Chapter 1: Going to Sea
The mornings at the seaside in September are very cool.
Ye Qing strode towards the dock with his fishing gear in his hands.
As they passed the white sand beach, a dark and thin figure waved at him: "Ah Qing, where are you going?"
Ye Qing turned his head and saw that it was his childhood friend Kangzai.
After graduating from high school, he went to college, while Kangzi followed his parents to go fishing.
Over the past three years, the two have hardly met each other.
This time when he returned home, he was busy with his father's affairs and had no time to reminisce about the past.
I didn't expect to meet you here.
"Go fishing."
Ye Qing was stunned for a moment, then responded.
Some time ago, my father had a serious illness and needed surgery, which cost 300,000 yuan. We had to sell everything we had to barely get the money together, but the subsequent treatment costs will be at least 200,000 yuan.
The family really can't come up with the money.
Ye Qing thought about going out to sea to fish to see if he could supplement his income.
Kangzi ran over quickly and said, "Fishing? Then I advise you not to go."
"In the past two years, the fish in our sea have become very smart and can't be caught in the nets."
Ye Qing was stunned for a moment, then said, "Don't talk nonsense, how come there are no fish?"
Kangzi shook his head and said, "You've been studying abroad for many years, so you don't know."
"No one in my village has caught any fish at sea since half a year ago."
"There are so many great fishermen in our village, and we can't catch anything?"
"About the same. My dad and your dad, experienced fishermen with decades of experience, don't catch any big fish each time they go out to sea. At most, they catch a few small fish and shrimp, but that's just enough to make ends meet."
"Many fishermen in our village have changed their careers. For example, I now work in a factory in town."
"What?"
Hearing this, Ye Qing stared in surprise and said, "I was hoping to make money from fishing."
Now, the family is almost out of money for daily expenses, let alone paying for my father’s follow-up treatment.
Telling him now that he can't catch fish is like a bolt from the blue.
Kangzi said comfortingly: "I heard about your family's situation, but fishing is really not reliable. It's more practical to find a proper job."
Ye Qing was silent. At the moment, finding a job was indeed the most reliable option.
But as a recent college graduate, even if he finds a job, he can only make three or four thousand yuan a month at most, which is a drop in the bucket for him now.
Right now, the only way to make quick money is to go fishing.
So, he had to go no matter what.
After a moment, Ye Qing gritted his teeth and said, "I still want to give it a try."
Kangzi sighed: "You are still so stubborn."
Ye Qing said nothing.
"I'll go with you."
Having said this, Kangzi took away most of the things on his body and put them on his shoulders. "You haven't been fishing at sea for several years since you went to college. After all, I am more experienced than you. No matter what, I can't let you lose even the gas money."
Ye Qing also felt Kangzi's enthusiasm and felt a little warm in his heart.
soon.
The two came to the dock.
As the only pier on the island, it is very large and used to be very busy. When fishermen came back from fishing, many merchants would come to buy their catches, which would then be distributed all over the country and served on our dining tables.
The ships coming and going made it extremely noisy.
now.
Dozens of fishing boats were docked at the pier, and there were almost no fishing boats going out to sea or returning.
The dock market was even bleaker. At a glance, there were only one or two vendors wandering around.
The other fishermen in the village were playing cards and enjoying the cool air like idlers.
When the fishermen saw Ye Qing and Kangzi carrying their things and about to start the fishing boat, they all gathered around.
Kangzi's father Li Ba walked out, touching his big bald head.
"Qingzai, don't go. There are no fish in this sea."
"Everyone knows that your family's situation is urgent. The village chief is trying to find a solution and is organizing each household to pool money to lend to your family."
Ye Qing said that when he looked at the villagers beside him, his heart was also warmed, but he still said that he wanted to go fishing.
After all, everyone’s life is not very good. If we are lucky enough to catch some fish, we don’t have to pay for it.
Ye Qing expressed his gratitude while controlling the iron boat to leave the dock.
Seeing the iron boat start to burn, Uncle Ba hurriedly shouted: "Kangzi, don't take Qingzi too far. Come back quickly if you can't catch any fish."
Kangzi assured him, "Don't worry, Dad. This isn't my first time going out to sea."
As the iron boat sailed away, Uncle Ba looked into the distance and said, "May Mazu bless these two children and don't let anything happen to them."
…
The old fishing boat sails through the waves.
The sea surface is rippling and sparkling.
Seagulls were circling overhead, the sea water was surging, and the waves were constantly hitting the fishing boat.
Kangzai steered the fishing boat and after two hours, he arrived at the fishing area where all the fishermen on the island went.
The fishing ground that was bustling a year ago is now deserted with not a single fishing boat.
Kangzi shouted loudly to the sea: "Today, this sea area is under the contract of the two of us brothers."
“Fishing to your heart’s content.”
Ye Qing nodded vigorously, full of energy, and waited for the boat speed to slow down before casting the sticky net.
Two hours later.
Ye Qing looked disappointed.
The result was just as Kangzi said, the sticky net was clean and there was not a single fish.
Ye Qing shouted, "Go down again."
He doesn't believe in evil.
I couldn't catch any fish. It's so weird.
Could it be that the fish in this sea area have really become spirits?
Soon it went offline again.
Another two hours.
Set up the net again.
This time Kangzi was very depressed because the sticky net was still empty.
He said, "Ah Qing, let's go."
Ye Qing raised a finger: "Try again."
Kangzi nodded somewhat reluctantly.
After the net was raised again, Ye Qing felt disappointed.
Even Kangzai, who had been mentally prepared, was quite emo at this moment.
After working for eight or nine hours, we found nothing except some marine debris and a few jellyfish and crabs.
The two of them looked at the pile of garbage they had fished out and started calculating how much they could get from selling it to a scrap collector.
Kangzi couldn't hold it in any longer: "This time I lost a lot of money."
Ye Qing stared at the sea, clearly unwilling to give up. After thinking for a long time, he said, "I'll dive down and take a look."
He put on his diving suit swiftly.
Before Kangzi could stop him, Ye Qing tilted his head back and fell into the water.
The water in this sea area is not very clear, but a bit turbid.
But it is not because of pollution, but because the waters near Longwei Island are where ocean currents converge and mix, and the mud and sediments on the seabed are stirred up and become food for marine life.
Logically speaking, the unique conditions here are very suitable for fish to gather.
But.
When Ye Qing entered the sea, he found it empty.
At first glance, there were only a few small fish and shrimps.
Ye Qing felt it was too strange, so he continued to dive and explore the depths of the dark ocean.
Dive to 20 meters.
Ye Qing felt a little dizzy.
But I can still bear it.
continue.
Until thirty meters.
His vision was severely obstructed and the surroundings were basically dark. He could no longer see. Just when he was about to give up, he glanced around inadvertently.
I noticed a light not far away.
Ye Qing swam over hurriedly regardless of the huge water pressure.
Soon, he saw it clearly and couldn't help getting excited.
It's a school of fish!
It is a school of flying fish, very small in scale.
What's weird is that there's an electric eel swimming around the school of flying fish, and it looks like a sheepdog herding sheep!
Oh shit!
No wonder there is not a single school of fish in the sea. Could it be that they were all driven away by this thing?
Ye Qing was furious.
He was a little short of oxygen at the moment, and his mind was not very clear. He was not thinking about anything, but only had one thought.
That is to kill the electric eel.
As the saying goes, depriving someone of their money is like killing their parents.
In Ye Qing's eyes, he and the electric eel are mortal enemies!
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