Chapter 453: They suspected everything, yet never suspected me

A Qing and Mei Wu were both anxious.

Brother, something's off.

A An, it's really off.

Wu An asked: "Where is it off?"

The two pointed at the longline that always had empty hooks and said in unison: "This longline is off; we suspect something in the sea is messing around."

Wu An blinked: "What do you mean?"

A Qing said seriously: "Brother, you're being a bit slow."

Do you think this is normal?

Just this little catch!

Wu An said: "It's not quite normal..."

He was also a bit embarrassed.

This time it was his mistaken decision, for nothing having A Qing and Mei Wu busy with the crab pot and longline.

A Qing said: "Then what do you think is wrong, why is the catch so small this time?"

Wu An coughed, about to make a short remark about this mistake, but A Qing continued shouting: "It's definitely like last time when the dragon fish caused trouble; this time a big fish is stirring up the nest again."

Wu An: "..."

Do you want to hear what you're saying?

Mei Wu also said: "The big fish stirring up the nest this time is smarter than the dragon fish last time."

We need to think of a solution.

Old Fu, do you have any ideas?

Lao Fu: "..."

Who the hell could have experience for this.

Wu An fell silent for a moment: "Are you two serious?"

A Qing said: "Brother, what time is it now, you see me this anxious, who has the mood to joke?"

Mei Wu: "Exactly."

Wu An didn't know what to say, feeling speechless and moved; what could he say, when A Qing and Mei Wu doubted everything, even suspected a sea monster was causing trouble, yet they never suspected that the poor catch was due to his mistaken decision.

Lao Fu Tou saw Wu An silent, coughed twice, and said: "Cut the nonsense first."

A Qing said: "I actually want to avoid nonsense... but I can't get busy."

After he said that, he suddenly ran off.

Not long after, he came over holding a few fish spears, handed one to Mei Wu, and said: "Let's get ready; if we spot anything, we'll shoot it directly."

Mei Wu nodded.

Wu An remained silent.

The atmosphere was a bit gloomy.

The three-kilometer longline, if it were to be hauled in, would still take quite some time, but today it's relatively fast, since there's hardly any catch; the winch runs nonstop, and when it's all hauled in, Lao Fu Tou tallied some of the catch and said: "There are plenty of miscellaneous fish, mainly sea wolf fish, about three hundred catties."

A Qing and Mei Wu remained silent.

This small catch was enough to make them choke.

Actually.

Their big reaction is normal; previously every catch was good, now suddenly it's bad, so naturally there's a big gap, hard to accept at once.

Lao Fu Tou wouldn't be like that.

Because he knows, this is the normal state.

But.

He also felt a bit uneasy in his heart.

Has Wu An's good luck run out?

This thought flashed in his mind unbidden, then he quickly suppressed it, "Pah pah pah, what nonsense am I thinking? It definitely won't happen; if I weren't afraid of scaring Wu An and the others, Lao Fu Tou would want to slap himself twice."

Seeing A Qing and Mei Wu looking so downcast, he thought and said: "Actually it's not bad; at the lowest purchase price, this is worth about five or six thousand yuan."

Anyway, at least the capital is covered.

Besides, we haven't hauled in the crab pots yet; there's definitely more to earn.

Maybe we could even make a big profit.

He wasn't just offering empty comfort; he truly had high hopes for the crab pots.

Over this period, although they've used the longline, adhesive net, and cast net many times, if you really calculate, the income from the crab pots is absolutely top; moreover, compared to the cast net and adhesive net, the catch is much more stable.

Hearing this, A Qing and Mei Wu's mood instantly turned from gloomy to bright; they clasped their hands together, praying that the crab pots would yield a big haul.

Wu An said: "The responsibility is mine; I picked the wrong spot this time."

A Qing quickly shook his head: "Brother, what nonsense are you talking?"

How could this be your problem?

It's definitely impossible.

Maybe it's because my luck is bad today, and I collided with your good luck on the boat.

Mei Wu also shook his head: "A An, responsibility or not, we don't blame you."

Lao Fu Tou said: "A An, if we're going that way, I'm steering the boat, so my responsibility is greater."

Wu An saw them say that, smiled and said: "Alright, let's not talk about this."

Then let's keep heading south for a while.

Lao Fu Tou nodded: "Okay, I'll follow you."

Lao Fu Tou went to start the boat.

A Qing and Mei Wu, having nothing to do, tidied up the trash a bit and stuffed it all into the Snake Skin Bag, as Wu An had required.

Actually Wu An also knew that what they were doing was just a drop in the bucket for the sea, but if they didn't do it, it would feel like a thorn in their heart, making them uncomfortable no matter what.

We can't control others, but at least we can control ourselves.

Do as much as we can, seeking only to have a clear conscience.

They had been sailing for about half an hour.

They then arrived near a small island, and Wu An casually said, "Let's just do it around here."

Lao Fu Tou observed carefully and confirmed the position for the Longline Fishing.

Mei Wu and A Qing began the work.

Wu An also came to help with bait hooking, and they successfully deployed the entire Longline Fishing before dark.

Lao Fu Tou said he would make dinner.

As a five-guarantee household, cooking was naturally no problem.

They had eaten.

After watching a movie, Wu An checked the Longline Fishing's Luck Value; it was still okay, only 12 points left, which also indicated that the Longline Fishing's catch was moderate. Several people drank a pot of tea, waiting for the Luck Value to empty, and Wu An immediately called everyone to haul in the Longline Fishing.

The harvest was decent.

But the variety was mixed, including yellow-foot spicy, Black Bream, Sea Bass and the like, all fairly common, with average prices, but the quantity was not small: the 3-kilometer Longline Fishing yielded over a thousand catties of catch.

Just as they were about to finish hauling in, A Qing suddenly exclaimed in surprise, "Brother, quick look, we actually hauled up a shell!"

Wu An looked astonished; it really was a shell, appearing unremarkable, roughly round in shape, with a surface color that was neither clearly yellow nor brown, rather inconspicuous, likely having been snagged by the hook by chance.

He took the shell off the hook; it was fairly large, about twenty centimeters or so, and felt quite heavy.

He hadn't seen such a shell before, so he took it to find Lao Fu Tou.

Lao Fu Tou glanced at it and immediately exclaimed in surprise, "White Butterfly Clam, where did this come from?"

Wu An said, "Was it caught by the Longline Fishing?"

"Huh?" Lao Fu Tou stared for a moment: "Alright then."

"You don't know it?"

Wu An shook his head.

Lao Fu Tou said, "The White Butterfly Clam is a pearl oyster; it can produce pearls."

"Of course, it can also be eaten."

"It's also quite tasty."

Wu An's eyes lit up as he hefted the White Butterfly Clam in his hand: "Does this contain a pearl?"