Chapter 488: Meter-Long Swordfish

After the swordfish left the water, its strength quickly drained, and it no longer had the strength to resist them; it was slowly hoisted up by the winch.

This is a swordfish just over 3 meters long; judging by the strain on the winch, it weighs about 400 catties, no wonder the three men's arms are sore.

The deck was a mess, with tangled fishing lines and other sea creatures bound and immobile, all needing to be cleared.

Duan Chunsheng only took a brief rest, then quickly stood up, fetched a sharp knife, and went to bleed the swordfish.

This procedure was already very familiar, since they had just done it once before.

Although the swordfish couldn't compare to the high-end giant grouper, it was certainly still high-grade goods.

Mainly, its meat varies greatly by part; for example, the belly, used for sashimi, sells for two or three hundred per catty.

While the meat from the back and tail is used for frying, priced around eighty per catty, a difference of several times.

This sailfish was hung mid‑air, not lowered, perfect for bleeding; Duan Chunsheng stabbed it with a knife, the swordfish struggled for a moment then went still, and its blood slowly flowed out under gravity.

Taking advantage of this time, Duan Chunsheng also cleaned out the swordfish's entrails.

Ye Cheng and Xiao Hu began sorting the other fish on the drifting spike net: there were two blue‑clothed fish, considered top grade, more were cod, and there were some squid.

The two had cleared out the fish, and Duan Chunsheng's side had almost finished bleeding.

Before putting it into the fish hold, there was still one thing to do: saw off its sword.

Before heading out, they hadn't expected to need this; who would bring a saw on the boat? In the end, they let Xiao Hu slowly chop it with a kitchen knife.

The swordfish's bill is as hard as wood; with only a kitchen knife, Xiao Hu found it quite laborious to chop.

They had only retrieved two drift spike nets, but there was still much more to collect, and Ye Cheng couldn't wait that long.

He turned the boat around and headed straight for the longline fishing area.

The sea breeze carried the bloody smell of fish, unpleasant but it was the smell of money.

After several minutes' drive to the longline spot, Xiao Hu lifted the swordfish's bill, then tossed the swordfish into the fish hold; ice instantly enveloped it, making it absolutely fresh.

The two longline sets brought Ye Cheng no surprise; perhaps they'd hit a school, half of which were mackerel.

Mackerel, also known as blueflower fish or Japanese Spanish mackerel, is an economic fish. Its back is bluish‑green or dark blue, a typical small‑medium fish, usually about half a catty.

Its nutritional value is decent, and the price is affordable, making it a common dish on everyone's table; generally you can get good mackerel for ten yuan per catty.

Besides the mackerel, they also caught over ten horse pomfret, which was the biggest haul of this longline outing.

By the time it was the turn of the fifty fish traps, it was already past 3 p. m.; seeing the sun slightly westward, Ye Cheng frowned slightly, realizing there wouldn't be time today to set the traps or the longlines.

But today's catch is more than enough, so we might as well not set them.

Pulling up the fish traps went quickly; each was hauled up and dumped on the deck, where they picked out the crabs and shrimp, selected the larger fish, and released the rest directly.

If you run into me in a good mood, consider yourselves lucky.

It might be the season for blue crabs; this time the fifty fish traps yielded over a hundred blue crabs, the half‑beam fish weighed several dozen catties, and there were also stone nine elders and shrimp, piling the deck full.

The fish hold was full, the deck was full, and Ye Cheng, looking at this abundant haul, felt all his fatigue vanish.

Fishermen are happiest at this moment, just like farmers harvesting crops—seeing the yield makes them happy.

All the way, the three laughed and chatted, heading toward the dock as the sunset greeted them.

The sun had set; when the three reached the dock it was already past 6 p. m., the sky was dusk, half the people on the dock had left, most of the fishermen who had gone out that day had returned, and the fishing boats were neatly docked in rows, full of vigor.

"Ye Cheng is back!"

"Hey, look, that's Ye Cheng coming back."

From far away, the people on the dock recognized Ye Cheng's boat.

There's no helping it; the giant grouper this morning was too stunning.

Especially the second giant grouper that Ye Cheng joked about—everyone wanted to see if it was real.

After all, Ye Cheng had brought them too many shocks.

As soon as the boat docked, a few idlers started shouting in unison,

"Lao Er, a giant grouper taller than you."

"No!" Ye Cheng laughed and replied loudly.

There really was no giant grouper; he wasn't lying.

Upon hearing Ye Cheng say that, everyone immediately clicked their tongues, feeling greatly disappointed yet also somewhat relieved.

But soon they exclaimed, because Duan Chunsheng and Xiao Hu had dragged out the swordfish.

"Holy shit!"

"Such a huge swordfish!"

"Ma De, Lao Er, you little brat, playing tricks and still saying there wasn't one."

Ye Cheng shrugged and said, "There really is no giant grouper; this is a swordfish."

This little trick had already lost everyone's interest; they were all staring at how long the swordfish was.

A few simply lay down, measured it with their arms, and kept clicking their tongues nonstop.

Besides the swordfish, the three began moving baskets of catch onto the dock—blue crabs, blue‑clothed fish, cod, mackerel, stone nine elders, white shrimp—so much that everyone's eyes glazed over.

Is this fishing?

Or are they opening a seafood market?

The bosses inquiring about price had already rushed over, each aggressive; no matter what, they had to take something, and Lao He was brought over by his assistant to stand together before Ye Cheng's boat.

"Well, Lao He, you already caught a giant grouper this morning; these should rightly be our turn, shouldn't they?"

Regarding Lao He's arrival, the several bosses were displeased.

Lao He pursed his lips and said, "How so? Collecting items goes to the highest bidder; if you offer more, I'll let you have them."

"But you can't keep all the money for yourself; we're all here on the dock—you eat the meat, so the broth should be our turn to drink."

"Exactly, exactly."

Lao He glared, hands on hips, about to retort.

A faint voice entered his ears,

Lao He, this time let it go to a few bosses.

Lao He looked over and saw that Ye Cheng was speaking.

He could only give up.

But he was also unwilling to leave, standing there with his lips pursed.

Seeing Lao He not speaking, Ye Cheng turned to the other bosses, "This Swordfish is 3.2 meters long, the innards have been removed for you, weighing 350 jin; which boss is interested in making a bid?"

Duan Chunsheng cooperatively opened the fish's belly for the bosses to have a look.

Without the innards, some unnecessary weight was reduced, making this fish appear more preceding.

Generally speaking, the unit price of a whole Swordfish is not high, because the valuable part is the belly.

I'll bid 30 per jin.

I'll bid 35!

I'll bid 36!

I'll bid 37!

Several bosses started calling out bids loudly, while Lao He stood to the side, rolling his eyes.