After midnight, the Rising Sun returned to Island No. 1, and the two ships docked together.
Feng Jiaqing carried a bucket and came over to the Rising Sun with Feng Jialing.
Upon seeing this, Feng Ye asked with some confusion, "Dad, what's in this bucket?"
"I caught some scallops and conch, and cooked them to eat."
"Where did you catch it? It's not low tide yet."
"The squid haven't come to lay their eggs yet, and we had nothing else to do, so we dived in and caught some."
"Why didn't you say you wanted to go diving sooner? Don't we have diving equipment on board?"
"It's okay, we didn't dive very deep anyway, so we don't need to."
"No matter how deep it is, having the equipment is always safer than breath-hold diving. I'll take two sets over and leave them on the boat later."
Feng Jiaqing smiled and nodded in agreement, "Okay, I'll take it over after I finish eating."
As he spoke, he placed the bucket on the deck and began to process the seafood inside, rinsing it clean with fresh water.
Feng Jialing also brought out the coal stove and started cooking lunch.
The rice noodles had already been soaked in cold water beforehand, so they were very easy to cook; just cook them in the same pot as the seafood.
Before long, a simple lunch was ready.
The deck was filled with the sweet aroma of seafood, its fragrance permeating the air.
The four sat around on the deck, eating and chatting.
"We delivered goods to the city today and mentioned dried squid to the bosses there. They all expressed interest in taking a look."
Feng Jialing followed up, adding, "They also sell dried squid now, I don't know where they get it from."
Feng Ye nodded after hearing this: "This year's squid haven't been on the market in large quantities yet, so it's probably last year's stock, right?"
"It's likely that even if there is any newly produced dried squid this year, it's impossible to supply it in large quantities for the time being."
Compared to other dried fish, dried squid is more complicated to make.
To make standard, high-quality dried squid, there is one crucial and time-consuming step.
That's called "fahua".
The so-called "steaming" refers to the process of storing squid in a basket and sealing it with straw or burlap sacks when it is about 80% dry, and then steaming it.
The purpose of steaming is to allow the squid to diffuse its moisture and become even.
At the same time, it breaks down lecithin in the phosphoprotein of the squid into choline, which is then further broken down into betaine and precipitated, forming the non-protein alkaline compound betaine.
After drying, it turns into a white powder, similar to the white frost on dried persimmons, which adheres to the surface and enhances the delicious flavor of dried squid.
This process is called blooming.
The flowering period usually lasts three to five days.
After the squid has developed its characteristic "flowering" effect, it is then sun-dried until fully dried, resulting in top-quality dried squid.
Given the current weather and the drying time, it would take about six to eight days to make high-quality dried squid.
This is why they are certain that the shop owners are selling last year's stock.
Dried goods can generally last a long time even when stored at room temperature, but they must be salted and dried.
As the name suggests, salt-dried food is made by pickling food in salt and then drying it in the sun.
Due to the salt content, the color is darker and heavier, and it is very salty, requiring repeated soaking and rinsing before it can be consumed.
It is precisely because of the pickling effect of salt that salt-dried products can be preserved for a long time.
Another method is air drying, which means sun-drying without salting.
Lightly dried products are lighter in color, lighter in weight, and have a smoother surface, retaining the original fresh and delicious flavor of the ingredients.
However, precisely because it lacks preservatives, its disadvantage is that it has a shorter shelf life.
"They asked us about the price, but we haven't set a price yet. We can only say that we've just started drying the crops and haven't calculated the price yet."
"Don't rush to set a price yet, let's talk about it after they're dried. Dad, could you and Uncle Ling try to find out their purchase price per unit during this time?"
Although Feng Ye had roughly calculated that around 8.5 yuan would be reasonable, why not do it if he could earn more?
Feng Jiaqing nodded: "Well, let's give it a try, but I can't guarantee we'll be able to figure it out."
Feng Jialing then added, "By the way, their wholesale price is around 9.5 yuan, and they sell it for over 10 yuan at retail, and some even sell it for 11 yuan."
"If that's the case, the purchase price should be around 8 to 9 yuan."
"It should be something like this."
"Okay, got it."
Feng Ye now understood.
The squid they're currently drying is lightly dried, specifically for better flavor.
The dried squid from those factories is usually salt-dried, and in order to extend its shelf life, it has a high salt content.
This increases costs.
In other words, their dried squid will be more competitive in terms of both taste and price.
Of course, if sales are good and they need to stockpile goods, they will have to consider salting later on.
Afterwards, the group chatted about the trawling catch from the Rising Sun vessel that day.
Upon learning that they had found a sailfish for free, hearing the details, and seeing the hole left in the bulkhead, Feng Jiaqing and Feng Jialing indeed showed concern and repeatedly urged them to be careful.
Feng Ye and A-Can readily agreed.
After lunch, everyone rested for a while, smoked a cigarette that felt like heaven, and then got back to work.
Feng Jiaqing and Feng Jialing returned to the ship with two sets of diving equipment, preparing to catch squid.
Meanwhile, Feng Ye and A-Can piloted the Rising Sun to Island No. 2, which was one nautical mile away.
The midday sun was dazzling, and its rays shone on the sea, making it sparkle as if a golden veil had been draped over it.
A gentle sea breeze brought a touch of coolness, which dispelled some of the afternoon heat.
Just a few minutes later, they reached the outer perimeter of Island No. 2 and found the buoy floating on the sea.
As soon as I got closer, I saw a group of white creatures swimming underwater.
Upon closer inspection, what else could it be but a squid?
These squid are not large, but there are many of them, densely packed together.
This large group of squid made quite a stir.
The calm of the sea was broken, causing waves to roll and ripple across the surface.
Feng Ye and A-Can exchanged a glance, a hint of surprise flashing in their eyes.
It's here!
The squid has come to lay its eggs!
It's better to arrive at the right time than to arrive early.
And just like that, they happened to be there.
At the same time, they all felt that choosing this island to deploy the egg-laying devices was a wise decision.
Squid are very picky about where they lay their eggs; not just any island will do.
They require fresh water with high dissolved oxygen levels, abundant food organisms, an average water temperature of 15–18℃, and a salinity of 24–29‰ during spawning.
The fact that the squid have come here means that the water quality around this island is very suitable for them to lay their eggs.
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