At noon that day, Chen Xingling stayed at her mother's house to have lunch with her parents.
Chen Jixing had just gotten married. According to the local traditional customs, the couple had to live with their parents for three days until the bride came back to visit their parents, and then they could go out and live alone.
Liu Peiyun is not a conservative mother-in-law. She said that since she lives right next to her, there is no need to squeeze here and she can just eat three meals here. The new daughter-in-law's parents' home is too far away, so the return visit ceremony can be omitted.
So, there was a newlywed couple at the dinner table.
When Zhu Siya heard that they would go to the island to look for crabs tomorrow, and that Chen Xingling and his wife would transport the crabs to the provincial capital to sell in the evening, she couldn't help but giggle.
"Didn't it make sense to stay home and have a good time during the New Year? Why did you go all the way to the provincial capital? It seems quite far away, isn't it?"
"Yes." Chen Jixing replied, "It's at least 70 or 80 miles to get to the city center."
Zhu Siya couldn't help but ask: "Little sister...are you in a hurry to use the money?"
She asked very directly, and the grandmother-in-law beside her couldn't help but look at her daughter after hearing it, with nervousness in her eyes.
Chen Xingling shook his head hurriedly: "I'm not in a hurry to use the money, I just feel that I can't bear not to make some money with such a great opportunity. Anyway, I'll only go back to my parents' home for New Year's greetings on the first and second days of the New Year, so I can postpone the New Year's greetings for two or three days. I'll make the money first."
"Are there really that many blue crabs?" Zhu Siya looked at the orange-red crabs that took up a large plate on the table and praised: "Such large crabs... are indeed rare! However, if the quantity is not enough, the travel expenses alone will not be worthwhile."
Chen Jixing smiled and replied, "They are everywhere on the island. The main problem is that the mud is sticky and hard to walk on, but other things are not a problem. Bring big pliers and big clamps tomorrow, and we'll have a basket full in no time."
"Is it true?" Liu Peiyun couldn't believe it. "But the current over there is fast, and it's not easy to stop the boat."
Chen Jixing looked at his parents and joked, "With my dad and big brother here, it's a piece of cake to park anywhere! Not to mention when the wind is calm, even if a big typhoon comes, you have to give way to my dad!"
Zhu Siya asked in surprise: "Dad is really good at sailing, right?"
Chen Sanshui was a little embarrassed and whispered, "Don't listen to their nonsense... return it, return it."
Liu Peiyun has been with her husband for decades and has full confidence in his boating skills.
"You can go catch crabs if you want, but you have to come back before the high tide at around 3 or 4 in the afternoon. Once the tide rises on that island, there's no place to stay."
Then, she glanced at her daughter and scolded her with a smile: "It's New Year's Day, your father should have a few days off, and you come here to make trouble! You little devil!"
Chen Xingling snuggled up to his old father with a smile on his face, and boasted: "If this works, I can guarantee that Dad will have enough cigarettes for the whole year!"
Liu Peiyun disagreed: "How much can a crab sell for? How many can you catch at once? It should be enough for my family to eat and for little Tiger to play with."
"Mom!" Chen Xingling shook his head: "At least - two thousand!"
Liu Peiyun didn't believe it at all and just ate her meal.
Chen Jixing laughed and explained, "Mom, the tide was low when we went there, and the island looked half as big as usual. Maybe she was right, there were holes everywhere under the trees. Wherever there were branches or trunks, there were almost all big blue crabs."
"Before the high tide tomorrow, the sea level will be lower." Chen Sanshui estimated: "We should be able to catch more by then. Hey! No matter how many, we will just catch them anyway."
Liu Peiyun frowned and asked, "We are going to sell so many crabs in the provincial capital? Can we sell them? How much is one pound?"
Chen Xingling had thought about it a long time ago, and answered: "It doesn't matter. The big ones are only two yuan, and the small ones are only one yuan. The provincial capital is far away, and seafood from the seaside can rarely be transported there. During the New Year, every household visits relatives and friends, and they have to use some seafood to entertain guests and friends. A huge blue crab - it attracts a lot of people!"
"That's it!" Zhu Siya nodded hurriedly and poked the big crab on the table: "Such a big one is too rare. If I see one, I want to go and see the fun."
