Chapter 535: Looking for the Fish School

Everyone finished their work.

It's already 11:30 at night.

First, tidy up the deck, also gather and secure the unused fish baskets; nobody slacked off, efficiency was quite high; Wu An prepared the night snack here, and everyone also washed up and came to the rest room to sit and rest.

Fan Xiao Zhu doesn't speak much, but his work is truly beyond reproach.

He helped Wu An fetch food and drink, and also washed a lot of fruit.

Wu An took out a case of alcohol and said, "Everyone share a drink, that's all there is."

Since we still have work to do at dawn, naturally we can't overindulge.

They each sat down.

Each person had a large bowl of instant noodles, the most ordinary braised beef noodles; there was definitely no beef, but there was plenty of seafood, so Wu An picked out two nine-section shrimp and tossed them into the bowl.

A bite of instant noodles, a bite of nine-section shrimp.

After those two bites, starving as we were, the taste was indescribable.

It was so refreshing it made us want to howl.

Then another bottle of beer, a belch; the rest room was silent except for the sound of slurping.

This is truly eating in silence, not a word spoken.

Wu An had eaten his fill; looking up, he saw everyone still eating heartily. On the table, most had eaten their share, except there were still many lobster left, which he hadn't eaten.

Mainly because they were hard to peel, the shells tough and spiky; in the end, Lao Fu Tou couldn't bear to waste them, so he peeled them all himself and let everyone have a taste.

Wu An ate one, and I must say, it was quite fresh and sweet.

Moreover, the meat was very tender; saying it melts in the mouth is no exaggeration.

In his previous life he had worked everywhere, even as a waiter in a buffet restaurant where there was lobster, though it was New Zealand's; after chatting with Lao Fu Tou he realized that here this stuff is abundant.

There are even fishing boats dedicated to catching lobster.

They export first, then sell domestically.

Wu An saw everyone had put down their bowls and chopsticks, their cups empty of alcohol; seeing there were still unopened bottles in the case, he asked, "Nobody's drinking anymore?"

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Wu An didn't say much more; it's good that nobody overindulged.

A Qing voluntarily took over clearing the bowls and chopsticks, and the Fan brothers also rose, saying, "Let us do it."

"No need, I'll do it; today I haven't done any work, let me also show my worth." A Qing said, then gathered all the bowls and chopsticks into a large iron basin and carried it off to wash.

Night watch was needed; Lao Fu Tou said he would take it, calling out, "A An, come out for a moment."

Wu An followed him to the control room.

"A An, as we discussed earlier, we'll head east next; I plan to run further east tonight, what do you think?"

Wu An thought: "That works."

"This sea area is probably dominated by crabs; with few crew, handling them would be stretching ourselves thin."

"We still need to find a fish school."

Lao Fu Tou smiled; hearing Wu An's words gave him confidence, and he said, "Although it's night, the weather is fine, no fog, so being careful poses no problem."

Wu An said, "Or I could accompany you."

Lao Fu Tou shook his head: "No need, no need."

"Staying here wouldn't help much; you'd better rest more, we have work early tomorrow."

Only then did Wu An not insist.

Returning to the rest room, the Fan brothers were already asleep, snores rising and falling.

Mei Wu felt a bit vexed: "This noise is loud; later I'm afraid I won't be able to sleep."

Wu An had just drunk half a cup of tea when another snore joined in.

It was Mei Wu.

Everyone had been at sea since morning without rest, and had done high-intensity work for so long; insomnia was simply impossible.

As Wu An would say.

What insomnia? It's just idleness.

Work hard, and all ailments disappear.

After A Qing finished cleaning up and returned, Wu An helped him change the medicine on his wound, then went to rest.

Fu Yongning hadn't slept; he lightly patrolled the deck left and right, made a circuit, returned to the control room, and asked, "Uncle, this place is fine; why do we still need to seek a new fishing ground?"

Lao Fu Tou said, "Just go try our luck."

If Fu Yongning had heard that earlier, he'd surely have complained; but now he could only sigh, "No wonder you single-mindedly follow Wu An—his luck is truly strong."

Lao Fu Tou laughed and asked, "Anything else?"

Fu Yongning hesitated a moment, then said, "He doesn't seem like a proper fishing boat captain."

Lao Fu Tou burst out laughing: "I'll take that as praise."

Fu Yongning scratched his head: "That's definitely praise."

"He's truly good to us."

"Let's not talk about the high commission wage; I roughly calculated, my commission alone today is at least four or five thousand."

"And the food and drink are beyond reproach."

While speaking, he gave a thumbs up.

Lao Fu Tou nodded: "Fine, as long as you know what's good; from now on you must wholeheartedly do your work on the ship."

Fu Yongning: "No need for you to say that, old sir."

"Anyway, even if Chen Lao Da knelt begging me, carried me in an eight-person sedan, I wouldn't return to work on his boat."

"You want to get beauty." Lao Fu Tou smiled and said: "Alright, go rest."

Fu Yongning handed over a cigarette: "I'm not sleepy yet, I'll keep you company for a chat."

Lao Fu Tou took the cigarette, glanced at him sideways, and said: "When did you get so filial, you little brat?"

"No need for you to keep me company."

"Go rest quickly."

Fu Yongning gave a hehe laugh and said: "You say that, but I am indeed filial."

"When the boat stops later, I'll catch some fish on the side."

Lao Fu Tou raised his hand and tapped him: "Look at your little prospect."

"A An is particular, don't overdo it."

Fu Yongning said: "As the saying goes, a horse won't get fat without night grass; anyway, it's break time now, I'll earn some extra income."

"Don't worry."

"We've been working nonstop for 30 hours, and we've still been fine."

"Even if I don't sleep all night, tomorrow I'll work however I need to."

"Two hours later."

Lao Fu Tou stopped the boat, Fu Yongning helped drop the anchor, then he took the Scoop Net and stood at the boat's side preparing to catch fish.

Many fish are phototactic.

Therefore there are also specialized light-attracting fishing boats; Wu An's fishing boat, though not professional, has bright lights that shine on the sea surface, enough to attract fish.

After a while, Fu Yongning saw several fish swimming on the sea surface.

He spat out the cigarette.

He gave a strong scoop.

He pulled it up and saw it was not bad: there were a few squid and a beltfish.

But they aren't very big.

But this counts as extra income, however much is his own.

The light attraction is very effective; every scoop of the Scoop Net yields a catch.

But the boat's side is some distance from the sea surface, making it not easy to scoop, somewhat laborious.

Lao Fu Tou watched him scoop for half an hour, walked over, looked, and said: "That's enough, almost a fish basket."

"If there's too much, there's nowhere to put it; don't blame me if I throw it away."

Fu Yongning hurriedly stopped: "Half of them are sardines; this stuff doesn't sell for much."

Lao Fu Tou snorted: "Still being picky."

"Having some is already good."

"Hurry up and tidy up, get lost and rest; you can still sleep a few hours before dawn."

Fu Yongning nodded.

Lao Fu Tou said: "I'll take care of the catch; you just need to tidy yourself up."

Fu Yongning smiled and said: "Thank you, Elder uncle."