, wasting a day is worth it.

Just don't know if the few nets dragged today will be wasted, will there be good cargo bursting the net?

Thinking this way, he shook his head again, can't think like this, who knows the situation of not hauling up?

Luck was good yesterday, doesn't mean luck will be good all the time. This is all looking at luck, not one hundred percent.

"That works... if he can ask someone, have familiar people know the recent price, if it is suitable, feel that going ashore to sell is more profitable, we waste most of the day or a day to go ashore, it is not impossible. Just how far is our current position from the pier that can collect goods?"

"I asked him the direction, he said it is almost to the provincial capital, saying that next, don't go to the East China Sea, turn back and drag the net towards the province, it should be able to arrive by the afternoon."

"So much cargo, it is a pity to sell to the fresh-collection boat with a big discount, but also have to ask about the price on the shore, compare it, we also calculate the cargo in the fish hold, see if it is worth spending most of the day or a day."

Ye Yaodong looked up at the cargo on the deck again. Most of the day passed, and he picked a few more baskets of Beryx splendens, but it seemed that he didn't see how much the two piles of cargo like small hills had decreased.

"Then wait until these cargo are sorted out, we estimate the weight and price ourselves, pay attention to the cockpit in the evening, see if there is any news from Pei Uncle, we calculate and then decide."

Going back and forth is one thing, the main thing is to delay the time of catching. For example, accelerating to go ashore and go back for five or six hours, back and forth takes ten or twenty hours. Plus the time of selling cargo is not that fast, and it is delayed. This whole day is almost over.

And they just came out for a day, and have been walking towards the East China Sea, and there is no pier that can collect goods nearby. Now it is equivalent to turning back, and it will take a day to sell goods, don't know if it is worth it.

He didn't think about selling ashore at first, also thinking about striking while the iron is hot, taking advantage of the cargo netted yesterday, and seeing if he can catch a little more today. Going back to sell goods is too delayed.

However, since Pei Uncle knows a few people, let him ask the price first, and then they will make a decision.

"Alright, anyway, just follow Pei Uncle first and walk towards the provincial capital. We ran for a whole day, always walking towards the East China Sea, not going ashore so fast, can also drag the net towards the provincial capital first, and then accelerate to hurry after determining."

"Alright, anyway, we'll just follow him towards the provincial capital first. We've been running for a whole day, heading towards the East Sea, so we won't reach the shore that quickly. We can also drag the nets towards the provincial capital together first, and then speed up the journey after we've confirmed things."

When you're out and about, you need to know more people. Sometimes a single piece of information is worth a lot of money, which is why many fishermen who operate large boats by the sea equipped themselves with big brother mobile phones early on once they became available.

Although the big brother phones that just came out were extremely expensive, costing ten thousand yuan each, compared to being able to contact home and knowing the purchase prices in various towns, it was possible to earn back the cost.

After Ye Fu finished chatting, he returned to the wheelhouse. The Harvest had overtaken them at some point and was now running ahead to their front right, and the distance between the two boats was constantly widening. He had to hurry and steer the boat to keep up.

Old Pei had much more experience in running boats than he did and had been at sea all year round. Following behind him couldn't be wrong; safety first.

Ye Yaodong continued to squat there helping with the sorting. He thought that if they accelerated to reach the shore, then they wouldn't need to cast the nets or work, and he could go back to the cabin to lie down and sleep for a while.

He didn't know if he had dozed for three hours during the night, sleeping on and off. Although he felt okay for now, he estimated that he wouldn't be able to hold up by the afternoon.

"Are we going to sell them on shore?" a boat worker nearby heard the father and son talking and turned to ask curiously.

"We don't know the prices on shore. Uncle Pei seems to know some people. He'll contact them first to see if anyone has sold goods on shore in the last two days."

The boat worker nodded, "Then it's better to decide after asking. The prices of these seafood items change from time to time. After a new year, it's normal to have fluctuations. The cost of us going to shore is not small, so if there's someone to ask, we should ask first."

"Hmm, anyway, just follow behind Uncle Pei. He's been at sea for the past few years. I heard he's been everywhere and knows a lot. Whatever he wants to do, we'll just follow him."

Chen Laoqi also said, "Right, right, right. It's rare for you to be so sensible. Some young guys always feel their wings are hardened and they don't need to listen to the older generation. Listening to the elders more is definitely not wrong; they've eaten more salt than young people for decades, after all."

