Mingjing had a premonition that there was something there, so she swam toward the coral reef and, following a crevice, saw a large silver fish hiding in the rocks, staring at her.
"It's not small, but it looks really strange."
The light was too dim in the crack of the rock, so Mingjing couldn't see what it looked like, only that it was quite large.
After waiting for a while by the crevice in the rocks, the fish, perhaps sensing that there was no movement, swam out.
Bang!
The shot hit the fish's body.
Mingjing then realized it was a horse-faced fish, weighing about three pounds, with a horse-like face on its head and a short body; it was an adult fish.
Filefish are deep-sea creatures, and every part of them is valuable. In China, they are often made into canned fish and dried fish. Their liver is very large and is the preferred material for cod liver oil.
Fish head and internal organs are used to make fish meal, fish skin can be used to make edible protein powder, and even fish bones can be made into canned fish fillets, which are estimated to be quite expensive locally.
This fish has a very mild fishy smell, making it suitable for frying, stir-frying, and deep-frying. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, it is beneficial for those with weak constitutions and postpartum recovery.
Having just caught a filefish, before Mingjing could even catch her breath, another filefish appeared behind her. This one was even bigger than the first, about the length of her forearm.
It drifted leisurely past the mirror.
Don't you take her seriously?
Mingjing took the harpoon and fired it rapidly at the horse mackerel.
Huh?
They ran away?
This filefish seemed particularly clever; it dodged the harpoon from the mirror and quickly hid in the coral reef.
Mingjing naturally wouldn't let it go either. She picked up a scallop, smashed it open with a stone, and revealed the scallop meat dangling at the entrance of the coral cave.
Sure enough, two minutes later, the filefish couldn't resist the temptation and risked sticking its head out, biting the scallop in one bite. Mingjing seized the opportunity to shoot through the fish's body.
Hold on tight.
This filefish is significantly larger than the previous one. It has buoyancy in the water, so I can't feel how heavy it is, but it looks to be at least 15 pounds.
She threw the two fish into the fishing tackle shop's warehouse. Mingjing was thinking about getting them ashore; she had to go back since she'd been away too long, or they would think she had drowned.
After getting ashore, Mingliang was lying on the side of the boat calling out to Mingjing.
"I am coming."
Mingjing climbed onto the boat, and Mingda breathed a sigh of relief. "Don't wander off. It's not safe underwater, and you didn't bring any diving equipment."
"Okay, you caught a bunch of chickens and fish?"
“Hmm, there are a lot of these today.” Mingliang picked up the chicken and fish and threw them into the cabin.
The chickenfish, also known as the scaled pufferfish, belongs to the family Diplodocidae. There are many varieties, and they are generally bottom-dwelling fish with white spots all over their bodies, resembling the markings of a chicken.
Its face has a pig's snout, and its nose has white stripes. It tastes similar to chicken.
These are all about 30 centimeters long, and because of their unique taste, they are in high demand and short supply in the market.
The most famous of the chickenfish is the blue-striped chickenfish, which is 46 centimeters long and covered with blue spots. It is found in the Atlantic Ocean and is an imported product.
"Mingjing, it gets boring with all these chickens and fish around here. Why don't you try and see if you can catch a big one?" Mingliang handed the fishing net to Mingjing.
Mingjing took the fish and casually tossed them a couple of times. Two brightly colored parrotfish, usually kept as ornamental fish and not edible, were released.
Another net yielded three large wild bass, each weighing around three pounds.
"That's good, it would be nice to take it back and cook it with tofu."
Mingjing hauled in the fishing net, and the sunlight shone brightly on her, making her feel languid.
"Dad, you do it, I'll rest for a while."
Mingjing lay on the boat, and taking advantage of the fact that neither of them was paying attention to her, she opened the storage room, took out a horse mackerel, and threw it into the water tank.
After finishing everything, she leisurely looked at the sky. The sound of the waves was not loud, and she just took it as a lullaby. Before long, her eyelids drooped heavily.
She didn't know how much time had passed before Ming Dahai woke her up.
"That's about enough for Mingjing. Let's pack up and go home."
Mingjing opened her eyes and slowly sat up. The sunlight was dazzling, so she rubbed her eyes. The sun was still high in the sky.
"It's a pity we didn't see any dolphins today, otherwise we could have made some money."
Mingliang laughed. The water here is at most fifty or sixty meters deep. If a dolphin of that size came here, it would definitely get stranded.
"Dad, how was your net throw just now?"
"Don't even mention it, it's awful. Three pufferfish and two lotus tips are not even as good as your brother's," Ming Dahai said, scratching his head sheepishly.
The boat sailed to the spot where the hooks had been set, and the three men began to haul in the nets.
This multi-hook rig is different from the old one; once you remove the fish, the hooks won't get tangled, greatly reducing the time required.
On the first time they pulled in the net, Mingjing saw a filefish, and then they caught filefish everywhere. After walking for more than ten minutes, they collected five or six baskets of filefish.
There was also a bunch of wild bass, the largest weighing over ten pounds and the smallest over two pounds.
Mingjing got tired of pulling the net, so Mingliang took over, while she picked up the fish from behind.
This time, they were all red snapper, with oval-shaped bodies and a reddish hue. From a distance, they looked somewhat like carp. They generally live in nearshore waters, and the largest can grow to over a meter long and weigh several tens of kilograms.
Mingliang was tired, so he pulled in his net. This time it was obviously a bargain: a few white eels, cheap sea bream and lotus shoots, and a bunch of pufferfish.
The small fishing boat was tilted and wobbled by the fish, and its speed was significantly reduced.
Further ahead are fish traps. On average, every ten traps yield more than ten kilograms of conger eel. The rest are red snapper, white pomfret, ribbonfish, and even a yellow croaker fry.
As I returned home, the sky was ablaze with fiery red light, and people had gathered early on the shore, eager to see what good things Mingjing had produced this time.
There were significantly fewer boats docked at the pier today, and Minghai squeezed his way in to moor at the shore.
Everyone still rushed up in droves, eager to see for themselves what good stuff was available today.
Unable to resist the inquiries, Mingjing had no choice but to lead them all to the receiving point.
"We need to move goods now. Anyone who wants to buy should go to my purchasing point."
Mingjing shouted loudly and unloaded all the fish from the boat. Mingliang then drove his tricycle around, hauling the goods away one load after another.
"A clear mirror!"
Mingjing was moving goods when Lao Zhao squeezed in.
"Uncle Zhao, what's wrong?"
"Come over here and talk," Zhao Guoliang said, walking to a quieter spot. "I have a few regular clients who want to go deep-sea fishing."
"I don't have a boat, but you have a yacht, right? Could I borrow it for a couple of days? How about 500 yuan a day?"
"But my boat is broken and still under repair. It's uncertain when it will be able to go to sea. When will I need it?"
Mingjing and Lao Zhao are now in the same boat; his clients are his clients. If they make a good profit, the money will naturally follow.
"The day after tomorrow, our clients are all big bosses. Since we're cooperating, you can't just turn them away, can you?"
Mingjing nodded. "Okay, I'll have the master craftsman speed things up. If it's not fixed by the day after tomorrow, I'll pay for the boat myself."
"Oh, you're too kind. If that's the case, we'll split it in half. You've been quite the talk of the town lately; nobody's even going to my stall anymore."
Old Zhao spoke with a sour tone.
"Hey, we're partners. If you run out of stock, you can just get it from me, it's the same thing."
Hearing this, Lao Zhao felt relieved and forced a smile, "Actually, you don't need to entertain those bastards. Just make them happy. I'll also have to bring a few beautiful women up there. Don't mind."
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