1983Fishing and Farming between Mountains and Seas

Chapter 106: The valuable hairy catfish
The fishing net drew an arc in the air and landed steadily on the sea, just in time to cover the big fish.

There was a splash of water and the big fish struggled for a while, but obviously it could not escape the fishing net.

The time was almost right, Liang Ziqiang began to pull in the net and pulled the big fish onto the boat.

To say it was a big fish, it wasn't actually that big, probably around 20 jin. But what excited Liang Ziqiang the most was that now he could see the details of the fish in the net, and finally confirmed his initial guess -

Hairy catfish!
The price of this fish is incomparable to those fish caught today.

Although the hairy catfish cannot catch up with the legendary yellow croaker, it has similarities with the yellow croaker.

Many people know that yellow croaker is a very expensive fish.

Unlike the large yellow croaker, which gradually became more expensive in later generations due to its rarity, the high price of the yellow croaker has a long history. The fish maw made from its swim bladder has been a tribute to the court since ancient times.

As a precious Chinese medicine tonic, yellow lip fish glue has magical effects. It is often used to treat postpartum hemorrhage and has miraculous effects. It is said to be able to save lives.

Hairy catfish is also a high-grade tonic, but its use is different. It is said that if a teenager who is in the growth and development period eats a hairy catfish, he or she may grow taller and stronger within half a year.

After the hairy catfish is taken out, it is usually air-dried or sun-dried, and then placed at the bottom of a rice jar to be preserved for many years. When eating, it is flattened with a hammer, then chopped with a knife, and cooked into porridge in batches.

In some families, a hairtail maw is passed down through generations, and its status has actually risen instead of falling...

Of course, Liang Ziqiang has never verified whether fish maw really has the magical effects as the legend says, and he is even a little skeptical.

But this does not prevent it from being extremely valuable and worth a high price!
Later, someone caught a large catfish in the ocean, a 96-jin one that was sold for yuan, and another one that was over jin that was sold for over a million yuan.

Of course, this era cannot be compared with later generations. The hairy catfish in front of him is very different from the real big one weighing 96 kilograms.

After putting the hairtail into the cabin, Liang Ziqiang really didn't plan to continue wandering around this time.

He had to hurry back to shore and catch all the fish in the boat.

After turning around and returning, we did not linger on the way and rode as fast as we could back to the small pier in the village.

Chen Xiangbei brought lychees, and the two were waiting for him at the small pier.

As soon as she saw him get off the boat, Chen Xiangbei came up to him with a smile and handed him firecrackers and matches.

While setting off the firecrackers, he secretly kept an eye on Chen Xiangbei. Following his mother's routine last time, she stuffed the White Rabbit dough into his father's hand while setting off the firecrackers, catching him off guard.

However, this time, Chen Xiangbei not only did not come forward, but also moved back two steps - she was afraid of firecrackers.

When the firecrackers were finished, Chen Xiangbei came over and shouted to Lizhi, who was a few meters behind him:
"Litchi, don't play in the water!"

Liang Ziqiang subconsciously turned his head to look at Lizhi, but saw that Lizhi was not standing by the water at all, but was looking at him with a sly smile.

As he realized something, a soft dough white rabbit was stuffed into his arms from Chen Xiangbei's hand:
"Take it!"

Liang Ziqiang started paying attention to Chen Xiangbei's every move since he got off the boat. Unexpectedly, he ended up being caught off guard just like his father!
Women’s tricks are not all inherited, there are still some innovative ways!

Seeing him frantically catching the White Rabbit dough, Chen Xiangbei felt particularly pleased with the feeling of having succeeded in her evil plan. She smiled happily, revealing her mouthful of silver teeth that looked like small shells.

The welcoming ceremony for the first return voyage had been completed. Liang Ziqiang asked her and Lizhi to go back first, and told her that he had to find a way to sell a big fish later, so he might have to come back a little later.

Next, he asked Zifeng to stay on the boat and wait for him, while he picked up two sardines and a seabass and ran quickly to Zhong Yongrui's house.

Zhong Yongrui's wife Xu Ping was at home. After a few refusals, she finally accepted the fish.

Liang Ziqiang used the only phone in the village to call Yuehai Restaurant. After waiting for a while, someone called Manager Du to answer the phone.

"It's you, Aqiang. What's up? Did you pick up something valuable again?"

Du Ziteng had skipped the stage of being shocked by Liang Ziqiang, and had gradually adapted and become a little numb.

"I didn't pick up anything this time. Brother Teng, I remember you told me last time that if I caught a yellow croaker, I could come to you directly. Is there a customer in the restaurant who wants to buy fish maw?"

"Did you really get it?" Du Ziteng's interest soared on the other end of the phone.

"I didn't catch anything. But it's a close relative of the yellow croaker. I did catch a hairtail. I know the fish maw is valuable, and I think you might need it, so I didn't sell it to anyone nearby. The first thing I thought of was to ask you if you want it!"

He was obviously a local middleman who was a bit shady, but after Liang Ziqiang said that, he seemed fresh and refined...

"How big is the catfish?" Du Ziteng asked. "It looks like about 20 kilograms."

