The Sea Queen of 1985

Chapter 355: Chapter 355: The Island Surrounding the School of Fish

Chen Yishui pointed to the sky. ”Although it’s not raining yet, the air pressure is very low! It must be the pressure change. There’s less oxygen in the sea, so these deep-sea fish are surfacing.”

Hearing this, Liang Xiaoyu nodded. ”So that’s why! No wonder it’s such a huge school of fish!”

”It’s a good thing we brought our fishing nets. Without them, our trawl net would be useless in this area. We’d have no choice but to watch all these fish get away.”

Chen Yishui nodded repeatedly. ”Exactly! The water here is only forty or fifty meters deep. A trawl net is completely useless.”

”If we were in deeper water, we could just make a few hauls and wouldn’t have to work this hard.”

Sister Tang laughed. ”What’s a little hard work? As long as we’re catching fish, nothing else matters!”

Just as she said that, it began to rain, and the downpour grew heavier and heavier.

Fortunately, they had already dropped anchor and were stopped in a relatively safe spot.

Everyone quickly took shelter in the cabin. They had barely been inside for a moment when they heard a loud clattering sound from outside.

They all looked outside and were shocked.

”How strange. It’s actually hailing out here!”

Han Xiaorui looked over as well. The hailstones were as large as dates.

She was about to move closer to the window but was pulled back by Chen Yishui.

”Han Shipowner, stay back. The glass is tough, but there’s no guarantee it won’t get smashed.”

Before Chen Yishui could even finish her sentence, the window glass was struck, and fine cracks spiderwebbed across its surface.

Everyone backed away, putting more distance between themselves and the window.

”Everyone, be careful! Protect the Han Shipowner and don’t wander around,” Chen Yishui ordered, as she and Wu Mengyue kept a close watch on the boat and the sea.

Sister Tang nodded. ”Don’t worry, we’ll take good care of the Han Shipowner.”

Han Xiaorui grabbed the walkie-talkie to contact Qi Heng and Wu Guangfu.

They were also being hit by the hailstorm, but fortunately, they had chosen a good place to stop, where the wind and waves were weaker.

”Xiao Han, don’t worry about us. We should be fine. Just focus on keeping yourself safe,” Qi Heng reassured her. He was grateful he had followed Han Xiaorui’s advice to stop for the night instead of continuing to work. As long as they had a sheltered spot, the fishing boat was much safer.

It was the same on Wu Guangfu’s boat; he remained composed and calm.

It was at times like this that the value of an experienced captain became clear. They could not only avoid danger but also reassure the crew under them.

Their haul tonight had been huge; they had never caught so many fish in their lives.

The hail came as quickly as it went. After about half an hour, it stopped.

Once Chen Yishui confirmed it was safe outside, she had the crew come out. ”Quickly clear the deck! Get this hail off the boat.”

Everyone worked quickly, tossing the hailstones into the sea.

Chen Yishui did a check. ”I’ll take the first watch. The rest of you go get some rest. Xiao Rui, you should get to sleep. Don’t overtire yourself.”

Han Xiaorui shook her head. ”Sister Shui, you all worked so hard just now. I’m the one who didn’t do anything. I’ll take the watch. You go rest, too.”

Chen Yishui didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. ”Han Shipowner, you may not have been doing physical labor, but you’re pregnant. Could you please act like it? I’ll stand watch for four hours, and then Mengyue will take over. We’re the captains. We get paid more, so we work more.”

Wu Mengyue nodded. ”Exactly. Han Shipowner, don’t argue. We have to earn our pay. Besides, we can handle it. Don’t you worry.”

With everyone telling her this, Han Xiaorui stopped insisting. If she kept being stubborn, none of the crew would go to rest, and that would just waste more of everyone’s time.

She hadn’t thought she was tired, but the moment she lay down in her cabin, a wave of exhaustion washed over her, and she quickly fell asleep.

It was the same for the others. They took off their outer layers, wrapped themselves in their blankets, and were asleep in moments.

Only with proper rest would they have enough energy to work. This was a lesson the crew had learned from experience.

By midnight, the waves had gradually subsided, and the sea was slowly returning to calm.

Chen Yishui was on watch. Feeling a bit drowsy, she pulled out a pack of cigarettes.

She didn’t usually smoke, but when she was exhausted on a night watch, she’d have one to wake herself up.

She lit one now, standing at the boat’s railing. One of the ship’s lights had been smashed in the hailstorm, leaving only a single large lamp.

Gazing out at the pitch-black sea, Chen Yishui stretched. She hadn’t slept for over a dozen hours and was genuinely exhausted, but she was the captain. She could handle it.

At three in the morning, Wu Mengyue came to relieve Chen Yishui. ”Sister Shui, go get some sleep. I’ll take it from here!”

”Alright. Keep a close eye on the water. I have a feeling something’s about to happen.” Chen Yishui was so tired she could barely keep her eyes open. She went back to her bunk and fell asleep instantly.

Wu Mengyue did a full sweep of the boat with a flashlight, inside and out. Once she confirmed everything was in order, she returned to the pilothouse.

But before she could even sit down, Wu Mengyue felt the boat get bumped. It wasn’t violent, but it was definitely noticeable.

Wu Mengyue got up and looked out at the water, and her jaw dropped. She shone her flashlight onto the sea and saw that a huge area around them seemed to be completely surrounded by a school of fish.

She couldn’t make out their color, so she couldn’t tell what kind of fish they were, but it was as if the boat had fallen right into the middle of a massive school.

At the same time, Wu Mengyue also spotted the familiar figure of Xiao Dai. She immediately shouted, ”Everyone, get up! Time to fish! The water’s full of them!”

Hearing the shout, Han Xiaorui was thrilled. She immediately used her superpower to check, and what she saw left her even more stunned than when she had first spotted the bigeyes.

The bigeyes had been a large school, but the fish here formed a single, massive sheet, surrounding the entire reef for miles in every direction.

Han Xiaorui couldn’t understand what was about to happen here to cause so many fish to gather.

It was completely unnatural!

But when fishermen see fish, they fish!

They could worry about why it was so strange later. First, they had to catch the fish.

For a fisherman, seeing fish and not catching them was a torment akin to slicing off their own flesh—it would leave them unable to eat or sleep in peace.

All the crew members scrambled to their feet, even Chen Yishui, who had only been asleep for a little over an hour.

With this many fish, what were they waiting for? Time to get to work!

As for their exhaustion? They had gotten some rest, and while they hadn’t fully recovered, the sight of fish was enough to fill them with renewed energy.

”I’ll assign the tasks...” Wu Mengyue began, and the female crew members quickly got to work.

Han Xiaorui grabbed her binoculars and saw that the other boats weren’t moving. ’They must not have noticed yet,’ she thought, and keyed the walkie-talkie.

A first mate on one of the boats was smoking and dozing off when he heard the call. He immediately picked up. ”Xiao Han Shipowner, what’s up?”

Han Xiaorui said, ”Our boats are completely surrounded by fish. Get your crew up and start fishing, now.”

After saying her piece, Han Xiaorui immediately ended the call and radioed Wu Guangfu’s boat.

Soon, both boats were bustling with activity.

With so many fish around, they still couldn’t use the trawl net. They’d have to keep using the cast nets.

However, the crew was too exhausted to haul the nets by hand anymore. They could only cast them and use the net hauler to bring them in.

When the first net landed on deck and they opened it up, everyone was stunned speechless.