Chapter 603: The Unremarkable Little Fish

Wu An told himself in his heart that he might be worrying needlessly; even if he encountered any danger, Hu Zi would surely have a way to resolve it.

Otherwise Hu Zi could not have grown up in the ocean, and besides, he has his clan with him.

After considering the time to finish a bottle of wine, Wu An still decided to leave a message for Lao Fu Tou, telling him to start the ship and head toward where the light point is as soon as he wakes up.

When trawling, the ship speed is three to four knots; when not trawling and cruising, speed is about 15 knots; if we disregard cost and run at full throttle, plus with an empty boat, it can reach sixteen or seventeen knots, and it cannot go any faster.

Wu An estimates that the fishing boat's full speed is now 14 knots, and going faster would be unnecessary.

He and Lao Fu Tou agreed to sail at full speed for two hours, then stop and begin trawling; he reckoned that even if they hadn't yet reached the waters where the light point is, they wouldn't be far off.

In the evening they drank a bit too much wine; Wu An felt slightly tipsy, A Qing smoked one cigarette after another to stay alert, then he washed up and went to sleep.

He slept until waking naturally, feeling a bit head-heavy and feet-light.

He checked the time; it was already just past seven in the morning.

He came onto the deck, looked up at the sky, and saw thick clouds overhead.

But in the east, the sun was still hanging brightly in the sky,

Sunlight streamed through the clouds, as if leaking down, casting large shadows on the deck—a rather interesting sky phenomenon.

The morning wind was a bit strong and chilly.

Wu An tugged at his coat, A Qing came over to greet him, saying, "Brother, let's have noodles for breakfast."

Wu An nodded.

Soon he held a bowl of noodles, squatted down to eat, with no particular ceremony, and he added a few garlic cloves for flavor.

Around here, people rarely eat garlic.

Wu An didn't eat it at first either; in his previous life, after wandering outside for so many years, his eating habits had already diverged greatly from the locals'.

Everyone found his way of eating unappealing, and A Qing wondered why he ate like that.

Wu An couldn't be bothered to reply.

There's no way to explain it.

After eating a bowl of noodles, he felt completely relaxed, the earlier slight chill in his body gone, though he still felt a bit head-heavy and feet-light.

It probably isn't a cold.

It's just that he's only just woken up and hasn't fully recovered yet.

Wu An quietly let out a breath, thinking that if he caught a cold and ran a fever on the ship, even though they had medicine, it would still be quite a hassle.

Lao Fu Tou called him over the walkie‑talkie to come to the wheelhouse.

Wu An dared not delay.

He arrived at the wheelhouse.

"Lao Fu, what's wrong?"

Lao Fu Tou rubbed his leg and said, "I feel something's off."

"I expect the weather might change in the next couple of days."

"We need to prepare early."

Wu An blinked: "Didn't we check the weather before we went out to sea? The weather's been fine lately."

Lao Fu Tou nodded: "Out at sea, the weather changes in an instant; forecasts aren't necessarily 100% accurate."

Wu An nodded: "Then I'll follow your lead."

"Should we turn back?"

Lao Fu Tou smiled: "That's definitely impossible—we can't turn back."

"If the weather really does change suddenly, we just need to find a place to shelter."

"To turn back just because the weather changes a bit would be a waste."

Experiencing wind and rain at sea is normal; setting out under clear skies and then suddenly getting rain is also normal.

Wu An nodded.

Since Lao Fu Tou has already said that, in this situation all he needs to do is trust and support him.

They chatted about the weather for a while.

Fu Yongning also came over to join the fun, raised an opposing view, and thought the current weather was unlikely to change.

He is an old fisherman and also has experience with weather changes.

Lao Fu Tou's experience also includes his old bodily ailments; in that regard, Fu Yongning can't compare.

His physique is better, and he isn't as sensitive as Lao Fu Tou.

Wu An saw that their bickering was pointless; fortunately, the system also reminded him that the trawl's luck value was almost exhausted.

At this moment, he discovered that after the system upgrade there was another benefit: he could use the system to determine the trawl's current condition.

If the system had upgraded when they previously encountered swordfish, then while the net was still underwater he could tell whether the trawl had been damaged by the swordfish.

That way, as long as the system gives timely prompts, there won't be a situation where the trawl bursts from over‑catch.

That's quite clever.

This must be version 3.0, right?

Although each system upgrade merely optimizes and adds a tiny little feature, each time it is continually being refined.

We should give the system a thumbs‑up.

He didn't realize that the system actually hadn't considered all that; it was through each system upgrade that he explored more interpretations.

The system is just an add‑on, a tool; how it's used depends on the person.

That is, Wu An himself.

There's also no set standard.

In this regard, Wu An is also feeling his way across the river by feeling for stones, making the most of the system to gain benefit.

He deliberately asked about the time to lower the net.

Then he suggested hauling the net.

Fu Yongning left the wheelhouse to get busy.

Soon, the first net of the next day came up smoothly, the net bag bulging, estimated at about two or three tons.

Wu An nodded slightly.

Fu Yongning went to untie the net; when the catch tilted down, he widened his eyes.

"Damn, small fish again!"

Fu Yongning couldn't help but swear!

Yesterday was fine; although the phoenix‑tail fish wasn't great, the next net of knife fish gave them a big surprise.

This net is basically similar in size to yesterday's phoenix‑tail fish—yellow crucian carp, about one or two liang each, the biggest no more than two liang.

A Qing casually grabbed a handful and tossed it into the fish basket, asking, "Brother Yongning, does this count as big?"

Fu Yongning sighed: "Yeah, the size isn't small, but the price is lower than phoenix‑tail fish."

This fish has a trait: it goes by many colloquial names—over a dozen.

Although this thing isn't valuable, it has good medicinal value.

And it's tasty to eat, especially in spring; there's even a catchy saying.

But in Wu An and company's view, saying all that flowery talk isn't for nothing.

The market doesn't buy it.

This net's three or four tons of yellow crucian carp are worth less than two or three hundred catties of knife fish.

You say, isn't that aggravating?

Wu An also couldn't help but frown; early in the morning, it's a bit of an inauspicious start.

Lao Fu Tou heard the situation, came out to look, and advised: "A An, why don't we run out to deeper waters?"

Wu An checked the system.

The distance to Ma Weiqun's fishing boat and Hu Zi isn't far; just go a bit north and you'll get there.

If we go to deeper waters now, wouldn't that long trip be for nothing?

It's still the same saying.

We've come all this way.

Not even checking on Hu Zi's condition? That wouldn't do.

"Just this." Wu An comforted them: "One net brings in tens of thousands; if we work a little harder today and do a few more nets, we can earn a decent amount in a day."

Everyone nodded, saying nothing.

Frankly, this income is already very good compared to other trawlers.

It's still the same saying: it's hard to go from extravagance to frugality.

We've had great times before, but now these small fish flooding the net, the big catches are truly looked down upon.

But even if we disdain them, we still have to sort them out.