"Why talk about this? Who hasn't been a young person? It's normal to be proud when you have some achievements and some skills. We don't know when these goods will finish being sorted, and you still have time to mutter..."

"My mouth is talking, what does that have to do with my hands working? I don't need my mouth to work."

"If you wanted your mouth to work, you wouldn't have the ability. This basket of mine is full again, help me lift it..."

"How many baskets is this? They're all red fish..."

"Ah! The porridge seems to be ready. I'll go take a look. We'll continue after we eat in a while..."

Ye Yaodong hurriedly threw away the fish in his hand. He had almost forgotten the porridge bubbling in the pot. He hurriedly threw in the washed chrysanthemum greens, added a little salt, and let it simmer for two or three minutes before it was ready to eat.

After he started eating, he remembered that he hadn't brushed his teeth when he got up to work at night, and he still hadn't brushed them now.

He turned his head and glanced at the group of people who were wolfing down their food with slurping sounds. Not one of them had brushed their teeth, and sleep crust was still stuck in their eyes.

Since they had already eaten, what's not clean won't make you sick.

Anyway, the little bit he dozed at night didn't count as sleep. He had been peeling shrimp and biting mantis shrimp from time to time at night, and his mouth hadn't stopped either. Not brushing his teeth didn't seem to be anything to be uncomfortable about.

He also shoveled his food down quickly. After finishing, he carried a large bowl to the wheelhouse for his father and asked by the way if there was any news from Uncle Pei's side.

"Didn't I cook white porridge?"

"The thing we have the most of on the boat is seafood. Just eat it, what are you afraid of? It's so delicious cooked this way, much better than white porridge."

Ye Fu only asked because he saw it was different from what he had put in to cook in the morning, so he asked one extra question. After asking, he immediately changed the subject.

"The in-laws just replied to me, saying that the people he knows also just went out to sea in the last two days and no one has gone to shore to sell. They all contacted the fresh-receiving boats, so there's no reference. Let us decide for ourselves. What do you think?"

Ye Yaodong thought for a while, "Then let's stick to the plan and wait until the goods on the deck are mostly sorted. We'll calculate the quantity of the red sea bream before deciding."

"I just told the in-laws the same thing. I said we'd calculate the quantity to see if it's worth selling on shore, and let him calculate it himself too. He hasn't finished sorting his goods over there either."

"Then you eat first. Keep following the Harvest. When the goods below are mostly sorted, I'll calculate the quantity and come tell you."

"Okay."

With no reference, he could only make his own decision.

The ten thousand plus jin of goods on the deck kept the five of them busy sorting until the next net of goods was hauled up, and they still hadn't finished.

However, they had at least cleared most of the deck, swept the remaining pile of miscellaneous goods into one spot, and made space for the new net of goods to be placed.

And after the new net was hauled up, Ye Yaodong didn't let anyone cast the nets again. Instead, he went to the wheelhouse and had his father connect with Uncle Pei. He decided to accelerate directly to the shore and sell the goods on the boat.

The goods from this net were miscellaneous and nothing particularly valuable, which directly prompted his decision to go to shore. Plus the two nets caught at night, he estimated that there should be six thousand jin of red sea bream in total, so he would try selling them on shore.

"Are you sure? If you're sure, I'll connect with your Uncle Pei and tell him not to cast the nets anymore. I don't know if he has hauled up this net yet or if he has already cast it. I have to tell him to speed up. We'll also keep heading back, and we should be able to make it to shore to sell the goods before dark."

Ye Yaodong checked the time, "It's only past nine, there's enough time."

"It's the middle of winter now, it gets dark early."

"The fifteenth hasn't passed yet, so the new year isn't over. The provincial capital should still be very lively at night."

"We've only been out for one day. Otherwise, we could go to shore in the provincial capital at night and rest for a night."

"Dad, you've changed!"

"Ah?" Ye Fu was full of confusion, "What do you mean? What do you mean I've changed?"

"We've only been out for one day, and you're already thinking about going to shore to rest. You're so lazy!"

"Nonsense, wasn't I thinking about going to shore in the provincial capital? None of us have been to the province..."

"You don't need to explain. I know, you've just become lazy. We haven't even worked for two days, and you're already thinking about resting. You even have the nerve to go around saying that my big size is useless and that I could carry two loads of grain into a ditch."

