Chapter 36 The best sister-in-law in the 1980s (36)
However, she still wanted to go to Tongcheng, where her brother and sister-in-law were.
That's much bigger than a small county town. It's good to go back and buy some things that aren't available here to earn some college living expenses.
She sorted out the money in her hands: Xu's mother gave her all the money she earned from making clothes recently without leaving any money; plus the two hundred she had saved; the big red envelope given by her brother and sister-in-law; and going to the county to participate in labor on behalf of the town. Bonuses from the pacesetter commendation meeting; bonuses from the top six who were recommended to BGI...
All things considered, the balance on hand was 405 yuan, which was quite a lot. After all, the monthly salary of an eighth-level worker in the factory had not exceeded 100 yuan.
Xu’s mother helped pack up a pile of food:
The wood ear mushrooms were picked and dried by her uncle in the mountains after the Qingming Festival. They are still very fresh.
A pack of kelp and dried shrimps given by her sister-in-law’s family. Although it is not valuable, people in Tongcheng may not be able to buy it if they want to eat it.
Xu Yin recalled the introduction about Tongcheng in the book. Oh, it is an inland province and city surrounded by the sea. The transportation is not very developed now, so it is really not that convenient to eat some seafood.
Her mind moved and she came up with a small idea to make money:
Since you can bring back goods from Tongcheng that are not available here and earn the price difference, you can also bring some goods that are available here but not in Tongcheng to earn the price difference.
She decided to go to her sister-in-law's house and her grandmother's house before setting off to buy more seafood and mountain products to take with her.
Anyway, there is an expansion backpack, so I won’t be afraid that it won’t be able to carry it. If not, there is a system warehouse.
So early the next morning, in the eyes of her mother, who asked with great confusion, "Why should we go there if we don't have enough kelp and shrimps at home?", she rode a small electric donkey out the door.
Sister-in-law Xu’s maiden name is Li, which is the most common surname in Houhai Village.
Father Li and his mother are in their 60s this year. They have three sons and three daughters. Except for Sister-in-law Xu, the other two daughters are all married in this village.
Although the three sons live in separate families, they live next door and can come over if anything happens.
I was surprised when I heard that my sister-in-law was here. I put down my work and welcomed her into the house warmly.
“Yinyin, have you had breakfast?” Mother Li asked.
If you don’t have anything to eat, cook a bowl of noodles and soft-boiled eggs. This is the highest standard for locals to entertain guests.
Xu Yin quickly said she had eaten.
Mother Li still asked her eldest daughter-in-law to cook a bowl of soft-boiled eggs without adding noodles, but she beat two eggs and put a lot of rock sugar.
Xu Yin could not hold back their enthusiasm, but she also knew that this was their simple enthusiasm for entertaining guests.
Fortunately, I was prepared before arriving. I took out two bottles of sorghum wine, two cans of oranges, and two kilograms of brown sugar from the inconspicuously enlarged school bag.
The sorghum wine was bought at a supply store.
Brown sugar and canned goods are still stockpiles in the system.
How can the Li family be willing to accept it?
Xu Yin took advantage of the opportunity to express her intention: "I still have something to trouble you, uncle and aunt. If you don't accept it, I'll be embarrassed to say anything. It's like this. I'm going to Tongcheng to visit my brother and sister-in-law in a few days. It's far away from the sea and I can't buy it. I just want to buy some seafood and take it with me. If you don’t have it at home, ask your uncle or aunt to ask the neighbors for help. Just ask for the price according to the usual selling price. I just want to buy it fresh at your door. "
"What's the trouble? I'll take you to see it now. Don't buy what we have at home. Give it to my son-in-law and grandson. Where can I get you to pay for it?"
Mother Li said as she took Xu Yin to the storage room.
Li Jiasha has a lot of kinds of seafood, including kelp, dried razor clams, dried clams, mud snails, etc., all of which are picked up when going to sea.
For example, when we went to the sea this morning, we picked up a lot of small sand crabs. A basket weighed about four or five kilograms. Mother Li took them home, washed them, and marinated them with salt and wine. She can sell them when setting up a stall at the market in a few days.
Had she known that Xu Yin would come, she would not have marinated it. After all, freshly fried food tastes better.
Xu Yin was silent for a while after looking at it, and couldn't help but ask: "Are there any bigger ones? For example, prawns, yellow croakers, hairtails, squids, swimming crabs, etc. I have brought enough money, so just don't worry."
