The Sea Queen of 1985

Chapter 199: Chapter 199: ”The Eight Yellow Croaker Brothers

Hauling nets and sorting fish all night was grueling. Even the male crew members, despite their good stamina, were exhausted.

They’d had a hearty breakfast and eaten their fill, and now they were scattered about, finding places to sit down and rest.

Han Xiaorui smiled. ”We must’ve run into a school of fish. Our luck is pretty good.”

Yang Zhigang agreed. ”That’s what I was thinking. I was pretty upset yesterday when we found our usual reef was taken! Thank Mazu for blessing us with this school of fish instead.”

”Uncle Qi and I both suspect someone leaked the location of that reef. Don’t you worry about looking into it; I’ll handle it. Asking directly will just make things awkward.”

Han Xiaorui paused. She hadn’t been planning to investigate anyway. As long as every trip brought in enough seafood, she was content.

’My time is precious,’ she thought. ’I have a whole other business to run!’

Since Yang Zhigang wanted to investigate, she wouldn’t stop him. ”Alright, I’ll leave it to you, Uncle Yang. It’s no big deal if you can’t find anything. It won’t affect our haul.”

”It’ll be easy to ask around. I have my sources,” Yang Zhigang replied. He had a lot of connections in the area. As long as he was serious about asking, someone was bound to give him a lead.

Besides, they already had a suspect in mind, so it really wouldn’t be difficult.

After hanging up the walkie-talkie, Han Xiaorui also went to get some rest.

Resting in shifts allowed everyone enough time to recover their strength, especially to get some sleep.

Those who had slept during the latter half of the night began the daytime work of sorting and cleaning.

They had also brought in a good haul of scorpionfish, kuruma prawns, and mantis shrimp.

The net after lunch came up glittering gold in the sunlight. ”It’s yellow fish!”

”They’re small. Must be small yellow croakers.” The experienced Sister Zhao sounded a little disappointed. The color was similar, but the price difference between the large and small varieties was huge.

Once the net was opened, a shimmering golden pile spilled onto the deck.

As everyone gathered closer to sort, their faces broke into wide smiles. ”These aren’t small yellow croakers, they’re ’big-headed treasures’!”

Han Xiaorui leaned in for a closer look. They were indeed a bit different from small yellow croakers. ”What kind of fish is a ’big-headed treasure’?”

Sister Zhao chuckled. ”It’s a type of croaker, *meitong* fish. They look a lot like small yellow croakers, but their heads are rounder. ’Big-headed treasures’ are worth a bit more than small yellow croakers.”

*(On the left is the ”big-headed treasure” meitong fish, on the right is the small yellow croaker. The main difference is the head.)*

Just then, Liu Huamei finished her work and came out to pick ingredients for dinner. She was delighted to see the *meitong* fish.

”Bag some of these ’big-headed treasures’ for me. The meat is tender, the bones are soft, and the flavor is exceptionally fresh and delicious. For lunch today, we’ll have them braised, deep-fried, and in a fish ball soup!”

For a professional chef like Liu Huamei to praise them so highly was proof that these *meitong* fish, nicknamed ”big-headed treasures,” must taste incredible.

At lunch, Han Xiaorui was completely won over by the deep-fried ”big-headed treasures.”

They weren’t just a main dish; you could eat them like a snack.

So fragrant, crispy, and fresh.

They were so delicious!

”Sister Xiao Yu, make a note of this. Kids will love these. When we dock, set aside two baskets. Everyone gets a few pounds to take home and fry for their children.”

Liang Xiaoyu smiled. ”I’ll write it down. It’s not just kids who’ll like them; adults love them too. So fragrant and crispy.”

As evening fell, the fish holds were nearly full. At 5:00 PM, they began the journey back.

It was now past 8:00 PM, time for another haul.

Mixed in with a pile of shrimp were many large fish.

Han Xiaorui gasped. ”Is that a bahaba? What a shame, it’s a little small.”

She had caught a huge one before, weighing one or two hundred pounds!

Not only was the meat valuable, but the fish maw inside was even more expensive—a very rare, nourishing delicacy.

Chen Yishui shone his flashlight on it, inspecting it carefully. ”Ship Owner, this isn’t a bahaba. It’s a *miyu*.”

Han Xiaorui was taken aback. ”They look so similar! I’m having a hard time telling them apart.”

Chen Yishui smiled. ”They have different names in different places. It’s a large yellow croaker, also called *miyu*, *minyu*, and so on. A *miyu* looks a lot like a bahaba, but a bahaba has two barbels that the *miyu* lacks.”

