Chapter 73 People can’t be idle looking for work to make money
The sun is high and it’s extremely hot.
Zhao Dahai was shirtless, twisting the chisel with his left hand and the hammer with the right, one after another in no hurry, and the jute mixed with putty lime was driven into the seam of the boat bit by bit, and it kept sliding down like sweat and dewdrops. He had no time, ignored it, and the last one
The jute was drilled into the small slit in the stern of the boat. I straightened up and just put down the twisting chisel and hammer when I saw my second grandfather, Zhao Shi, walking towards me through the woods.
"Second Grandpa."
"What do you think? Is there any problem?"
Zhao Dahai picked up the clothes on the side of the boat and wiped his sweat. He was a little nervous. In three days, the seams of the entire ship were numb. Whether it was successful or not, and whether it could be approved by Zhao Shi, would be announced immediately. p>
"Okay!"
"The seams are just there."
"Let it dry for two days. Then apply putty on the outside."
Zhao Shi took a few puffs, put the hookah directly on the ground, walked to the edge of the boat, and carefully looked at the seams of the boat planks that Zhao Dahai had anesthetized. The first ones were almost dry, and he pressed them with his hands.
It was tight. I took a twisting chisel and poked it hard a few times. It didn’t move at all. It was really good.
Zhao Dahai breathed a sigh of relief. It was really not easy to get the approval of a veteran like Zhao Shi. When the seams of the fishing boats were hemped, they were not made flush with the ship's planks but left a small concave groove. Zhao Shi said
Applying lime is to smooth this small ditch with lime, which is more waterproof and leak-proof. This is a simple matter, just let it sit for two days and find a time to apply it.
"There's nothing wrong with the seams."
"The next step is to numb the nails, bolts and holes."
Zhao Shi pointed to the places on the fishing boat where nails, bolts or holes have been drilled, all of which must be waterproof and leak-proof.
Zhao Dahai listened and watched and learned at the same time. He had experience in numbing the seams of ship boards. It was not difficult to numb places such as nails, bolts and holes. He quickly understood and started to work immediately.
The sun rises.
Golden light passed through the forest, and the fishing boat looked like it was plated with gold.
Zhao Dahai had a lot of putty lime and jute thread on his hands, feet, and face. He ignored it and stared at the fishing boat in front of him with wide eyes. He looked satisfied. In six days, he completed the entire fishing boat under the guidance of his second grandfather Zhao Shi.
Mapping and applying plaster to all the board seams, nails, bolts and holes was not very strenuous, but it gave me a sense of accomplishment. I had just finished working all night, and my body was exhausted, but my spirits were high and I didn’t feel sleepy at all.
The sun rises as high as a bamboo pole.
Zhao Dahai took a big bowl and ate porridge in big mouthfuls. He originally wanted to go home for breakfast, but Zhao Shi came with breakfast cooked by his grandma Zhong Cuihua. White porridge with salted fish, a typical breakfast combination in a fishing village.<
/p>
"Second Grandpa."
"What's next?"
Zhao Dahai finished eating and wiped his mouth.
"Apply tung oil."
"But there's no rush on this matter."
"Let it dry for a few days before we talk."
"Sesame and apply oil, and dry the areas with lime before drying."
Zhao Shi told Zhao Dahai to have a good rest in the next two or three days and find a time to buy tung oil. You can't save money, you must buy the best.
Zhao Dahai agreed. The purpose of applying tung oil was to prevent corrosion so that the fishing boat could be durable. He packed up his tools and went home with Zhao Shi.
Dead of night.
Zhao Dahai lay on the bed with his eyes wide open. He came home at noon during the day, took a shower and went to bed. He had been applying anesthesia and lime for the past few days. In order to finish it early, he continued to do it during the day and night. He slept for no more than six hours a day.
, I stayed up all night on the last day. I was so tired that I fell asleep immediately when I lay down. I woke up at three in the morning and couldn't fall back to sleep.
Zhao Dahai lay down for a while, but couldn't sleep anymore, so he felt the darkness and woke up. As soon as he walked to the main room, his grandma Zhong Cuihua heard a voice and called out. She responded and said that she couldn't sleep and went out for a walk.
Zhao Dahai opened the door and walked out of the yard. A gust of sea breeze blew with water vapor, and he shrank his neck. The sea breeze in the early morning was really a bit cold.
Zhao Dahai walked to the small pier of the village with a flashlight. Just as he was about to go behind the forest to take a look at the fishing boats, there was a sound of footsteps behind him and then a group of people came over with flashlights.
"I wonder what the tide is like today? If it were like yesterday, there would be no money to be made."
……
"Yesterday I only lifted four pounds and one or two pounds."
"I should have known that I would lie down and sleep at home!"
……
"Fifteen yuan for a pound or four pounds is more than sixty yuan. You can't even pay a penny for sleeping at home."
……
Zhao Dahai gave way, and seven or eight people passed by him, all carrying buckets in their hands. There were two or three net bags and a long-handled iron hook inside. At first glance, they knew they were island snails from the sea. Zhao Dahai's heart moved.
Next, we have to wait for the hemp struck by the fishing boat and the putty plaster to dry before we can apply tung oil. The weather has been good recently, but no matter what, it will take three to five days. It is not worthwhile to sit at home and wait. I can find something to do to keep busy.
How much you earn.
There is no way to go out to sea without fishing boats. In places like the surrounding reefs, beaches and mangroves, everything that can be dug has been dug and caught. It is no problem to get a few bites. It is not easy to make money. Snails are a good choice.<
/p>
There are many large and small islands in the sea near Langtou Village and surrounding villages. There are no trees and they are all bare rocks. The snails usually hide in the sea water and cannot be seen, but under the right tide, these snails can climb on the rocks, especially on the rocks.
Go into the crevices of the rocks. This place is long and flat and covered with barnacles or oyster shells. It is very sharp. You can't put your hand in, or you can put your hand in but accidentally get cut. The iron hook half an arm long is very useful.
In the cracks of the rocks, every hook is accurate, and this is the snail. If the tide is right, the harvest will be very good, but if the tide is not suitable, there may not be any, and it is usually the tide in the early morning, which is very hard, and the place where the snail is hooked is very hard.
The islands and reefs are steep, slippery, and very dangerous. However, in fishing villages, there are not many ways to make money, especially for older girls and younger wives. Hook snails are a major way to make money.
Zhao Dahai thought for a while and decided to make some money from snails. It was too late to go out to sea tomorrow morning. The key was to have a special fishing boat to send it to the island. Fishing closer to the island would cost five yuan to ten yuan if it was farther away. There was no need to have it yourself.
Fishing boats can make money doing this job, which is suitable for them.
Zhao Dahai walked through the woods, turned on a flashlight, and looked at the fishing boats carefully before leaving. When he returned to the yard, the sky had begun to slowly turn blue and white, and it would be bright soon.
Zhao Dahai didn't sleep. After cooking breakfast, he started to prepare things for going out to sea for snails tomorrow. A plastic bucket, four mesh bags, each of which can hold a hundred kilograms of snails, and a flashlight, half a meter.
After thinking about it for a while, I took the fire tongs placed next to the stove, and found a steel bar about four meters long and about the size of a small hand, and bent a hook on one end. The steel bar was not particularly hard.
It can be folded into four folds and one meter long by force. It is easier to carry and just straighten when you need to use it.
Zhao Dahai had just prepared the things he needed when his grandma Zhong Cuihua woke up and came out, explaining that she would go to the island tomorrow.