"It's a pity that it's a little small. But at least we can get about 2 taels of maw. Whether it's yellow croaker maw or hairtail maw, there are customers who want it. As for the price, we'll have to see it first, but we will definitely not treat you unfairly! It's already 5 or 6 o'clock today. Do you plan to deliver it tomorrow?"

"It's up to you. If I deliver it tomorrow, I'll have to buy ice first. If I deliver it today, the goods you get will be fresher!"

Although Liang Ziqiang temporarily put the hairtail in a large basin on the boat to hold seawater after it was caught, this larger ocean fish is different from the small fish near the shore, and is also different from abalone and snails. It is not possible to keep it in water all the time. To keep it fresh, it needs ice.

"Of course today is the best! Do you have any cars coming over at this time?"

"No need for a car, I can drive the boat directly to the pier in the city. You tell me a location and I'll send someone there to pick up the goods!" Liang Ziqiang suggested.

Du Ziteng thought about it and felt that this was a solution:
"Then let's go to the Shallow Bay Pier! This is the closest pier to our restaurant. Don't send anyone. I'll get a scale from Lao Peng myself. As for the money, I'll calculate it for you in person later!"

Liang Ziqiang was not worried about the money, as this was more than the first or second time he had dealt with Du Ziteng.

After hanging up the phone, he thanked Xu Ping and paid him some money for the call.

They quickly returned to the small pier and thought about it. In order to save time, they drove the boat directly from the small pier to the big pier. Then they only needed a few steps to pick up the goods on the boat and bring them to Zheng Liu.

Zheng Liu weighed basket after basket, talking non-stop as he weighed:
"Do the fish in this sea get along well with your family? Your father just sold several hundred kilograms of sardines half an hour ago, but I didn't expect that you would show up with even more!"

After weighing, he smacked his lips and said, "It's already 892 kilograms! Let me do the math for you. Capelin is 10 cents more expensive than sea bass and yellow croaker. 50 cents a kilogram. Capelin alone costs 446 yuan!"

Next, he weighed the golden pomfret.

"One hundred and three kilograms. This time the amount of golden pomfret is not as much as last time. Golden pomfret costs three cents, which comes out to thirty dollars and ninety cents. I'll charge you thirty-one dollars!" Zheng Liu added one cent to Liang Ziqiang with a heroic spirit.

"And yellow-legged fish? I haven't seen your father have it. Weigh it again. Yellow-legged fish weighs 47 catties. This fish is expensive, one yuan per catty. 47 catties is exactly 47 yuan!"

After he finished naming the fish, Zheng Liu noticed a large rock next to it:

"Why did you two bring this in for me? I have no shortage of stones... Wait, this looks like pumice? Come on, stay here. Qiangzi, there's no such thing as you. I haven't even finished my sentence, why are you carrying the stone and leaving?!"

Liang Ziqiang originally thought that if the profiteer really didn't want the pumice, he would carry it to the pharmaceutical factory himself. Now that the profiteer has changed his mind, he will leave it to him. He really doesn't have that much time to go out and mess around.

The pumice weighed it and it was 101 jin. The price was higher than that of golden pomfret anyway, 40 cents per jin, which came to 40.4 yuan, and the total price was close to that of the 40-plus jin yellow-legged fish.

The total harvest of the four items, including duochun, golden pomfret, yellow-legged fish and stone, was five hundred and sixty-eight and forty yuan.

"Last time I said that your gondola was a fortune-making boat, but now it seems that your eight-meter boat is not just a boat, but a treasure pot!" Zheng Liu said with emotion while counting money for Liang Ziqiang.

"Uncle Zheng, you are the most talkative and eloquent person I have ever seen, no doubt about it! No wonder those girls from other villages..."

"Stop it, stop it! Take the money and leave!"

"Hehe, Uncle Zheng is shy..." Liang Ziqiang put the money in his pocket, laughed and left with Liang Zifeng.

After taking a few steps, Liang Ziqiang immediately took out six yuan from the stack of money and handed it to Liang Zifeng:

(Note: The helper fee of eight yuan has been slightly adjusted to six yuan, and the previous text has also been adjusted accordingly.)
"Keep three of them for yourself. Mom will definitely ask you for the other three when you get home tonight, so just give them to her!"

"Yeah, my second brother is a man of foresight and chivalry..."

"Do you want it or not? Don't give it back to me!"

"Brother, let's get on the boat quickly!" Liang Zifeng spoke normally immediately, put the six dollars into two different pockets, and ran towards the boat.

Liang Ziqiang did not delay any longer and got back on the eight-meter lotus-patterned boat and sailed towards the Sham Shui Po Pier in the city.

It was still daylight at this time, but when we returned we had to sail along the coast relying on the moonlight and the ship lights, so it would be better to have one more person to look out, so Liang Zifeng was asked to go to the city as well.

On the boat, feeling the sea breeze, he thought about it and felt that what Zheng Liu said was right.

On the first day of going out to sea, we had already earned more than five hundred and sixty yuan.

Next, sell this hairtail immediately, and the number will go up again.

It doesn't seem wrong to say that this ship is a treasure chest...

(End of this chapter)