Back To the Small Fishing Village In 1982

    Chapter 33 Go to the Pier to Unload Goods

After chatting with everyone for a while, it was almost four o'clock when Ye Yaodong finally patted his butt and stood up.

 "I'm going to the pier to help unload the goods. You guys can handle the seafood. Once I'm done sorting the goods, I'll come over."

Amazed, Ah Guang looked at him and said, “Are you really being sensible?"

“Roll!"

He quickened his pace, taking large strides as he headed towards the pier. By this time, the tide had risen along the shore, and the fishing boats were likely approaching the dock.

When he arrived at the pier, there were already quite a few villagers waiting by the shore. They were all family members of those who had gone out to sea, waiting for the boats to return so they could help with sorting the catch.

Mother Ye was also waiting at the pier, and she looked satisfied when she saw Ye Yaodong approaching.

Just a moment ago, she waited for a long time and didn't see him. She thought that this stubborn kid had gone astray again. If he listens and takes it to heart, it shows that there is still hope. He seems to have made some progress these past few days.

Ye Yaodong also spotted his mother and walked towards her, smiling and jokingly saying, "Mom, why are you here too?"

"Isn't it because I'm worried about you? What if you don't listen or forget? Your father and older brother can't handle everything alone, can they?"

"Why don't you believe in me?"

"Are you trustworthy?"

The villagers nearby also chuckled and said, "Is Ah Dong here to help today?"

"That's how it should be. When there's work to be done at home, one should lend a hand. Young people should be diligent and discerning."

He absentmindedly nodded along, his eyes fixed on the boats at sea. There weren't many families in their village with boats, and most of them had already set sail. The boat coming back towards them must be his father's, right?

“Yaodong, is that your father's boat?"

"Right? Let's wait and see. It'll dock in a moment."

The small boat gradually slowed down as it approached, and they could see the blue paint on the hull, confirming that it was indeed their family's boat.

Ye Yaodong and his mother quickly walked down the stone steps, getting ready to receive the goods in a moment.

Father Ye on the boat also noticed that his third son had surprisingly come to the dock to help. However, he didn't say anything. After docking the boat, he and Ye Yaopeng started moving the cargo to them, asking them to carry it ashore first.

The first to be carried off the boat were baskets of swimming crabs, followed by a basket of mantis shrimp, and then there were a few jin of loose items.

There were some large mantis shrimps, estimated to weigh only about two or three jin, and some smaller mantis shrimps, which weren't worth much but amounted to around ten jin. There were also two jin of small squid, and various sizes of water grain fish that needed to be sorted, totaling around ten jin as well. Additionally, there were four or five jin of small yellow croakers, and the rest consisted of less valuable miscellaneous fish.

Today there weren't any large catches, but the overall harvest still looks quite good!

After unloading the goods from the boat, Father Ye maneuvered the boat to a different spot, clearing the area for other boats to dock. There were more boats scheduled to arrive later.

Ye Yaodong and the others began moving the goods to the acquisition point. The sizes of the swimming crabs varied, and so did their prices. They needed to pour them out and sort them, also using rubber bands to tie the crab legs together.

While Father Ye and Ye Yaopeng were on the boat, they had already managed to tie up most of the crabs during their spare time. However, there was still a portion that remained untied.

When the crabs were poured out, their legs were trembling and they were lively, jumping around. They looked exceptionally fresh.

He randomly grabbed a few crabs, and their backs were quite hard. "They're quite plump, even the smaller ones are firm and meaty."

"Crabs have been quite plump lately, and the shrimps are also fat. Their meat is full and some even have roe."

The three of them deftly tied up the crab legs and sorted them by size.

As they watched Ye Yaodong's swift movements, both Mother Ye and Eldest Brother Ye were very surprised.

When did he ever do this kind of work before? He could tie the knots so neatly and swiftly, and his speed is not slower than theirs!

"Little Third, you're quite fast! I didn't expect that!"

"Psh, what's the big deal? Just because you haven't seen it doesn't mean I can't do it!"

"You lazy brat! You don't do the household chores but you're willing to help others, huh? You're so unreliable day after day..."

Listening to his mother's nagging, he didn't argue back. Sighing, he knew it was something he had to endure.

After sorting the crabs, they poured out a small basket of mantis shrimp. Sorting the mantis shrimp was relatively simple; they just needed to separate them by size. The same applied to the prawns and water grain fish—they had to be sorted based on their size as well.

The larger ones can fetch a higher price, while the smaller ones are not worth much.

They separately collected the low-value small fish and shrimp in a water bucket, along with some small eels and miscellaneous fish, and packed them to take back home. They also planned to dry them into fish jerky while they were at it.

After weighing all the goods, Father Ye went over to settle the accounts while they took the fish and seafood back home first.

"Mom, how much money can we make from selling these goods today? We have over 30 jin of crabs of various sizes, more than 20 jin of shrimp, a few kilograms of prawns, and some other fish. It looks quite good."

