At the end of September, the sea temperature in the south was unpredictable. The most dangerous thing was not the sun but the unshielded ultraviolet rays. In just a moment, Mingjing's face was sunburned red.
"Dad, there are too many fish. We need to hurry back, or they'll spoil," Mingjing said worriedly.
"Okay, I'll go back, fill up the tank, and then I'll have to come back to collect the traps."
The ship couldn't withstand any more weight, or it would definitely sink. He could only think of trying again later.
He used to earn only a hundred or two hundred dollars when he went out to sea, nothing compared to now. The thought of the big catch in that fish trap makes him wish he had more hands.
As luck would have it, the ship was halfway there when it announced that it was running out of fuel. Mingjing immediately decided to let Mingda go back first, as less weight would allow the ship to go faster.
They were placed on the island where the fish traps were kept. Because they were bored, Mingjing found a stone slab and made a stone slab barbecue. The seasonings that were left in the warehouse last time came in handy.
There were two fires, one for grilling and the other for making soup.
Mingliang picked up the fallen coconut shells from the ground, found a banana leaf, rolled it into a compass shape, and collected the coconut water. The coconut shells were perfect for cooking seafood.
The island was searched once before and there was nothing good. There is still nothing now. Mingjing can only try to catch a fish trap and see what's inside.
"Wow, the prawns are so big! And that red crab isn't small either," Mingliang said, her eyes wide.
I thought there was nothing on this island, but it turns out everything is in the puddles.
"Pour it all out," Mingjing said, untying the cage and emptying its contents.
A small basket of crabs, six or seven clownfish, the most valuable items were three tiger crabs, and a bunch of various oddly shaped sea snails.
The flat stone slab was heated, and seafood was placed on it to heat up. The conch and crab twisted their bodies in an attempt to escape, but were caught by Mingliang and pressed back onto the stone slab.
Mingjing couldn't bear to eat the tiger crab, so she put it in a wooden bucket and covered it with a fish trap to prevent it from escaping.
Elsewhere, shrimp and crabs are cooked inside coconut shells, their bright red color carrying the fragrance of coconut meat. Each bite is smooth and silky, accompanied by a touch of chili powder.
After a simple seafood meal, Mingjing was so full that she burped.
After removing the fire and cleaning out the coconut meat with a dagger, he patted his bottom and got up.
In the distance, Ming Dahai's ship was rushing over.
"Dad, why did you come so quickly?" Mingjing thought it would take at least a while longer.
"I delivered the fish directly to the seafood restaurant and came over, and I also brought you some food."
Ming Dahai brought over a bag of rice dumplings, which were fresh out of the pot and still warm.
The three of them quickly finished their rice dumplings and started working.
“Dad, we just pulled up a fish trap and found three tiger crabs inside. We ate the rest,” Mingliang said, pointing to the bucket.
"It's gone now, it's probably nothing valuable anyway," Ming Dahai muttered.
Mingjing wouldn't eat anything valuable; he knows his daughter best.
Mingliang was slightly dissatisfied, wondering if he was really his biological son.
There are quite a few fish traps on the island. Mingjing searched from east to west and found fish traps almost everywhere there was a puddle.
The first trap was filled to the brim with crabs, almost all of them mud crabs, each weighing more than four ounces, big and fat.
Ming Dahai put away the fish trap with satisfaction, then turned around and picked up another fish trap from the puddle.
Octopus and sea cucumber are the most abundant.
The sea cucumbers were large and plump, and there was also a group of white krill.
White krill are not uncommon on the coast; sometimes several tons can be caught in the net. They are best steamed or boiled, as the meat is tender and delicious.
Besides being steamed, it can also be used as animal feed locally, and it's very cheap.
Lifting up the second puddle, Mingjing was shocked by what was inside the cage.
A giant red octopus is lying in the cage.
Its red tentacles, as thick as a finger, clung firmly to the cage with their trumpet-shaped suckers, occasionally twitching as it tried to find an exit.
"This red octopus is good; it would make excellent grilled octopus."
"We'll see. If it's just this one, then we'll eat it ourselves."
Ming Dahai was happy. This red seal was actually not very big; it was still a juvenile and enough to make a dish. He had nothing to be reluctant about today's harvest.
Besides barbecue, Hongzhang can also make fried rice, and his takoyaki (octopus balls) are very popular in the area.
Mingjing only likes to eat grilled octopus tentacles; other flavors have a strong fishy taste, and he finds them strange no matter how they are prepared.
Then, while collecting the trap, Mingjing found a basket of tiger crabs inside. Upon seeing this basket of crabs, Minghai was overjoyed.
He used to hardly ever catch tiger crabs when he went out to sea, but now he can catch a whole basketful in no time.
He estimated that this basket of tiger crabs must weigh several dozen kilograms, which meant he would make a fortune.
Actually, they had already made a profit by the time they got the cages, but there were still more than a dozen cages waiting ahead. When wealth comes, you can't stop it.
"Dad, that's about enough for today. Why don't we leave it out a little longer and come back to collect it tomorrow?"
Bright estimated that if left out for another night, there would still be quite a few tiger crabs left.
Ming Dahai thought about it and agreed, but Ming Jing disagreed. "Let's finish collecting them quickly. There's always tomorrow. If this little boat runs too often, it's bound to attract attention."
Why not use today's good luck today? Who knows what tomorrow will bring? Nobody can predict the whims of fate.
The three continued working, and from the remaining cages, they found six grouper, eight moray eels, nine large tiger grouper, three herring, and eight small lobsters.
The rest were large tiger prawns, sea cucumbers, sea urchins, and small miscellaneous fish and snails.
After all the cages were put away, Mingjing and Mingliang sat on the boat picking through the seafood. They could keep the damaged ones for themselves, and throw away the small ones and the ones that were too cheap.
Back at the dock, the sun was still high in the sky, around 4:30 in the evening.
There was too much seafood today, and it was all mixed up, so Mingda decided to go home and sort it before sending it to sell.
From afar, Mingjing saw a crowd gathered on the dock, looking in her direction, and her heart tightened.
"Damn it, why are there so many people?" Mingliang felt inexplicably panicked.
The dock was surrounded by a huge crowd, and it looked like they were about to take over by bandits. Ming Dahai didn't dare to get too close to the shore and slowly drove over.
There were quite a few boats moored on the shore, dozens of them of all sizes, including many private cargo ships and ocean-going vessels, most of which belonged to Fan Yuliang.
Ming Dahai found a gap and moved closer, and a group of people surrounded him.
"How was your voyage, ocean?"
"Is this boat yours?"
"Did you find something good?"
Ming Dahai just smiled and made excuses, saying he hadn't caught anything good, but the group didn't believe him and stared longingly at the ship.
They had already received word that Mingjing hadn't caught anything at sea, and they were supposed to come and mock him, but something felt off.
Seeing the group of people chattering away, Mingjing felt inexplicably irritated. "Dad, go back and bring the tricycle from home. We'll haul the goods back."
There are valuable tiger crabs on the ship. If so many people find out there are good things, there will be an uproar, and there might even be an accident.
"Okay, you guys keep an eye on things." Ming Dahai moored the boat, went ashore, and walked through the crowd towards home.
The crowd watching from the shore chattered and asked questions.
"Mingjing, what did you catch today? Is it enough to make back the cost of the boat?"
"Exactly, going to sea is not such a simple matter. You must have lost money on this order, right? It's not even enough to cover the fuel costs."
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