After finishing his selection of pomfret fish, Ye Fu did not notice that the fishing boat had drifted far away.
The ocean was vast, and it was normal for him not to keep his eyes fixed on one direction.
Ye Yaodong was also sensible and turned the boat around once they had gone far enough.
The large net below remained wide open; whatever entered its reach would be caught without escape.
Seeing that the time was nearly up, without his father needing to call him, he proactively stopped the boat and went to the stern to retrieve the net.
However, he realized that this haul was heavier than usual.
Ye Fu was pleasantly surprised; more weight meant more catch.
When they dragged the net from the slide onto the deck, the two of them widened their eyes in astonishment!
"Mackerel? A great mackerel?"
Ye Yaodong, filled with excitement, lunged forward to pull out the large fish, exclaiming, "Wow, we're rich, Dad! This one definitely weighs over 50 pounds; we’re going to get rich!"
Ye Fu quickly joined in to help move the substantial mackerel aside, his face lighting up with joy.
"Oh my! We’re really going to strike it rich! We haven’t caught anything of this size in over half a month. The head of this fish is bigger than your face!"
"This is worth it! With this one, we won’t need to go out to sea for a half month."
Ye Fu chuckled, his face beaming with happiness.
This was a great mackerel indeed!
Most common mackerels weighed no more than 10 pounds, but the one they caught was enormous.
Just lifting it slightly confirmed it was well over 50 pounds—such a sizable mackerel was something even the seasoned fishermen had rarely seen, and Ye Fu had never seen one of this size.
Winter was the usual season for mackerel abundance, but they hadn’t expected to catch such a large one even before autumn arrived.
The father and son were overjoyed.
The bigger the mackerel, the more valuable it was.
The value stemmed from the mackerel's belly, which could be turned into mackerel glue.
High-quality mackerel glue could be worth tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands per pound.
In this era, money was precious, and although prices were not as high as they might soon be, one could still reckon the value to be over a thousand per pound.
"One tael of glue comes from ten pounds of fish," meaning a ten-pound fish would yield one tael of fish glue.
This mackerel, exceeding 50 pounds, could surely produce over five taels of glue.
What was five taels of glue worth?
They were practically set for life!
Ye Yaodong pulled out a seven or eight tael-sized shrimp fish that the mackerel had just consumed and looked at the pile that had spilled on the deck.
It was all shrimp fish; it was clear that this large mackerel was busy eating and had just been caught in their net.
He gleefully stretched out his arms to measure its length.
"How much is this great mackerel worth, Dad?"
"At least two or three hundred bucks," Ye Fu replied, his smile almost reaching the back of his head.
"Is that too low?"
"Not sure how much such a big one is worth. We’ll have to check once we’re ashore. Quickly, let’s put it in the big plastic bucket and add some ice to keep it fresh. We still have time; let’s drag a few more nets before heading back."
"Alright."
With a great mackerel caught, Ye Yaodong’s confidence surged.
He decided to sail freely with the net, no longer sticking to the usual fishing spots that his father preferred.
He aimed the boat towards the same ocean area they had just been in.
Ye Fu, smiling widely, sat next to the container holding the mackerel, staring at it with a grin.
He had never seen such a large one in his life.
He was lost in silly happiness until Ye Yaodong called out, saying it was time to haul in the net.
Only then did he stand up with a smile.
"Are you so happy that you’ve gone silly, Dad?"
"If we get this fish ashore, our family will become famous!"
Thinking about the glory that awaited them, Ye Fu’s smile grew even wider.
"People fear fame like pigs fear getting fat. Thankfully, the entire village knows we are building a house, spending money like water, otherwise, those relatives we haven’t seen in hundreds of years might come knocking for loans."
"Uh..."
Just like that, Ye Fu's happiness faded a bit; he remembered the last haul of large yellow fish they caught that had revealed two brothers who had never spoken to them.
Only some of the younger ones occasionally delivered food to the old lady.
But when luck strikes, it cannot be stopped.
How could they refuse money sent by the heavens?
Ye Fu frowned, finding it was quite the sweet trouble.
After a moment, he shook his head.
"I’m overthinking it; it’s only a few hundred bucks. We’ll talk about it when you become rich! Let’s just pull this net up first."
The catch from this net was mixed; there were no surprises, nothing of significant value.
After untying the ropes, Ye Yaodong poured out the catch, rummaging through it while muttering.
"Small squid, surprisingly a lot, and they’ve got eggs. Nice. Mantis shrimp, come with me... Red flower crab, orchid crab, paddle crab, eel, bass. Oh? What’s this? A skinned fish?"
He took a look and turned it around, "Let’s dry this one to make dried fish. Skinned fish is just right for drinking!"
"You’re only thinking about eating..."
"Well, if I take it back to dry, you won’t eat it!"
"Sell it for money!"
"Today’s haul is enough. That great mackerel alone covers our half a month at sea. Life is short; you’re almost fifty; don’t live so miserably. There aren’t many of these skinned fish left."
"What’s wrong with being fifty? I’m still alive! If you want to fuss, save some for yourself."
"Just let me handle the last net; you can haul it up."
Today, they had made enough profit, and Ye Yaodong wanted to save some decent fish for himself.
This last net had small squid, which were fat and plump, while there were grains in their bellies.
He figured it was reasonable to take a few home, feeling quite pleased.
He was tired of eating the small fish and shrimps nobody wanted and was fed up with skinny crabs; they had gotten lucky today, so taking a few decent ones was not too much to ask.
He knew his dad would not want to keep many, so he took the lead.
He wasn’t sure if it was his father’s luck or just the lack of stock around them, but the last net turned out to be only bass and some small fish and shrimp, weighing barely over twenty pounds.
"Thank goodness we got that great mackerel; otherwise, today’s haul would have been regular," Ye Fu said, not feeling too disappointed.
He knew others had caught even less than them.
"That’s enough. The sky looks a bit dark—it seems it’s going to rain soon. The waves are rolling, so we should head back early."
"Then let me drive; you take a rest?"
In the past couple of months, their brothers had taken turns going out to sea.
Although they still had to work during the day, at night, they had ample time to rest.
Only their dad did not seem relaxed, going out every day with Ye Yaodong.
He woke at around one each night, returning between three and five in the afternoon, spending fifteen hours adrift at sea, eating poorly, and lacking proper rest.
Only when the wind picked up or the machine broke down did they get to rest for a day or two.
Noting his father’s increasingly haggard look, with visible signs of fatigue, Ye Yaodong wondered if he could catch some blue crabs soon and save one for his father as a supplement.
Ye Fu shook his head, holding the compass to find the way, "I’ll drive. During the last two nets, you didn’t even notice where we were going. We strayed from the usual fishing grounds. If I take over now, we might not be able to find our way back before it gets dark."
He felt underestimated; with the compass in hand, he knew he wouldn’t get lost at sea.
He was just worried about his father.
Since he was restless, letting him steer was the right choice.
(End of Chapter)