Chapter 131 Chapter 131 Fishermen's Miscellaneous Matters
As a fisherman, Wu Mei had no land and no house, and could only make a living on the water by fishing all his life. He never thought that he would be able to go ashore one day.
When a new emperor suddenly ascended the throne, the county magistrate and the officials in the county government were all replaced. The new county magistrate was a girl.
Wu Mei was just curious at first, but she didn't expect too much.
So what if the magistrate and the emperor changed? She had to sort out the harpoons and fish traps, the gillnets, the trawl nets. She had to do everything, and money wouldn't fall from the sky.
The fish caught are usually traded for food and some daily necessities.
Wu Mei didn't quite believe what had forced them to live on land. Fishermen had lived at sea for years, and no one had ever looked down on them.
However, due to natural disasters in the past two years, no one was willing to exchange wheat and rice for fish, so most of the fish caught were eaten by themselves.
Wu Mei grew up eating fish. During that time, she went out every day to dig wild vegetables and cook fish soup with them. She ate so much that she almost vomited.
That day, Wu Mei stood on her own fishing boat and dragged the fishing net up.
Growing up in an open-air environment all year round, Wu Mei has a healthy wheat-colored complexion and a very healthy body. One can tell at first glance that she is someone who works all year round.
Wu Mei looked at the things in the fishing net, nodded with satisfaction, and smiled, revealing her white teeth.
Due to the new emperor's ascension to the throne, the seafood market has been very good recently, and Wu Mei was finally able to eat wheat rice after a few years.
After the seafood is caught, they are placed in fish baskets according to categories, and the bad ones that look bad are picked out. This way, it will be easier to sell or exchange them in the market.
Wu Mei was working on a fishing boat when she saw a group of people touching the sand on the beach.
Wu Mei thought she had seen it wrong. Judging from the clothes and appearance of these people, they did not look like ordinary people, but they were squatting and touching the sand very seriously.
Wu Mei continued working. She didn't understand why the sand was so good to touch, and why these people had even found a container to collect it. Could they be from outside the area?
His expression was very happy.
Perhaps because Wu Mei was the only one on the fishing boat at this beach, Zhang Dai took a few steps forward and asked politely, "Excuse me, young lady, has the sand here always been this white, or has it only become like this recently?"
Wu Mei has lived on this beach for more than 20 years. As far as she can remember, this beach has always been so white.
Her father once proudly told her that this sea was good and that their family could live here. The land was occupied by their great-grandfather and was passed down from generation to generation.
Wu Mei was puzzled and asked, "Then why didn't Great Grandfather occupy the farmland? Farmland is so much better."
"Do you think farmland is like sandy beaches, where no one can rule the land? You either buy it or it's passed down from your ancestors!"
At that time, Wu Mei just felt that she was unlucky and could only be a fisherman for the rest of her life.
So Wu Mei answered honestly, "It has always been like this."
Zhang Dai suddenly became even more excited. He patted his thigh excitedly. "That's great, that's great!"
Wu Mei didn't understand why this young man was so happy about the color of the sand. She was about to pull in her second net, and the seafood in the first net had already been divided, so she had to drag the net.
Zhang Dai saw a girl named Wu Mei and volunteered, "Girl, let me help you."
Wu Mei was about to refuse. After all, Zhang Dai looked like a spoiled child, and he might not be able to pull up the fishing net.
After saying that, Zhang Dai got on the fishing boat by himself, grabbed the fishing net and started dragging.
Then.
The fishing net didn't move at all. Zhang Dai used all his strength and even his hair turned red.
Now Wu Mei fell silent, and Zhang Dai also fell silent.
She thought Zhang Dai was not very strong, but she didn't expect him to be so useless. If only he could have pulled it a little.
Zhang Dai let go and smiled awkwardly. "I haven't practiced for so many years... It's amazing that the girl can pull it up all by herself."
He laughed dryly after saying this. "This fishing boat is really a fishing boat."
He was not as good as Feng Ling in martial arts, and after being tricked into going to Nanzhao, he never picked up a sword again. He didn't expect that he had regressed to this point.
Zhang Dai secretly made up his mind that when he returned from his business trip, he would really catch up with his martial arts training.
Wu Mei glanced at Zhang Dai and asked curiously, "I wonder why you wanted to pack up the sand just now? It's not something very valuable."
Zhang Dai pointed to the beach. "Sand isn't a very valuable thing, but it can be made into very valuable things. I went to the beach once when I first arrived and told the fishermen I could get paid for moving sand. Now that this workshop is open, I can work there and earn money. How come you don't know that?"
