"Mom, if you can keep those fish in the pond, then keep them there. They're more valuable alive than dead," Mingjing said, pointing to the stone fish in the fish basket.
"What kind of fish?" Sun Yunmei glanced at the fish basket and prepared to open it to take a look.
“Stonefish, oh, and that spotted ray,” Mingjing said, panting heavily.
"Wow, so many fish, and there's even a silver ribbonfish?"
Sun Yunmei grinned from ear to ear when she saw the stonefish, and poured it into the pool with the fish basket.
Cai Mei and the other small fish were all put into the basin.
"I'll keep one small stonefish and one small dogfish too, since they're not big enough to make soup for Leilei."
Sun Yunmei used a net to scoop out the small stonefish and set them aside, laughing as she said, "Fish that are dead aren't worth much anymore. While they're still alive, who wants to go to town to sell them?"
The shops in the city are definitely closing at this time, so those big bosses might not want them. They're quite familiar with Dong Li's business in the town, and the price he offered was pretty good.
"There are too many fish; we need a large truck, not a motorcycle."
Ming Dahai glanced at the cart. "Let's use the cart. The boats aren't running at this hour, so we'll have to use the bridge."
The group hurriedly grabbed several large, deep plastic basins, put the fish in the basins, and loaded them onto the cart.
“Dad, don’t go. Mingliang and I will go. Your back is bad, and you can’t walk far.”
"My back is bad too..." Mingliang said, holding his back with a bitter expression.
Sun Yunmei patted his shoulder, "Go away, kids don't have waists."
"Mom, I'm already twenty-one, I'm not young anymore."
"Then why aren't you married yet? Gousheng is about your age, and he already has a baby."
One sentence left Mingliang speechless, unsure of what to say.
"Mingjing, let's hurry and leave before dawn."
Mingliang pulled the flatbed cart and walked across the bridge with Mingjing. Luckily it was dark. He wanted to let those old women know that tomorrow each of them would go fishing on the rocky cliff with a fishing rod.
At midnight, Mingliang pulled a cart with Mingjing sitting on it, heading towards the town.
For a moment, Mingliang felt like an old ox, but after a while, he felt like a long-term worker for the Ming family, and a free one at that.
Just as the two reached the beach, a woman with braided pigtails stood at the intersection, wearing a white dress in the middle of the night, which terrified them.
The woman saw the mirror and quickly ran away.
"Whose little devil is this? He's kind of scary," Mingjing thought, her heart pounding.
"I don't know, I've never seen it before, but it looks quite nice if you look closely."
Mingliang turned to watch the woman's departing figure, his eyes already calculating her measurements.
"Are you alright? Quickly pull the cart."
Mingjing couldn't help but roll her eyes. Men are all the same; when they're being philanderers, even female ghosts find them handsome.
That's right, as long as you're bold enough, even Sadako can take maternity leave.
The two walked for an hour before finally reaching the town.
Mingjing got out of the car and patted the door of the seafood restaurant.
The seafood restaurant is on the first floor, and Dong Li lives on the second floor.
Because it was too late, Mingjing could only take out his mobile phone and call Dong Li.
Upstairs, Dong Li was half asleep when he picked up the phone and put it to his ear. "Hello."
"Uncle Dong, it's me, Mingjing. I just went sea fishing and caught some fish. Would you like to come down and take a look?"
Upon hearing Mingjing say that there was stock, Dong Li got out of bed, went downstairs, and opened the door.
"I'm so sorry, Uncle Dong, for disturbing your sleep," Mingjing said apologetically as she carried the fish.
She had time; it was dark and no shops were open, so she could make up for it next time.
Under the bright light, the fish were brought inside. Dong Li was incredibly surprised to see the stonefish and ribbonfish.
Several stonefish had turned belly up, and the remaining ones weren't doing much better.
"Hurry up and get it to the back. I have oxygen here, let's see if we can save him." Dong Li carried the water tank to the backyard and poured it all into the empty vat.
"Boss Dong, is this fish selling well?" Mingliang had never seen this kind of fish sold in the store before, so he was unsure.
If they don't sell well, they'll offer a discount.
"It sells well. Someone even ordered this kind of fish a few days ago. It's a pity my place is too small. Stonefish are something you can't even catch when sea fishing. Don't worry."
