Fisherman Fubao made his fortune by fishing

The nights are long in winter, and the sky only gets brighter at noon. Li Yuer was awakened by rustling sounds coming from outside.

On the cold, hard boat plank and under the musty-smelling reed quilt, she slept soundly but uncomfortably that night.

It was the middle of the night and I woke up from the cold several times. My hands and feet were never warm.

I struggled to get up from the prickly quilt. Well, there was no need to put on any clothes. I didn't take them off at all. If I had taken them off, I would have frozen to death.

She walked out in a daze, groping around and touching her legs several times.

She was not used to the darkness, and she swore that after selling the whale, she would buy an oil lamp or candle.

"Eat quickly!" Without washing up, Li Yuer's hands were stuffed with bowl and chopsticks, and he stuffed the fish burrito into his mouth in the dark.

She guessed that they were the leftovers from yesterday. There were two left in total, and she stuffed one of them into Li Yuer's hand.

Li Yuer was just about to go to the kitchen shed to get some water to wash her face when she saw her aunt rolling a snowball and rubbing it on her face.

She remembered that they all used snow water to wash their faces, which was convenient and refreshing.

She should have followed the local customs, but she really couldn't extend her hand. It was too cold!

Finally, it was her aunt who brought her warm water in the morning and she was able to wash her face reluctantly.

After some hurried packing, the few of them set off in the dark.

Zhang was left behind to look after the house, Old Man Li carried the load, Old Lady Cai carried the basket, and Li Yuer followed behind.

Before going out, a stick as thick as his arm and more than one meter long was stuffed into Li Yuer's hand.

She took it, but was a little confused. What was he doing with a stick? Was there a stray dog ​​on the road?

As the saying goes, "A long journey carries no light burden." How heavy could this be?

"Move sideways!" Old Mrs. Cai reminded.

"Ah?" Li Yuer was still in a daze.

Old Mrs. Cai added, "We walked on the ice path to cross the sea, carrying sticks on our shoulders, so that if we stepped on something, we wouldn't fall and be washed away."

Li Yuer understood, and in order to save his life, he quickly and obediently turned the stick sideways, and imitated Old Lady Cai to carry it on his shoulder and walk.

It has to be said that the wisdom of the people cannot be ignored in any dynasty.

The weather is particularly cold this year, and the area of ​​​​sea closure is relatively large. The sea surface from Rabbit Island to Yuge Wharf is frozen.

The sea is a mysterious goddess. While it provides you with abundant resources, it also hides deadly dangers.

No matter how calm the frozen sea surface is, the tide will rise and fall as it should, and the sea water will move as it should.

In the deep water areas like the one between Rabbit Island and Fuzhou Bay, the sea under the ice is still turbulent and the water speed is extremely fast.

If the ice surface collapses and you step on empty air and fall in, the waves can instantly wash you far away from the original ice hole, and there is basically no possibility of getting out.

People suffocate to death before they freeze to death or drown.

Li Yuer was a child who grew up by the sea in his previous life. He was taught by adults to respect the sea since he was young.

Having witnessed some tragedies that happened in coastal areas, she dared not be careless at all. This vigilant attitude helped her avoid many crises while surviving in the wild.

Li Yuer obediently carried the wooden stick and followed the old lady closely.

When walking on an ice trail, you must know how to follow the footsteps of the person in front of you.

The surface of the frozen sea is not like the surface of lakes and rivers; it is rugged and full of obstacles.

In some places, the ground is wavy like the waves of the sea, in some places there are towering snowdrifts, and in some places there are sunken areas like bottomless puddles.

Old man Li is an experienced fisherman. He has walked on the ice track with the old man several times before. He keeps in mind the principles passed down by his ancestors and chooses his step carefully.

Walking on the ice was very slow. It took me a full half hour. When the sun jumped out of the sea, I could see the shadow of the pier in the distance.

Yuge Wharf is the only wharf in Xinpu Town.

Xinpu Town belongs to Huihai County, which is the westernmost county in Ninghai Prefecture. It is located in a remote area with few caravans and ships traveling back and forth.

It neither occupies an important transportation route nor has any large trading companies and its population is small, so Huihai County's economy is not developed and it is the poorest county in Ninghai Prefecture.

But although the sparrow is small, it has all the necessary things.

There is a medium-sized fish market near the pier. It is made up of straw huts, built in a relatively concentrated area, but with no rules.

In the cold winter, the docks and fish markets have long been closed, and the northwest wind makes the place feel very bleak.

There is an official road at the wharf that leads directly to Xinpu Town.

Xinpu Town is not big, but the densely packed houses with bursts of smoke at this time made the few people feel at ease, but also a little envious.

Even the most ordinary thatched house is not something that fishermen can easily own.

At this time, shops in the town began to open for business one after another.

