Back to 1984: Earning Money, Raising Kids, and Keeping the Household Busy

Chapter 90 Going Fishing in Nangang

In the dead of winter, there is little rain, and the water level of Nanxi River drops significantly. At this time, the snails are particularly thin with little meat, and the wild ducks don't lay many eggs either, so there are fewer ways to make money.

Fortunately, Lin Qin was still lucky and always managed to catch big fish. In addition, Chen Wenjun used fish traps to catch bamboo shoots. Sometimes they earned thirty or forty yuan a day, and sometimes they earned eighty or ninety yuan a day.

They have no debts, no need to build a house, and it doesn't matter how much or how little they earn. They also have hidden gold reserves, so their lives will only get better and better.

The day before Lunar New Year's Eve, the construction site closed for the day.

After Lin Qin finished preparing the last meal and cleaned up the kitchen, she was about to go back when Huang Wenlong suddenly came in carrying a large bag of things.

"Sister-in-law, come here, this New Year's gift is for you."

Lin Qin was flattered. "I just cooked a meal, why do you need a New Year's gift?"

Huang Wenlong insisted on giving it to them, saying, "It's for everyone who works with me, not just you. It's nothing special, just some biscuits and oranges. Take it back with you later, I have to go out and run some errands."

Oh, and I'll give you your wages and holiday bonuses too.

Huang Wenlong put down the money and things, gave a few more instructions, and then ran off in a hurry.

Lin Qin didn't even look at how much money was in the red envelope. She took the things, locked the door, and happily hurried home.

Lin Yi came over to pick her up using a bamboo pole, and only then did Lin Qin realize that Gao Lei and Wu Agui had arrived.

The father and daughter returned home.

Lin Qin immediately noticed the cigarettes and alcohol on the table and assumed that Gao Lei had come to deliver New Year's gifts, so she didn't think much of it.

She didn't realize that Gao Lei had come to buy a boat until Chen Wenjun saw him off.

"Why would he want to buy our boat? Besides, how are we going to cross the river without a boat?" Lin Qin wondered.

Chen Wenjun explained, "He means that he wants to ship goods, but he just needs a boat. Our five-masted boat is big enough to be converted into a cargo ship that can reach Xiamen Bay. The small boats they have now can only reach Nangang at most, and they can't carry that much cargo."

Building a new boat would take too long, and they couldn't wait, so they thought of asking me. If I agreed, they could give us that tin boat. Although it was much smaller, it had an engine, ran on diesel, was fast, and was convenient to go anywhere. It would be enough for our fishing, and they would also give us an extra 500 yuan.

What I mean is, we can exchange it, but we don't need the money. The materials for renovating our house cost more than five hundred yuan.

At this time, apart from fishing boats operating at sea that use engines, most inland fishing boats still rely purely on manpower. With iron boats, they can go to fish in more distant places, especially to Nangang, which is the estuary of the sea, where fresh and salt water meet, and aquatic resources are abundant, with large fish weighing over ten kilograms being commonplace.

Even if you don't go to Nangang, you can go upstream, go further, and set up nets at several tributary inlets to increase your chances of catching river eels.

Lin Qin wasn't the kind of person who was easily swayed, and she immediately agreed. "Tomorrow, go find Gao Lei and get this done. Get the iron boat back and use it for two days, on the 29th and 30th of the lunar year. Big fish will fetch good prices then, so we won't have to worry about selling them. Let's catch more big fish and try to make another profit."

The next day, Chen Wenjun went to Gao Lei and brought up the matter.

Gao Lei was overjoyed to learn that Chen Wenjun was willing to sell the boat and took out the five hundred he had prepared in advance.

Chen Wenjun refused, saying, "I already feel bad for not paying you for those renovation materials. We'll just replace the boat, but don't give me any more money. If you give me money, I won't replace it."

Gao Lei had no choice but to agree.

That same day, Gao Lei's underlings sailed the tin boat to Nanyu and took away his five-awning boat.

According to Gao Lei, he planned to modify the boat into a five-canopy boat and install an engine, but Chen Wenjun couldn't control how exactly he would do it.

As soon as they got their hands on the tin boat, Chen Wenjun acted like a child who had received a new and exciting toy. First, he took Lin Qin for a ride around Nanxi, and then, armed with fishing gear, he prepared to try his luck at Nangang. Lin Yi, knowing the couple's plans, was speechless and tried to stop them.

"It's almost Chinese New Year, can't we wait until then to go?"

Chen Wenjun and Lin Qin were in high spirits when they both shook their heads.

"Dad, our house is new anyway, so we don't need to do a big cleaning. The two kids don't need to go to school. Once the gate is closed, they can play however they want on the island without worrying about getting lost. You can farm if you want, or play with the kids if you don't. We have plenty of food at home. We'll be back tomorrow."

Lin Qin settled the matter in just a few words, giving Lin Yi no chance to complain.

Because they had to spend the night outside, the couple also needed to prepare a plastic tarpaulin to block the wind. With this, they could make do by wrapping themselves in their coats and hiding inside at night.

Seeing that he couldn't persuade them, Lin Yi had no choice but to give them some water and biscuits.

The iron-hulled boat departs from Nanyu, passes through Futian Ferry to Puning Wharf, and then to Nangang. This is already the inland sea, where fresh and salt water meet. Further on are several inland bay wharves such as Hairong Wharf and Qinglong Wharf. These wharves are large-scale water transport transshipment points, and most of the ships entering and leaving here are large ocean-going vessels.

Beyond that is Sihanoukville, and beyond Sihanoukville lies the open sea.

Chen Wenjun's tin boat was fast enough to reach Nangang in just over an hour. Fishing was still possible in Nangang, but beyond that was a concentration of large cargo ships, which was not suitable for their fishing boats.

Chen Wenjun chose a body of water where there were few cargo ships and only a few scattered Tanka people fishing nearby.

He greeted the people twice, and only after learning that fishing was possible in this area did he start setting the fish traps.

Lin Qin then bought some sea fishing bait from nearby fishermen and asked Chen Wenjun to place her in an excellent fishing area.

Once everything was ready on her end, Chen Wenjun steered the tin boat to a spot to cast his net.

Lin Qin saw that although Chen Wenjun had gone far away, she could still see the shadow of the tin boat, so she felt at ease fishing.

Half an hour after baiting the area, she started casting her line. Not long after the first cast, she caught a mullet weighing about three or four pounds. Mullet, scientifically known as *Mulletus edulis*, is commonly found in brackish water.

After her first successful catch, she caught seven or eight more, all of them mullet, the largest weighing six pounds and the smallest over two pounds.

It was getting dark.

Chen Wenjun was still busy over there.

After thinking about it, she decided to try fishing in a different spot.

This means we'll have to re-fish for the nest.

Fortunately, they were there to fish. After Lin Qin baited the spot, she returned to the same spot and caught fish one after another for half an hour before moving on to another location.

Chen Wenjun didn't return until it was completely dark.

Lin Qin eagerly pressed on, "How was the harvest?"

Chen Wenjun pointed to the large plastic bucket on the tin boat, "What we caught were mullet, some big and some small, as well as a net full of pomfret, and some crabs and shrimp, which are different from those in Nanxi."

I cast two more nets and went to haul them in at four in the morning. I heard that fishing boats would be docking around five, and I wanted to buy some seafood to take back and make a profit.

(End of this chapter)