72 Chapter 72: Fishing
Of course, not all of the items would be sold to Fortune Mansion. It was possible to set up a stall in the market or sell them to the grocery stores.
Their family’s straw sandals were a good example. If they could buy some bamboo at a low price in the countryside and make some bamboo products, they could also sell them together with their straw sandals.
Simply put, she wanted to be a middleman.
When Madam Liu heard this, she once again sighed that her family was powerless and could not help her daughter-in-law.
“How about this? Selling another 150 catties of vegetables a day is not a small business. I’ll ask Big Girl’s opinion in the afternoon and get her to ask her mother-in-law if she’s willing to let Erniu help.”
“Ask him to help deliver goods to town every other day and pay him 30 copper coins for each delivery.”
In this way, they could at least earn another 45 copper coins.
And 150 catties of vegetables didn’t sound light.
However, with the handcart, even a young boy like Erniu wouldn’t need to exert much effort to push it.
If he were fast, it would only take more than an hour to make a round trip.
The earlier he set off, the earlier he could come back, and their work in the fields would not be delayed either.
“Okay!” Madam Liu replied.
Although she regretted not being able to save the 30 copper coins, she still agreed with her daughter-in-law’s approach.
“In addition…” Qin Xiaoyao suddenly paused.
Madam Liu looked at her daughter-in-law.
“In addition, I have thought about it, and I want to return the silver I borrowed from my father,” Qin Xiaoyao said.
Madam Liu was stunned.
“You should! It’s better to return it earlier!” she quickly said.
She had actually wanted to bring this up to her daughter-in-law before. After all, their family was much more well-off now.
However, she didn’t know how much money her daughter-in-law had.
Now that her daughter-in-law had brought it up, she naturally had no objections.
Qin Xiaoyao nodded.
“Okay, I’ll go to town the day after tomorrow and return the silver to my father.” Her heart felt more at ease.
The Song family had just finished eating when Big Girl Li came to the door.
Then, the two of them took the fishing net and went out.
On the way, Qin Xiaoyao told Big Girl Li about her idea of engaging Liu Erniu to work for her.
“Sure! It’s just a matter of one hour or so. Erniu and my mother will definitely agree!” Big Girl Li quickly replied.
“I’ll help you ask when we get back tonight!” she said.
“Okay!”
Qin Xiaoyao only went into the water with the fishing net when she arrived at the shallow mudflats of the river at the upper reaches near the village entrance.
Then, she asked Big Girl Li to work with her and cast the net over a section of the river.
Qin Xiaoyao only got out of the river after she had finished putting the fishing net in place.
“It’s done. We’ll see if we can get any fish tonight!”
“Okay!” Big Girl Li looked at the fishing net with some anticipation.
After that, she returned to the Song family with Qin Xiaoyao and headed into the mountains with her tools.
In the afternoon, the two of them had harvested a total of more than 50 catties of Chinese yams and more than 10 catties of fresh edible fungus.
As they were thinking of the fishing net in the River Ringwaters, the two immediately returned to the village after they completed the excavation of the Chinese yams in the demarcated area.
After returning to the Song family’s house, they weighed their mountain harvests and split the money.
After that, the two of them each carried a large wooden bucket and went to the bank of the River Ringwaters.
Madam Liu and Qin Xiaoyao actually didn’t think that there was a need for Big Girl Li to carry a wooden bucket as well. They didn’t think it was possible to catch so many fish.
However, Big Girl Li didn’t listen, only saying that there might be a lot of fish.
Since their persuasion fell on deaf ears, the mother and daughter-in-law let her be.
When they reached the river, Qin Xiaoyao was the first to go into the water. She then ordered Big Girl Li to go in as well and help her pull up the fishing net.
Although Big Girl Li was a woman, she was big-sized and strong, so she worked well with Qin Xiaoyao.
The two of them only used about 15 minutes to reel in the fishing net and haul it to the shore.
There were five or six fish that weighed more than two catties in the net. There were many crucian carps and small fishes too.
“This fishing net can really catch fish! Sister Sanya, you’re amazing!” Big Girl Li quickly went to grab the biggest grass carp.
Good grief! This grass carp must weigh more than four catties!
“Haha! We didn’t waste our effort!” Qin Xiaoyao chuckled and said
She took a bucket and went to the river to get water.
Then, together with Big Girl Li, they picked up the big fishes and the slightly bigger crucian carps, tossing them into the bucket.
The rest of the small fish were picked up and tossed into another bucket. They were going to bring them back and directly drop them into the pot to make small fried fish.
After a while, the two of them had picked up all the fish in the net.
Qin Xiaoyao then asked Big Girl Li to help her put the fishing net back into the river.
...
Then, the two of them each carried a wooden bucket and returned to the Song family.
“Sister Sanya, the fish we can sell added up to more than 20 catties. How much does Fortune Mansion pay for a catty?” Big Girl Li asked Qin Xiaoyao excitedly as they walked.
How could she not be excited? A single harvest from a fishing net could yield more than 20 catties of fish.
They could still pull in the fishing net twice a day!
Sister Sanya had said before that she could get 20% of the income from the fish harvest.
From here onwards, she was going to be rich again!
“It depends on the type and size. The price is between 10 to 14 copper coins,” Qin Xiaoyao replied with a smile.
It was not a problem for them to earn more than two hundred copper coins from this fish harvest. It was a good start.
As for whether the fishing net would be able to produce as much as it did after that, it would depend on luck.
Back at the Song family’s house.
When the mother and children trio saw that the two of them had brought back so many fishes, they were all elated.
...
“Mother, you can directly fry these small fishes. I’ll give some to Big Girl for her to bring back later.”
“Those that can be sold for money, we’ll keep them in the stream. I’ll personally send them to town tomorrow.”
With these fishes, it became necessary to make a trip to town every day.
If it so happened that Erniu agreed to help with the delivery, she could bring him along to hand over the goods.
Madam Liu immediately understood.
“Then I… I’ll have to get Ye’er to quickly inform all the families to go to the fields and harvest the vegetables!” she said.
“Yup!” Qin Xiaoyao replied and then followed Big Girl Li to the stream.
The two of them dug a large pit by the stream.
Then, they made partitions and barricades to prevent the fishes from swimming out of the waterhole.
By the time the two of them returned to the Song family’s house, the fragrant smell of small deep-fried fish was already wafting out from the kitchen.
Qin Xiaoyao brought Big Girl Li into the kitchen, took out two bowls, one big and one small, and gave them to Madam Liu to scoop out the fried small fishes.
Then, under Big Girl Li’s unwavering gaze, she handed her the small bowl of small fishes.
“Be careful. It’s a little hot.”
Big Girl Li quickly took it.
“I know!”
Then, she adjusted the way she held the bowl.
“Then I’ll go back now! After I’ve asked my mother and Erniu, I’ll come back to give you a reply!”
“Okay!” Qin Xiaoyao agreed.
She smiled as she watched Big Girl Li leave.
At this moment, Song Ye also returned.
The little kid ran very fast and dashed into the kitchen, huffing and panting.
“Mom! It smells so good!” He even shouted while panting.
Both Madam Liu and Qin Xiaoyao laughed in amusement.
“Your sister-in-law brought back some small fishes. There are big bones and meat stewing in the pot. Tonight, we’re going to have good food again!” Madam Liu smiled and looked at her youngest son.
The family now ate meat every three to five days, and there was quite a lot of meat for every meal. It was a world of difference from the days before.
Not only did she feel that her body was much stronger than before, but her family members were also much more energetic and had even put on weight.