Chapter 47 Tell the truth
Chapter 47 Tell the truth
Li Changle and Chen Yongwei were busy for more than an hour tying up the jar. When they looked at the time, it was just past one o'clock.
Considering that the low tide today would be later than yesterday, the two of them took the steel wire frame and went to the alley to start making the ground cage net.
After a while, Mrs. Li came over and said, "Ah Le, you asked An Nan to make so many traps and buy so many jars to catch octopuses. You can also spend some money to repair the boat at home. It would be great if you can go out to sea to cast nets."
Seeing that she brought it up on her own initiative, Li Changle joked, "Sister-in-law, aren't you afraid that I'll occupy the boat?"
"I'm really not afraid of you two." Mrs. Li glanced at Li Changle, "The two elders have always been worried that you would still fool around like you did a few days ago. Now that you are willing to work hard and earn money, I think they are very happy!"
The two elders have always doted on A Le. After the old man is discharged from the hospital and recovers, they will definitely find a way to repair the boat and take A Le out to sea to fish.
Instead of that, it would be better for Ale to use the money to repair the boat, so that the two elders don’t have to borrow money from them to repair the boat in the future.
Zhou Ruonan pulled a stool over for her to sit on. "Sister-in-law, to be honest, Ah Le told my father in the hospital today that we should try to raise some money to buy the boat. My father said he would come back to discuss it with you."
"What is there to discuss? When the family was divided, the two elders said that since Ah Huan hadn't started a family yet, the boat would not be shared. When Ah Huan got married and my father was too old to go out to sea, whoever wanted it could buy it."
"That's something I have to tell you. We as a family should be clear about this to avoid creating estrangement and hurting our relationship."
"I understand, sister-in-law." Sister-in-law Li sat down next to Zhou Ruonan and whispered to her, "Anan, I'm going to tell you the truth.
If I hadn't signed a three-year contract with the ship owner, I would have asked Ping to quit his job on the boat, used the money to repair our family's fishing boat, and fished offshore so that our family could be together more often!"
Zhou Ruonan thought about how her eldest and second uncles had been out to sea on the ship for more than a year, returning to rest for a few days before going to the fishing grounds again, and the family had been together less and less.
"When your eldest brother's three-year term is up, you should have saved enough money to buy a fishing boat. Then you can buy your own boat, just like Meihua's family. The couple can hire two people to go out to sea together."
Mrs. Li said anxiously, “I am almost dying of worry. I only have so little money. If I build a new house, I won’t have money to buy a boat. If I buy a boat, I can’t build a house.
It doesn't matter that Xiaoyang and Xiaotao are boys, but Xiaohui is growing up, and it's not right for her to live in the same room with her brothers."
Zhou Ruonan thought of the saying that goes, "sons avoid their mothers when they grow up, and girls avoid their fathers when they grow up." Xiaoqing and Xiaohui are growing up day by day, and it is indeed a big deal for the first and second wives to build houses.
Li Changle smiled and interrupted, "Sister-in-law, there's nothing to worry about. You can use half of the money to build two houses first, and the remaining half can be used to buy a boat with my second brother's family. With luck, the money for the new house will be returned in one go."
I wonder what the eldest and second brothers were thinking in their previous lives? After the three-year period was up, both families used the money to build new houses.
The two brothers helped with the boat for another three years. In 1988 or the 1980s, prices rose sharply. With the three years' wages, they could not even afford a smaller fishing boat than they had three years ago.
Li Changle now thinks that it is similar to buying a house in later generations. The sooner you act, the sooner you can make money!
Chen Yongwei took over and said, "Sister-in-law, I heard from my grandmother that my aunt spent more than 4,000 yuan to build two two-story buildings last year. You can build the ground floor first and build the second floor with the money you earn."
Mrs. Li smiled and said, "Both of your ideas are good. I'll discuss it with your brother when he comes back."
Li Changle: "My brother and the others are still hiding from the typhoon at the dock?"
"Yes! When I came back, I went to the eldest house on purpose. My aunt said that Ah Cai called the village committee and said that they would return as soon as they avoided the typhoon."
"The typhoon will only last for two days, right?"
"It's just these two days."
"Is the family's boat at the dock or in the harbor?" "Did you forget? Dad's boat was damaged by a typhoon last time."
"I didn't care about anything before, how could I remember it?"
"You must work hard in the future and don't let Anan and the two elders worry." After saying this, Mrs. Li leaned close to Zhou Ruonan's ear and whispered without waiting for his response.
"Anan, I think what Awei said is a good idea, but with Azhen's personality, do you think she will agree to be a partner?"
After Zhou Ruonan pondered for a moment, he said, "Second sister-in-law is a little withdrawn, but she does a good job on major issues.
Besides, this matter is beneficial to both of your families. I think when the eldest brother comes back, you should ask him to mention it to the second brother first, and let him discuss it with the second sister-in-law. "
"Yeah!" Mrs. Li said with a smile, "I still like talking to Teacher Zhou. It's boring if you say ten sentences to her and she only replies one.
Zhou Ruonan glared at her in reproach, "You're teasing me again."
"Hehe!" Mrs. Li put her mind at ease. She held the shuttle ruler in one hand and the shuttle in the other. The shuttle moved up and down quickly, and the green fishing line crisscrossed and changed in her hands, weaving into grids of even size.
The four people pieced the woven mesh together like sewing clothes. They worked until after 2 a.m., when the children who were taking a nap woke up, and finally finished making several traps.
Although it is slow, the quality is excellent.
Mrs. Li looked at Li Xiaoyang, who was still a little confused and sitting on the bench, and asked, "It's been more than a month since the holiday. Have you started doing your homework?"
"Oh, why are you in such a hurry? There are still more than 20 days left. Don't worry about when I do it. As long as I can register for school when it starts, it's fine!" Li Xiaoyang said as he stood up and sat farther away from her to avoid being beaten.
Mrs. Li looked at him with a dagger in her eye. "Do you think I want to control you? I'm not even impatient to ask you. Let me make it clear to you first. If you haven't finished your homework when school starts, I'll ask your aunt to tell your class teacher not to register you!"
Li Xiaoyang curled his lips and said, "It's better not to sign up! I'm going to go fishing with Uncle San to make money."
"With your tiny body, you still want to go fishing?" Li Changle flicked his forehead with her finger. "If you go, you'll get stuck in the mud and won't be able to get up!"
Talking about studying, he felt very proud. The best student in the Li family and even in Shatou Village was his son. The worst was Li Xiaoyang, who started fishing to make a living after graduating from elementary school.
When he was less than sixteen, he followed his father to go fishing at sea. Later, he became a boat captain. Although it was hard work, he earned a lot of money.
It's useless to earn a lot of money. He doesn't have as much face as his two sons wherever he goes.
Li Xiaoyang touched his forehead and said, "I've been there with my grandfather before, and we won't get stuck in the mud!"
"You know it was Grandpa who brought you along. Go alone and try. If there's someone else trapped, it'll be ok. If there's no one, just wait for the tide to come in and feed the fish!"
Mrs. Li gave him a look that stabbed him like a knife, "If you don't do your homework, help wind these shuttles."
(End of this chapter)