Chapter 494: Pipi Shrimp and Archer Fish

On the sea surface, boat sails gradually approached; the first batch of people who went out to sea at dawn had already returned, some with weary faces, some with excited faces, crates of sea haul were moved aboard, waiting to be purchased, packed, and shipped away.

Just standing there, watching everyone bustle about, Ye Cheng felt a sense of fulfillment; perhaps this is what they call the warmth of everyday life—life ought to be like this.

After waiting about ten minutes, Duan Chunsheng finally arrived, yawning, with a very obvious dark circle around his sunken eyes.

"Yo, Uncle Duan, what's wrong—did you suffer insomnia?"

Duan Chunsheng reluctantly opened his eyes and glanced at Ye Cheng, listless,

"It's all your fault—you had Ah Yong deliver shrimp at dawn; he moves loudly, and the moment that motorcycle roared, it woke me right up."

"Yawn——"

Duan Chunsheng stood there, yawning nonstop; it seemed he really hadn't slept well last night.

"Uncle, the seafood market opens this early, right? Next time have Duan Yong take the shrimp to the fish farm and park the motorcycle there too—then it won't disturb you."

"Never mind, never mind—hurry up and get on the boat; I need to nap a bit, I'm really sleepy."

As soon as Duan Chunsheng boarded the boat, he found a corner, sat down, and began to sleep.

Yesterday it was him and Xiao Hu who set the nets; since he's asleep, naturally only Xiao Hu can steer the boat.

Ye Cheng and Xiao Hu stood in the cabin, chatting quietly, while Duan Chunsheng slept in the back; after heading out for about an hour, they finally spotted the float.

Ye Cheng glanced at the soundly sleeping Duan Chunsheng, gently tapped Xiao Hu, signaling him to keep his voice down, "Let's haul in the nets first; let him sleep a while."

The two walked lightly to the stern, hooked the float of the flow-spike net, and hung it on the winch.

After two sharp jolts, the winch began slowly pulling up the net.

This time the net showed no sign of anything special; halfway up, it was all small yellow croakers and sardines—let alone giant groupers, not even a larger fish.

In the end, a sea turtle got tangled up; the two hurriedly untied it, lifted it, and tossed it back into the sea.

Plop.

The sea turtle fell into the water.

"What the hell!!!"

"Who jumped into the sea!!!!"

A panicked voice came from behind.

The two turned around to see Duan Chunsheng waking up with a bewildered look, looking around in confusion.

"Hahaha! Uncle, we just tossed a sea turtle back into the sea—no one jumped in; hurry up and wake up."

"A sea turtle?" Duan Chunsheng wiped his face, still shaken; "I just dreamed I was working at the dock when someone suddenly fell in, giving me a fright—I even thought you two had jumped into the sea."

"Uncle, can't you dream about pretty girls instead? Dreaming of working at the dock—what a hard‑luck life."

Duan Chunsheng rose from the ground with a bitter expression, twisting his sore waist, "If we're not destined for hardship, what else could we be? Even fishermen can enjoy good fortune."

"How did it go? What did we catch?" Duan Chunsheng walked over to have a look at the haul.

"Nothing much, just a few small fish."

Duan Chunsheng pursed his lips and nodded, "No good—looks like without this old veteran taking the lead, you youngsters can't bring in any big catch."

Upon hearing that, Ye Cheng immediately shoved the hook into his hands, "Come on, Uncle Duan, start your performance—next we absolutely need you to bring up a giant grouper."

Xiao Hu burst out laughing, "Uncle, we want the kind that's about two meters long."

"I'll get you something ten meters long—forget the grouper, how about a dragon?"

The three chatted as they arrived at the second flow‑spike net spot; Ye Cheng made a gesturing motion, "Uncle, it's up to you now."

Duan Chunsheng strode over with head high and chest out, hooked the float onto the winch, then stepped aside, "Watch closely—there's definitely a catch."

The net was slowly drawn out of the water; the first catch was a round, plump thing—just the sort used to polish shoes—which Duan Chunsheng, with a grimace, pulled off, poked its belly, and tossed back into the sea.

Seeing the two's teasing expressions, Duan Chunsheng snapped, "What's the deal, it's just a pufferfish—haven't you ever caught one before?"

Ye Cheng stifled a laugh, pointed at the net, "No problem, Uncle—keep going."

When the second one surfaced, Duan Chunsheng's face darkened—"Damn, another pufferfish."

Without a word, he untied it and sent it back.

Ye Cheng gave a dry cough, "Uncle, you seem to have a special affinity for pufferfish today."

"Pfft, affinity—I don't believe it'll be another pufferfish."

No sooner had he spoken than another puff‑lipped, cute‑looking creature surfaced; Ye Cheng couldn't hold back and burst out laughing.

"Uncle, see? I told you we had a connection—three pufferfish in a row, you could go buy a lottery ticket."

Duan Chunsheng took a deep breath, walked to the back with a dark face, and handed the hook to Ye Cheng, "Come on, you handle it—I'm out of luck today."

Ye Cheng took the hook, waited a moment, and a catch came up—thankfully not a pufferfish, but a sea carp.

Carp are a common freshwater fish; the most famous variety is the Yellow River carp.

"Sea carp" is actually a common name; its scientific name is sharp‑fin carp, mainly inhabiting brackish waters where fresh and salt water meet.

They differ in build: the sea carp has a higher back and a diamond‑shaped body, while ordinary carp need no introduction—they're slender.

This sea carp isn't big—under two catties—and could sell for a few dozen yuan.

Although it's not high‑value cargo, it's still better than Duan Chunsheng's shoe‑polishing find.

Ye Cheng had hoped for a big splash, but in fact there was only water and no excitement—just a few sardines, and then nothing.

All told, the haul from the two flow‑spike nets amounted to less than five hundred yuan.

Duan Chunsheng joked that yesterday's giant grouper and swordfish had used up all their luck.

Next came longline fishing; the hook‑up rate was also a bit low, with the first set bringing up thirty fish, mainly cod and mackerel.

The three had already given up hope, preparing to finish up quickly and head back.

Who would have thought that, on the third set, the water suddenly churned, stirring up a large patch of sea.

"Yo, looks like we've got a bite."

But this splash isn't big—definitely not the kind that signals a several‑meter‑sized haul.

Waiting for the fishing line to be pulled up, a fish appeared before everyone, half a meter long, grayish-brown body, silvery-white belly; this fish was one they had never seen before.

Duan Chunsheng helped scoop it up with a net, and as soon as he got close he recognized it,

"Ah, it's a croaker."

Hearing the two words 'croaker', Ye Cheng immediately reacted, excitedly saying, "Uncle, it's a rice fish, right?"

"Yes, it's the fish maw from before."

This croaker is also called rice fish and mudfish. It's a medium-sized fish. As for the fish meat itself, the texture is relatively coarse and the fishy smell stronger; it can only be made into fish balls or braised and eaten, and it's not expensive, less than ten yuan.

But!!!

But!!!

They have an awesome belly.

Inside the belly is an awesome fish maw.