Chapter 22: Making Six Months' Worth of Income in a Single Net Cast

It’s a school of large yellow croakers!

That massive, booming "gurgling" sound was indeed a school of large yellow croakers.

Father Zhou steered the boat at full speed toward the source of the sound, his body trembling slightly with excitement. "Ah Lei, get the hand nets ready!"

When large yellow croakers are in a dense school, the sound they emit is like a boiling cauldron; the noise is so loud it can deafen natural predators, a rare phenomenon among fish.

As Father Zhou steered the boat closer, he indeed saw the school of large yellow croakers.

Even in the dim light, they could be seen shimmering with golden light.

Large yellow croakers dislike light and sink to the seabed once dawn breaks.

"Quick, throw the nets! Hand nets!" Father Zhou said excitedly.

Zhou Chenglei had already picked up a hand net and cast it out.

Father Zhou also hurriedly grabbed a hand net from the deck and threw it in.

Jiang Xia had never cast a net before, but she knew how to scoop fish with a landing net!

She had already picked up a landing net, ready to scoop fish at any moment.

With one cast from Zhou Chenglei, a large net full of fish was hauled up.

"Dump them into the live well," Father Zhou reminded him.

Zhou Chenglei had already opened the live well in advance; he didn't need Father Zhou to tell him.

Jiang Xia scooped up three fish, watching as the golden-yellow large yellow croakers were poured one by one into the live well.

This single net must have held at least dozens, if not more.

She dumped her three fish in as well, then quickly turned back to continue scooping.

*Being slow to act is worse than being a spendthrift!* (Meaning: If you fail to seize opportunities and benefits, you suffer more than someone who wastes money.)

If a chance to strike it rich came and she didn't grab it, her transmigration would have been in vain; she might as well have jumped into the sea to feed the fish.

Just then, Father Zhou also hauled in a net, and countless golden fish splashed into the live well with a "swish."

Zhou Chenglei and Father Zhou cast net after net, while Jiang Xia scooped them up one by one, picking only the large ones with speed and precision!

After three or four consecutive casts, the school of fish dispersed and swam away.

Once the school dispersed, they let them go; neither Zhou Chenglei nor Father Zhou attempted to chase them.

Father Zhou had never been one to hunt to extinction. Although it was difficult to catch them all and there were always fish that escaped the net, he was not a man of insatiable greed.

Naturally, Zhou Chenglei was the same.

However, both live wells were nearly full!

Looking at the two brimming live wells, Father Zhou smiled. "Xia has good luck at sea; we ran into a school of large yellow croakers the moment we set out!"

These large yellow croakers could easily fetch several hundred yuan.

One net alone earned them as much as they usually made in half a year!

Jiang Xia smiled. "It's Dad's luck at sea, choosing such good fishing grounds. And it's because you and Chenglei have the experience to know it was a school of large yellow croakers. I just have sharp ears; if I were out at sea alone, I would have been too scared to come out of hiding."

Father Zhou laughed heartily. Who doesn't love hearing good words?

She wasn't wrong; if Jiang Xia hadn't heard the "gurgling" sound and prompted the boat to speed up, they would have missed them.

This young daughter-in-law seemed to have truly changed; she certainly knew how to talk.

He always said, "When husband and wife are of one mind, their strength can cut through metal."

The saying "A harmonious family brings prosperity" has been passed down since ancient times for a reason.

He didn't believe the superstition that women brought bad luck to boats; he only believed in a united couple and a harmonious home.

When a family pulls together like a single rope, moving in the same direction, they cannot go wrong.

It's just like rowing a boat—if you row east and he rows west, how can the boat move forward?

Only when everyone rows in the same direction will the boat advance.

When they got back, he would find that man Xu and show him that bringing a daughter-in-law on a boat doesn't bring bad luck!

While steering the boat, Father Zhou said to Zhou Chenglei, "I'll steer a bit further out, you drop the net."

Zhou Chenglei covered the live well, acknowledged him, and went to deploy the net.

Once the net was deployed, Father Zhou increased the boat's speed.

Jiang Xia could faintly see the fishing net being lowered, gradually spreading out toward the seabed under the force of the current.

The trawling process was long. Even though it was summer and the days were long, the sun had not yet risen, though the sky was brightening.

Zhou Chenglei said to Jiang Xia, who was crouching there watching the net sink into the sea, "Trawling takes at least one or two hours. You can get some sleep."

After this net was finished, they would find an island to pull up alongside. Since the sun would be strong, she could stay on the island.

Jiang Xia was surprised. "That long?"

"Yes. If you don't trawl long enough, you won't catch much. If we stop temporarily, the net will sink to the bottom, so it takes at least an hour or two. Get some rest."

"No need," Jiang Xia shook her head. She was full of curiosity, watching how the net disappeared into the water. After watching for a while, she began walking around the boat, studying how the equipment worked and asking questions out of curiosity.

She also watched how Father Zhou steered the boat. Seeing her interest, Zhou Chenglei patiently explained things to her.

After her round of exploration, only about ten minutes had passed, but the sun was nearly up. She simply sat down to wait and enjoy the sunrise over the sea.

As the boat moved forward, the sun emerged, and the sunlight pierced through the thick clouds, creating a moment of magnificent, radiant light!

Jiang Xia sat quietly. The red glow of the morning sun shone on her fair face, making the fine peach fuzz on her skin glow in the light.

Zhou Chenglei's gaze inadvertently fell upon her, and for a moment, he forgot to look away.

Jiang Xia watched for a while and then stopped, but sitting still was a bit boring. She wasn't used to such leisure, so she asked, "Are there any fishing rods?"

Zhou Chenglei shook his head. "No."

With nothing to do but sit, Jiang Xia decided to study whether the net on the seabed had caught anything.

Two hours passed unnoticed. Father Zhou said, "Ah Lei, haul in the net!"

"Okay," Zhou Chenglei responded.

The father and son worked together to pull in the net. Jiang Xia stood not far away watching; she saw them struggling a bit with the weight.

Father Zhou said happily, "It's so heavy, the net is bursting!"

As the net was hauled closer, a massive bundle of fish began to emerge.

"So many fish!" Jiang Xia exclaimed.

Zhou Chenglei said, "We must have run into another school."

The father and son were also excited. Catching this much fish right after setting out was a rare occurrence; they hadn't seen this in years.

It took all their strength to finally haul the entire net aboard.

Once it was up, Father Zhou needed to rest for a moment before he had the strength to help Zhou Chenglei dump the fish out.

Jiang Xia saw the two of them grab one end of the net. Father Zhou shouted, "One, two..."

Following the rhythm, they both pulled the net with all their might at the same time.

A massive burst of fish poured out, filling the entire deck!

They piled up like a small mountain. Even at Jiang Xia's feet, mackerel were jumping around.

They must have encountered a school of mackerel hunting a school of shrimp.

Thus, this single net had caught both the mackerel and the shrimp.

Most of them were mackerel and tiger prawns, along with some other miscellaneous fish.

"How should these fish be handled?" Jiang Xia asked, not knowing.

She figured they couldn't just leave them on the deck everywhere.

It was summer, and if they sat in the sun for half a day, they would become smelly and lose their freshness.

Although it was still morning, the sun was already becoming quite fierce. Jiang Xia had already wrapped her head and face.

Father Zhou said, "Sort them into baskets. You two do the sorting; I'll continue casting the nets."

Zhou Chenglei said, "Dad, let's steer the boat toward the island to pull up alongside for a bit."

He had intentionally steered the boat toward this area, where a small island was located nearby.

"What for?" Father Zhou asked.