"Everything I said is a fact. We're already in the province, don't you want to go up to the streets and take a look?"

"I don't want to. Next time, don't keep bringing up old, stale matters all the time."

Ye Fu glared at him, "Am I too full, loving to talk about you all day? I don't care if you want to go to shore to rest. I wish you'd go out to sea immediately after selling, and drag two more nets of goods, so as not to delay too long and lose out."

"You watch here, you go connect with Uncle Pei and tell him to hurry and accelerate towards the provincial capital. I'll go down and see how the harvest from this net is."

Ye Yaodong looked at his father's back and grumbled. Did he not want to save face? Bringing up old history all day long.

The old guy also wanted to see the bustling world. However, after going to shore and selling the goods, it would definitely be night. It wouldn't be that fast for two boats with tens of thousands of jin of goods to be weighed one after another, and there wouldn't be much to see. He could give them some time during the day to walk around everywhere.

Forget it for now. Hurry and sail out at night, and they might be able to drag another net before dawn.

After his father went out, Ye Yaodong contacted Uncle Pei. His net hadn't been hauled up yet, but it was almost time to haul it up, so he just hauled it up early and then accelerated forward.

He also steered the Dongsheng to follow behind, both boats running forward at full power.

The boat workers on the deck were still sorting the fish as usual. After these goods were sorted, they could go back to the cabin to rest. There was no next net, and each of them had something to look forward to if they had a rest.

The goods left over from the morning that hadn't been sorted, plus the goods dragged up in one net, were sorted until past twelve o'clock. They were only mostly sorted when it was time for lunch.

Ye Fu called out for everyone to eat first and clean up after eating.

Ye Yaodong also looked at the deck, which looked like it had been scratched by chicken claws. Fish and goods were everywhere on the deck, evenly scattered and distributed in every corner of the deck.

Everyone sorted very cleanly and carefully, almost not missing any single fish or any goods that could be sold. All the seafood had been carefully turned over once.

He estimated that the remaining goods filling the deck were also about three thousand jin, including fish, shrimp, crabs, and shells.

"Damn! What a waste of heaven's gifts!"

In the future, nothing produced in the sea would be worthless. Except for a few large jellyfish and seaweed trash, no one would want these on the deck, but they could also be sold for a lot of money.

Even those anchovies that were only half a finger long, as small as they could be, were bought by factories—they were the raw material for Jinzai small fish!

After the boat workers finished eating, they took brooms and dustpans, loaded the goods into baskets basket by basket, and took them to dump into the sea.

Ye Yaodong felt incredibly regretful. If he had a mobile phone at this time, wouldn't it be great to record a video?

Recording a video in 1985 and sending it to 2024.

In the future, it wouldn't be common to see scenes of thousands of jin of seafood being dumped into the sea. If there were any, it would be fishing boats caught by the fishery administration for secretly going out to sea to fish during the fishing ban period, and only then would they dump the goods on the boat into the sea by the thousands of jin.

"Dongzi, you go eat, watch here for me."

"Dad, is there any talk of a fish cannery being built near our county?"

"Nonsense, where would there be a fish cannery? Can there be fish in a can? How do you eat this? Aren't cans all oranges and such fruits? How do you eat it if you put fish in it?"

"Oh."

That means in this day and age, fish cans aren't famous in their rural area. It seems like they are produced in the Guangdong province area, but they are all sold overseas.

After all, before the reform and opening up, productivity was low, and the public's purchasing power was very limited. In an era where people couldn't eat their fill or keep warm, canned food was a high-end food, and only the elite could afford to eat it.

Don't talk about before the reform and opening up; even now after the reform and opening up, canned food is still something only rich people can afford. Who would be willing to spend several yuan, several days' wages, to buy a bottle of canned food that can only sweeten the mouth?

Only when giving gifts would people be willing to spend a fortune.

But when placed overseas, canned food is indeed something only poor people would eat; rich people are of course more willing to eat fresh food.

Haha, it's reversed.

Ye Yaodong's thought was just a random idea. He just thought it was a pity that so many goods were dumped into the sea. If they could be made into all kinds of canned food, how good that would be.

It's also because seafood is not easy to store and transportation is difficult, in order to extend the period before food spoils.

