Chapter 3: Selling Fish Ashore, Returning to the Drifting Waters

“Sister He, you’re back already?”

“The harvest has been decent these past few days. It’s better to head ashore early to trade for supplies, otherwise the fish and shrimp will die, and we won’t get a good price,” Bai He said as she rowed her boat closer, her gaze falling on the stern. “Your harvest looks alright too. Do you want to go ashore together, or do you want to hand the fish and shrimp to me so I can sell them for you?”

“Let’s go together. Staying on the boat all the time makes my legs feel restless. It’s uncomfortable not having my feet on solid ground,” Bai Xi said, pulling on the rope that reached deep into the water to let Bai Yu know someone was calling for her from above. She then continued talking to Bai He, “How much have you caught lately?”

“Quite a lot, mostly because one haul was particularly good,” Bai He said, steadying her small boat. “But there were too many people over there, everyone fighting for a good spot. After we pulled that net, the area was taken over by others. Once we come back from the shore, we’ll have to find a new spot again.”

“There aren’t many fish down here either,” Bai Xi remarked.

It was precisely because there weren’t many that their boat could stay here alone. If there were even a few more fish below, it wouldn’t be their turn to occupy this spot.

As they spoke, Bai Yu surfaced not far away. She swam over pulling the rope, her other hand firmly pressing down on the lid of the bamboo basket tied to her body.

“There was a broken fishing net hidden in the weeds down there, and quite a few fish and shrimp were hiding in it,” Bai Yu said as she reached the side of the boat. She lifted the bamboo basket and handed it to Bai Xi, then turned to look at Bai He. “We were just about to go looking for you. I didn’t expect you to come here, Sister He.”

“My mother reckoned you were running low on supplies, so I came over. If you weren’t going ashore, I would have taken your catch with me. Since you’re going too, we’ll head out together in a bit,” Bai He said, standing on her own boat. “I won’t come over then. You girls pack up and head that way. My parents want to catch a few more fresh ones while they can. When you arrive, we’ll leave together.”

“I’ll leave as soon as I change my clothes,” Bai Yu said as she climbed onto the boat.

Bai Miao came out of the cabin and handed her dry clothes.

Bai Yu took the clothes and opened the cover tied to the boat’s mast. She quickly stripped off her soaking wet clothes inside and changed into the dry ones.

On the other side, Bai Xi had already poured the fish and shrimp out of the basket, mixing them with the ones they had been keeping alive.

Looking back at the cabin, Bai Miao had already tidied it up.

She was still young, but she knew how to do all the necessary chores.

Bai Xi walked through the cabin to the bow, jumped onto the small patch of shore, untied the rope secured there, and quickly jumped back onto the boat.

By now, Bai Yu had finished changing. She hung her wet clothes on the mast. It didn’t matter if it was sunny or raining, or if they actually dried; as soon as she put these clothes on, she would inevitably have to go back into the water anyway.

The two sisters both picked up the punting poles¹ and steered the boat toward the direction where Bai He had just left.

Before long, they saw several boats anchored there.

The people over there naturally saw them too. While they were still some distance away, someone started shouting, “Pull in the nets!”

Seven or eight boats began to move, swaying toward the direction where they could go ashore.

Their boat was positioned neither at the front nor the back. Regardless of their position, they could talk to the nearby boats. They were all relatives, and their inquiries were filled with words of concern.

Bai Miao crouched in the cabin near the stern, her hands gripping the wood in front of her as she called out to the person punting the boat behind them, “Third Brother, how have you been lately?”

Bai Wei laughed as he poled his boat. “Third Brother is doing great. How has Miao Miao been lately?”

“Miao Miao is good too,” Bai Miao nodded. “I haven’t been sick, and I’m eating and sleeping well. Is Third Brother doing well too?”

“Yes, Third Brother is doing well too. No sickness, eating and sleeping well,” Bai Wei replied, still smiling.

The older boy and the little girl chatted idly. No matter what Bai Miao asked, Bai Wei answered her patiently. After all, she was the youngest sister in the family, and it was only right to dote on her.

While they were making small talk, the others were discussing business.

“Once we’re ashore, pick out the freshest fish and shrimp first. Sell those separately to the customers who come specifically for them; you can make a few extra coins that way. The rest you can sell with us, alright?”

“Alright, we’ll do as Eldest Aunt says,” Bai Yu nodded. “After we sell the fish and buy some things on shore, are we staying by the bank tonight, or heading back out to the water to find a place to rest?”

“We’ll see how things are later. If there are too many boats, the families with fishing boats who live on the shore will chase us away.”

Fishermen were also divided into different classes. Those with large boats were the upper class; they not only had boats but also dwellings on land. They were the most powerful. Those with small boats who also had dwellings on land were considered middle class; because they had a place on shore, they didn’t usually have to sleep on their boats and could enjoy a stable environment.

Those who had no dwelling on land were the lowest class.

Just like the members of the Bai Family.

As they talked, the boats reached the shore one after another. Everyone skillfully tied up their boats and immediately began hawking their fish.

Fish and shrimp on boats that had just docked were always the freshest. The passing individual customers knew this well, and upon hearing the shouts, they ran over to pick and choose the seafood they wanted.

Bai Yu and Bai Xi had gradually grown accustomed to this life. As soon as they parked the boat, they began calling out prices. Different species of fish had different prices, and prices also varied based on freshness.

