Chapter 247: with translation of chapter title

Bang bang bang bang!

A black shadow fell onto the Deck and smashed with a crackling bang.

Water splashed everywhere.

Wu An didn't have time to see what it was, shouting: "Big brother, A Qing, Lao Fu, are you all okay?"

The three came out from under the canopy, still shaken, replying: "We're fine, how about you?"

Wu An said he was fine too, then noticed the Deck was covered in devil rays.

Fortunately everyone dodged in time, otherwise they'd definitely get smashed enough to be choking.

Why?

Because the devil rays on the Deck were all large; the smallest one was about the same size as the biggest devil ray they'd previously caught, estimated to weigh twenty or thirty catties.

The larger ones were also big, looking bigger than A Qing, estimated to weigh seventy or eighty catties.

If such a huge devil ray hit a person, it would surely injure them badly.

A Qing was at the other end, unable to get over.

The devil rays weren't flopping; they'd probably been played with by the Killer Whales enough to be choking, and then finally slammed hard; even if not dead, they were near death.

A Qing stomped his foot: "What's the meaning of this?"

How come the Killer Whales are still throwing devil rays at us?

Wu Ping thought and said: "I've seen documentaries; Killer Whales are playful and active; they might just be playing."

Lao Fu Tou shook his head, saying: "No."

Killer Whales are very friendly to humans; I've encountered them before and interacted with them.

They might be returning the favor.

Wu An blinked: "Return the favor?"

Lao Fu Tou nodded: "You didn't earlier feed them Mantis Shrimp, so they're giving you devil rays."

A Qing raised his hand: "What's wrong? We fed them Mantis Shrimp to repay them."

Lao Fu Tou said irritably: "Is your brain the same as a Killer Whale's?"

You think they followed our fishing boat into the bay to protect us, but to Killer Whales it might just be fun.

They don't consider your feeding them Mantis Shrimp as repaying them.

So they're sending devil rays as a return.

Of course, I'm just guessing.

A Qing suddenly realized: "Old man, your guess might be right."

Earlier, brother led us to catch many devil rays while the Killer Whales were hunting, using them as travel expenses; they might remember that.

Then these Killer Whales are pretty nice; they take a benefit and repay us.

Lao Fu Tou looked at the swimming Killer Whales with a somewhat complex expression, saying: "Yeah, these living beings are sometimes better than people."

Wu An laughed heartily: "Alright, just a false alarm."

While the Killer Whales haven't left, let's pour the Mantis Shrimp for them to eat.

They don't think they've helped us, but we can't be ungrateful.

Since they're giving devil rays as a return, it shows they like eating Mantis Shrimp.

A Qing nodded: "Brother, you're right."

Lao Fu Tou rolled his eyes: "You little brother, your brain..."

The Mantis Shrimp poured out.

The Killer Whales immediately swarmed over and ate heartily.

Wu An lay on the ship's side watching; one of the largest Killer Whales lifted its head and made eye contact; he instinctively waved, not expecting the whale to surge up a bit.

Wu An was overjoyed, and while speaking he patted the whale's big head.

Hu Zi, thank you.

Actually, you don't need to be so polite; it's you who saved us.

But I also know it's your nature; next time you can still be polite, but don't go to such trouble—just toss it onto the sea surface.

He chattered on, not knowing whether the whales could understand.

The Killer Whales fell back into the sea.

Water sprayed everywhere; Wu An was caught off guard and got his face soaked.

Hu Zi made a thin, sharp sound, as if laughing at him.

Wu An laughed and cried; watching the whales eat Mantis Shrimp, they seemed to enjoy it immensely; he guessed Mantis Shrimp were like crunchy little snacks for them.

After eating, the Killer Whales dove into the water; the next moment they appeared far away; seeing them leave, Wu An and the others hurriedly waved goodbye.

After the Killer Whales had completely vanished into the rain, they hurriedly looked at the devil rays on the Deck.

Wu An said with a smile: "Let's clean up."

In the process of cleaning up, he had experience; he took the boat knife, stepped on a devil ray with one foot, swung the knife down, but ended up cutting nothing.

Seeing this, Lao Fu Tou said: "Let me do it."

He didn't use the boat knife.

Instead he picked up scissors, grabbed the devil ray's tail, "clip"—one snip, fast, accurate, fierce and steady; the tail spine fell off, then he proceeded similarly.

Wu An watched, eyes burning.

An expert's move shows whether they have skill.

Next.

Lao Fu Tou operated one by one; Wu An, A Qing, and Wu Ping were like interns in a hospital watching the chief doctor perform surgery, observing while listening to Lao Fu Tou's explanation.

It's actually simple.

Practice makes perfect.

Wu An wanted to make a comment, but saying it felt like saying nothing.

He thought it didn't matter either.

Later, when he grows big and strong, he'll definitely be the boss; there's no need to train his skills too much, as long as his subordinates can work.

Thinking this, his gaze toward Lao Fu Tou felt a bit off.

What a fine ox and horse… cough cough… Lao Fu Tou is nearly sixty, approaching the legal retirement age; at this age, he should be considered re‑employed after retirement.

Rehired and back on duty.

After Lao Fu Tou finished his work, he wiped the sweat from his face, thinking that being old means lacking vigor; even a little rain makes his back feel chilly.

Wu An and A Qing weren't idle either; after Lao Fu Tou processed the devil fish, they also had to put the devil fish into the ice storage, thanks to the upgraded ice storage, otherwise the huge devil fish wouldn't fit.

Wu An and his side were busy as hell; the dock of Xixi Village came back with the Chen Family's trawler, becoming lively, and the relevant department's rescue forces were already in place.

Everyone coordinated deployment and formulated a rescue plan.

But such huge waves really limited the implementation of the rescue plan.

……

Outside, wind and rain lashed together.

Inside the boat canopy, everyone sat around eating and drinking, and the conversation naturally opened up.

"You've only been fishermen for a little over a month?" Lao Fu Tou frowned, saw Wu An and the others nod, then turned to Wu Ping in surprise and asked: "You dare bring two newcomers this far out by yourself?"

Wu Ping being older, he thought Wu Ping was the backbone of the three.

Wu Ping shook his head: "To be honest, this is actually my first time going out to sea on a boat to fish."

"I'm a teacher, also serving as the school's director of academic affairs and logistics."

It counts as holding multiple positions, but it's actually useless; in short, the authority is small, and I have to manage all sorts of trivial matters.

There's some competition in the county; the village school also has slots to arrange student participation, the village school highly values it, organizing a "special training class"; other teachers aren't willing to give extra lessons during summer break, and there's no benefit either.

Only the elder brother, full of enthusiasm, runs to the school every day.

Wu An complained in his heart; the elder brother was working busily, so he didn't feel right saying anything.

A Qing laughed and said: "Actually, my brother and I have only gone out to sea a few times."

"My brother is really capable."

"Taking me fishing and gathering seafood, I earned a lot of money and bought this fishing boat."

Wu An added: "My credentials were also just obtained."

Lao Fu Tou was numb all over.

This isn't a novice.

But rather a bunch of hotheaded youths!

Truly, ignorance breeds fearlessness.

He felt like he had boarded a thief's ship.

He didn't speak, quickly gulped down a mouthful of water to suppress his shock.