1983 Small Island, Starting From a Large Farmer

Chapter 198: Raise the price

 After the gunshot.

The boobies were all frightened away, and no one dared to stay on the fishing boat.

Li Duoyu glanced at the boobies that his cousin had shot down. It was probably a brown boobies, a large seabird that was no smaller than a chicken.

Adult boobies can grow to about 70 centimeters. The back of this bird is tan and the belly is white. Because they need to swim and fish in the sea, their claws are similar to duck paws.

Li Duoyu remembers that when he was a child, there were still many such seabirds on Xijia Reef and Dongjia Reef near Dandan Island.

 At that time, even the fish caught by fishermen had to be handed over for unified distribution.

This kind of seabird is not included in the plan. In addition, boobies are very large, have a lot of meat, and have quite large eggs.

So some fishermen who want to eat meat will go to these rocks to set traps and steal bird eggs.

As a result, the news spread from ten to ten, and within two years, the brown boobies disappeared from Xijia Reef, and there was no trace of these boobies in the offshore waters.

Li Shuguang picked up a boobies and handed it to Li Duoyu: "Would you like one? The meat will be roasted and eaten. It's pretty good."

Li Duoyu shook his head: "You shot it, and the meat is full of small particles. If you don't handle it well, your teeth will break if you bite it."

His cousin's gun is a clay gun. When shooting, you have to pour small particles into the muzzle of the gun. It is a bit like a shotgun, but it is not as powerful. It can only be used to shoot birds and small animals.

Li Shuguang said with a hint of disgust: "I'll give you food to pick from here and there. If you don't want it, I'll give it to Xiaochao and Shitou."

 “Give it to them, I won’t eat the birds.”

 The main reason is that Li Duoyu has actually eaten brown boobies before. Because this kind of bird eats seafood all year round, the bird meat is a bit flavourful, and it really doesn’t taste as good as chicken.

As a senior farmer, he knows very well that many game meats are not necessarily tastier than farmed ones, and most of them have an off-flavor.

　　Schools of mackerel and shoals of mackerel were attacked by the three forces of sea, land and air, and were eaten up. In the end, not even a small fish could escape.

 Looking at the calm sea.

Shitou couldn't help but ask: "Are we still fishing now?"

Li Duoyu took a look at today's fish catch. Although Lao Liu came to disrupt the situation, it was already a bumper harvest.

 Looking at the thick horse watch on his wrist, it was already half past twelve.

 The return journey takes another three hours.

It will be around 3:30 in the afternoon when we get to Qingkou Pier. If we go back at this time, the fishmongers at the pier should not have left yet.

This time there are no friends from overseas provinces to send them ice cubes. If they return late and the fish is spoiled, they will not be able to sell it at a high price.

 “Let’s go, go back.”

Zhang Jinsha, whose arms were already numb after fishing for several hours, nodded quickly. He didn’t want to work for Li Duoyu in vain anymore.

 The more you catch, the more you lose.

 On the return trip.

Li Shuguang did not rely on Li Duoyu to lead the way, but took out the sextant that his father gave him when he was in the fishing team.

 After seeing this thing, Li Duoyu was also a little surprised. In this era without GPS, if you want to fish in the open sea, you must learn to use a sextant.

Li Shuguang's skills were probably given to him by his father. When he became the captain of the fishing team, his uncle went to training and learned how to use a compass and sextant.

This thing is quite complicated. Not only does it need to be measured, but it also has to be calculated and referred to the nautical astronomical calendar.

Someone had told him about it before, but when he got into fishing, fishing boats were already equipped with GPS, so he never learned it.

Although my cousin doesn’t have a high diploma and didn’t even graduate from junior high school, because he often traveled with fishing boats when he was a child, he was very good at playing sextant.

 Not long after.

I calculated the longitude and latitude, and then marked the position of my fishing boat on a black and white global map. After using the compass, I knew the specific direction of Qingkou Pier on the spot.

