The baby killer whale plunged into the water, then quickly swung its tail and surged back up. Clearly, the delicious food made it very happy.

Lu Wuyai was also very pleased: "Very good, it seems you like this name very much, then let's call him Tiger."

The mountains at dusk, bathed in the setting sun.

The afterglow of the setting sun shone on the sea, and fishing boats returned one after another to the island's trading port.

The murky seawater had a faint fishy smell, and when the sunlight shone on it, it looked strange, like a swirling cocktail.

In the western sky, a few red clouds drifted by. Someone shouted from the island's trading post: "Red sky at morning, sailors take warning; red sky at night, sailors' delight; tomorrow will be another bright and sunny day."

"What's the use of a sunny day?" a muffled voice came from a returning fishing boat. "It's man-made; this isn't a good day for a good harvest."

The women waiting for their men at the island's trading post watched the small boats. Zhang Nan asked, "Da Guo, how was your day?"

The people on the boat said angrily, "Can't you see it yourself?"

No one paid any attention to his harsh tone; a sigh rang out: "Is this ship empty today? That's fucking ridiculous."

Waves crashed against the shore, and fishing boats drifted on the sea. Judging from the waterline, there was nothing on board.

The fishing boat was docked at the island's trading post. Before the planks were even loaded, Li Dahai, a certain official from the island, jumped off the boat with a dark expression, his face terribly gloomy.

Zhang Nan handed him an apple and said, "Da Guo, if you can't do that, you can go to work with my man. Qianwen's boat trip costs two hundred yuan a day."

Li Dahai took a towel off his shoulder at a certain place, and without caring how dirty the towel was, wiped his face a couple of times, then picked up an apple and started eating.

He squatted on the bridge pier, munching on an apple. The only sound was the smacking of his apple; no other sounds could be heard.

Zhang Nan sighed: "You not only didn't make money when you went to sea, but you kept making money. How could you stand it?"

The old man next to him, Li Zhibing, said while smoking his pipe, "Heh, well, don't say anymore. A certain island has its own ships, so what does it matter if he goes with someone else's ship?"

Hearing the elders speak up for him, Li Dahai finally spoke up. He raised his head and said, "I'm not afraid of losing face, Uncle. I just think it's boring to follow a ship."

“Two hundred yuan a day is quite a lot, but you don’t work every day. So what do you do when you don’t have a job? Even if I work every day, I still have to pay 200 yuan a day, but when I bought the boat, I already paid off a loan of 400,000 yuan. Is that enough to pay off the loan?”

"Okay." He let out a long sigh.

Li Zhibing sighed as well: "You borrowed too much money to buy the boat, what can you do now? You can't sell the house."

Li Dahai, from a certain island, said dejectedly, "If the house were valuable, I would have sold it long ago, but it's not valuable. How much can I sell it for? Fifty thousand yuan? Eighty thousand yuan?"

Zhang Nan patted him on the shoulder and said, "Don't be discouraged. What kind of house did you sell? Where will you live after selling it? In a barn."

Li Dahai, looking listless, said, "As long as I can keep my boat, I can live in the barn. It's not like I haven't lived in a cowshed before. Life was very stressful when I was a child."

“You let Ahua and Serena live in the cowshed,” Li Qianyao interrupted him.

Li Dahai remained silent for a moment, then threw the apple core into the sea as if venting his anger. He then turned around and called out, "Serena, Serena!"

Fishermen have a tradition of waiting for their families at the island's trading post. Generally, when the men go out to sea, the women will wait for them with the children at the trading post.

In the past, Li Dahai's son, Li Wuwei, who worked in a certain field on the island, loved to wait for him at the island's trading post. Every time he returned, Li Wuwei would happily dance around him like a little animal.

But at some point, Li Dahai discovered that his son didn't like waiting for him at the island's trading post.

He shouted a few more times, his voice growing weaker and weaker, but his confidence growing stronger.

The men of fishing families have a sense of shame; they are the pillars of their families, and if they cannot support their families, they would rather not go home.

