Back to the small fishing village in 1982

Chapter 1194 The original intention was good

After Ye Yaodong changed his clothes and came out, everyone stood on the deck to chat, with their flashlights pointed at the sea behind them.

Although it is high tide now, the fishing boats are too large to approach the beach. If they try to move closer to the shore, the water level is too shallow and they cannot move forward. This is not a deep-water port, so they can only stop in the middle of the sea.

There was not even a shadow of the gray whale behind us, but everyone knew that it was under the water behind us, and it would naturally appear when the tide receded.

When the tide goes out, their fishing boats will be stranded, and only when the next high tide comes can the fishing boats move.

When he came out of the cabin, his father and the others were still discussing that there was still goods on the ship that had to be sold.

Although the quantity is small, they still have to be sold.

"Dad, let's send a boat to the dock and sell the goods first before coming back. It's getting dark anyway."

"That's what we discussed. We have to sell the goods first. The tide hasn't receded yet, so the fish can't get stranded. It's late at night, and the treasure is showing to the blind."

"Whose boat is going back?"

"I just said that I will take this ship back, and I will go on the Shunfeng ship with you. Anyway, we sold some goods yesterday, and there wasn't much. We can sell them all in less than two hours, and we can get a good night's sleep when we get back."

Ye Yaodong had no objection, "Since we have discussed it, let's do it this way."

"I will stay on your boat and watch over you. Your elder and second brothers will go with you to sell the goods."

"Row."

"You've been in the water a few times. Are you okay? Are you catching a cold?"

"I have a stuffy and runny nose. I'm going home tomorrow anyway, so I can just take some medicine when I get home. I'll go wake up Yuan and take him with me, so I can take him back home."

"Go ahead. Don't bring them next time. They are other people's children. They are not specially invited to work here. It is too dangerous to bring them to the sea."

"Got it. I'll learn from it."

Ye Yaodong ordered the boatmen to move all the goods out of the fish warehouse, and he went into the cabin to call Lin Guangyuan.

After calling him twice and seeing no response, he realized something was wrong. He touched his forehead and found it was very hot.

"You have a fever? No wonder you haven't responded all day."

He woke up at noon, ate, and then lay down again. I thought he didn't get enough sleep. He was busy with the gray whale in the afternoon and had no time to come in and see him.

Maybe he was frightened by the life-and-death situation, and there was so much water in the cold weather, so he had a fever after coming up, but he didn't dare to say anything.

After all, he is still a young man who has not experienced much.

Ye Yaodong shook him and shouted at him until he woke up.

"Uncle..."

"You have a fever. I'll go get you a cup of hot water. Don't lie down anymore. Drink some hot water and put on some clothes. We'll take you back first when we get to the shore."

"it is good."

Seeing that he couldn't muster up the energy for a long time, Ye Yaodong helped Lin Guangyuan put on his clothes before helping him out and asking the boatmen to support him first.

He also had to go to other ships to see the goods they were carrying out, keep the ones he wanted, and sell the ones he didn't want.

After a busy time, all the goods were moved onto the SF Express, and each person's goods were stacked separately. Then, taking advantage of the high tide, they quickly backed out the ship and headed towards the dock.

"Uncle, after I go back and take the medicine, can I come with you again?"

"Are you looking for death?"

Lin Guangyuan grinned, "No..."

"Nothing. You almost died once, and you still want to come with me?"

"I wanted to see the big whale, but I didn't expect the fish to be dead. I don't know what it looks like or how big it is. I didn't see anything just now."

"Oh, as long as you don't go out to sea with me, just to look at the fish, that's fine."

"Then I'll go back with you first. You go to the market to sell the goods. Call me when you're done."

"Okay, as long as you can get up."

"I am strong and healthy."

"Tsk, you weakling, I also soaked in the water for a long time and I didn't catch a cold, ha..."

"Hahahaha..." Lin Guangyuan laughed so hard that he choked.

Ye Yaodong rubbed his nose, feeling that he was slapped in the face too quickly.

"what's so funny."

After saying this, he put his hands behind his back and looked towards the dock port in front of him.

As it got dark, there were more fishing boats and the tiny lights in the distance were gradually getting bigger.

There were originally only small motor boats and sailboats at the dock. When their fishing boats were docking to load cargo, many fishing boats also slowly came ashore.

Ye Yaodong also unexpectedly saw a fresh-catch ship. The entire deck was filled with goods, piled very high, and he even hired a few people at the dock to help unload the goods.

He looked at it more carefully.

Father Pei smiled and said, "You have also ordered a freshwater boat. When will it be back?"