It's a pity that industry is still developing now. All machinery and equipment have to rely on imports, and production technology is all from abroad. Probably only the formula belongs to oneself.

Ye Yaodong shook his head. He didn't have that much energy, and he didn't understand these ins and outs. It's better to honestly be a fisherman and catch fish.

Leaving the wheelhouse for his father to watch, he went to eat.

The rice and soup were still hot, but the dishes were a bit cold. However, being able to eat a hot meal at sea was already quite good.

He held a large bowl of rice and dishes and went to the deck, eating while watching them dump the goods into the water basket by basket.

Although he had already seen it yesterday, today more goods were dumped into the sea, and he never got tired of watching it.

Of course his heart ached, but watching this scene made him feel like it was quite appetizing.

"Dumping them into the sea basket by basket now, in the future, what people catch will specifically be these goods that are dumped into the sea."

"How is that possible? These goods take up space when hauled back. If you give them to people, they can only be used to feed chickens, ducks, pigs, and dogs. Now nobody wants them. In the future, who would be so stupid as to catch these goods?"

That hurt.

"I'm just saying. Maybe in the future, there will be more and more boats, and more and more goods caught, and these will become valuable too."

"The more they catch, the better people eat, then nobody will want these even more. Even the pigs won't be able to eat them all..."

If he hadn't lived until 2023, he would have almost believed it.

Now pigs eat sweet potatoes and sweet potato vines. In the future, people will spend money to buy sweet potatoes and sweet potato vines to eat.

"Makes sense, Uncle is right."

"A day or two before we go back, we can pick some of these goods and take them back for you to make fish sauce. The scale of your fish sauce workshop is built quite large. That several thousand yuan, it will take several years to earn back the cost, right?"

"I don't know, it's only been open for a month."

"If only we could raise pigs on the boat, then we wouldn't have to dump them into the sea..."

"Raising pigs is impossible. It's possible to utilize these goods at sea to produce, but it would require a large boat of hundreds or thousands of tons to be able to produce while fishing."

"Really? You know quite a lot..."

Ye Yaodong finished a whole bowl of rice. The workers hadn't finished cleaning the deck and were still dumping goods there. He saw that there was nothing for him to do. The fishing boat was closely following the Harvest, and with his father at the helm, he simply lay back in the cabin to catch up on sleep.

Sleep for a while at noon to catch up on sleep, then he would have energy at night.

The new quilt he just brought on the boat yesterday could already smell of strong seafood now. Fortunately, the sun had been strong for the past two days, so the quilt wouldn't feel damp.

Being full also made him prone to sleepiness. He had just lain into the quilt, originally thinking about the roaring sound of the machine in his ears, but who knew he fell asleep before long.

When he woke up again, the bed next to him was still empty. He didn't know if those people hadn't slept or had already woken up and gone out.

He checked the time; it was already three o'clock. He stretched a big stretch. After a full sleep, he felt especially comfortable, especially in the middle of winter; there was nothing more comfortable than lying in a quilt and sleeping.

Although the fishing boat was rocking and the roaring sound in his ears was constant, having a place to lie down was already a luxury.

There was no more sunlight outside, only thick clouds and bone-chilling cold wind.

He walked to the rear deck, carefully held the side of the boat, took a pee, hurriedly shook a few times, tucked it in, and returned to the deck.

"Are we almost at the shore? You woke up just in time. Did you guys sleep for a while?"

"Yes, we were free just now, so we went to sleep for a while. We just woke up not long ago."

"We're almost at the shore. We saw quite a few trawlers along the way just now, and there are a few trawlers following behind us. They should also be heading to the shore."

Ye Yaodong nodded and went up to the wheelhouse. His father sitting in the wheelhouse wouldn't be cold.

"Are we almost there?"

"Almost, there should be about twenty minutes left."

"That took almost six hours."

"At sea, it's not like on shore. Water routes are naturally slower."

He stayed and chatted with his father for a while, then went to the deck to blow the cold wind. The wheelhouse was too crowded.

After half an hour passed, the bustling and noisy port in the distance was in sight. Everyone stretched their necks and said that they were finally almost there.

There were exceptionally many boats coming and going at the provincial capital's wharf. Like boats as big as theirs, they saw more than a dozen from afar, and they could even see a few boats over thirty meters long. It wasn't something the city could compare to, and even less so the small wharf in their town.

