"Dad, it's only been less than two hours, and you've already set up the internet?"
Fu Wan glanced at her watch to confirm the time, and Boss Fu turned the rudder, preparing to sail back towards the direction of the Sailing Ship.
Upon hearing Fu Wan's question, he glanced at the control panel again.
"Hey internet cafe, look at this boat. It's already at full power, but it just can't pick up any speed."
"I think the trawl nets are definitely full!"
Fu Laoda's words made sense. Fu Wan got up and went out. Ye Lin and Fu Shi listened to their conversation and saw that they really needed to lift the net. They hurriedly ran over and wrapped the net rope around the lifting machine.
Seeing this, Fang Min went over to help. Fu Wan, seeing that she had no use for herself, simply dragged the fish basket over from the side.
Although the last voyage had yielded good results, Fu Wan was still somewhat uncertain about this trawl.
After all, this is the first time we've gone this far, and it's also the first time the new ship has done a trawling.
Everyone was eagerly anticipating the first shipment of goods today, their eyes glued to the slowly rising net.
Seeing the net bag bulging, Fu Wan breathed a sigh of relief.
This ball is so big, it definitely looks like it has a lot of fish.
After setting the sailing speed and direction, Boss Fu also came to the deck. Just then, the net was raised, so he simply went forward and untied the rope.
"Holy crap!"
After a series of splashing sounds, the fish were stunned when they saw the big one in the pile of fish.
"What...what is this?"
The thing in front of me was like a millstone, round and large, with a black outer shell and a long tail trailing behind it.
"Why does this thing's shell look so much like the dung beetle in our village?"
"Are there dung beetles in the sea?"
Ye Lin kicked it with his foot. He had never seen this thing before. It looked pitch black, just like the color of a dung beetle.
Fu Wan examined the object closely, feeling as if she had seen it before.
Suddenly, a thought flashed through her mind, and her guess became clearer.
"Is this... a horseshoe crab?"
"Huh, a monkey?"
"It's not a monkey, it's a horseshoe crab!"
Fu Wan was also helpless and could only look at Boss Fu.
"Dad, am I right? This thing is a horseshoe crab from the sea, isn't it?"
Boss Fu stepped forward and lifted the thing by the tail. "Yes, it's a horseshoe crab."
"This thing is inedible, let's put it away."
Fu Wan nodded in agreement, "They must be released; horseshoe crabs are national treasures of the highest order."
"national treasure?"
Fang Min's gaze towards the horseshoe crab changed. She had never encountered such a creature at sea before. The navy did not fish at sea, so they rarely encountered strange and unusual fish.
At most, you might encounter large marine creatures like dolphins or killer whales patrolling the streets.
"Yes, horseshoe crabs are a national treasure. They are also called trilobites or oriental horseshoe crabs."
As its name suggests, the horseshoe crab's body is divided into three parts: cephalothorax, abdomen, and tail.
Horseshoe crabs are dark brown all over, with a sturdy horseshoe-shaped armor on their cephalothorax and a slightly raised back. The edges of their shells are rounded with bony spurs.
At the same time, horseshoe crabs also have three bone-like vertebrae on their backs. The middle one has a pair of simple eyes at the front two ends, while the two side vertebrae each have a compound eye on their outer sides.
Horseshoe crabs have six pairs of small claws on their underside, making their abdomen appear hexagonal, and their tails are also incredibly long and slender triangular. (Image of horseshoe crab). Perhaps in the near future, horseshoe crabs may become extinct, but I hope that aside from the usefulness of their blood, people can learn about this creature. However, as a national treasure, the horseshoe crab naturally has its unique characteristics.
Despite its unassuming appearance, it is one of the longest-living organisms on Earth. Later research indicates that horseshoe crabs existed 500 million years ago, earning them the title of "living fossil."
What makes horseshoe crabs truly unique is the color of their blood.
It is the only blue-blooded creature on Earth, and because its blood is special and can cure human diseases, it was overfished to the point of near extinction and was eventually designated as a protected animal by the state.
After hearing Fu Wan's explanation, everyone on the ship looked at the horseshoe crab with awe.
Blue blood that can cure diseases—how amazing!
However, everyone on the boat was upright. The horseshoe crab, seeing all the unfamiliar two-legged creatures around it, was so frightened that it scrambled to the corner of the boat.
Fu Wan stepped forward, pressed it down, and then carefully picked it up.
"Live well in the sea, and don't get caught in the fishing net again."
After saying that, Fu Wan gently tossed it onto the water's surface, and with a loud splash, the horseshoe crab returned to the sea.
"Wow, this thing is really huge!"
With the horseshoe crabs gone, everyone naturally started sorting through the fish on the deck, but to be honest, this net didn't have anything particularly interesting to offer.
Besides the horseshoe crab, there was also a crumpled tattered net in the net bag. Fortunately, there were quite a few mantis shrimps inside, which somewhat made up for everyone's disappointment.
"It's alright, these shrimp are pretty good too. We'll pick some out later and make a late-night snack for everyone!"
Hearing Fu Wan's words, Ye Lin couldn't help but laugh.
"Ah Wan, your aunt isn't here, so you can eat as much as you want!"
Fu Wan raised her eyebrows smugly, thinking that she was taking advantage of Ye Xiaocui's absence to keep an eye on things.
"We still have to stay at sea for a few more days, so we need to make sure our food is good."
Without even looking up, Boss Fu agreed, "A-Wan is right, there aren't many of us who can eat that much."
"If you want anything to eat, just tell me what's in the net bag."
"Uncle, you said it yourself. If you catch a bluefin tuna later, don't be stingy!"
Boss Fu chuckled, "You've got quite the appetite, kid."
Ye Lin raised his head. Of course, did they still think of him as the hunter from before?
He's now considered a fairly experienced fisherman!
After sorting out the mantis shrimp, there were more than 300 jin (150 kg) of them. To Fu Wan's surprise, Fu Qing obediently followed Fang Min to sort the fish the whole time, without her having to worry about anything.
Moreover, Fu Qing specifically picked the larger ones. The basket of mantis shrimp she sorted out was mostly around half a pound each. Fu Wan estimated that the basket alone was worth over a hundred yuan.
Because there were still some discarded and broken pieces in the fishing net, it took Boss Fu quite a while to clean it up before he could push the trawl net back into the sea.
The crew on deck didn't stop either; in addition to mantis shrimp, they also picked out a bucket of flower crabs, red snapper, and quite a few sea bream.
There weren't many live fish caught in the trawl nets, and once the baskets were full, Ye Lin and Fang Min put them all into the cold storage.
When the deck was cleared, Fu Wan also saw the red flag fluttering on the Sailing Ship.
"Dad, do you think Uncle Chen and the others caught any ribbonfish?"
Upon hearing this, Boss Fu shook his head. While steering the boat, he said to Fu Wan, "I'm not sure about this either. The main reason is that I've never seen this kind of radar net fishing before."
Working with radar nets requires a lot of patience. Boss Fu was used to trawling and hand-throwing nets, so he didn't know much about radar nets.
However, as their ship approached the Sailing Ship, Fu Ming's voice came through the radio.
"Dad, Awan, we've caught several hundred pounds of ribbonfish!"
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