The two people who had gone out to sea with Li Dahai disembarked. Li Dahai cheered and said, "Xiao Bing, Pan Pan, come to my house, let's have a drink together tonight."

Li Qian hesitated for a moment with a big face, and said, "Brother Dahai, why don't you go back and rest first? It's not good to come back with an empty boat and then go for drinks."

Li Dahai waved his hand and said, "Hey, enough talk, let's go. I didn't make this money by going to sea with you. Anyway, I'll treat you to a drink. Let's go."

Old man Li Zhibing said, "Let's go to Daguo. You go first, I'll follow. I'll go home first. The day before yesterday, Yangzi bought me two bottles of Yanghe Daqu liquor and gave me roast chicken and pig's head meat. I can't eat it all by myself, so let's come together."

The person next to him asked, "Uncle Soldier, how are Yangzi's fish going? It looks like the weather is nice today."

Li Zhibing laughed and said, "You know Yang Zi is a very special kid, but anyway, I'm doing quite well here."

After a few people from a certain field on Li Dahai Island left, another boat arrived, and people's attention was drawn to this newly returned boat: "How was the harvest?"

"Grass"

The answer was revealed in a single sentence.

The fishermen and crew slunk away, leaving behind rusty fishing boats of all sizes drifting on the waves, empty cockpits, tattered fishing nets—everything exuding a sense of decay.

As dusk deepened and darkness fell, life dwindled at the island's trading post.

On the beach, only a few golden short-haired dogs crawled and bit each other, occasionally barking. Some children who had just finished school were also playing by the boat, which made it seem that the area around the island's trading port still had some life.

Li Dahai walked down the street with a gloomy face. Li Mubing and Li Qianpan were also in a bad mood. None of the three of them said anything. They walked silently to the door of Li Dahai's house.

Before the door was even opened, someone shouted, "Stop talking, Mom, I don't want to go to sea. I want to go to the city to work. I'm not going to sea."

A woman continued, "What's wrong with the sea? We fishermen have nothing to eat if we don't go out to sea. How am I supposed to get married and have children?"

The young man's voice rang out again: "Ha, you can get married and have children by going to sea? Are you kidding me? There are quite a few boats going out to sea in the local villages now, but only a few of them are making money."

“I’m not going to compare myself to you, Mom. Think about it, the ocean is so polluted now, there are no fish or shrimp left for us to catch. I heard that the paralyzed village will be given land to build a factory. Then there will be nothing left in the sea.”

"If you want to fish, you have to go to the far sea. Not to mention the dangers of the open sea, even if we catch a fish, damn it, after deducting the cost of fuel, labor, boat depreciation, insurance and other miscellaneous things, damn it, it's still a complete waste."

The woman speaking was Li Dahai's wife, and the young man was his son. Li Qianpan and Li Qianpan glanced at Li Dahai, whose face darkened further.

The woman said earnestly, "Xiaowei, don't think like that. We have a boat. Maybe you can go out to sea and catch a golden dragon or something, and then you can buy a house in the city. Look at your brother Yang, he's already gone fishing a few times since he came back, and his life is so good now."

Li Wuwei's tone was resolute: "Mom, I'm not going to sea anymore, I'll never go to sea again. Let me tell you how much our boat is worth. Let's sell it quickly, and then we'll buy a house in Hongyang. I think the property prices in a certain area of ​​Hongyang Island are going to rise..."

"Do you dare to draft anything?" Upon hearing this, Li Dahai, from a certain field on the island, could no longer hold back. He kicked open the door and roared.

Li Ganpan and Li Mubing quickly stopped him: "Brother Dahai, don't be angry, don't be angry, don't rush to communicate with the child..."

The tall Li Wuwei craned his neck and looked at his father: "The boat is yours, so I dare not sell it, but you forced me to be the captain and forced me to go to sea, so I will sell it, hmph."

After saying that, he pushed open the door and went out.

A voice shouted from somewhere on the island of Aoda, "You son of a bitch, where are you going?"

Li Wuwei disappeared into the night without turning back or making a sound.

Li Dahai muttered to himself in a certain field on the island: "It's a reversal, this bastard is going to overturn the world."