Dong Li didn't expect that even the rarest things would become commonplace once they reached Mingjing.
"You all take a break, I'll weigh all these fish and settle the bill for you."
Dong Li took out a scale, placed the fish he scooped up with the net on the scale, and weighed 43.3 jin (approximately 26.5 kg) of stonefish (approximately 111 kg) and 23 jin (approximately 11.5 kg) of ribbonfish.
These kinds of fish are usually sold whole, and they're definitely going to be resold to big clients or big restaurants, so Dong Li gave them 46 jin.
The stingray weighed eight pounds and one ounce, and we paid thirty-five yuan per pound. We also charged eleven yuan per pound for other small fish, making a total of thirteen pounds.
As soon as the calculator beeped, Dong Li rubbed his eyes and said, "It's 6214.3 in total. I'll give you 6214."
Without even counting the wine, he accepted the mirror and said, "Uncle Dong, I'm so sorry to trouble you so late. I was in a hurry today. I'll bring you some good wine next time."
"It's alright, we're all in business. I'll make a profit tomorrow thanks to you," Dong Li said with a smirk.
He and this girl are practically like brothers now, and it will be even easier for them to communicate when his son comes back.
"By the way, Mingjing, Jun'an is coming back soon and has moved to the mainland. You have to come to our house for a feast then. I'm planning to throw a big one."
Mingjing frowned. "Hey, wasn't he serving in the military? Why did he retire?"
"It's not that I'm being discharged from the military, it's a job transfer. I'll be doing logistics work at home from now on. I figured I'd finally have some stability here, so I'm treating everyone to a meal."
"Okay, I'll definitely come then."
Mingjing said goodbye to Dong Li and left.
"Mingjing, if you ask me, it would be more convenient to get a car. Pulling this cart makes my shoulders ache," Mingliang said, rubbing his thin shoulders and frowning.
"Who are you trying to impress by having a car on the island? Are you afraid people won't know you're rich? A tricycle would be more like it."
Motorcycles can only carry a limited amount of cargo, so a tricycle is also useful for hauling goods. It's parked in front of Ming Dashan's house, and if it gets damaged or stolen, it's all his responsibility.
There wasn't a single good person in that family.
Back home, Sun Yunmei and Ming Dahai were still awake, standing anxiously at the door waiting for them.
"More than six thousand yuan, Mom, keep it safe, I'm going to bed."
Mingjing was yawning from sleepiness, but Mingyue was quite interested. She pulled her aside and whispered, "Sister, when are we going to mess with old man Song?"
Ever since Mingyue went with Mingjing to mess with Qian Jiu'er last time, she found it very interesting, and she wouldn't miss the chance to mess with Old Man Song this time.
Mingjing glanced at her, secretly amused that bad things always seem to affect people more easily than good things.
She glanced at the wall clock; it was 3:30 in the morning—perfect time to do something naughty.
"Go and get some manure. I remember we have a few firecrackers at home, don't we?"
Mingyue smiled slyly, "Sister, you're so naughty."
"Go quickly, I'll go find some firecrackers. Remember to go after Mom and Dad are asleep," Mingjing whispered instructingly.
Knowing that the two children had returned safely, Sun Yunmei planned to ask about the specific price the next day. She pulled Ming Dahai back into the house, counted the money, and then turned off the lights to go to sleep.
In the darkness, two furtive figures moved about. Mingyue was wearing a leather apron for beachcombing, with yellow paper stuffed in her nostrils, and she was scooping dung into a dung bucket one spoonful at a time.
The island mostly has dry toilets. Normally, people would throw the excrement up the mountain or use it as fertilizer to irrigate their fields. Ming Dahai planned to take it up the mountain to use as fertilizer, so he accumulated a lot of it.
The excrement felt soft and mushy when scooped up, like digging into a lump of dense sweet potato mash, which made Mingyue gag from the smell.
Mingjing secretly called Mingyue to take a bucket of manure to the Song family with firecrackers and matches.
The excrement was evenly poured onto the low wall and gate of the Song family's house. Finally, the remaining excrement was poured onto the gate of the Song family's house, and firecrackers were lit and thrown onto the excrement.
Sparks flew everywhere, and Mingjing and Mingyue didn't have time to see what the Song family looked like before they turned around and ran to the beach for a deep bath before returning home.
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