Chapter 164: You're already on your knees before you even use your ultimate move
After all four longlines were collected, the catch this time was naturally much more than the previous time when there were only two longlines.
However, Zhang Ze didn't calculate the exact number. After finishing his work, he went to take a shower and go to bed.
After all, these fish are ordinary and not the focus, and the overall proportion of grouper this time is also less than before.
The longline has been used up and it is a waste of time to stay at sea.
So even if the yellow croaker could complete its growth tonight, he still chose to go back to sell the fish in the morning.
It was already noon when they arrived at the dock from Nanping Island. Zhang Qinghe and his friends did not follow him back, but continued fishing at sea. However, they had already sold all the grouper they had caught that night to him.
After selling all the fish at the dock, I made a total profit of more than 1,600 yuan. I almost earned back the money I spent on buying a house in Nanfang. Now I just have to wait to sell the yellow croaker.
The more money he makes from selling the yellow croaker, the wider the range of choices he will have when he goes to Nanfang to buy a boat later.
So when selling the fish, Zhang Ze also asked about the price of the yellow croaker.
We learned from the staff that the number of yellow croakers has dropped significantly in recent years, and yellow croakers weighing more than 50 kilograms are becoming increasingly difficult to find in the market.
Large yellow croakers have now become treasures, with prices ranging from a few yuan to fifty or sixty yuan, depending on size.
The last yellow croaker weighing more than 150 kilograms was bought by a boss for 60 yuan.
The value of yellow croaker meat is not that high. In fact, the nutrition of the fish meat is not as good as that of yellow croaker. But even so, the price of its fish meat is still higher than that of yellow croaker. Even without fish maw, it can be sold for one yuan per catty.
The price for goods over 150 kilograms is 60 yuan per kilogram, and this transaction took place at the end of last year.
It will definitely be more expensive after a few months, and this yellow croaker weighs more than 300 kilograms. The value of its fish maw is inestimable for such a huge yellow croaker!
After selling one fish, maybe he could even buy a car, not to mention a big fishing boat.
I delivered the longline to the fishermen’s home, told them I would go out to sea the next morning, then took out a ten-pound red friend fish and cleaned the pot in the evening.
When he got home, Zhang Ze picked up the fish and threw it into the killing pond: "Mom, let's have fish hotpot tonight."
"You took such a big fish home, you can sell it for several dollars!" Zhang's mother started nagging after seeing the fish, and almost said that her son was a prodigal son.
Zhang Ze was about to show off that he had plenty of money, but when he turned around he saw his eldest uncle, second uncle, and two aunts next to them.
"Hey, uncle, second uncle, and aunt, you are here already?"
"You have to come here quickly. If you fail to learn your mother's craft in a few days, we will have to chase her to Nanguan." The uncle was relieved to see that Zhang Ze's attitude did not change because he made money and became a city dweller, and then he made a little joke.
Not only did the nephew become rich in a blink of an eye, but his life was far beyond their imagination. He could just take back the fish worth a few dollars, and he didn't look like he cared at all. It was obvious that he earned enough money to give him the confidence to live a luxurious life.
At the same time, the two uncles who used to support them felt a little disappointed. They knew that Zhang Ze's family was getting better and better, but they didn't see it with their own eyes. Moreover, after many people became rich, their poor relatives simply ignored them.
Fortunately, they are now sure that Zhang Ze is still their good nephew.
As for the two aunts, they were relatively embarrassed. After all, they were actually quite unhappy when their husbands went to their sister's house to take things.
Even if he didn't act sarcastic in person, his attitude was just average.
Zhang Ze could understand this, as they had their own family, a large one. In addition, there were a few families in the countryside who had a good life before.
After chatting with several elders for a while, he realized that he didn't see Zhang Zhenghong and the others, so he asked, "Where are Ah Hong and the others?"
The second uncle replied: "They are still helping to move and pack up! We just arrived today and can't wait to see how Huihong's shop is doing."
Zhang Huihong smiled and said, "Second brother, you are as honest as ever. If it were someone else, they would definitely come to see how their sister is doing."
"That's almost the same. I came here to see you and the store." My second uncle scratched his head with a silly smile.
Zhang Huihong smiled, obviously knowing her second brother's temper, and didn't say much.
She turned to look at her son: "Aze, since you are here, go buy some vegetables first."
Zhang Ze knew that his mother wanted to keep his uncles for dinner, so he nodded, got on the bicycle that had not yet been pushed into the house, and went to the market. He could still faintly hear the polite voices of his uncles and aunts behind him.
There was still plenty of time in the afternoon, so he first rode his bike to Zhang Zhenghong's house.
I happened to see my eldest and second sister-in-law cleaning the room, while Zhang Zhenghong and my second cousin Zhang Zhengyue were moving in the furniture they had brought.
"Ahong, is your uncle and aunt living here?"
