Chapter 334: Taking Advantage of Ah Le's Good Luck
Chapter 334: Taking Advantage of Ah Le's Good Luck
There are tall bamboo racks on both sides of the alley, and the jerky eels supported by the bamboo strips are swaying back and forth in the wind.
When the dog Huang, who was lying under the bamboo frame, saw them coming, he wagged his tail affectionately and circled around under their feet.
Li Changle kicked it lightly, "Don't block it, I'll step on you and you won't even know it later."
Father Li walked forward, picked up a thick eel and touched it, "It's good to dry the eel heads these days. They dry very quickly."
Li Changle turned around and saw him, and said with a smile: "Dad, you are here too, I thought you were going to play for a while!"
"What's there to brag about?" Father Li whispered, "We are all old friends who used to work together, not those people in the village who take advantage of others.
You are a scoundrel who ignores people and no one will gossip about you, but we are different. If we ignore them and walk away when they pull us aside to talk, people will immediately say that we look down on our fellow villagers because we have earned a few bucks.”
Li Changle looked at him depressedly, "How can I be so careless as to be such a reasonable person?"
"You're good now, much more polite than before. Even your uncle Adong praised you." Father Li rolled his eyes at him again, "You weren't as sensible as Xiaohai before. I wish I had never given birth to you."
Chen Yongwei looked at the father and son and smiled innocently, "Brother, you really weren't as sensible as Xiaohai before!"
"You little brat, get to work!" Li Changle gave him a glare and reached out to take down a few thick eels. "The eels in this row are the best, and they are top-grade."
The old lady happily took the bamboo basket and said, "These two months are the best time to dry dried fish. The sun is not so strong and the wind is strong enough. The dried fish that are sieved out are bright white in color and can be kept for quite a while."
Father Li smiled and nodded, "In the past, every family would dry dried fish in the late fall and early winter, and even the beaches were full of them."
"Uncle Tang, the sideline team also dried dried fish on the beach in the past, and they would run over there when they were hungry."
"I remember the squid strips made by the brigade's sideline team were quite delicious. Ah Wei, Ah Fa and I secretly went there to steal them a few times."
"Brother, I still remember that one time, Lao Wang chased us all the way to the dock. He came home to complain at night, but was scolded by my grandma instead."
"Alas, Old Wang is a man with a stupid mind. He has been gone for many years."
Chen Yongwei quickly changed the subject, "Grandma, what did you use to make the squid strips? Why is it so delicious?"
Grandma Chen smiled and said, "We pick out the good ones, kill them, wash them, steam them, marinate them with seasonings, bake them, marinate them with seasonings overnight, and then use a machine to flatten them.
I remember there were two squid shred machines, both were huge lumps of iron. When the sideline team was disbanded, no one wanted the machines, so they were later sold to a scrap collection station for only a few dozen yuan!
"What a prodigal son!" Li Changle's heart was bleeding as he saw a good machine being sold as scrap.
"Of course not. I bought it for three or four hundred yuan and sold it for a few dozen yuan. I bought gold and sold rice straw!"
As they were talking, the dried cuttlefish and eels on the bamboo racks were brought into the house and placed on the drying racks. Brother Li closed the door, tied Da Huang in the yard, and the group went to Grandma Chen's house to collect the dried cuttlefish.
Li Changle looked at the wall of the Chen family and said to Li's father, "Dad, let's buy some more bricks and build a wall around the old house when the new house is finished, so that those wild dogs in the village won't come and steal food."
"I told your brother-in-law, and he told them to bring two boatloads of waste rocks, and it would be finished in two days."
When they carried the bamboo frame into the house and were about to leave, Grandma Chen came out holding a jar weighing about ten pounds and said to them cheerfully:
"I went to the wine shop this morning and bought a jar of aged wine. You can have a nice drink tonight to relieve your fatigue."
"Okay, let's have a good drink tonight!" Father Li took the jar with a smile, and a group of people walked towards Nanshan.
When we reached the intersection of Nanshan Road, the aroma of braised pork trotters wafted over with the wind.
Li Changle and the others couldn't help but swallow their saliva, "Why are you getting hungry so quickly?"
Chen Yongwei rubbed his stomach. "That's right. I just soaked the white rice in oily soup yesterday, but it feels like it hasn't touched oily water for a long time. I feel hungry and stuffy."
Father Li said, "We have been very tired these past few days. You have all lost weight, and Ah Le has also become a little tanned."
Grandma Chen smiled and said, "Atang has lost some weight, but he looks more energetic than before."
"My father is in high spirits because of good things happening to him. He didn't look old at all even though he was tired for a few days. He looked several years younger."
"..." Before Father Li could finish his words, he saw Uncle Li and Li Changgui walking towards them with smiles on their faces.
"A-Tang, you guys are back. We were planning to go to the old house to look for you."
Li Changle looked at their laughing faces and said, "Dad, they must be here for no good reason."
Father Li nodded. "Whether it's a good thing or a bad thing, we have already separated the family. I am still working for you. How can I care about your business?"
"If you are not stupid or deaf, you will not be a patriarch. When you are old, you have to turn a blind eye." Grandma Chen patted Chen Yongwei with a smile, "Let's send the wine to the house and let your uncles talk to them."
"Hey, hey!" Chen Yongwei supported the old lady, nodded to Uncle Li and his father, and walked home.
Uncle Li looked at Li Changle and his son with a smile on his face, "Oh, I haven't seen you for a few days. How come you look so dark and thin?" Seeing that Uncle Li and his son, who used to hold their heads high and look down on people, were so polite, the old men felt that something bad was going to happen. They just smiled politely and didn't invite them to their home to sit or have a drink.