”These croakers were hunting and got scooped up in the net along with the shrimp. They’re very aggressive predators, mainly eating small fish, shrimp, and mantis shrimp.”

Chen Yishui went on to give Han Xiaorui a detailed explanation of the *miyu*.

”There’s an old saying that goes, ’If you’re rich, you eat *miyu*; if you’re poor, you can forget it.’ That shows you its high economic value. Some foodies even think it’s more delicious than abalone or shark fin.”

”In traditional Chinese medicine, the *miyu’s* fish maw is a very important ingredient. It has mild properties and is used to fortify the liver, treat kidney deficiency, and prevent postpartum hemorrhaging and traumatic bleeding.”

”The large otoliths, or ’ear stones,’ in its head are believed to have diuretic properties and help resolve blood stasis.”

”If boiled into a broth, it’s said to have detoxifying effects. When stewed with rice wine and water, it can be used to treat male sexual dysfunction or abnormal vaginal discharge in women.”

Sister Lan laughed. ”Ship Owner, don’t feel bad for getting it wrong. Even experienced hands like us mix them up sometimes. They’re part of the ’Seven Croaker Brothers’—they all look alike, and they’re all expensive.”

”The ’Seven Croaker Brothers’?” Han Xiaorui paused. ”Let’s see... Big Yellow Fish, small yellow croaker, Yellowlip Fish, *miyu*, *meitong* fish, and bahaba... what’s the seventh?”

Sister Lan answered, ”The Yellow Croaker.”

Sister Zhao chimed in, ”By that logic, it should be the ’Eight Croaker Brothers.’ You’d have to add the white croaker, too.”

Han Xiaorui realized how little she knew. ’I still have a lot to learn.’

Since she hadn’t caught a Yellowlip Fish this time, she couldn’t fulfill her promise to Professor Wang. Instead, Han Xiaorui picked out a few lively *miyu* and placed them in a bucket of water.

While Han Xiaorui was sorting the fish, her walkie-talkie crackled to life.

It was Yang Zhigang. His holds were full. ”Xiao Rui, are your holds full yet?”

Han Xiaorui replied, ”They’re full. Should we stop hauling and head back?”

”The crew’s exhausted,” Yang Zhigang said. ”No need to haul again. The clouds are looking a bit thick. Let’s head back at full speed.”

”Roger that!” Han Xiaorui replied. The sooner they got back, the sooner they’d be safe.

Chen Yishui took the helm while the crew sorted the last of the catch, cleaned the nets, and washed down the boat.

When the crew heard they wouldn’t be hauling nets that night and would get a long rest, they started meticulously cleaning every nook and cranny of the vessel.

Wu Mengyue and Chen Yishui took turns piloting the boat. Han Xiaorui had a lot to do once they docked and didn’t want to lose any sleep, so after washing up, she ducked into her small cabin and fell into a deep slumber.

「They reached port at 4:00 AM.」

Yang Zhigang and Han Xiaorui both disembarked and immediately started making calls, telling the buyers to hurry over.

When Zhang Guangnan got the call, he was overjoyed and immediately called Xiao Liu and Xiao Zhao to drive down to the docks.

Thanks to Han Xiaorui’s timely supply of high-quality seafood, he had managed to retain the regular customers of three of his client restaurants.

And thanks to the efforts of his lawyer, Chen Nanyang, his mother’s case was now looking at a life sentence instead of something worse.

Forget 4:00 AM—even if the call came at 1:00 AM, Zhang Guangnan would have come to the docks without a moment’s hesitation.

Zhang Guangnan had his driver stop by a good breakfast spot on the way and bought a large spread of fresh, piping-hot food.

This Zhang Guangnan had really learned the ropes. Not only did he offer high prices, but he also knew how to handle people.

Zhang Guangnan was generous, paying the dockhands high wages and even slipping each of them a pack of cigarettes when they were done.

Naturally, the dockhands worked with gusto.

Basket after basket of seafood was weighed and then moved to freezers, refrigerated trucks, or live-water tanks.

Han Xiaorui bit into a warm *shengjianbao*. It was from a time-honored shop, and the taste was superb.

The sweet tofu pudding was silky smooth and fragrant.

’He’s in the restaurant business, after all.’ Zhang Guangnan had certainly picked a great place for tofu pudding and *shengjianbao*. The taste was excellent.

The docks were already crowded at 5:00 in the morning.

Word had spread that Yang Zhigang and Han Xiaorui’s boats had come back with full holds again. A crowd of envious and jealous onlookers gathered to watch the spectacle.