Daily life of fishing and hunting in the 1980s

Chapter 160 The highest bidder wins
"Yes, I got another big fish. I estimate it's about 60 kilograms. If you want the same price as last time, we can forget about it. Sell me two dollars of ice. When the wind is a little lighter, I'll deliver it directly to the restaurant."

Li Changle looked at the villagers who were all looking at this side, and thought that once he took the fish out, everyone would be able to see it, so he decided not to hide it anymore.

Chen Dong was stunned for a moment. "How can that be possible! When you bought ice, we agreed that I would help you find the boss to buy it and I would earn some agency fees."

As he spoke, he gestured with his hands, indicating that the commission would be five points as he had mentioned in the morning.

"Okay, you call and ask. I'll sell it if the price is right." Li Changle thought for a while, "Uncle Kun, don't forget it."

"Don't worry. Let's go check out the goods first." Chen Dong certainly wouldn't forget that Phoenix Restaurant was also his family's wealthy owner, so of course he had to inform them if there were any good things.

Although the 5% commission is less than other companies, it is better than Ah Le sending the fish to restaurants and not making any income at all!

The villagers who had just weighed their fish and those waiting to be weighed were all excited and swarmed in front of the Li family's tricycle. "A Ping, did your A Le get some rice and fish again?"

Brother Li shook his head in bewilderment, "I don't know either. I just received a call from them and didn't have time to tell them yet!" Then he looked at Li Changan and A Wei excitedly, "Really?"

"Hmm!" Brother Li and A Wei lifted the bamboo basket down. The rubber bucket underneath gave off a chill. "Under these fish, wrapped in cotton wool, is this."

Brother Li was stunned by the surprise, ""

Some people even tried to turn over the fish in the rubber bucket, which made Chen Yongwei so angry that he pointed at the tiger fish and shouted, "Are you trying to kill yourself? We won't compensate you if you damage it!"

The man sneered, "We want to see how big the rice fish is!"

"Ah Le, take the fish out and let me see it. I've been fishing for most of my life, but I've never seen a big fish weighing 50 or 60 kilograms!"

"Yeah, just take a look. It won't cost you anything. Let's get it out and let everyone see it."

"Ah Le is so lucky. This is the second time he has caught a big fish."

"Not only rice fish, but also big flower dragons, crabs moving, sea urchins, and schools of fish. We have been fishing at sea for half our lives, and we have never encountered such a good thing."

"If you knew that my brother could ask Hu Zi to deliver fish, you would be so surprised!" Chen Yongwei complained in his heart, and imitated Brother Li to pick the tiger fish's mouths and put them all into the bucket.

Then the red grouper, yellow croaker, black sea bream, yellowfin croaker, pike, red-eye fish... and the rice fish wrapped in cotton wool appeared underneath.

Li Changle uncovered the cotton wool, and the onlookers were shocked. "Ah, ah, ah, ah, the killing armor is so big!"

"Ale, where did you catch it? Did you see it in a puddle?"

"Impossible. How big must the puddle be to hold such a big fish?"

"It wasn't caught. It was caught by my Ah Le who threw the net with his hands..." Second Brother Li described to everyone the scene when Li Changle cast the net with a beaming smile.

Chen Yongwei would go up and gesture from time to time, and Big Brother Li's mouth never closed. Li Changle looked at the three of them and suddenly thought it was nice to let them have fun and show off like this.

When that brat Xiao Hai used to persuade seriously ill relatives in the village, he told them to think more about happy things and keep a good mood. He said that happiness would secrete dopamine, and he also said that thing could prevent cancer!

"Awei, quickly get the fish out and put them on the scale to weigh them." Old Chen was even more excited. He hadn't shipped a large amount of fish in a long time, and several big restaurants almost forgot about his fish shop.

Chen Yongwei looked at him and said, "Uncle, you can bring it out and weigh it. But after weighing it, you have to give me some ice cubes, otherwise it won't be fresh anymore."

"Okay, okay!" Lao Chen patted him, "I'll give your brother the freezer for free later."

"That's pretty good!" Chen Yongwei proudly carried out the fish and the cotton wool and put them on the scale. Old Chen happily went forward to weigh them.

After adding two more weights, he finally shouted, "Sixty-three pounds and nine ounces!"

Brother Li and the other two patted Li Changle happily.

Suddenly, the room was filled with shouts of “Kill Jia~” and “Fuck~”

“This must be several hundred, right?”

"This thing is also called golden fish. Fish maw is very valuable. In the old days, only wealthy families could afford it."

"It's the same now. Who would be willing to keep the fish for themselves?"

"Yes, yes, yes. The good ones are all sold for cash. You can just eat the small fish and shrimps yourself."

"A Le, we got a big batch of cigarettes. Have some fun!" Someone shouted.

Someone pointed at the Red Eagle cigarettes in the Chen family's cigarette cabinet and said, "Ah Le, Red Eagle, give me a pack with a mouthpiece."

"Okay!" Li Changle agreed readily, and immediately took out a pack of Red Eagle cigarettes with filters from Chen Dong's cigarette cabinet and distributed them to everyone in the shop.

A few even joked that they would follow their boats out fishing in the future.

Li Changle pretended not to hear and went over to help Big Brother Li and Second Brother Li sort the fish.