Father Li smiled faintly and said, "We are building a house at home, and we have to go out to sea to earn money to pay the workers. It is normal to be thin and dark."
"A-Tang, we just found out after we came back that your family bought a large boat that's over 20 meters long. It's such an honorable thing. Why didn't you tell me about it?
If you want to tell me, I, as your uncle, will also order some steamed buns and square cakes to give out to my relatives and friends. Good luck! Good luck!
Father Li frowned, "Why didn't you tell me? I told my sister-in-law myself. Didn't she tell you about our meeting with the ship?"
Brother Li took it and said, "My mother and Fang have also been to your house and shared the square cakes."
"Your aunt is old and forgetful. I'll tell her when I get back." Uncle Li said with a wry smile, "I heard that you caught tens of thousands of kilograms of fish on your first voyage, and Adong even called several bosses to share the catch?"
Father Li: "There are tens of thousands of kilograms, most of which are sardines and saury. The valuable fish are only a few thousand kilograms. After deducting expenses, I can still earn some hard-earned money."
"Uncle, I heard that several bosses came to our store to buy goods, so they must have earned a lot of money through hard work. Don't worry, we are not asking you to borrow money, we have something good to tell you."
Li Changgui laughed, took out a pack of Liquan and gave it to a few people. Thinking about how he was rebuked by Li's mother just now, he felt a little uncomfortable.
He felt that the second wife was really a poor man who suddenly became rich. He thought that all the relatives who came to visit were there to borrow money from him.
If it weren't for those people saying that Alena's monkey shipping is good and wanting to borrow his luck, I wouldn't even bother to come to Nanshan.
Li Changle put the cigarette behind his ear and said with a playful smile: "Agui, for me now, only those who take the initiative to come to me and give me money to pay off my debts can be considered good things."
I was hoping for something good like this!
The corners of Li Changgui's mouth twitched a few times, "A Le, you are still short of money! Look, you are still building a new house here, and you bought a big boat over there. No wonder everyone in the village says that your family is lucky and makes a fortune every day!"
"My luck is pretty good now, but I'm still a long way from making a fortune." Li Changle spread his hands with a smug look on his face, "Otherwise I wouldn't still be in so much debt!"
"You sold 20,000 or 30,000 this time. Isn't that a fortune?" Li Changgui looked at him with a smile on his face. "A Le, I came to see you because I really have something good to tell you."
Li Changle stared in surprise, "What's the matter, Brother Gui, are you really going to give me 20,000 or 30,000 to pay off my debt?"
I'm giving you 20,000 or 30,000 yuan, what the hell are you dreaming of?
A traitor is always a traitor. Even if he buys a big ship and becomes the boss, he still can't have dog meat on the table.
Uncle Li took a deep breath and said, "Ah Le, stop playing tricks on your brother A Gui. He wants to discuss something serious with you. Why don't we go to your house to talk?"
Li Changle curled his lips and shook his head, "You should first tell me what the good news is, so as to avoid the trouble of sending it in and out."
When I get there, I'll have to treat you to drinks and meals. If I sit at the same table and drink with someone like you, I'm afraid I won't be able to digest the food.
Li Changgui said angrily: "There is a 39-meter steel ship on the south bank. The owner took it home only half a year ago. Because he lost money in business and couldn't make ends meet, he planned to transfer it.
The ship owner took me to the dock to see the ship. It was well equipped, with a maritime radio, walkie-talkie... all advanced equipment, and the owner only wanted 45,000..."
"Agui, our family is short of money now, and you are the owner of a big ship. Don't miss out on such a good ship." Brother Li was worried that Li Changle would be fooled by him into buying a big ship, so he interrupted him with a smile.
Li Changgui smiled awkwardly, "You and Big Brother know that I only own 10% of the South Bank ship, and I only get that little money a year. I am not able to buy it, so I came to you to discuss buying the ship together."
Uncle Li chimed in, "Everyone was struggling before, and your family was even more difficult than ours.
Things are not as tight as before. We will come to you if there is an opportunity to make money.
We are all cousins, kind and easy to get along with. We are all at ease to buy a ship with you."
"Yes, yes, yes!" Li Changgui quickly took over and said, "Ah Le, that boat is really good. It's worth borrowing money to buy it. I tell you, you must not miss such a good opportunity."
"Uncle, thank you for your kindness. My brothers and I are all in debt and can't afford to buy a boat. You should find other partners as soon as possible and don't miss the opportunity.
I'm tired after a day of work, I stink, and I don't have the energy to entertain you, so I won't chat any more!"
Li Changle said as he pulled Father Li and said, "Let's go, Dad."
Big Brother Li and Second Brother Li turned around and left. Father Li smiled at Big Brother Li and said, "Have a nice trip, big brother. I won't see you off."
Uncle Li grabbed him and said, "Ah Tang, how can you not tell good from bad? If it weren't for the good of your A-Le Shipping and the fact that you just made a lot of money, we wouldn't have come to you to form a partnership!"
"Brother!" Father Li stopped and said, "To be honest, even if you bring 20,000 or 30,000 yuan to my family, I wouldn't dare to accept it.
We should still be polite to each other on the surface as before, and just avoid being laughed at by the villagers."
After saying that, he turned around and walked home without caring about Uncle Li's reaction.
Uncle Li and his father were dumbfounded. They really just wanted to buy a boat in partnership with the second wife and take advantage of A-Le's good luck. Why didn't they believe it?
(End of this chapter)