The appearance of the swordfish caused everyone to scatter to the side; getting stung by it was no joke.
What are those rain-down pear blossom needles or Rong Momo's needle pricks? They all pale in comparison to the swordfish's cold weapon!
Fu had originally planned to have a few young men sort through the fish on the deck while he steered the boat toward the dock.
Before he could even take a step into the cockpit, these swordfish stopped him in his tracks.
Think back to the last time a swordfish drilled a huge hole in the deck. Not only did it cost money to repair the boat, but more importantly, it caused us to be unable to go out to sea for quite a while.
So at this moment, he couldn't let these swordfish run wild anymore, so he grabbed the machete next to him and attacked them.
This swordfish wasn't even half the size of the last one. Although there were three of them, they were all on the verge of death.
Although Fu Wan and the other two hid to the side, they were not idle. They also picked up tools such as harpoons from the side of the boat to trap the swordfish.
This gave Boss Fu a chance to show off. He swiftly chopped off the long arrows of three swordfish with three quick strikes, then switched to the knife on the ground and bled each swordfish one by one. Only after that did he have Fu Liang and Fu Ming carry the swordfish into the cold storage.
After the three swordfish were unarmed, they were less than half a meter long. Fu Wan guessed that they must have been chased by the killer whale and accidentally bumped into her trawl net.
However, because the trawling took a long time and the boat was moving quickly, the swordfish was only half dead and wouldn't survive if released back into the sea.
Otherwise, such a small swordfish might be thrown back into the sea to grow bigger.
Small swordfish can also be sold, but they don't fetch as much as swordfish weighing over 100 kilograms. After moving the three swordfish into the cold storage, Fu Ming and Fu Liang didn't forget to keep them chilled with ice, just in case they weren't fresh.
"Alright, the swordfish's taken care of. Now it's your turn. I'm heading out to sea!"
After giving his instructions, Boss Fu walked towards the cockpit.
Fu Wan had no objection to the arrangement. Ever since Fu Laoda recovered from his illness, his lower back would occasionally ache.
The task of sorting fish requires sitting on a stool and bending over, and it can take several hours at a time.
Such intensity is fine once in a while, but if it goes on for too long, Boss Fu will probably have to go back to the hospital.
"Hey, these money spots are quite pretty."
Fu Ming muttered to himself that there were indeed quite a few goldfish in this net, and there were even a few larger ones.
Unfortunately, the biggest and fattest one had a huge, dark hole in its body, clearly the work of a swordfish.
The golden grouper, also known as the hawksbill grouper, is a type of grouper. This fish mainly inhabits coral reef areas, and like other groupers, its body is oval-shaped, laterally compressed, and stout.
This fish has a head and most of its body that are white or other light-colored, but its entire body is covered with round or hexagonal spots, which are densely distributed, making it look like it's carrying a small fishing net. The hawksbill grouper (with a net-like pattern) and the golden grouper (with a light brown base) also command high prices because of their snow-white, tender, and incredibly delicious flesh. The golden grouper is considered a top-grade grouper, although not as prized as the red grouper or the mouse grouper, it is still very popular.
This kind of premium fish usually doesn't need any complicated processing. Just wash it clean and steam it or serve it as sashimi, and it tastes especially good.
However, these groupers are generally not very big. Fu Wan thought there were quite a few at first glance, but in fact, even if she picked out all the groupers and put them into the fish baskets, she could only fill two baskets.
The total weight should be at most two hundred kilograms.
Moreover, most of them weighed less than a pound, with the largest being the one pierced by the swordfish.
The fish was so badly injured that it was definitely not worth selling, so Fu Wan put it in a separate bucket, planning to steam it and eat it when she got home.
"Alright, I'll pick out the other small fish. You guys take out the mantis shrimp."
As Fu Liang stacked the fish on the ground into the fish basket, he gave instructions to Fu Ming and Fu Wan.
Fu Ming nodded in agreement and casually tossed the mantis shrimp on the ground into the basket.
Mantis shrimp, also known as mantis shrimp, were caught in this trawl net and they were all quite large, with each one having a tail that was about the thickness of two fingers.
There were even a few king mantis shrimp, with tails as thick as three fingers, each weighing half a pound.
"Ah Wan, look, there's so much mantis shrimp roe here!"
Fu Ming suddenly seemed to have discovered a new continent, and showed the belly of the mantis shrimp in his hand to Fu Wan.
"Oh my, it really is!"
"These shrimp are bursting with roe!"
"Exploding with roe" is a term used in coastal areas to describe seafood that is rich in roe. In fact, roe refers to oil. Whether it is shrimp, crab, or even squid, they can all have the potential to be "bursting with roe".
Mantis shrimp with bursting roe have a particularly delicious flavor, especially when boiled or seasoned with salt and pepper. The roe is very sweet and plump, and if cooked properly, it can even be runny. Many local fishermen and diners alike love this dish.
Because so many people love to eat them, mantis shrimp with abundant roe are much more expensive than regular mantis shrimp. Whether a mantis shrimp has abundant roe can be determined by looking at its abdomen.
Mantis shrimp with bursting roe usually have one to three white lines on their abdomen, and you can clearly see orange roe on their belly. This is what it means to be a mantis shrimp in its bursting roe state. [Image of a mantis shrimp with bursting roe] Who's drooling? "Too bad we're in a hurry to go back, otherwise we could boil some water and cook a couple to try."
Fu Wan exclaimed that the ship had everything from fresh water and coal to steel pots, and these shrimp didn't need any seasoning; they could be eaten directly after cooking.
"It's alright, these mantis shrimps are still lively and jumping around. I put some seawater in the bucket, which will keep them alive for a while."
Fu Ming muttered to himself, he was also craving it.
Now you can't just put mantis shrimp directly into the fish basket, because not all of them are bursting with roe, so you have to pick and choose.
Besides mantis shrimp and grouper, the trawl nets still mostly contained crabs, but they were mostly blue crabs and swimming crabs. After Fu Liang finished picking out the larger fish, he dragged his fish basket all over the deck to catch crabs.
This trawl also caught quite a few white pomfret and red snapper. The white pomfret lost a lot of scales due to the trawl, so the price will probably be a bit lower.
The red knife fish were intact, but there weren't many of them; after picking them all out, they only filled one basket.
"Ah Wan, that boat really capsized!"
A shocked shout came from ahead. Fu Wan and Fu Liang were cleaning up on the deck when they heard this. They dropped their shovels and rushed to look in the direction Fu Laoda was pointing.
The ship they had seen earlier was capsized next to a large reef, and Fu Wan could even see several large holes in its hull, presumably the result of being attacked by swordfish.
And it's definitely not one of those small swordfish caught in a trawl net. Judging by the size of the hole, it must weigh at least two or three hundred pounds, no smaller than the swordfish that pierced my deck.
"Good heavens, what's wrong with this ship? Where are the people inside?"
"Dad, should we go over and help them?"
Fu Ming and Fu Liang also dropped what they were doing to come and watch the commotion. They didn't know what had happened between Boss Fu, Fu Wan, and this ship.
"Save them?"
"Save my ass!"
"Tsk tsk, maybe it was Mazu who couldn't stand it anymore and threw these islanders into the sea to feed the sharks."
Boss Fu drove his boat around the ship, but there was no one on board or in the sea. He didn't know if the ship had really been fed to the fish or had been rescued by a fishing boat operating nearby.
"What?! It's another Japanese person?!"
Fu Ming exclaimed in surprise, and then he immediately thought of the sunken treasure that Fu Wan had found earlier, as well as the jade seal hidden on the ship.
"Dad, those islanders might be here for those things!"
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