“…” After hearing her explanation, Xu Yin realized that Houhai Village was just a small place connected by the bay. It was just a corner of the bay at best, and it was actually far away from the real sea.
The fishermen here mainly rely on going to the sea to pick up some small seafood and go to the market to sell it in exchange for grain and meat. After all, this is saline-alkali land and cannot grow crops.
Collective fishing boats can catch the kind of large seafood that Xu Yin mentioned when they go out to sea, but they often have to be purchased by some state-owned units such as large factories and supply and marketing cooperatives before they get off the dock.
Small fishing boats usually only circle at the mouth of the bay, and the species they can catch are extremely limited.
However, even if you really catch large fish, shrimps and crabs, you have to go to the city to find a buyer, and they are unlikely to be sold in the village.
Xu Yin: “…”
I never expected it to be like this.
No wonder Xu’s mother always complains that her in-laws are so poor that they only take some kelp and mud snails as gifts. That’s because that’s all they really have.
Suddenly there was a feeling of congestion in my heart.
It is said that one lives by the mountains and the sea. From the literal meaning, it sounds like one is quite wealthy and comfortable, but when one really integrates into this environment, one realizes how difficult it is.
"It's much better now than before." Mother Li is quite optimistic, "Especially this year, after contracting the tidal flat, we don't have to wait for the tide to go out. Our family raises mud snails, clams, and razor clams, and we can sell them at a good price during the Chinese New Year. If you go to the sea and pick things up on weekdays, you can treat it as extra money. Yin Yin, go back and tell your mother-in-law that we can pay back part of the money we owe before the year. Things are expensive in the first month, and if you sell well, you can pay back some more. No. It took too long.”
Xu Yin said hurriedly: "Don't be in a hurry when it comes to money. Just take your time. If you can start tidal flat farming, your life will become more and more stable in the future. The good days are yet to come."
"Yes, yes, we are looking forward to a stable livelihood. After all, God will give us food to eat when we are on the sea. When the wind is sunny, we can't feel anything. But when there is a typhoon, we will know how difficult it is to eat this bowl of rice." "
Through chatting, Xu Yin finally understood the types of seafood available in Houhai Village:
Just some small seafood that is easy to get from the sea, such as shrimps, mud snails, razor clams, clams, sand crabs, kelp, seaweed, etc.
The price is very cheap, one dollar can buy it for everyone, and it can be eaten for a long time after it is dried and stored.
There were none of the other abalone, scallops, prawns, swimming crabs, etc. that she wanted to buy.
Not to mention that she is too rich to buy her, the fishermen in Houhai Village don’t see her very often, and when they see her, they look around curiously.
…”
Good guy! This doesn't look like the beach at all. It feels like we're leaning against a fake sea.
It’s just that she was naive. When she heard that it was close to the sea, she thought there were all kinds of seafood.
Having said that, the main reason is that we are too poor.
If there is a fishing boat... Of course, it is not the kind of small fishing boat that can only circle around the mouth of the bay, but the kind of big fishing boat that is not afraid of wind and waves and can travel far into the sea. Isn’t there all the kinds of seafood you want to eat?
Thinking about this, Xu Yin became full of energy again.
“Mom, how are the preparations for the fishery organization mentioned last time going? Have you bought the fishing boat?”
She is still a nominal shareholder.
Although the investment is not large and the proportion is not high, he is still a shareholder and has the right to care about the business he invests in.
"What a coincidence, I went to the town to set up a stall yesterday and heard someone talking about this." Mother Li said, stroking her hands, "I heard that the ocean-going ship has been purchased, and it seems that it will go to sea at the beginning of next month."
"I've heard about it too." The eldest daughter-in-law of the Li family fried a bowl of soybeans and brought it to Xu Yin as a snack, and added smoothly, "But after traveling across the ocean, I won't come back so soon. It's said to be at least two or three months, maybe by the end of the year I just came back. But it’s good to come back at the end of the year, just in time to share the New Year’s goods.”
Xu Yin was stunned: "Split the New Year's goods?"
“Yes, our village party secretary’s son has also become a shareholder. I went to find out not long ago and he said that there was no money to be distributed in the first year, but he would be able to distribute some things, and that would be the seafood he caught.”
…”
So she will have big fish, shrimps and crabs to eat by the end of the year?
Oh yeah! This trip was not in vain!
(End of this chapter)