Chapter 292

Little White left, Ye Cheng and Xiao Hu went to the back and started hauling the net; this time they needed to catch thirty percent less than the previous haul, about a hundred jin less, but it was still a bountiful catch.

But now there's a problem: the boat's hold is almost full; after loading half of it, the fish hold can't take any more, so the rest can only be placed in the water tank, and the remainder can only be watched helplessly as they die on the deck.

However, these horse pomfret aren't too bad; the price difference between dead and live isn't that big, so it's not too painful.

After piling the dead fish in a spot on the deck, Ye Cheng started heading back; timing was about right, and returning to sell the fish then grabbing a meal would work out just fine.

Ye Cheng steered the boat at the front, while Xiao Hu tidied up in the back.

As they worked, Xiao Hu suddenly picked up a horse pomfret and examined it closely; after a careful look, he turned to Ye Cheng,

"Brother, do you think this is a blue-spotted horse pomfret?"

"Huh? Blue-spotted?" Ye Cheng turned around and took the fish.

Horse pomfret mainly comes in three types: blue-spotted horse pomfret, spotted horse pomfret, and Korean horse pomfret.

It's mainly judged by the head and body.

For blue-spotted horse pomfret, body height is less than head length; for spotted horse pomfret, body height roughly equals head length; for Korean horse pomfret, body length is clearly greater than head length.

In other words, one is a bit flattened, the other a bit elongated.

Moreover, the blue-spotted horse pomfret's spots are more distinct: the fish has two rows of spots in a straight line, plus elongated spots. The spotted horse pomfret's spots are less regular and lack elongated spots.

The horse pomfret in Ye Cheng's hand is about forty centimeters long, slender; looking at its head and the spots on its body, it is undoubtedly a blue-spotted horse pomfret.

Actually, the three kinds of horse pomfret taste quite similar, but their prices vary by region.

In Donghai Shi, blue-spotted horse pomfret is a bit pricier, though not by much; overall they're still economical fish, not as expensive as big yellow fish.

The two of them hauled a boat full of fish, rushing as best they could, and managed to return to the dock before four o'clock.

Before even docking, they saw He Lao Ban already standing on the dock, looking expectantly, and he was alone; this old rascal surely hadn't told anyone else, sly as ever.

As soon as the boat docked, He Lao Ban leapt aboard without a word, only to be shocked by the sight before him; he pointed at the dead fish covering the deck and said,

"Holy shit, Lao Er, what are you doing? Letting all these fish die like this? That's too wasteful."

"These are pomfret, Lao Er; you're being a bit extravagant now."

He Lao Ban shook his head repeatedly, feeling heartbroken; live ones would sell much better.

Ye Cheng said nothing, just yanked open the fish hold and said calmly,

"The live ones are in here; there's simply no room left, so they have to stay outside."

He Lao Ban's face went blank, he walked over and took a look, then couldn't help blurting out a curse,

"I! Fuck!"

Ye Cheng's face darkened: "Why are you cursing now?"

"Lao Er, who could stand your cursing? Who goes out to sea every day and has their hold overflow?"

Ye Cheng rubbed his chin; that's true— who could be as awesome as big brother?

"Alright, no more chatter— take a look, this is blue-spotted horse pomfret, and there's no one else around; give me a price and we'll clear the hold." Ye Cheng was in a hurry to leave, just wanting to sell quickly.

"Blue-spotted horse pomfret?" He Lao Ban exclaimed in surprise, bending over to pull one out of the fish hold for a look.

Both are seasoned seafood traders; a couple of glances and it's clear.

"It really is blue-spotted horse pomfret— live ones at 35, dead at 30; I won't quote a fake price, these are the real rates."

That price is acceptable; last time horse pomfret sold for 30 yuan, and although blue-spotted horse pomfret is a bit pricier, it's not much more.

"All right, then let's unload."

Moving so many horse pomfret out of the fish hold took a while; after weighing, the live horse pomfret came to 640 jin, the dead to 110 jin, together totaling yuan.

Ye Cheng gave some to Xiao Hu, took some yuan for himself, and calculated that his savings were fast approaching 150,000.

With that settled, Ye Cheng had Xiao Hu stay behind to tidy the boat, while he himself rode his motorcycle home to shower and change.

He had originally wanted to dress a bit nicer, since it was a class reunion, but upon opening his wardrobe,

Well, there was a suit— his older brother's wedding suit, which his brother could no longer wear and gave to him.

But this suit, uh, how to put it?

Wearing it out would make him look like a migrant worker coming to the city, and besides, it's hot— he couldn't bear to wear it.

Forget it, better keep it simple: shorts and a T‑shirt, comfortable and relaxed.

No need for leather shoes with the shorts— just slip on some sandals and go; the vibe is carefree and easygoing, and as for how others see him, let them see however they like.

Anyway, he was just a background figure in class.

Riding his motorcycle, Ye Cheng followed the directions Wu Bin gave him; back then there was no navigation, so if there had been, he could have just driven straight there.

With only a street name given, Ye Cheng drove around the city in a big loop before finding it; though the more he went, the more familiar it seemed, and when he pulled up to the private restaurant's entrance and looked,

Ye Cheng instantly realized— this was the private restaurant run by Wang Ke; Zhao Zhiming had brought him here once before, and he'd been a few times himself.

The route was familiar, but he truly didn't know the street name.

His cargo motorcycle, he parked it in a random corner of the lot; nowadays domestic car brands are still few, mostly American and neighboring cherry‑blossom (Japanese) makes.

Wu Bin had reserved private room six this time; the waiter led Ye Cheng there, passing many guests along the way, showing that Wang Ke's management is indeed good.

Only, he didn't see Wang Ke, and Ye Cheng wondered whether he should go say hello later, since they were acquaintances after all.

There was also Old Zhao, Young Master Cui, oh, and Xiao Rou and Old Wang— that old thing— he hadn't seen them in ages either.

Upon reaching the door of private room six, he heard lively chatter inside; Ye Cheng pushed the door open to find a large round table with over a dozen people, basically already full.

Seeing Ye Cheng enter, Wu Bin immediately stopped talking, stood up, pointed at Ye Cheng and said,

"Come on, everyone look— who's arrived? Ye Cheng! Everybody welcome him!"

Several old classmates, seated, greeted him one by one, and Ye Cheng raised his hand, smiling, and returned each greeting.

Some of them have changed quite a bit, already putting on weight, to the point Ye Cheng could barely recognize them.

Hu Xiao Li was the one he'd just seen at the hospital last time, plus Wu Bin; the others Ye Cheng couldn't recall the names of right away.

There weren't many seats left at the table— one next to Wu Bin, and the other was the spot for serving dishes.

Ye Cheng had no intention of standing out; he went straight to the seat of honor and walked over.

Wu Bin stood in the seat of honor looking at Ye Cheng, then his eyes darted, he gave a sly grin, and then said loudly,

"Ye Cheng, look at you—coming to a class reunion and not dressing nicely; could it be that you look down on us?"