Only when the whole village becomes prosperous can one's own path to wealth extend further.
With Duan Chunsheng helping to garner votes, and the Chen brothers pulling strings from within, I still have a chance.
After lunch, Duan Chunsheng jumped back onto his boat, intending to follow Ye Cheng and cast a few more nets.
Wang Defa had already finished eating; he only ordered that much food, so he just ate a couple of bites and was done.
He waited patiently for Ye Cheng to drive off, and then followed along.
The net was lowered, and the long trawling process began again.
Just half an hour later, Xiao Hu called out from behind.
"Brother, look at my second uncle."
Ye Cheng glanced back and saw that Wang Defa's boat was not right; its speed had suddenly decreased, and the boat had begun to sway from side to side.
"It seems the net is stuck," Ye Cheng deduced. Bottom trawlers have this problem; sometimes, if you're unlucky, the net gets caught on underwater rocks.
If it's a small stone, it's fine; you can push through it with a little more effort. But if you encounter a large one, you can't budge it no matter what. This is probably the situation with Wang Defa now.
Duan Chunsheng had also noticed it, and he picked up the walkie-talkie and asked,
"Old Wang, what's wrong?"
"Chunsheng, my net is stuck, and the boat can't move," Wang Defa said anxiously.
"Then slow down the boat, haul in the net and see, or try changing direction."
Generally speaking, if a trawl net gets caught, the first thing to do is to stop the fishing boat and then take measures. There are two main ways: one is to try slowly pulling in the net, as sometimes the net may loosen when pulling it in.
Another method is to change the boat's course, using changes in water flow and angle to get away from obstacles.
Wang Defa himself was an experienced hand, and after being reminded by Duan Chunsheng, he began to act quickly.
He walked to the back and slowly pulled in the net, but the cable was still very tight and there was no loosening at all. After trying a few times, he gave up, returned to the driver's seat, and planned to adjust the direction.
Ye Cheng watched as Wang Defa tried to move the net to the left and right several times, but it had no effect at all; the net below was too tightly stuck.
In this situation, only one solution remains: disconnect from the internet.
They could cut off a portion of the net, sacrificing the part to save the whole, but Wang Defa stood behind with a knife, hesitant to make the cut.
Duan Chunsheng was getting anxious. "Old Wang, just cut it off already! What are you waiting for?"
Wang Defa looked miserable.
“My net is worth a lot of money, cutting it off will cost me money.”
Well, that does fit Lao Wang's persona quite well.
Suddenly, Wang Defa had an idea. He spoke into the walkie-talkie,
"Chunsheng, why don't you stay up here and keep an eye on things for me? I'll go down into the water and see if I can get the net out."
"Are you crazy? This isn't shallow water. How are you going to go into the sea without equipment?" Duan Chunsheng shouted.
Going into the sea is not like going into a swimming pool; even a meter deep is extremely dangerous.
Wang Defa, an old man, went down into the water without an oxygen tank or any shallow water equipment. He was courting death.
No normal person would do such a thing.
However, Wang Defa was clearly not a normal person. Before Duan Chunsheng could continue to persuade him, there was a splash, and he went straight into the water.
"Wang Defa of cNm, are you crazy?!" Duan Chun shouted angrily on the boat. This was too dangerous.
After Duan Chunsheng finished cursing, he waved to Ye Cheng and then shouted, "I'll set up the net and go check on him. You continue."
"What's the point of continuing?" Ye Cheng thought to himself, while Xiao Hu behind him was getting anxious.
"Little Tiger, let's close the net first, then we'll go take a look."
"Okay, thanks bro," Xiao Hu said eagerly.
After pulling the net up, Ye Cheng didn't even have time to check the catch. He turned the boat around and headed straight for Wang Defa's location.
The trawl net was right behind the boat. Wang Defa swam there with great effort, not knowing if he had reached the right spot yet, and would occasionally dive down to check.
Although they were fishermen and good swimmers, the sea was very physically demanding. By the time Ye Cheng and the others arrived, Wang Defa was already panting heavily.
"Second Uncle, grab this." Xiao Hu threw a swimming ring off the boat.
The swimming ring fell into the sea 5 meters away from Wang Defa, and he swam over and went inside.
"I'll pull you up," Little Tiger shouted.
"No, wait for me, I'll go down and take a look." Upon hearing that Xiao Hu was going to pull him up, Wang Defa quickly climbed out of his swimming ring and plunged into the sea.
"Damn it!" Ye Cheng cursed. This guy was really courting death.
Duan Chunsheng was also extremely anxious on the other boat, but there was nothing he could do but wait.
"How long can your second uncle hold his breath?" Ye Cheng asked Xiao Hu.
Xiao Hu shook his head. "It shouldn't take long, at most 2 minutes."
Sure enough, less than two minutes later, Wang Defa popped his head up, greedily inhaling the air.
"Come up here quickly, don't go crazy!" Duan Chunsheng shouted.
Just as Wang Defa was about to speak, a wave crashed over him, swept him into the sea, and he disappeared instantly.
"Second Uncle! Second Uncle!"
"Old Wang!!!"
Xiao Hu and Duan Chunsheng shouted loudly, but there was no reaction on the sea.
Ye Cheng frowned and cursed, "Damn it, why are you so reckless?"
After he finished scolding, he looked at Xiao Hu and said seriously,
"I'll go down, you stay up here and keep watch. First, bring in the net."
"Brother, be careful."
"Don't worry, I won't die if I go down there."
Ye Cheng took off his clothes and then plunged in.
"No, Second Brother, why did you go down too? Xiao Hu, why didn't you stop him?" Seeing Ye Cheng go down as well, Duan Chunsheng was so anxious he was about to jump up and down. Now that the two of them had gone down, the danger was even greater.
If both of them are gone, what will we say when we go back?
"Uncle Duan, don't worry, my brother is a very good swimmer," Xiao Hu quickly reassured Duan Chunsheng.
"Bullshit! Who here can't swim? This is the ocean, who would dare to splash around in it?" Duan Chun roared angrily.
Xiao Hu remained silent, unable to explain to Duan Chunsheng why Ye Cheng could stay underwater for so long. He would listen to Ye Cheng for now and get the trawl net down first.
This haul wasn't much, but we caught a few groupers and ribbonfish, though they weren't in great condition, having been squeezed in the trawl net for so long.
"No, Xiao Hu, how come you still have time to trawle? Lao Er has already gone down to sea." Duan Chunsheng was so angry that he wanted to start cursing when he saw that Xiao Hu still had time to catch fish.
"Uncle Duan, don't worry, my brother will be up soon."
After Ye Cheng plunged in, he saw Wang Defa struggling to swim upwards in the seawater. The wave must have pushed him down.
He was able to go up after he escaped from the waves.
However, Wang Defa was not in good condition; bubbles were coming out of his mouth, indicating a lack of oxygen.
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