The tides rise and fall twice a day, while the neap and apex tides occur twice a month.
Today is the 15th, which is the spring tide period that only lasts for two days each month, with high tide at 12 noon.
When Feng Ye and his group returned to the dock, it was still high tide.
At this time, there were not many fishing boats docked at the pier, and the fishermen on the beach had long since gone home.
Therefore, not many people saw them carrying baskets of silver pomfret off the boat.
"Where did you catch so many silver pomfret?"
Feng Jiafa's eyes narrowed into slits as he laughed.
"Go help, there are still several baskets left."
"There's more?" Feng Jiafa was taken aback. "Which sea area did you go to today? And you caught so much fish again. You're always coming back with a full load every day?"
"It's a secret," Feng Ye urged again. "Stop nagging and hurry up and help carry it down. It's in the sun, aren't you afraid it'll stink?"
"Okay."
Feng Jiafa eagerly went to help as well.
If there's money to be made, of course I'm happy to help.
When he saw that the boat was full of several large baskets of silver pomfret, each weighing more than half a pound, he was overjoyed.
He collects fish here every day, mostly in small, scattered batches; it's rare to find a school of fish like this.
Fishermen rely on the weather for their livelihood, and even more so on luck.
Although fishery resources were relatively abundant in this era, unlike later times when nearshore areas were almost depleted and fishing had to be done in the open sea.
But the daily catch of fish can only be sold for a few dozen to a hundred yuan. If you're unlucky, you can't even make back the cost of fuel.
Encountering a school of fish is a rare and uncommon event.
"What's the price of silver pomfret? Don't try to fool us."
"We're all family, how could I possibly lie to you? Besides, with so many of you, would I dare?"
Feng Ye remained noncommittal: "There's no point in talking about this, just tell me the price."
"More than half a catty is 2.1 yuan, less than half a catty is 1.65 yuan."
Feng Ye looked at the others with a questioning gaze.
He really wasn't sure whether the price was high or low.
Ah-chan and the Xiao brothers were also unaware of the acquisition price, looking completely confused.
Only Feng Xuan said, "That's about the price. It might be a few cents or a dime more expensive at the town's dock."
Upon hearing this, Feng Jiafa immediately complained: "It's not that I deliberately set the price low, but my costs are higher than those at the town's dock, at the very least the freight costs are higher."
Feng Ye nodded, agreeing with this statement: "Then let's weigh it."
Okay.
The price was agreed upon, and the weighing began.
"This basket weighs 56 jin (28 catties)."
"This basket weighs 48 jin (24 catties)."
...
"Let me calculate... There are a total of 436.4 jin of meat weighing more than half a jin, and 87.5 jin of meat weighing less than half a jin. Do you want to calculate it again?"
The weight was about what they expected.
"No need, don't you trust Uncle Fa?"
"Since you're not going to calculate it again, I'll give you a receipt."
"Oh, can't I take the money now?"
"It's not just a few dozen or a hundred yuan, it's over a thousand. If I give it to you, how am I supposed to get the money and take the goods later? Come to my house tonight with the receipt to collect the money. Do you think I'll run away?"
"Alright, then issue a receipt."
Feng Ye thought about it for a moment and then agreed.
It's just a matter of getting the money sooner or later; there's no need to make things difficult for anyone on this point.
"The large ones are 916.44 yuan, and the small ones are 144.375 yuan, totaling 1060.815 yuan. Okay, let's round it up and give you 1061 yuan. If you have any more in stock, sell them to me again, and I'll definitely give you a good price."
Feng Ye took the receipt, waved it, and said, "I'm leaving."
After taking only a couple of steps, he suddenly turned back and said, "Don't tell anyone we've caught another school of silver pomfret. If I hear any rumors, I won't sell it to you."
Why?
Feng Jiafa was a little confused.
When others catch a school of fish, they want the whole world to know. Why do you have to hide it?
"Keep it low-key! You made quite a splash yesterday."
...
The five of them happily boarded the small wooden boat again, untied the rope, and rowed off into the distance.
"Ah Ye, can I see the receipt?"
Feng Xuan felt like it was all a dream. He had earned so much money in just a few hours, enough to keep him working at the docks for half a year.
Even if Feng Ye takes the lion's share, if each of them gets 10%, each person can still get a little over 100 yuan, which is almost a month's salary!
Looking at the clear numbers on the receipt in his hand, Feng Xuan's hands trembled slightly: "Just a few hours and you've earned this much. Ah Ye, this makes me want to buy a boat?"
"Brother, to be honest, I agree with you wanting to buy a boat. Start with one of these small boats; they're not expensive. A new one is only three or four thousand yuan, and a used one is even cheaper. Whether you use a hand-cast net or a gillnet and longline fishing, it's much better than going to the dock and carrying cargo all day, which is hard work and you don't even make much money."
He won't bring it up unless his older brother mentions it, mainly because of his sister-in-law.
Fishing is too unpredictable; it's dangerous, and the catch is uncertain.
But now that his older brother has brought it up, things are different.
In his previous life, his older brother worked as a laborer for most of his life, and only began to enjoy life after his son grew up and became successful.
After saying that, he thought for a moment, then turned to the other three and said, "Actually, it's the same for you guys. I can't take you with me every time I go out to sea, can I?"
Xiao Guowen was actually interested when he heard Feng Xuan say he wanted to buy a boat, and immediately chimed in, "That's right, we can buy a boat too, and then we can go out to sea with A-Ye. That way we won't always be taking advantage of A-Ye, and a small boat won't need so many people."
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