Then he lifted up a large yellow croaker weighing seven or eight kilograms, and said, "Apart from anything else, the color of this fish is really festive, golden yellow, and the scales are shiny, so beautiful!"
He was almost staring at it.
Fortunately, we are on the shore now. If we were in the water, he would definitely be suspicious again.
Su Tai smiled, "So this fish is also a symbol of wealth and good fortune. More importantly, it is delicious. It is extremely delicious. Just put some green onions and ginger in the pot and steam it. Pour out the water, add some sauce, and drizzle with hot oil. It will be delicious!"
The men were so greedy that their mouths were watering, and they worked even more carefully.
Because the fish are so big, a dustpan can only hold one or two at most.
Fortunately, it was snowing at the time, and the fish were frozen soon after being put outside.
Chen Yi moved out the boxes that had been prepared in advance and loaded the goods with another person. Seeing that they were almost done, he asked Su Tai to go home and rest first, and by the way, he asked Chen Zhuang and Shen Mu to help.
Su Tai turned around and left.
There is ice on the river now, but it is not thick enough, so it is still safe to walk on the bridge.
She drove the donkey cart across the bridge back to the village, and first went to the wool processing workshop to call out Chenmu and Shenzhuang.
"Uncle Er, Uncle Mu, there is a job that needs your help. We have to go to Dahe Town. The wages are twice as much as here. Can you go?"
The two looked at each other and agreed without asking any questions.
After turning around to tell his family, the two of them ran in the direction Su Tai had said, without even mentioning taking a ox cart or anything.
The wind and snow howled on the Daxun River.
The two old men who were watching over the bridge were sitting in a nearby adobe house, warming themselves by the fire and drinking tea, with a plate of snacks beside them. When they got excited, their voices became louder and louder.
Seeing the sinking trees crossing the bridge, he let them go up without saying anything.
The two of them walked on the bridge, listening to the sound of the ice breaking on both sides, and felt particularly at ease.
"This bridge is really well built! In previous years, when it started snowing in winter, no one dared to go to the river. Only Shen Yi dared to paddle the boat to break the ice and cross the river."
"Now we can cross the river anytime we want."
The two of them talked happily and soon reached the other side. After walking for a while in the direction Su Tai said, they finally saw the big yard.
Chen Mu looked puzzled, "Chen Yi is getting more and more capable now. When did he build such a big yard without making a sound?"
Chen Zhuang nodded in agreement, “Don’t mention you, I don’t know either, but that kid has a big family now, and he’s also a town official, so it’s impossible for him to tell the village everything.”
As they were talking, the two of them came outside the yard and knocked twice.
Shen Yi opened the door and immediately led them in.
The two were stunned when they saw the yard full of seafood.
"Ayi, what are these? Did you catch the fish from the Daxun River?" Chen Zhuang swallowed hard and his voice became out of tune.
Chen Mu was even more confused. "No, no, no, no, are there so many big fish in our Daxun River? I have never seen such a big fish in my life!"
It is said that even if you have never eaten pork, you have seen pigs run. They have never even heard of it, let alone seen it.
Chen Yi began to make up stories in all seriousness, from the ice field to Qiongzi, and then to the sea, describing the journey in all ways as difficult and exaggerated as possible.
The two were really fooled and confused. They had no ideas at all and could only sigh.
"Ayi! Why are you going through so much trouble to catch so many big fish? We don't have that many rich people here!"
Chen Zhuang expressed Chen Mu’s thoughts.
Chen Yi laughed loudly, "Second Uncle, these fish are to be sent to the Imperial Capital. Seafood is different from freshwater fish and shrimp. In this weather, they can be frozen and stored for several months without going bad. Such rare things are not available in the Imperial Capital. For example, a large yellow croaker like this can be sold for ten taels of silver. I don't want to make a loss."
"Hiss!" Everyone gasped in unison.
There are probably about six or seven hundred of these large yellow croakers. Each one is worth ten taels, which means six or seven thousand taels. In addition, there are pomfret and prawns, which are worth more than ten thousand taels.
The two were shocked and speechless for a long time.
It was Chen Mu who reacted first, "What do you want us to do here?"
Shen Yi said: “I still have to go to the town official’s office. I need someone to watch over it. Can I give you a hand and leave it to you?”
"No problem! It's a small matter!" Chen Mu agreed without saying a word.
He thought it was no big deal, just helping to pack boxes and watching other people work, which was easier than working in the wool processing workshop.
Chen Yi grinned and dumped the basket of unfrozen prawns in the house onto the snow and spread them out, saying, "Xiao Tai said that it's warm inside and the fish and prawns can't be moved out before they're sorted, lest they freeze and become hard to sort. You can dump everything onto the snow in the yard, put palm-sized prawns together, medium-sized ones in another pile, and small ones separately. We won't send the ones that are too small to the imperial capital."
Everyone nodded to show that they understood.
After Shen Yi left, the group of people hurriedly cleaned up the shrimps that Shen Yi had fallen.
Chen Mu picked up a shrimp that was longer than his palm with trembling hands. His eyes were round and his voice was shaking. "Look, look, you'll be full after eating just one of these shrimps! I don't know if it tastes good or not. How will Chen Yi sell it?"
Chen Zhuang nodded in admiration, "You can buy some and try it. Your daughter is now the prince's concubine, and your son is a businessman, so you are not short of money."
Several villagers in Zhangjia Village looked at Chenmu in shock. A concubine of a prince? Did they have a noble lady here?
Zhang Youfu inquired curiously, but Chen Mu was modest and didn't say much. However, Chen Zhuang kept showing off.
Now Zhang Youfu and the others knew that Chen Mu was the father of the prince's concubine, and their attitude towards him changed immediately. They worked even more carefully, not daring to have any ulterior motives.
Everyone was busy until the evening to sort, collect and pack all the seafood.
Before they could rest for a while, Shen Yi arrived on time. After taking a look at how everyone was working, he smiled with satisfaction, settled the wages in person, and then gave some of the shrimps, which were about the length of their middle fingers, to them to take away.
This was definitely a pleasant surprise for the villagers of Zhangjia Village, and the group kept saying festive words before leaving.
After they left, Chen Yi packed some small fish, shrimps and octopus, and got a few fresh blue crabs for Chen Mu and Chen Zhuang to take back.
"Uncle Mu, blue crabs are suitable for cooking porridge. If you add some ginger, they are very delicious. If you don't know how to cook, you can just steam them. They are seafood and have a salty taste. I heard that they are very nutritious, but some people can't eat them and will get rashes. If you can eat river crabs, you should be able to eat sea crabs. You can take some back and try them. I'll send the rest to the Jixiang Inn later. As for Master Pu, he probably wants some too."
Green crabs cannot be sent to the imperial capital, so the best way is to sell them in Zhaohua County.
Now that the living conditions of the people here have improved, they can sell their products at a good price.
Chen Mu and Shen Zhuang couldn't refuse, so they had to accept the things.
After they left, Shen Yi also drove the carriage to deliver the remaining blue crabs to the restaurants in town. (End of this chapter)
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