Li Qianpan sighed: "Don't be angry, Brother Dahai, Xiaowei must have gone out to play with his buddies, he'll be fine."

Li Dahai completely ignored his advice in a certain area. He stood at the door watching his son's back gradually blur, and finally took a deep breath and said, "I don't care about him. When will this messed-up life end?"

The fishing boat arrived at the trading post on Coconut Grove Village, and the tiger followed it into the waters surrounding the village. Having eaten and drunk its fill, it was swimming in the deep waters outside the trading post.

Lu Wuyai called Lu Hu to tell him that he had harvested a batch of silver pomfret and four large lobsters that day. Lu Hu readily agreed, saying he would arrange for someone to trade them that night.

The other party was too enthusiastic, so he couldn't go back to rest and had to stay at the island's trade port to take all the silver pomfret out of the freezer.

The indigenous residents at the island's trading post all came to help, and they were all envious when they saw how many silver pomfret he had harvested.

"Yang Zi, where have you been? You've made so many finds."

"Brother Yang, you're amazing! It's been a long time since anyone in the village has caught a silver pomfret."

"Silver pomfret are not plentiful, but they are all high-quality. If you have money, you can definitely sell them for a good price."

As night fell, the dragon head returned. Seeing Lu Wuyai guarding a pile of silver pomfret, Li Zhiyi's eyes reddened with envy: "Yangzi, where did you catch these silver pomfret?"

Lu Wuyai said, "Haley."

Li Zhijie said, "I know that even in the ocean, silver pomfret can't live on land. Where exactly was it caught? Come aboard my boat tomorrow, and we'll split it equally, okay?"

The person next to him laughed and said, "When did you become so generous, island owner?"

Indeed, for Li Zhijie, sharing the fish he caught in the sea with others was something that had never happened before.

Li Zhijie waved his hand impatiently and said, "Let's go, let's go, Yang Zi and I are discussing business."

Lu Wuyai said, "No, we're serious about this. Oh, by the way, next time you introduce me to a blind date, you need to be more serious and don't say you're running away again."

The indigenous residents were unaware of this, and upon hearing his explanation, they sensed something was amiss and immediately asked, "What blind date? What happened?"

Li Zhijie knew this scandal shouldn't be made public, so he vaguely said, "Yang Zi was just joking. Let's go home, it's so late."

Lu Wuyai was waiting for Lu Luofu's men. He went to the supermarket to buy some things and returned to the ship. At this moment, Li Zhibing passed by the island's trading post and waved, saying, "Boss, let's go have a drink together."

Because Lu Wuyai hired him to help raise fish, the old man was quite amusing and called him boss.

Lu Wuyai shook his head and said, "No, I have to wait for someone else to come and collect the fish."

"How did you get out this time?" Li Zhibing asked, squatting down with him at the island's trade port.

Lu Wuyai pointed to the small boat and said, "I got to eat some when we encountered a batch of pomfret."

Li Zhibing asked, "Golden carp or silver carp?"

Lu Wuyai laughed and said, "It must be silver pomfret. How come there are so many golden pomfret in the sea now?"

Li Zhibing smiled and said easily, "You're very lucky."

Lu Wuyai shook his head and said, "My luck isn't great. You should go to the bar first."

He saw that the old man was holding wine and food.

Li Zhibing tapped his pipe and said, "Alright, I'll go to a certain field owner on a big island first. If you've sold all your fish and have time, you can come over too."

Lu Wuyai said vaguely, "Let me think, maybe it's a few hours."

After drifting at sea for two days, he didn't want to join the crowds at other people's homes. He just wanted to go home and check on the nautilus and lobster colonies.

As night fell, the Land Rover employees arrived by boat, and the four large lobsters were the main attraction. Then they weighed the silver pomfret and bought it for 75 yuan per jin (approximately 0.5 kg).

The silver pomfret weighed over 200 jin (approximately 100 kg) in total, and Lu Wuyai counted the entire fish. With the addition of four large lobsters, the amount in his bank account increased again.

