Chapter 8: There is no shortage of firewood. The firewood cost a lot of copper coins.
The three of them looked up and down at the bottom of the boat several times, and Bai Yu even jumped into the water to take a look. In the end, they all agreed that the bottom of the boat was really different from before.
After the upgrade, the color of the boat bottom is almost exactly the same as before, but if you look closely, you will find that the areas that were originally moldy and darkened due to moisture are now darker in color, no longer the color of the mold, but the color of the wood itself.
"I originally thought that just having something to eat would be fine."
Bai Yu pulled the rope: "Cook a fresh fish for dinner tonight."
Bai Xi: "Cook some more shellfish, Miaomiao loves it."
Bai Miao nodded: "Yeah."
Bai Yu grabbed the rope with one hand, turned over and was about to go into the water. He raised his hand and said, "Give me the basket. I'll go and feel around. We'll have a fresh meal tonight. Eat whatever we find."
It is not easy for them to eat whatever they can catch. After all, fresh fish can be sold at a price. As long as the fish are caught and still alive, they are reluctant to eat them and think of raising them and selling them on the shore.
But many times, some fish died while being raised, and there was no time to send them ashore to sell, so they had to eat them themselves. Sometimes too many died and they could not finish them in one meal, and there was not enough salt, so the fish would spoil easily.
Bai Xi handed the basket to Bai Yu. After she got off, he went into the cabin, took out some cut materials, and sat on the shore to continue cutting and sewing.
Bai Miao circled around her for a few times, then, bored, went to play with mud and stones.
[Sign in] After the shells appeared, the biggest change for the three people every day was the moment of [Sign in]. Apart from that, their lives were no different from usual.
During the next three days of sign-in, nothing special happened. I got ten pancakes one day, a bag of sugar one day, and a jar one day. I put the sugar and salt bags, which were easy to get damp, into the jar.
In addition, Bai Xi sewed clothes day and night for three days and finally made a set of clothes. According to her, she was still groping in the beginning, but after making this set, it would be much easier to make other clothes, and the time spent would be reduced by at least half.
"We just ran out of thread. We don't have much in the cabin," Bai Xi said as she changed Bai Miao into new clothes. If there was anything that wasn't in place, he would just take it off her clothes and make new ones. "We need to buy some thread when we go ashore this time."
"My eldest and second uncles should be almost done. When they get here, we'll go to the shore to buy some line," Bai Yu said as he rubbed salt on the dead fish. "We don't need to buy charcoal or salt this time. We can sell all these fish and buy some line. If we save enough, we might even be able to buy a pair of scissors."
"The harvest this time is not as good as last time." Bai Xi lowered his head, bit off the thread on Bai Miao's clothes, and trimmed it with scissors.
The scissors were not very sharp anymore, so it took some effort to trim the thread ends.
"It's a little worse than last time, but fortunately our expenses are low now," Bai Yu felt that life was not bad, "but this year we have to save more money before winter comes."
In winter, the weather gets colder and it becomes more difficult to go fishing, making it even harder for them to make money. This year is also their first year of independent survival and they have to support themselves.
As the two sisters were talking, a boat came over in the distance.
"Sister He."
"Well, once you're done packing, let's go to the shore," Bai He picked up the pole, "and then you guys can come over after you're done packing."
"I'll be right there."
Bai Yu hung up the fish on her hand that had been rubbed with salt, and cleaned up the boat with Bai Xi. After a simple tidying, she carried Bai Miao onto the cabin, and then the two sisters each held a pole and headed towards the Bai family's main force.
A group of people and several boats lined up and headed to a place not far away where they could go ashore.
But this time, it was not as smooth as before.
Before they reached the shore, they saw several large ships parked in the distance. When they got closer, several ships came to drive them away before they could do anything.
"Please be kind, we just want to go to the shore to sell fish."
"What fish are you selling? They're so dirty, you're not allowed to sell them. Go, go, go, everyone, don't stay here," the driving boat raised its pole, "No one is allowed to come near, otherwise don't blame us for being rude."
Such a scene was not something the Bai family could handle. The eldest uncle of the Bai family, who was at the front, didn't dare to say anything more. He could only row the boat and shout for everyone to leave.
But it didn't go away completely.
The purpose of their coming here was to exchange supplies, but now they haven't exchanged any supplies. There is nothing on the water and it is difficult to survive.
So the Bai family dispersed to inquire about the situation, such as when these large ships would leave, whether there were other large docks nearby, or whether there was a place where they could sell fish in exchange for supplies.
There are many ships that can dock at the pier, and many people come and go. Usually, fishermen like them can sell all their fish and shrimps directly after just one trip.
But it does not mean that there is no place to dock a boat nearby. After all, it is by the water, and there will be some families in a village who have boats. Those boats will not stop at the big dock, there will always be a place to dock.
After a while, the person who had inquired for the news came back with not very good news.
"They say they're distinguished guests from Beijing who will stay here for ten days or half a month, but they've only been here for three days. If we come back tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, we probably won't be able to sell any fish. We have to find a way to sell them somewhere else."
"Shall we change places?"
"I'm afraid the other fishermen have the same idea as us. Now it's not just us who can't sell our fish. Even those fishermen who have homes on the shore can't return home after catching fish."