After selling the freshest batch, the remainder was bought up by the fish traders on the shore.

The price was lower, but the advantage was that they took everything. No matter the species, they were willing to buy them to resell to restaurants and eateries or transport them inland. There was always a way to trade.

The three sisters had fewer fish on their boat, so they sold everything in a short while. They ended up with eighty-two copper coins, the harvest of many days.

With this money, they had to go ashore to buy salt, grain, vegetables, and firewood. They could hardly save a single coin.

Eldest Uncle and Second Uncle’s families had larger fishing boats and several of them. Their harvest this time was good, and they were still haggling with people. Seeing the sky changing, they told the younger generation to head ashore first to buy supplies.

Once they left the shore this time, it would be many days before they returned.

“I’ll carry her,” Bai He said as she took Bai Miao from Bai Xi. “Which of you sisters is coming with me?”

“Second Sister will go. I’ll check the boat,” Bai Yu said, standing on the deck. “Otherwise, if a problem comes up while we’re out on the water, it’ll be hard to handle.”

“It should be checked, every single time. Xiao Yu, you’re looking more and more like the head of a household,” Bai He said. “Your harvest was just average this time, but maybe you’ll have better luck next time. If you catch some expensive fish or shrimp, you can make a lot of money. Now that your father and mother are gone, you three have to hold things together. Slowly but surely, you’ll be able to save up money again.”

Bai Yu nodded. “Mm, don’t worry, Sister He. We can manage.”

Seeing that there wasn’t too much grief on her face, Bai He nodded as well. Holding Bai Miao, she took Bai Xi along to go shopping.

Not far from the shore, there was a row of shops. The merchants there aimed to do business with the water-folk², and everything those living on the water might need could be found there.

Bai He had quite a lot to buy. Once they arrived, she handed Bai Miao over to Bai Xi and went off to purchase the supplies her boat would need for the coming days.

As Bai Xi was pondering what to buy, she heard her younger sister’s low voice in her ear: “We don’t need to buy salt anymore.”

“That’s right, we save a bit of money there,” Bai Xi calculated their funds. “Shall we buy a few more vegetables this time?”

“Okay,” Bai Miao nodded. “Get leafy ones, not gourds.”

“Alright, leafy vegetables it is, no gourds.” Bai Xi didn’t like eating gourds either. It wasn’t that they tasted bad, but they were hard to cook through on the boat. Leafy greens were different; even if they weren’t fully cooked, they were still edible.

Fortunately, yesterday’s check-in had yielded a bag of fine salt, saving them the expense of buying more. After spending their eighty-two copper coins today, they should still have a fair amount left over.

Aside from salt, they mainly needed to buy vegetables, grain, and some charcoal and firewood.

On the way back, Bai Miao held two large heads of Chinese cabbage³ in her arms. She walked ahead with long strides, turning back every few moments to check Bai Xi’s position. Only after confirming her sister was right behind her would she continue forward.

Walking two steps and looking back, walking two steps and looking back, the two of them finally returned to the place where the boats were moored.

By this time, people on the shore were already ushering everyone away.

Bai Yu had already checked the situation on the boat. Seeing the two of them approach, she stepped forward to take the cabbages from Bai Miao’s arms. “They won’t let us stay moored here. We have to leave in a bit. Is Sister He and the others back yet?”

“They’re right behind us. They bought a lot of things,” Bai Xi said, looking at the person speaking to those on the boats. “Why are they rushing us so much today? They didn’t chase us away at those other places.”

“They say someone booked this spot in advance to moor here. We just came at the wrong time,” Bai Yu also wanted to stay a bit longer, but the people on land called the shots. Small passing boats had no room to bargain. “But we’ll still leave together in a while. We’ll just follow them.”

The three of them chatted as they quickly boarded the boat, unpacking their purchases and placing them in various spots throughout the cabin.

They couldn’t just throw things anywhere; otherwise, the boat would be uneven and prone to capsizing.

During this time, the fish and shrimp on the other boats had mostly been sold. Only some scraps of dead fish and rotten shrimp remained, which they could only take away to deal with themselves.

Once Bai He and the others returned with their purchases, everyone packed up and prepared to leave the shore and return to the water.

When they had arrived, they had hoped to stay on land for a while longer, but they were leaving much sooner than expected.

“It’s still early. Are you three going to find a suitable spot to settle down directly, or shall we find a place to rest together first?”

Second Aunt asked for Bai Yu’s opinion. She was now the backbone of the three sisters.

Under normal circumstances, Bai Yu would certainly choose to stay together. But now that the three sisters had a secret that outsiders couldn’t know, it was better not to stay too close. “We’ll rest together today, but if we have to look for a separate spot tomorrow, it will just waste time. Since it’s still early, we might as well find a good spot first.”

“Alright, then we’ll secure our position first and then help you find a spot nearby.”

When she said “nearby,” it really wasn’t far. They would be within shouting distance of each other, but they would leave a small gap so the three sisters could catch some fish to sell and support themselves.

Even though they lived on a boat, it wasn’t safe for the three sisters to wander too far alone. Otherwise, if they encountered river pirates⁴, there would be no one to hear their cries for help.

As they spoke, the line of small boats left the shore one by one, returning once more to the drifting, uncertain surface of the water.

Translator’s Notes