Feng Xuan had actually seen them before, but there were too many people to remember them all.
Feng Ye laughed and said, "You're all planning to go fishing for small yellow croakers on Haizhongzhou Island next month, right?"
This year, the Lunar New Year is in early February, and the croaker season will begin around late March.
"That's right. They're all afraid of missing out on a chance to make a fortune, so they're asking us when we're leaving, hoping we can take them with us."
Feng Xuan nodded and said with a wry smile, "They could have gone on their own, why do they have to come with us?"
"Do you think everyone has the courage to travel thousands of miles to the island in the sea? Aren't they afraid of something going wrong? But we have successful experience, so they feel more secure and at ease following us."
"Didn't you go for the first time last year too? How come you were so brave?"
Feng Ye thought to himself: I went there in my past life.
But what he said was, "We're just young and fearless, aren't we?"
Feng Xuan curled his lip: "Fine, you guys are so amazing. Now that all these people have come to our door, what are we going to do? We can't just bring them all along, can we?"
Feng Ye stroked his chin thoughtfully: "It is indeed difficult. Even if we don't bring them, they will definitely follow us, which will make things even more troublesome."
"Then we won't tell anyone, and we'll secretly set off at night."
"Do you think this will prevent it? At the very least, you should bring those relatives and friends along, so they won't leak the news. And there are so many boatmen, can you guarantee they'll all keep quiet?"
Feng Xuan was speechless for a long time before sighing, "Yes, it's impossible to guard against everything. So what should we do? Do we really have to bring them all?"
"Take them with you. After all, most of them are fellow villagers from the island. It's not good to offend anyone."
"But how do we solve the safety problem? With so many people going, we simply can't take care of them all. If something happens to a ship, we'll definitely be blamed."
Feng Ye frowned: "That is indeed a problem."
He had thought about this problem long ago, but he never had a perfect solution.
Although it will be agreed before departure that everyone assumes all risks, people's hearts are unpredictable, and if something goes wrong, they will still be blamed.
In rural areas, even if there's a written agreement, let alone just verbal promises, it's hard to guarantee that problems won't arise later.
"Well, let's take it one step at a time and think it over slowly. There's still more than a month left, maybe we can come up with a good solution."
"I really can't think of any way to guarantee the safety of so many people and ships."
Feng Xuan shook his head and sighed, "Ah, if only someone could help us share the burden..."
Upon hearing this, a thought flashed through Feng Ye's mind: "That's right, why not just find someone to share the burden? Why should we shoulder it all ourselves?"
Feng Xuan was dumbfounded: "Find someone to share the burden? Who are you going to find to share the burden? Who on this island has the ability and skill to do that? Besides, who would want to get involved in this mess for no reason?"
"Of course, it's impossible for it to happen for no reason, but what if there's a profit involved? As the saying goes, money can make the devil turn the millstone."
"No, you're not planning to pay someone else to share the cost, are you?"
"Am I so rich that I'm wasting my time? Of course not."
Feng Ye smiled and continued, "We can take the lead in establishing a fisheries association to recruit people who are interested in catching small yellow croakers in the sea."
The association can formulate rules and bylaws to manage the vessels and personnel involved in fishing.
In this way, the risk is shared, rather than us bearing all the responsibility.
"Hmm, that does seem like a good idea."
A glint of light flashed in Feng Xuan's eyes. "Then how should we begin?"
"Don't rush. This is a big deal and we can't act rashly. I need to think about the details carefully. Once I've thought it through, I'll find some respected people to discuss it with and set the framework and general rules for the association."
"Fine, figure it out yourself. I'm out of ideas."
After Feng Xuan finished speaking, he got up and left, but turned back as soon as he stepped out the door. "I think you should give up on that idea and get ready to entertain the guests."
"It's almost noon, where did these guests come from?"
Feng Ye said with a puzzled expression, then got up and walked to the door.
"Here you go."
Feng Xuan pointed towards the dock.
Feng Ye looked over and saw a small boat slowly approaching the shore, with three men on board.
"Why are you so sure they're here to see me? Couldn't they be visiting someone else's relatives?"
"Just watch, they'll definitely come this way."
Sure enough, the three men disembarked and instead of heading towards the village, they went straight along the coast towards this side.
Feng Xuan smiled smugly. "See? I wasn't wrong."
"Damn, it really is."
Feng Ye shook his head helplessly, thinking to himself that he had just finished talking to Feng Xuan about this matter, and now someone had come knocking on his door.
Although they were quite far away and he couldn't see their faces clearly, he was certain they weren't relatives or friends.
And that was indeed the case. When the three approached, he only recognized one of them, a fisherman from Lujia Village. He couldn't recall his name; he had only seen him before.
The other two were complete strangers. After being introduced, I learned that one was also from Lujia Village, and the other was a fisherman from outside the island.
Regardless of whether you know them well or not, or what your relationship is like, even strangers are guests.
Moreover, since they brought gifts, he couldn't be impolite.
Feng Ye warmly welcomed them into the house, and after they sat down, he poured each of them a cup of hot tea.
Feng Xuan brought the boiled water; he and Ye Qingling had just returned and hadn't even had a chance to catch their breath, let alone make tea.
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