Lu Wuyai said helplessly, "That's settled then. Okay, tell me tomorrow, and I'll go see how many are suitable to sell and then let you know."

She fell asleep again, only to be woken up again: "There's only one mother in the world who's good, a child with a mother is like a treasure..."

Hearing the phone ring at night, Ou Muyang wanted to cry: "Damn it, it's you again, Brother Lei. What's going on? I'm calling for my brother, can't you let me get some sleep?"

Li Lei sneered and said, "My benefactor, I'm sorry, I was also woken up. Could you get me some more eels tomorrow? Our squad leader wants some too. His son came directly to me."

Lu Wuyai said in astonishment, "Right and wrong. I'll go to your house tonight so I can get something to eat."

Du Lei said, "Who can argue with that? I'm not exaggerating at all, this eel is delicious. Our team leader's son said that his whole family praised it highly after eating it."

"Okay, I'll go check tomorrow. Don't call again tonight."

There was no sound of the bell at all in the middle of the night. When Lu Wuyai went out in the morning, he first went to check on the breeding pond.

During this time, the village children have been fishing for loaches and eels for him, and the huge breeding pond is full of cages.

However, most of the rice paddy eels are rice seedlings. Due to excessive use of pesticides and overfishing, large yellow eels are rare in rural areas, while loaches are quite abundant.

He picked up some balance scales and then called to Li Lei, "There are only six jin left. This stuff is very precious. Let me tell you..."

“Price is no problem, my benefactor.” Du Lei said, “Our deputy team leader just urged me to come, damn, his wife loves eel so much.” Are you still using eel for other things? This is too urgent.”

"Forget it, we're all on the same side. The eel is still 201 yuan a catty. Come and get it when you arrive."

Li Lei said apologetically, "I'm very busy with work here. Do you have SF Express cold chain logistics? Do you need me to send a courier? I'll pay the delivery fee, and I'll pay double."

Lu Wuyai said helplessly, "Okay, I'll go to town and take a look. If you don't have this courier, you'll still have to pick it up yourself, so it wouldn't be worth it for me to send it to Hongyang."

There were many courier companies in town. He found one that could deliver seafood and aquatic products, and also pack eels and loaches. On his way back, he sailed at sea, so he decided to take a walk in the water.

He's in the sea now, and because he has an underwater propulsion system, he can sail much faster.

He lowered the red underwater thruster into the sea, gripped the handles with both hands, turned on the power, and pushed the thruster's head downwards. As the thruster rotated, he also began to dive into the sea.

This propeller has a maximum speed of 24 kilometers per hour on the water surface and 15 kilometers per hour underwater, and it can travel 250 meters per minute, which is a very fast speed.

Due to the resistance of the human body in water and the high-speed impact of seawater, this extreme speed is terrifying and ordinary people simply cannot withstand it.

Lu Wuyai was no ordinary person, so he could withstand the propeller's high speed and keep up with the high speed in the water, while looking down at the water surface or turning his head to look around.

This increases his chances of finding prey.

However, the catch in the coastal waters was too small. After the thruster had been running for more than ten minutes, he hadn't found anything of note other than some squid and small groups of shrimp.

After walking underwater for a while, he finally spotted a small group of fish.

These fish swim slowly on the seabed. They have slender, flat bodies, generally spindle-shaped, with long, thin tails and wedge-shaped caudal fins, making them quite beautiful.

Lu Wuyai quickly recognized that it was a group of sea bass. There were not many, only a few dozen, probably less than a hundred, but the fish were all very large, most of them reaching half a meter in length, and the largest even reaching seventy or eighty centimeters in length.

He had no interest in bass because bass were of little value and there was no point in catching them.

So he turned in the direction of the recommender and steered closer to the sea above the school of fish.

As he passed over the school of fish, he took a closer look at them and suddenly felt that something was wrong.

At first glance, these fish look like bass, but upon closer inspection, they are not.

Upon closer inspection, the fish below him has a dark body color, with a grayish-brown body surface tinged with purplish-green, a grayish-white belly, a black upper edge on the dorsal fin, and the remaining fins are grayish-black. It has a pointed head and round scales all over its body.

