Chapter 394: First Net Cast Out to Sea

"Cast the net, Xiao Hu." Ye Cheng gave an order, then pulled Zhang Guafu back to dodge.

This haul isn't just a few hundred catties; it's measured in tons.

Don't end up getting crushed by the crabs while fishing and have nothing to show for it.

Xiao Hu carefully went up, grabbed the line, then gave it a hard yank.

Splash—

In an instant, the bottom of the net opened, dumping the entire catch onto the deck, piling up into a small hill in the middle.

This hill was mostly swimming crabs, with some bottom-dwelling sea fish and a few unfortunate blue crabs mixed in.

Crabs covered the deck, waving their legs and claws everywhere; most were flipped over, able only to flail uselessly.

Some were still upright, but after such a fall they were dazed and unable to move on the deck for a moment.

"Damn! This net must be over a ton—I can't even tell how much there is." Duan Chunsheng stood aside, usually handling small nets; suddenly switching to such a large one made estimation impossible.

"Stop looking, everyone, hurry up and get to work—the task is huge." Ye Cheng eyed the hill of crabs and suddenly felt shorthanded.

If I'd known, I should have brought ten or eight more hands; just thinking about tying up all these crabs makes my head ache.

The four of us are seasoned fishermen; each grabbed a basket, sat down, and began sorting.

First step is to pick out the trash, which is usually just tossed back into the sea.

But Ye Cheng had prepared a separate trash bin; as a modern person, he still cares about the marine environment.

Moreover, modern trash sorting taught him a lot about waste—those plastic bags and glass bottles may not seem harmful, but they take centuries to decompose; imagine if the future seabed were full of this junk, we wouldn't even be able to catch a single fish.

We might as well rename it the Garbage-catching Ship.

Sea fish were just tossed into the frame, dead or alive didn't matter.

Originally the swimming crabs needed sorting by size, but Ye Cheng looked at this mountain of crabs and thought four of us working like this would probably not finish even by nightfall.

So we can only tie them up and arrange them; that alone is already a huge workload.

The net was hauled at 11:30; four people worked an hour and had only finished about half.

Though the work was enjoyable, everyone ended up with sore backs and waists.

Ye Cheng checked the time—it was already 12:30; tonight we can't just do this one net.

"Duan Shu, you guys keep tying; I'll take Xiao Hu and lower the net again to continue trawling."

"Sure, anyway trawling takes two hours; I'll work with your Aunt Zhang first."

The four moved the swimming crabs on the deck to the corners, clearing space to drop the net.

Ye Cheng and Xiao Hu tidied the net, then tossed it over the stern into the sea, quickly getting it down.

Then Ye Cheng returned to the helm to throttle and haul the net, while Xiao Hu helped tie the crabs.

By 1:30 AM, the three finally finished processing the first net's swimming crabs—sixty baskets total; at 200 catties per basket, that's about 1.2 tons.

Duan Chunsheng stood up and stretched,

"Old Er, this haul equals what we'd normally catch in two days."

Ye Cheng turned back, smiling,

"Uncle, there's still more later—don't rush."

Hearing there was still more, the three all shivered; damn, repetitive work wears you out after a while.

With an hour left before hauling, the three first moved the sixty baskets of swimming crabs into the hold, then began to rest.

"Auntie, let's steam a few swimming crabs, one each." Xiao Hu suggested.

"Sure, just see if Boss Ye agrees." Zhang Guafu glanced at Ye Cheng.

"What's there to disagree? If you can eat it this late at night, go ahead and eat a whole basket."

With Ye Cheng's say-so, Zhang Guafu picked six large swimming crabs, washed them, and put them straight in the pot to steam.

High-end ingredients often need only simple cooking.

That saying is truly excellent.

Just a simple steam, then a dash of fresh soy sauce—one bite and it's practically mouth‑watering.

Three meat buns, Zhang Guafu warmed them and handed them to the three men; she herself had a bowl of noodles.

"Old Er, you say this life—ah, we're actually willing to eat seafood ourselves now, hahaha." Duan Chunsheng ate with a grin.

"Think back—before, I could barely scrape together a little, hated to eat it, had to sell it for money; now there's so much, eating a basket doesn't affect sales—life has improved." Duan Chunsheng suddenly felt a bit sentimental.

"Uncle Duan, why are you getting sentimental all of a sudden—are you getting old?" Xiao Hu teased.

"Go, you little brat, you don't understand—this is a good life, cherish it." Duan Chunsheng lowered his voice to scold,

"Think back then, you and Ye Cheng were still stealing chickens and dogs; now you're commanding big ships, and my son Duan Yong is raising little lobsters—seafood's so plentiful we can't finish it, just… you know what I mean."

As he spoke, Duan Chunsheng actually shed a few tears.

The older generation has endured hardship, so when life improves a bit, they're especially moved.

But Ye Cheng feels that if good days come, just enjoy them—no need to dwell on the past.

"Xiao Hu, quickly grab my phone, film him, then post it on the village bulletin board when we get back—let everyone see this tough guy also cries." Ye Cheng joked.

"Get lost, who cried? It's just the sea breeze blowing on me—how can a man shed tears?" Duan Chunsheng hastily wiped his eyes, insisting men don't cry.

But after he finished his sentiment, Zhang Guafu chimed in,

"Yeah, him—Duan Ge, think about how hard my life was before, eating was a struggle, I had to beg everywhere; now I have a little money, the kid's gotten chubby, and I think, when my son Xiao Liang grows up tall and strong, then brings a bride home—ah, this life is wonderful!"

"Enough, enough, you two stop!" Ye Cheng shouted, not wanting to turn this into a moving melodrama about the East Sea.

"Well, the net's almost ready; get set—we'll be working again soon."

When talk turned to hauling the net, Duan Chunsheng and Zhang Guafu finally stopped their sighing, hastily cleared their eating utensils, and emptied the deck in preparation.

Ye Cheng firmly pressed the net‑hauler button, feeling like a pilot pressing a launch trigger.

The net rose bit by bit out of the water; everyone stared hard, wanting to see if this haul would burst the net.

「Got it, got it! 」 Xiao Hu was the first to shout excitedly.

The net had already surfaced, full of crabs, and everyone's mood instantly brightened.