Reborn in 1981: My Life as a Fisherman

Although the rocky beach was dangerous, Shi Hailong was not worried.

Because he was so familiar with that place; he had spent decades of his previous life beachcombing there, and he knew that area by heart.

When I'm old and have nothing to do, I like to go for a walk and take a look around.

The only drawback is that the current lighting is indeed not conducive to beachcombing at night.

Gas lamp, kerosene lamp, and flashlight.

The father and his two sons chatted for a long time.

The contracting team will not go to sea tomorrow; they will rest for a day and will go to sea again the day after tomorrow, spending the night at sea.

We'll be returning the day after tomorrow, which will actually be near the coast.

The fishing method is basically purse seine, with several boats working together.

On a motorboat, there are nearly twenty boatmen; without the nets, the boat cannot be pulled up.

Sailing ships have no power source; they rely on sails.

There were also more than a dozen people.

The boatmen in each contracted group also took turns going on the boat, changing every two times.

The model is actually the same as the production team model, except that during the production team era, there was the August 1st Fleet.

That is, women; it was a necessity at that time.

Women hold up half the sky.

They also selected March 8th Red Banner Pacesetters.

Small sampans also have to follow the fleet, so they all fish in coastal waters.

Shi Hailong planned to go find Zheng Nengquan once the cage net was finished.

See if we can rent a small sampan from their contracted group.

Using the excuse of going to sea to set traps, we went to that place where there were five abalone.

Make thorough preparations and surveys beforehand, and also see if you can take advantage of the low tide.

When the water is shallow, we just dive without any equipment...

When it was almost time, Shi Guangqian went to check on his two little girls to see if they were asleep.

Shi Haifeng is a man of few words, and his personality is actually quite similar to that of Shi Hailong in his previous life.

They are both honest and stubborn people.

Shi Hailong noticed that his elder brother hadn't gone to sleep and seemed to want to talk to him alone, but then remained silent for a while.

He took out his cigarette case, gave one to his older brother, and lit one for him too.

Shi Haifeng then said, "I think I started smoking when I was eighteen..."

After saying that, he lit a cigarette and took a puff.

The name Haifeng comes from the fact that he was born in 1962, which means a bountiful harvest and plenty of food.

Hailong was born in 1964, the year of the Dragon.

Shi Haifeng is two years older than Shi Hailong. He turned eighteen only two years ago, but it sounds like it was a long time ago to him.

Shi Hailong couldn't help but think of his younger brother Haisheng, who was indeed born at sea.

He was born prematurely and was on the ship.

He almost got the name "Boatman".

As for the character "Hai" (海), it wasn't a generational designation in the Shi family; it was just a character chosen arbitrarily.

The "Guang" in his father Shi Guangqian's name refers to his generation, but by Shi Hailong's generation...

Because they had drifted apart from the older generation, his father no longer knew the Shi family's generational ranking.

That's why, regardless of gender, all members of the Shi family have "Hai" (sea) in their names.

"Hailong, after I get married, I'll save up money for your wedding..."

After holding it in for a long time, Shi Haifeng finally blurted out this sentence.

But Shi Hailong understood what his elder brother meant.

The older brother feels that his family is saving money for him to build a house and get married.

He was afraid that Shi Hailong would be unhappy.

He also seemed a little apologetic.

Seeing his elder brother like this, Shi Hailong felt a pang of sadness. Had he himself been like this in the past?

He felt a pang of sadness in his heart, but on the surface he laughed and said, "Brother, don't say that. We are brothers."

I'm also hoping that you'll find me a sister-in-law soon.

In this way, there will be more people to help Mother with chores.

Also, everything I said before was true, even though I heard it from people in town.

But I think that's just idle gossip, and they weren't saying it to me on purpose.

So, you should still let your mother go and check things out in Zhuxigou.

I hope you, brother, will marry someone healthy...

Shi Haifeng looked at Shi Hailong and laughed, "You've grown up and become sensible."

She's more talkative than me, and she has more ideas than I do.

The two brothers, quite unusually, talked for a long time, something that would have been impossible in their past lives.

Before going to bed, Shi Hailong prepared his tools for beachcombing.

He was woken up by his father at night.

Then came the dressing process; Shi's father carried a basket containing bags.

Shi Haifeng carried several nets, fire tongs, and a gas lamp on his back.