"Haha, we have to wait another half a year. I have been busy these past few months and have no time to go to the shipyard. I will go to the shipyard to check on the progress after the New Year break in a few days."

"You are amazing! A Guang is no match for you. I will also hand over this boat to A Guang. When the time comes, I will need you and your father to help look after it."

"No way, I just did more work when I went out to sea, while Guang did less. He is the young master's life, and I am destined to work hard."

"Nonsense, he's not as good as you, so I have to help him do more. If he were as capable and smart as you, I would have handed over the boat to him a long time ago, instead of waiting until now. I'm almost 30 years old and still need help."

Ye Yaodong smiled and said nothing.

This is also a kind of happiness! Having my father protecting me.

Although my father is a little utilitarian, he is also considering his own family and loves his son as much as anyone else.

"Hurry up and move the goods. You can sell them early and get some sleep when you come back."

"There is little stock today, so it will sell out quickly."

After Ye Yaodong got ashore, he looked around but didn't see Wang Guangliang. He probably had already collected the goods and gone back.

They were delayed too long in the afternoon. If they came back earlier, they could reach the shore before daybreak, and he could also go back and notify his family in advance.

They didn't have much cargo, and a large part of it was taken away by Ye Yaodong. The three of them piled up their cargo and took it away with a tractor.

The baskets for loading goods are all marked with their own labels, so there is no need to worry about confusion.

After arriving at the market, Ye Yaodong asked Lin Guangyuan to go back to sleep first.

"When it's daybreak, you can just take your uncle's tractor to the dock. I won't call you. If you can't get up, don't come."

"Yes! I have never seen such a big whale. I must go and see it."

"Let's wait until you can get up. You still have a fever. Go, go, hurry home. It's just over the street. I won't see you off."

"Okay, I can walk back that short distance by myself."

"Ah."

It's just opposite the market, so there's no need to deliver it. The market is brightly lit and the road is also bright, so you won't fall into the ditch.

After sending Lin Guangyuan away, Ye Yaopeng and Ye Yaohua also pulled two carts over.

They loaded the goods into baskets on a cart and pulled them into the market, taking several trips back and forth to get the goods done.

There were only a few thousand kilograms of goods, and they sold out very quickly. They had sold out before 10 o'clock.

After coming out, they went straight to a newly opened restaurant next to the market to fill their stomachs first.

As long as there are people, there will be popularity. Now there are all kinds of shops around the market, especially small restaurants selling seafood.

The market is open as a night market and a morning market. There is money to be made and there are people working hard at any time.

Moreover, some ship captains who had just sold their goods had money on hand and were willing to treat their subordinates to a good meal.

Many restaurants have opened up around here in the past year, and business is booming even in the middle of the night.

Ye Yaodong was thinking about when to ask Fatty to come and open a branch.

It's just that he was too busy in the past few months and didn't stay at home for long. Besides, Fatty was mostly in town, so the two of them had very few opportunities to meet.

Although he is a cook, he doesn't have to be a cook. He can also be a boss. He doesn't have to do everything himself. He can just hire a chef to work for his restaurant.

But the New Year is coming soon, so I should be able to catch someone and try to persuade him.

The fat guy should be happy with this suggestion and won't chase him and beat him anymore...right?

He was happy when his brothers got rich, after all, he was also rich.

After they had a hearty meal, Ye Yaodong packed up a few simple, filling dishes to take back.

There were no take-out boxes these days, only aluminum lunch boxes. How could they carry aluminum lunch boxes wherever they went? They were not cheap, and not everyone had one.

He could only look at what dishes were simple and what dry things could be wrapped in newspaper and packed a few for easy carrying.

When they got in the car again and headed to the dock, Pei's father couldn't help but ask, "Should we call the leader tomorrow morning?"

"Yeah, where can you find someone so late at night? Don't be so anxious, you can contact them after work hours."

"Oh, I hope it wasn't in vain."

"Go back and have a good sleep first."

After sleeping for most of the day today, he still felt a little dizzy and didn't know if he really had a cold. He could only drink more hot water when he got home.

The dock was brightly lit, with all kinds of flashlights everywhere, bursts of noise, tractors and trucks coming and going, and it was a bustling scene, much more lively than during the day, with people crowded together and goods next to each other.

As the Chinese New Year approaches, it feels like there are more people. In fact, the pier is getting more and more lively, with more and more fishing boats docking in the city.

When Ye Yaodong and his friends returned to the boat, everyone else had already gone to sleep, so he had no choice but to put the food he had packed into the pot. It wouldn't go bad in the cold weather anyway, and he could heat it up and have it with breakfast tomorrow.

