Reborn in the Millennium: Building a Fortune from Fishing

Chapter 157 Necklace incident
With ten water pumps, the fuel cost is more than one thousand yuan a day, and the electricity bill for the electric pump is not much cheaper. Add to that the pond fee of 1000 yuan, and at least four thousand yuan is thrown in.

Looking at the catch now, it seems to be over 300 kilograms, and there is no mandarin fish to be seen.

They silently did some calculations. If they caught 100 kilograms of grass carp, they would have to catch at least 600 to 700 kilograms of other fish to break even. It would not be cost-effective for so many people to work for several days.

What they don’t know is that when the black carp weighs 17 or 18 kilograms, the fish stones are valuable, and the price is no longer the price of the meat.

I called Scar Uncle last night and asked him about it. The price of black carp stone has doubled this year, so the price of big black carp has naturally risen as well.

A fish of this size only sold for 2000 or yuan last year, but this year it's already yuan. If there's one that weighs kilograms, Scar Ye dares to pay yuan per kilogram, which means yuan per fish.

These days, it is the best time for those rare goods market, and the prices are much higher than in later generations.

After putting the fish away, the father and son first scattered a circle of smoke around them. Then Qin's father stayed on top to watch the boat, while Qin Dahe went down to continue catching fish.

When we reached the edge, the water in the diving area had already reached the bottom, and the big fish were all in the mud, so we could only catch them with our hands.

Everyone present covered themselves with a layer of algae mud mask and smiled happily.

When I looked over, I saw a few more silver carp and two black carps weighing over ten pounds.

"Have you finished catching them?"

"The big fish are waiting in the pit, but there are quite a few small fish." My second uncle smiled and held up a carp weighing more than five kilograms.

Carp can still be sold for four or five yuan now, but after the first month of the lunar year, the price will immediately drop to a few cents per yuan because no one will hold weddings at that time.

The carp in the big rivers and lakes are slightly better. The carp in the muddy bottom has too strong earthy smell when you eat it, and it can't be sold at a high price at all.

Everyone continued to catch the small fish in the corners, whether they were catfish or crucian carp, and put them in.

I saw two kilograms of crucian carp, which were as big as small carps and could not be caught with one hand.

Some of the villagers who were picking up fish around started to change into leather pants, and the three brothers stepped forward.

"Grandpa, you can come down to pick up the fish wearing leather pants. You have to wait until we finish picking up the fish in the pit before you can go in," he said with a smile.

However, the fact that the three of them stood there was itself a form of verbal rejection.

"I know, just wait here first." The old man said indifferently.

With so many strong men around, it was impossible for him to act like a spoiled child. He just came over to test them, and when he saw their tough attitude, he naturally retreated.

"Thank you. There are quite a few turtles here, but it's a pity that we can't catch them all. You can try more." After saying that, the three brothers went back to continue fishing.

The last pit was exposed, and everyone quickly dragged up the motor and had the excavator send it to the shore.

This is the disadvantage of the electric pump. If it is blocked and runs dry, it is easy to burn the machine.

Then the excavator started to work, digging both the fish and the water directly onto the hard road here. They had been waiting for this, and it was much more comfortable to pick up the fish here than in the mud.

My brother-in-law was overjoyed when he got another turtle and put it directly into the box.

There were quite a lot of big fish in the middle, especially the silver carp, which were so ferocious that they could not open their eyes.

"Cena, such a cheap fish, but you still fry the bones."

"Haha, silver carp is the most ferocious." Qin Dahe pounced on it and put the fish into the transfer box.

I heard that some lure anglers can use iron plates to catch silver carp, but I don’t know whether it’s true or not. I can try it now that the weather is warmer this year.

With one shovel after another, there were fewer and fewer fish, but everyone was more excited because three more soft-shelled turtles and five black carps came.

"It's indeed more interesting than playing cards." My second uncle said with a smile.

"Yeah, even playing cards is cold. I'm shivering from the cold just sitting there. Fishing is much more enjoyable."

"Haha, keep going. We'll find another chance to rent a pond and play."

After a simple calculation, everyone realized that they had made money. It only cost four thousand yuan to pump water and cover the pond.

Qin Dahe also had the wrong idea. He thought that it would cost more than 10,000 yuan to pump water from the third master's 100-acre pond, and it would cost at least 4,000 to 5,000 yuan here. Everyone thought so.

But what they don't know is that if the fish pond gets a little bigger, the cubic volume of water will increase exponentially. The water volume here is less than one-third of the big lake.

After the excavator had been fishing for half an hour, Qin Dahe ventured to the middle of the pond and fished with a scoop net for a long time. Only after confirming that there were no more fish did he give up.

