Chapter 225: The brave enjoy the world first

Wu An glanced at the time; it was only a little past ten in the morning, meaning they would fish until noon to eat.

In the afternoon they still had to haul the crab pots and longlines; after finishing, they needed to hurry to the dock.

Fishing time amounted to just over two hours at most, so he gave each person only two points of luck value.

Fishing for fun, just a token effort was enough.

After all, they had taken up the job of fisherman; going out to sea wasn't for play but to earn money to support the family.

Their main work was still dropping crab pots and longline fishing.

After a while, he would bring Gu Anran along; then they wouldn't be fishing for profit and could properly enjoy themselves.

For now, making money remained the priority.

After a slight delay, he was the last to cast his line; as soon as he threw it out, he felt a tug.

Hooked?

Instant hook?

Wu An was somewhat surprised and instinctively lifted the rod.

A Qing exclaimed in surprise: "Brother, you're that fast?"

Mai Hangyu gave a wicked grin: "Three seconds, huh?"

Lao Mai also got a bite.

Then he frowned, sensing that the pull wasn't quite right.

Wu An quickly reeled in his line, bringing a large squid up to the sea surface.

Finally it flew onto the deck.

Lao Mai also hauled up a squid, much smaller than Wu An's.

Wu An's catch was about the size of his forearm, while Lao Mai's was roughly palm-sized.

"Wow, squid!"

"They're all squid; did we run into a squid swarm?"

A Qing and Mai Hangyu were chatty; as they spoke, their fishing rods bent, and they quickly hauled up two squid as well.

But none were as big as Wu An's.

"Brother, this one must weigh about two jin," A Qing said, holding his own squid next to Wu An's and noting it was noticeably smaller by a large margin.

He asked, "Is this worth money?"

Wu An shook his head; now that the fishing season was open, he guessed it was about ten-something yuan per jin.

Bigger ones might fetch a bit more.

But he wasn't sure of the exact price; he'd have to ask Gao Qiangqi to know.

If they used trawling, hauling up several hundred to a thousand jin in one net would still be quite worthwhile.

But now.

Even if the four of them fished their hardest, they wouldn't earn much money.

However, these squid are not bad to eat themselves.

Looking at the fresh squid, Wu An thought of iron-plate squid and couldn't help swallowing.

In his previous life, the most he ate away from home was iron-plate squid, either soaked in liquid or flash-frozen, cheap and tasty.

Fresh squid would surely be even more delicious.

Upon hearing it wasn't worth much money, A Qing looked at the squid, lost any smile, and casually tossed his and Wu An's squid into the cold storage.

Wu An said, "That one I just caught is just enough to stir-fry a plate; let's eat it for lunch."

Mai Hangyu raised his hand: "Blanched, blanched."

"Dip it in seafood sauce, and it's wonderfully fresh and sweet."

"How about that?"

Wu An nodded; he didn't really care either way.

Lao Mai said, "If you're after freshness and sweetness, eating it right away is best."

"This is the most delicious rocket squid."

"Let me demonstrate it for you."

The squid they caught had translucent bodies with a hint of red, like chunks of red-speckled Hetian jade; they were about the length of his forearm, slightly thicker than a thumb, long and with extremely graceful lines.

Just like a rocket.

Wu An guessed that was probably how it got its name.

Basically, squid fishing is usually done at night; shining a light draws the squid in.

Whether fishing or netting, the haul can be abundant.

Lao Mai picked up a squid, held it by the head and shoved it straight into his mouth, then sucked hard.

While eating, he nodded, looking thoroughly pleased.

A Qing and Mai Hangyu stared at him intently, their Adam's apples moving as they asked, "Is it good?"

Lao Mai swallowed and said, "The texture is excellent, soft and sticky."

"Very fresh and sweet."

Wu An watched, eyes burning, wondering if eating it like that was really delicious.

Later, if they caught a small one, he'd want to try it too; this was a romance unique to fishermen.

Continue fishing.

Sure enough, beneath the fishing boat was a squid nest.

As long as dropping the line guaranteed a squid, Lao Mai wondered why, using hooks not specifically for squid, they could hook them so quickly.

Could it be that the squid in the sea are just waiting, biting as soon as they see the hook?

Oh dear, it's still spraying seawater.

Damn, it sprayed me in the mouth, this thing even uses magic attacks.

A Qing and Mai Hangyu shouted, these squid basically spray seawater or ink when they come out of the water.

Careless and you'll get sprayed in the face.

Wu An pulled hard, but didn't reel it in.

Lao Mai saw and said, "When pulling squid, don't use too much force, or you'll easily tear off its tentacles."

Wu An nodded, having caught a few, and basically had some experience.

After catching several arm-sized rocket squid, he finally hauled up a small one.

He grabbed it in one hand.

He examined it closely; the color was truly tempting, but then ink splashed, he instinctively dodged, ending up dodging for nothing.

His clothes were ruined.

Happiness doubled.

Wu Anle couldn't stop laughing, rinsed it with clean water, looking at the rocket squid, there was rain, it was truly a sight to eat, so beautiful, he imitated Lao Mai and ate it directly.

He took a bite, full of seawater flavor.

It was indeed fresh and sweet.

He had expected some fishiness, but there was none.

"Not bad, delicious."

Wu An was very satisfied; being a fisherman wasn't bad, he could enjoy fresh seafood firsthand.

A Qing hooked a baby squid, removed the hook, and said to Yan Yuese: "Baby, listen to uncle, you're too small, go call your adults."

Having said that, he tossed the baby squid back, turned his head and saw Wu An had hooked another big tail oil, shouting: "Brother, you've hooked the squid's ancestor!"

Wu An laughed heartily.

Such a large squid was very beautiful, all fiery red, making his index finger twitch involuntarily.

After catching that big squid, the Luck Value therefore went straight to zero.

He checked the time; it was already eleven-thirty, unknowingly he had been fishing for over an hour; compared to catching fish with the Linked Rod Technique, catching squid was much easier.

It was also quite interesting.

When squid come out of the water, one must first dodge the sprayed seawater and ink; it's full of fun.

Without the Luck Value bonus, squid couldn't be hooked just by lowering the rod.

Wu An simply stopped fishing and shouted: "You guys keep going, I'll go clean up; today we'll have a full squid feast."

First he prepared a rocket squid sashimi, employing local knife skills, emphasizing large portions, no need for mustard, the taste fragrant, sticky, and delicious.

Mainly because conditions were limited, he forgot to bring mustard.

Then he took one blanched squid, two stir-fried.

After they were done, Lao Mai and the others also promptly reeled in their rods, seeing these dishes, even on the boat they couldn't help but take out beer and start drinking.

"This is too indulgent, isn't it?"

"What's the matter, how does that saying go? The brave first enjoy the world, the coward forever lives in the fear they create."

"Cheers."

"Brother said that really well, let's clink."

"Come on!"