The Life of a Son-in-Law in a Courtyard House

The village wasn't far to walk, and soon everyone arrived.

The factory worker who led the way welcomed everyone to his home.

Even though it's winter, the villages here still have a strong salty and fishy smell.

People come to the village to buy dried products; fresh fish must be bought at the dock.

Or you can quietly inquire which family in the village has gone out to sea and buy some.

At the factory worker's home, I only managed to buy a few dozen kilograms of dried goods.

There weren't enough to go around, so the factory workers separated everyone and led them to other neighbors' or relatives' homes.

Let them discuss how much to buy.

Now that everyone is separated, things are much easier.

The main thing to be careful about is not getting reported; it's safer to buy them separately.

Yang Dalin did not make a move in the first place.

He kept inquiring about the price.

I'm planning to go out and visit a few more stores later and buy more things.

After everyone had bought their items, Yang Dalin followed Liu, the factory worker, to other shops to make more.

After they left, Yang Dalin said to Comrade Liu, "Brother Liu, take me to a few more stores, I want to buy more."

This is my first time in Tianjin, and many relatives have asked me to bring them some things.

Comrade Liu, without any surprise, readily agreed and said, "Okay, so how many do you plan to buy?"

Yang Dalin whispered, "Let's buy two hundred jin."

There's too little; we won't be able to distribute it when we get back.

Brother Liu said, "No problem, our village is big, a few families can easily come up with this amount."

Yang Dalin was actually thinking, "I'd rather buy two thousand jin, or even twenty thousand jin, but I don't dare say it."

A few dozen or two hundred kilograms is something you can say you brought for everyone, but a few thousand or tens of thousands of kilograms sounds like something extraordinary.

I doubt Brother Liu would have that much guts.

However, by buying 200 jin (100 kg) of different kinds, I roughly knew the prices.

If that doesn't work, try looking for opportunities in the evening or early evening to see if there are any chances to buy more in other nearby areas.

I can't expose myself.

Better safe than sorry.

Yang Dalin followed Brother Liu to three or four stores and bought more than 200 jin of dried goods.

Brother Liu wanted to help him carry it, but Yang Dalin said no, he could carry it himself.

How could someone who swings the steering wheel not have that much strength?

Brother Liu was only slightly surprised, but not particularly surprised.

Everyone knows that these days, if you don't have enough strength, you can't even turn the steering wheel.

They all have incredibly strong arms because nowadays, without power steering, turning the steering wheel requires a lot of effort.

When they arrived at Brother Liu's house, Brother Liu didn't see anyone finding it strange that Yang Dalin was carrying more than 200 pounds of things.

They've probably gotten used to it by now.

Liu's parents wanted to pour water for Yang Dalin, but Yang Dalin waved them off.

The other colleagues have also had enough rest.

They all carried their seafood and prepared to leave.

Everyone prepared to go back to the factory first and load the dried goods onto the truck.

Then we went to the dock to buy some fresh fish, since it was too late and all the fishermen had gone home.

There are generally two times when fishing boats dock.

Some set off in the early morning and returned by six or seven in the morning.

Some people come back between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.

Because I went far away, I came back late.

However, most of the small fishing boats return on the same day.

Without refrigeration and freezing equipment, the fish can't be kept fresh if they travel too far.

The development of deep-sea fishing in Xinhua is still a long and arduous task.

Everyone returned the dried goods, and this time some said they wouldn't buy fresh fish.

Some colleagues may not be used to the taste of fresh seafood.

No one is forced to participate; it's voluntary.

The team leader was free now, and he wanted to bring some fresh seafood back to the freight station.

So he also went to the dock this time.

I suspect he might be dealing with this directly from a business perspective.

Yang Dalin asked his guide, Brother Liu, "Is it possible for us to buy it privately?"

Brother Liu told him, "It's okay if you buy less. Sometimes you only need one or two items, and they're free."

However, since you're buying a lot, it's best to avoid that large dock.

