"I'll tug on the rope for a bit, then you pull, and I'll drag you from below. Once we're out of the trench, there won't be any problems."
Ye Cheng explained the details of their cooperation to Xiao Hu and was about to dive down when he heard Widow Zhang on the shore shout something.
"Second brother, need any help?"
Ye Cheng looked at Xiao Hu and gestured for him to pull. Xiao Hu gave it a tug, but it was a bit difficult.
"Come on, help Xiaohu pull the rope," Ye Cheng said while soaking in the water.
Then he had Xiaohu move forward a little to make room for Widow Zhang.
If it were a woman from the city, Ye Cheng would be fine, but the women in the village usually do heavy physical labor and can be as strong as half a tiger.
After seeing the two of them stand still, Ye Cheng made a hand gesture and then plunged into the seawater.
Widow Zhang looked at the sea. Ye Cheng hadn't made a sound for a long time. She asked with some worry, "Xiao Hu, is Second Brother alright? It's been two minutes."
Xiao Hu knew, of course, that Ye Cheng's diving time was inappropriate, but he couldn't say so. He just gave a casual, perfunctory answer.
"He brought equipment with him, so he can stay underwater for a long time."
"Really? I don't think I saw it," Widow Zhang said, puzzled.
"It's in the water, and it's not very big, so it's normal that you didn't see it," Xiao Hu said dismissively.
"Is that so?"
Widow Zhang shook her head, perhaps she really hadn't seen it clearly.
Just then, the rope was pulled, and Xiao Hu shouted.
"pull!"
Widow Zhang realized what was happening and quickly pulled him back.
At the bottom of the sea, Ye Cheng tugged on the rope and saw it straighten, pulling the fish trap towards the shore.
Ye Cheng stood beside the trench, lifted the fish trap, and successfully pulled it out of the trench.
Watching the fish trap move smoothly toward the sea, Ye Cheng swam over as well. Even in the seawater, he could see that it was full of things.
The most eye-catching were several eels, with grayish-white bodies. They weren't sea eels, but rather resembled white eels.
The white eel is a migratory creature; its larvae and growth occur in freshwater, and it returns to seawater to reproduce after reaching maturity.
The most famous thing about this is the grilled eel in Japanese chicken dishes. Some people use it, but in later generations, it's all farmed, while this one is wild.
Wild eel products are usually sold together with other seafood, so they are more expensive.
These white eels are about 30 centimeters long and look to weigh over 2 kilograms, which is quite large.
Because the cage was quite heavy, it was still quite difficult for Xiao Hu and Widow Zhang to pull it together.
"Brother, there's so much stuff!" Little Tiger exclaimed excitedly as he saw the fish traps protruding from the sea.
"so much?!"
That was Widow Zhang's cry. In all these years, she had never seen such a full cage.
"This is white eel, and also whelks, mantis shrimp, so much stuff!" Widow Zhang's eyes widened, and she even forgot to pull the rope in her hand.
"Auntie, pull it up first!" Ye Cheng called out from the sea.
"Oh, oh." Widow Zhang finally realized what was happening and pulled back her mission.
It became even heavier after being taken out of the water, so Ye Cheng helped by dragging it up from below.
"You guys sort through them first, I'll go get the next trap," Ye Cheng said, then plunged back into the sea.
"Wow, so much stuff, Little Tiger. You're so lucky to be with the Second Brother," Widow Zhang said enviously.
"Aren't you going to mention offending the Dragon King?" Xiao Hu teased, clearly not pleased with Widow Zhang's forceful intervention.
Widow Zhang's face darkened, and she sighed, "If the Dragon King were useful, I would..."
Widow Zhang looked hesitant, then waved her hand and said, "Never mind, let's not talk about it anymore. You're still young. Come on, let's get the things out together."
The two men helped get the items out from above, while Ye Cheng had already pulled out the second cage from the other end.
I pulled on it a bit, and this fish trap wasn't very heavy, so it seems there aren't many of them.
He swam across, holding the rope, and handed it to Xiao Hu.
Xiao Hu tugged at it; one person could easily drag it.
"Auntie, you sort the things first, I can carry this by myself."
The fish trap was mostly filled with fish and shrimp, with fewer snails, so it was lightweight. Xiao Hu and Ye Cheng managed to pull it up.
Widow Zhang had just finished cleaning the first trap when she hurried over to help tidy up.
"Second brother, this one is a bit less, but there are plenty of white eels, so it's worth a lot of money." Widow Zhang muttered to herself as she worked.
"Yes, Auntie, be careful and try not to kill it. It's easier to sell it alive."
"Don't worry, Auntie is very capable at taking care of the child all by herself."
Ye Cheng looked at her and saw that Widow Zhang had separated the white eels into a separate tank, while the snails were packed directly into a snakeskin bag. She was very efficient.
After bringing up the two fish traps, Ye Cheng was a bit tired, but he wanted to finish as soon as possible. After all, he was still feeling weak today, and it wouldn't be good to stay in the water all the time.
The next two traps were similar to the first one, yielding a bountiful harvest. In addition to the previous catches, they even had a few oysters.
Oysters are a delicacy; the meat is tender and delicious. Smaller ones can be slurped up in one bite.
Moreover, it can be prepared in many ways, such as steaming in a pressure cooker or baking. Most importantly, it is a nourishing food and a boost for men.
However, these things aren't expensive; the smaller ones cost two or three yuan, and the larger ones are around ten yuan.
Ye Cheng saw that these few were quite large and suddenly felt like eating them. If not many were brought up later, he would just eat them.
The thought of eating oysters gave Ye Cheng a sense of purpose.
However, pulling four traps was quite tiring, so he sat down to smoke a cigarette before going back down to pull the fifth one.
As soon as Ye Cheng went down, Widow Zhang whispered, "Little Tiger, I just checked, and it seems like Second Brother didn't bring any equipment. How could he stay underwater for so long?"
"The equipment is underwater, we haven't brought it up yet," Xiao Hu said dismissively, then continued, "Auntie, don't ask these questions while we're working, let's finish quickly and go home."
"I know, I know. You're not that old, but you're quite long-winded." Widow Zhang complained a couple of times, then sped up her work and quickly finished, waiting for Ye Cheng to pull up the fifth cage.
Suddenly, a crimson color floated up with the seawater and spread across the surface of the water.
Widow Zhang screamed in fright, "Little Tiger, look, has something happened?"
Xiao Hu was smoking when he looked up, immediately threw the cigarette away, and waded into the sea.
"Brother, brother, what's wrong? Are you alright?"
Before they had taken two steps, a head popped up; it was Ye Cheng.
"Brother, are you hurt?" Xiao Hu called out anxiously as he swam toward Ye Cheng.
"Don't come any closer, it's okay, I just speared a fish." Ye Cheng raised the harpoon from the sea, and on the harpoon was a manta ray, still bleeding profusely, its bright red blood staining the seawater red.
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