Chen Dong picked up the phone and made a call. After telling people the weight of rice and fish, several bosses said they would come to check the goods when the wind and rain were better. A Kun was not in the restaurant. After a while, he called back. After talking to Chen Dong, he asked Li Changle to answer the phone.

I told him that he was in a restaurant in Haimen and the ferry had stopped operating after the storm landed. I told him that I would rush over as soon as the ferry started sailing and asked him to leave the rice and fish for him and the price was negotiable.

They were all old friends, and they had made so much money these days thanks to the Phoenix Restaurant. Li Changle readily agreed immediately.

After Chen Yongwei and Lao Chen put the rice fish into the freezer, Big Brother Li and Second Brother Li had already sorted the blue crabs. There were 75 pounds that weighed more than one catty, and each pound cost one dollar and four cents, which is 105 yuan.

Thirty-six pounds of crabs weighing less than one catty were exactly thirty-six. The blue crabs alone sold for one hundred and forty-one, and the orchid crabs and swimming crabs sold for a total of fifteen yuan.

Then there were the tiger fish. This time Chen Dong gave a fair price of five yuan per pound. The total price was thirty yuan, so he rounded it up to thirty.

The yellowfin croaker and black sea bream were all dead, so the price was reduced by more than half, a total of 39 yuan, the conger eel was 25 yuan, and the swordfish was 13 yuan.

Li Changle was too lazy to sell the mantis shrimp, green shrimp, yellow shrimp, and water shrimp, which cost only a few cents per pound, so he took some home to dry.

The wind and rain outside were still very strong. Everyone crowded together to watch Li Changle's family weighing the fish. Seeing that they had so much catch in one day, those who were familiar with them were happy for them, while others were jealous.

Just these catches are worth more than two hundred yuan, and there is also a rice fish weighing more than 60 kilograms. The daily income is several hundred yuan. Others can earn more in one day than they do in two months.

Chen Dong came out with the banknotes and receipts and handed them to Li Changle, saying, "The total is two hundred and sixty-three. Take the receipt for the rice and fish. When the wind dies down a bit and the buyer comes, I'll call you."

"Okay!" Li Changle put the money into the bag and looked outside. It was windy and rainy, and they couldn't leave. He packed up his things, pushed the tricycle to the corner, and watched everyone sell fish.

After waiting at the fish market for nearly an hour, the wind and rain finally subsided a little, and the villagers who had taken shelter at Chen Dong's house began to return one after another.

It was already completely dark, and Li Changle and the other two were growling with hunger.

"Brother, I'm back. Mother and my sisters-in-law must be worried at home."

"Let's go. I'll ride the tricycle."

The brothers packed up their belongings, put them on the storage wheels, and eldest brother Li rode the tricycle happily back in the wind and rain.

"Brother, it's a pity that the yellowfin bream and black sea bream were sold for less than half the price today."

"There's nothing we can do. The price of dead fish should be lower." Li Changle also felt distressed. It was dozens of dollars, and the family couldn't spend it all in two months.

Brother Li thought about it and said worriedly, "Ah Le, you said Uncle Kun also wants rice fish. What should we do if other buyers offer a higher price than him?"

"Yes, we have such a good relationship, and Uncle Kun has been very caring towards us. Wouldn't it be bad if we don't sell it to him? I think if the difference is not much, it's better to sell it to Uncle Kun."

Brother Li and his two companions never dreamed that there would be a day when they would have to worry about not having enough goods to sell.

"Brother, don't worry. Phoenix Restaurant is the best and largest restaurant in Tuxia Bridge. If only restaurants on the south bank come to bid, Uncle Kun's bid will definitely not be lower than that of other restaurants."

Li Changle felt that if there was anyone who offered a higher price than them, it would have to be a big restaurant from Lucheng.

As soon as the four of them reached the entrance of the alley, they saw Zhou Ruonan and her two sisters-in-law, wearing straw raincoats and holding flashlights, walking towards them. When they saw the tricycle coming, they knew it was them and happily went to greet them.

Brother Li has been at the dock for so long and hasn't come back yet. The sisters-in-law, Li's father, Li's mother, and Chen's grandmother are waiting at home like ants on a hot pot, and can't help but run out to inquire about the news.

"Ale, you guys are back!"

Zhou Ruonan couldn't help but grab Li Changle's hand. The moment it got dark, they were all terrified, worried that Li Changle and the other two would not have enough time to return home and would be swept away by the waves.

"Well, I'm back!" Li Changle squeezed her cold hand, "It's okay, I'm back!"

"Agen said he didn't see you guys returning. They came back a long time ago. What delayed you so long?"

"I'm selling my catch at Adong's house!" Brother Li happily told the three people about Li Changle's catching of big fish.

The three sisters-in-law all looked at Li Changle in surprise, "Rice fish again?"

Li Changle smiled and nodded, "Yes! It's another big fish, this time it's over 60 kilograms!"

Mrs. Li couldn't close her mouth. "Mom, the bighead carp that Ah Le catches is getting bigger and bigger. So next time, should we catch a 100-jin fish?"

Brother Li laughed and said, "It's just like talking in a dream! The rice fish are not raised in our fish pond. If you want to cast a net, just cast a net."

Mrs. Li glared at him in reproach, "You can't even say nice things!"

"Brother is telling the truth." Li Changle also felt that it was impossible, and suddenly remembered the oysters he brought back last night, "Let's go faster and talk about it when we get back."

"Yeah!" Several people quickened their pace and hurried home.

(End of this chapter)