"My house here is more spacious, it's more convenient to live here!" Zhang Zhenghong was a little surprised to see him coming over, "How come you have time to come here?"
"I came here to tell you that you can come to my place for dinner tonight." Zhang Ze said.
The living room at home is quite spacious. Even though there are many people, we can still accommodate them by setting up two tables, one for men and one for women and children.
Since all the uncles and aunts are staying for dinner, there is no reason not to invite the cousins over as well.
"So polite? Don't we have to treat you to a meal?" Zhang Zhengyue said as he walked out of the room.
"It's just a meal, why make such a distinction!" Zhang Ze waved his hand and didn't care. After chatting with them for a few words, he went to the third brother's place and called the third brother and the fourth brother who had just arrived.
Afterwards, Zhang Ze went to the market to make a large purchase, buying chicken, duck, pork, etc. He also found an opportunity to secretly take some seafood from the space.
When he got home, the women would naturally take care of the washing of vegetables and cooking. He took a bath, then made tea and chatted with his two uncles.
As for the elderly, Zhang Ze’s grandparents passed away two years ago. The two passed away at about the same time, only a few months apart.
Otherwise, Zhang's mother might not agree to go to Nanfang. Without the old lady, she would naturally have fewer worries.
We drank and ate in the evening and it all ended around eight o'clock.
The main reason was that Tong Shuyao was a pregnant woman and needed enough rest and sleep. After her two uncles and several cousins drank some horse urine, their voices became louder and louder, which obviously caused psychological discomfort to his wife.
It’s not that she hates relatives coming over for dinner, it’s just that she’s pregnant and her emotions are sensitive, and she feels stuffy in her chest after listening to the noise for a long time.
So Zhang Ze simply got all the men drunk, and then called a tricycle to take them away one by one.
Before dinner in the afternoon, we had basically discussed things like the rent. After they leave, my eldest and second uncles will move here.
Zhang Ze helped clean up the mess on the table and then went back upstairs to rest.
The next day, he went out to sea again.
The main purpose of going out to sea this time was not to fish, but to find a reason to sell the two king fish in the space.
I went to Lumen Island first, and just like last time, I paid five dollars to have someone help me put up the bait.
We went out to sea after lunch today. By the time we had hung the bait on the longline and arrived at Nanping Island, the sun had almost set.
Zhang Ze first put down the longline and shrimp cage, but in a different position.
He caught two king fish the day before yesterday, and the harvest of grouper was not so good. He thought he should keep this fishing spot in a good condition and come back again after a while.
Then he wandered around the sea, looking for a suitable fishing spot. As he was wandering around, he saw Zhang Qinghe fishing on the sea.
Zhang Qinghu was not seen. He must have gone into the cabin and was probably resting.
Zhang Ze showed a sly smile on his face and drove the boat directly to the side. The noise made immediately scared the fish gathered on the water surface and made them scatter in all directions.
However, this action will not scare many fish, and it is not as powerful as throwing stones into the fish nest. It is purely for fun.
"Fuck, Aze, you did this on purpose!" Zhang Qinghe was so angry that he threw the fishing line in his hand, then ran to the cockpit and picked up the radio to question.
"I'm afraid you don't have any fish, so I make some noise to attract the fish." Zhang Ze started talking nonsense.
"Fuck attracting fish, you're scaring all my fish away!"
"So how did you harvest?"
"Not bad, I caught a lot of fish. No, isn't that what I told you about? How are you going to deal with the problem of you disturbing my fish nest?"
At this time, Tong Yuanhang's voice suddenly sounded: "Didn't Aze say this before? Let's go to Weiyou Restaurant for a meal. If one meal is not enough, we can have two meals."
Zhang Qinghe's eyes lit up: "That's fine, Aze, you can treat me to a meal at Weiyou, and we'll forget about this."
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"Ah Hang, you are my brother-in-law after all, why are you helping outsiders?" Zhang Ze was actually just teasing Zhang Qinghe, but he didn't expect Tong Yuanhang to join in the fun and speak for others.
So he had an idea and immediately came up with a plan to trick his brother-in-law.
At present, only Tong Yuanhang and his three brothers have not treated him to a meal, and they don’t owe him any money. They have quite a bit of savings in their pockets. It would seem unreasonable not to rip him off before leaving Wenshui City.
"It's impossible to treat guests, unless..."
"Unless what?" Zhang Qinghe and Tong Yuanhang were both curious.
"Unless we compete to see who catches the biggest fish tonight, the one with the biggest fish can ask the loser to treat us, how about that, do you want to play?"
Hearing this, the other two people felt something at the same time.
They stayed one more day, and except for the grouper, the rest of the catch was still on the boat, some of which were quite big.