As soon as they left, the villagers who had been collecting fish began to come in wearing leather pants.

The old man also breathed a sigh of relief. As long as he could pull the fish home successfully, it would be fine. The people in this village were quite particular about their work. Of course, it was also because there were so many of them.

"I'll get the fish on the boat and take it back first. Dahe, you guys wash the water pump and leather pants and take them back." The old man arranged things.

Everyone nodded in agreement. There was still a lot of finishing work to do here, so let's take the fish back safely first.

My brother-in-law excitedly went back with the boat. He was happy just looking at the fish and he also made some money.

It was already eleven o'clock at this time, and they had to finish and eat, so they didn't delay and directly threw an electric pump into the river outside and started flushing with a soft rubber hose.

Every time a water pump was lifted up, it was rinsed, and the leather pants were taken off and rinsed together. Then everyone worked together to lift the ten water pumps onto the tricycle.

The diesel engine and water pump alone had to be transported in two trips, and people couldn't even get on them, so everyone had to wait patiently.

At this moment, more and more people have gathered around, and everyone is having a great time catching fish.

Many small fish are actually valuable, but even if a dozen people catch them all in a whole day, they cannot catch them all.

Many places were just searched hastily, so it is normal to miss some big fish. Anyway, the big fish were caught in the deep pits.

There was also a hard bottom near the school. They went over to take a look and didn't catch any big fish, so they missed a lot of Onding and Catfishbeard.

If you catch all these fish carefully, you will definitely get two or three hundred kilograms.

It's just a waste of time. It's not worth it for a group of people to freeze for half a day to catch these small fish. No one can stand the cold for too long.

After a while, cheers came from below. Someone had picked up a gold necklace.

"My plan." Erhu's face turned green.

It was a gold necklace worth at least several thousand dollars, but it was picked up by someone else.

But later he saw that some people were fighting fiercely, and some people even had broken scalps but were still fighting in the mud.

"Stop it, everyone. It's shameful." The secretary shouted from above, but everyone below pretended not to hear.

Money can make people want money. A gold necklace is enough for them to fight. They can just grab the necklace and stuff it on their body and run back.

Seeing that there was no way to end the situation, the secretary became anxious and shouted at the excavator.

"Third son, help me dig a few shovels of mud to wake them up."

The third brother gave a bitter smile and said, "I wouldn't dare do that. A shovel of mud weighs hundreds of pounds and can crush someone to death. Just go and borrow the electric pump."

The secretary's eyes lit up, and he came over and took the soft rubber hose of the electric pump without saying a word. He also blocked the pipe mouth with a stone, pressed it hard with his hand, and used it as a high-pressure water gun.

It was such a cold day, but after a pipe of water was poured, everyone suddenly woke up.

"Who got the necklace first?" he shouted in a commanding voice, but it was completely useless. Everyone claimed to have gotten it. He had no choice but to ask the people on the shore himself, who had no vested interests.

After a long time, I found out that the old man in leather pants was the first to get the necklace.

"On you?"

"Yes." Grandpa couldn't hide the joy on his face, even though his face was still bleeding.

It’s okay to get beaten up, the necklace is saved and I’ve earned a few thousand dollars.

"Get out of here, the piling is about to start. Go back and take a shower and change clothes."

The people in the muddy ground came up cursing. Many of them were trying to take advantage of the situation, so the fight was particularly chaotic.

There were actually only about a dozen people in the pond. Many people were unwilling to catch small fish in such cold weather. It would be too painful to catch a few small fish.

After the injured old man came up, he came here to show off and asked them to help him wash with water.

Now that the necklace's ownership has been determined, there is no need to worry about it being snatched away in public.

No one wanted to pay attention to him. Thousands of dollars were just taken away by someone.

However, after washing the necklace, I found that silver was visible in some of the damaged areas.

"Gold wrapped in silver, haha."

"That's right, who would throw away a gold necklace for no reason? Gold and silver are probably not worth even two hundred yuan."

Those who hadn't grabbed the item immediately started to mock him, and Erhu and the others felt much better.

It's really more painful for them to see others making money than to lose money. That's human nature.

"It's worth at least two hundred dollars. You deserve to be poor." The old man left angrily.

I got beaten up today, my clothes were all wet, and the fish I caught ran away. This is the only fish wrapped in gold and silver. I don’t know how much it is worth. It’s really fucked up.

No one doubted the gold. It would be difficult for other metals to emit golden light after being buried for so long except real gold. However, the gold wrapped in silver was a bit unexpected.

The big tricycle came again to transport the diesel engine. Qin Dahe smiled when he heard what they said and said, "It's good that it's not gold."

