Beachcombing: The beach is full of amazing seafood, but my wife won't let me get out of bed!

The atmosphere at the dinner table fell silent again after Wu Sui finished speaking.

Hiring?

This was something the Wu family would never have dared to dream of before.

They can't even make much money from their own fishing trips, so where would they find the spare money to hire people?

But things are different now. The 17-meter ship will be delivered next month, plus this 12-meter ship.

They're about to start operating two boats, and the three of them alone simply can't manage it.

Wu Gang counted on his fingers.

"Second brother, both boats are 12 meters long now, and each boat needs at least three people. But the 17-meter boat will probably need five to seven people. How many boatmen are you planning to hire?"

Wu Sui nodded, picked up his teacup, and took a sip.

"Let's hire three people, but I don't plan to just look for them outside."

He turned his head and his gaze fell directly on his sister-in-law, Wang Feng.

"Sister-in-law, this first spot is reserved for your family."

Wang Feng was holding a rag, about to wipe the table, when she heard this and stopped what she was doing.

She stared blankly at Wu Sui, her face full of astonishment.

"Second brother, what...what did you say?"

Wu Sui put down his teacup, his tone calm.

"I said, give your family a spot, so that your brothers or other reliable relatives can come and work on the ship."

"Don't let the good stuff go to outsiders. Xiao Yang is coming along. If you have any suitable people in your family, bring them along too."

Wang Feng opened her mouth, but couldn't say anything for a long time.

Her family home was also in Yunxi Town, but they had no dock and inconvenient transportation; they were notoriously poor.

My parents are honest, hardworking fishermen who can't save much money even after a year of hard work.

Unfortunately, the two elderly people were still stubborn and most afraid of gossip.

After marrying into the Wu family, Wang Feng had been holding back her anger.

She is usually feisty and domineering, and her words are sharp, but she is very shrewd.

To support her family, she would rather stay up all night mending fishing nets for others and earn a few dollars in labor fees than ever touch a single penny of the Wu family's money.

She was strong-willed and didn't want to be gossiped about by the villagers, nor did she want her in-laws to think she was a daughter-in-law who was giving money to her own family.

Now, Wu Sui has made it clear in front of the whole family that she wants to help her family.

They truly treated her like family, treating everyone equally.

A layer of moisture welled up in Wang Feng's eyes. She quickly turned her head away, pretending to wipe the table, but her voice trembled slightly.

"Second brother, your eldest brother works for you; he's family, it's only right that he does it."

"My family back home...the people there are slow learners, I'm afraid they'll cause you trouble."

Wu Sui didn't respond to her question and directly brought up the terms of the contract.

"The base salary is 1800 per month, plus 0.5% of the catch as profit sharing, the same as Xiaoyang's."

Upon hearing this, Wang Feng immediately flew into a rage.

"Second brother, are you crazy? 1800 plus bonuses? Are you so rich you're practically begging for money?"

"No, the salary is too high, I dare not take this position."

Wu Sui turned to look at her whole family.

"It's not high. From now on, all boatmen will be paid this wage. Dad, please help me find the remaining two people."

"Going to sea is risking your life. You earn hard-earned money by working day and night on the sea and braving the wind and waves. If you don't pay enough, you won't keep people who are truly willing to work hard."

Wang Feng swallowed hard and began to do the accounting.

"The base salary is 1,800. Based on your harvest these past few trips, each trip brings in tens of thousands of yuan. Even a 0.5% commission is several hundred yuan!"

"I should be able to earn at least three thousand yuan this month."

More than three thousand yuan!

In a small fishing village in 2000, this was an incredibly high salary that you couldn't find even with a lantern!

Wang Feng couldn't hold back any longer.

She threw the rag on the table, and tears streamed down her face.

He didn't care about saving face anymore and just haphazardly wiped his face.

"Second brother, your sister-in-law used to... she used to give you a lot of attitude and say some very hurtful things."

"You're still dragging me and your older brother along like this, I feel so..."

