After reading Wang Liansheng's letter, Ling Chengyan put it aside for the time being.
She had been quite busy these few days. The next morning, she got up early to go fishing again.
The second time they went, they had a much better harvest. Hong Bing and the other boys who followed them also caught more than a bucket of small crabs and clams from the mud.
Duoluozi was the local name for the White Jade crab. The small square crab waved its two pincers. It wasn't too big, but it tasted very delicious.
When they were done, they brought the daily catch to the commune acquisition station as usual. There weren't many small crabs and clams, so Ling Chengyan planned to save them for her family.
Unexpectedly, when they arrived at the commune acquisition station, they were told that the station wouldn't be buying any fish today.
Wang Lianqi took out a crumpled cigarette from his pocket and handed it over to one of the men working at the acquisition station, but the man didn't take it at all. He even waved his hand in disgust, "Alright, alright, the cart of fish you guys sent yesterday almost screwed me over... Now hurry up and leave."
Wang Lianfa liked to be clean, at least his hands and face were clean albeit his clothes weren't. He squeezed forward with a smile and stuffed a pack of 35 cents worth of peony cigarettes into the man's hand to find out the reason he was turning them away.
It was only then that the man at the acquisition station was willing to explain it to them. He said that at this time of the year, there was a large number of fish being transported out from the seaside stores. Thousands of catties of fish were transported out every day, and they were all big fish. Seafood companies didn't care about the small fish that weighed 80 to 100 catties. The fish he bought from them yesterday was rotting in his warehouse.
When they exited the acquisition station, the originally happy family was now full of worry.
Although the weather in the middle of February wasn't too hot, it wasn't cold either. It was okay for fish and shrimp to be out of water for half a day or a day, but if they were taken out of the water for too long, they would stink and go bad.
Wang Lianqi's brows furrowed into a knot. He lit the crumpled cigarette and sucked hard, the thick smoke gradually covering his head and face.
Wang Lianfa didn't pay much attention to it. He smoked a cigarette and looked at his brother. "Big Brother, what do we do?"
Wang Lianqi threw away the cigarette butt in his hand and crushed it with his foot. He seemed to have made up his mind. "If this is the case, then let's bring the fish to the Zhi Qing District. We're getting the brigade to ask if there's anyone in the brigade who wants to buy them. Then we'll sell the fish at a cheaper price."
"Selling the fish in the Zhi Qing District?" Wang Lianfa asked. The villagers can't even afford to have a mouthful of salted vegetables and sticky porridge. Who'd be willing to buy fish to eat? Especially when it's neither the new year nor any special festival..."
Ling Chengyan, who had been silent the whole time, finally spoke up. "Eldest Cousin, you can send the children back. Third Cousin and I will take the fish to the county's seafood company and ask. Maybe they'll buy it."
Wang Lianfa's eyes brightened, and his furrowed brows relaxed. "Big Brother, this is a good idea. You send the children back, and we'll take the fish to the county first. This thing can't be delayed. If it's delayed until tomorrow, our catch from today will turn bad."
Wang Lianqi looked at his brother, then at Ling Chengyan. He hesitated for a moment, but eventually nodded, "You two go first. I'll send the boys home and borrow a car to catch up with you."
Thus, they split up. Wang Lianqi took the children and the clams home, while Ling Chengyan and Wang Lianfa went to the county.
By the time they arrived at the county, the sky was already dark.
The first place they went to was a seafood company. Wang Lianfa went inside to enquire, but they didn't even welcome him and just waved him away.
Wang Lianfa handed them a cigarette and tried to persuade them but to no avail. Helpless, he turned back dejectedly.
He looked at the cart full of fish, squatted down, and held his head. "What should we do..."
Ling Chengyan called out to Wang Lianfa as she hurried to get into the car Wang Lianqi had just arrived in. "Come. I have a place in mind."
Ling Chengyan drove straight to Da Xiong's house. When she knocked on the door, Xiao Xi was stunned to see Ling Chengyan.
"Your brother isn't home?" Ling Chengyan asked while carrying a few fish. "I've caught a few fish, and I'm giving two of them for you guys to try."
"No, no, Brother is at home today." Xiao Xi seemed to have just recovered from her daze and quickly opened the door to let Ling Chengyan in. She then shouted into the house, "Brother, Sister Chengyan is here."
Da Xiong, San'er, and Gou'er were all in the room, and they were startled by the shout. Gou'er was the first to step out and greet Ling Chengyan. "Great Aunt is here, and she's even giving us fish. I'm so grateful..."
Ling Chengyan looked at San'er and Da Xiong, who were slowly following them out, and then looked at Gou'er who was looking guilty, and laughed. "Seems like you're all here."
"Yes!" San'er said, "The old shipyard has given Da Xiong a temporary job, and he will be starting work from tomorrow. We're all here to congratulate him."
Ling Chengyan looked at San'er and Gou'er as she asked, "What about the two of you? You still haven't found a place to work at?"
The two of them lowered their heads.
Ling Chengyan asked them if they knew anyone from the seafood company. They looked at each other and shook their heads.
Ling Chengyan didn't feel disappointed. She nudged them in the direction of the fish that Xiao Xi had placed in the basin. "I've caught some fish. Do you have any way to help me out?"
San'er, Gou'er, and Da Xiong looked at each other. Gou'er looked at the fish and asked, "Great Aunt, how many catties is all this?"
"Not too much, less than 500 catties," Ling Chengyan replied indifferently.
The three of them were dumbfounded.
"Great Aunt, you're truly the best out there. Five hundred catties of fish, how did you even get them?"
Xiao Xi had already brought out a cup of water and a stool for Ling Chengyan to sit on. Ling Chengyan sipped a bit of water from the cup and glanced at San'er from the corner of her eyes. "Where else but from water?"
San'er choked a few times from Chengyan's sarcastic remark. He stood up and gave Ling Chengyan a thumbs up, patting his chest and saying, "Great Aunt, don't worry about the fish. You can leave it to us brothers."
This time, Ling Chengyan didn't even look at them. She just hummed while drinking water.
The three brothers rushed out excitedly. Ling Chengyan finished half of the drink and asked for another cup of hot water. She carried it out and passed it to Wang Lianfa. "Let's wait for a bit. I've asked some guys to go inquire."
Wang Lianfa looked distracted and didn't even bother to ask for details. He just nodded and proceeded to drink the water.
San'er and the others didn't waste any time. In less than half an hour, Gou'er ran back with a letter, asking Wang Lianfa to drive the cart to deliver the fish to a buyer. They had found their next income source.
Ling Chengyan naturally followed them and found out that they had contacted a canteen to sell their fish to.
After deducting the middle person's commission, Ling Chengyan received a few yuan more than the amount she had received at the purchasing station.
The middleman was a guy in his early thirties. His appearance and clothes were very ordinary. Ling Chengyan took a few glances but didn't pay much attention to him. He was just an errand boy, not someone who could make decisions.
After selling the fish, Wang Lianfa finally came back to life.
By the time they returned to Da Xiong's place, Xiao Xi had prepared noodle cakes and stewed fish for the returning bunch.
Ling Chengyan and Wang Lianfa didn't stand on ceremony and sat down to eat. Ling Chengyan took out some money and handed it to Xiao Xi.
When they were done eating, the three men sent the unexpected visitors off, and when they were about to leave the county, San'er said, "Great Aunt, could you bring us along next time when you go fishing? We should help out rather than sitting around doing nothing..."
"Great Aunt, after getting taught a lesson by you, we don't dare to do anything bad anymore… However, we're not young children. Thus, we can't always just sit around idly…" Gou'er chipped in.