Chapter 3: Going ashore to sell fish, I returned to the drifting waters...
"Sister He, you're back now?"
"The catch has been good these days. Let's go ashore early to exchange for supplies, otherwise the fish and shrimp will all die and we won't get a good price." Bai He rowed the boat closer, her eyes fixed on the stern. "Your catch is also good. Do you want to go ashore together, or give the fish and shrimp to me and I'll sell them for you?"
"Come along. It's not comfortable to stay on the boat all the time without touching the ground." Bai Xi pulled the rope deep in the water to let Bai Yu know someone was calling her from the shore, and continued talking to Bai He, "How many have you caught recently?"
"There are quite a lot, mainly because one of the nets is pulled well," Bai He steadied the boat, "but there are a lot of people over there, and everyone wants a good spot. After that one net is pulled, the spot is taken by someone else. When we go to the shore and come back, we have to find another spot."
"There aren't many fish here." Bai Xi said.
Precisely because there are not many fish, their boat can be left here alone. If there were more fish below, they would not have a chance to stay here.
As he was speaking, Bai Yu appeared not far away, pulled the rope over, and with his other hand, he firmly pressed the lid of the bamboo basket tied to his body.
"There's a broken fishing net hidden in the waterweed down there, hiding a lot of fish and shrimp." Bai Yu walked to the water's edge, picked up the bamboo basket and handed it to Bai Xi, then turned to look at Bai He. "We were just about to look for you, but Sister He showed up."
"My mother thinks you've almost used up everything on your boat, so I'm coming over. If you don't go ashore, I'll take your fish and shrimp. Since you're going too, we can go together later," Bai He watched from her own boat. "Then I won't come over. You guys pack up and go over there. My parents want to catch some fresh fish and shrimp right now. When you get here, we'll go together."
"I'll change my clothes and leave." Bai Yu got on the boat.
Bai Miao came out of the cabin and handed her the dry clothes.
Bai Yu took the clothes, opened the cover tied to the boat pole, quickly took off the wet clothes inside, and changed into dry clothes.
On the other side, Bai Xi had already poured out the fish and shrimp in the basket and placed them together with the fish and shrimp he had raised before.
Looking back at the cabin, Bai Miao had already cleaned it up.
She is still young, but she can do all the work she is supposed to do.
Bai Xi walked across the cabin, went to the bow, jumped onto the narrow shore, untied the rope tied to it, and then quickly jumped back onto the boat.
At this moment, Bai Yu had already changed his clothes and hung the wet clothes on the pole. It didn't matter whether it was sunny or rainy, or whether they were dried in the sun or not. After putting on this set of clothes, he had to go into the water.
The two sisters picked up the oars and paddled the boat in the direction where Bai He had just left.
Not long after, we saw several ships docked over there.
Naturally, they saw them over there, and when they were still some distance away, they started shouting, "Closing the net."
Seven or eight ships began to move, swinging towards the direction where they could reach the shore.
Their boat was in a position neither too far nor too far ahead, so they could talk to the nearby boats regardless of which one was in front or behind. They were all relatives, and their questions were all about concern.
Bai Miao squatted in the cabin near the stern, holding onto the wood in front of him with both hands, and called out to the rower on the boat behind him: "Third brother, how are you doing recently?"
Bai Wei smiled as he rowed the boat: "Third brother is doing well. How is Miaomiao doing recently?"
"Miaomiao is fine too," Bai Miao nodded. "She's not sick, she's eating well and sleeping well. Is Third Brother fine too?"
"Yes, Third Brother is also fine. He is not sick and eats well and sleeps well." Bai Wei still replied with a smile.
The old and the young were chatting in a random manner. No matter what Bai Miao asked, Bai Wei would answer her patiently. After all, she was the youngest sister in the family, so it was natural for her to be pampered more.
People are gossiping on this side, while people are talking about serious matters on the other side.
"When we get ashore later, you can pick out the fresh fish and shrimp and sell them separately to the customers who come here specifically to buy fish and shrimp. If you can make more money, you can sell the rest with us, okay?"
"Okay, I'll listen to you, Auntie," Bai Yu nodded. "After we sell the fish, we'll go to the shore to buy some things. Should we stay here tonight, or go back to the water and find a place to rest?"
"We'll see what happens later. If there are too many boats, the people on the shore with fishing boats will have to drive them away."
Fishermen are also divided into different classes. Those who have big boats are of high class. These people not only have boats, but also have places to live on the shore. They are the most powerful. Those who have small boats and places to live on the shore are considered middle class. Because they have places to live on the shore, they don’t have to sleep on the boat and can have a down-to-earth environment.
And those who have no place to live on the shore are the lowest class.
Just like the people in the Bai family.
As they were talking, the boats arrived at the shore one after another. Everyone tied up the boats skillfully and then started shouting to sell fish.
The fish and shrimp on the boats that have just docked are always the freshest. The individual tourists coming and going know this. When they hear the sound, they run over and pick and choose the fish and shrimp that they like.
