Chapter 599: Shallow Sea Operations

Just hearing the words Wu An and Fu Yongning said makes people extremely happy.

If that day ever comes, it would truly be bringing honor to one's ancestors.

Counting up their family, their father and grandfather were all poor lower-middle peasants, the kind with solid revolutionary credentials.

Everyone says poverty doesn't last three generations, but before this they saw no chance or hope of turning things over.

Now it's different.

They really feel that "poverty doesn't last three generations" is absolutely correct.

Look.

By their generation, they're bound to turn things over, right?

While chatting and drinking tea, before long they couldn't help but start puffing clouds and exhaling mist.

Wu An doesn't care about that.

Working on the ship is already hard enough; if he also made a rule forbidding smoking in the restroom just because of smoking, not to mention what A Qing and the others would think, even he himself would find it annoying.

In this regard, he's certainly not a qualified boss.

He doesn't smoke.

But on the ship he always keeps a few cigarettes handy; whoever wants to smoke can just take one, and he doesn't care.

Just this small favor will make Fu Yongning and the others remember it for a lifetime.

He praises everyone he meets.

Wu An thinks it's nothing.

He lacks the awareness of being a boss and doesn't treat everyone as employees.

If a lord treats me like a pillar of the state, I will repay him in kind.

Sincerity for sincerity.

He firmly believes that the more you put in, the more you will reap.

You ask, what if Fu Yongning and the others let him down?

Then what's there to agonize over?

Of course, just fire them outright.

Naturally, secondhand smoke should be avoided if possible; watching them puff clouds and exhale mist, Wu An got up and went to the helm.

Lao Fu Tou saw Wu An come in, stubbed out his cigarette, and called out, "Everyone in the restroom?"

Wu An nodded.

Lao Fu Tou frowned and asked, "Are the fish baskets all secured?"

Wu An smiled and said, "Yongning Ge did it; I just went around and checked, it's done well."

Lao Fu Tou said, "A An, sometimes you still need to have some rules."

"Can't let them be so laid-back."

Wu An smiled and nodded.

Lao Fu Tou then didn't say more; a reminder was enough—saying too much would be overstepping, lacking propriety.

Wu An asked, "How deep is the water?"

Lao Fu Tou glanced and said, "Thirty-five meters."

Wu An blinked and said, "We've been running for over an hour, right?"

Lao Fu Tou explained, "Exactly an hour and a half; we're heading north, actually following the coastline."

Wu An suddenly understood.

Though said to be north, looking at the sea chart it's actually northeast.

That's why the fishing boat has ended up in waters only a pitiful thirty-five meters deep.

Lao Fu Tou asked, "Why not just go straight east?"

Wu An thought, shook his head, and said, "Let's just keep going this way for now."

Although the water isn't deep, that doesn't necessarily mean there's no catch.

Open the system.

Luck Value: 1998 (480)

Tomorrow he can break two thousand; a daily one-tenth isn't much, maybe the system thinks he went out to sea in the afternoon, so giving more would be wasteful.

It's already just past three in the afternoon; if he keeps delaying like this, maybe even this luck value won't get used up.

Simply max out the fishing boat's luck value.

Once a school of fish is encountered during the voyage, the luck value drops while also controlling the school; then when the nets are lowered, there will naturally be a catch.

Moreover, this is a near‑sea area; normally there aren't large predatory fish schools like swordfish, so trawling is comparatively safe.

Luck Boost is a double‑edged sword; its benefits need no elaboration.

The drawbacks are also obvious; the previous encounter with a swordfish school is a clear example.

Actually, encountering a swordfish school is still the better option; there's who knows what in the ocean, and he worries that one day something deep‑sea monstrous might be drawn up.

Of course.

Worry aside, the switch still has to be turned on.

After applying Luck Boost, he kept an eye on it and chatted off‑and‑on with Lao Fu Tou.

Just a few minutes.

The fishing boat's luck value began to drop, and the decline was fairly swift.

Wu An's face lit up: "Lao Fu, let's start lowering the nets right here."

Lao Fu Tou blinked, instinctively glanced and saw the water was no more than thirty‑six meters deep.

He asked, "Just drop it?"

Wu An nodded.

Lao Fu Tou originally wanted to advise, saying they could wait until the water got a bit deeper before dropping the net; in such shallow waters, what good could they catch? In the end, they'd just waste time and fuel.

The words reached his lips, he held back, and said: "All right."

After decades at sea, his experience is quite rich; one of his experiences is that listening to Wu An is never wrong.

He picked up the walkie-talkie, informing everyone to prepare to drop the net.

Everyone quickly came out of the lounge and quickly took their positions.

Wu An also came out of the cabin, giving the trawler a luck boost.

The first net went smoothly into the sea.

After the net was set, Fu Yongning came to the bridge, saw the water depth, was stunned for a moment, and asked: "Why drop the net in such shallow water?"

Lao Fu Tou said: "It's already this late; if we don't go now, it'll be dark."

"Just this one net, and we'll have to pull it up in the dark."

Fu Yongning: "That's true."

He didn't say much more; dropping the net like this somewhat carries the sense of desperation.

But he believes in Wu An's luck.

Nearshore isn't devoid of catch; it's just scarcer and harder to come by.

Wu An stood in the shade, monitoring the trawler's luck value dropping, estimating it would be completely depleted in a little over an hour.

He called Fan Xiao Zhu to prepare dinner; now on the boat, whenever Fan Xiao Zhu has time, he basically does the cooking.

Clearly it's the same dish, but naturally it turns out a bit different from what Fan Xiao Zhu makes.

Do you have any secret tricks?

Fan Xiao Zhu really doesn't.

The ingredients and such are the same as everyone's, especially steamed fish, which really doesn't involve much to do.

As for timing and heat, Fan Xiao Zhu also lacks any precise sense.

Don't ask.

If you ask, just roughly enough is fine.

If he weren't out fishing, Fan Xiao Zhu working as a cook could probably make a name for himself.

Half an hour later.

Meal's ready.

It had only been three hours since finishing lunch; Wu An actually wasn't very hungry, so he only ate two bowls of rice.

Having eaten and drunk his fill, Fan Dali asked: "A An, you didn't say before that we were hiring on the boat?"

"This time returning home, I asked a few people in the village."

"One of them even knows maintenance, barely counting as a mechanic."

Wu An immediately perked up: "That works."

The boat indeed lacks someone who knows maintenance; even the car would have problems dropping anchor, let alone such a large fishing boat.

The fishing boat goes far out; if something goes wrong at sea, it's not as easy to call for help as with a car.

Having a mechanic aboard would also add a layer of security.

Whether it will be used is another matter, but it's still necessary to have.

He hadn't looked for one before because he had luck value as a backup, but he also can't rely too much on luck value; he needs to make preparations both ways.

Fan Dali hesitated a moment, then said: "If we poach him, the wages might be higher."

Wu An nodded.

That's only natural.

Someone with skill can make a living anywhere; earning high wages is only natural.