Chapter 8

“If we get a few more half-sized fishing nets, we can catch more fish and earn more money. That way, we can pay off our debts quickly.”

Uncle Jiang He’s words were quite inspiring. Others might have different thoughts, but Lan Xiruo was filled with determination after hearing them.

Exactly! In times like this, what’s the point of overthinking? The priority should be finding more fishing nets to reduce their debt.

Everyone was convinced by Uncle Jiang He’s words. Their previous disappointment turned into renewed enthusiasm.

“Uncle Jiang He is right! Let’s go, comrades! Let’s haul up this net quickly and move on to the next one!”

Jiang Dazhu shouted, swiftly pulling the rope with renewed vigor.

This time, no matter how big the holes in the net were, no one stopped to feel disheartened.

The men pulled up the net, while the two female comrades removed the seafood caught in it and cleaned off the debris.

Working together, they quickly retrieved a 500-meter-long net.

Although it had several holes, they were lucky enough to catch a two-pound moray eel, three sea bass weighing over ten pounds each, and a stingray weighing at least fifty pounds, along with some small miscellaneous fish.

Unfortunately, the most valuable fish among them was the sea bass, which only sold for about 0.8 to 0.9 yuan per pound when sold to the seafood company.

“Sigh, such a pity the net was damaged. Otherwise, we could’ve caught at least 200 pounds of seafood,” Jiang Dazhu muttered under his breath.

There was nothing they could do about it. Everyone sighed inwardly but quickly resumed scanning the sea for the other two lost nets.

“Uncle Jiang He, straight ahead!”

Hearing this, Uncle Jiang He immediately rowed forward.

“Stop, stop! We can reach it!”

Finding the second fishing net so quickly boosted everyone’s morale.

The men exerted all their strength to pull up the net.

Uncle Jiang He, watching from the back, felt his hands itch to help, but he had to control the boat to prevent the propeller from getting tangled again.

As they placed the fish into baskets, Sun Yuqing shook off the mud and said excitedly, “This is great! This net only has a few small holes!”

Lan Xiruo picked up several large yellow croakers, her eyes shining. “There’s quite a lot of seafood in this one! It’s full of big yellow croakers and Chinese shad—probably around 200 pounds!”

Big yellow croakers! She had eaten some before she was locked up by those scumbags. Wild ones like these could sell for thousands of yuan per pound.

Chinese shad was even more delicious, though it had a lot of bones, making it tricky to eat. But it wasn’t cheap either—hundreds of yuan per pound, and authentic ones were hard to come by.

Just as she was getting excited, A’Dong poured cold water on her enthusiasm. “Lan Zhiqing, big yellow croakers aren’t worth much. They might sell for just 0.2 to 0.3 yuan per pound, if anyone even wants them.”

“But it’s fine, we’ve got dozens of pounds of Chinese shad. Those are delicious and valuable—each pound sells for over 0.8 yuan.”

Lan Xiruo: “….”

Right, she had forgotten that in this era, big yellow croakers were abundant and considered cheap fish.

And Chinese shad weren’t endangered yet—they were still commonly found.

She suddenly thought about how after 1975, the population of Chinese shad plummeted, and by the 1980s, wild big yellow croakers were nearly extinct.

An idea formed in her mind.

Inside her bracelet’s spatial dimension, there was a pond and an enormous storage room where time stood still.

If she could just…

Blackfish turned around and saw Lan Xiruo staring intently at the Chinese shad, so he laughed. “Haha, Lan Zhiqing, are you craving shad?

Steamed, it’s incredibly delicious. If you really want some, we can steam one after we’re done pulling in the nets.” He then directed the latter half of his sentence toward Uncle Jiang He.

Uncle Jiang He didn’t object and called out from the stern, “Sure, let’s steam two that are around a pound each and stir-fry a dish of mixed fish. Everyone can have a feast.”

Hearing this, the crew cheered.

“Great! I haven’t had Chinese shad in ages!”

“Yes! I’m going to eat an extra bowl of rice today!”

—-

At this time, fishermen were allowed to eat some fresh seafood they caught while at sea.

But everyone was disciplined—they wouldn’t eat anything too valuable. Usually, they just boiled a pot of mixed fish to eat with rice.

Uncle Jiang He, however, recalled how he had nearly fallen into the sea the previous day and was saved by Lan Xiruo.

After also experiencing the fear of the propeller getting tangled, he decided that everyone needed a good meal to calm their nerves.

The team’s excitement lasted until they had reeled in about 300 meters of net, then it died down.

Lan Xiruo noticed the hesitation in the fishermen’s movements, stood up, and looked over the sea. Her smile froze.

A section of the fishing net had snapped in half, with only the ropes still connecting both ends.

Uncle Jiang He saw it too, his heart sinking. But he quickly encouraged everyone, “Don’t lose heart! Keep pulling the rope—you never know, there might be a surprise waiting!”

Lan Xiruo nodded in agreement. “Yeah, we haven’t reached the end yet! Keep going!”

As soon as she spoke, Uncle Jiang He suddenly suggested, “How about Lan Zhiqing and Dazhu take the front position to pull?”

“But I’ve never been in the front before!” Lan Xiruo was confused.

“It’s fine, just stand there. We’ll handle the pulling from behind.”

A’Dong, who was quick-witted, immediately understood Uncle Jiang He’s reasoning and explained to the others,

“Lan Zhiqing practically saved all our lives last night—she’s got great karma.

If she pulls the net, maybe the heavens will…”

Before he could finish, Uncle Jiang He cut him off, “You brat, do you want to jinx us? Watch what you say! Good thing no outsiders are here.”

Then he cleared his throat and added, “But A’Dong does have a point. Why not give it a try, Lan Zhiqing?”

Lan Xiruo: “….”

Seeing everyone’s eager expressions, she reluctantly agreed.

She moved to the front, focused entirely on the sea, gripped the rope tightly, and started pulling bit by bit.

A’Dong’s reasoning had no basis, but she still held onto a sliver of hope.

After pulling another 20 meters, they finally saw the fishing net again.

Uncle Jiang He reminded her, “Lan Zhiqing, be careful! We’ve reached the net.

It’s about to get heavier—watch your step and don’t get dragged into the water.”

“Got it!” she responded, spreading her stance wider and pulling harder, leaning back for balance.

“This is so heavy! A’Dong, put in more effort!”

Jiang Dazhu, with his years of fishing experience, immediately sensed something unusual and warned the group.

Hearing this, everyone pulled even harder. The fishing net slowly emerged from the water.

Lan Xiruo’s eyes brightened as she saw what was caught in the net.

“It’s a wooden barrel! Be careful, everyone!”

This barrel… looked like it had quite a story behind it!