Let's go visit some other coastal villages instead.

The village where Brother Liu lived was actually several miles from the sea. Their fishing boats were all moored in the villages along the coast.

So Yang Dalin wanted to go to the seaside fishing village to buy some fish that the villagers caught privately.

We're not going to the big dock anymore.

The business-to-business transactions at the main dock are quite complicated.

When it gets cold, fish can be stored for a long time. It is estimated that in many coastal fishing villages, people will secretly fish in winter to exchange for food.

Humans can't live on just fish and not eat grains; they can't endure it.

Besides, people in coastal areas don't lack fish to eat, so they probably prefer to eat grains.

I have a lot of food and food coupons that I stole from the black market in my own space, which can be exchanged for fish.

However, the food coupons issued in Beijing were not valid; only national food coupons could be used.

Or grain coupons from Tianjin.

Yang Dalin didn't have any grain coupons from Tianjin, so he could only exchange them for money, grain, or national grain coupons.

Yang Dalin followed Brother Liu on his bicycle and went to a small dock in a village.

There are also people from the commune watching over this small dock, but Yang Dalin heard from Brother Liu that "he turns a blind eye to it."

Some small boats don't dock at the pier; they unload their fish in other secluded places, then return to the pier with some cargo.

As long as it's not too outrageous, nobody cares.

Because it's impossible to manage; the coastline is too long, and the commune doesn't have enough people to keep an eye on it.

Besides, it was a difficult time. People were exchanging fish for some food to eat themselves, so what?

There was no large-scale reselling.

Yang Dalin and he arrived at this small dock, pretending to eat, and bought dozens of kilograms of various freshly caught fish.

Then they left.

Actually, no one knew that Yang Dalin had already thoroughly surveyed the village's environment.

Yang Dalin planned to come over quietly that evening.

Let's see if we can get some good stuff.

These methods can only be used to avoid everyone.

Everyone returned to the factory, where dinner was provided by the factory.

There was plenty of seafood provided.

Fish, shrimp, and shellfish are all available.

Yang Dalin enjoyed a delicious meal.

However, Yang Dalin discovered that everyone else wasn't eating as heartily as he was.

Perhaps it's because people think these things aren't very lucrative.

But one's own mindset might be that these things are new and delicious.

It's normal for people to have different goals at different times.

That night, everyone rested at a hotel not far from the factory.

This hotel was built because of the pier.

Because many people from other places come to buy fish.

We need to provide accommodations for everyone who comes.

That evening, Yang Dalin and the team leader inquired and confirmed that the convoy would depart at eight o'clock the next morning after breakfast, load the goods at another factory, and return to Beijing.

So Yang Dalin told the team leader that he would get up early the next morning, partly to watch the sunrise at the beach and partly to buy some fresh fish.

The team leader thought for a moment and asked, "What's so interesting about watching the sunrise at the beach?"

Yang Dalin said, "It's different. The sunrise at the beach is so beautiful. And mainly, I wanted to go there to buy some fresh fish. I heard that some fishing boats go out to sea at dawn and come back at six or seven in the morning."

The convoy leader, thinking he was just being childish, added, "If you haven't been resting well, don't get sleepy while driving!"

Yang Dalin assured him, "Don't worry, Captain. You've never seen me make a mistake while driving. I guarantee there won't be any problems."

The team leader had no choice but to agree: "Alright, you can go if you want, as long as you get back before the convoy sets off. But you still need to be careful, and it would be best to ask if anyone else is willing to go with you."

Back in the hotel room, there were two people per room, Yang Dalin and Brother Tian shared one.

Yang Dalin told Brother Tian that he was going to get up early the next day to watch the sunrise and then buy some fish.

When asked if he wanted to go, Tian Xueyi thought for a moment and replied, "I'm not going. I've seen the sunrise on the mountains of Korea countless times. Why would I want to see a sunrise by the sea?"

Go by yourself!

"Take your pistol, be careful, and come back soon."