Wang Feng became more and more emotional as she spoke, and her voice choked up.

Wu Sui quickly gave Chen Xue a look, signaling him to go and comfort his sister-in-law.

Chen Xue smiled and patted him on the shoulder, then walked over to Wang Feng and gently comforted her.

"Sister-in-law, Ah Sui was no good before, you were right to scold him."

"Let's not dwell on the past. We're family, and we have to move on."

Wu Sui nodded in agreement, circled a few words, then straightened his expression and became serious.

"However, let me make this clear from the start."

"I'll pay you well, so you have to do this job well."

"Sister-in-law, the people you've found must be reliable, hardworking, and obedient."

"You can learn if you don't know how, but you can't shirk your responsibilities or disobey instructions."

"If it's not a good fit, don't blame me for turning my back on him and kicking him off the ship."

"When that time comes, sister-in-law, don't blame me for being ruthless."

Upon hearing this, Wang Feng immediately stood up straight and pounded her chest loudly.

"Don't worry, second brother, I'll definitely find someone reliable and honest."

"If he dares to cause trouble on your ship, I won't even need you to kick him out; I'll slap him to death first."

Seeing Wang Feng's serious expression, Wu Sui couldn't help but laugh.

"Okay, I trust my sister-in-law to handle things."

Having secured a spot, Wu Sui turned to look at Wu Jianguo, who had remained silent.

"Father, I'd like to ask you for the remaining two spots."

Wu Jianguo refilled the cigarettes, lit them, and took a couple of puffs.

"Tell me, what kind of person do you want?"

Wu Sui put away his smile and began to explain seriously.

"Father, please find me two people who know their stuff, preferably those who can sail and have a boat license."

Wu Jianguo paused for a moment, the pipe in his hand hanging in mid-air.

"Ship's permit?"

Although it's common to drive fishing boats without a license these days, and there are no traffic police checking vehicles on the high seas, Wu Sui didn't want to leave any evidence against him.

Especially since that boat has just been laundered, countless eyes are watching it, so it must abide by the law to avoid being reported out of envy and causing unnecessary trouble.

Wu Jianguo tapped his pipe, his brows furrowing slightly as he quickly went through the list of eligible candidates in the village.

"Okay, I'll look around for you in the next couple of days," Wu Jianguo agreed in a deep voice.

"There are quite a few experienced boaters in the village with boat licenses, but we need to carefully select those who are of good character, keep their mouths shut, and are willing to work hard."

"We can't accept any money from relatives like Chen Dapao and Chen Fugui."

"Of course, we hire people to work, not to act like bosses," Wu Sui replied with a smile.

Wu Jianguo sighed, hesitated, but swallowed his words and simply nodded heavily.

"Don't worry, Dad will definitely find you the most reliable person, someone who will never hold our family business back."

With the matter settled, a huge weight was lifted off the shoulders of the family.

The meal was exceptionally pleasant, but Li Cuihua looked at Wu Jianguo's conflicted expression, her eyes filled with worry.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Chen Xue quickly cleared away the dishes and urged Wu Sui to wash up.

"Alright, everything's settled. Go wash up and lie down."

"They don't even wash up after getting off the ship, running around everywhere, aren't they afraid of being laughed at?"

Ya Ya covered her mouth and giggled, "Daddy smells bad."

When Wu Sui heard her daughter say that, she picked up Ya Ya and deliberately rubbed her neck against her.

"You ungrateful little brat, your father earns money for you, and you still complain about how smelly I am? Do I still smell bad? Do I still smell bad?"

Ya Ya felt ticklish from being rubbed, and laughed even more happily.

Chen Xue tenderly pushed Wu Sui into the inner room, then turned to Wu Gang and said...

"Big brother, Xiaoyang, you two go back to sleep. My sister-in-law and I will take care of the longline fishing. Don't worry about it."

Wu Gang scratched his head, still a little embarrassed, but Wang Feng quickly sent him to bed after a few words.