The fishing boats sway with the waves, which makes it easier for people to fall asleep. Everyone is used to listening to the sound of the waves and falls asleep better.

After a rare good night's sleep, the boatmen got up in high spirits at daybreak the next day.

Everyone was thinking about the big gray whale, and was afraid that someone would take the fish while they were sleeping, so they all got up early in the morning.

Ye Yaodong was also awakened by the noise of them getting up, and had no choice but to get up.

"Why are you in such a hurry? It's only 5 o'clock. Today is the nd day of the lunar calendar. The tide is rising. You can't see a thing."

"Hehe, I got up when I got enough sleep. I have to keep an eye on it."

"The tide won't go out until 6 this morning, so you can watch if you want."

Although he said this, he had actually slept enough. Everyone else was up, and if they asked him to lie down, he wouldn't be able to do so, so he might as well get up too.

"It seems like there's really no exposure at all. We have to wait until the tide goes out."

"Why are there fried spareribs and boiled chicken in the pot?"

Ye Yaodong walked out and said, "We finished selling out the goods quite early yesterday, just after 9 o'clock. It was rare for us to go out so early, so we went to eat. Normally, we have to go out to eat the next morning. I thought I would pack some food for you guys, but you guys all fell asleep, so it was just the right time for a snack in the morning."

"Ah! What a loss! The food is so delicious!"

"Next time if there's less cargo, I'll go with you."

“Isn’t this something we can eat?”

Ye Yaodong looked at the sea behind him and said, "It's high tide now. I don't know how long it will take for the tide to recede for the fish to come out."

"Once it starts to retreat, it will be quick. It should be exposed at eight or nine o'clock, right?"

"Wait, hurry up and cook, I can't wait to eat the chicken."

Not long after the people on their boat got up, people on the two boats next to them also got up one after another, and even some villagers on the shore showed signs of moving around.

When it got a little brighter, it seemed as if the whole village had woken up. There were many more villagers coming and going to take out garbage and children playing on the beach.

Everyone was bored after dinner and it was early, so they started to play cards on the boat while waiting for the tide to go out and bask in the early sun.

Only when the fishing boat stopped shaking did everyone throw away the cards in their hands, stand up and look out to sea.

"The tide is beginning to recede and our ship has run aground."

"Wait a moment, it's still retreating, the big whale will be exposed soon."

Father Ye was rubbing his hands in excitement, "I don't know how big the fish is. I haven't seen the whole picture."

"You'll see it soon."

"Sister-in-law...sister-in-law..."

Ye Yaodong turned his head and saw Lin Guangyuan and Lin Xiangyang standing on the shore.

Father Ye frowned, "Why are you here again?"

"He said he wanted to see the big whale. I told him that as long as he could get up, it was up to him. Anyway, his second uncle drove a tractor back and forth between the dock and the market, so it was convenient. If he wanted to see it, he could show it to him."

"I've never seen you be so patient with others before."

"Then you still have to be patient with the child."

Lin Guangyuan rolled up his trouser legs and walked over with water flowing.

"I thought you couldn't get up, but you came just in time, the tide was going out, and the fish immediately appeared."

"I got up early, took medicine, and waited for my second uncle for a long time before he came. I thought it was too late."

"Wait, then."

The tide will rush forward and then retreat a long way, leaving only white foam and soft sand.

In this way, the tide receded little by little, and the gray-black back of the gray whale slowly emerged from the water.

There was an expectant look on everyone's face.

"I can see it, but I have to wait a little longer."

"how much longer?"

"In about an hour, the full picture will be revealed."

“So slow…”

Although everyone complained that the tide was receding slowly, there was nothing they could do but wait.

As the tide gradually receded, the gray whale's appearance gradually revealed itself, and people on the shore also discovered this abnormality.

People around spread the word that even before the tide receded, a large crowd had already gathered on the shore. Everyone was looking at the big gray whale in the water curiously and whispering to each other.

Some people were also discussing whether the sudden stop of their three ships was related to the gray whale.

Otherwise, how could a large ship be stranded here on the beach? It's not even the New Year yet, so it wouldn't be so early to rest for the New Year. If it were, it would have been stranded at the dock.

Some people took a few more curious looks early in the morning, but seeing that the three fishing boats had not left and were still basking in the sun on the deck, they were just curious.

Now, as the tide receded, the fishing boat was completely stranded, and someone walked up to the boat and asked them questions.

"Where are you from? Did you pull up that big fish?"

