latelenovela Chapter 143 Daily Fishing Catch
Chapter 143 Daily Fishing Catch
The village chief of Maoer Village came over hurriedly and saluted when he saw Chen Dutou and other officials.
"I am Maidong, an old man, greeting you, sir. You have worked hard on the journey. Please come to my humble home and have some breakfast." He invited humbly.
Chen Dutou snorted through his nose: "You are thoughtful. Although your small fishing village can't produce anything delicious, since you sincerely invited me, I will give you this face."
After he finished speaking, he waved his hand, and the officers behind him came over.
"I'll leave these prisoners to you. Remember to divide the share they need to hand in each time. But there's no rush. Let's go eat first, and you can make the arrangements after we're done."
From his words, it was clear that Chen Dutou didn't take either the criminal or the village chief seriously.
Shen Yitian and Yue Niang were sitting at the back, feeling really uncomfortable when they heard Chen Dutou's self-righteous words.
The village chief smiled and said, "I dare not delay the errands assigned by the officials. I will assign these people now. Mai Song, come here and take the officials back to have breakfast. I will take care of things here."
He waved his hand, and a boy about ten years old ran out from the crowd behind him.
The young man imitated Mai Dong and bowed to the officers, then said, "Dad, I understand. I will serve you well."
After Mai Song led the officers away, Mai Dong put away his smile, put his hands behind his back, and slowly walked around in front of a group of prisoners.
"Since you've been exiled to Mao'er Village, you must abide by the rules. We in Mao'er Village make a living by fishing, so you have to fish too. Of course, as exiled prisoners, you also need to hand over your catch or silver to the government every day.
As for me, I am the village chief, so you are also under my jurisdiction.
There are fields in this village, but they have nothing to do with you. Exiled prisoners don’t have fields.
"But even though it's exile, I won't leave you without a place to stay. There's a vacant lot at the end of the village, and I'll set it aside for you guys to build houses. I'd like to, but the land belongs to the villagers, and I don't want them to suffer any loss. So, you'll have to buy this land with money."
The prisoners had just arrived at Maoer Village and hadn't even seen the place clearly when the village chief started asking for money.
When Yue Niang heard this, she clenched her fists, lowered her head and said nothing, but she was very worried.
Shen Yitian was wondering in her heart how Grandma Li and Xiao Wei had arranged things here, but she saw Ye Liehu, who had been following her from a distance, standing straight.
She frowned slightly, wondering why the hunter was standing so straight and in such a conspicuous place.
Before she could figure it out, the old woman who had been following them had already walked up to the village chief.
"Village chief, I saw this mother and daughter on the road and they really hit it off. Why don't you let them live in my house? This way we don't have to allocate more land to build a house." She said with a smile.
Mai Dong frowned: "Shorty mother, when did you run into the exile team?"
The old woman called Shorty's Wife smiled and said, "I went to the county town to visit my relatives. I ran into them and came back with them."
Mai Dong said with a look of cold understanding: "Oh, that's a coincidence. It's fine for them to come to your house, but they must pay the daily catch or money. If they can't come up with it, I will come to you."
The short man's mother agreed repeatedly, "Of course, since I'm bringing them back, I'll take care of this matter. I just don't know how many kilograms of fish this mother and daughter have to pay every day? And how much money should they pay?"
"They're new here and don't know how to fish, so it wouldn't be a good idea to ask them to contribute too much right now. So, for now, each of them can contribute five kilograms of fish and crabs per day. Once they become more skilled, each of them can contribute fifteen kilograms."
When Maidong said this, he raised his head slightly, looking very compassionate.
Shen Yitian didn't know how much fish each household could catch every day on such a beach.
I only heard the shorty's wife say, "Isn't this a bit too much?"
"Is this still too much? Shorty's mother, you have to know that they are prisoners, and this quota is set by the government. Originally, each person should pay ten kilograms a day, but since they don't know how to do it yet, we give them some as a cushion, and then they can make up for it when they become proficient." Maidong said.
This sounded reasonable, but Shen Yitian frowned.
"How long does unskilled mean? Is there a time limit? How long will it take to make up for the previous padding with 15 kilograms of fish and crabs?" she asked.
When Maidong heard that someone dared to question him, he immediately frowned.
"You only have one month to learn how to row the boat, cast the net, and catch fish. I'll arrange for someone to teach you. One month is enough."
"Then do we need to take fish and crab supplements for a month as well?" Shen Yitian asked again.
Mai Dong snorted, "Of course not. Now that you're proficient, everyone will have to pay 15 kilograms from now on."
The short man's wife seemed to have known he would say this and said hurriedly, "We won't make up for it. After these two people go to my house, we will help them pay 20 kilograms of fish every day. It won't be less."
Song Yuerong glanced at Shen Yitian with pride, and affectionately took the shorty's mother's hand: "Thank you, Auntie, you are so kind."
Song's mother also said: "Yes, we met a good person."
Maidong looked at the short lady with some dissatisfaction, but when he saw that she really wanted to take the two men back, he didn't say anything else.
Shen Yitian ignored Song Yuerong's provocation and said, "I don't want to make up for it either. I should pay ten kilograms, right? I'll start with ten kilograms. Does that mean it will always be ten kilograms from now on?"
"Why don't you make up for it? What do you, a new girl, know about fishing? You have to pay ten kilograms. If you can't pay it in time, we will make up for it." Maidong refused.
At this time, the look in his eyes when he looked at Shen Yitian was already very unfriendly.
This girl looks like a thorn in the side.
"Don't you say that you can use money to buy fish? If ten kilograms is converted into money, how much will you have to pay?" Shen Yitian asked again.
She felt that the quota was wrong. Could it be that all the fish and crabs were priced the same?
"Also, if we catch valuable fish, do we have to pay the same share as above?"
She asked two questions in a row, and Maidong's face became even uglier.
This wasn't the first time that exiled prisoners had been sent to their village. Everyone was beaten with sticks when they arrived, so no one bothered to ask any more questions.
After he explained the rules clearly, everyone went to find a place to build a house and settle down. By the time everyone came to their senses, there was no chance to question the rules he had mentioned.
In this way, he could secretly sell the valuable fish handed in by everyone, keep the money for himself, and then use the small fish and crabs caught by himself to make up for his share.
Of course, this method cannot be hidden from these prisoners forever. After a long time, they will find out and learn to sell fish themselves.
Even if it took them time to react, it was still enough for Maidong to make a fortune.
Shen Yitian asked the question openly. Once he answered it, the prisoners would have no time to react. How could he still make money?