The cormorants plunged into the water like black stones, hitting it with a thud and sending up sprays of water. Before long, they flew back out one after another, their necks bulging and silvery little fish clutched in their beaks.
Two or three cormorants also flew out of the water gripping a large fish together. They landed on the beach to peck at it, spreading their wings to dry every now and then.
After watching the cormorants fish for a while, Chen Haichao went back too. The sea wind was too strong.
When he reached home, he found a crowd of children gathered outside the door, squatting with their heads together. Some were his family's children, while others belonged to other families.
He went over for a look and saw that they were watching the little bird and feeding it.
"Don't play with it until it dies. There are so many of you-don't scare it."
"Will we scare Xiao Ba? Then you can't watch anymore. All of you, go away." Chen Xiaoqi immediately shooed them off when he heard that.
Chen Xiaoliu picked up the nest and carried it beneath the eaves by the door, setting it somewhere the sun reached so the bird could keep basking. She chattered away to it as she did so.
Inside, Mom and Chen Panpan were happily cutting fabric. He called out, "Mom, did you turn the dried shrimp this afternoon?"
"Oh!" Mother Chen slapped her forehead. "Look at me, I was so busy cutting the cloth that I lost track of time. It's about time to turn them. Hurry and do that, and once you're finished with the ones outside, don't forget to turn the ones at the threshing ground too."
"Okay."
By the morning after tomorrow, they would probably be dry enough to crush and remove the shells, just in time to take them to market that afternoon.
Not counting the six or seven hundred jin they had put out to dry that morning, the catches from yesterday morning and the night before last combined should bring in an estimated two hundred yuan without a problem.
That would fatten the family's savings a little more. He could take advantage of the time before the household contract responsibility system was implemented to build them up, so he would have more room to maneuver when it was time to take out a contract.
Leaving the contract fee aside for now, the initial repairs to the salt fields would require an investment.
Chen Haichao could hardly wait for the day after tomorrow to arrive, so he could turn the shrimp into cash and then establish a long-term channel for making money.
Once household contracting was implemented, he would be the number one large-scale brine shrimp farmer. Every aquaculture farmer would have to rely on his brine shrimp to provide their fry with their first mouthful of "milk." Then he would grow bigger and stronger and create new glory!
He turned the dried shrimp outside the door. These had been laid out first, and when he tasted one, it was already sixty or seventy percent dry. Another night in the wind and a day in the sun tomorrow, and they should be ready by the morning after that.
He also went over to the threshing ground. Seeing Party Secretary Lin and Accountant Wang sitting in the sun outside the production team's compound, he stopped to greet them and offered each of them a cigarette. It came from an extra pack he had bought especially for himself.
"Thank you, Party Secretary Lin and Accountant Wang, for helping keep an eye on our dried shrimp."
Party Secretary Lin accepted the cigarette with a chuckle. "Looks like we really do have to keep an eye on them for you."
"With you two sitting at the entrance, what cat or child would dare sneak a bite? Thanks."
"Your whole family really is hardworking. We finally got a break ahead of schedule, and everyone else in the village is resting."
"Can't be helped. There are a lot of mouths at home, and the children are still growing. A little more food is always good. I'll get back to work now. You two carry on chatting."
Party Secretary Lin nodded with a smile, then turned to Accountant Wang and praised him. "Haichao's a good, hardworking young fellow too..."
"He really is..."
Chen Haichao used a rake to turn over all the dried shrimp, then spread them out flat again. He also took a walk around the area, but didn't see any more cormorant chicks. He had been wondering whether he could pick up a few more to take home and raise.
Before leaving, he said goodbye to Party Secretary Lin and Accountant Wang.
He had no idea that excitement had broken out at home again.
When he got back, he found the door closed. It was normally open during the day to make it easier to come and go.
Curious, he stood at the window and peered inside, only to find Chen Sitian speaking excitedly, her face alight. Was she talking about an exam?
He knocked on the window, and the voices inside stopped abruptly. Several pairs of eyes turned in unison to look at him leaning against the window. Chen Sitian immediately came over to open the door, pulled him inside, and shut it again.
