The Sea Queen of 1985

Chapter 136: Chapter 136: Cheap but in Large Quantities

Good heavens. Four casts of the net, and every single one was bursting at the seams.

And not only that, but each time it was filled with fish that fetched a higher price.

By a rough estimate, they already had eleven tons. That was worth hundreds of thousands!

And they had only been out for a day and a night.

They had already made back the cost of the boat.

’Since when was fishing this profitable?’

Chen Yishui was stunned numb!

Erhua nudged Chen Yishui with her elbow, a confused look on her face. ”Sister Shui, aren’t you going to rest? What are you spacing out for?”

Chen Yishui snapped out of her daze. ”It’s nothing. I was just feeling a little tired. You all carry on, I’m going to get some rest.”

’The boat owner’s luck is on another level entirely. No ordinary person could compare.’

’She now completely believed what her mother had said.’

Yang Zhigang’s boat had a decent haul as well, but compared to Han Xiaorui’s, his fish weren’t as high-quality or as valuable.

Wu Mengyue took the helm, and the crew members who had rested began to relieve those who had worked through the night.

Life on the boat could be tiring during the busy periods, but it was very fulfilling.

The downtime, waiting to haul in the next net, was more relaxed. Those who were tired caught up on sleep, while the others chatted.

They were all highly experienced crew members and had already begun to privately calculate the potential profits from this voyage.

Like Chen Yishui, many of them were floored.

’So much!’

Liang Xiaoyu’s heart was also pounding with excitement. She slipped over to Han Xiaorui. ”Xiao Rui, we’re going to make back the money for the boat on this one trip alone.”

Han Xiaorui just smiled. ”We’re just lucky. The ocean is full of resources, and we’re far enough out that there aren’t many other big boats, so our haul is bigger.”

It was because Yang Zhigang had bought a large boat that the Yang Family was so successful. Even when he wasn’t lucky enough to catch high-value fish, the profits were still substantial as long as he brought in large quantities of cheaper fish.

The Yang Family was the wealthiest in Jinshan Bay, and the large settlement Han Xiaorui received during her divorce was a result of the wealth Yang Zhigang had previously amassed.

Liang Xiaoyu shook her head, unconvinced. ”If making a living from the sea were this easy, Wu Guangfu would never have sold his boat.”

”When we’re out at sea with you, we’re busy, but we don’t feel tired at all. It makes us want to work nonstop, without sleeping or resting.”

”You can’t burn yourselves out like that. You have to rest when you need to. This is a long-term venture for us, not just a one-or-two-time thing.”

Han Xiaorui smiled, observing the situation beneath the water’s surface.

The little sea snake had grown a lot. It was positively jubilant, zipping around everywhere to find schools of fish and herd them this way.

Just before lunch, they hauled in another net.

This time, the cod-end was once again bulging, and its contents appeared somewhat dark in color.

Once the net was opened, the catch spilled out onto the deck.

Everyone saw that it was a net full of Chinese herring.

Chinese herring are found in the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific. They are distributed all along the coasts of China, with the highest concentration in the East Sea.

They are a warm-water, migratory, near-shore species that prefers to travel in schools. During the day, they are active in the middle and lower water columns, while at night or on overcast days, they move to the middle and upper layers. They sometimes enter estuaries or low-salinity waters.

Juveniles feed on zooplankton, while adults prey on shrimp, crabs, cephalopods, polychaetes, and small fish.

Its flesh is tender and delicious, with a high fat content. It can be eaten fresh, dried, or cured.

The entire fish can also be used for medicinal purposes. In traditional medicine, it is considered neutral in nature and sweet in taste, affecting the lung and spleen meridians. It is believed to nourish the heart and calm the spirit, fortify the spleen and aid the stomach, and have a general nourishing and strengthening effect. It is primarily used to treat nervous exhaustion, palpitations, diarrhea from spleen deficiency, and loss of appetite.

These fish grow up to sixty centimeters long, and this entire net was full of large ones over thirty centimeters. The haul was roughly estimated at four tons.

They were quite common and inexpensive.

However, they were delicious, and given the sheer volume, the crew was still delighted.

Han Xiaorui picked out a few of the larger ones and took them to the galley for Liu Huamei to prepare.

