Reborn in 1981: My Life as a Fisherman

The sea area around Lantau Island can actually be considered a semi-typhoon shelter.

It slopes diagonally from northeast to southwest, and there's a peninsula extending out from Xiaoyu Village.

Therefore, even after the typhoon passes, the waves in this bay are still manageable.

The Shi family started discussing borrowing money to buy a boat while they were having dinner.

Shi Hailong also told his parents about the certificate that Secretary Chen had issued.

That would resolve the concerns about private individuals buying boats.

In addition, Shi Hailong advocated that the commune shipyard buy new ships, as the old ships were too much of a problem.

The main problem then becomes money.

At this point, Shi's mother would no longer think about saving money to build a house.

Everyone knows that as long as they buy boats and continue setting up fishing nets, building houses won't be a problem at all.

Shi Hailong calculated that he had made nearly a thousand yuan from selling goods three times, and this time he bought materials for more than four hundred yuan.

My mother had taken more than 300 yuan from me, so I could only say that I had less than 200 yuan left.

Mr. Shi glanced at Mrs. Shi, who frowned and said, "The family originally had less than 1,300 saved up."

It was intended to be saved for building a house and getting married in Haifeng.

With the money I've spent these past few days, I have two thousand yuan.

"These should be enough to buy a small boat, right?"

Shi's father nodded, glanced at Shi Hailong, and then at Shi Haifeng.

He then said, "Once the typhoon passes, we should be able to harvest about a thousand dollars from those fish traps."

That's three thousand yuan, that should be enough.

Shi Haifeng nodded without saying anything, and Shi Hailan didn't interrupt either.

Only Haihua and Haiyu were shocked that their family had so much money.

Several thousand dollars?

How much money would that cost?

So their family is really rich. My mother is so stingy. She even hid the things my second brother bought.

Second Brother is so generous! The malted milk powder is really delicious, and the White Rabbit candy is so sweet and fragrant...

Shi Hailong had no idea that his two younger sisters adored him tonight.

At this moment, Shi Hailong was thinking to himself, "How can I have enough money?"

Parents need to go out and borrow money!

So he said very seriously, "Father, Mother, you know about the times we've used the ground nets."

It's not far, but it takes one or two hours by boat, and the small boats aren't very resistant to wind and waves.

So I want to buy a bigger boat and install a diesel propeller.

This way, when we go out to set up the fish traps, we can do it faster, and most importantly, it improves safety.

Instead of spending a thousand or two on a small boat, it's better to buy a larger motorboat in one go and borrow some money to do it all at once.

Let's borrow from the leaders of the contracting group. My father and eldest brother can also use this opportunity to withdraw from the contracting group.

"If we give up two spots, perhaps Uncle Quan and Uncle Hai will agree to lend them to us..."

Shi Hailong's words caused everyone to fall silent in thought.

When Shi's father and Shi Haifeng were suggested to withdraw from the contracting group, Shi's mother didn't even flinch.

Because the profits from setting up fish traps are there for all to see.

Anyone who isn't an idiot knows how to choose.

Now we have dozens of fish traps at home, which can earn us several hundred dollars in a day or two, so why bother with fishing boats?

If we don't seize this opportunity to set up fishing nets and make money now, are we going to wait until the village is full of fishing nets?

What if there's nowhere to get off? Will you regret it then?

They're all veteran fishermen, and they all know that getting the first move is key to this.

There are only so many resources, and it certainly won't be several hundred dollars a day in the future.

Even if it's only a dozen or so yuan a day, it's still much better than working in the contracted group.

No matter how much the contracting team earns, it's not theirs; they only get a fixed salary.

Ultimately, the allocation is up to them.

But whatever profits are made from these fish traps, they all belong to their own family.

Shi Haifeng also looked at his father, waiting for him to nod.

Shi Hailong's words at sea about building a large house with blue bricks and tiles filled him with longing.

After these several trips of setting and collecting fish traps, we've made so much money.

Shi Haifeng's mindset has also changed; he has no interest whatsoever in the contracting team boarding the ship.

Shi Guangqian glanced at his family, then smiled and nodded, "Okay, borrow money to buy a big ship and make a fortune."

"From now on, our family will work on our own, using large motorized trawlers, and we'll definitely earn more..."

The family finally made a decision and worked together.

Shi Hailong also breathed a sigh of relief; this made things much easier.

With the father and his two sons, things will be much easier for him, but he will still need to hire someone.

A motorboat needs at least four people on board for trawling.

Ideally, there should be six people.

Otherwise, it would be impossible to pull the net.

Of course, only his father has said so far that Shi Hailong doesn't want to do trawling for the time being.

Get some wire mesh and cast it; that will do well.