"Today's harvest is quite good. We can sell the larger crabs for 30 cents each and the smaller ones for 20 cents. As for the shrimp, the larger ones are priced at 35 cents, while the smaller ones are 26 cents. Prawns are a bit more expensive at 50 cents. Considering the other miscellaneous items, we should be able to make around 30 yuan. However, we also have to deduct about 2 yuan for diesel fuel expenses and consider the cost of the equipment, which can easily break and requires frequent repairs."

"That's great! We can save quite a bit in a month!"

"Don't get too carried away. It's not like we can go every day and have such a bountiful catch every time. We rely on the weather for our livelihood, and the sea is unpredictable. Some folks only made a little over a dozen yuan yesterday."

"That's better than odd jobs."

Ye Yaopeng sincerely extends another invitation, "How about you join us in taking turns to go out to sea, little brother? We rely on the sea for our livelihood, so we should learn from our father."

"Huh? You and Second Brother can learn first. Once you both have learned, then I'll join in!"

Listening to his excuses, Mother Ye wanted to scold him, but she held back. They were at the dock, and considering his relatively diligent performance today, she decided to tolerate it for now.

After the separation, it would be necessary for him to join in the fishing activities. The money earned now can still be counted in the family account and be used to build houses.

After the separation, if the eldest and second brother join in the fishing activities, would they share their earnings? While the third brother remains idle all day, he can only wait to starve or rely on the support of the elderly. What kind of situation is this?

In other families, children are raised to provide support in old age, but in their case, they have given birth to an ancestor!

Unaware of his mother's inner thoughts, Ye Yaodong quickly slipped away as soon as they reached the doorstep, leaving behind a remark that he wouldn't be eating at home tonight. After all, he felt that he had already helped with the tasks that needed to be done for the day.

Mother Ye felt both helpless and at the same time, she considered it more normal for Ye Yaodong to behave this way. Today he had been to the homestead, then went to the sea, and now helping at the dock. He was so diligent that she was starting to feel unfamiliar with him.

Second Sister-in-law Ye pursed her lips and said, "Just when he seemed a bit reliable, he's gone again!"

"Let him go. It's already good enough that he helps with the work. Pick a bowl of fish and shrimp to send to your families, and prepare the rest for cooking. Braise the larger ones and sun-dry the smaller ones. As for the small shrimp, boil a bowl of them and sun-dry the peeled shrimp meat. We can't afford to wait until tomorrow in this weather."

All three daughters-in-law agreed, but Lin Xiuqing's family was relatively far away, so she didn't have the opportunity to send fish to her family. She could only watch the other two sisters-in-law take the fish back to their maternal homes while she stayed behind to prepare the fish.

After the two of them had walked far away, Mother Ye said to Lin Xiuqing, "When do you plan to go back to your family? I'll save some good seafood for you to take with you in advance."

"Okay, mother. There's no rush. I'll wait until the Mid-Autumn Festival to go back."

…

…

With three sons, Mother Ye always tries to maintain a fair and balanced relationship.

(end of this chapter)

***

Author's note:

Insert Price Description:

In the 1980s, seafood prices were relatively stable according to my father, who has firsthand knowledge of the industry. My grandparents were involved in seafood wholesale during that time, and my father, who was around eighteen or nineteen years old at the time, often accompanied them to nearby ports to purchase seafood. The prices during that period did not fluctuate significantly.

The only exception was yellow croaker, which was not as valuable back then. According to my father, wild yellow croaker weighing around one or two jin would sell for only 60 cents per jin.

Back then, the daily wage for skilled workers was a little over 2 yuan, while laborers doing rough work would earn just over 1 yuan per day. Even at these prices, yellow croaker was not affordable for the average person, and it was mainly consumed by the wealthy.

Back then, seafood was also priced at a few cents per jin, but the average person couldn't afford it. After all, their daily wages were only about one or two yuan. During that time, for example, the dragon head fish (also known as tofu fish) was priced at only 6 cents per jin.

The initial description of the prices for the yellow croaker in this book is slightly higher than reality, but it is done to set the stage for the plot. Readers should take it as part of the story and not compare it to the actual prices of that time. Only the price of the yellow croaker has been exaggerated.

This book will continue to maintain the inflated prices of yellow croaker as previously mentioned. This is a deliberate choice made for the narrative.

The price of shrimp in the previous section has also been revised. In the future, I will make sure to inquire about the prices before describing them.

This is somewhat of a digression, but I would like to inform everyone about the actual situation. The prices of other seafood mentioned in the story are generally in line with the prevailing prices at that time..

My family members are unaware that I'm writing a novel, and I feel quite embarrassed about it. I had to gather the courage to ask my father about the prices. Now, I'm constantly being asked by my family members about my humble literary work, which is rather awkward…

Here, I'd also like to make a request for your support by collecting and following my work. If you could consider contributing or leaving a tip, that would be even better. After all, during the early stages of a new book, there won't be any royalties until it's officially published. It's purely driven by passion and love!

Thank you for your support! bow!