The tide will likely reach full height around midnight tonight, and will remain at full height for about an hour before starting to recede.
Just a little while later, the alarm clock rang urgently.
"Ah Ye, it's time."
Ye Qingling was woken up and nudged Feng Ye next to her.
"Um."
Feng Ye reluctantly got out of bed. "You can continue sleeping. I'm going out to sea."
Be careful and come back safely.
Don't worry.
After getting dressed, Feng Ye thoughtfully closed the door behind him after leaving.
After washing up, he found his onesie and put it on, took some yellow paper and firecrackers, and then walked towards the beach.
The Rising Sun is not at the dock; it's still stranded where it was in the afternoon. We need to get it to the dock first.
The reason I got up so early today is because of this.
It is quite dangerous when the tide is out.
When seawater recedes at an extremely rapid speed, it creates rip currents, a common and dangerous phenomenon.
This is a powerful current that flows perpendicular to the coast towards the open sea, with a speed of 2-5 meters per second, which can easily drag people into the water.
Therefore, the sea was relatively calm during the morning court session, so the Asahi was sailed away.
As soon as I reached the seaside, I saw lights flashing in the direction of the pier.
Fishermen don't usually go out to sea this early, so it must be Ah-chan without a doubt.
Feng Ye stopped and waited for him to come over.
Not long after, Ah-Can arrived, panting heavily.
"Brother Ye, I just went to the Mazu Temple to offer incense, which took up a little time."
"It's okay, I just got up too."
Feng Ye asked with some curiosity, "Were there many people offering incense today?"
"There weren't many people when I went there, but I ran into a lot of people when I came back."
Fishermen take their first voyage of the year very seriously, and they will go to the Mazu Temple to burn three sticks of incense to pray for Mazu's blessing for a safe voyage.
Some more superstitious people would visit the Mazu Temple to offer incense before each voyage and then go back again upon their return.
"It seems everyone is very devout!"
Feng Ye smiled.
It wasn't that he wasn't devout enough, but that Ah-chan's presence was enough.
After all, we're all in the same boat; we share both prosperity and adversity.
"Yes, everyone hopes for a safe and smooth new year."
As they talked, the two waded through the seawater to the side of the Rising Sun, climbed onto the ship's side, and boarded it.
Once aboard the boat, Feng Ye handed the firecrackers to A-Can and told him to set them off.
He then took out yellow paper, lit it at the bow of the boat, and muttered incantations.
It wasn't that he was particularly superstitious, but rather that he was following the customs of fishermen.
After the ritual was completed and the firecrackers went off, he went to the wheelhouse to start the boat, while Ah-chan went to retrieve the anchor.
He first sailed the boat to the dock, then went back home to bring food and water.
As for the fishing nets and various tools, they had already been moved onto the boat before yesterday.
Once everything was ready, they officially set sail.
Meanwhile, fishermen began to arrive one after another, and the sound of firecrackers could be heard from time to time on the dock.
The sea breeze during this late spring cold snap was bitingly cold.
Fortunately, Feng Ye was prepared and did not let his guard down. He wore a thick coat, a knitted hat, and a scarf.
Both of these items were hand-woven by Ye Qingling for him.
In contrast, Ah-chan only wore a scarf and no hat, and he had been like that all winter.
Feng Ye once suggested that he get a hat to wear.
But Ah-chan said he wasn't used to wearing hats and that a scarf was enough.
For their first voyage of the year, they were heading to the same sea area as last year.
I brought three types of nets with me today: trawl nets, gillnets, and shrimp traps.
They arrived at their destination before dawn and began hauling in the nets.
Anyway, we won't be taking in the gillnets and shrimp traps today; we plan to wait another day and night before taking them in, so there's no rush to put them down.
During the trawling operation, whether by accident or design, Ah-Can somehow managed to steer the boat near the island where the pirates hid their treasure.
For convenience, they named it Treasure Island.
Unfortunately, the treasure above has already been excavated and emptied by the cultural relics bureau, leaving not even a single fragment behind.
After the officials left, they even went to the island to check and confirmed that there were no treasures left behind, only an empty cave.
After discovering this, Feng Ye still shone his headlamp back and forth on the bow of the ship uncertainly before finally confirming that it was indeed Treasure Island.
"Ah Chan, how did you end up sailing the boat all the way to Treasure Island?"
"Really? I didn't know."
A-Can was a little confused and scratched his head. "I was just following my instincts and didn't pay attention to the direction."
"Turn around immediately, don't go any further, there are hidden reefs outside this Treasure Island."
"Uh, okay."
Submarine reefs are difficult to guard against.
Especially at night, when it's pitch black everywhere, you could easily get caught in an attack if you're not careful.
Luckily, we spotted it in advance; otherwise, if we had actually crashed into it, we would have been doomed.
They were already aware of the hidden reefs surrounding Treasure Island.
However, these reefs are located in relatively deep areas and generally do not cause any damage to small fishing boats.
But today is different; the tide is still quite high, enough to push the reefs out.
Moreover, it's currently low tide, so we can't just drive through.
After instructing A-Can to turn around, Feng Ye continued to shine his headlamp across the sea.
Sure enough, there was a dark spot directly in front of us that didn't reflect light; it was clearly a reef exposed above the water.
He secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
If we hadn't noticed it in time, we would have crashed straight into it within minutes.
Ah-chan had already turned the wheel, so there was no danger. He felt relieved and prepared to turn back to the driver's seat.
Standing at the bow of the ship in the cold wind is not a comfortable thing.
Just then, Ah-Can suddenly shouted, "Brother Ye, Brother Ye..."
"What's wrong?"
"A boat is coming."
"Huh? Where is it?"
"This way."
Feng Ye looked in the direction of A-Can's headlamp and indeed saw a faint light flickering in the distance.
The lights on the sea are undoubtedly from ships.
He couldn't help but frown. Whose ship could this be?
A sense of unease rose in Ah-Can's heart, and he said worriedly, "Brother Ye, could this be a ship from Longtail Island, coming to seek revenge on us?"
"It's probably impossible. If they wanted revenge, they would have come last year, not now. Besides, all those who committed crimes on Long Tail Island have been arrested. Even if they wanted revenge, they would be powerless to do so and wouldn't be able to get out."
"Whose boat is this?"
"You're asking me? Who am I supposed to ask? But whatever whose ship it is, let's avoid it for now to avoid unnecessary trouble."
"Um."
Ah-chan changed direction and continued to slowly drag the net.
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