Chapter 464: Zhu the Elder Runs Aground

Speed up, speed up, once we finish we'll head back, sell the catch, buy some meat and liquor, and then we can have a proper drink.

Zhu Liwen was also pleased; he hurried to finish the third batch, seeing dawn approach, he wanted to wrap things up early, so he increased power and headed toward the fourth set.

Thinking there were still groupers ahead, his excitement couldn't be contained, and he couldn't help pushing the boat to top speed.

Groupers, here I come.

Just then, suddenly.

Bang!

A thud came from the hull.

Immediately after, the boat shook violently; nobody was prepared, and they all fell to the deck. Lao San was worst off—he had been smoking at the rail and was flung straight into the sea.

The few baskets of catch they had just organized also flew out, some scattering on the deck, the rest falling back into the sea.

After the brief violent jolt, the boat finally came to a stop.

Zhu Liwen cried out in pain; a large bump rose on his forehead, and shards of broken glass cut his arm.

What happened?

"Big brother, Lao San fell overboard."

Behind him, two brothers shouted urgently.

He struggled to his feet, looked down, and saw Lao San thrown about ten meters from the fishing boat; just as he surfaced, a wave swept him back under.

Fortunately the sea surface wasn't windy today, and Lao San soon popped up from underwater.

"Big brother, save me!" Lao San strove to swim toward the fishing boat.

"Throw the life ring, quick, throw the life ring!"

Zhu Liwen shouted loudly, staggered to the rail, grabbed a life ring, and tossed it to Lao San.

Luckily the boat wasn't far; Lao San quickly grabbed the life ring and climbed in.

"You two pull him up, I'll check the boat."

Zhu Liwen calmed down, then finally had a moment to see what had happened.

The deck was littered with the recent catch; he watched helplessly as two groupers leapt back into the sea.

That's money down the drain.

He didn't have time to inspect the hull; he bent down and began gathering the catch, pulling everything still on deck back aboard.

Meanwhile, Lao San was hauled up, lying limp on the deck, his face pale with fright.

"Big brother, what exactly happened? Did the engine fail, or did we hit something?"

Lao Er and Lao Si were bewildered and completely panicked.

"Stop yelling, settle down." Zhu Liwen snapped, steadied the two, then started toward the bow.

He could feel from just steering that the bow had struck something.

He lay on the bow, looked out, and couldn't help sucking in a breath of cold air.

A large hole.

At the bow a large hole had appeared, bigger than a fist.

Below the waterline, seawater was now pouring into the cabin.

Beneath the surface a dark shape loomed—likely we'd run aground.

Earlier we were just focused on hauling in the catch, never noticing the reef; he wasn't familiar with these waters and still went full throttle.

If we'd gone slower, we might have just dented the hull slightly.

Now it's no good; this hole must be patched, or the whole boat will be lost.

He stood up and said urgently,

"The boat's leaking—quickly find blankets or something to plug it."

Hearing the boat was leaking, the brothers fumbled, grabbed their own blankets and towels, then jumped into the cabin.

"Big brother, it's all water."

"Plug it first!" Zhu Liwen shouted, then, still uneasy, he jumped in himself.

The cabin already had a lot of water; the hole kept gushing in, and at this rate the boat would sink in under ten minutes.

Zhu Liwen grabbed a blanket, wadded it up, and shoved it hard into the breach, finally stemming the inflow; now water could only seep slowly through the gaps.

Zhu Liwen was drenched in sweat, and the seawater in the cabin had already risen past his calves.

"Big brother, what do we do? Will our boat sink?"

"Exactly, big brother—this boat is our family's sole source of income; without it, how will we go out to sea?"

"Big brother, what should we do?"

The three brothers were utterly rattled; they weren't afraid of a fight.

But now they faced the sea itself—what could they do, battle the water?

They always listened to their eldest brother, and now they all looked to Zhu Liwen.

Zhu Liwen's fierce expression lost its edge; all he thought about was saving the boat, saving the boat.

"You down there, watch and bail out whatever water you can; then I'll toss everything overboard to lighten the load, see if we can get that hole above water."

"Big brother, do we really have to throw the fish away?"

"Exactly, it's all money."

Zhu Liwen's facial muscles twitched a few times, his eyes flashing a hint of ruthlessness,

"Money or life? If we lose the fish we can catch more; lose the boat and we're done."

Having said that, he clambered out of the cabin and tossed the fish and baskets into the sea—over a hundred pounds—causing the hull to merely wobble slightly, with little effect.

"Lao San, you go up top; Lao Er and Lao Si, stay below and bail out the water; I'll move us forward a bit, head for shallower water."

He remembered that there was a small island ahead to the right; as long as he could hold on until reaching the island, that Boat definitely wouldn't sink; then he could slowly repair and tidy the Boat, there would always be a way.

If it sank here, it would be over; salvaging it would cost a fortune, purely not worth the loss.

The three younger brothers had already started working; as long as they could buy time, letting him steer to the island, this loss wouldn't be considered big.

He carefully started the Boat; after a few Booms—, the Boat started up again; this time he didn't dare go that fast, just slowly moving forward.

Underwater, dark shadows occasionally passed by—those were reefs; why are there so many reefs here?

Fortunately, it was already daylight, and with his careful steering, he managed to carve a path through the reefs.

"Big Brother, how much longer? The water in the hold is starting to leak."

"We can't bail out much with these buckets."

Lao San was really exhausted, could barely continue; this work is too tiring.

Down below, Lao Er and Lao Si could barely move either; they couldn't even lift their hands.

Zhu Liwen looked at them and encouraged,

"If we hold on for another ten minutes, I can definitely steer us out."

"Another ten minutes." The three let out a miserable cry.

But at least they now had a definite time; the three glanced at it, then vigorously shook their arms and continued working.

The Boat slowly moved forward; at this speed he was sure he could reach the island, and he felt much more at ease.

The only thing he regretted was that, right beside the Boat, the Longline fishing line was within reach, but there was no time to reel it in—what a pity.