The sun was setting, and boats of all sizes were shuttling on the sea, heading towards the wharf ahead.

On the wharf, fishermen were busily moving baskets of fresh seafood. Laughter and conversation rose one after another, full of the atmosphere of life.

The sea breeze carried the salty taste of seawater, blowing across everyone's faces, which were dark and flushed red, and everyone's faces were filled with the joy of harvest.

"Is this wharf specifically for fish catches to come to shore?"

"Definitely. In a big place like the provincial capital, cargo wharves and fishing boat wharves are separated. There aren't many boats coming to shore today; they're probably all at sea."

Two boat workers were asking and answering there.

"Stop talking, we're about to reach the shore. Move some of the goods in the fish hold out first."

"Okay, okay, okay, let's work..."

Ye Fu squeezed into the gap of the wharf with the Harvest, and the two boats were parked side by side.

The two of them didn't immediately let the goods be moved off the boat. Instead, they went to shore to find buyers first. They were from out of town, so they had to ask a few more buyers to avoid people deliberately suppressing the price. After asking for the price, they would bring people to the boat to see the goods, and after reaching an agreement, they would call people to move the goods to the shore to be weighed.

The wharf was bustling with fishermen or intermediaries receiving goods. On the open ground, there were baskets of seafood everywhere, the ground was wet, and the smell of fishy odor was everywhere.

Ye Yaodong, Ye Fu, and Pei Fu shuttled through the crowd of people coming and going. On the ground, there were baskets of seafood everywhere, people squeezing people, goods squeezing goods.

There were also some small boats that caught goods and set up stalls directly on the wharf, waiting for peddlers to come and inquire about purchasing.

The three of them specifically looked for large purchase points. Small purchase points were not trustworthy, and they might not be able to handle so many of their goods.

"There are people and goods everywhere here. Let's split up and ask a few more places. Just ask for the price of the few types of goods that are most numerous on the boat, and then compare them later."

People squeezing people, baskets next to baskets, it was hard to walk. After Ye Yaodong asked one place with them, he thought that splitting up would be faster, so as not to have it get dark before they even started weighing the goods.

"That's fine, then let's split up and ask. After asking, let's gather here later to compare which one offers a higher price."

The three immediately split up.

Ye Yaodong didn't expect the provincial capital's wharf to be so lively. All kinds of shouting and yelling were constant, and there were no fewer people than goods.

Walking all the way, he also saw quite a few red sea bream, but he didn't see any place that had as many as they did.

After walking around the whole circle, all the red sea bream on the entire wharf added up to only three or four thousand jin, not as many as either of their boats.

He also inquired from individual fishermen, and their red sea bream were all bought at around 0.32 or 0.33 yuan. He had a count in his heart.

Scanning the surroundings, he chose two purchase points that looked relatively large in storefront. Although they were still dilapidated, he saw that they had the most people moving goods, weighing goods, and calculating accounts on this open ground.

He asked who the boss was and walked straight over.

"Old brother, what price are you buying red sea bream for?"

"Regardless of size, weigh it directly at 0.32."

"What if you separate them by size?"

"You separate them well for me, big ones at 0.35, small ones at 0.30. I don't separate them here."

"Is there a higher price for a large quantity?"

"How large? If there's over a thousand jin, I can consider adding one cent."

"Quite large, do you want over ten thousand jin?"

The person had originally been busy with his head down, counting goods, only answering in his spare time, indifferent and impatient. Anyone blind could hear it, but as soon as he heard him say ten thousand jin, he immediately straightened his body and widened his eyes.

"Ten thousand jin? Really or fake? Don't bluff me. If you're intentionally trying to fool me, you won't be able to walk out of this wharf."

"Definitely not. I'm an honest person, sincerely here to ask for the price and discuss the price."

"If there are ten thousand jin, regardless of size, weigh it directly at 0.33."

"Brother, you're not being sincere. I just asked around a big circle, and quite a few people are also selling at 0.33. With my quantity, you can earn more just by selling it casually. If you're like this, I won't talk about the price with you. Whatever you say, I'll sell it for."

"If you really have ten thousand jin, take me to see the goods. If it's true, I'll calculate it for you at 0.34. No more than that; any more and I'll lose money."

Every businessman loves to say this kind of thing.

How could they lose money? They wouldn't lose money even if they lost their character.