Wu Mei smiled awkwardly. This piece of beach had been occupied by her family for decades. The surrounding fishermen were dissatisfied with their family and would definitely not tell them such news.
After Zhang Dai and others left, Wu Mei put several fish baskets in a large colander and carried it to the market.
Wu Mei's favorite people are the officials in the county government. These people are of high quality and are not picky. They basically give whatever price is asked.
Wu Mei introduced enthusiastically, "Look, my dear, this is a small yellow croaker. If you want, I can give you some clams here."
"Okay, my colleague bought some pike from you last time and said it tasted great. You sell almost nothing smelly or rotten."
After selling most of the things, Wu Mei packed up the fish cages and colander and prepared to return to the fishing boat.
As soon as I got on the fishing boat, I saw my father and mother looking very excited, talking about something and even dancing.
Wu Mei jumped onto the fishing boat and put down her belongings. "What's going on? Why are you so excited?"
The witch father turned around, his features nearly bulging with excitement. "Amei! Didn't they say they'd allocate land for us fishermen to live on? It's true! Bai Zhi just came by and said the land will be allocated tomorrow, and we'll have a house to live in." He pointed outside.
"See? Just up the hill this way. That whole area has been allocated to us. They said we'll draw lots there tomorrow."
Wu Mei hadn't expected this to be true. Her eyes widened. "Really...really?"
"It's absolutely true. Bai Zhi wouldn't lie to us, would he? And not only that, he said we fishermen had lived in poverty before, and the subsidy he said was for repairing our houses will be paid out tomorrow."
The witch father and witch mother immediately knelt down and said, "Thank you, new emperor, thank you, Your Majesty."
Wu Mei also knelt down. "Thank you, Your Majesty."
She stopped imagining things. How could the new emperor's ascension to the throne have nothing to do with her? It was absolutely relevant!
At night, Wu Mei slept on the fishing boat, tossing and turning, unable to stop thinking.
One day, the landless fishermen will be able to row to land and build houses. She will no longer have to sleep on the fishing boat. It is not comfortable at all. There are many mosquitoes at night, and the boat is shaking. She will be woken up by the slightest movement.
Wu Mei didn't like living on a fishing boat at all. She longed to live in a real house and have a good night's sleep.
The next day, the family of three went to draw lots with dark circles under their eyes.
Not only them, but other fishermen as well.
Even if there had been disagreements in the past, Wu Mei felt that everyone felt the same at this moment.
Bai Zhimen had already measured and marked the land, with tadpole-like patterns written on it, which Wu Mei could not understand.
Each family sent one person to draw. Wu Mei looked at the paper balls and picked one at random.
This thing depends entirely on luck, and some people want good light, some want the edges, and some want the middle.
Wu Mei stood in front of Bai Zhi and opened the note, on which was clearly written the number 16.
Wu Mei's face showed a hint of bewilderment, and Bai Zhi immediately pointed to her. "This is number 16. See? The numbers on it are the same as the ones you drew."
The witch father and mother immediately ran to number 16, looking left and right, up and down, praising it non-stop. "This is great, this is bright, see? It's open from north to south! It's not a big plot of land, but it's enough for us to build three houses and a small courtyard."
Wu Mei also ran over to take a look. She nodded with satisfaction and even pointed out where the window should be located.
Of course, not everyone is satisfied. Where some are happy, others are worried.
After the lot drawing, the subsidies will be distributed.
Every household has this money, and the amount is the same.
Although it is not a huge amount, it still makes the fishermen feel emotional.
They have never been looked down upon since ancient times because they have no land and were once called untouchables. No one is willing to marry them.
Back on the fishing boat, the family took out their recent seafood sales and added the subsidies they had just received.
They could easily build a simple thatched house by picking up some materials.
Wu Mei stared at the money and suddenly said, "Someone in bright clothes came to the beach today. I heard they're building a glass factory out back and they need sand. They'll get paid for moving the sand."
"Is there such a good thing? When will the glass factory be built? I'm willing to move sand."
After the land was demarcated, the three members of the Wu family divided the work and cooperated with each other.
Wu Mei continued to sell seafood, while Wu's father and mother collected wood whenever they could, and if they couldn't find any, they would spend money on things needed to build a house.
This kind of eating lasted for about half a month.
Until one day, Wu Mei saw the man who was dressed in fancy clothes but actually had no strength coming again.
There were several people behind him. Wu Mei recognized one of them because he had bought yellow croaker from her stall that day.
Zhang Dai trotted forward. "Girl, I'm not lying to you. We really do pay you for moving sand. Five cents a bag."
Wu Mei immediately dropped the fishing gear in her hand and ran into the cabin.
"Father, five cents a bag of sand!"
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