I didn't see A-Can at the homestead in the morning, but he came running over on his own shortly after I started work in the afternoon.

Without being told, he found a shovel and, together with Feng Ye, shoveled sand and gravel.

"Ah-Can, where did you go this morning?"

Taking a break from his busy schedule, Feng Ye leaned on his shovel and massaged his aching back.

He figured he should find something to nourish himself, like sea cucumbers, seahorses, oysters...

He's still young; he can't be dying so early.

"I went to worship Mazu and spent most of the morning on the mountain."

Ah-Can looked helpless.

"What's wrong? Can you spend the whole morning worshipping Mazu?" Feng Ye asked curiously.

When he returned home at noon, the women in his family had already returned.

He didn't ask, and they didn't say, so he really didn't know what had happened.

"You wouldn't believe it if you hadn't been there. There were so many people that they blocked the roads."

Finally, Ah-Can said with regret, "It's also my fault. I went too late. If I had gone earlier, I wouldn't have been stuck on the way up the mountain."

"So many people?"

Feng Ye was surprised.

Last time his brother went to worship Mazu, there were so many people, is there even more this time?

Are the Mazu temples on the island really that efficacious?

"There were more people than you can imagine. The whole way was packed with people. I heard that the Lujia Village dock was almost paralyzed. Boats were parked side by side, and even the village's fishing boats couldn't get out. They were all clamoring to charge outside boats a mooring fee."

Of all the villages on Baishi Island, only Lujia Village has a deep-water pier, so boats coming to the island naturally gather there.

Feng Ye could imagine how angry the villagers of Lujia Village who hadn't yet gone out to fish must be.

If the ship is blocked, it can't go out to sea and naturally can't make money.

No one would let this go so easily.

"Once bitten, twice shy. Next time you worship Mazu, remember to go earlier and don't wait until so late."

"It's not just about going early; to be on the safe side, we should go before dawn."

Feng Ye nodded in agreement, then changed the subject, saying, "I heard from my brother last night that you found a trawler? You want to partner with me and my brother."

“Yes, my uncle helped me find it.” A-Can nodded. “I was lucky. I originally asked my uncle to help me find a small wooden boat, but I ended up finding a trawler. Just a few days ago, Brother Wen came to me and said that his dad was back and wanted to buy a big boat, so he wouldn’t be sharing a small wooden boat with me anymore. So I thought I’d try partnering with you.”

Are you familiar with the situation of this ship?

"My uncle briefly explained that it's sixteen meters long, the machine is five years old, and there's no price quoted yet."

"What you said is as good as nothing at all."

"How about we go check out the situation in the next couple of days and talk to the boat owner about the price?"

Feng Ye thought for a moment and said, "I don't have time these next few days. You go with my brother and just let me know the result."

"That's okay too."

"It would be best to take it out for a spin and check the condition of the machine; it's the most important piece of equipment on the ship."

"clear……"

After working on the homestead all afternoon, Feng Ye was so tired that his back ached and his legs were about to cramp.

This kind of physical labor is not something that ordinary people can do.

Although both are physically demanding jobs, he felt that going to sea was better.

...

Half asleep, Feng Ye felt someone nudging him. He waved his hand and said, "I'm sleeping, don't make a fuss."

"Ah Ye, didn't you want to go out to sea early? It's almost dawn."

Feng Ye woke up with a start: "Is it almost dawn?"

"Check the time."

Ye Qingling pointed to the clock on top of the cabinet.

Feng Ye glanced at it; it was 5:06.

Sure enough, it was almost dawn.

He quickly got out of bed, grabbed his clothes, and put them on.

"It's still early, you can go back to sleep."

"It's still dark, be careful when you go out to sea."

"I know, I'm not a three-year-old."

Feng Ye quickly got dressed and went out, grabbed a few buckets, and headed straight for the dock.

The reason we're setting sail so early today:

One reason is that I need to catch the ferry to town this morning.

The Dragon Boat Festival is approaching, and he has to take his wife and children to his father-in-law's house to deliver the festival gifts.

There are three major festivals in a year: Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, and Spring Festival. These are all indispensable.

Secondly, he didn't want people to know that his trap had been moved yesterday.

He needs to go and collect the trap early and throw it back in its original place.

It was pitch black outside, so dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face, so you had to use a flashlight to get to the dock.

The village was quiet, except for the occasional bark of a dog, and the sound of Feng Ye's own footsteps.

The dock was also quiet, with almost no trawlers left; they had all gone out to sea around two or three in the morning.

The rest are small wooden boats, which usually don't go out until it's fully light or after breakfast.

Find your small boat, untie the rope, and row towards the area where the fish traps are set.

Not long after they set off, the darkness gradually faded and the sky began to brighten.

By the time we reached our destination, it was already fully light, though the sun hadn't yet risen above the horizon.

He successfully located the bottom cage buoy.

The first fish trap disappointed him; it only contained small fish and shrimp. The only valuable item, a blue crab, had just molted, so he had to throw it back into the sea.

Soft-shell crabs are edible and contain rich nutrients, such as chitin and free calcium.

However, fishermen usually throw them back into the sea, mainly because soft-shell crabs are too thin and their taste is much worse than that of hard-shell crabs.

The second trap had a small surprise: three sea cucumbers crawled inside.

Feng Ye lay down on the deck with a big smile, grabbing each one and weighing them over; they were all about half a pound each.

This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!