This skill puts even Li Duoyu to shame. He was able to come to the open sea based on experience and feeling. He only needed to leave this sea area.

Li Duoyu would definitely lose his sense of direction in the vast sea, but his cousin had actually calculated his position.

 If you have this skill, you can go to any state-owned fishing company and others will be rushing to get it, especially the recently emerging offshore fishing companies.

 Before leaving.

 Li Duoyu glanced at the sea. There was not a single fishing boat in the vast sea. Fortunately, he also brought a reply from Ma Xiumei's neighbor. Unfortunately, he didn't meet the old man on this trip, otherwise he would have ordered smoothies from him.

 After the fishing boat starts to return.

 Everyone sat on the deck to rest, and everyone carried some dry food with them.

Li Duoyu and the other three ate meat-filled cakes made by Chen Huiying, while Shitou, Zhang Jinsha and the others brought some triangular cakes and oil cakes.

 But for coastal people, whether they are eating dry food or eating, if there is no soup, there is no soul.

So Li Duoyu became the leader and cooked a pot of fish soup with the remaining fish.

 Dandan Island people like to drink mixed fish soup very much. For Li Duoyu and others, it was not easy to buy pork anymore.

The soups they drink are almost all mixed fish soups. When cooking, just add some shredded ginger, which can not only remove the fishy smell, but also warm the stomach.

 After more than three hours of bumping on the sea.

 The fishing boat arrived at Qingkou Pier.

To everyone’s surprise, the pier was quite busy today. Several fishing boats were queuing up, and the pier was filled with baskets of swimming crabs.

 You don’t need to think about it to know that swimming crabs are in season and you are hungry again. The fishmongers are very busy at the moment.

Someone else shouted with a loudspeaker: "Punter crabs are only 12 cents, and hairtails are 8 cents. If you want to sell them, hurry up. If it's too late, no one will buy them, so you can only sell them to make salted crabs."

  It just so happens.

Li Duoyu met the third uncle’s tugboat at the dock. The second uncle and the others were carrying baskets of swimming crabs on the boat to the dock.

　　It has been seven or eight days since I last saw Uncle San and his companions going out to sea in the middle of the night.

According to Uncle San’s habit, returning to Qingkou Wharf to sell swimming crabs will definitely be the last stop.

Due to the arrest of his cousin Li Yujun, the third uncle has really worked hard this whole year and has not missed every seasonal seafood.

Although she has made a lot of money this year, the third aunt is worried that Yujun will be bullied in there. Every once in a while, she has to go to the prison to give some cigarettes, alcohol and benefits to those in charge.

 Most of the money earned is spent on this, and there is not much left.

As for Xiao Hei, who sold Buddha heads, his life was not so good. He was sentenced to nearly thirty years for selling cultural relics.

 Their family had little money to begin with, and since he had been sentenced to too many years, the family almost gave up on him.

 We only visited once a year, and after the visit, we didn’t dare to go again, because people like them who have no money to maintain relationships have the least status in prison.

Li Duoyu understands this very well. Even now, he still occasionally dreams about the horrific experiences he had in prison in his previous life.

 After seeing them, Li Duoyu shouted to them.

“Third uncle, second uncle, when did you come back?”

The third uncle Li Zhengfa, who was carrying swimming crabs, heard a familiar voice and looked up to see Li Duoyu not far away.

Seeing Li Duoyu on Li Shuguang's fishing boat, Li Zhengfa instantly knew where they were going.

“Have you gone fishing in the open sea again? How many fish did you catch today?”

 “Didn’t catch much.”

 “Just some mackerel and grouper.”

Zhang Jicai, who was weighing the swimming crabs, hurriedly shouted to Li Duoyu after hearing that he was out fishing.

“Duoyu, it’s been a long time since you came to patronize my business. Remember to sell good products to me. The price is guaranteed to satisfy you.”

 Lao Zhang shouted like this.