Naughty children wearing thick cotton-padded jackets were playing and frolicking in the street in groups of three or four. The breakfast stalls on the roadside were emitting bursts of steam, and diners were coming in and out, eating and chatting.

The atmosphere is peaceful and harmonious, what a quiet border town.

Li Yuer observed the surrounding scenery with curiosity, absorbing the atmosphere of everyday life while looking for business opportunities.

Xinpu Town may be the first stop for her to make a fortune.

Old man Li walked along in fear, and his rheumatic legs began to ache slightly.

He endured the pain and rested at the foot of an old tree that had lost all its leaves.

He glanced at his old wife and asked, "Where are we going?"

Li Yuer sighed in his heart and couldn't help but sigh, wondering if they were like the farmers who went to the city to sell agricultural products in their previous life, who were afraid of being looked down upon and also afraid of not being able to sell their products.

It was emaciated and I didn't know where to sell it. I was too embarrassed to open my mouth to sell it.

At the same time, Li Yuer felt that her grandfather was really henpecked and always asked for his grandmother's opinion on everything, just like a child asking for his parents' opinions.

But it's cute. Every couple has their own way of getting along with each other, and harmony is the most important thing.

Now that they were in the town, the islanders' inherent inferiority complex began to take effect again. Li Yuer guessed that the things they had discussed at home before would probably be changed.

Although Mrs. Cai is the boss at home, she becomes a little timid when she is outside and facing a group of strangers who are much better dressed than her.

Sure enough, Mrs. Cai was beginning to want to back out.

This won't work. Li Yuer can't do this.

She quickly pretended to be fearless and said in a childish tone: "Grandma, didn't you say that we should go to the biggest restaurant in town to sell whale meat? We can use the money to treat my father and mother, to heal my younger brother, and to help my third uncle and my younger aunt get married."

Every single thing Li Yuer mentioned was like a huge stone weighing on the old couple’s hearts.

Provoked by Li Yuer, the two men were determined to do it even if they had to bite the bullet.

"Let's go! To Nongchao Tower." Old Mrs. Cai said with determination.

Nongchaolou is the largest restaurant in Xinpu Town. It is built on the most prosperous South Street in the town and is the tallest building in Xinpu Town.

The three-story building was so ancient that before entering, Li Yuer was attracted by the quaint architecture in front of her.

Green bricks and black tiles, vermilion doors and windows, long red lanterns hanging on the eaves, and a carved plaque with three large characters written in a flamboyant style: Nongchao Tower.

Traditional Chinese characters, fortunately I am not completely illiterate, Li Yuer secretly rejoiced in her heart.

What are placed on both sides of the restaurant door are not stone lions, but Pixiu, which symbolizes attracting wealth and treasure.

In the previous life, this was just an ordinary ancient building, and could not be compared with the famous Stork Tower.

But at this time, it is a symbol of identity and status for the wealthy in Xinpu Town.

It is an existence that ordinary people like Old Man Li dare not dream of and can only look up to.

Nongchao Building was already open at this time, and the people coming in and out were obviously dressed more elegantly than ordinary passers-by.

The textile and dyeing techniques of this dynasty were relatively backward, and only the rich could wear bright and shiny clothes.

Seeing that Old Man Li and his companion were standing motionless under the bare tree, Li Yuer simply skipped and ran towards the waiter at the door.

Lai Fu, who was welcoming and seeing off guests, saw a child in ragged clothes running towards him and thought the child was begging for leftovers.

He casually said, "It's not time for dinner yet, come back later."

Their hosts were kind-hearted and would give away any leftovers to poor families or beggars in the town.

But there have to be rules for everything. Now is the time for guests to have their meal, and we must not affect their mood.

Li Yuer knew that he was being treated as a beggar. Seeing that the other party's tone was acceptable and there was no contempt in his eyes, Li Yuer smiled and said, "Brother, I'm not begging. We are selling seafood, you see!"

Afraid that the other party would not believe her, she pointed at the old couple hiding under the tree and said, "Those are my grandpa and grandma. They brought a large shipment of goods. Everyone says that Nongchaolou is the most powerful restaurant in our town. If there is a large shipment of goods, they must be delivered here as soon as possible."

Seeing that the little boy was eloquent and spoke in an organized manner, and praised their restaurant, the waiter's attitude became much better. However, he could not easily bother the shopkeeper with trivial matters. He had to first find out whether the other party really had big goods or the little boy was just bragging.

After all, it was the coldest time of the year and all the fishing boats were on shore, so there was no way any big cargo could come from there. Even on normal days, there weren’t many big cargoes that would catch the shopkeeper’s eye.

But then he thought, it just so happened that a wealthy family was holding a banquet recently, and the shopkeeper was worried about not having good goods to connect with. If he could find good goods for the shopkeeper, could he also consider the position?