He forced me to sever ties with my family and sleep on a dilapidated boat, then turned around and be

Niu Bayi said, "Dad, Zhenzhen is really good at driving the boat. She can be in charge of driving, and I can be in charge of fishing. In the future, when we save more money, we can buy a bigger boat, and she can drive that too!"

"She's the first female boat captain in Jinlong Village!"

He Zhenzhen said seriously, "Not only is she the first, but she is also the only one. Not to mention Jinlong Village, I'm afraid she is the only female captain in the surrounding area."

Niu Ba kept nodding.

"Yes, yes, and she's the only and most beautiful female captain."

These words made He Zhenzhen laugh nonstop. She said sweetly, "I love listening to Bayi talk. I could go my whole life without eating candy. Listening to Bayi talk makes me feel sweet not only in my mouth, but also in my heart and my whole body."

He Rong and the others quickly raised their hands to cover their ears.

I really don't want to hear it!

Hearing this gave me goosebumps.

Suddenly, Zhang Xiuli thought of something.

"By the way, Bayi, Zhenzhen, the tide is going out at the estuary this afternoon, so I reckon there will be a lot of mudskippers. You two got a lot of ark shells when you went to Dongwangjiao last time, you were really lucky."

"If I have the energy this afternoon, I'll try my luck and see if I can get some earth dragons."

"Earth clams are more valuable than ark shells. Even just ten or eight pounds of them would fetch a good price, more than enough to pay the workers' wages!"

Zhang Xiuli's idea was very simple.

Anyway, you guys are just killing time this afternoon. If you can dig up some earthworms to sell for money, it's better than not earning anything at all.

The so-called earth dragon is also a rather outstanding creature on the southern coast.

"Tulong" is a local dialect term, also known as "dilong" or "tengshang".

Its scientific name is Crab-eating Bean-toothed Eel.

It usually prefers to stay in the mud and sand at the mouth of the sea, where it is one meter or even more than ten meters deep.

It is considered by ordinary people to be a good product for tonifying the kidneys and enhancing male virility.

When cooked with an old hen, it is also the best food for pregnant women to supplement their nutrition during postpartum confinement.

It can even be used to make medicinal wine for bruises and sprains.

Therefore, it is much more expensive than ordinary fish and ark shells.

In 1984, small earthworms weighing less than half a pound could sell for 1.5 to 2 yuan.

Half a pound to a pound is considered medium quality and can sell for two or three yuan.

If it weighs more than a pound, it's considered a large quantity, and selling it for four or five yuan is not a problem.

Those weighing over two jin are called premium local dragons, and cost seven or eight yuan or more.

In other words, as long as you catch a two-pound top-quality earth dragon, you can earn ten or twenty yuan.

However, the larger the earth dragon, the deeper it hides.

The finest mud dragons are so afraid of hiding several meters deep in the mudflats that they are impossible to dig up; you can't even see them.

Upon hearing what his future mother-in-law said, Niu Bayi immediately became interested and slapped his thigh.

"Okay, let's take a break at noon, then see what kind of people Uncle Aiguo found for me, arrange for them to clear the hilltops, and then we'll go to the estuary to dig for earth dragons!"

He Zhenzhen raised one hand high.

"I want to go too!"

Niu Bayi reached out and gently pinched her little face.

"Of course you have to come with me. Teamwork makes the work easier!"

He Zhenzhen blurted it out immediately.

"When husband and wife are of one mind, their strength can break even metal!"

This immediately caused several family members nearby to burst into laughter.

He Laifu was still winking and making faces.

"Oh my, my little sister, so eager to become Bayi's wife?"

This made He Zhenzhen feel quite embarrassed. She crossed her arms and placed them on her knees, burying her face in them.

She was still muttering to herself.

"I won't listen, you're just spouting nonsense!"

Everyone burst into laughter.

Then, Niu Bayi went back to the fishing boat to rest.

As he slept, he didn't know how much time had passed when he heard Niu Aiguo's voice from outside.

"Bayi! Bayi! I've found the person for you, come out now!"

Not long after, Niu Bayi crawled out of the cabin and jumped onto the dock.

Niu Aiguo was followed by ten strong and powerful men, between thirty and fifty years old.

This is when I have the most energy.

They also brought tools: baskets, shovels, hoes...

Niu Aiguo said, "Bayi, the men I found for you are all top-notch workers who know how to work hard. They can definitely level the hill within three days, just as you requested."

Niu Ba nodded and said loudly to the villagers, "Thank you all for helping me. I'll pay you now. It's 2 yuan per person per day, so that's 6 yuan for three days."

"60 yuan for ten people."

As he spoke, he took out six ten-yuan bills that he had prepared beforehand and handed them over.

"You can divide it among yourselves."

The villagers were overjoyed.

"Pay wages upfront? Before, when we worked for someone, we'd only get paid after the job was done and the employer was satisfied. And some people even deliberately refused to pay!"

Niu Aiguo said, "This kind of thing would never happen here at Bayi. He's an honest kid, and he'll definitely pay every penny of the agreed-upon wages."

Niu Bayi said, "That's right. Anyway, I'll pay everyone's wages first. I hope all of you folks will do your jobs well according to my requirements. Once they're done, I want to see if they're up to standard."

"There will be a reward for everyone then."

"The reward isn't much, it's just a token of our appreciation, maybe a dollar or two."

"Also, I'll be in charge of lunch, and I'll deliver it over. I guarantee there will be meat with every meal. A good meal of meat will give you more energy to work!"

Upon hearing this, the villagers were overjoyed and clapped their hands in delight.

Even though it was 1984, people were still just barely able to afford to eat their fill.

Meat is definitely a luxury for ordinary people.

Being able to eat this once every ten days or half a month is incredibly satisfying.

Unexpectedly, working for Niu Bayi not only paid significantly more than the market rate, but also included a free lunch.

You can even eat meat until you're full!

Even Niu Aiguo couldn't have imagined it.

He gave Niu Bayi a thumbs up.

"Bayi, you're such a tycoon, I'm even jealous."

Niu Bayi chuckled and led ten villagers to the hillside, instructing them to level it.

Where do you put the removed soil, mud, and rocks?

Finally, he said, "Everyone should use their own tools. If anything is broken, let me know and I'll replace it with a new one."

The ten villagers responded enthusiastically.

After explaining everything, Niu Bayi returned to the He family.

He Zhenzhen has made all the preparations.

I brought all the necessary items for catching the earth dragon.

Zhang Xiuli can't go; she has a lot of work to do at home.

As for He Rong and He Laifu, they won't be going.

They preferred to rest at home, recharge their energy, and go out to sea to fish the next morning.

It's not that they're lazy.

It's not that they don't want to catch the earth dragon.

However, catching earth dragons requires not only skill but also luck.

The earth dragon is too cunning and fierce; ordinary people really can't catch it.

Even for seasoned worm hunters, catching two or three at a time is considered quite remarkable.

Although mud loach is valuable, it's still more worthwhile to go out to sea to fish.

It's farther to the estuary from here than to Dongwangjiao.

Fortunately, Niu Bayi had a bicycle.

He hopped on the bicycle, with He Zhenzhen sitting behind him. He pedaled, the bell rang, and with a clang, they sped up onto the winding path.

He Zhenzhen first grabbed Niu Bayi's clothes with both of her little hands.

Later, the jolting became so bad that, gritting her teeth, she simply spread out her long arms and hugged him from behind.

While hugging, he simply pressed his face against hers again.

Along the way, we encountered some villagers joking around.

"Oh my, where did such a shameless girl come from, hugging a man like that, isn't she embarrassed at all?"