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

Chapter 93 New Year's Flavor
The couple originally planned to take the money back to Nanyu first, but Lin Yi and the two children were asleep at this time. In order not to wake them, the two chose to go directly to Nangang.

There's no rush right now; the tin boat moves very slowly at night.

Lin Qin took a nap under the plastic tarpaulin.

The port is bustling around 2 or 3 pm, with all the fishing boats out. The fastest return is around 5 pm, and the latest is around 6 or 7 pm.

They arrived early and chatted with the elderly people by the port to learn about the situation in Nangang.

Lin Qin cast her line nearby and fished for two hours, catching more than a dozen saltwater fish weighing over three pounds each.

The elderly people all praised Lin Qin for her good luck. Some even came over to ask her if she was selling. They seemed to be from the neighborhood and probably came early to prepare food for tonight's New Year's Eve dinner.

As long as the price is right, Lin Qin can still sell them. So she fished and sold them at the same time, earning a few dozen yuan here and there.

She didn't stop until the fishing boat returned to port.

Chen Wenjun rushed to the first fishing boat that had docked as fast as he could and shouted, "What's there?"

The father and son on the boat glanced at Chen Wenjun and replied in a slightly accented local dialect, "We've caught a bag of black tiger prawns and a bag of miscellaneous fish. Want some?"

Chen Wenjun didn't really want the miscellaneous fish, but he had his eye on the large black tiger shrimp.

After trading with the first fishing boat, he loaded his goods onto the tin boat and immediately went to find small yellow croaker, pomfret, and squid. Unexpectedly, he also managed to buy a basket of eel and ribbonfish, two large baskets of razor clams, and a basket of clams.

He didn't stop until there was no more room on the boat.

Send the items back as quickly as possible.

Having learned from his previous experience, Lin Yi waited at his doorstep early this time. When he saw the tin boat arrive, he immediately took out the cart and weights and went out with Chen Wenjun.

The market on Lunar New Year's Eve is the liveliest of the year.

People started flocking in at 5 a.m., and the crowd peaked at 7 or 8 a.m.

When Chen Wenjun and Lin Qin arrived, people swarmed around them and tried to snatch the goods before they were even unloaded. The two had to sell and unload the goods at the same time.

The three large baskets of goods were empty in less than an hour, so Lin Qin quickly went to restock.

The couple worked tirelessly, and even around noon, after they had sold out of everything, people were still coming to ask questions.

The couple, feeling quite helpless, dragged their tired bodies to gather their belongings and left the market as quickly as possible.

Lin Yi, who was guarding the tin boat, stared wide-eyed at the couple's disheveled appearance. "What have you been doing? How did you get into this state?"

Lin Qin waved her hand and pulled down the hair tie to tidy her hair again. "Don't even mention it. We were almost carried away. Those people were buying things like they were robbing people. This time, they even bought a lot more stock. We knelt down for a few cents, but they didn't care about the price at all. The New Year is really different."

Chen Wenjun said with a wry smile, "I smell like the sea all over me, it's unbearable."

Upon hearing this, Lin Yi felt a pang of heartache. "Let's not talk about it now. Let's go home and boil some hot water to wash up. Luckily, I left some food behind, otherwise we wouldn't have much to eat for our New Year's Eve dinner tonight."

The exhausted couple finally realized what was happening and gave Lin Yi a thumbs up.

The three returned to Nanyu.

Lin Yi indeed went to the kitchen to boil water immediately.

Lin Qin and Chen Wenjun went upstairs to settle the accounts.

Yesterday they took out 500 yuan as capital, and now they have more than 1,600 yuan in their bag. This is after deducting the cost of diesel. In addition, Lin Qin also bought four catties of pork belly, four catties of spare ribs, two large pork bones and fifty catties of pork fat at the market.

So, when you calculate it that way, being a middleman can actually be profitable!

The money completely revitalized the exhausted couple. Lin Qin locked the money in the closet in the room, took some clean clothes, and went downstairs to take a shower with Chen Wenjun.

After taking a shower, it's time to start preparing the New Year's Eve dinner.

First, you need to render the pork fat into lard.

Lin Yi planted scallions, ginger, and garlic in the field, and would pick some when needed to use them.

As the lard was almost rendered, a rich aroma wafted from the kitchen. The two children, captivated by the smell, lost all interest in playing and followed Lin Qin around, their eyes fixed on the cracklings in the pot.

Lin Qin was overjoyed. "You guys go wait outside first. I'll take out the pork cracklings for you to eat as snacks in a bit, and I'll make you some pork lard rice for dinner, how about that?"

Fifty catties of pork fat can render a large pot of lard, enough to last until next summer. It's no big deal to splurge a little during the Lunar New Year.

The two children jumped and cheered excitedly as they ran to tell Lin Yi the good news.

A moment later, Lin Yi entered the kitchen and asked in a low voice, "How much did you earn this time?"

Lin Qin held up one finger.

Lin Yi nodded in satisfaction and muttered, "Make extra pork lard rice for dinner, or just make egg fried rice, braised pork, pork rib stew with corn, stir-fried razor clams, and steamed yellow croaker. We sell seafood ourselves, and I haven't tasted any of it yet!"

Lin Qin thought for a moment and called Chen Wenjun over, "Why don't we go to Guoxing Restaurant and buy an oyster omelet and a shrimp cake for dinner?"

Although Zheng Guoxing's orders have exploded, they are old acquaintances, and Zheng Guoxing will definitely not refuse to do them a favor since they only need to buy two dishes.

Chen Wenjun agreed and casually asked, "Tell me if there's anything else you need, and I'll go buy it by bicycle this afternoon."

Ya Ya's little head popped out from behind Chen Wenjun, "Daddy, can we have candy?"

"Why are you eating candy! We still have biscuits at home." Lin Yi subconsciously felt the pinch of the money.

Chen Wenjun hurriedly said, "It's only right to buy some candy during the New Year, and it'll be perfect for entertaining guests on the second day of the New Year."

The so-called guests were Lin Qin's eldest sister, Lin Ying, and her family.

Lin Yi immediately fell silent.

The two children, taking advantage of the situation, actually followed Chen Wenjun outside, saying they also wanted to go to the city to buy things.

In the end, both of them were taken away by Chen Wenjun.

Lin Qin was busy until after 5 p.m. before she finished preparing all the New Year's Eve dinner.

At this moment, Chen Wenjun also returned with his two children.

The two little ones each held a windmill and a balloon, and also had candied hawthorns in their hands.

Chen Wenjun's bicycle was covered with bags and packages, making a clattering sound.

Lin Qin rushed over to help, "What did you buy? Did you empty the entire supply and marketing cooperative?"

Chen Wenjun laughed heartily, "If I had the ability, it wouldn't be impossible! As you said, I bought an oyster omelet and a shrimp cake. Guoxing gave me twelve, and also packed me a steamed eel, which was especially delicious."

"Why did you accept it? We've already cooked yellow croaker at home!" Lin Qin scolded playfully.

Chen Wenjun explained without changing his expression, "Guoxing said that the seafood we gave him was particularly good, and the guests today were very satisfied with it. He made a fortune, so he returned the favor by giving us a meal. I wanted to refuse, but he was too busy to talk to me and even kicked me out."

Lin Qin was both annoyed and amused, and quickly took the things to the kitchen.

(End of this chapter)