Reincarnated as a Fisherman and a Dad Chapter 197
December 2001.
The Alejandro family spent their days in their usual routine. Karlos worked six days a week, waking up very early in the morning and returning home by noon.
Some local fishermen were curious about how Karlos and his crew could fish for only half a day, while others had to spend several days out at sea. They assumed that Karlos and his team weren't earning much that way, as everyone knew that trawling and longline fishing required time.
But they were mistaken. Karlos didn't waste time waiting, and their earnings were far from meager. The daily profit they brought in was almost equal to what a commercial fishing vessel earned in a day or two.
Aside from their regular fishing runs, the new business venture they had embarked on seemed to be heading in the right direction.
Gustavo purchased two ice makers: one for producing large ice blocks and another for tube ice. The two machines cost 450,000 pesos in total, while the remaining 50,000 pesos went into renovating the unused space at Gustavo's house.
Karlos and the others pitched in with the renovation whenever they had free time. The three men had agreed to pick two trustworthy individuals to staff the ice shop.
Andres and Brandon had younger cousins who needed work, so they planned to hire them.
"What about you, Karlos? Do you have anyone you want to bring in to work at the ice shop?" Gustavo asked.
"Nah, two workers are more than enough," Karlos replied. He had no intention of inviting any of his own cousins. He held no high opinion of his relatives.
By the second week of December, the ice shop was fully operational. The night before their grand opening, Karlos, Gustavo, Brandon, Andres, Wendell, Emer, and even Mrs. Gloria stayed up to help make ice.
The block ice machine produced 50 blocks every 6 hours, while the tube ice machine produced 1 ton of tube ice every 3 hours.
The busiest hours were expected to be between 3 am and 6 am, as that was when most fishing boats set sail.
So far, the shop had stocked up 50 ice blocks and 2 tons of tube ice. The ice was transferred to the cold storage room, which accounted for the single largest expense of the renovation. Insulating the room properly had cost 40,000 pesos.
Mrs. Gloria fully supported her son's new endeavor. Keeping herself busy with the shop helped her break free from her depression, and with so much to do, Miguel and his betrayal faded from her mind.
"Well then, we'll get some sleep now. Take care of the shop," Karlos said as he bid farewell to Gustavo and the rest.
Brandon and Andres spoke with their cousins, reminding them to take their duties seriously. They were offered a daily wage of 300 pesos.
Wendell and Emer promised to work hard. In their town, youths who didn't excel in school usually ended up working on boats or remaining unemployed. Since fishing was a dangerous occupation, Wendell and Emer preferred a less strenuous job ashore.
Karlos and the others went home to sleep, knowing they had to go fishing the next morning.
The following day at 4 am, Karlos unlocked his gate to find Brandon and Andres already waiting outside. The three men moved quickly.
As they stepped onto the main road, they saw Wendell and Emer pushing a heavy cart toward the beach. The cart was stacked with ice.
"Have you guys eaten yet?" Brandon called out to them.
"We had coffee and bread," the two young men replied before continuing toward the shore.
"Let's buy diesel first," Karlos said. The three men headed over to the diesel supplier, Mr. Edmond. Along the way, they passed other men pushing carts filled with ice.
Ice was essential for keeping the catch fresh at sea.
After buying their fuel, they stopped by the ice shop. Inside, they found Antonio and another boat captain talking to Gustavo.
"I want 25 ice blocks, and add 200 kilograms of tube ice as well," Antonio said.
His commercial vessel was equipped with cold storage freezer units, but those weren't enough to maintain the freshness of a massive haul. He still needed ice. The more ice he had, the better.
"I'll take the exact same amount!" another commercial boat owner called out, raising his voice over the noise.
While the bay harbor sold ice too, finding a spot to dock there was time-consuming. He preferred buying directly at the beach and having his crew haul the ice to the boat instead.
"A-Alright!" Gustavo was completely stunned.
Antonio brought 10 crew members along, and they worked together to push the ice blocks and tube ice. Having pushcarts on hand made the job far easier.
Karlos and his group watched the entire exchange. Just like Gustavo, they were amazed. Was the ice business really this good?
"Karlos, you're here!" Gustavo greeted him excitedly as he walked over. Despite having had very little sleep, he was brimming with energy.
"Yeah. I need to buy some ice too. Four blocks, please."
"About that... I only have two blocks left. But I still have 200 kilograms of tube ice available."
"It's sold out already?" Karlos asked in disbelief.
"Haha, that's right!" Gustavo laughed.
"We've already sold 120 ice blocks and 1.6 tons of tube ice!"
"That's..." Karlos was lost for words.
He quickly did the math in his head.
The shop sold each block of ice for 55 pesos. Selling 120 blocks brought in 6,600 pesos.
Tube ice was priced at 55 pesos per 20 kilograms. Selling 1.6 tons brought in 4,400 pesos.
"You're telling me we made 11,000 pesos in one morning!?"
"That's right! Even after deducting electricity and water expenses, our net profit is around 10,000 pesos!" Gustavo explained enthusiastically.
Brandon and Andres listened in on the conversation, equally impressed.
"No wonder the store owner by the beach wanted to expand his shop. This business is incredible."
"Excuse me, can we get 5 blocks of ice?" another group of fishermen interrupted, eager to place an order.
"I'm sorry, but our ice blocks are completely sold out for now. We still have tube ice available, though," Gustavo told them. The machines needed time to run another batch.
"Looks like you'll be busy. We'll talk more later," Karlos said as he handed over the payment. They loaded the available ice onto their cart and pushed it toward the beach.
"Take care out there!" Gustavo called after them.
[Thank you for reading this novel.]