"What kind of fish is that?"

"Are you two together? I saw you guys parked here so early in the morning..."

“We hauled up the fish.”

All the people on the three boats got off the boats and stood on the beach, waiting for the tide to recede.

At this time, the tide was still at their calves, and even with rain boots on, the water did not get into their shoes.

The gray whale's body was already half exposed. If they continued to move forward, they would have to wade through water up to their thighs. In such a cold weather, they had to wait a little longer.

"Just wait a few more minutes, and it will all be exposed soon."

"Adong, do you need to call in advance? It's already past 8 o'clock." Father Pei was getting a little anxious after waiting for so long.

Ye Yaodong touched the watch in his pocket, looked at it, and put it back. "Wait a moment. It's still morning, so there's no need to rush. Let's wait for the tide to recede and take a look first."

He had already calculated that today the tide should start to recede after high tide at around 12 or 7 o'clock, and would recede to the bottom around noon, and would be full around o'clock in the evening.

The sea conditions in each place will be slightly different, but the general tides will not change.

Today is low tide for the entire day, so there is no need to be so anxious. Let's see the situation first.

He also needed to understand the situation clearly before he knew what to say when he called later, and he also wanted to take a look and verify his previous guess first.

The local villagers around were still talking about it, pulling others aside to ask questions, all wanting to know how the fish was pulled up, what kind of fish it was, and when it was pulled up.

Everyone followed the tide while talking to the fishermen around them, getting closer and closer to the stranded gray whale.

The tide had not yet completely receded from the gray whales, but they anxiously waded forward.

Only the local villagers remained on the beach, waiting for the water level to drop a little.

"Wow, this fish is too big, isn't it?"

"Why are there barnacles all over your body..."

"This tail is so big!"

As soon as everyone approached the fish, they excitedly bent down to touch its tail and tried to lift it.

"Hiss, there are barnacles all over the tail too. Luckily I have thick hands. If a woman came here, she would have cut it with every touch."

"Come on, my wife's hands aren't much less skilled than mine."

"It's so funny. They are talking about girls outside. How can you compare them with your wife at home?"

"That's not very kind of you. The woman in your family was also a little girl."

Ye Yaodong ignored their teasing and took a closer look at the gray whale, which was covered with dense barnacles and not a single piece of good meat. He was shocked and got goosebumps.

No wonder Lin Guangyuan’s cotton jacket was full of scratches and his hands were covered with wounds after lying there for a short time.

"This is too scary, there are so many barnacles, it's all over the body."

When I saw it at sea before, its gray body with spots on it, I thought it was just its original skin color with a few barnacles mixed in.

After all, gray whales are gray like rocks, with white spots on their bodies.

Who would have thought that there were more than just a few barnacles, but that the entire body was covered with them, so densely packed that he could not see many exposed good skins, only small patches here and there.

I heard that gray whales swim very slowly and are easily attached by barnacles, but this is the first time I have seen a whale like this. It is too scary.

Lin Guangyuan was also very excited. "I was lying on this fish and it hurt me. Why does it look so scary? Can these shells be scraped off?"

"It can be scraped off, but humans are needed to scrape it off, otherwise it can only be left to grow. These barnacle juveniles have strong reproductive capacity and can easily spread all over the body."

Whales have rough skin and swim very slowly, so it is not easy to wash them away with water currents, making them suitable for barnacles to survive. Whales have short fins and cannot be cleaned well.

Some whales die from barnacles.

Looking at it from such a close distance now, if nothing unexpected happens, this whale really died from the barnacles attached to it.

When we saw this gray whale at sea before, it rammed a fishing boat. Perhaps it was tortured and was trying to get rid of the barnacles by ramming it.

When he heard that Pei's father wanted to lure the whale to beach itself, he was shocked, and thought that he would just follow his idea and lure it to beach itself, and then he would clean the barnacles off the whale himself.

Then, when they were stranded, he discussed the plan with them. He felt that his words still carried a lot of weight. Although he was a junior, he had a share in all three boats.

The other boat belonged to his three brothers, so it was no exaggeration to say that he was completely in charge.

However, no one expected that the whale would not even make it to the beach and died halfway.

Pity.

But he thought about how when he went down to the bottom of the sea and saw the whale lying on its side, he noticed its belly and decided to drag it back.

He didn't know whether his guess was right or not, but at least he dragged it back to take a look. It would only be a little bit of effort, but there would be no loss.

Others were also chattering about how there were too many barnacles on the fish.

