Chapter 1737: Command

Ye Yaodong didn't blame him for being so dazed that he hadn't looked closely and got the fishing net snagged on a reef.

There will always be moments of carelessness; moreover, this is high-intensity fishing work at sea, with poor food, poor sleep, and tense nerves, so mistakes are inevitable; as long as it can be remedied, that's fine.

Boat No. 8's haul from this net was quite abundant; the bright red sea bream floating inside the net beneath the water looked festive and auspicious, indicating they had chased down a school of sea bream.

Before this side had even finished and the cargo was fully hoisted, movement from others sounded again in the walkie-talkie.

"The fish density on my radar is particularly high, but they're all tiny specks, not like mackerel, not like hairtail, and certainly not other large fish; should we cast the net? If it's a school of small miscellaneous fish, it feels like a bit of a loss?"

"Cast the net; you can continue detecting while netting; small miscellaneous fish don't matter either, they can be processed directly into fish meal."

"Alright then, I'll notify the workers to cast the net."

Only because Ye Yaodong was present did everyone have to report even the tiniest matters for him to hear, and then let him make the decision; if he hadn't been there, they would have figured it out and decided on their own, as none were major issues.

He also happened to ask which boat number it was; since cargo was being hoisted here and no leakage was seen, the problem should be minor, so he shifted his attention to the position of Boat No. 9.

His boat's mobility was still relatively strong now; wherever there was a problem, he ran there; anyway, being idle was idle, so he treated it as patrolling everywhere.

Upon reaching the sea area just reported by Boat No. 9, he issued a notice to the deck workers: "Deploy a detection net, lower it 20 meters, and haul it up in two or three minutes."

"Received."

After waiting about 15 minutes, a deck worker replied, "Boss, it's white pomfret! Dense as can be, all around ten to twenty centimeters, jumping and lively!"

"So it's white pomfret; that's not bad either, white pomfret is valuable."

Ye Yaodong pressed the walkie-talkie again to notify Boat No. 9.

"Ah, it's white pomfret; as long as it's white pomfret, that's fine; white pomfret is good, it's one of the most popular fish. My net was cast down early and I've been chasing the school; once the net is hauled up, I'll report the quantity."

Boat No. 8 reported only after all cargo was hoisted, stating the net had just a small tear, which wouldn't affect fishing, and repairs could be done together upon the next return to shore.

At regular intervals, nets also require maintenance; during fishing, nets always sustain damage; various large and small fish at sea, some fierce, plus unexpected events like reefs, all easily cause net damage.

His processing plant now had several spare nets stored, waiting for emergencies; they could also switch to new ones, since the fresh catch transport ship runs every two or three days, allowing timely replacement.

Ye Yaodong just wandered around; wherever something was mentioned in the walkie-talkie, he ran over to check; wherever needed, he moved there; it wasn't boring at all.

After running to three or four places in a day, it was already dark.

Suddenly, he glanced at the sky outside the bridge window; just as dusk was setting in, a large mass of dark clouds drifted over.

The gray clouds pressed extremely low; the sea wind, carrying a salty, fishy scent, suddenly intensified, and the ship began to sway uncontrollably in small oscillations.

He immediately switched channels to listen to the broadcast, where a weather forecast warning came through: "All personnel, please note! Please note! The eastern sea area of DYD will experience short-term strong convection, accompanied by gale-force winds of level 8 and squalls, lasting 1.5 hours; please take precautions! All fishing vessels, please take precautions!"

At this moment, others on the walkie-talkie also heard the broadcast and quickly exchanged information, notifying each other.

"Boss, there will be strong convection in a moment, lasting one and a half hours..."

"I heard the broadcast too; should we stop operations? Haul in the nets quickly?"

"All personnel, attention! All personnel, attention!" Ye Yaodong grabbed the ship's loudspeaker, his voice carrying through the wind and waves to all fishing vessels, "Haul in nets immediately! Take precautions individually; the strong airflow will last about one and a half hours."

Boat No. 8 had just finished hoisting cargo; this moment, they first gathered their gear and moved closer, which happened to be perfectly timed, as following his large ship provided a sense of security.

After shouting, he immediately adjusted the heading to position the fresh catch transport ship sideways to the wind, reducing its windward area, then shouted into the walkie-talkie: "Remember to check the ice hold covers again! Secure them with reinforced bolts; don't let waves wash in!"

"Received."

"For cargo hoisted but not yet sorted, tie the crates to the railings with ropes; everyone get into the cabin! Come out to tidy up once the wind and waves subside!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than bean-sized raindrops crashed onto the deck, making a terrifying pili-pala sound.

The windshield in front of him was instantly splattered and blurred with water droplets; the wipers immediately activated.

"Damn it, it started raining the moment it was said, actually right on time; normally it's not this punctual. The whole day was fine, but as soon as night fell, bean-sized raindrops came down."

"Just after issuing orders, the crew was still busy, and the rain started; this broadcast notice was too slow; we couldn't react in time."

"Who can deny it? Since last night they said there would be rain today, and I saw no rain today, and the sky wasn't dark yet, I switched to the weather channel earlier, thinking to pay extra attention, but the notice only came now."

"It's been sunny for too many days recently, and spring is coming now; one spring rain brings one warmth."

Without mentioning it, one wouldn't realize time had passed so quickly; once mentioned, it felt as if spring warmth and blooming flowers were just around the corner.

Ye Yaodong said: "All vessels, pay attention to safety; watch the personnel on deck; don't let anyone linger on the deck; everyone return to the cabin; anyway, the rain will pass in just one and a half hours."

"Received; orders have been issued; while the rain has just started and isn't heavy yet, secure and tidy up everything on deck, and everyone head straight back to the cabin."

"Then Dongzi, what about our trawl that's halfway out..."

"Haul it up immediately; in the face of weather, everything else is trivial; haul it in first, and once the severe weather passes, resume casting nets."

Everyone sprang into action.

From the moment the bean-sized rain started, Ye Yaodong held the walkie-talkie in one hand and kept an eye on the radar and wind vane with the other; meanwhile, he also called the captain out and occasionally shouted heading adjustment orders to the bridge.

"Which vessels haven't hauled in their nets yet? Report."

"Dongyu No. 1..."

"Dashunfeng..."

Everyone reported in succession, but all were already in the process of hauling nets; they had started hauling as soon as they heard about the strong convection; it just wasn't fast enough all at once.

"Try to be as fast as possible, but also ensure the crew's safety."

"This rain started the moment it was said..."

"Luckily there's no thunder; in spring it's easy..."

"Pah, shut up, don't be a jinx; we haven't reached Jingzhe yet, where would spring thunder come from?"

"Still have time to argue? Pay more attention to the sea conditions; watch your own fishing vessels."

Everyone instantly fell silent; the walkie-talkie began reporting only situations.

PS: My eyes are so sleepy they won't open; at least I've made up today's update.