Chapter 268: Hu, look at the trouble you've caused

I don't know exactly who it was, but I heard it was from a few neighboring villages; they caught one, sold it for 1800 yuan, this guy went crazy, showing off everywhere. They said they were planning to head back even as late as 1 o'clock, then casually cast a net and up came one.

Around 1 o'clock?

Isn't that just the time Xiao Hu threw that fish into the sea?

Damn it, could it really be the fish Xiao Hu threw in?

But no matter what, as long as I don't realize it's the big yellow fish I caught, it's fine.

After chatting for a while, Duan Chunsheng left, having agreed with Ye Cheng to go out to sea tomorrow.

However, Ye Cheng didn't fully agree; it mainly depended on tomorrow's Luck Value—if it was 20, he'd rather stay home.

The next day, Ye Cheng got up at 6 a. m. and first glanced at the system.

Luck Value: 60+20

Points: 4600

Savings: 110,000, External Debt: 30,000, Mortgage: 300,000 (including interest)

These points have risen really fast, it even startled Ye Cheng—yesterday after buying the trawl net he still had over a thousand left, but today it suddenly jumped to over four thousand; big yellow fish really are different.

This Luck Value is fine for going out to sea; just keep accumulating experience.

He called Xiao Hu to let him know, asking him to come over and help lift the water pump.

Since we now have our own boat, we naturally put this on the boat, saving us from having to mess with a manual version on the island.

On the way, Ye Cheng told Xiao Hu what Duan Chunsheng had said yesterday.

Xiao Hu looked astonished,

"No way, bro, you're saying the fish I threw away was a big yellow fish?"

"Nonsense, that spot hasn't seen a big yellow fish in ages; we hauled up a net yesterday, then you tossed one away, and someone else hauled one up—don't you think that's too much of a coincidence?"

Xiao Hu fell silent, seeming to agree with that reasoning.

But just thinking about throwing away a big yellow fish worth over a thousand, Xiao Hu even wanted to slap himself; damn it, so wasteful.

"Then be conscious about it—today's lunch is on you; later go to the dock, buy some meat, buy some liquor, prepare some good food and drink to atone."

"Okay, I'll go buy." Xiao Hu said in a muffled voice; big yellow fish, thrown away—just thinking about it makes him gloomy.

This guy must be furious—he bought two pounds of braised beef, a big shank, some cold dishes, and grabbed several bottles of beer, piling it all up, leaving Ye Cheng speechless.

"Hu, with you doing this, I feel if we called a few more beauties, we'd turn our fishing boat into a yacht."

"Yacht it is; just thinking about the big yellow fish we let go yesterday makes me angry—bro, go ahead and eat, eat your fill."

"I can't even finish it—do you think I'm Wu Song? Bring two pounds of beef; later check if Uncle Duan is around and bring him some."

Duan Chunsheng launched his boat a bit late today; when Ye Cheng and the others rushed over, they just saw him about to untie the mooring line and get ready to depart.

"Uncle, wait!" Ye Cheng shouted and ran over.

Duan Chunsheng stood up, saw it was Ye Cheng, and said, "I thought you weren't coming; don't worry, I'll wait for you."

Ye Cheng ran over and handed Duan Chunsheng half a pound of beef and some cold dishes, saying, "Xiao Hu bought too much—you have some too."

Duan Chunsheng looked at the hefty chunk of meat in his hand, shocked, and said, "Xiao Hu must be burning money—this is a lot of meat."

"Exactly, he's burning it, his brain's fried." Ye Cheng looked at Xiao Hu and started teasing him.

Xiao Hu wore a look of regret; the anger over the big yellow fish won't fade quickly.

"Uncle, where are we headed today? Still going to that fishing ground?" After handing over the stuff, Ye Cheng added casually.

"We can't go there; I'll take you past it and you'll see why—we can only go farther out, so catch up with me later."

Ye Cheng nodded; as long as we have a thigh to hold onto, it's fine—finding a fishing ground ourselves is still beyond us for now.

The two prepared on board, lifted the water pump up, which delayed them about half an hour, before they set off following Duan Chunsheng.

Following the same route as last time, Duan Chunsheng brought Ye Cheng to the previous fishing spot.

Last time, Ye Cheng could only see a single boat in the distance; now a glance shows four or five boats.

"Uncle, are we here to catch big yellow fish?" Ye Cheng looked, somewhat speechless—if he were a big yellow fish, he'd have fled already with so many boats around.

"This is today; yesterday there were even more people, all dreaming of getting rich overnight—if they hauled up a net of big yellow fish, it'd be enough for a year." Duan Chunsheng said while steering outward.

He turned off the radio, Ye Cheng pointed at the fishing ground and teased Xiao Hu: "Hu, look at the mess you've made—if you hadn't released that big yellow fish, these people wouldn't be crowded here fishing; I bet before long there won't even be shrimp left."

Xiao Hu turned his head away, stuffed a piece of beef into his mouth, and didn't want to speak.

Today the big yellow went out to sea and wasn't found, so it's just Ye Cheng and Xiao Hu.

Chatting was fine, but after sailing for over an hour, Ye Cheng felt a bit bloated from eating beef.

He picked up the walkie-talkie and shouted at Duan Chunsheng,

"Uncle, are we there yet? If not, I'm about to be full."

"We're here, we're here—just ten or so more minutes."

This time Duan Chunsheng took Ye Cheng much farther, already past the island where they previously gathered coconut crabs and bird's nest; ten minutes later, Duan Chunsheng shouted,

"Lao Er, we're here—get to work."

Ye Cheng looked around; this was an endless expanse of sea, with wind and waves stronger than near shore, the water much bluer, somewhat approaching the deep‑sea zone, and with not a single ship in sight, which struck him as odd.

"Uncle Duan, just the two of us here? This isn't your secret base, is it?"

Upon hearing "secret base," Duan Chunsheng laughed outright: "I don't have any secret base—everyone knows this place; they're just out today catching big yellow fish, and you'll find out later when you come."

Damn! It's still about the big yellow fish.

Regardless of whether it's a secret base, Ye Cheng had Xiao Hu lower the net, then they began hauling it against the current.

The sea wind hit their faces, waves incessantly slapped the fishing boat; the view was all ocean—this feeling was fantastic.

For this net, Ye Cheng hauled for a full hour; with few people around, it felt like they could keep going longer.

The winch slowly reeled in the line; Ye Cheng and Xiao Hu stood on either side helping to pull, and this haul wasn't bad—about a half‑net came up, roughly over 100 catties, and as soon as it broke the surface they saw plenty of pale fish bellies.

They dumped the net, and with a clatter it spilled across the deck; each grabbed a water tank and began sorting through the catch.

There's much less trash in this area, probably because it's farther from the shore.

A small fish a few centimeters long jumped to Ye Cheng's feet; he picked it up—it was a Plumchild fish, also known as bun-head fish, big-head fish, or plum-head fish, a small carnivorous fish of the nearshore middle-lower layer, with a large and blunt head.