There are two main reasons for the high demand for trawling: firstly, there's a large demand, as there's no machinery available these days; and secondly, trawling is too expensive.

One thousand to two thousand is not even a large net.

Of course, a large net requires more than four thousand taels of silver, and it cannot be pulled by a single boat.

The large nets of the contracted group all involve several boats working together.

Hundreds or even thousands of meters long, encircling schools of fish in the sea.

However, Shi Hailong did not intend to use trawling, but he had many fishing methods from later generations in mind.

There is a type that is very convenient and does not require a lot of power to drag, and that is the tidal net.

The investment is smaller than that of trawlers, and the operation is almost effortless.

It utilizes tidal currents; you just go down and wait to be collected.

This is also the fishing method that many small fishermen in later generations preferred.

However, a brand new tidal network in later generations would cost more than ten thousand.

Shi Hailong estimates that if he buys machine-woven netting and makes it himself, it would cost around six or seven hundred yuan.

After dinner, Mr. and Mrs. Shi went out.

They went to borrow money, and the couple were very decisive and didn't hesitate.

Since the decision has been made, we should buy a boat as soon as possible to ensure a good harvest from our fish traps.

While washing the pots and pans, Shi Hailan was preoccupied with worries, wondering what would happen if her parents couldn't borrow money.

Why don't you get engaged to Yang Guangming soon and then borrow some money from the Yang family?

Although both matchmakers have made arrangements, it's only a verbal agreement.

There was no actual engagement.

Shi Hailong brewed a whole pot of tea as usual and sat down in his usual spot, feeling quite pleased with himself.

That is, under the ancient banyan tree, on that patina-covered bluestone where he sat for half his life.

He also hid money under this blue stone.

Shi Haifeng also brewed a cup of tea and came to Shi Hailong's side, leaving his two younger sisters to do their homework in the living room.

Shi Haifeng sat down on another large rock. "With such a strong wind, won't the fish trap net be washed away by the ocean current...?"

Upon hearing this, Shi Hailong was also unsure, "I don't know, but even if it ran away, it wouldn't be too far. We'll search the surrounding area then."

Shi Haifeng looked out over the bay in the night, his face filled with worry.

Shi Hailong, however, was not worried at all. Isn't it normal for fishermen to lose their fishing nets when they set them down?

He's been through this too many times; he's used to it.

Besides, he has plenty of resources; if he loses something, he can just start over.

There's still over 7,000 left. I bought a boat, but I don't have enough money, so I'll go to the county town again.

Of course, not too many silver dollars should be issued at once, nor should they be issued to only one person.

Next time, we'll see how things go. If we can find a suitable candidate, we'll find someone else to make the offer.

The saying goes, "Don't cook it too well, it's better to cook it raw." This thing can't be cooked too well.

They're too familiar with each other; if Ge Fei gets caught, he won't be able to escape either.

Silver dollars will remain an absolute hard currency for the next few years, with their price only going up and never down.

When their overt smuggling activities are cracked down on, they will all move to the shadows.

It's certain that one silver dollar will rise to thirty.

Therefore, there's no rush to release all of them.

Moreover, silver dollars are worth more once they arrive.

Shi Hailong suddenly thought of whether he should build a basement when constructing the house.

However, it seems quite troublesome; I can only wait until the house is built and then dig it out by myself.

Also, the soil layer underneath isn't thick; it's all rock, so he probably can't dig it out.

The two brothers didn't talk much more, each lost in their own thoughts as they drank their tea.

Their parents didn't return very late, and as soon as they saw them come back, the two brothers immediately went back into their room.

The whole family was present in the main room.

Mr. Shi spoke first: "Zheng Nengquan lent me a thousand yuan, and I also withdrew from his contracting group."

If I give up my spot, Haiye will also get a thousand yuan.

Haifeng also withdrew from Haiye's contracting group.

Upon hearing this, Shi Hailong and the others breathed a sigh of relief and laughed.

That's two thousand yuan.

At this moment, Shi's mother chimed in, "I went to several places and managed to scrape together five hundred yuan."

They promised to repay it before the Spring Festival and didn't ask for interest.

At this point, Mr. Shi added, "I didn't ask for interest on these two thousand yuan."

It also needs to be paid back before the Spring Festival, because the contracting team needs to settle accounts at the end of the year.

Upon hearing this, Shi Hailong thought to himself that the contracting team had only started settling accounts with the villagers this year.

Next year will be filled with arrears and bad debts.

But these were not his concerns, since neither his father nor his older brother were going.

I've borrowed 2,500 now, and with what I have from home, it seems like that's about right.

I'm going to the commune's shipyard to see the ships tomorrow...