CHAPTER 90: CHAPTER 90: FISHING AT SOUTH PORT

In the depths of winter, there wasn’t much rain, and the water level of Nanxi had dropped significantly. At this time, the stone snails were particularly lean, with very little meat, and the wild ducks seldom laid eggs, reducing the places to earn money.

Fortunately, Lin Qin’s luck was still intact. Every time she could catch big fish, plus Chen Wenjun would set the fish traps and catch margay fish. On slow days, they made thirty or forty yuan, but on good days, they made eighty or ninety.

The family had no external debts, nor did they need to build a house. It didn’t matter if they earned more or less, and they had gold hidden for emergencies. Their days could only get better.

The day before New Year’s Eve, the construction site closed.

After Lin Qin finished the last meal, she cleaned up the cooking shed and was about to leave when Huang Wenlong suddenly came in carrying a large bag.

"Sister-in-law, here, here, this New Year’s gift is for you."

Lin Qin was flattered, "I’m just cooking; why would you give me a New Year’s gift?"

Huang Wenlong insisted, "Everyone working with me gets one, not just you. It’s nothing much, just some biscuits and oranges. Take it home later; I have to go out for some business.

By the way, here’s your wages and holiday bonus as well."

Huang Wenlong placed the money and things down, said a couple of things, and hurriedly left.

Lin Qin didn’t even look to see how much was in the red envelope. She took the things, locked the door, and happily headed home.

Lin Yi came with a bamboo pole to pick her up, and that’s when she learned Gao Lei and Wu Agui had come.

The father and daughter returned home.

Lin Qin immediately noticed the tobacco and liquor on the table, thinking that Gao Lei had come to deliver a New Year’s gift, and didn’t give it much thought.

It wasn’t until Chen Wenjun saw him off that she realized Gao Lei had come to buy a boat.

"Why on earth does he want to buy our boat? Besides, how will we cross the river without it?" Lin Qin was puzzled.

Chen Wenjun explained, "He wants to transport goods, and all he’s missing is a boat. Our five-canopy boat is large enough to be converted into a cargo ship that can reach Xiamen Bay. The small boats they’re using now can only reach South Port and can’t hold much cargo.

Building a new boat takes too long; they can’t wait, so they thought to ask me. If I agree, they can give us their tin boat. Although it’s much smaller, it has an engine and runs on diesel, which is fast and convenient for us to go fishing, and they’ll compensate us with another five hundred yuan.

My thought is to make the trade; we don’t need the money. The materials for renovating our house cost far more than five hundred yuan."

At that time, except for sea fishing boats using engines, most inland fishing boats were still purely manual. With a tin boat, they could go farther to fish, especially to South Port, where the river meets the sea, with abundant aquatic resources, large fish weighing dozens of pounds were everywhere.

Even if they didn’t go to South Port, they could go upstream, go farther, and set nets at the outlets of several tributaries to have a better chance of catching eels.

Lin Qin wasn’t short-sighted and immediately agreed, "Tomorrow you go find Gao Lei and arrange this. First, bring the tin boat back to use for two days. The prices for big fish are good on the 29th and 30th of the lunar month; they’re easy to sell. Let’s catch more big fish and try to make another profit."

The next day, Chen Wenjun went to find Gao Lei and brought up the matter.

Gao Lei, knowing that Chen Wenjun was willing to sell the boat, was very pleased and took out the five hundred he had prepared in advance.

Chen Wenjun adamantly refused, "I already feel bad about not paying you for those renovation materials. If we trade the boat, we trade it; don’t give me any money. If you try to pay, I won’t make the trade."

Gao Lei, left with no choice, agreed.

That day, Gao Lei’s boys brought the tin boat to Nanyu and took away his five-canopy boat.

From what Gao Lei said, he planned to modify the five-canopy boat, installing an engine, but Chen Wenjun didn’t concern himself with the specifics.

Once he had the tin boat, Chen Wenjun was like a kid with a new toy, first taking Lin Qin for a spin around Nanxi, then preparing to try fishing in South Port.

Lin Yi, knowing their plan, was rather speechless and tried to stop them.

"It’s almost New Year; can’t you wait until after to go?"

Chen Wenjun and Lin Qin were too excited, shaking their heads in unison.

"Dad, our house is new, no need for a big clean-up, and the two kids are off school. Just close the gate, they’ll be safe playing on the island; there’s no worry about losing them. You can work the fields if you want, play with them if you don’t; there’s plenty of food at home. We’ll be back tomorrow."

Lin Qin quickly settled the decision, without giving Lin Yi a chance to grumble.

Since they were to spend the night outside, the couple prepared a plastic tarpaulin to block the wind, so they could huddle inside with their coats on at night.

Seeing he couldn’t persuade them, Lin Yi packed them some water and biscuits.

The tin boat departed from Nanyu, passing Futian Ferry to Puning Pier, and then to South Port. Here, it was already inland sea, where fresh and saltwater meet. Beyond that were the Hai Rong Pier, Qinglong Pier, and several other inner sea bay piers, major hubs for water transportation, with most incoming and outgoing large sea vessels.

Beyond that was West Port, and beyond West Port lay the open sea.

Chen Wenjun’s tin boat had decent speed, reaching South Port in just over an hour. While fishing could be done in South Port, beyond there were areas crowded with large cargo ships, unsuitable for their fishing operations.

Chen Wenjun chose a stretch of water with few cargo ships, with only a few scattered Dang people fishing.

He greeted them, realizing this area was good for fishing, and started setting traps.

Meanwhile, Lin Qin found some bait specifically for sea fishing from nearby fishermen and had Chen Wenjun drop her off at an ideal fishing spot.

Once she was ready, Chen Wenjun headed off to find a place to cast nets.

Seeing Chen Wenjun, though far off, with the tin boat’s silhouette still visible, Lin Qin felt at ease to fish.

After laying bait for half an hour, she began casting rods. Not long after the first cast, there was activity, and she reeled in a mullet weighing around three or four jin, commonly found at the junction of fresh and saltwater.

With one good catch, she continued to haul in seven or eight more, all mullets, the largest weighing six jin and the smallest over two jin.

It was nearing dusk.

Chen Wenjun was still busy.

She thought for a moment and decided to change fishing spots.

This meant setting bait all over again.

Luckily, they came to fish. After laying bait, Lin Qin returned to the previous fishing spot, casting continuously for half an hour before changing places.

Finally, when it was completely dark, Chen Wenjun returned.

Lin Qin eagerly asked, "How was the catch?"

Chen Wenjun pointed to the large plastic bucket on the tin boat, "Caught mostly mullet, some big, some small, and a netful of pomfret, alongside some crabs and shrimp, different from those in Nanxi.

I threw in two more nets afterward, to check at four in the morning. Word is around five, fishing boats land and sell seafood. I aim to buy some and earn a small margin."