 Other fishmongers at the pier were a little agitated on the spot: "Old Zhang, can you do it in order? The fishing boats haven't even docked yet, and you started robbing them."

Zhang Jicai replied: "According to the order of woolen yarn, if my regular customers don't sell it to me, how can I sell it to you?"

“Shit, whoever pays the highest price gets it? Believe it or not, I will raise the price to see if I can sell you more fish.”

Lao Zhang hummed:

“Come on, whoever wants to raise the price is afraid of you, but I’m afraid you won’t dare to fight.”

“Old Zhang, you are becoming more and more arrogant.”

Other fishmongers were also helpless. Since Lao Zhang had a relative who worked as a purchaser at the Foreign Trade Center Hotel, they had to match the prices. In the end, they were the ones who suffered.

 Everyone’s talk is their own talk. However, these fishmongers are still united and rarely engage in malicious bidding or customer grabbing.

 But today there is a young fishmonger named Li Ergou who doesn't seem to accept their tricks and wants to try to break out of the circle.

Before Li Duoyu and his fishing boat docked, Li Ergou passed other fishing boats and jumped onto his fishing boat two or three times.

 After seeing giant mackerels all over the ground.

Li Ergou’s eyes widened. He picked up a mackerel, smelled it, touched it and found that the mackerel was very fresh.

Immediately afterwards, he saw the imported fishing rods placed aside. Li Ergou couldn't help but ask: "Did you catch these mackerels?"

Before Li Duoyu could answer, Zhang Jinsha took the lead and said, "Of course I fished it. The mackerel in the net is not that good-looking."

Li Ergou frowned and thought for a while, then asked Li Duoyu: "Regardless of the size, can I sell it for 35 cents per catty?"

“If you sell them, I’ll take all of them.”

Seeing that Li Ergou, a stupid young man, was so ungrateful to martial ethics, Lao Zhang, who was calculating money with others, was so angry that he cursed on the spot: "Er Gou, please don't cause trouble, okay?"

 Then he shouted to Li Duoyu on the fishing boat: "No matter how much Ergou pays, I, Lao Zhang, will give me half a cent."

 “Lao Zhang, you are awesome.”

Li Ergou snorted: "I just gave you four cents. I don't believe it. How dare you add half a cent."

 The fishmongers at the pier found it very interesting when they saw the two bidding.

 “Come on, Lao Zhang, don’t be a coward.”

 “Forty-five cents, shoot down the two dogs.”

“Ergou, come on, win this big customer.”

 Some ship owners who were always being pushed down by fishmongers started to boo when they saw someone bidding.

 “Don’t be a coward, raise the price.”

“Damn it, these profiteers are lowering our prices day by day, now let them bleed too.”

Seeing that the whole dock was booing, Zhang Jicai felt a little embarrassed by being treated like this. After thinking about it for a while, he frowned and shouted, "Damn it, I'll pay you 42 cents."

 After hearing Lao Zhang’s offer, there was a lot of booing on the dock.

“You don’t just say how much, but you add half a cent to the amount of Ergou. How come you only add two points?”

Lao Zhang replied: "If you have the guts, come here."

Li Ergou thought for a while, gritted his teeth and shouted: "Damn it, I paid 43 cents, I don't believe you still want more."

 Lao Zhang shouted: "Forty-four cents, if you dare to shout forty-five cents, I will give it to you."

 The price has soared to 44 cents.

Li Ergou took a look at the mackerels. They were very big and of good quality.

 But when the payment reaches 40 cents, after deducting the transportation fee, there is no money left, and 43 cents will be lost.

Although he also wanted Li Duoyu, a big customer, if he continued to do so, he would be at odds with Lao Zhang.

 We are all from the same dock, so we can’t see each other without looking up, so there is really no need to do so.

 “I can’t afford it, I’ll give it to you.”

 Lao Zhang cursed: "Er Gou, you must have done it on purpose. Raise your hand, you are very happy, aren't you?"