Bai Yu and Bai Xi gradually got used to this kind of life. As soon as they parked the boat, they started bidding prices. Different varieties of fish had different prices, and fish of different freshness also had different prices.
After selling the freshest ones, the rest were collected by the fish resellers on the shore.
The price is lower, and the advantage is that we accept all buyers, no matter what kind it is, people are willing to buy it, and then sell it to restaurants or transport it inland. There is always a way to buy and sell.
There were few fish on the three sisters' boat, and they sold them all in a short time, earning them 82 copper coins, which was the harvest of several days.
We had to use this money to buy salt, grain, vegetables and firewood when we got ashore, so we could hardly save any money.
The fishing boats of my eldest and second uncles are bigger, and they have several more boats. They had a good catch this time and were still bargaining with people. Seeing the weather change, they asked the younger generation to take them to the shore to buy supplies.
After boarding the ship this time, it will take several days to come back next time.
"Let me carry Bai Miao," Bai He took Bai Miao from Bai Xi's arms. "Which of you two sisters will go with me?"
"Second sister, go, I'll check the boat," Bai Yu said as she stood on the boat, "otherwise if something goes wrong in the water, it will be hard to handle."
"It's time to check, every time. Xiaoyu, you're becoming more and more like the head of the family," Bai He said. "Your harvest this time was average, but maybe next time you'll be luckier. If you pick up some expensive fish or shrimp, you can make a lot of money. Now that Third Uncle and Third Aunt are gone, you have to hold on. Slowly, you can save money again."
Bai Yu nodded: "Well, Sister He, don't worry, we can hold on."
Seeing that there was not much sadness on her face, Bai He nodded, hugged Bai Miao, and took Bai Xi to go shopping together.
There is a row of shops not far from the shore. Everyone is thinking about doing business with the water people. Everything that the water people need can be found here.
Bai He had a lot of things to buy, so when she got here, she handed Bai Miao to Bai Xi and went to buy the things she needed for the next trip on the boat.
Bai Xi was thinking about what to buy when he heard his sister's low voice: "No need to buy salt."
"Yeah, it saves some money," Bai Xi counted the money, "Is it okay to buy a few more vegetables this time?"
"Okay," Bai Miao nodded, "I want leaves, not melons."
"Okay, buy leafy vegetables, not melons and vegetables." Bai Xi didn't like melons and vegetables either. It wasn't that they were not tasty, but mainly because they couldn't be cooked through on the boat. Leafy vegetables were different; they could be eaten even if they were not cooked through.
Fortunately, I got a bag of fine salt when I signed in yesterday, which saved me money on buying salt. After buying things with the 82 coins today, I should have a lot left.
In addition to salt, the main things to buy are vegetables, grain, some charcoal and firewood.
On the way back, Bai Miao held two large cabbages in his arms and walked in front with big strides. From time to time, he would look back at Bai Xi's position to make sure she was behind him before continuing to move forward.
After walking two steps and looking back, they finally returned to where the boat was docked.
At this time, someone was already chasing people away on the shore.
Bai Yu had already seen the situation on the boat. Seeing the two people coming over, she stepped forward and took the cabbage from Bai Miao's hand: "We are not allowed to dock here. We have to leave soon. Are Sister He and the others back?"
"They're in the back. They bought a lot of things." Bai Xi looked at the people talking on the boat. "Why are they in such a hurry today? They weren't in such a hurry in the places before."
"Someone said they'd booked a stop here in advance, and we came at the wrong time." Bai Yu also wanted to stay a little longer, but matters on the shore were decided by the people there, and passing boats had no room for bargaining. "But we'll still go together later, so we'll just follow."
As the three of them were talking, they quickly got on the boat, packed up the things they had bought, and placed them in various places in the cabin.
You can't just put it there randomly, otherwise one end will be light and the other heavy, and the boat will easily capsize.
After such a long time, the fish and shrimps on the other boats have been almost sold out, leaving only some dead fish and rotten shrimps, which can only be taken away and dealt with by the people.
After Bai He and the others came back with their shopping, everyone packed up and prepared to leave the shore and return to the water.
When I came here, I was thinking of staying a little longer on the shore, but I didn't expect to leave so much faster than expected.
"It's still early. Do you want to go find a suitable place to stay, or should we find a place to rest together?"
Second aunt asked Bai Yu for her opinion, as she is now the backbone of the three sisters.
Under normal circumstances, Bai Yu would definitely choose to stay together, but now the three sisters have a secret that cannot be known to outsiders, so it is best not to stay together: "If we rest together today, it will take time to find another place tomorrow. Anyway, it's still early, so we might as well find a good place first."
"Okay, then we'll first determine the location and then find another place for you."
They said they were looking for another place, but in fact the distance was not far. They could get a response by just shouting. They just left a small gap so that the three sisters could catch some fish and sell them to support themselves.
Although they lived in the boat, the three sisters could not go too far alone, otherwise they would encounter robbers on the water and no one would be able to help them.
As they were talking, a row of small boats left the shore one after another and returned to the drifting water.
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