"What should we do? In two days, another batch of fish on the boat will die."
"That's not so bad. We can use a fishing net to pull them out and put them in the water. They can still survive for a while. But we don't have much supplies on the boat. Without charcoal or firewood, we won't be able to eat hot meals."
As they said this, Bai Yu and Bai Xi immediately looked at each other.
They didn't have anything else, but they did have enough firewood, it just took some time to collect it.
They originally thought that twelve hours was not long, but in fact, the time they spent in the woods was mainly spent collecting firewood. Later, every time they went back to carry a bundle, they would finish it in a few breaths.
These days, the pass card has at least ten hours left.
"Why don't we split up and go buy firewood from the people living on the shore?" Bai Yu said. "I'm afraid it won't work if we exchange it. The people on the shore don't lack fish and shrimp, but if we pay for it, they should be willing to buy it."
"I'm afraid there aren't many of them. There's more water than mountains around here, and many families have to buy their firewood."
Bai Yu: "We're not afraid of not having enough firewood, but we're afraid they won't sell it. But that shouldn't happen. They should be willing to pay us a little more. They're already on the shore, so if they need firewood, they can just buy more. Unlike us, we can't even get ashore."
"Xiaoyu is right. Even if there aren't many families, we can go to more houses," said the second aunt. "We can tolerate other things, but we can't do without firewood and charcoal."
"That's it. We have so many boats. Let's split up and buy firewood. Then we'll go back to where we came from. We have to raise fish and shrimp as soon as possible, otherwise they'll really die."
"Then go separately."
"Xiaoyu, can the three of you go buy firewood by yourself? Don't go ashore when buying firewood, just buy it directly on the boat. One of you can hold the pole, and if something really happens, you can just push the boat away. But generally, it's not a problem if you just buy firewood."
Bai Yu and Bai Xi naturally hoped to go alone, otherwise they would not be able to get firewood. When they heard this, they quickly nodded.
After the group had made an agreement, they split up and went along the shore to look for residents living there, looking for opportunities to exchange firewood.
Bai Yu and Bai Xi rowed the boat towards a direction where there were fewer people.
The matter of firewood could not be revealed, so Bai Yu and Bai Xi were extremely cautious. In the end, they decided that the two sisters would stand at the bow and stern of the boat, holding the pole and looking around.
Bai Miao went into the plane alone and carried out bundles of firewood that had been piled up next to the big tree.
Bai Miao moved slowly, so he didn't have to worry about too much firewood appearing at the bow or stern in an instant.
She carried out bundles one by one, handing them to her two sisters on the left and right, and they piled them on the deck.
The boat was small and there wasn't much firewood piled on it, but it was enough for the Bai family to use for two days. Plus, they were also buying firewood from someone at the moment, so the two stopped Bai Miao, who was addicted to carrying firewood.
"That's enough."
"Is that enough?" Bai Miao stood on the edge of the boat with his hands on his hips.
"Well, that's enough. Miaomiao, you've worked hard." Bai Yu hugged Bai Miao and asked softly, "If someone asks you how you got here later, what should you say?"
Bai Miao raised his head: "Miao Miao moved here."
Bai Yu smiled, knowing she would say that, and hugged her and whispered, "You know, it cost quite a bit of money."
There’s nothing wrong with Bai Miao moving in, but he has to spend money.
But fortunately, after talking for these days, Bai Miao will not mention the matter of shells to outsiders.
The two were talking in low voices, while on the other side, Bai Xi was rowing the boat in the direction they came from.
There was a boat coming from the opposite direction. Bai Xi didn't want to get into trouble with others, so she moved to the side. Unexpectedly, when she moved to the side, the boat coming from the opposite direction also went in the same direction.
Bai Xi frowned and carried the pole into the shallow water nearby.
Bai Yu noticed the movement and immediately put Bai Miao into the cabin, then quickly walked over to Bai Xi.
As the strange boat approached, Bai Yu immediately said, "I thought it was my uncle and second uncle coming."
Bai Xi understood what she meant and quickly replied, "We agreed to meet at this time. He should be here soon."
The boat on the other side slowly stopped, and the people on board said with a smile: "Don't get us wrong, we mean no harm. You have so much firewood on board, so you should know the situation at the dock. We are also unable to get ashore, and we are trying to find firewood. I wonder if you can share some of the firewood on your ship with us, or, if you are willing to tell us, where all this firewood came from?"
Bai Miao just climbed out of the cabin at this time. Hearing this, he said loudly: "The firewood cost a lot of copper coins."
Just as Bai Yu and Bai Xi were about to speak, the people on the other boat said with great joy, "It's good that you can buy it with money. We have urgent matters to attend to. Why don't you sell us the firewood on your boat? How about... fifty coins for this firewood?"
Of course, this firewood is not worth fifty cents.
But the other party had already taken out his purse and started to take copper coins from it.
A full fifty copper coins.
Bai Xi looked at Bai Yu and said, "Let's go ask along the coast later. People along the coast should still have firewood."
"If you're not in a hurry, it's good to earn this money," the man said, pulling out a rope with copper coins strung on it. "I'll give you the money first, and you can bring me the firewood."
Bai Yu nodded with a stern face.
The other party breathed a sigh of relief.
Bai Yu and Bai Xi looked at each other secretly and held back their laughter.
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