Why all the mystery? Was there a secret?
"What are you doing? You even locked the door. What secret are you talking about?" he asked, deliberately lowering his voice.
Chen Sitian excitedly told him, "The aquatic products freezing plant in town is hiring temporary workers. They only put the notice up at the entrance this afternoon. Applicants need a junior high school education. They want ten male laborers and three people to grade, weigh, and keep records. Men and women can both apply for those three jobs, but they have to take a literacy and arithmetic exam, and the best candidates will be hired."
"And most importantly, the requirements can be relaxed for these temporary jobs. Anyone with a recommendation from a production brigade under the town can sign up."
"There's no transfer of household registration or grain ration entitlement, so it doesn't count against the state employment quota. Although it's temporary work, if you do well, you can keep doing it."
"The plant seems to need people urgently. They put the notice up this afternoon, and the exam is tomorrow morning. They'll post the list that afternoon, and work starts the day after tomorrow."
"My older sister and I both have junior high school educations. I just took the household registration booklet with my corrected name and signed up. Tomorrow morning, I can bring the village certificate and proof of education and go straight to the plant's recruitment exam."
Father Chen glared at Chen Haichao from the side, full of regret. "You just had to quit school before finishing. Here's an opportunity right in front of you, but now you don't have a diploma."
"Who could have known? I was never cut out for studying. I thought finishing primary school and learning all the characters would be enough. The college entrance exam hadn't even been reinstated then, and my grades weren't good. Going to junior high would have been a waste of money, so it was better to give Fourth the chance to study."
Chen Haichao remembered that he and Chen Sitian had been in the same grade. They were only a year apart and had started school together. They seemed to have been classmates with the village's college student too.
Chen Panpan wasn't as happy and optimistic as Chen Sitian. "There's no point arguing about that now. There are only three openings. It can't be that easy to pass, can it?"
"Let's give it a try. We've got nothing to lose anyway. We don't have to work in the fields right now, and the plant needs people urgently. The production brigades under the town are far away, so news doesn't travel that fast. There's only one afternoon to sign up, and the notice is only posted at the freezing plant entrance. Most of the applicants are probably from town."
Mother Chen settled the matter. "Since you've already signed up, give it a try. There's no registration fee anyway. You two can go ask the brigade leader for a certificate later and take it with you tomorrow morning."
Chen Sitian nodded vigorously, delighted. She had kept up with her studies and was quite confident.
Even temporary work was a chance to get into town. It was better than earning work points in the village-that was a job where she could draw a real wage every month!
Even working for just one month was better than two months of work in the village, and it sounded better too. A temporary worker was still a worker!
Temporary workers didn't count against the state employment quota and didn't need special approval at the provincial level. They fell under "labor cooperation" between commune and brigade enterprises and farmers. It was entirely legal and aboveboard, and there was no need to trouble the county labor bureau at all.
Chen Panpan didn't throw cold water on her either. She smiled and said, "Then go ask the brigade leader for a certificate. I haven't finished cutting the fabric yet, and it doesn't take two people to get a certificate."
"Okay, I'll be quick. I'll go and come right back to help."
Mother Chen gave them another instruction. "We still can't tell anyone about this. If nobody else knows, there'll be a little less competition."
Chen Haichao looked at the sun already sinking in the west and said dismissively, "Don't worry. Look what time it is. Even if other people found out, they wouldn't have time to get to town and sign up."
"Even so, we can't say anything beforehand. If word gets everywhere and you don't pass, it'll be embarrassing. If you pass, we'll treat it as a pleasant surprise. If you don't, we'll act as if it never happened."
"Okay."
"If you can pass, our family will have a bumper harvest this year. One good thing after another-we'd really be riding a streak of good luck." Mother Chen laughed as she spoke.
Father Chen smiled too, echoing her hopes. "Isn't that right? If she really passes, our family will have a worker. She won't get commercial grain rations, but she'll still be a worker."
Chen Haichao and Chen Panpan said nothing. It wasn't wise to pop the champagne early, but at least it was something to hope for.