Chapter 506: The Big Boat Sets Sail Again

After leaving the dock, Duan Chunsheng was also excited, "A Cheng, where are we going to trawl today?"

Ye Cheng hadn't decided where to trawl either; let's just head out first.

After about forty minutes, they finally reached the fishing grounds. Ye Cheng had intended to cast the net, but suddenly a patrol boat appeared in the distance, its loudspeaker blaring, ordering them to stay away.

Ye Cheng had no choice but to turn around. Damn it, these damned smugglers have made it impossible for us to fish.

"Brother, if we really can't, let's go back to where we set the fish traps earlier," Xiao Hu suggested.

Yeah, it doesn't matter where we go since we're not trawling anyway.

"All right, let's go."

Ye Cheng turned the boat sharply and headed back onto the side channel; this area was much quieter.

Not long after entering, Ye Cheng was about to drop the net when he saw a small fishing boat coming toward them.

The two boats passed each other silently. Ye Cheng glanced over and saw two people on board, with nothing on the deck except a basket.

"Xiao Hu, why do those two people look so familiar?" Ye Cheng asked casually.

Xiao Hu scratched his head. "Brother, I don't remember either; I think we've never met them."

"No," Duan Chunsheng suddenly said. "We saw this boat and those two people the last time we came here."

"Last time?" Ye Cheng thought for a moment, and indeed it was true.

The day before yesterday, when we came to set the fish traps, we ran into that boat and those two people, but they didn't respond to our greeting.

What's even stranger is that their deck was spotless, with just a single basket.

This isn't right.

"Uncle Duan, I think they're suspicious. Could they be smugglers posing as fishermen, taking the side channel so the police can't find them?"

Hearing that, both of their faces turned grim at once.

Duan Chunsheng nodded. "That's quite possible. If we follow this route, it's all backwater; patrol boats out there wouldn't know a thing."

Ye Cheng grew stranger the more he thought. "Uncle, let's push farther in. Last time we were near the island we also seemed to see a smuggling boat; maybe their hideout is over there."

These smugglers are too hateful—they've already affected everyone's fishing. We won't feel at ease until we get rid of them.

Ye Cheng steered the boat toward the island where they had previously set the fish traps, arriving in ten or so minutes.

However, the sea surface was calm and empty.

"Brother, should we wait here?" Xiao Hu asked, looking around.

Ye Cheng also hesitated—should we wait or not?

Who knows how often those smugglers come by? Waiting here foolishly gets us nowhere, but if we don't wait, where else can we look for them?

At that moment, Duan Chunsheng pointed to the other side of the island. "Lao Er, I remember running into a second boat last time that came out from there. Let's go around and have a look—we might find something."

That makes sense. Last time there indeed was a second boat that came out from that direction.

Ye Cheng sped up the boat and headed along that waterway.

They had never been to the back of the island, but after circling around, they found two small fishing boats stopped there, loading who-knows-what from the shore onto the boats.

Seeing them approach, the people on the two small boats immediately stopped what they were doing, then pretended to sit on the deck and watch them.

Ye Cheng's heart tightened—this wasn't right. He exchanged a glance with Xiao Hu and Duan Chunsheng behind him; all three eyes showed alertness.

If I'm not mistaken, this is the smugglers' transfer point.

"Xiao Hu, Uncle Duan, pretend to be sorting the trawl net in the back and don't look at them," Ye Cheng reminded them.

Duan Chunsheng and Xiao Hu immediately began tidying the trawl net on deck; to an observer, they looked just like any passing fishing boat as they steered straight ahead.

The two small fishing boats, seeing that Ye Cheng's group showed no sign of slowing down, relaxed their vigilance and resumed moving cargo after they passed.

After rounding a bend, they finally disappeared from view, and Ye Cheng quickly pulled out his phone to call the police.

Since he wasn't sure if they were smugglers or which department handled it, he directly called Song Zhiyong at the City Bureau.

After hearing the report, Song Zhiyong noted the location Ye Cheng gave, then started contacting people. According to him, this group might be armed, so he told Ye Cheng and company to keep their distance.

Damn!

They've got weapons!

Ye Cheng jumped at the news; good thing he didn't rush forward, or he wouldn't know how he died.

After hanging up, Ye Cheng told Duan Chunsheng and Xiao Hu, "Let's get out of here—the police said they have weapons."

"Hell, could they have guns?" Xiao Hu exclaimed in shock.

"Never mind what it is—let's put some distance between us; they probably don't suspect us." Duan Chunsheng was also afraid; this isn't a village brawl—it could turn deadly.

Three desperate men drove the boat at full speed toward the open sea—holy crap, if we're this close, what if a bullet comes flying?

After running at full speed for an hour, Ye Cheng finally eased off, saying with lingering fear, "I guess that's far enough now?"

Behind him, Duan Chunsheng and Xiao Hu looked at him resentfully. "This isn't 'close enough'—we've practically gone abroad."

Ye Cheng gave an embarrassed laugh. "No problem—there are plenty of fish out there; we'll just call it scouting a new fishing ground."

Having said that, Ye Cheng checked the navigation and saw they really hadn't been in this sea area before.

"Uncle, Xiao Hu, let's drop the nets and give it a try—the water's deep here, so we'll aim for the middle and upper layers."

Duan Chunsheng and Xiao Hu lowered the net in the stern, and Ye Cheng got the boat moving.

He had been just idly watching, but after a while Ye Cheng noticed the sonar showing a cluster of red dots below.

This sonar was installed when Ye Cheng had Lao Jiang repair it; it's not the high‑end kind from later generations, but it still works.

"Uncle Duan, look—this is a school of fish, right?"

Ye Cheng called Duan Chunsheng over; the latter rarely uses the sonar and doesn't really understand it.

"Probably," Ye Cheng said. "I see the depth is in the middle—why don't you steer over and give it a go?"

Ye Cheng had the same idea; he adjusted the boat's heading and began trawling along the direction of the fish school.

After an hour, Ye Cheng's trawl net had encircled the red dots.

"Brother, want to pull the net and have a look?" Xiao Hu at the back was a bit eager.

Ye Cheng glanced at the time; it had been over an hour, he nodded, "Alright, let's pull the net."

He reduced the Boat speed a bit, then Xiao Hu at the back pressed the winch, the rope tightened and began to pull up.

The three of them stood nervously at the back, not knowing whether this net would really have a school of fish.

After a few minutes, the fishing net was pulled out of the water, a long bulging string.

"Brother, so many."

Xiao Hu cried out in delight.