Chapter 585: Catch—Where's My Catch?

Gao Qiangqi was eating, saw that Wu An was calling, quickly set down his chopsticks, took a sip of water to moisten his throat, and then picked up his phone and answered.

"A An, you're back?"

"Probably still two hours to the dock."

"This trip is four days, that's quite long; the haul must be good, right?"

"Just that, the hold overflowed."

"Heh, you even try to compare with me, I'll admit you're good—tell me what you have."

"I won't mention the ordinary haul; I have several tons for myself—Tiger fish, Jin Hua Gu, Lion fish, Stone fish, all present."

"Well, you guys have cleared out the poisonous nest."

"Listen to me finish."

"Alright, alright, go ahead, go ahead." Gao Qiangqi said, pulling a cigarette from the pack, and A Jin, with good eye, lit a lighter and handed it over.

Gao Qiangqi took a deep drag.

Before he could spit it out, Wu An said, "There's also a Large yellow fish over thirty jin, over forty Qingyi (Blue-clad fish) (Blue-clad fish) (Blue-clad fish), and fourteen Swordfish."

"Cough, cough, cough." Gao Qiangqi coughed violently; the cigarette was meant to be spat out, but he instinctively took another drag and choked.

Wu An asked, "Qiang Ge, are you okay?"

Gao Qiangqi quickly replied, "I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm not surprised."

Wu An smiled.

"Qiang Ge, Qiang Ge, I didn't even ask you, why haven't you confessed yet, still saying you're not surprised? That's like saying there's no three hundred taels of silver here."

He, seeing through but not exposing, said, "Qiang Ge, it's similar to last time; arrange someone reliable to receive the cargo."

Gao Qiangqi said, "Don't worry, it'll be arranged perfectly."

He hung up.

Gao Qiangqi called Li Zong at the city's seafood market.

"Hello, Boss Gao."

"Li Zong, I want to ask if the market has an auction."

"Auction? Of course not."

"Organize another then."

"Boss Gao, it's not even a week yet, that's too eager, can't do that, you know, we can't be killing the chicken to get the egg."

"That's right, my brother's fishing boat is returning to the port soon."

"Oh, really? It's that lucky handsome guy from last time, huh, that Bluefin Tuna almost broke the auction record."

"Yes, him."

"You're really good to your brother, but you can't hold an auction every time because of him, Boss Gao, this time I…"

Holding an auction is naturally good for the seafood market; they can earn extra, but consumers are certainly not happy.

An auction, plain and simple, is letting people compete so the catch sells for higher prices.

Once or twice is one thing, but every time it's high; consumers aren't fools with endless money. Holding auctions continuously, in the long run, is definitely more harmful than beneficial.

Therefore, within a year, auctions are held at specific times—before the closed fishing season, at the start of the season, and around the Spring Festival. Randomly organizing an auction at any time will get you scolded.

Last time he already helped.

But Gao Qiangqi called again about this, and he thought Gao Qiangqi was being a bit over the line, his tone wasn't great.

"A Large yellow fish over thirty jin, dozens of Qingyi (Blue-clad fish) (Blue-clad fish), over ten Swordfish, plus Lion fish, and dozens of tons of ordinary catch; it's hard to explain over the phone."

"Boss Gao, look, I haven't finished speaking; actually I wanted to say, this time I'll definitely help you make the auction even bigger than last time!"

"Oh, really?"

"Tomorrow's definitely too late, the day after! I've notified all the surrounding counties and cities."

"Thanks, Li Zong."

"Haha, you're welcome, I know Boss Gao is giving me a chance to show off; otherwise, with your connections, you could easily take it." Li Zong laughed cheerfully, saying, "Last time was rushed; this time you must introduce your brother to me, I have no other intention, just making a friend."

"If he goes to the auction, of course it's fine."

…

A little over an hour later.

The dock was far in the distance.

Wu An was on the phone with Gu Anran; the last time they used a satellite phone for a few minutes, which wasn't enough. After getting signal, he called Gao Qiangqi and his family, then returned to the lounge, sat in a corner, and chatted endlessly with Gu Anran.

"What do you want to talk about?"

"Actually, we didn't talk about anything serious."

"Just a chaotic, random chat, why not be serious."

While the conversation heated up, A Qing shouted from outside, "Brother, come out and see."

Wu An frowned, "Can I not go out to see?"

"No."

"Oh, then later."

After hanging up with Gu Anran, Wu An tidied up and left the lounge, went to the Deck, and saw Chen Lao Da's two fishing boats also returning to the port.

Damn.

What a narrow road for enemies.

A Qing pointed at the two approaching fishing boats, anxiously shouting, "Brother, look, look, Ma Weiqun and his crew aren't returning to the Village dock, they're coming to the Zhen Shang Ma Tou, must be heading straight for us."

"And their boats are fast; Lao Fu said they'd overtake us and dock first, so we have to wait."

The Zhen Shang Ma Tou is that small; when two Trawlers pull up, there's simply no extra space to dock a third Trawler.

Cutting in line?

Yeah.

Lao Fu said, "Is there any way to stop them from cutting in line?"

He said there's no way; we're overloaded, the ship can't speed up, and Chen Lao Da's two boats are much faster than ours.

Alright, got it.

Brother, what's next?

What "then then"? Lao Fu already said there's no way—what can I do?

Wu An finished speaking irritably, turned and went back to the rest area, adopting an "out of sight, out of mind" attitude.

You're saying he really has no solution?

Not exactly.

There is still a way.

That means finding Hu Zi.

But distant water can't quench immediate thirst; rather than competing, it's better to calmly think about how to get revenge next time.

He isn't in a hurry either.

If he's deliberately stalling, Gao Qiangqi will naturally have Ma Weiqun take care of it.

This isn't the neighboring town.

This is Fu Yuan Zhen—not a place where Ma Weiqun can run wild.

Chen Lao Da's two trawlers docked; Chen Lao Da led a group to meet the vessel, he was the first to board, and asked cheerfully, "How's the catch?"

Lin Bin was also there, his face somewhat complex: "The catch... so-so."

Chen Lao Da: "Huh?"

Then how did you come back so early?

Let me have a look.

Lin Bin grabbed Chen Lao Da: "Let the others get off first."

Chen Lao Da: "I brought them here to work."

Lin Bin: "We don't need that many!"

Chen Lao Da furrowed his brows, but still had the others disembark and wait; then, under the guidance of Lin Bin and Ma Weiqun, he walked into the cold storage.

The cold storage was spacious and empty.

Chen Lao Da looked around, eyes wide: "You... what have you been doing out at sea these four days?"

What about the catch?

Where's my catch?

Lin Bin pulled Chen Lao Da further in, lifted a tarp, and said, "It's here."

Chen Lao Da looked down and gasped at the real cold air: "Sea... sea... sea..."

Ma Weiqun sneered: "Look at you getting worked up—it's just a dolphin."