If it really is a pure gold necklace, I won’t be in a good mood for the next few days.

Finally, we went to the village office to settle the electricity bill before transporting everyone back.

It's almost one o'clock now, so let everyone go back to take a shower and eat. The fish from each family will be distributed soon.

Today, everyone who works hard will get a fish. At least ten kilograms of fish must be given.

My brother-in-law also had a great time. He kept talking about how many big fish he caught at the table. The three men never stopped talking.

After dinner, Qin Dahe went to the fish sanctuary and did a quick count. He found out that there were at least 700 kilograms of fish. Excluding the ones sent to his second uncle and Weimin Supermarket, he kept another 10 kilograms for the four of them, so there were still 600 kilograms left.

Among the 600 kilograms of fish, there are definitely about 170 to 180 kilograms of black carp, and three of them weigh 17 or 18 kilograms, which are worth over a thousand yuan.

The wholesale price of small black carp is about 15 yuan, and the black carp alone can make up for the electricity and diesel bills.

The remaining 400 kilograms of various miscellaneous fish are definitely worth 2,000 yuan. Together with the soft-shelled turtle and two large iron felts, the family can earn at least 400 to 500 yuan.

However, it was difficult to transport so many fish on his motorcycle tricycle because he had to add water and oxygen, and it would definitely take more than a ton of water and fish.

After thinking about it, he called Scar.

"There are three black carps weighing over 17 or 18 kilograms, and the rest weighing 120 to 130 kilograms, as well as angji and bream."

"Where did you get so many fish? I don't want farmed ones." Scar said with a frown.

"Don't worry, they are all wild, including giant soft-shelled turtles. However, my motorcycle tricycle can't transport them. Could you please take the trouble to send a car over? I'll pay for the freight." Qin Dahe said with a smile.

"Haha, if it's really wild goods, I'll pay for the shipping myself. I'm just worried about not having enough goods." Scar said happily.

City people pay attention to eating wild fish, unlike the big restaurants in later generations, even if they really sell wild fish, they have to label it as farmed and check it strictly.

There is no such requirement nowadays. As long as it is wild, even big crucian carp will sell very well in Jiuzi.

"I rented a big lake and spent several thousand dollars to drain it and catch these fish. They must be wild." Qin Dahe hesitated after lighting a cigarette.

"Scar, is the truck you use to transport fish very big?"

"Yes, it's a professional waterwheel for pulling fish. With three blocks, it can pull at least several thousand kilograms of fish at a time."

"Then could you bring me some farmed crucian carp and process them for me?"

"It's a small matter. We still have some friendship." Scar said indifferently.

It’s really possible to get hundreds of kilograms of wild goods at a time, and it won’t take much time for the car to make a trip, as the two sides are very close.

Knowing that Scar's car was about to set off after adding water, he did not delay any longer and called the old man to start setting up the maze together.

I made this big net specifically because I think it's troublesome to set up big traps every day, so I want to catch more at a time.

When the big net was pulled up, it was full of crucian carp.

The small ones weigh seven or eight qian, while the larger ones weigh two or three liang.

He threw away all the crucian carp that weighed less than one or two taels. These fish may have failed to get food during their growth period and have missed their best growth period. It would be a waste of bait to keep them.

There is a lot of in-depth research on crucian carp in those breeding books.

Those between one and two and a half taels are thrown back into the pond for further breeding, while those above two and a half taels are sold.

The efficiency of catching fish with bait and maze is quite high. At least 150 kilograms of crucian carp weighing more than 250 grams were caught, and the net was full.

Fortunately, the fish were caught this time, otherwise when the temperature rises, the dissolved oxygen content in the pond will definitely not be enough.

He didn't ask Scar about the price of farmed crucian carp. This kind of three-liang size carp only costs two yuan wholesale at most, which is a huge difference from the price of wild ones.

He won’t sell the wild crucian carp he caught today for less than four dollars at wholesale price.

At this time, Erhu and the others also came over. They were all very excited when they knew that they were going to sell fish soon.

"There are two large iron felts as well. I'll weigh them and give them to you at the scrap metal price."

"It's all right. A lot of people buy this stuff." Several people laughed when they saw the two iron felts.

These two are valuable. When they were moving them, the two men with kidney deficiency could hardly bear it. They had to put them in a transfer box and drag them back on the mud. Four or five people went ashore to pick them up.

This time he went straight to the scale, as he was afraid of breaking the rope when hooking the scale.

The first one weighed 270 kilograms, which was at least more than yuan.

The other one was about the same size, and a few people lifted it up with laughter. When they weighed it, it was 310 pounds.

"Hey my god, they are almost the same size, why is it over 40 pounds heavier?"

(End of this chapter)