Chapter 388: Turning the Tables

The longline fishing is still 1 kilometer.

Having reeled in almost 200 meters, aside from a few small fish we accidentally snagged, it's just some ocean trash.

Saying longline fishing doesn't need many people, and with no bites, Wu An simply got up and walked to the side.

A Qing and Mei Wu were still tending the longline.

Lao Fu Tou watched Wu An approach and asked, "Any catch?"

Wu An nodded.

Lao Fu Tou felt strange: "That shouldn't be."

Wu An chuckled: "That's also normal, right?"

Lao Fu Tou: "……"

Normally, after half a day of longline fishing, not catching fish is the norm.

But with them, it seems off.

He muttered to himself, "Could it be that the crab pot was stolen, ruining our luck?"

He said, "Yeah... we've also caught a lot of seafood here; next we should change spots."

As his words fell, A Qing shouted, "Holy shit, it's a big red-spotted fish!"

What a huge red-spotted fish!

Immediately, Mei Wu's voice rang out: "Yeah, how is it so big."

Wu An and Lao Fu Tou exchanged a glance, walked over to see, and A Qing had just taken down the big red-spotted fish.

He held it sideways in his arms, about the size of a child, estimating by eye to be seven or eight catties.

"Brother, look, big, huh?" A Qing chuckled, his earlier gloom completely gone.

Mei Wu said: "Too bad it's dead; otherwise, this one could sell for ten thousand or so if luck's good."

A red-spotted fish this big, different sizes fetch different prices; alive it's worth even more.

If we ran into a wealthy boss at the dock and sold it on the spot, getting ten thousand or so wouldn't be a joke.

Wu An laughed: "Whether alive or dead, hauling up a red-spotted fish makes this longline effort worthwhile."

Lao Fu Tou clicked his tongue: "Even catching a red-spotted fish—how strange, how strange."

A Qing dismissed it: "Old Fu, you're just making a fuss over rarity; we've caught red-spotted fish before, even if we tossed this gear."

"But a fish this big is still a first."

"Hehehe."

The winch continued operating.

"Brother, your luck's good, rub some of your luck on me."

Wu An was helpless.

Can't even slack off; after watching a few tens of meters, we got nothing.

Catching a red-spotted fish is like a fleeting blossom.

Wu An stood up: "Let's switch people."

A Qing took over.

Hardly after he took the line, A Qing grinned and shouted, "Brother, quick look, another red-spotted fish!"

Wu An felt astonished.

"Really or fake?"

"Still alive." Mei Wu also shouted: "Old Fu, hurry, handle it—don't let this red-spotted fish die."

Lao Fu Tou rushed over with his gear, used a needle to release air, and said: "Still okay."

"I estimate the fish struggled a bit; after surfacing, the water pressure change isn't big."

"If it holds till we get back to the dock, there'll be no problem."

Everyone was cheerful and prosperous.

Wu An was also very happy, praising: "A Qing, your luck's not bad today."?

"Basking in your luck, today's income will surely not be lacking."

A Qing scratched his head, chuckling: "Should be, should be."

Mei Wu teased: "You really aren't modest."

A Qing asked: "What modesty? Brother's praise—could it be fake?"

"……" Mei Wu couldn't refute, rubbed his hands: "Next, let me take in the line."

A Qing nodded, and the two swapped positions.

Wu An didn't interfere.

?? Seeing the two happy over their catch, temporarily forgetting their earlier worries, is also a good thing.

Not long after.

Mei Wu reeled in a tiger grouper, laughing so hard he couldn't close his mouth.

Although the tiger grouper isn't as valuable as the red-spotted fish, this ten-or-so-catty tiger grouper could still sell for a thousand or so—still not bad.

"Red-spotted fish, so many red-spotted fish."

A Qing shouted excitedly; Wu An walked over, took a look, and said impatiently, "What's all the yelling? This is clearly a school of Stone Nine Public."

A Qing scratched his head: "At a glance in the water, they look exactly like red-spotted fish."

Mei Wu said: "These Stone Nine Public aren't small; they should be worth quite a bit."

Wu An nodded.

Stone Nine Public are generally not big, but they make a superb soup, and are also quite popular in the market.

Longline fishing all hauled in, a total of 4 red groupers, 2 tiger groupers,? plus another seventy or eighty catties of Stone Nine Public.

The harvest was not bad.

"Return."

Wu An shouted.

Lao Fu Tou turned the rudder, adjusted the direction, and began heading toward Zhen Matou.

……

On the other side.

After the phone got a signal, Ma Weiqun contacted the stall that deals in stolen goods.

They were old acquaintances.

They had worked together for many years, and nothing had ever gone wrong.

When receiving goods at sea, they also didn't leave any receipts or stubs; even if someone had an accident, it wouldn't implicate the other party.

"Brother Ma."

"Ah Fu, today's catch is average; I don't want these crab pots, let's calculate the money together."

"Alright…… these crab pots don't look special at all."

"If there were any special markings, I couldn't sell them to you either."

"Yeah, hehe, moving the cargo, moving the cargo."

Settled the accounts.

The harvest from over ten crab pots finally sold for just over thirty thousand dollars.

Ma Weiqun took the money and cursed: "Damn, this trip really lost money."

After all the miscellaneous splits, there wasn't much left in hand.

Ma Weiqun had his subordinates wait a while on the deck, while he alone went into the cabin to make a phone call.

"Hey…… I almost came to blows with Wu An and them out at sea……"

"The specifics…… in the end they threw stones……"

"As for the money, it's just over thirty thousand."

"Alright, set up a table tonight, I'll come to your place for drinks and give you the money."

"We need to lay low for a while……"

"What? Report to the police?"

"They were throwing stones…… alright, strike first, what you said is also correct."

"Don't worry, I handle things steadily; I won't be caught red-handed. As for my subordinates…… they're all grasshoppers on the same rope, nobody will act recklessly."

"Alright, I'll report the police right away."

Ma Weiqun hung up the phone, spat on the ground, and his eyes gleamed as he began scheming.

He also had to admit that the move Lin Bin gave him was a bit risky, but also quite clever.

As long as there's no evidence, whoever speaks first is considered the victim; later each will stick to their own story, giving the police a headache.

In the end, it naturally fizzled out.

He called to report the police, naturally contacting the police station of his town.

"Brother Huang, I want to file a report."

"? Today the people I brought were working at sea, and they ended up being attacked by a gang."

"The leader of that gang is the kid who followed the police to the boat that day to investigate the missing crab pots."

"When we met that kid at sea, he insisted I stole the crab pots, and then an argument broke out."

"The other side struck first."

"I took a video; I was scared stiff at the time, my hand shook a bit, so the video is a little blurry, but it should be usable as evidence."

"Also, a crew member on my boat was injured."

"Alright, I'll go to the police station, arrange for my subordinates to go to the hospital for treatment, and also get the injury assessed."

"Sorry to cause trouble for Brother Huang."