"Bang bang bang bang!"
The dark shadow landed on the deck with a series of loud thuds.
Water splashed everywhere.
Wu An didn't bother to see what it was and shouted, "Big Brother, A Qing, Lao Fu, are you alright?"
The three men emerged from the boat awning, still shaken, and replied, "We're alright. How about you?"
Wu An said he was fine, and then noticed that there were manta rays on the deck.
Thankfully everyone dodged in time, otherwise they would have been badly hit.
Why?
The stingrays on the deck were all quite large; the smallest one was about the same size as the largest stingray they had caught before, and they estimated it to weigh about 20 or 30 pounds.
The big one is also very big, it looks even bigger than Aqing, and probably weighs seventy or eighty pounds.
If such a large manta ray were to hit someone, it would definitely cause serious injury.
Ah Qing is on the other side and can't get over there at all.
The manta ray wasn't thrashing around; it's likely it got thoroughly tormented by the orca along the way, and then got a hard ramming and slamming at the end. Even if it didn't die, it's close to it.
Aqing jumped up and down: "What does this mean?"
"Why are the orcas throwing manta rays at us?"
Wu Ping thought for a moment and said, "I've seen documentaries. Orcas are playful and lively; they might just be playing."
Old Fu shook his head and said, "That's not right."
“Orcas are very friendly to humans. I have encountered orcas before and even interacted with them.”
"They might be returning the favor."
Wu An was taken aback: "A return gift?"
Old Fu nodded: "You gave them mantis shrimp to eat before, so they gave you stingrays instead."
Aqing raised her hand: "That's not right. We're giving them shrimp to eat; that's how we repay them."
Old Fu said irritably, "Is your brain the same as an orca's?"
"You think they followed our fishing boat into the bay to protect us, but for the orcas, they probably just did it for fun."
"They don't see it as a way of repaying them when you give them shrimp."
"That's why they sent the stingray."
"Of course, I'm just guessing."
Aqing suddenly realized: "Old man, you might be right."
“My brother led us to catch a lot of manta rays during the orca hunt to pay for our journey; they probably remember that.”
"These orcas are actually quite good; they repay us after receiving benefits."
Old Fu looked at the orcas swimming around with a complicated expression and said, "Yes, these creatures are sometimes much better than humans."
Wu An laughed heartily: "Alright, it was a false alarm."
"Let's feed the orcas to them while they're still here."
"They didn't realize they were helping us, but we can't be ungrateful."
"Since they returned the gift with a stingray, it means they like to eat mantis shrimp."
Aqing nodded: "Brother, you're right."
Old Fu rolled his eyes: "You little brother, your brain..."
The shrimp fell down.
The orcas immediately swarmed around and feasted.
Wu An leaned over the side of the boat and watched. One of the largest orcas raised its head and looked at him. He subconsciously waved, and to his surprise, the orca actually jumped up.
Wu An was overjoyed and patted the orca's big head as he spoke.
"Tiger, thank you all."
"Actually, you don't need to be so polite. You're the ones who saved us."
"But I also know that this is your nature. Next time, be polite, but don't send it like this. Just put it on the sea."
He kept talking, and it was unclear whether the orca could understand him.
The killer whale fell into the sea.
Seawater splashed everywhere, catching Wu An off guard and splashing his face with seawater.
Tiger made a high-pitched sound, as if he was laughing at him.
Wu An was both amused and exasperated, watching the orcas eat the mantis shrimp with apparent enjoyment; he guessed that the mantis shrimp were just crunchy little snacks to them.
After they finished eating, the orcas dived into the sea and reappeared far away. Seeing the orcas leave, Wu An and his companions quickly waved goodbye.
Once the orcas had completely disappeared into the rain, they quickly looked toward the manta rays on the deck.
Wu An smiled and said, "Let's pack up."
Having cleaned up before, he was experienced. He grabbed a boat knife, stepped on a manta ray, and raised his knife, only to miss.
Seeing this, Old Fu said, "I'll do it."
He didn't use a boat knife.
Instead, he picked up a pair of scissors, grabbed the manta ray's tail, and with a quick, precise, and steady snip, the stinger fell off. Then he repeated the process.
Wu An watched with envy.
A true expert's skill is immediately apparent.
Next.
Old Fu performed the surgeries one by one, and Wu An, A Qing, and Wu Ping were like interns following the chief physician in a hospital, observing and listening to Old Fu's explanations.
It's actually quite simple.
Practice makes perfect.
Wu An really wanted to complain, but it felt like he said nothing at all.
He didn't care.
Once the business grows bigger and stronger, he will definitely become a boss. He doesn't need to hone his skills too much; he just needs his subordinates to be able to do the work.
Thinking this, the way he looked at Old Fu changed.
What a fine ox or horse... cough cough... Old Fu is almost sixty, nearing the legal retirement age. At his age, he should be considered a retiree seeking re-employment.
They were rehired and put back to work.
Old Fu finished his work, wiped the sweat from his face, and thought to himself that getting old is just not good; even a little rain makes his back feel chilly.
Wu An and A Qing were also busy. After Old Fu finished dealing with the manta rays, they also had to put them in the freezer. Luckily, the freezer had been upgraded, otherwise they wouldn't have been able to fit such large manta rays.
While Wu An and his team were busy at work, the Xiaoxi Village dock became noisy as the Chen family's trawlers returned, and the relevant departments' rescue forces were already in place.
Everyone coordinated and made arrangements to formulate a rescue plan.
However, such large waves severely hampered the implementation of the rescue plan.
...
It was windy and rainy outside.
Inside the boat awning, everyone sat around eating and drinking, and naturally, the conversation flowed freely.
"You've only been fishermen for a little over a month?" Old Fu frowned, seeing Wu An and the others nod, then looked at Wu Ping in surprise and asked, "You dare to take two novices this far by yourself?"
Wu Ping was older, and he thought Wu Ping was the backbone of the three.
Wu Ping shook his head: "To be honest, this is actually my first time going out to sea to fish."
"I am a teacher, and I also serve as the school's director of academic affairs and logistics."
He held multiple positions, but they were actually useless. To put it bluntly, he didn't have much power, but he managed everything.
There's some kind of competition in the county, and village schools also have quotas to arrange for students to participate. The village school takes it very seriously and has organized a "special training class." Other teachers are unwilling to tutor students during the summer vacation, as there's no benefit in it.
Only my older brother, full of enthusiasm, went to school every day.
Wu An thought to himself, but since his older brother was working so hard, he couldn't say anything.
Ah Qing said with a smile, "Actually, my brother and I have only been out to sea a few times."
"My brother is amazing."
"They took me fishing and beachcombing, and we made a lot of money, which led us to buy this fishing boat."
Wu An added, "I just got my credentials too."
Old Fu was completely numb.
This is not a novice.
They're just a bunch of hotheads!
Ignorance truly breeds fearlessness.
He felt like he'd been tricked.
Without saying a word, he quickly took a sip of water to calm his nerves.
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