Chapter 487: Another huge haul

Ye Cheng laughed loudly, "This is only 1.5 meters, not even as tall as me; once I get one taller than me, I'll definitely take a photo and hang it up."

Everyone burst into laughter, "You're just bragging; catching a Giant Grouper this big in a lifetime would be lucky enough, and you still want two."

As more and more people gathered, a few bosses who had made a haul saw the crowd buzzing and knew there must be goods, so they hurriedly squeezed in.

Upon seeing the huge Giant Grouper lying on the ground, the bosses' eyes almost popped out, unable to pull them away.

"Lao Er, how much for this? Name your price, I'll buy it."

"No way, why should you get it, Lao Er? I want it too."

"I want it too, cash, direct cash transaction."

It's not that such a large Giant Grouper is especially delicious; actually, the meat quality of Giant Grouper is best when it weighs twenty to thirty catties.

Having grown this large, the meat quality is already slightly showing its age.

But can't deny this is a treasure, and rarity makes value; who wouldn't want a piece of such a huge Giant Grouper?

Premium ingredients have never lacked customers.

"Make way, make way."

An anxious voice came from outside the crowd, and as the crowd was parted, Lao He squeezed in from outside.

Upon hearing Xiao Hu say there was a 1.5-meter Giant Grouper, Lao He directly threw away his lunchbox.

Damn.

Giant Groupers of this grade are sought after by many restaurants.

If I go late, I might get snatched by someone else.

As soon as he squeezed in, Lao He staggered over to Ye Cheng, grabbed him, and, panting heavily, said,

"Lao Er, you did promise to buy my catch today."

Ye Cheng laughed and nodded, "You complained about borrowing money this morning, but now it's worth it, right?"

"Worth it! Absolutely worth it!"

Upon hearing their conversation, the bosses' faces fell with disappointment.

Damn it, Lao He had already agreed to buy it all; his luck is too good.

"Should be about 120 to 130 catties, give me a price."

Lao He squatted down to examine it closely; the fish meat was still fresh, well preserved with ice.

Duan Chunsheng said proudly,

"Don't worry, we hauled it up and rushed back; as long as you put it in the freezer now, there's absolutely no problem."

Lao He stood up, his eyes shining,

"No problem, I'll offer 180 per catty; I wouldn't dare go higher."

The price for small Giant Groupers won't exceed 300 per catty; large ones are definitely cheaper, and 180 per catty Ye Cheng finds acceptable.

After all, Lao He still needs to make a profit in the middle; if sold directly to Wang Ke's shop, the price would surely be higher.

But a promise is a promise; Ye Cheng had no extra words, just nodded.

"Then let's settle the money; as agreed, if another comes up I'll sell it myself."

Lao He gave a hehe laugh, looking at Ye Cheng, and said,

"You're dreaming; wanting two—why don't you just go to heaven?"

128 catties, this Giant Grouper sold for a total of 40 dollars; Ye Cheng pocketed the money.

After paying, Lao He had someone come and clumsily haul the goods back.

Meanwhile, Xiao Hu went and brought back two carts of ice, completely filling half the hold, feeling like it could freeze a person to death.

It was getting late; the three dared not delay, continuing to steer the boat back to collect more goods.

"Brother, a big ship is still better; no need to run back and forth like this."

On the way, Xiao Hu began to miss the big ship; it carries more, and can stock more ice.

"Soon, once the big ship is ready, we'll head out to sea, leaving this near‑shore area for everyone to play in."

As a fisherman, who wouldn't want to venture onto the vast ocean to fish?

That deep‑blue allure, with endless schools of fish below—this isn't just the sea, it's a treasure trove.

Daydreaming about their future lives, the three quickly returned to the second flowing‑spike net.

Looking at the empty sea surface, Ye Cheng felt a bit uncertain.

"Uncle Duan, this should be the place, right? How come the net is gone?"

Duan Chunsheng looked around the surroundings and said confidently,

"This is definitely the spot; most likely it was washed away by waves, but even the first net wasn't swept away, and this place isn't far off—by rights it shouldn't have happened."

In the same sea area, the distance isn't that great; it shouldn't differ this much.

The only remaining explanation is that something took it away.

"Xiao Hu, drive the boat around to have a look."

Xiao Hu raised the boat's speed again and then began searching the surroundings.

100 meters, 300 meters.

After sailing nearly 500 meters, a bright spot suddenly appeared on the sea surface.

"Brother, look at that!"

Xiao Hu shouted loudly.

Ye Cheng and Duan Chunsheng followed the direction of Xiao Hu's finger and looked over—sure enough, it was the float they had released.

"It's been pulled this far—could it be another huge Giant Grouper?"

"Who knows, maybe Xiao Hu's mouth has become prophetic."

The boat gradually approached.

Those floats had already been pulled into disarray; they simply weren't a straight line. Duan Chunsheng casually hooked a float up and then hung it on the winch.

As soon as the machine started, the net below began to move.

A huge force came from beneath the net, pulling the rope straight.

This force was greater than that of the giant grouper just now.

Now it's confirmed without doubt—absolutely a huge catch.

At this point, the three of them no longer cared about the winch; each grabbed a side and began pulling upward.

The net had been balled up, tangled with many other sea fish like sea bream and cod, but now the three had no time to think about those.

They only wanted to haul the net up quickly.

The force coming from the net was great; the three could barely pull, resulting in a stalemate.

Duan Chunsheng, experienced and seasoned, quickly said,

"Lao Er, Xiao Hu, follow my chant: when I shout 'one, two,' don't move, hold steady, and when I shout 'three,' exert force."

"Okay."

"Got it."

"1,2—3!"

"1,2—3!"

"1,2—3!"

As Duan Chunsheng's chant went on, the thing beneath the sea bottom was pulled up bit by bit.

First to come into view was a long sword!

A flat sword!

"It's a swordfish!" Duan Chunsheng blurted out.

The swordfish, also known as the sword flag fish, is most famous for the sharp, long sword-like projection on its head.

The sailfish is similar, also having a long protrusion from its snout, but the sailfish's is cylindrical and shorter, while the swordfish's is flat and more like a sword.

The swordfish is the speed king of the sea, capable of reaching a hundred kilometers per hour in short bursts, so its explosive power is extremely strong; that's why the three couldn't pull it up just now.

No wonder, even with so many weights added to this flowing-spike net, it was still dragged that far.

Swordfish are generally large, usually 2-3 meters long, and of course a large part of that length is the sword itself.

This swordfish's sword looks over a meter long, and its body is certainly not small either.