Chapter 531: That Makes Sense

Fu Yongning entered the lounge.

Everyone sat together, listening to A Qing gesturing animatedly, vividly recounting how the killer whales were friends and helped locate schools of fish.

Fan Dali listened, excited, and said, "This is just too interesting."

"What a pity I didn't follow A An earlier."

A Qing patted his shoulder and said, "Don't worry, don't worry, there will be a chance later."

Fu Yongning listened, took a deep breath, then silently walked away, and only at that moment did he realize that on this boat he was the only normal person.

After about half an hour, while sipping tea and watching the system's Wu An, he suddenly saw the Luck Value of the Trawling dropping rapidly.

Here it comes!

Wu An quickly stood up.

While steering the boat toward Lao Fu Tou, he also sensed a slight change, saw Wu An enter the Control Room, and asked, "Did you feel it too?"

Wu An was startled, "What?"

Lao Fu Tou said, "Hu Zi seems to have driven the fish school toward us."

Wu An was startled again, "How do you know?"

Lao Fu Tou smiled, "Just a feeling."

Wu An gave a thumbs‑up.

Look at that—no wonder he's a lifelong veteran fisherman; that's true professionalism.

He laughed, "Alright, then raise the net."

"I trust your intuition."

Lao Fu Tou was about to speak when Wu An left the Control Room, went to the bow to greet the newly surfaced Hu Zi; the Killer Whale Pod appeared as well, moving in unison, forming a semicircular ring at the bow.

As the fishing boat approached.

The Killer Whale Pod then dived again.

After a while, they reappeared ahead of the boat's course.

Without waiting for Wu An, Fu Yongning and the others were already out, preparing the net under Lao Fu Tou's orders.

First shift the bag, then hoist.

Or Fu Yongning attached the hook, then blew the whistle.

As the crane operated, the net bag slowly rose to the surface; seeing the bulging net bag, everyone was excited. The fishing boat tilted slightly, but with experience they were no longer as panicked as during the trial run.

Fu Yongning pointed and shouted, "Look at that net bag—if it's all catch, we'll be rich!"

A Qing couldn't help, only watching from the Control Room, hands clasped, speaking eloquently.

Lao Fu Tou asked, "Are you chanting?"

A Qing replied, "I'm praying for blessings."

Lao Fu Tou said irritably, "Stop the pointless worship, or you'll mess up A An's Luck Value."

A Qing slapped his head, "Ah, why didn't you say so earlier? No, I have to pray again, let them think my words are just hot air…"

Lao Fu Tou handed him a cigarette, "Here, have a smoke."

While speaking, the net bag arrived on the deck.

Fu Yongning shouted, "A An, you handle this net."

Wu An replied with a nod.

On the new boat's first net, he took the lead without hesitation.

He stepped forward, yanked the rope hard, lifted the boom, and the net bag burst open, the catch scattering with a whoosh, piling on the deck into a small mountain of fish.

Seeing the catch, Fu Yongning's eyes widened.

All devil fish!

Wu An nodded slightly; although devil fish aren't pricey—about 20 per jin—this net alone could yield at least two tons, which works out to a revenue of forty thousand.

Put aside everything else, this net already broke even.

A great start.

Actually.

As long as the Trawling is bulging and opens full of fish, it's a bumper harvest for fishermen.

Even the cheapest fish can be profitable if sold in volume.

Fu Yongning, both shocked and delighted, said, "How can it be all this fish?"

Fan Dali asked curiously, "Brother Yongning, what's so strange about this?"

Fu Yongning replied, "Although devil fish travel in schools, a typical trawl nets only seven or eight; this… a whole net of them is something I've never seen."

"I never imagined a random sea area could yield this well."

"This Luck Value, I'm convinced."

Fan Dali realized, "So catching devil fish with a net is still such a rare thing."

Fan Xiao Zhu coughed and said, "There's only one truth: the killer whales helped."

Fan Dali had an epiphany, "Exactly, that's it. Killer whales seem to love eating devil fish, so finding a devil fish school makes perfect sense."

… Fu Yongning remained silent, instinctively glancing at the nearby Killer Whale Pod, wondering if the whales really were helping.

Lao Fu Tou shouted, "Don't just stand there; while the killer whales are still here, hurry and haul the net down."

"Do it quickly."

Fu Yongning snapped back to reality and got to work.

Mei Wu also came to help; if he wants to stand on his own someday, he must not only steer the boat but also master all other aspects, and in this regard Mei Wu was very proactive.

The Fan family brothers were the same: not only eager to work, but also keen to learn.

It's not that it's particularly easy to learn; rather, you need good eyesight, otherwise you won't last long on the ship.

Soon.

The second net was lowered.

Once the net was ready, everyone grabbed their tools and began sorting; Wu An also didn't idle, joining in. Over two tons of devil fish amounted to just over a hundred specimens, and with five people working together to process and sort, the efficiency was quite high.

If it were over two tons of shrimp and crab, sorting would be far more laborious.

Also thanks to the killer whale pod having previously gifted devil fish twice, Wu An had experience handling devil fish; taking scissors, grabbing the devil fish's tail, 'Crack!'—he snipped it off quick, accurate, ruthless and steady, the tail spine fell off, and then he proceeded in the same manner.

Fu Yongning, needless to say, is even more proficient.

The Fan brothers were a bit lacking at first, but with more practice they became increasingly adept; clearly, they are all skilled workers.

Wu An constantly stressed the need to watch for safety, not to rush, and to take it slow.

Fan Dali heaved one up with effort, saying, 'This one's huge—must be forty or fifty catties.'

Mei Wu also shouted excitedly, 'Look at mine—it's big; I can't even move it alone, must be over a hundred catties; this should fetch a higher price.'

Having just finished processing all the devil fish, A Qing brought tea, each a large cup, and gulped it down—Glug glug glug—whereupon the Fan brothers set down their cups and began washing the deck.

Fu Yongning said, 'This is a good habit.'

Wu An glanced at the system; the Luck Value of the trawl was basically depleted, so he hurriedly called out, 'Alright, prepare to haul the net.'

Fu Yongning glared, 'A An, it's only been half an hour!'

'Our first net ran for nearly three hours.'

'Or should we run it longer?'

Wu An glanced at the killer whale pod at the bow, smiling, 'Yongning brother, we're not just trawling; we've fought a coordinated battle with the killer whale pod.'

'Look, the killer whale pod has stopped, indicating they've driven the fish shoal into the trawl.'

'If we don't haul the net now, the fish shoal will escape, and we'll waste the killer whales' good intentions and hard work.'

Fu Yongning nodded, saying nothing more.

Fan Dali and Fan Xiao Zhu said nothing more, going straight to prepare.

Soon.

The second net, just lowered, was hauled up in a short half hour; at the moment the net bag came out of the water, Fu Yongning widened his eyes again.