Chapter 417: Money
Chapter 417: Money
As soon as Tian Caixia spoke, Li Father's heart sank with regret.
Having worked in a wood factory before, he would have instantly recognized this as sandalwood if he had gone beachcombing. Li Qingmin also regretted not joining them.
If he had gone, they would have found this huge piece of sandalwood themselves!
How much would such a large piece of sandalwood be worth?
Zhou Bingqiang was also in disbelief. He jumped onto the boat to verify its authenticity and even bent down to smell it. Indeed, there was a fragrant aroma, unlike ordinary wood.
Zhou Bingqiang stared at the colossal sandalwood, deeply questioning his luck. He had never seen sandalwood before but had heard of its high value.
When would Zhou Yongfu's incredible luck rub off on him?
Zhou Yongfu and Zhou Chenglei were already wealthy enough, weren't they?
Why couldn't it be their turn to get rich this year?
The villagers boarded Zhou's boat to witness the sandalwood, wanting to confirm if it truly had a fragrance.
Zhou Bingqiang's wife couldn't resist and secretly reached out to touch it.
Zhou Mother noticed her hand, which had been handling fish and was still covered in fish scales, looking filthy. She couldn't help but say, "Don't touch, you can't touch it. Just look. We've already spent half a day cleaning it. Thank you!"
Zhou Bingqiang's wife withdrew her hand, feeling disdainful. It was just a piece of wood, yet they treated it like gold. Not even allowed to touch it!
Just then, Zhou Chengxin finished selling fish and boarded the boat.
Tian Caixia quickly pulled him over, "Come and take a look at this sandalwood. Smell it. Remember this appearance and scent, engrave it in your mind! Don't forget it even in your dreams! If you encounter it in the sea or on the beach again, don't miss out on such a treasure!"
Tian Caixia's words resonated with the other villagers, who carefully examined and sniffed the wood.
Zhou Bingqiang's wife took the opportunity to speak up, "A Hua is right. Everyone, come and take a good look! If your eyesight isn't good, at least smell it and familiarize yourself with it. Don't miss out if you come across it in the sea, thinking it's ordinary wood. Learn to recognize sandalwood, a small piece of which is worth more than fish!"
It would be best if everyone came to touch it, making it stink.
Touching the sandalwood until it became foul, rendering it unsellable!
With so many people, she couldn't believe she was the only one who wanted to touch it.
As more people boarded the boat, some couldn't resist the urge to touch it.
Zhou Father hurriedly said, "Don't touch! Don't touch! You can't touch it! I just cleaned it. Don't get the fishy smell on it! Just look, don't touch, or we won't be able to sell it, and we'll have to compensate!"
Zhou Mother directly shooed them away, "Alright, that's enough! There are too many people, and the boat might sink! Make way! We're going to unload the wood!"
Zhou Chengxin, Zhou Father, and Tian Caixia also urged the villagers to leave.
It wasn't until Zhou Chenglei arrived with a tractor that the villagers started to disembark, allowing them to unload the giant log.
Of course, some stayed to help with the task.
Together, they lifted the sandalwood off the boat and onto the tractor.
The tractor's trailer wasn't long enough, leaving half of the log exposed.
Zhou Father sat on the trailer, holding the log in place to prevent it from falling.
Zhou Mother and Zhou Chengxin stayed behind to continue selling the fish.
Even after the tractor had driven off into the distance, some villagers asked Zhou Mother where they had found the sandalwood.
Zhou Mother generously shared that they had found it in the western bay and that they had collected many sea cucumbers there during the low tide.
Upon seeing the bags of sea cucumbers, each one impressively large, many villagers expressed their intention to check it out the next day.
Some people who didn't have a boat asked Zhou Mu if she would be going out to sea tomorrow, as they wanted to ride in their boat.
Zhou Mu didn't readily agree and only said, "I don't know if we'll go out to sea tomorrow, and I'm not sure if Ah Lei will go to the city to sell that sandalwood."
Upon hearing this, everyone gave up on the idea.
When Li Fu saw that no one was around Zhou Mu, he handed over the earnings from the fishing trip: "Mother-in-law, this is the money we made from fishing. It's twenty-two dollars and sixty-seven cents in total. We've already taken our ten-dollar wages, so you can keep the rest and give it to Ah Xin later!"
Zhou Mu smiled and took it, saying, "Okay, thank you, in-laws. You've worked hard today."
Then, Li Fu flipped through the bucket of fish and showed them to Zhou Mu, "I'll take this bucket of mixed fish home to eat. We'll head home now."
Zhou Mu took a look and smiled, "Okay, next time leave a couple of larger fish for us to take home. These are too small."
"No need, this is enough!"
"Okay, go home and rest early!"
So, Li Fu and Li Qingmin left.
When Li Fu and his son returned home, Li Mu immediately asked, "What fish did you catch today? How much did you sell it for?"
Li Fu handed a stack of money to Li Mu.
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Their daughter had said that the money from the fish they caught belonged to the father and son, as a way for her to show filial piety.
Li Mu happily took the money and started counting.
Li Qingmin's wife also asked him, "What about you? Did you not catch any fish?"
Li Qingmin took out a stack of money and gave it to her, "No need to count. Today, we caught three mackerels, one of which weighed ten pounds, and we also caught a red snapper and some perches. We sold them for sixteen dollars and eighty cents. My father and I each get eight dollars and forty cents."
Li Qingmin's wife couldn't help but count the money, and with their daily wage of five dollars, they had a total of thirteen dollars and forty cents. She smiled, "Not bad!"
Earning over ten dollars every day!
Fishing at sea was indeed a lucrative business!
Li Qingmin felt proud, of course, it was good. They selected the most valuable fish as their catch and considered the money earned from selling them as theirs.
Li Mu was aware of this arrangement, and she accepted the money without any qualms.
They had married their daughter to Zhou Chensen, and the father and son worked tirelessly to help the Zhou family with their fishing and earn money. Their daughter and son-in-law didn't have to lift a finger and still received a substantial amount of money.
Was it wrong for the father and son to take a larger share of the money? It was already considerate of them not to take half.
Li Qingmin's wife asked, "How much did Xi'an and the others earn today?"
Li Qingmin replied, "Over twenty-two dollars."
Li Qingmin's wife exclaimed, "That much!"
It was almost ten dollars more than what they made.
Li Qingmin's wife couldn't help but say, "Once we've saved enough money, let's buy a boat and go fishing ourselves!"
Li Qingmin had a similar plan, "Yes, let's save up."
Li Mu's heart stirred upon hearing this, and she said to Li Fu, "Next time, take more fish as your catch. After all, no one will know if they were caught by trawling or fishing."
Li Fu shook his head, "We can't be too greedy."
Taking a few good fish as their catch was already pushing it.
If the in-laws and son-in-law found out, it would be problematic!
After all, who could guarantee that they'd catch valuable fish every time they went fishing? Today, they had fished all day and only caught two sea bass and some cheap small fish. Even if they sold all of them, they'd only get a little over one dollar.
With so many people at the dock, Li Fu didn't dare to be too obvious.
(End of Chapter)
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