Once all the fish in the net had fallen to the ground, the two men eagerly rummaged through the pile of fish, searching for the large red fish that had been covered up.
The two of them found it in no time.
Ah-Can said with some disappointment, "It turned out to be a red cheetah. What a disappointment."
"It's not bad, at least it's big enough, it weighs about fifteen pounds."
"It's big, but it's not worth much."
Ah-Can said regretfully, "Besides, this fish came at the wrong time. We were about to go back when we arrived. If it had come earlier, I might have had to enshrine it."
Feng Ye smiled and said, "Adding auspiciousness is a good omen, it might even be a sign that we'll have a smooth and bountiful harvest tomorrow?"
Red Jaguar is not a rare variety; it's quite common.
It is actually a red sea bream.
This fish is indeed quite beautiful, with a light red body and blue spots.
Generally, catching a red sea bream while fishing at the seaside is considered a lucky omen.
Whether it's valuable or not doesn't matter, as long as it has a good meaning.
There are actually two types of red snapper: red red snapper and black red snapper, also known as black sea bream.
There's an interesting story behind the name "Jiji fish".
Legend has it that Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin, led an eastern expedition and arrived in Dengzhou (Penglai, Shandong).
One day, he chose an auspicious day to cross the sea and visit the fairy island (Changshan Island). On the island, he tasted a beautiful and delicious fish.
He then asked the accompanying civil and military officials, "What is the name of this fish?"
The officials dared not speak recklessly, so they bowed and replied, "It is Your Majesty who bestows the name."
Li Shimin was overjoyed. He thought that since it was an auspicious day to cross the sea, tasting the fresh fish would add to the auspiciousness of the day, so he named it "Jiaji Fish".
"Maybe."
Ah-chan remained noncommittal.
"Anyway, this fish is the biggest catch of the day, worth more than forty yuan, which is more valuable than the jellyfish that we worked so hard to catch."
Although red sea bream is not a rare species, a size of 15 pounds is quite considerable for a sea bream.
Sea bream can actually grow quite large, reaching a maximum length of 130 centimeters and a weight of up to 40 kilograms, but they are not commonly seen.
The sea bream that are usually caught are not very big, mostly weighing only one or two pounds.
They often catch various kinds of sea bream, but this is the first time they've caught one this big.
And it was the first red sea bream caught today.
Feng Ye put the red sea bream in a separate basket and then went to sail back, leaving A-Can to collect the few remaining catches on the deck.
By the time we returned to the coastal waters, it was almost seven o'clock, and the sky was gradually getting dark.
After the start of autumn, the days get shorter and the nights get longer.
Even though it was getting dark, many small wooden boats were still diligently searching for and harvesting jellyfish on the sea.
Making money is really hard work.
Two more boats came to collect jellyfish today, presumably from two other purchasing points.
Feng Ye randomly chose a boat and went to dock.
Since we don't know them anyway and the prices are the same, there's no need to hesitate.
They caught quite a few jellyfish today, more than fifty in total.
The main problem is that the live water tank isn't big enough; it can only hold this much.
They didn't exchange many words, and left after selling the jellyfish.
It weighed 1826 jin (941 catties) in total, but only sold for 36.5 yuan, which is better than nothing.
Back at the dock, we carried today's catch to the purchasing point.
Feng Jiafa peeked at the haul and said disappointedly, "Not good today, only this little bit. Only this red snapper is somewhat presentable, it's big enough."
"It's good enough that we got something; at least we didn't leave empty-handed."
"It's not that bad. You can always get something by going out."
"Stop arguing and weigh yourself."
All sorts of fish were weighed, and in the end, only 326 yuan was collected.
"It's strange, everyone else had a good harvest right after the typhoon, so why did you guys have a bad one?"
As Feng Jiafa opened the drawer to take out the money, he muttered to himself.
Feng Ye shrugged and said nonchalantly, "Who knows? Anyway, I had bad luck today, and I sold all the goods I caught to you."
Ah-Can asked curiously, "Who had the best harvest today and made the most money?"
"I am Guo Changling and his wife from the back mountain. They had incredible luck today and caught a net full of three-knife fish, weighing over 200 jin."
"Wow, so many? They're going to make a fortune."
"Who can disagree? So many people are incredibly envious."
What price did you offer?
A hint of envy flashed in Feng Ye's eyes.
Three-knife fish is a top-grade sea fish and commands a high price.
He remembered catching one with his older brother, Ah-Can, and Xiao Guowen in a ditch on the deserted island, and selling it to Feng Jiafa.
It's been a while, but he's forgotten how much it cost.
Feng Jiafa said with a smile, "I said before that I would only take five percent of the price for good products, so I didn't quote a price. We'll know once they're sold."
Ah-Can clicked his tongue enviously: "Sigh, it's really infuriating to compare yourself to others. We work hard all day and only earn a little over 300 yuan, while they make a fortune with just one net."
"How dare you say that? That person just had a stroke of luck once in a while. Look at you guys, making a fortune every now and then, with fish swarms or rare, high-quality catches. Do you know how envious people are of you?"
"No way, no way!" Ah-Can said with no small amount of pride.
Feng Jiafa handed over the counted money: "Alright, take the money and get out of here. I don't want to see your smug face."
"Wait a minute, you haven't told me what the other people did!"
"Go find out for yourself, don't bother me."
Ah-chan threatened, "Uncle Fa, if you don't tell us, we won't sell you any more goods."
Feng Jiafa gave a wry smile: "You little rascal, you're even resorting to threats now."
"Uncle Fa, just tell me."
Feng Ye was also somewhat curious.
"And Chen Fusheng was also lucky, he caught two big cucumbers on his longline, each weighing over three pounds; Li Lao Er was also lucky, he encountered a school of silver pomfret..."
After listening to Feng Jiafa's explanation, Feng Ye couldn't help but sigh, "It seems there are quite a few lucky people today."
"Indeed, this is only what was sold to me. Old Zhu and Old Lin must have received quite a few good goods as well."
Feng Jiafa nodded, deeply agreeing.
Ah-Can said with a grin, "Uncle Fa, we'll try to get some good stuff for you tomorrow too."
Feng Jiafa waved his hand: "Alright, enough talk, go back and rest."
...
Nothing was said that night.
The two went out to sea as usual in the early hours of the next day.
Perhaps the red auspicious symbol from yesterday really brought them good luck.
Their first net burst open, catching a school of mullet.
Although the price of mullet is cheap, the quantity is quite large, a whole bag full, probably no less than 500 pounds.
This one net alone earned more than yesterday's entire day's income.
"I knew it was impossible to have bad luck forever, and here comes my luck."
Ah-Can spoke smugly as he tidied up the fishing net, grinning from ear to ear.
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