When the fish spotted Lu Wuyai, there was a moment of chaos, and some strange sounds rang out: "Caw caw..."

Looking at them up close and listening to the sounds they made, Li Muyang suddenly realized that these were not the sea bass he had thought they were, but another kind of fish.

Sea bass do not make any sound, and under no circumstances can they produce the distinctive "quack" sound of croakers.

So, what is the totoaba that looks like a sea bass?

The answer is obvious: rice fish.

Squid, also known as croaker, belongs to the order Perciformes and looks very similar to sea bass.

They have abundant resources in a certain area of ​​the East China Sea, near a certain island. The fishing season is from June to August of the lunar calendar each year, with July being the peak season. The mullet harvested at this time are at their plumpest.

Like other stonefish, the rice fish is similar to the large and small yellow croaker and the yellow croaker. It also has delicious flesh, is rich in nutrients, and is a fish with high economic value.

However, compared to wild large and small yellow croakers, which are known as marine gold mines, wild rice paddy fish are much cheaper, usually priced at around 100 yuan per kilogram.

The price of croaker is relatively high now, selling for up to 150 yuan per kilogram, because the croaker harvest in the last two months is the most abundant, and this period coincides with the fishing ban. Fresh seasonal croaker is also scarce in the market.

After confirming the identity of these fish, Lu Wuyai became interested.

Ricefish don't like to live in large groups, so the chances of catching them in the sea are not high. Scarcity increases value, which gradually raises their price.

As the submersible rotated, he quickly surfaced, and fishing boats were not far away at sea.

After entering the water, he fixed the direction and speed of the fishing boat at sea, and then switched to autopilot mode to keep the two boats in sync at sea.

After surfacing, he pointed to the stern and whistled. The little count (dog) jumped down with the fishing net in its mouth, swishing its tail vigorously to deliver the huge net.

After getting the fishing net, Lu Wuyai kissed the little count (dog), released the submersible, and began to set the fishing net.

Ricefish should be caught at night. They are warm-temperate seabed fish. They prefer water depths of 10 to 70 meters. They sink during the day and float at night.

At this moment, the fish were on the seabed. Lu Wuyai estimated that the water was about 40 meters deep. His fishing net was not big enough, and his boat could not be used for trawls.

So after thinking about it, he decided to use phishing to deal with these fish.

Fishing rods, lines, and hooks are typically used for fishing. Lu Wuyai didn't use these; he used a fishing net.

I jumped into the water, laid out the fishing net, let it spread out naturally, and then steered the boat back, searching for the group of squid I had encountered earlier.

The croaker is a predatory fish with a fierce temperament, feeding on small fish, cephalopods, and other cephalopods.

When he spotted a group of squid, he used another small fishing net from the boat to catch them. After casting the net, he caught some squid.

In addition, he saw that there was a lot of mud and sand on the seabed in this area, so he took a bucket from the boat, filled it with seabed mud and sand, and floated it up and down a few times, and some mud and sand accumulated at the stern of the boat.

After doing a lot of work, he steered the boat back to the waters where the fish were.

The group of small fish did not leave; they continued to swim slowly around the seabed, searching for food.

Seeing this, Li Muyang adjusted the angle of the unfolded fishing net, making it extend in the direction of the waves, which then moved from south to north. He positioned the net to the north of the school of fish.

The little count (dog) came over to help. He grabbed one corner of the fishing net, and the little count (dog) held the other corner in his mouth. Then he swam east and west, fully unfolding the fishing net.

After setting it up, he boarded the boat and poured the dredged silt onto it, and the surrounding sea quickly became murky.

After spreading out the sand, he threw all the squid he had caught into the sea. Once everything was ready, he attached the propeller and dived into the ocean.

A group of sardines, slowly swimming around on the seabed, became restless. They had found food, and the food was in a patch of murky water, which made them very excited.

Gu Yuxin had read a book before. The book described the rice fish as follows: It was born in turbid water, its swim bladder could make a sound, and it was fierce in nature.

