By the time the two ships reached the shore, it was completely dark.
Only two or three small wooden boats were moored at the dock, and there were no larger, motorized fishing boats to be seen.
They're all still floating in the sea, perhaps on their way back.
After all, it's a rare time of year to make money.
Everyone was a bit greedy, holding onto the hope of waiting a little longer to see if they could catch another batch of squid and get a bigger harvest.
There were quite a few people on the shore, adults and children alike, all waiting for their own boats to return.
Although they didn't know how much they had harvested, everyone had a beaming smile on their faces.
After listening to their discussion, I learned that the small wooden boats that returned had caught quite a lot of squid, each weighing two or three hundred catties.
This is much better than using fish traps or other similar methods.
By extension, they all believed that their own boats would surely have a good harvest as well, and they waited expectantly at the dock.
When they saw Feng Ye and the others come out covered in soot, no one was surprised at all.
When you go out to sea to fish, you're bound to get dirty.
Moreover, when catching squid, it's inevitable to get splashed with ink, which is perfectly normal.
However, when they unloaded the baskets of goods from the ship, everyone was surprised.
"So many baskets, how much did you catch?"
"The flood season has just begun, and we've already had such a good harvest. We're so lucky!"
"They were just unlucky that time, weren't they? Like the ocean's own sons..."
"The two boats together must have carried over a thousand kilograms of squid, right?"
"Wow, so many filefish! Looks like we've run into a school of fish again..."
Feng Jiaqing smiled and said, "It's alright, it's alright. We were really lucky today, and the harvest was pretty good. With the flood season here, your boats must have a good harvest too."
"I definitely can't compare to you guys. I don't have your kind of luck at all."
"Exactly, I'd be satisfied if it weighed two or three hundred pounds."
"Tsk tsk, I didn't see your ship when I woke up today. I thought you were out delivering goods and hadn't come back yet. Turns out you were out fishing for squid too."
"With such a good opportunity to make money, we certainly can't let the boat sit idle at home."
"Yes, didn't you see that Xiao Zhaojun's eldest son's small boat is gone too? He's probably out fishing for squid."
"..."
Amidst the cacophony of voices, Feng Jiaqing and Feng Jialing occasionally chimed in with their own words.
Feng Ye and A-Can focused on moving the goods without saying a word.
When the sailfish was lifted out of the hold and carried down, everyone was even more surprised and asked how it had been caught.
"This sailfish, to be precise, wasn't caught; it jumped onto the boat on its own..."
Ah-chan patted the sailfish and explained triumphantly.
Everyone was surprised to learn that the sailfish had jumped onto the ship and even punched a hole in the bulkhead.
They all jumped onto the boat and ran to the stern to take a look.
Shocked, they couldn't help but marvel at the dangers of sailfish and feel fortunate for Feng Ye and his companions' good luck.
At this moment, someone mentioned Lan Xin'an, who was killed by sailfish last year, which made everyone sigh.
Feng Jiafa saw them return and recognized them.
He knew very well that the two ships' catch today was mainly squid, but they wouldn't sell it to him, and the amount of cargo they could sell him would be very small.
Therefore, he didn't offer to help and instead sat comfortably in the shop drinking tea.
However, the moment he saw the sailfish, he sprang to his feet, beaming with joy, and quickly pushed his cart over to help.
"Come on, come on, I'll help you lift it..."
Looking at his smiling face and enthusiastic demeanor, Feng Ye knew that he was after the sailfish.
Otherwise, why come now instead of earlier or later?
Humans are just that realistic.
He didn't stand on ceremony with the Feng family and asked them to help move and lift things.
Soon, amidst the envy of the crowd, all the goods were loaded onto a cart and pushed to the entrance of Feng Jiafa's shop.
After unloading the goods, Feng Jiaqing and Feng Jialing pushed the other goods on the cart back home.
Seeing that the squid wasn't being sold, everyone knew they were keeping it to dry into squid jerky.
Immediately, everyone's minds started to stir, thinking of drying squid and selling it to them.
Seeing this, Feng Ye quickly brought up the same thing he had said yesterday, which temporarily put everyone's minds at ease.
However, just like the people from yesterday, they all said they would definitely help if needed.
He could only express his gratitude and say that he would talk to them again if needed in the future.
There weren't many fish available to sell today; most of them were taken back to dry.
If it weren't for the sailfish, it wouldn't even sell for 150 yuan today.
Fortunately, the sailfish was quite heavy, weighing 135 jin (62.5 catties), and the price remained the same at 2.8 yuan, totaling 378 yuan.
With the 520 yuan they had just received, the two returned the basket to the boat.
"Brother Ye, I'm going back to eat too. I'll come back to clean the fish after I finish eating."
"Why don't we just eat at my place? That way we won't have to walk back and forth."
"No, it's not far."
"Fine, whatever you say."
Feng Ye didn't insist.
After giving Ah-Can his share of the money, the two went home separately.
On the way, they ran into Feng Jialing, who was on his way back. As usual, he extended an invitation, but was refused, saying that he would come over after having a meal.
When he got home, dinner was already prepared and on the table, just waiting for him.
His father stayed and ate at his house; he didn't go back to the old house.
After finishing our meal, we all went to the workshop to clean the fish.
We brought back a lot of fish today, including filefish, squid, and other miscellaneous fish, totaling about two thousand catties.
We need to hurry.
Compared to gutting a filefish, which requires removing both the internal organs and the skin, killing a squid is much simpler.
If it's to be killed for food, the cut is usually made from the back, because the hard bones and skin on the back need to be removed.
This hard bone is actually a good thing. Its scientific name is "cuttlebone," and it is a commonly used medicinal material in traditional Chinese medicine for neutralizing acid, stopping bleeding, and astringing. It is called "sea cucumber bone."
However, there is no need to remove the bones and skin when drying squid.
Therefore, start from the head and cut down to the middle of the abdomen, then make a cut above each of the squid's eyes to remove the internal organs.
Of course, the squid's egg-binding glands were also removed.
Most of the squid caught today haven't had a chance to lay eggs yet.
These roe glands are simply pickled and dehydrated using a mixture of alum and salt, and they are mullet eggs that can be sold, so they shouldn't be wasted.
When Feng Jiaqing and Feng Jialing deliver goods to the county tomorrow, they can take them along and try to sell them.
Ah-Can's family, along with Du Guilan and Xiao Chunxiu, arrived very quickly.
They had only been working for a short while when they all gradually arrived.
Even Feng Yanmei and Feng Xidong were forced to work by Du Guilan.
Tomorrow is Sunday, so there's no school and I don't have to go to bed so early.
Everyone chatted and laughed as they worked...
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