Shi Hailong also carried a lantern, a very old lantern, which was said to have been used by his parents before they went ashore.

Used on ships.

This time, Shi Hailong didn't wear canvas shoes, but instead wore the only decent pair of liberation shoes he owned.

My mother and eldest sister had not returned by this time.

Still at the dock, working overtime to gut and clean small fish.

Shi Hailong also sighed, saying that fishermen really suffer, and it's even more so these days.

If you don't deal with it quickly this season, it will smell bad if you leave it piled up.

These days, without cold chain logistics and with limited cold storage facilities, seafood transported into the mainland is mostly dried fish.

This is also the fundamental reason why a lot of seafood is worthless and cannot be sold.

Of all the crabs, apart from a few rare ones that are worth some money, most are used for composting.

The same goes for shellfish, such as mantis shrimp and slipper lobster, which became valuable in later generations.

At this time, nobody wants them.

At this time, what you need are mantis shrimp, tiger prawns, nine-legged prawns, and lobsters.

In short, anything that can be caught in large quantities is worthless.

Just like beachcombing, it's the same.

Various shellfish that would be treasured in later generations were worth only a few cents at this time.

Once dried, it'll only fetch a little over a dime.

The supply and marketing cooperatives and state-owned aquatic product companies would take back most of the fish and process them into dried fish.

High-quality, rare items are exported to earn foreign exchange.

For example, dried abalone, dried scallops...

When we arrived at the beach, lights were already shimmering everywhere.

Shi Hailong did not go with his father and elder brother; he took a bag and some fire tongs instead.

With a net and a basket on his back, he slowly walked further and further away.

The tide had only just begun to recede, and hadn't gone far yet, revealing only a few dozen meters of beach.

Shi Hailong knew that during high tide, several hundred meters of beach could be exposed.

Except for the area around the dock, the water is deeper.

But the ship will still run aground.

At this moment, only the sound of the ocean waves could be heard all around, and no one spoke.

Everyone was busy searching and had no time to chat; flashlights and lamps cost money.

Dry cell batteries and kerosene are both very expensive.

Shi Hailong slowly walked along the beach toward the rocky shore.

As they approached, the sound of the receding tide was louder here than elsewhere.

It was also accompanied by various strange noises.

Shi Hailong knew that the sound was from the seawater rushing back and forth through the holes between the rocks.

He looked up and then looked back at the area where the villagers were gathered.

Shi Hailong also began to search carefully.

He doesn't dare go into the rocky beach yet; he'll wait until the water recedes a bit more.

He doesn't want clams, mussels, scallops, or oysters.

I don't even pick up small sand crabs, except for mud crabs and flower crabs.

Because at this time, there is no need to carry too much worthless heavy cargo.

I've been a fisherman for two lifetimes, and I've had plenty of these things to eat.

What Shi Hailong really wanted to eat was chicken, duck, goose, pork, and vegetables.

Thinking about vegetables, Shi Hailong felt that he should buy various kinds of vegetable seeds when he had free time.

There are too few varieties of vegetables in our home now...

Huh?

A long-legged seal, this is nice, I'll take it.

The long-legged octopus, also known as the tide-watching octopus or the one-mouthed octopus, is sometimes referred to as the Rolls-Royce of octopuses.

There were many in this area, and Shi Hailong kept picking them up, as the tide had just receded and it was getting dark.

The long-legged octopus hadn't even had a chance to burrow into the sand yet.

Unbeknownst to him, Shi Hailong felt a darkness ahead. Looking up, he saw a large reef.

Holding up his gas lamp, he looked down at a puddle beneath the rocks and approached to search it carefully.

Generally speaking, there are good things in any puddle near rocks.

It's either a large blue crab or a fish that's been trapped.

However, due to the dim lighting, some fish blend in with the environment, making them difficult to distinguish.

For example, tigerfish are not easy to spot.

Shi Hailong picked up the fire tongs and stirred the water in the puddle...

"Splash..." A loud splash startled Shi Hailong.

He held up the lamp again and looked closely, and couldn't help but show his surprise. It was a giant grouper.

If this fish doesn't move, it really does look like a rock.

Hey everyone!

Shi Hailong estimated that this one weighed twenty or thirty jin, while in later generations it would have cost several hundred jin.

It's not cheap now either, it's a large shipment!