This net of cod, after removing the heads, filled more than twenty boxes. At sixty catties per box, that's more than 1,200 catties.
Fu Wan was quite satisfied with the harvest. Besides the good ones, there were also some that had been ripped apart by the trawling net. Ye Lin left them all aside, planning to fry them up for a midnight snack if he got hungry.
Seeing that the net was almost tidied up, Fu Wan was too tired to stay up any longer. She went into the rest cabin to wash up and fell asleep as soon as she touched the bed.
She slept very soundly, so soundly that even when the ship's bell rang once in the middle of the night, it didn't wake Fu Wan.
When she woke up, the sky outside the window was already slightly bright. She rubbed her eyes, sat up, got out of bed, and walked to the window.
Besides its size, what Fu Wan liked most about the "Sailing Against the Wind" was the windows in the rest cabin.
The windows weren't altered much during the renovation; they still reflect the aesthetics of the former Soviet Union—large, open windows offering an unobstructed view of the outside.
The deep blue sea stretched to the horizon, and although the sky was beginning to lighten with the first light of dawn, the moon and stars in the sky still shone brightly.
Fu Wan admired the scenery outside for a few minutes, calmed herself down, and then went to wash up before leaving the rest cabin.
It was very windy on the deck, and Fu Daniu and Fu Jinshui were sitting in a sheltered spot, smoking cigarettes and cleaning fish.
"Big Brother Niu, what are you guys doing?"
Fu Wan leaned over and took a look. Half of the fish basket contained cleaned flounder, and the other half contained fish that hadn't been cleaned yet.
Fu Daniu was startled by Fu Wan's voice and quickly turned his head to stub out the cigarette in his mouth.
He couldn't bear to throw it away, so he quietly put it aside.
"Oh, I heard from Uncle Gouwa that these fish are to be taken back to dry. I figured I might as well clean them up and hang them on the boat to air dry."
Fu Daniu explained with a simple smile that it was now his and Fu Jinshui's turn to keep an eye on the trawl nets that had been lowered into the ground. Since they had nothing else to do, they could only find something to do.
"That's great, thank you for your hard work."
"It's not hard work, it's all what we should do."
Fu Wan chatted with a smile for a couple of minutes, then went to the headquarters without asking any further questions.
It's actually quite common to dry fish on boats. Ye Xiaocui used to like to string the fish together with rope and hang them on the boats at the dock to dry. The wind was strong there, and they would dry in a couple of days.
Fu Daniu was thinking that the fish would need to be cleaned when they got back, and he would have to help with the work on the boat anyway, so he might as well clean the fish, string them up with rope, and hang them up so that Fu Laoda's family wouldn't have to do it when they got back.
This is the kind of thing that a person with a keen eye for things would think of. As Fu Wan walked toward the wheelhouse, she sighed inwardly. Her father was quite good at recruiting boatmen. The people he recruited were basically practical and honest. They not only didn't cause trouble, but also saved her a lot of trouble.
Upon arriving at the wheelhouse, Fu Ming was steering the ship, while Boss Fu was fast asleep in a chair next to him.
"Brother, haven't you gone back to the ship yet?"
Fu Ming rubbed his eyes. "No, the ship hadn't arrived yet when I finished cleaning the cod, so I went to take a nap. I didn't expect to oversleep."
Not only did he oversleep, but when he woke up, Boss Fu conscripted him and dragged him over to drive a boat for several hours.
Fu Wan chuckled upon hearing this, "Then you can go back after you've had breakfast. Go and rest for a bit now, I'll drive!"
Fu Ming didn't mince words; after staring at the sea for several hours, he was indeed a little tired.
"Okay, I'll go to the kitchen and ask them to prepare breakfast."
Just as Fu Wan took the helm, Boss Fu woke up.
Seeing that Fu Wan was steering the boat and Fu Ming was nowhere to be seen, he didn't say anything, but just stood up and stretched.
"Oh dear, my old bones! Ah Wan, if we haul in two more nets today, we'll have to head back, right?"
Fu Wan verbally agreed, but her eyes remained fixed on the sea ahead.
We were passing several hidden reefs at this point, so it was a time to be cautious.
"Pretty much, Dad. How was the haul last night?"
Boss Fu rubbed his face. "Not bad. Last night we hauled in a net and caught over 800 catties of ribbonfish and pomfret. The quality is pretty good."
"After sorting through the fish, I saw that the weather was nice, so I had Ah Ming and Ah Lin try catching squid with the new big light we bought. Guess how well they caught them?"
Fu Wan could hear the joy in Boss Fu's tone.
"Dad, you seem so happy, so things must be alright, right?"
"Haha, not just good, it's absolutely fantastic!"
"We caught two thousand pounds of squid alone, and about a thousand pounds of octopus and cuttlefish. Hey, that's amazing. It's the first time I've ever heard of lights that can lure cuttlefish over!"
Fu Wan laughed upon hearing this. Cuttlefish are attracted to light, but to be able to get so many cuttlefish, she probably just happened to run into a school of cuttlefish.
It's a pity I slept too soundly and missed such a big event.
Fu Wan towed the boat for more than half an hour, and soon it was completely bright, and the sun jumped out from below the sea.
Fu Laoda went to wash his face, then rang the ship's bell to wake everyone up for breakfast.
We need to finish breakfast quickly, because it's almost time to set up the net.
Breakfast was prepared by Fu Jinshui and Fu Daniu, with Fu Ming helping out for a while.
Breakfast was simple: a pot of sweet potato porridge, a large bowl of heated cornbread and steamed buns.
There are also two dishes to eat with porridge.
The dishes were cooked by Fu Ming, including chili-fried eggs, which Fu Wan loved. Although the eggs were small pieces, they were incredibly delicious with the porridge and steamed buns.
After everyone quickly finished breakfast, Boss Fu started operating the internet.
He had originally planned to rest after breakfast, but he couldn't bear to go to sleep because he wanted to see what he had gained from the internet.
A huge net rose into the morning sun, its golden rays shining on everyone's faces on the deck, making their anticipation even more vivid.
Fu Wan also went up to the deck, followed by Dong Haiyang.
After breakfast, Dong Haiyang took over the task of driving the boat. However, since he didn't need to drive the boat now, he also came over to watch the excitement.
As the net ropes were pulled open, the fish inside the net bag rushed down, and the sunlight shining on the deck also shone on the fish, instantly adding a beautiful filter to them.
"Wow, this net has caught quite a few shrimp!"
"There are quite a few tongue soles too. Hey, look, isn't there a big squid in the middle?"
The boatmen were talking amongst themselves, and Fu Laoda couldn't resist picking up a rake and going back to work.
"Come on, stop standing around and get to work!"
He bent down and picked up a cuttlefish bigger than his head. Startled, the cuttlefish suddenly spat out a mouthful of ink.
Boss Fu was prepared, but Ye Lin, who was standing next to him, was caught off guard and was sprayed all over in an instant.
"Haha, Dalinzi, you've won the lottery!"
Fu Ming was overjoyed and kept shouting. Ye Lin wasn't angry at all. He grabbed two handfuls of ink and smeared them on Fu Ming.
Fu Ming was not about to give in, and the two started arguing while working.
This scene made Fu Qing, who was closest to them, frown, and then he quickly pulled his small stool away from the battlefield.
These two older brothers are so childish, even Aqing can't stand them!
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