Ye Yaodong's heart was racing with excitement.
He never thought that by merely trying to overcome his fear of the sea, he would gain such rewards.
Was it really a stroke of good luck?
He chuckled, “Not only did I pray, but I also offered my whole self to Mazu to earn this good fortune.”
Azheng widened his eyes in surprise, “Ah… I didn’t know we needed to offer sacrifices! If I’d known, I wouldn’t have saved you earlier. Maybe we could have caught more?”
“Get lost! If I sacrifice you, we might catch even more!”
“Hehe, once I return, I will also pray at Mazu Temple.”
Aguang interrupted their banter, “Should we cast the net again? It’s been so long; the fish must have swum far away. Who knows which direction they fled?”
Ye Yaodong replied, “We should have enough oil, right? Let’s cast one last net. We caught a dozen fish in the last haul. We can’t let any stray fish escape. Let’s circle the area a bit more. Even if we don’t catch any mackerel, we can still net some other seafood. We can have a good feast tonight to celebrate.”
“The oil should be fine. Let's cast one last net and leave it out a bit longer. Even without mackerel, we might catch some rock crabs or yellow croaker. We can gather enough for a few bowls. We wouldn’t even need to buy seafood from the docks.”
In the few nets they had cast earlier, besides mackerel, they had caught various types of seafood, setting them aside in the water bucket.
For this last net, they didn’t have high hopes for what they might catch.
After casting it, they didn’t even bother checking.
Instead, they headed straight for the cabin.
Looking at the hold filled with mackerel, everyone couldn’t hide their excitement.
They had really struck it rich today!
Ever since he noticed the mackerel, Ye Yaodong had been focused solely on them.
As the boat sailed over the sea, casting nets and hauling in catches, he hadn’t felt any fear; only now did he realize he had faced his fears and completely overcome them!
Wonderful!
He stroked his chin and said, “We must have a few thousand jin of fish in the hold, right?”
“Definitely! Just look at the size of each one—they’re almost half a meter long. Each weighs at least four to five jin. We’ve cast the nets seven or eight times now; we must have caught half.”
“I also saw one in the live well that was almost a meter long. That one must weigh over eight jin!”
“I noticed that one too! Damn, this trip has been worth it!”
“Hahaha—”
Everyone was celebrating, joyfully chatting as they hadn’t felt this excited in ages.
Who wouldn’t be happy to strike it rich?
Azheng kicked the water bucket by his feet, looking at the tools for sea sifting inside, and quickly asked, “Are we still going to sift the sea later?”
“Sift? No way! After bringing up this haul, we should hurry back! We need to sell this boat full of mackerel and turn it into cash! I can’t believe you would ask something so foolish!” Ye Yaodong was almost dumbfounded.
“Of course, I’m anxious! I was just asking casually. What if you all think it’s too hard to come out here and want to sift the sea for a bit?”
“Are you silly? First, we need to sell the fish and make money. When we get back, let Aguang ask his aunt for another day’s boat rental. We can come back tomorrow and sift the sea. The tide will still be rising slowly, and the rocks around here should still be exposed.”
Aguang nodded in agreement. “Right, let’s rent a boat tomorrow to sift the sea and try our luck.”
“The boat is rented? Not borrowed? Why didn’t you say it earlier?” Xiaoxia chimed in, having just realized this fact.
“Oh, what difference does it make whether we rent or borrow? It’s just a little money. It doesn’t matter who pays, and today we’ve made a killing; who cares about a bit of spending?” Aguang shrugged casually.
Ye Yaodong smiled sincerely. “Exactly, it's just a little money. After we sell these mackerel, splitting the profits is what matters most.”
“Right, right! Let’s get back quickly once this net is up. I have no idea how long we’ve been out here!”
As they spoke, they hurriedly put their clothes back on.
After being so focused on the mackerel, they had forgotten everything else.
The last net was out for a while, and as they were about to bring it up, Aguang decided to head straight back to the dock, turning in the middle of the sea before hauling up the net.
Originally, everyone had low expectations for this final net, but unexpectedly, there was a surprise!
A large bass weighing about five to six jin was revealed when they brought up the net!
“Ah, a bass! A big bass…”
“Wow… there’s still big catch!”
“Adding flowers to embroidery, haha! Just when we were about to bring the net to shore, who would have thought we’d catch such a big bass!”
“Haha, we also got plenty of small fish and shrimp! We’ve got side dishes for our drinks now!”
If they had caught this bass before finding the mackerel, they would have been thrilled.
However, with the mackerel haul in their sights, this big bass only added a little more joy but couldn’t spark the same excitement.
After sorting through the seafood, alongside the big bass, they had caught several mackerel, with the rest being a few less valuable small fish, shrimp, and crabs, filling two large buckets.
It wouldn't sell for much, but it would make for a good meal.
“Let’s sell the bass too! It has to be worth several dimes a jin…”
Hearing Xiaoxia's words, Ye Yaodong couldn’t help but twitch his mouth.
The market price for sea bass was around 35 to 40 yuan a jin.
The selling price depended on the location, and in some places, it could double.
Now, talking about several dimes a jin was quite something—calling it ‘a few dimes’…
Returning to 1982 made him acutely aware of the price differences.
He couldn't stop himself from comparing things to 2022.
With each comparison, his heart would twitch.
If only he could have a golden finger that allowed him to travel back and forth between 1982 and 2022, how wonderful would that be?
Then he could sell the seafood caught in 1982 in 2022…
Ah, it was a nice thought, but all he had was a bit of good luck—no golden finger.
Still, just having a second chance was already a major boon.
He should cherish it because maybe good luck was his golden finger.
After all, who has such luck?
Aguang? Xiaoxia? Azheng? He didn’t believe it.
As a reincarnate, he was certain his luck was what brought him here.
While he lost himself in thought, Azheng’s voice pulled him back.
“Are we going to sell it? There’s only one bass. How about we keep it and cook a fish soup tonight? We already have so many mackerel. It wouldn’t hurt to keep this bass!”
“I think so too! Let’s keep the bass, and let's also keep a mackerel for braising! Or making mackerel dumplings would be nice too.”
“Then we’ll keep it! With so many fish, it doesn't matter if we keep one or two. I haven’t had bass and mackerel dumplings in a long time…”
Slurp—Ye Yaodong could almost hear everyone’s mouths watering.
They truly were a bunch of spendthrifts.
Instead of thinking about selling everything, they were rather eager to hold a few back to eat themselves.
But… he was thinking the same way…
(The chapter ends)