He has now created a muddy sea area and prepared food for them, so he is not worried that they will not take the bait.

This is net fishing. The target sea fish eats bait, prefers the fishing line, and uses a net as its hook.

The fish stirred and rose to the surface, then rushed to attack in the murky water, swallowing the fresh squid one by one into their mouths.

Just as the fish had finished feeding, Lu Wuyai suddenly grabbed the submersible, surfaced from the seabed, and rushed towards the fish from the north.

The fish were terrified. They realized there was a threat to the north, so they swam south with the current.

Now, they were no longer on the seabed, but on the surface. A fishing net blocked their path from the south, and the flounder screamed and charged forward, finally plunging into the net...

When they fell into the fishing net, they were immediately entangled, and a spectacular scene unfolded underwater: dozens of large fish, each over half a meter long, twisted and struggled in the water, tearing and tangling the huge fishing net, leaving a mess.

That's the cost of fishing; every time you catch a big fish, the net breaks.

From now on, Lu Wuyai didn't need to worry. No matter how strong he was, he wasn't as strong as a fish that was only a few dozen meters long. All he had to do now was wait patiently for them to wear each other down.

If the group of flounder swims together in one direction, the fishing net will not be able to trap them. They will be carried away by the net and will eventually be released, allowing them to escape.

But they couldn't possibly possess such wisdom. Once caught in the net, they would fight and struggle on their own. There were points of leverage in every direction, from southeast to northwest, up, down, left, and right. The forces canceled each other out, consumed each other, and eventually ran out. That was when the fishermen harvested their catch.

As Omuyang absorbed water from the seawater, his golden core gradually strengthened, while the fish gradually weakened. When the struggling movement almost ended, he withdrew his troops and went home.

Ricefish are not considered expensive seafood, but during the period of maritime ban, fresh wild ricefish were quite rare, so Lu Wuyai called Land Rover to make a deal.

He was heading towards the red ocean when a speedboat caught up with him.

The speedboat is white with a red shield-shaped emblem at the front, surrounded by four ears of wheat. The emblem features one large star, four smaller stars, five stars, and an anchor. The side of the boat bears the four characters: 海监 (Haijian, meaning maritime surveillance).

After the speedboat appeared, an announcement came over the loudspeaker: "Vehicles ahead, please slow down. This is an inspection vessel from the Maritime Bureau in a certain area of ​​the island. Please slow down for inspection."

Lu Wuyai knew he had bumped into a security guard, so he cooperated by slowing down and preparing his ID card.

There were four capable security guards on the speedboat. When the two boats approached, one of the guards simply saluted and said, "Hey, comrade, what are you doing?"

Lu Wuyai said, "I am a fisherman from Qiantan Town. I caught some fish and I want to sell them."

Please show your ID card.

Lu Wuyai handed over his ID card and boat certificate, and also submitted a fishing boat and net gear quota.

The coast guard glanced at it and asked, "Where is the registration certificate for the vessel at sea?"

It was unclear whose fishing boat Lu Wuyai was piloting. He didn't have a household registration certificate for going to sea.

He does have a boatman's certificate. When the children of Coconut Grove Village apply for their ID cards, they also apply for this certificate, because they might go fishing with their parents at any time.

He felt a little embarrassed.

Lu Wuyai rubbed his hands together, deciding to tell the truth: "This is a boat I borrowed, sir. I don't have a boat's registration certificate."

The vessel registration certificate is not a particularly important document. The main purpose of checking this certificate is to prevent people from stealing fishing boats.

The coast guard didn't give him any trouble. He checked his ID and fishing permit, glanced at the fish being hauled up in the net at the stern of the boat, and waved him on.

“It’s okay if you don’t have a household registration book this time. You can go out to sea next time when you’re ready. Besides, this is during the sea ban period. People from Gantan Town should take a break and stop fishing in the sea,” another security guard said.

Lu Wuyai's identity helped him. Qiantan Town was once a notoriously impoverished town in Hongyang. When the Hongyang County Ocean Bureau and Fisheries Bureau formulated the fishing ban system, they granted Hongyang Town an exception. They could continue working during the closed fishing season and go fishing.

