Chapter 15: Returning to Port

Three days have passed in the blink of an eye, and today is the last day. Although they didn’t catch any big fish, almost everyone didn’t lose money.

Except for Jing San and Yang Xiaolong, everyone else earned some hard-earned money.

The ice blocks they brought out were almost used up. The weather was too hot, and some squid and horse mackerel would start to smell bad without ice.

“Brother Long, Third Uncle Jing and the others said we’re heading back this afternoon. We still have some time left, so each family can do some buoy and line fishing,” said Jing Tian as she ran over.

“Buoy and line Fishing?”

“Yeah.”

“What does that mean?”

Rolling her eyes at him, Jing Tian explained, “It’s like setting a gillnet, except it’s just a single thin line with a hook and a foam float on top.”

“Oh.” Yang Xiaolong nodded as if he understood, “If that’s the case, let’s get started.”

There were many good things discovered by the blue ring on the bottom of the water, and one of them was a large Ha squid that made Yang Xiaolong drool. Ha squid is a noble among squid, not only delicious, but also of high value. A large one like this is worth at least a hundred and eighty.

The floating rope fishing was easy to set up, and one person could do it as long as they sorted it out beforehand. They just followed the boat down along the side of the boat. To distinguish between each other, the fish floats of each family had different colors and shapes to avoid confusion.

“Xiaoyang, it’s your turn to go down first,” Second Brother Jing spoke up.

“Okay.”

He had completely shocked  Second Brother Jing  these past two days. While the first net could rely entirely on luck, for the following nets, while others didn’t have much catch, his net was always full.

Although Second Brother Jing didn’t admit it, he still wanted to see how he did it. How could a young kid be better than him?

Yang Xiaolong controlled the blue-ringed octopus and in a spot about a hundred meters away from the boat, many needlefish were foraging.

“Uncle Jing, let’s sail the boat along the east side later,” he said as he continued to drop the float fishing line.

“Okay,” Uncle Jing replied, gesturing to him.

Everyone on the boat watched eagerly, wondering if they could catch a big haul this time.

After twenty minutes, Yang Xiaolong and his team finished their float fishing lines, and Uncle Jing was next.

“Xiaolong, this is the last chance today. Do you want to gamble?” Uncle Jing asked.

“What do you want to bet on?” Xiaolong inquired.

“Uncle Jing, let’s sail eastward later.” He said while doing the floating line fishing.

“Okay.” Uncle Jing gestured in agreement.

The others on the boat watched with excitement, wondering if they could catch a lot of fish this time.

After twenty minutes, Yang Xiaolong finished his fishing, followed by Uncle Jing.

“Xiaolong, how about a bet? I bet that you won’t catch more than thirty pounds of fish with this net. The bet will be your cat shark.” Uncle Jing proposed.

Yang Xiaolong remained silent.

The others chimed in, “Come on, Xiaolong, let’s bet. Uncle Jing always talks big. I bet on Xiaolong.”

Although the others were encouraging him, Yang Xiaolong didn’t have time to deal with them. He was controlling the blue circle to catch fish in the far sea.

Meanwhile, Jing Tian was bored and asked for a hand rod to fish by herself at the bow of the boat.

Two hours had passed in the blink of an eye. They still had to wait a while for their line fishing, so they took the opportunity to retrieve the crab and eel cages they had set up earlier.

Despite the calmness of the sea on normal days, there were quite a few unscrupulous people around. If they were in an inland sea, they would have noticed that some of their catch would always be missing when they retrieved their cages the next day.

The crab cage had yielded a decent harvest. As soon as they lifted the first one, they found three big green crabs inside, the largest of which weighed a pound.

For catching crabs, relying solely on luck was not enough. Unlike fishing nets, which Yang Xiaolong could rely on with his blue ring, crab catching required finding the right bait and location.

However, Jing Tian was skilled at catching crabs. She had learned a secret bait recipe from Jing Laotou, her grandfather, and knew that aside from the cage, the most important thing in crab catching was the bait.

Crab bait is usually made by pickling small fish, which the locals call “fish mei”. Using fish mei as bait is much better than using fresh bait. It is less likely to cause waste, can last longer, and is not easily affected by water.

“Three big green crabs and two iron crabs,” Yang Xiaolong exclaimed as he pulled up the cage. Jing Tian was responsible for picking them up and tying them with rope, as crabs have strong destructive power and cannot be put together with fish.

Jing Tian’s skill in tying crabs was unparalleled. She casually wrapped her hand around the crabs twice, without exerting much force, and tied them securely. She easily outperformed Yang Xiaolong in this aspect.

After finishing with the crabs, they sailed to a dark area where eel cages floated on the surface of the sea. Each eel cage was about the size of a hanging air conditioner and was pitch black.

The eel cages were provided by the boat itself, with about sixty in total, and could be used for free. However, if lost or damaged, they had to be compensated at market price. Of course, the fish caught would be divided equally among them.

Second Brother Jing  and Yang Xiaolong were in charge of pulling up the cages, while the others were responsible for separating them according to size. This was a technical task, as even a slight difference in weight could affect the price. Only those who grew up in the area and were experienced in sea fishing could do it well.

“Little Yang, you’re not a local and yet so young, why did you decide to become a fisherman? It’s a tough and tiring job,” said Second Brother Jing as he pulled up the cages and chatted with him to pass the time.

“It’s just a hobby,” replied Yang Xiaolong.

“You can make a lot of money on this trip. Why don’t you find a little wife when you go back?” Second Brother Jing joked.

Yang Xiaolong remained silent.

Second Brother Jing was in his thirties and couldn’t help but bring up the topic of marriage.

With everyone working together, they managed to pull up all the eel cages in half an hour. However, upon counting, they found that five or six cages were missing, probably cut off by passing fishing boats or stolen by someone.

The catch of eels was quite good, with the large ones weighing over eighty pounds and the medium ones weighing around thirty pounds. After deducting the compensation for the lost cages, each household could still get a little bit.

After working tirelessly for five or six hours, they took a break at noon. Yang Xiaolong was so exhausted that his arms and legs were shaking, and he was breathing heavily.

The group decided to have a meal before continuing to pull the lines and fish, and then head back to the port after finishing. Today’s meal was quite sumptuous, as they caught many seafood such as octopus, small grouper, sea snail, and some unknown small seafood. Several families cooked a big pot of rice, and all the seafood was cooked together.

Eating seafood on the sea sounds like a great idea, but the reality is different. The boat is being rocked by the waves, and there isn’t much seasoning added to the dishes. The seafood is just cooked and served with its natural flavor, which can be a bit fishy and not as tasty as one might imagine.

The popular short video bloggers often showcase themselves indulging in the juicy octopus, making their audience drool with envy. However, these are all deceiving tactics to enhance the video’s effect. Real fishermen will always clean up the seafood before cooking and eating it.

The short video hosts with their ecstatic expressions while chomping on a bursting octopus that stains their mouths black are all deceiving their audience for the sake of video effects. In reality, genuine fishermen always clean up the messy parts before eating.