"I've never seen a fish covered entirely with barnacles. The sea turtles I encountered before were also covered with barnacles, but they were not as scary as this one. This fish is so big, and it's covered with barnacles all over its body."

"Yeah, there's not a single piece of good skin."

"Could it be that it died because it was covered with barnacles?"

"It's very possible. After all, I didn't see it fighting with other fish, and I didn't see any wounds on its body. They were all caused by these barnacles."

Ye Yaodong also thought so. He didn't care that the water was washed away by the waves and filled his rain boots. He continued to lift his legs forward. Anyway, his lower body was wet.

When he walked along the whale's body from the tail to the belly, he stopped and bent down to take a closer look at its belly. It was indeed very large.

But even its belly was covered with barnacles, and he had no way to touch it.

"This is too scary, like a hedgehog... all over the body, it's so painful."

"How do you know he is in pain?" Father Ye followed him and walked to his side.

"If you had a snake scale on your body, and it kept growing, covering your skin, getting wider and wider, stretching there, would you feel uncomfortable? Would it hurt?"

"What nonsense! Isn't it disgusting?"

"You see, anything that doesn't belong to you will feel uncomfortable when it's attached to your body, let alone this thing that's all over your body. To put it another way, it's like mosquito bites all over your body, and they won't go away forever."

Father Ye shuddered and also felt a little scared.

Pei's father, who was following nearby, originally didn't think these barnacles were anything special, as they were common on the seashore. But after Ye Yaodong said this, he also found them scary.

"So this whale was killed by barnacles?"

"Most likely, go take a look at its head."

There is nothing we can do about the abdomen now, so we can only look at the head first.

When I looked at it underwater before, its head was also covered with barnacles, but now that the tide is out, I can see it more clearly when I get closer.

Because it was towed all the way in the sea, the gray whale was head down and was bumped and worn by some reefs along the way. The barnacles on its body were also broken, and there were obvious scratches on a large area of ​​its head.

Father Ye couldn't help but say, "Look, there are really barnacles all around its eyes and nostrils. How can it survive for such a long time?"

Father Pei also lowered his head and looked carefully. "It seems that there are really too many barnacles, so it died of pain."

Ye Yaodong thought about it and said, "It could also be that I am too heavy and I can't bear the weight of my body and I can't eat."

The whale is too heavy. When it is in the water, it relies on the buoyancy of the water for support. Now its body is covered with barnacles, which makes it uncomfortable, painful and heavy. The eyes, mouth and nose are covered with barnacles, which also affects its foraging. When the body can no longer bear its own weight, it is easy for it to fall directly, crushing itself to death, breaking bones and rupturing internal organs.

Ye Yaodong once again thought of the time when it hit the fishing boat from time to time. It might not only be trying to get rid of the barnacles on its body, but also probably trying to ask for help.

But perhaps it was too painful, and he was nearing the end of his life. His strength was fading, so his movements became weaker and weaker, and he swam slower and slower, until he could no longer hold on and fell directly to the bottom of the sea.

Even if he fell to the bottom of the sea, he saw that he was lying on his back. He wondered if this had anything to do with what he had guessed.

Lin Guangyuan, who followed, asked, "If we stand in the sea, will we be entangled by barnacles?"

"What do you say?"

"Will you?"

"Of course. A whale this big is covered in barnacles. Do you think your body can escape? You can't even swim faster than it."

Lin Guangyuan shuddered, not daring to imagine what would happen if his entire body, including his eyes and nostrils, were covered with barnacles.

"It's such a tragic way to die, considering his size."

He shook his head. "Life is unpredictable. Even the overlord of the ocean has to die when it's time to die. However, if it had met us earlier and ran aground earlier, we might have been able to save it."

"Then I can't fall into the sea earlier?"

Ye Yaodong looked at him like an idiot. He had nothing in common with fools.

Father Ye asked doubtfully, "Didn't we think of luring it to aground to see if we could catch it?"

"That's what you and Uncle Pei think. I don't think so. I just want to follow your instructions and strand it first to see if I can maintain it, remove the barnacles, and let it live for a few more years."

It is impossible to borrow another 500 years from heaven, but it should be possible to borrow another 5 years.

"Forget it, we're all dead anyway. Now that we've seen it all and the tide has receded, should we just go ashore and make a phone call?" Pei's father couldn't help but ask again.

"Okay, let me take another look at its belly."

"Didn't you just check it? There are barnacles all over the belly."

"I know. Let me take a closer look."

He just took a quick look and found that most of the barnacles on the abdomen were intact and the scratches were not obvious, but they were still soaked in water. Now that the tide has receded, he will go take another look.