For example, Zhang Qinghe currently has a 56-pound grouper in the cabin, which he caught with a longline yesterday. When he wanted to sell it to Zhang Ze, he was rejected and asked to take it to the restaurant to sell it.
Now that he has this fish, his chances of winning tomorrow are very good.
He didn't believe that Zhang Ze could catch such a big fish in just one night.
Tong Yuanhang was extremely happy. They encountered a group of yellow tuna last night and were lucky enough to catch a huge one weighing nearly 100 kilograms with their net.
He felt that he would definitely win this time and could make Zhang Ze bleed, so he agreed without hesitation.
But he didn't know that he was facing a big cheater this time.
Having successfully tricked the two men, Zhang Ze left happily and continued to look for a suitable fishing spot.
Unless they are extremely lucky and encounter a fish weighing more than 300 kilograms, if this really happens, he would be willing to admit defeat. After all, even if he cheats, he is still not as good as others, so he should treat them.
After walking around, Zhang Ze finally found a suitable water area. He put down the shrimp cage and longline, then went to the kitchen to prepare dinner for himself.
With the opening up of the market economy, there are currently a few fishermen who are very lucky and have made a lot of money by selling fish. Therefore, a group of fishermen have joined together to buy a slightly larger boat to fish in the open sea.
Nanping Island has good resources and is close, so there are many more fishing boats coming here than a month ago, making it more difficult for Zhang Ze to find a fishing spot.
After dinner, Zhang Ze came to the deck and took out boxes of ice that had been prepared before going out to sea from the fish hold, along with two large quilts.
Because there were two king fish this time, he prepared a lot of ice cubes.
Four boxes were moved out, but there were still three boxes in the cabin, enough for the fish caught by longlining at night.
Anyway, he would put the fish into the space first and release them when he was ready to go back tomorrow. They would only be outside for a few hours, so it didn't matter if there were a little less ice.
The ice and quilt were placed on the edge of the deck, and then he had an idea, and a big red fish suddenly appeared on the water.
The red friend fish king that appeared on the deck suddenly felt difficulty breathing. Its life was in danger, and it instinctively opened its mouth to breathe.
But before it could take two breaths, a sharp spear pierced its head.
The intense pain and the passing of life made the Red Friend Fish King become even more crazy in an instant. For a while, the deck was slapped by its tail and even vibrated. The fish blood flowed out of the wound and soon formed a pool on the deck.
Zhang Ze dodged to the side when he thrust the javelin into the fish. If the fish was accidentally hit while struggling, it would be no joke.
If a fish this big hits a person with its tail, it can easily break the person's bones.
However, the fish is large and overweight, so it is difficult for it to move in a place without water. It is impossible for it to jump around like a small fish because its weight has limited its performance.
He took out the fish-killing knife and waited for a while. After seeing that the fish was completely motionless and dead, Zhang Ze went forward to bleed the fish.
Today, the main point is that he is in a good mood, which is why he is so diligent.
If he was in a bad mood, he would not bother to bleed the fish. After all, the equipment on the fishing boat was not as good as that in later generations, and the fresh water storage was limited. Zhang Ze had to use a bucket to fetch sea water to flush out the fish blood.
After processing the red friend fish, put it aside, cover it with ice and then cover it with a quilt.
Then he stood aside, and a bigger fish appeared on the deck.
The yellow croaker's mouth was so wide open that it looked like it could swallow a person in one bite.
Zhang Ze did not touch the fish because he had to ensure the integrity of the fish. Secondly, the fish was too huge. It could not make any noise lying on the deck and could only slowly suffocate to death.
The main feature of the yellow croaker is its maw. It doesn't matter whether you bleed it or not. The fish will be heavier if you don't bleed it.
But Zhang Ze still used a fish-killing knife to drain the fish blood, trying his best to ensure the freshness and taste of the fish meat.
I always feel that if such a good fish is not handled perfectly, it would be a disaster for such a good ingredient.
But compared to the red friend fish, the larger yellow croaker has much less blood.
After handling the two fish, Zhang Ze breathed a sigh of relief, then lay down on the small bed in the cab to rest, waiting until midnight.
He fell asleep unknowingly until he was suddenly awakened by Zhang Qinghe's laughter on the radio.
He turned on the light and looked at his watch, and found that it was already one o'clock in the morning. He quickly started the fishing boat to reel in the longline.
"Haha, I caught a 80-pound fish. Aze, you have to treat me tomorrow!"
Tong Yuanhang: "Not bad, just a little smaller than mine, which weighs just over 100 kilograms."
Zhang Qinghe's boastful laughter stopped abruptly, and he quickly tried to please Tong Yuanhang: "Brother Hang, you are still the best. I admit defeat to you."
Zhang Ze wiped his face to sober himself up, then went over to pick up the radio and said disdainfully: "You guys are no good, I haven't even used my ultimate move yet and you've already fallen!"
(End of this chapter)
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