Li Ergou said hey: "There is no way, business is difficult to do, how about you give me 43 cents."

 “You think beautifully.”

The rocks on the fishing boat were a bit unresponsive. Normally, the mackerel would only sell for 30 cents at most. The mackerel they caught was pretty good, but it really wasn’t worth 44 cents.

 “Lao Sha, when did Spanish mackerel become so expensive? It’s even more expensive than large yellow croaker?”

 Zhang Jinsha sighed and said, "It's not that mackerel is expensive, but that it's Li Duoyu's fish. That's why it's sold so expensive?"

"Huh? What does that mean?"

Zhang Jinsha glanced at Shitou with disgust: "When you do business in the future, you will understand that not every order can be profitable."

 The higher the purchasing price, the more Zhang Jinsha felt his heart ached. The total weight of these mackerels was at least more than 600 kilograms.

 If purchased at 44 cents.

 Nearly more than three hundred yuan, and half the boatload of mackerel was caught by him.

If you choose a fishing package worth 30 yuan today, you can not only save on the fishing fee, but also earn more than 100 yuan.

As for the clams he cultivated, how many kilograms would he have to sell to earn more than 100 yuan?

After Lao Zhang reported the price of 44 cents, he was full of regret. This price was really too high. Not counting shipping costs, he lost more than 4 cents per catty.

 At this time.

Li Duoyu opened two large buckets covered with tarps: "Old Zhang, there are a lot of groupers here, do you want them?"

 Lao Zhang became excited after seeing the grouper and snapper in the bucket.

“You don’t have to think about it, I definitely want it.”

“Duoyu, I suffered a big loss just now. You have to sell these fish to me cheaper. Don’t do it again.”

Li Duoyu felt a little embarrassed when he saw that the Spanish mackerel had soared to 44 cents, so he raised the prices of grouper and snapper.

 “No problem, just the normal price.”

 Lao Zhang breathed a sigh of relief.

 Just some time ago, his nephew said that the hotel had set up some live pools and wanted a batch of live seafood.

 Selling these groupers and snappers to his nephew should be able to even out the loss from the mackerel.

Immediately afterwards, Lao Zhang brought several baskets and packed all the mackerel from Li Duoyu, seven baskets in total.

  “Squid weighs 625 jins.”

 “Forty-four cents per catty.”

  “275 yuan”

 “These groupers and snappers are all collected for 60 cents.”

“185 pounds, 111 yuan.”

“A total of 386 pieces.”

 The ship bosses on the dock all gasped and started talking after hearing the price.

 “Is fishing in the open sea so profitable?”

 “Such a small boat can make more money than us.”

Li Zhengfa on the side was really envious when he saw the more than 30 pieces of unity in Li Duoyu’s hand.

He took a group of people out to sea for seven days, and only sold them for more than 600 yuan. After deducting the fuel expenses, food expenses, and crew wages, he only got less than 100 yuan.

I just heard from Li Shuguang that he earned more than that, as well as fishing fees from Shitou and Zhang Jinsha, a total of thirty yuan.

In other words, Li Duoyu's net profit on this day was more than 400 yuan, which was four times that of his.

 Think of this.

Li Zhengfa couldn't help but sigh, wondering if he was getting old and would be eliminated by today's young people.

  Two chapters were combined into one, and part of the plot was deleted.

The river crab part is about the protagonist fishing for sharks, and involves some shark-related topics (Pu Qi).

In fact, our country has never been a shark fishing country, and it does not even have 1% of the fishing volume.

But at the beginning, the White Glove Environmental Protection Organization slapped a big hat on us, saying that sharks were eaten to extinction by us.

At that time, a group of people who had been deceived started to support environmental organizations, saying that eating shark fins and shark skin was cruel.

In fact, our country has always been a downstream industry of sharks, and shark fins are sold to us as scraps that others do not want.

I won’t go into details because I’m afraid it will all be harmonized here, so you can search by yourself.

 (End of this chapter)