Liu Peiyun glared at her daughter, then asked with a smile, "Are you stupid? One dollar for a crab?"
Chen Xingling analyzed: "The consumption level of the city dwellers in the provincial capital is higher than that of the city dwellers here. They rarely see seafood and are more willing to pay for it. I have calculated that if the quantity is small, we will definitely not make money by transporting it so far. If we transport a lot, then we will definitely make a profit."
Liu Peiyun couldn't listen any longer and waved her hand: "It's okay, it's your dad who dotes on you. If it were me, I wouldn't want to bother with you."
Chen Xingling said with a smile: "Tomorrow, all the brothers will go together, and the sisters-in-law will have to help tie up the crabs. Daqiang and Erqiang will also have to help."
Liu Peiyun laughed when she heard this: "It's fine if you're crazy yourself, but you're dragging everyone into this? Silly girl! Tomorrow is the first day of the Lunar New Year!"
"There's the first day of the Lunar New Year every year." Chen Xingling didn't care at all, and said, "I'm just sitting at home doing nothing anyway, so I might as well take the opportunity to make some money. No one will go fishing during the Lunar New Year, so our business will be better."
Liu Peiyun couldn't persuade them, so she just let them go.
That afternoon, several brothers went up the mountain to find some vines, and then began to help prepare the New Year’s Eve dinner.
When the sisters-in-law heard that they were going to tie crabs tomorrow, they all laughed.
However, when they heard that their sister-in-law was going to sell the crabs to the provincial capital, they thought about how good her sister-in-law was at business and how their brothers had earned more than a hundred yuan from her in the past few months, so they soon stopped laughing.
"Hello! Anyway, I have nothing to do tomorrow, so I will go back to my parents' home the day after tomorrow."
"Yes, yes! We have to help my sister-in-law without asking."
Chen Xingling arranged the staff before riding his bicycle back to the city.
"Wait!" Chen Jixing chased out and shouted, "I'll take you there on my motorcycle!"
Chen Xingling didn't bother to be polite with his own brother. He simply left his car behind and quickly sat on the back seat of the motorcycle.
The brother and sister chatted as they slowly walked towards the city.
Chen Jixing narrowed his eyes and shouted, "Little sister, we've thought about it and found that there is no other way to do business. Since you said that our embroidery technology is not good, why don't we make some and sell them first. If they sell well, we can expand the business and make it larger."
"Yes, let's try it!" Chen Xingling replied with a smile.
Chen Jixing was very unsure and explained, "After I quit working at the shipping company, I always felt like something was missing in my heart. But your fourth sister-in-law was very happy and always said that she would get used to it in the future. These days at home, I often feel a sense of boredom and anxiety... It's very uncomfortable. I didn't even dare to tell your fourth sister-in-law."
"You're definitely not used to it." Chen Xingling secretly felt sorry for his fourth brother and whispered, "You've been drifting on the sea for so many years. How can you adapt to it right away if you suddenly stop? After the New Year, the factory will officially start operations. You'll be busy and you'll slowly get used to the new life without realizing it."
Chen Jixing nodded: "I hope I made the right choice."
"Fourth brother, don't define your choice by right or wrong." Chen Xingling said, "You are definitely right to choose the Shi family now. A person's life is so long, and you may change many jobs, but it is not easy to meet someone you love. You said that you have been away for so many years, and you only like Fourth Sister-in-law. If you miss her, you may be single for the rest of your life."
"That's right!" Chen Jixing said honestly, "I will never regret this for the rest of my life."
Chen Xingling chuckled: "In my opinion, there are many ways to make money. You can work to earn money, or you can sell things to make a profit. Your dream is the sea. In the future, you will also deal with the sea when you do maritime trade. Fourth brother, change your way of thinking."
"Yeah." Chen Jixing couldn't help but laugh and said, "Since you got married and had children, especially after staying in the capital for more than three years, you have really changed a lot. You used to be like a wild girl by the sea, but now you talk like a college student. I have to say, reading really can change people."
"So, do you want to go back to school?" Chen Xingling teased, "I can help you find a school and ask."
Chen Jixing laughed: "You better spare me!"
…
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