Chapter 310: A Bountiful Harvest of Hairtail

"Uncle Duan, keep it up!" Ye Cheng shouted from afar.

"Hahaha, don't worry, Uncle Duan's blade is still sharp, he'll be fine soon."

Duan Chunsheng was very happy; this net brought in several hundred catties of hairtail, worth several thousand dollars when sold back, a huge profit.

Ye Cheng stood at the bow with a cigarette in his mouth, watching; Duan Chunsheng, busy, was full of smiles; the distant sun shed a glow that fell on the sea surface, looking very beautiful.

Under the beautiful scenery, the people working happily—maybe this is the most beautiful picture.

After Duan Chunsheng finished, Ye Cheng spoke into the walkie-talkie,

"Uncle Duan, you're awesome, you really hauled in a net."

"Don't give me that; if it weren't for coming with you, I wouldn't have such good luck. How about another net?"

"Again?"

"Come on, why not? Let's chase this school of hairtail and pull another net—whatever we catch, we keep."

Hearing Duan Chunsheng's energetic voice, Ye Cheng also became interested,

"Alright, another net."

After saying that, he turned to Xiao Hu and said, "Xiao Hu, let's pull another net; we'll probably be late getting back."

"If we're late, we're late; there's nothing to do at home anyway."

Anyway, when he goes home he either sleeps or hangs out at Ye Cheng's place to look for Ye Cheng's hidden folder or play games; a bachelor's life is just that happy.

The two turned the boat's bow and began searching ahead for that hairtail school just seen.

After a full 20 minutes, they spotted them off Ye Cheng's front left—a flock of seabirds had given away their position.

So, that's how nature works: the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind; it's hard to say who ends up as the ultimate predator.

After adjusting their position, they pulled a net using the diagonal trawl method, which requires fairly precise timing; if not following Duan Chunsheng's boat speed, Ye Cheng felt he would surely have pulled the net too fast.

So, some things really aren't just a matter of luck.

This haul brought in about the same amount as the previous net; this time the two had learned their lesson and didn't rush to cast the net.

Instead, they fetched a plank, set up a suggested slide, then when the net was released it went straight into the water tank, filling one-third; the rest could still be processed later.

After all this back-and-forth, although they saved a lot of time, by the time they finished processing it was already evening.

Duan Chunsheng's side was also done; the two then piloted the boat together, heading back laden with their catch.

On the way, getting hungry, Ye Cheng first boiled a packet of instant noodles to stave off hunger, otherwise he'd faint on the return.

When they reached the dock, it was already brightly lit; perhaps there hadn't been good weather in a while, so everyone returned unusually late, and thus the few buyers couldn't make it in time.

He Lao Ban didn't know where he'd gone today, but Lin Lao Ban saw Ye Cheng's boat dock and hurried over.

"Lao Er, got any good stuff today?"

"Yeah, today we have a lot—can you eat it all?" Ye Cheng teased.

"What are you saying? How much do you have—could I not eat it? You're looking down on me!" Lin Lao Ban laughed and scolded.

"Alright, if you say you can eat it, let's check it out together."

Ye Cheng had Xiao Hu open the water tank and hauled up a hairtail,

"Fresh hairtail, estimated at several hundred catties—want some?"

Lin Lao Ban's face twitched; several hundred catties of hairtail—he could eat it, but you Ye Cheng are really ruthless, hauling up so much—how did you manage?

Frankly speaking, if he ate this batch of hairtail, his cash on hand would be tight, but it's not a big problem.

"Alright, no problem, I'll take this batch." Lin Lao Ban gritted his teeth.

Seeing Lin Lao Ban grit his teeth, Ye Cheng chuckled, "Don't rush, there's more."

"More?" Lin Lao Ban yelled in fright, looked left and right—just a few water tanks—shouldn't be a problem.

"My Uncle Duan's side also has this much hairtail; together it's just under a thousand catties." Ye Cheng said calmly.

"How much? A thousand catties, holy shit." Lin Lao Ban swore, "You guys are beasts, that's a lot."

"Just good luck."

"You guys have good luck—how come Wang Defa came back in such a sorry state, saying he almost drowned?" Lin Lao Ban remarked offhand.

"He's after money, not caring for his life—he dragged the net to the bottom and insisted on going down; not dying means he's lucky."

"Heh, he's lucky; today his haul wasn't bad either—several groupers, sold for several hundred bucks, he made a killing."

Hearing Lin Lao Ban say that, Ye Cheng finally realized this guy had actually caught some groupers.

This left Ye Cheng utterly speechless; they'd already hauled in a big catch, yet he insisted on keeping that net—even a miser couldn't compare.

"Alright, no more distractions—1000 catties of hairtail, plus some groupers; can you take it all, or should you bring in a partner?"

Lin Lao Ban rolled his eyes, glanced at Ye Cheng's water tank, "Let me see what's in your tank—surely you've got some choice goods set aside?"

This guy, seems to have become a spirit—he actually knows Ye Cheng likes to set aside the good stuff separately.

Upon opening the water tank, Lin Lao Ban's eyes lit up instantly,

"Holy cow, so many groupers, plus mouse grouper—Lao Er, I'll take this batch first."

"Alright, my Uncle Duan's side still has some; you can take those together."

"That's a must—wait, I'll calculate the money for you."

Groupers being such good merchandise, he wouldn't mind a few hundred more catties; high-end goods never lack buyers, as always.

Ye Cheng's side had slightly more groupers, selling for a total of 7200 dollars, while Duan Chunsheng's side sold for 3100 dollars.

Duan Chunsheng held the money, his mouth unable to close from joy.

"Uncle Duan, look at your lackluster self—any hairtail left unsold?" Ye Cheng teased him.

"A few thousand dollars at once—I can't help but laugh, hahaha, I'm gonna laugh."

Ye Cheng shook his head speechlessly—no wonder Fan Jin went mad after passing the exam; Uncle Duan is pretty much the same.

After Lin Lao Ban took the groupers away, he also brought Zhou Lao Ban over, and together they bought all the hairtail from both boats in one lump.

Because the quantity was larger, Ye Cheng didn't hold firm on the price, selling at 35 per jin.

Ye Cheng's side was 720 jin, which comes out to.

Duan Chunsheng's side was 460 jin, which comes out to.

Duan Chunsheng looked at the thick wad of money in his hand, tears involuntarily streaming down; one trip out to sea had already brought in nearly 20,000, something he never imagined even if beaten to death.

Ye Cheng and Xiao Hu both stared speechlessly at Duan Chunsheng, too lazy to persuade him, each lighting a cigarette at the side and watching.

Seeing that, Duan Chunsheng felt embarrassed.

"What are you looking at? Haven't you ever seen a man cry?"

"Never." The two said in unison, then burst out laughing together.

"You two little brats, you're really asking for a beating."

After this bout of laughter, Duan Chunsheng stopped crying, pulled the two home, saying he would definitely treat them to a meal tonight even if he had to die.

Ye Cheng also couldn't refuse; after going home and taking a shower, he followed Duan Chunsheng to his house.