Chapter 30: Buying Fishing Cages

When Lin Qin announced the final tally, Lin Yi was stunned for a long moment, muttering, "That’s as much as the monthly salary of four or five factory workers."

Lin Qin said happily, "Dad, you haven’t even counted what we earned yesterday! If you add it all up, it’s over two hundred."

Lin Yi snapped out of his trance, his heart burning with excitement. "Girl, if things keep going at this rate, buying land and building a house really isn't just a dream!"

At this moment, he was even more excited than Lin Qin. Truth be told, in his eyes, Chen Wenjun didn't have any real flaws; his only major drawback was being poor, with no fields or land to his name. Now that his biggest worry was being resolved, how could he not be thrilled? When a person’s spirits are high, all ailments fade away; Lin Yi even felt like he could get up and walk around.

Lin Qin didn’t dare let him overexert himself and instructed the two children to keep an eye on him.

Chen Wenjun finished a steamed bun with pickled vegetables and slurped down half a bowl of river snails. Satisfied, he was eager to go check the fish traps. They had been submerged for a day and a night, and he was anxious to see the harvest.

As the first trap was dragged out of the water, Chen Wenjun shook it while inspecting it. By the time it was hauled up, his grin was practically stretching to the back of his ears.

"Look at this, do you think there’s at least two pounds of river shrimp in here?"

Lin Qin’s eyes shone. "Definitely! Probably even more! Let’s pour it out and see."

Chen Wenjun handed her the trap and went to check the second one. It was similar to the first; just these two traps yielded about five pounds of river shrimp, along with a few marble gobies, small crucian carp, several river snails, and a handful of half-grown river crabs. Lin Qin busied herself with sorting; the tiny crabs didn't have much meat, so they were perfect for the children to play with. She put the shrimp in one bucket and the rest in another.

Lin Yi had set six traps in total. Aside from one that was empty, the others had all done quite well. There were probably over a dozen pounds of river shrimp in total. They needed to sell them quickly to avoid having them go bad. It wasn't even one o'clock yet.

Chen Wenjun hurried to the shore to sell the shrimp. Lin Qin stayed on the boat to continue fishing. Following the baiting method Chen Wenjun had taught her the day before, she had a bountiful catch today as well.

When Chen Wenjun arrived home after three o'clock, Lin Qin had already caught over a dozen fish. He hurriedly handed the money from the shrimp sale to Lin Qin. "Those shrimp weighed thirteen pounds and three taels; I rounded it down to thirteen pounds. At one yuan and ninety cents a pound, that’s twenty-four yuan and seventy cents. The eight marble gobies brought in five yuan and seventy-six cents, and I threw in the three palm-sized crucian carp as a bonus. Boss Zheng gave me thirty yuan and fifty cents. Take it all and keep it safe. I’m going back out to set the traps. Boss Zheng said it would be even better if I could deliver them before ten in the morning. I’ll go ask Grandpa later if he has any extra traps to sell me; I want to buy five or six more."

These days, people usually bought thread to weave their own nets. Chen Wenjun didn't have the time, and Lin Qin didn't know how, so they had to buy them, though they were inexpensive—about four or five yuan each.

After eating and resetting the traps, Chen Wenjun rowed the boat over to a boat-dwelling family's vessel and hopped across. "Is Grandpa home?"

As he called out, a woman in her forties poked her head out. "What brings you here?" As she spoke, she glanced at Lin Qin on Chen Wenjun’s boat, her eyes sparkling with curiosity. "Is that your wife?"

Chen Wenjun nodded, flashing a bright smile. "Yes! That’s my wife, Lin Qin!"

"Well look at you! You quietly went and brought back such a beautiful wife! You should bring her over for dinner tonight!" Zhou Shuifang said enthusiastically.

Chen Wenjun hurriedly declined. "Auntie, let’s do it another day! I’m just here to get a few traps from Grandpa and head back. The weather is good, so I have to work while I can. I’ll come by when I’m less busy."

Zhou Shuifang nodded repeatedly, her gaze never leaving Lin Qin. "That’s easy! I have two new traps at home that were only used once. Your Grandpa and Uncle Wenfa went off to haul cargo, so they aren't using them. You can take those."

"They went to haul cargo again? It isn't the season for log rafting yet, is it?" Chen Wenjun frowned slightly.

Zhou Shuifang shook her head. "They aren't rafting; they’re transporting tea towards Xiamen Bay. It’ll take a few days. They can earn twenty or thirty yuan a trip, so the two of them will make fifty or sixty."

"That’s quite a bit," Chen Wenjun remarked.

Zhou Shuifang clearly agreed, grinning from ear to ear. "Wenjun! Now that you’re married and Ping'an has someone to look after him, you should consider going along to help transport goods. You can earn some extra money; just relying on fishing won't be enough to feed so many mouths." She was genuinely worried that Lin Qin wouldn't be able to handle the hardship and would run away, leaving Chen Wenjun alone again.

Chen Wenjun nodded perfunctorily, inspected the two traps to ensure they were in good condition, quickly paid Zhou Shuifang, and returned to his boat.

Once the boat was further away, Chen Wenjun sighed in relief. "Auntie Shuifang is great, but she’s such a chatterbox. If you stay with her, she can talk to you for an entire day!"

Lin Qin couldn't help but chuckle. She knew the family well; in her previous life, after Zhou Shuifang found out there was a woman on Chen Wenjun’s boat, she had come over and talked endlessly, even when Lin Qin didn't say a word. Lin Qin simply couldn't handle that level of over-familiarity.

With two extra traps, Chen Wenjun poured all his energy into the work. After all, if the catches continued to be this good, they could make around forty yuan a day—equivalent to a worker’s monthly salary. Combined with Lin Qin’s fishing and the marble gobies he caught with the net, they could make a significant amount. Conservatively, their daily income wouldn't fall below fifty yuan. At this rate, they would have over two thousand yuan in less than two months.

By then, he would have the confidence to go to the Land Bureau and inquire about the price of the deserted island.

With a goal in sight, the two were highly motivated. They would wake up at the crack of dawn to sell fish, deliver the shrimp and marble gobies to the Guoxing Hotel before ten in the morning, and return to the boat to cook and eat. After a one-hour midday break, they would get back to work. Lin Qin would fish, Chen Wenjun would tend the traps and fish with the net, and in the evening, they would cook dinner. After tucking the children into bed, they would still head out for two hours of night fishing before calling it a day.

In the midst of the busyness, a month passed since Lin Qin, Lin Yi, and Liu Yaya had started living on the boat.

As the weather turned warmer, the children still didn't have enough clothes. Lin Qin had originally thought about saving money by cutting Chen Ping'an’s hair herself, but then she realized they weren't short of a few cents for a haircut anymore, so it would be better to take them to a proper barbershop.

As soon as she mentioned it to Chen Ping'an, he shook his head in terror. "Auntie can just cut it, or Dad can do it."

Lin Qin stroked his head and laughed, "Your dad would give you a bowl-cut, which looks too ugly, and I don't have the skills either. Be a good boy, listen to me, let’s go to the barbershop. I’ll take you out for a stroll and buy you some things while we're at it."

Liu Yaya, standing nearby, immediately shouted with excitement, "I want to go too! I want to go too! Brother Ping'an, I’ll go with you!"