Of course, the government has imposed restrictions on the tonnage of their vessels to prevent anyone from targeting them and using their identities to obtain fishing vessel permits.

Lu Wuyai obediently agreed, and the coast guard speedboat sped off along the coastline.

He spent a lot of time fishing for rice fish, and it was already evening when he joined the Land Rover.

Land Rover brought him another gift this time. Two large bags of dog food, all labeled in English: "Orijen Six Fish Dog Food, a Canadian brand. It's a dog food specially formulated for water dogs. You can give it to your little Earl. Listen."

Lu Wuyai asked in surprise, "There's even dog food specially prepared for water hounds?"

Lu Hu laughed loudly and said, "Of course, people in certain areas of the outer islands are very careful when keeping dogs."

The employee hauled the fishing net up, saying the two had chatted there.

Gu Yuxin tore open the bag of dog food and gave a handful to Little Earl (the dog). Little Earl (the dog) really liked it, wagging his tail and swallowing it in one gulp without even chewing.

Eighty-four croakers, weighing a total of 950 jin (425 catties), were all large fish.

Land Rover didn't treat him unfairly; instead of the wholesale price from the island trading port, they gave him the market price: "One hundred and forty yuan per pound, that's 133,000 yuan in total, how about that?"

Lu Wuyai waved his hand and said, "Alright, Brother Hu, I'll give you 130,000. Actually, Brother Hu, you can give me the wholesale price; you don't have to follow the market price every time."

In this respect, he was wealthy because Land Rover was a seafood merchant; people bought fish at a fixed price instead of going to the market. If he bought at the market price, he wouldn't make a profit if he sold at the market price.

Lu Hu happily transferred the money to him and said, "Don't worry, Brother Li, Brother Hu isn't doing charity. I'll definitely make some money. This rice fish is a good thing. In the hands of ordinary people, it's just a fish. In my hands, it's a production chain."

All croakers can be used in the production chain, and can be further processed in addition to ordinary methods.

Take croaker as an example. The fish meat is a top-notch ingredient for making fish balls and fish noodles. The internal organs and bones can be used to make fish meal and fish oil, and the otoliths are used in traditional Chinese medicine for their effects of clearing heat, removing blood stasis, and promoting diuresis.

The most prized part is the swim bladder. The swim bladder of the croaker can be made into fish glue, a delicious delicacy and also a medicinal ingredient. It has effects such as nourishing blood, tonifying the kidneys, strengthening the lungs and spleen, and reducing inflammation.

After a brief introduction, Lu Luofu added, "Also, to be honest, I don't care about these fish. You can come to me when you're selling lobsters in the future. Anyway, I'll keep any good ones I find in the future."

That's the key point: he was using small favors to win over Lu Wuyai, a major supplier.

Lu Wuyai nodded happily: "Okay, I have five more good lobsters over there. You can have someone come and pick them up when you have time. Same price as always."

After catching this batch of ricefish, his income increased dramatically, and a string of numbers appeared on his bank card.

As soon as he got home, a neighbor from the front street came to him with a dog: "Yangzi, you recently got a cat. A cat with a big pancake face."

“Yes, sister, what’s wrong? It went to steal fish.” After saying this, Lu Wuyai turned around and shouted, “Crown Prince, come out!”

On a certain island, Yuan Yuan (a cat) walked out gently with her cat-like steps, her face bearing a twisted expression that said, "I am a baby, and I want to love my baby."

It stepped out of the house and saw Lu Wuyai and the woman walking a dog. Its lazy gaze suddenly changed, its back arched quickly, and it barked at the dog, "Meow meow."

The short-haired blond man was looking down at the little count (dog), wagging his tail sympathetically. He heard a cat meowing like a demon's horn, and he ran away with his tail between his legs in fright.

When it turned around, Lu Wuyai saw that the dog's face was covered in blood.

The woman scolded, "Zhuangzhuang, come back here. You have no backbone. You're scared like this by a cat."

Lu Wuyai understood: "Sister-in-law, did my cat bump into your dog?"