Ye Fu was pleasantly surprised.
"There’s a red grouper? I never thought one would come here!"
Ye Yaodong lifted the fish carefully, examining it from side to side.
His eyes sparkled with joy as he said, "Not bad! I thought this catch would be bare, but there's actually a red grouper! Perfect!"
"Let me take a closer look!" Ye Fu was impatient, his curiosity piqued.
"In winter, we have pufferfish, and in summer, we have red groupers. This one weighs over two jin, almost three! It should sell for a good price."
He recalled that in his past life, farmed red groupers sold for two to three hundred a jin, while wild ones went for over eight hundred!
"Well, this one is much bigger than the bass you caught during the typhoon."
"I told you, I have good luck. Just look at this big red grouper!"
"Handle it carefully. If you damage it, the appearance will suffer, and it’ll sell for a lot less."
Ye Fu gingerly placed it into a small basket.
"Today’s haul must be the best day since we started dragging the nets, aside from the big yellow croaker. We could sell this for over a hundred!"
Ye Fu glanced at Ye Yaodong, who was brimming with joy.
"Hmm, you really are lucky. From now on, your elder brothers need to stay home and help build the house. You can come out with me every day."
"Ah?" Ye Yaodong's smile faltered for a moment.
He wanted to protest, but then he remembered that going out to sea seemed easier than doing physical labor like throwing rocks or moving stones, and his smile returned instantly.
"Alright."
"You think it’s that easy? Get to work."
"But you just said..."
Ye Fu chose to ignore him, sorting through the last catch.
He was pleased.
"Aside from that big red grouper, this catch isn’t that bad either. Sort through the catch, tie up the crab legs, pick out the smaller, skinny ones. I’ll head back. The sun’s setting, and we need to return soon. Otherwise, the tide will be too low for the boat to dock properly."
"Oh."
Ye Yaodong had no objections.
After floating around since two in the morning, he was a bit tired, so heading back early was a good idea.
He began categorizing the various seafood, putting everything into baskets, and then leisurely tied up the crab legs.
There weren’t many crabs today.
By the time he finished tying, the boat was already close to the dock, and he could see several fishing boats returning.
They were all from his village, familiar faces.
Seeing them, he waved and asked about their catch.
"Hey? Ye San, why did you bring Dongzi out with you today?" It was Uncle Lin, a friend of his father.
"The three brothers have to take turns working, right? If you don’t bring him out to work, he’s going to waste away! How will he support a family in the future?"
No matter what, he would get scolded! That was the stubborn nature of a father who wished for better from his son.
Sigh, after being reborn, did he not work hard with friends?
Ye Yaodong helplessly replied, "Dad, haven’t I been performing well lately? Can’t you say something nice for once?"
Uncle Lin laughed warmly, "Indeed, Dongzi has been diligent lately, making quite a bit of a name for himself. I heard he caught a lot of big fish. In our lifetime of fishing, we've never caught anything so rare."
"Ah, it’s just luck. Who can be lucky their entire life? For us country folks, hard work is what we depend on. No one can guarantee a full haul every day; the sea is unpredictable, and there are many risks more than on land."
"Precisely because of the risks that luck becomes so important! Besides, everyone goes to sea; some come back with little, some with a lot, and some might even lose their lives out there."
That was undeniably true, and Ye Fu had no rebuttal.
Ye Yaodong chimed in, "Uncle Lin is right; luck is vital for those of us who work on the sea!"
"So, how much did you haul today?"
The question hit Ye Fu’s heart.
He smiled widely and replied, "We dragged in three nets of rays, one net of bass, and one net of shrimp and crabs…"
Before Ye Fu could finish, Uncle Lin exclaimed, "Such a big catch? Three nets of rays? That must be over a hundred jin, right? Wow… and bass and crabs? Your harvest is remarkable!"
"Absolutely, just the rays alone, we caught three to four hundred jin! We even caught a big red grouper weighing almost three jin!"
"What? Red grouper?"
"It's a red grouper! What’s so special about red grouper that it needs to be mentioned like that?"
"Ah, red grouper? Three jin? Let’s see it! You really caught a red grouper? What kind of luck does your family have lately, getting all this good fortune?"
Uncle Lin craned his neck, watching as Ye Yaodong pulled a large fish, streaked with red and spots, from the foam box.
His eyes widened in disbelief.
"Wow! It really is a big red grouper! Your family’s luck is quite something! Is it because of the good fortune of your new house?"
"Can’t say for sure, but it’s possible."
Ye Fu had heard others mention that their new house had good luck.
"Wow! Another lucky day! The rays alone should sell for sixty to seventy, right? This red grouper must be worth at least a dozen or so! Plus, with all the other seafood..."
"What red grouper?"
As they neared the dock, their conversation caught the attention of other villagers on nearby boats.
Since the motor was loud, they had to shout over it, like poking a beehive as others started chasing after them, asking about the red grouper.
Ye Yaodong had already placed the fish back into the foam box and did not want to take it out again.
"You’ll find out once we unload."
Not showing the fish only increased the curiosity, and with Lin Uncle helping to boast, everyone wanted to know what kind of luck Ye San had encountered lately.
With all this chatter, many gathered at the dock to watch when they unloaded the catch.
After lifting a few rays off the boat, people were still indifferent.
But when they lifted several baskets at once, surprise filled the air!
"Ye San, you really hit the jackpot?"
"These rays are quite a bit! That must be hundreds of jin?"
"I heard there’s a red grouper nearing three jin too!"
"Is that true?"
"Ah, it’s really a red grouper!"
As they spotted the separately packed red grouper resting atop the mixed fish baskets, everyone swarmed in, discussing how much that fish was worth.
"Everyone, stand back! Let us weigh the catch first. Once we weigh it, we’ll know how much it’s worth."
Ye Mu’s face beamed with joy.
She never expected such a big haul today.
Seeing the red grouper, Ah Cai couldn’t help but smile widely.
Recently, several rare fish had appeared, and even the younger son of the owner of Hongsheng Hotel in town remembered him, saying to bring any good catches.
Hongsheng was the biggest hotel in their town, famous for its entertainment.
Wealthy folk frequented it.
In those days, the crackdown on illicit activities around there was not too strict, and many rich folks and officials from nearby towns liked to go there for leisure.
He chuckled, "This red grouper is a fantastic catch! Let’s weigh this first!"
Ye Yaodong handed him a cigarette.
"Let's agree on the price per jin first, Cai Ge!"
(End of chapter)