In addition to the bigeye snapper she was steaming, Liu Huamei also red-braised some of the freshly caught Chinese herring.

One couldn’t live on fish alone out at sea, so Liu Huamei also made beef with green peppers, stir-fried greens, and a seaweed egg drop soup.

After the meal, Wu Mengyue reported to Han Xiaorui. ”Boss, the hold has less than half its space left. We’ll head back as soon as it’s full.”

Han Xiaorui nodded. ”Alright. It’s my first trip out, and I’m actually a little homesick. I’ll check in with Uncle Yang and see how he’s doing.”

When the walkie-talkie crackled to life, Yang Zhigang’s hearty laugh came through. His crew had just pulled up a net as well. ”Xiao Rui, how’s the catch?”

Han Xiaorui answered with a smile, ”It’s going great! The fish hold has less than half its space left. What about you?”

The thought of his own hold being nearly full made Yang Zhigang beam. ”We’re getting there too. We’ll probably be able to head back tomorrow morning. Our luck has been incredible this time. I think yours is rubbing off on me.”

Han Xiaorui replied humbly, ”Uncle Yang, please don’t say that. I’m just a novice. I’ll still need you to show me the ropes in the future.”

”I’m estimating my boat will have about thirty tons of fish. Boss Zhang from the seafood restaurant buys the high-end fish, but he probably won’t need a large amount. For the rest of it, should I sell directly to the seafood wholesalers, or to a larger fisheries purchasing company?”

Hearing this, Yang Zhigang thought for a moment. ”If you want to make it simple, sell directly to the wholesalers at the seafood market. You’ll get paid the same day. If you want to get a better price, sell to a purchasing depot. However, they have payment terms, so you’d get paid in a month.”

Han Xiaorui thought for a moment, then said, ”Then I’ll sell to the wholesale market. A lot of people from our village work there, so this way they can make some money too.”

Hearing this, Yang Zhigang smiled. ”Exactly. There’s more than enough money to go around; it’s best when everyone gets a piece of the pie. Don’t worry, with me around, I’ll make sure you get a fair price.”

”Thank you, Uncle Yang.” Han Xiaorui nodded. She didn’t want the hassle, either. Selling the catch quickly after docking meant she could get home to rest sooner.

Although she didn’t have to do the physical labor at sea, using her superpower so much was also exhausting her.

At four o’clock that afternoon, they hauled in yet another net.

This net was filled mostly with large lobsters. It was as if they had stumbled upon a lobster colony; almost the entire catch consisted of them.

Just like crabs, they had to be sorted as quickly as possible, without delay.

Those two big claws made them a real handful. They didn’t die immediately out of water, and they loved to fight.

There were so many in this one net that they were crawling all over the deck.

Han Xiaorui quickly squatted down to help sort them, binding their large claws before placing them in baskets according to size and moving them to the live well.

Live ones fetched a much higher price than dead ones, so Han Xiaorui handled these big lobsters with the utmost care.

When Chen Yishui woke up, she went to inspect the fish hold herself. A smile appeared in her eyes. It was nearly full.

Everyone was overjoyed. Their initial anxiety had vanished, replaced by a sense of hope for the future.

After they finished sorting, everyone was completely exhausted and quickly found places to sit and rest.

Sister Yun was both laughing and wiping away tears, unable to contain her joy.

Seeing Sister Yun crying nonstop nearby, Han Xiaorui was startled. ”Sister Yun, what’s wrong? Are you hurt? Are you not feeling well?”

Sister Yun quickly waved her hands, explaining through sobs, ”No, Boss, I’m not unwell, and I’m not hurt. I’m just... I’m just so happy.”

Sister Yun was actually only thirty years old, but with her graying hair, she looked even older than Chen Yishui, who was approaching forty.

Chen Yishui stood up and took Sister Yun’s hand. ”Ah Yun, things will get better from now on. Don’t cry.”

Han Xiaorui paused. ’There’s a story here,’ she thought. Afraid she might touch on a painful subject for Sister Yun, she didn’t press the matter.

Chen Yishui encouraged her in a low voice, ”You’ve been so loyal and worked so hard all these years. We’ve all seen it. That’s why as soon as this good job came up, my mom told me to get you to come along.”