Chapter 159: with translation of chapter title

In a moment I'll tug the rope, then you pull; I'll drag it from below, and pulling the fish trap out of the trench will be no problem.

Ye Cheng gave Xiao Hu a few details about coordinating, then just as he was about to dive, he heard Zhang Guafu shout from the shore,

"Lao Er, want to help?"

Ye Cheng glanced at Xiao Hu, gestured for him to tug, Xiao Hu gave a pull, and it was a bit strenuous.

"Come on, help Xiao Hu pull the rope together." Ye Cheng said while in the water.

Then he had Xiao Hu step forward a bit to make room for Zhang Guafu.

If it were a woman from the city, Ye Cheng wouldn't bother, but village women usually do heavy labor and could match half of Xiao Hu's strength.

After seeing the two in position, Ye Cheng made a gesture and then dove into the seawater.

Zhang Guafu stared at the sea surface; Ye Cheng had been still for a while, and she asked anxiously, "Xiao Hu, Lao Er won't have any trouble, will he? It's been about two minutes."

Xiao Hu obviously knew Ye Cheng's dive time was off, but he couldn't say so, so he gave a casual reply,

"He took equipment down with him; he can stay submerged for a long time."

"Really? I don't recall seeing any." Zhang Guafu said doubtfully.

"Underwater, it's not big; it's normal you didn't see it." Xiao Hu gave a perfunctory answer.

"Is that so?"

Zhang Guafu shook her head, perhaps she really hadn't seen clearly.

At that moment, the rope jerked slightly, and Xiao Hu shouted,

"Pull!"

Zhang Guafu realized what was happening and hurriedly pulled, stepping back.

On the sea bottom, after Ye Cheng tugged the rope, he saw it go taut, and the fish trap was being pulled toward the shore.

Ye Cheng stood beside the trench, gave the fish trap a lift, and smoothly pulled it out of the trench.

Watching the fish trap move smoothly toward the shore, Ye Cheng swam after it; even underwater he could see it was packed full.

Most noticeable were several eels, grayish-white bodies, not the usual sea eel, resembling white eels.

White eels are a catadromous species: juveniles grow in fresh water, then mature and return to seawater to spawn.

This kind is famous for the grilled eel in foot-basin chicken dishes; some use it, though nowadays they're farmed, but these are wild.

Wild eel products are usually grouped with tonic and strength-enhancing goods, so they tend to be pricey.

These white eels are about 30 centimeters long, looking like they weigh over two jin, which is fairly large.

Because the fish trap is heavy, even with Xiao Hu and Zhang Guafu pulling together it's still rather difficult.

"Brother, there's a lot of stuff!" Seeing the fish trap break the surface, Xiao Hu shouted excitedly.

"That much?!"

That was Zhang Guafu's exclamation; after all these years she'd never seen a fish trap so full.

"These are white eels, plus fragrant snails and pipi shrimp—so much!" Zhang Guafu's eyes widened, and she forgot to keep pulling the rope.

"Aunt, pull it up first!" Ye Cheng called from the water.

"Oh, oh." Zhang Guafu finally reacted and hauled back.

Once out of the water it became heavier; Ye Cheng dragged it up from below a couple of times, helping get it all the way ashore.

"You sort the catch first; I'll go get the next trap." Ye Cheng said, then dove back in.

"So much loot, Xiao Hu—following Lao Er really brings you fortune." Zhang Guafu said enviously.

"Aren't you going to mention offending the Sea Dragon King?" Xiao Hu muttered, displeased that Zhang Guafu had butted in to help.

Zhang Guafu's face darkened, she sighed, "If the Sea Dragon King were useful, I would..."

Zhang Guafu looked like she wanted to say more but stopped, waved her hand, "Never mind, let's not talk about it. You're still young—come, Auntie, let's get this stuff out together."

The two up top helped pull the catch out, while meanwhile Ye Cheng had already hauled up the second fish trap.

He gave it a tug; this trap wasn't that heavy, so the haul didn't seem large.

He swam over holding the rope and handed it to Xiao Hu.

Xiao Hu gave it a pull; one person could drag it.

"Aunt, you sort the catch first; I can pull this one by myself."

This trap mostly held fish and shrimp, few snails, so it was light; Xiao Hu and Ye Cheng together hauled it up.

On this side, Zhang Guafu had just finished cleaning the first trap and hurried over to help tidy up.

"Lao Er, this one's lighter, but there are plenty of white eels, so it's still worth money." Zhang Guafu muttered while working.

"Mm, Aunt, be careful—try not to kill them; live ones sell better."

"Don't worry; Auntie, raising a kid alone, I'm quite handy."

Ye Cheng saw that Zhang Guafu had put the white eels separately into a water tank, the snails straight into a snakeskin bag, and she worked efficiently.

After the two traps were up, Ye Cheng was a bit tired, but he wanted to finish early since he was still weak today; soaking in water all the time isn't good.

The next two traps were similar to the first, full to bursting; besides the earlier catch, there were even a few oysters.

Oysters are good stuff—tender meat, fresh flavor; small ones you can slurp down in one bite.

They can be prepared in many ways—steamed in a pressure cooker or grilled; most importantly, they're a top-notch tonic, a fuel station for men.

However, they don't sell for much—small ones two or three coins, large ones about ten coins.

Ye Cheng thought these few were decent size, suddenly felt like eating them; if the haul later isn't much, he'll just eat them outright.

Thinking of having oysters to eat, Ye Cheng instantly felt motivated.

But after pulling up four traps he was genuinely tired; he came up, sat, smoked a cigarette, then went down for the fifth.

As soon as Ye Cheng went under, Zhang Guafu whispered, "Xiao Hu, Aunt just saw—Lao Er didn't seem to have any gear; how can he stay submerged so long?"

"The gear is underwater, I didn't bring it up." Xiao Hu gave a perfunctory reply, then added, "Aunt, don't ask about that while we work—let's finish early and head back."

"I know, I know, you're not old, but you're quite talkative." Zhang Guafu complained twice, sped up her hands, quickly finished the work, waiting for Ye Cheng to pull up the fifth Fish Trap.

Suddenly, a streak of scarlet color floated up with the seawater, spreading across the water surface.

Zhang Guafu screamed in fright, "Xiao Hu, look, did something happen?"

Xiao Hu was smoking, looked up, immediately tossed his cigarette, and stepped onto the water heading straight for the sea,

"Brother, brother, what's wrong? Is something wrong?"

He hadn't taken two steps when he saw a head pop up—it was Ye Cheng.

"Brother, are you hurt?" Xiao Hu shouted anxiously, swimming toward Ye Cheng.

"Don't come over, I'm fine, I speared a fish." Ye Cheng lifted the spear from the sea; on the spear was a Devil Fish, still bleeding, its bright red blood dyeing the seawater red.