Chapter 306: Three Boats Trawling Together

"Brother, we haven't even reached the fishing grounds, can we get there?" Xiao Hu said after finishing casting the net, walking up front.

"It's fine, we'll catch something today, don't worry."

Ye Cheng was very confident; today his luck value is 90, speaking unpleasantly, throwing a stone could smash a fish.

Wang Defa wasn't far from Ye Cheng; the old man stood at the bow, seeing Ye Cheng look over, he quickly waved.

"Lao Er, Xiao Hu."

Ye Cheng couldn't be bothered with him, turned his head away, finding it disgusting.

This net was a bottom net, one hour twenty minutes; Ye Cheng deliberately dragged it that long to waste Wang Defa's time.

"Almost done, let's haul the net." Ye Cheng checked the time, reduced speed, and began hauling.

Duan Chunsheng and Wang Defa on the sides also started hauling the net.

The high-end winch didn't need manual operation; it slowly hauled the trawl up, about one-third visible, but we didn't know what was inside.

Xiao Hu untied the rope, and the contents of the trawl splashed onto the deck with a clatter.

At first there were only scattered items, then a big fish leapt out; Xiao Hu's keen eyes recognized it immediately.

"Brother, it's a mouse grouper."

After the first mouse grouper, several more large fish surged out of the net, all stone groupers.

Stone groupers being high-end catch naturally belong in the water tank; the two hurriedly fetched a tank for the mouse grouper elder to reside in—this mouse grouper was quite large, two catties.

Besides those, there were three East Star groupers and two Tiger groupers, each about two catties.

Besides the stone groupers, we also hauled up two hairtails, not large, a little over one catty each.

The rest were bamboo snails, which Xiao Hu shoveled back into the sea.

After finishing here, Ye Cheng saw Duan Chunsheng's side was also nearly done, picked up the walkie-talkie and asked,

"Uncle Duan, how's your side?"

Duan Chunsheng waved at Ye Cheng, holding up an East Star grouper to show off.

"Several stone groupers, hahaha."

Seeing Duan Chunsheng also hauled stone groupers, Ye Cheng felt genuinely happy; though after the joy he felt annoyed, he still turned to look at Wang Defa.

"That old brat wasn't slow at all; he'd already finished up. Seeing Ye Cheng look over, he quickly shouted,"

"Lao Er, my haul is still decent, keep going."

"Continue, damn it!"

Talk aside, we still need to continue hauling the net; Ye Cheng had Xiao Hu lower the net and they set off on a random course.

Behind them, Duan Chunsheng and Wang Defa followed closely.

This time Ye Cheng still hauled for one and a half hours; when hauling the net, this haul was heavier than the previous one.

As the rope loosened, everything fell out—mainly small fish and shrimp, plus a few stone groupers; today it feels like we're tangled with stone groupers.

This haul yielded two Seven Star groupers, two mouse groupers, and one Old Tiger grouper—a fairly good catch.

Besides those, four hairtails also came up.

The two quickly tidied up, then Ye Cheng picked up the walkie-talkie and spoke to Duan Chunsheng,

"Uncle Duan, let's have lunch; come over and we'll eat together—we brought good dishes."

"Haha, Lao Er, I'm mooching off your luck and your food—isn't that a bit too much?" Duan Chunsheng said cheerfully.

"What's this and that? Xiao Hu bought too much; we can't finish it."

Duan Chunsheng put down the walkie-talkie; the two moved forward a bit, found a steadier spot to tie up, then Duan Chunsheng jumped over.

"Uncle, how's the second net?"

"Not bad, better than me hauling alone—how about you guys?"

Duan Chunsheng casually opened the water tank to have a look,

"Holy crap! So many stone groupers—you've got double what I have!"

Ye Cheng chuckled, "Maybe you're too rough; the fish all came over to my side."

"Rough? Fine, fine, I'm rough—when I eat later, if I grab meat rudely, don't blame me."

"Uncle Duan, don't worry, I bought plenty." Xiao Hu handed Duan Chunsheng a set of chopsticks and bowl, gesturing for him to sit.

"Beef, pig ears, intestines, cold platter, and even rice!" Duan Chunsheng looked at their meal and almost wanted to curse.

"Wait a moment, I'll have Xiao Hu wash some shrimp, blanch sea shrimp in vinegar—otherwise it'll be too greasy."

Xiao Hu casually scooped a handful of sea shrimp from the basket, rinsed them with clean water; then Ye Cheng boiled a pot, tossed the shrimp in, added a few ginger slices to remove the fishy smell—about five minutes later, a dozen blanched shrimp were on the table.

"Young people, you really eat well—I just brought a box of noodles on the boat, adding an egg at noon would suffice; you're feasting like it's New Year."

Duan Chunsheng was still sighing when Xiao Hu had already eaten several slices of pig ear, saying, "Uncle Duan, we're young and need to grow; we can't compare to your old bones."

"Bullshit! I'm still young; I can eat more meat than you—you lot are just homeless, with no responsibilities." Duan Chunsheng remarked, then hurriedly joined the meat‑grabbing fray.

On the other side, Wang Defa thick‑skulled edged closer, but Ye Cheng hadn't invited him, and he felt embarrassed to approach.

"You're eating well." Wang Defa pulled out a steamed bun, paired with pickles, and gazed longingly at the three enjoying fish and meat.

Ye Cheng completely pretended not to see; Duan Chunsheng felt reluctant, but since he was also mooching food, he didn't dare speak up.

On the other hand, Xiao Hu—though he hated this second uncle for chasing money—still felt a bit reluctant seeing the old man like that, and slipped him some meat.

Wang Defa was moved to tears, saying, "Still, my nephew Xiao Hu has a conscience."

Xiao Hu let out a cold laugh,

"Second uncle, whether we have a conscience or not, you truly lack righteousness."

Wang Defa gave an awkward laugh and kept eating.

The three ate together, chatting more freely; halfway through the meal, Duan Chunsheng lowered his voice, glanced warily at Wang Defa on the other boat, confirmed he wasn't paying attention, then said: "Lao Er, regarding the village chief matter, I've talked to a few old brothers; everyone agrees, and later I'll have them help rally more people."

Lao Er, regarding the matter of you being elected Village Chief, I've already found a few older brothers; everyone agrees, and when the time comes I'll have them help get things going, so there will be more people.

Upon hearing, Ye Cheng raised his eyebrows: "Sure, Uncle Duan, you're reliable."

"'Uncle Duan is awesome, much stronger than my second uncle.' Xiao Hu also gave a thumbs up."

"'Actually, this isn't my merit; to be honest, everyone thinks you're capable, and as village chief you'll surely lead everyone to prosperity, far better than Chen Jinhai.' Duan Chunsheng spoke sincerely."

"Being praised so highly, Ye Cheng felt a bit embarrassed, but he indeed wanted to make money as village chief."

"Of course, making money is never isolated; one person making money isn't long-lasting."

"Just as Teacher Ma said later, I hope everyone makes money, so I can make money better."