Chapter 576 - 578: Small Fishing Village

Chapter 576: Chapter 578: Small Fishing Village

If Liu Er’s two boys were decent, or had some ability, Wang Li would have been willing to help them out when he had the chance.

But they all lived in the same place; everyone knew everyone else’s business.

There was nothing really wrong with the two boys, but Uncle Liu’s wife had spoiled them rotten. They weren’t the type who could handle hard work.

More and more people gradually arrived to ride the ox cart, so Liu Er stopped pestering Wang Li with questions.

Instead, the empty fish baskets and the joyful expressions on everyone’s faces filled the small ox cart with a happy atmosphere.

"This fresh seafood sells so much better than the dried stuff." An old woman with a headscarf clutched the copper coins in her tunic, satisfied. ’If I work hard for another six months,’ she thought, ’my son will be able to afford a wife.’

"This is all thanks to the Lord Prefect’s wisdom in getting these terrible, rugged roads of ours repaired. Now we can send our fresh catch out every day."

"Exactly. Before, when the weather was hot, the seafood would go bad before we were even halfway there. No one in the city would buy it.

And in the dead of winter, who would dare travel on the old roads? One slip or fall and it just wasn’t worth it.

We’re really lucky. We’ve finally met a just official who’s actually doing something for us common folk."

"Isn’t that the truth? And Liu Er here is a clever one, getting an ox cart set up so quickly. It’s not just convenient for his own travel, but he can also earn a few extra copper coins.

Liu Er, don’t work yourself so hard. You should let your two boys come out and do some work sometimes."

Liu Er smiled and looked back, saying, "They have other things to do at home. Besides, this is easy work.

What, are you complaining that my driving isn’t steady enough?"

"..."

Wang Li listened quietly, unconsciously puffing out his chest with pride. He was now one of the Lord Prefect’s men, after a fashion.

It was already dark by the time Wang Li saw Little Stone and the others.

"So you guys are foraging on the tidal flats now too?"

Seeing the baskets they were each carrying, Wang Li wasn’t surprised.

"Brother Li, why don’t you quit your job and come back? You could forage with us."

"Look, none of us are collecting dried goods anymore. The money we make from foraging is almost as much as we used to earn," Little Stone said, rubbing his lower back. Squatting down to search for so long really took a toll on his back.

Huang Anping also chimed in, "Yeah, that way we brothers can all be together again.

We could divide the work. Two of us could go into the city to sell the seafood each day, while the others forage with the tides. Life wouldn’t be so hard."

Thinking about their recent hauls, none of them could hide the smiles on their faces.

They chimed in one after another, trying to persuade Wang Li to rejoin their group.

Wang Li held up the food and wine he had brought and said with a smile, "Let’s not talk about that for now. I brought some food and wine. We brothers are going to have a good drink tonight."

Seeing how generous Wang Li was being, the others’ eyes widened. "Did you get paid?"

"I got paid a while ago, I just didn’t have any time off to come back.

This time, I got a bonus. Plus, I won’t be able to come back and see you all for a long time, so I took special leave to come and say goodbye."

"So you’re really going out to sea?"

Wang Li nodded excitedly. "We’re setting sail in a few days. You guys have no idea how big the ship I’m on is. It has everything you could imagine inside, and it even has two decks of cabins. Next time you’re at the port, you can go see for yourselves."

Little Stone licked his lips. "Brother Li, a few days ago, I think I saw a big ship out in the waters ahead..."

"Was it the day before yesterday?"

Little Stone nodded. "It was pretty far away, but it looked huge. Was that your boss’s ship?"

Wang Li leaned in conspiratorially and whispered in his ear, "I’ll let you in on a secret. I was on that ship, and I was the one who took the boss and the others out there to cast the nets."

Little Stone’s eyes went wide as copper bells, and he gripped Wang Li’s arm tightly. "Are you serious? I was so envious when I saw that ship. I wondered if I’d ever get a chance to go on it in my lifetime, and to think Brother Li was actually on it.

A ship that big must be really steady on the sea, not like our little fishing boats where you have to be on edge with every big wave."

Wang Li said, "It’s the biggest ship I’ve ever seen, too. As for the waves, they really don’t affect it much. Sometimes you’re on board and you can barely feel it rock at all.

You can’t imagine how wide the deck is. It takes some time just to walk across it. Not like our little fishing boats that can only fit a few people."

Listening to this, Little Stone and the others looked wistful. "If only we could get a chance to see it."

"Well, that’s something I really can’t help with," Wang Li said, quickly explaining so his brothers wouldn’t get the wrong idea. "That’s my Madam’s private vessel. Right now, only the crew is allowed on board.

Before, some rich young master was curious and wanted to go on board for a look, but he wasn’t given permission."

Huang Anping said, "You call your boss ’Madam.’ She’s from an official family."

Only then did Wang Li remember that he hadn’t told his brothers who he was working for.

"The boss I’m working for now is Mrs. Gu, who is also the Prefect’s wife here in Lu City."

Some of them dropped their wine cups. "Really?"

"Would I lie about something like this? You can ask around next time you’re in the city. Those big ships at the small pier all belong to the Prefect’s wife. It’s not something I could just make up."

Little Stone immediately pulled his stool over and squeezed in next to him. "Brother Li, do you know if the Madam is hiring? If I went looking for work, do you think I’d have a chance?"

Wang Li hesitated. "I really don’t know about that.

I haven’t heard any news about them hiring lately. Besides, a lot of new people have already joined the ship, and since we’re about to leave on a long voyage, the chances of them hiring more are probably slim."

Still, he couldn’t bear to see the disappointed looks in his brothers’ eyes. "But I’ll keep an eye out for you. It’s just that I’ll be going out to sea in a few days. When you guys go to the county seat, you should also keep an eye out for public notices. That’s how I found the job in the first place."

Little Stone said, "But none of us can read..."

Huang Anping pulled at his arm. "Even if we can’t read, when we see a notice in the city, we can ask someone about it. We have mouths, don’t we? Are you afraid to ask?"

Wang Li said, "That’s right. Oh, by the way, I see you’re all still foraging. Are you not doing the dried goods business anymore?"

Speaking of that, Little Stone sounded a little gleeful. "Who wants to eat dried goods when they can have fresh?

Right now, Zhaoyu Village is begging us to help them find buyers. That’s when we found out they’ve unknowingly stockpiled a huge amount.

We’re just taking the amount we agreed on, just enough to earn a small fee for our labor.

But since Zhaoyu Village catches so many fish, they can’t possibly sell their entire catch every time. They still have to turn most of it into dried goods.

Anyway, our contract with them is up in half a month. After that, we don’t plan on dealing with it anymore."