He was on his way home when someone staggered toward him: "Yangtze River."

Lu Wuyai glanced at it by the moonlight and laughed, "Uncle Daguo, I heard from Master Zhibing that you were drinking. What brings you to the island trade port?"

Li Dahai smelled of alcohol on his body, indicating that he had been drinking for some time.

He carried a bag in his left hand and a bottle of wine in his right. When he arrived at the island's trading post, he put down the bag and said, "Yoko, let's have a drink together."

Seeing his furrowed brows, Lu Wuyai knew that something was bothering him, so he nodded and said, "Okay, let's have a drink together."

Li Dahai lit a cigarette in a certain area, and as the smoke curled up, his eyes became blurry.

He pointed to the empty island trading post and said, "Look at our village's island trading post, when did it become like this? Do you remember things from your childhood?"

"Back then, the island's trading post was incredibly lively. People from our village, neighboring villages, and other towns, and sometimes even seafood merchants and restaurants from the county, would all come to our island's trading post to fish, right?"

Lu Wuyai nodded: "Yes, there are many masts and sails like scales there, it is indeed spectacular."

Li Dahai took a sip of wine at a certain place and said, "Are you talking about idioms or poems? Uncle Daguo is uncultured and won't understand. Anyway, I know that when the sea opens, even at night, there are dozens of ships at the island trading post in Mader. During the day, the island trading post is like a market. There is nowhere for ships to dock, so they can only anchor outside."

"Back then, the way people caught fish was unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable. Fresh fish couldn't sell as fast as they did. The old ladies and children had just finished processing them. Haha, the drying yards in the local villages were full of dried and salted fish. It was all fish, right?"

Lu Wuyai nodded: "Yes."

Li Dahai was lost in memories of the past when he squinted and took a puff of his cigarette, saying, "It wasn't just the village's drying yard; every household's bungalow, yard, and door were piled high with fish, shrimp, and crabs. I remember how much we harvested back then."

Fearing that he might be stuck in the past, Lu Wuyai poured him another glass of wine and said, "Take a sip, Uncle from a certain field on a big island. Let's focus on the present."

Li Dahai did not answer his question. He drank the wine in his glass in one gulp, then sighed quietly and said, "Such a good year, such a good year, how could it be gone?"

Lu Wuyai didn't want to say anything. He knew the reasons for this situation. There were official reasons, and there were also reasons from the public. To put it mildly, when an avalanche occurs, no snowflake is innocent.

The reasons for the lack of fish in nearshore waters cannot be explained in a few words; it is related to every fisherman.

Li Dahai then asked Yangzi, "Yangzi, how much did you sell it for just now?"

Lu Wuyai said, "You mean fish? Fifteen thousand."

Li Dahai coughed twice in a certain direction: "Cough cough, fifteen thousand, fifteen thousand."

He muttered to himself, "Yangzi, can you bring your uncles and brothers? Everyone in the village knows that a voyage at sea has never failed. You just received a batch of golden threadfin fish the day before yesterday, right? Today it's silver mane. Bring your uncles, we can follow you."

Upon hearing this, Lu Wuyai subconsciously said, "I see. Come with me."

The topic changed so quickly that he didn't have time to react.

Li Dahai said to someone in a certain field, "Yes, Yangzi, we have ships, and you have ships too. You will become the leader and lead us to form a fleet. Your uncle has no illusions here, as long as he can pay off his loans and afford to eat."

Lu Wuyai laughed and said, "I'm not a proper fishing boat, I'm just a small yacht, how can I be a leader?"

The leader of a ship is called the boss, and the leader of a fleet is called the leader. Those who can become leaders are well-known figures in the surrounding towns and villages.

Li Dahai said to a certain person, "It's okay, we obey you. Now the whole village listens to you. You should be the leader and lead everyone. Otherwise, you will see what will happen to our village."

The ending was another long sigh. This great fisherman, who had never been afraid of the wind and waves, was now curled up, as helpless as a stray dog ​​without an owner.

Sitting at the bow of the boat, Lu Wuyai frowned and thought for a moment.