Back to the small fishing village in 1982

Chapter 1022 Fish Struck by Lightning (7000 words)
Everyone came out of the cabin one after another, wearing a bamboo hat on their heads and fixing the rope under their chins to prevent it from being blown away by the wind. They also held straw raincoats in their hands and put them on awkwardly while looking at the sea.

"So many? Whole films are..."

"Hurry up, hurry up, put on your raincoat and take out the net..."

"This hand-cast net is almost broken after being used a few times. Dong, I have to prepare a few new ones and put them on the boat next time I go back..."

"Okay, I'll remember it. I'll just use it for now. The rest of you can grab your hand nets and catch as many as you can to see what kind of fish are jumping out of the water."

He also took out his hat and raincoat from the cabin and put them on. Although he would be back in the cockpit soon, he still wanted to come out and take a look.

The boat was operating slowly and he couldn't see clearly what kind of fish were jumping around. Some looked big and some small. The small ones were only as long as a finger, while the big ones looked to weigh two or three pounds.

What a pity, the net was just put down not long ago, otherwise we could have just pulled it up and stopped the boat.

"How come it rains so suddenly... It looked fine during the day, and the weather forecast didn't say it would rain..."

"Oh, don't mention the weather forecast, it's all a lie. The weather forecast they broadcast is the city's weather forecast, how can it be accurate? Don't believe it next time. It's better for us to judge for ourselves."

"Catch them first, catch them once you are ready. It's rare to see so many fish jumping out of the water at the same time. It's quite novel..."

"Dongzi, go and drive the boat. Slow down a bit..."

"understood."

Ye Yaodong watched as the two hand-cast nets were cast into the water and then towed away by the fishing boat. There were no fish jumping around in the small area covered by the fishing nets, so he returned to the cockpit and slowed down.

"Hey, there's a perch...it's quite big..."

As soon as he adjusted the speed and walked out of the cockpit, he saw on the deck that they had just scooped up a net of jumping fish with a hand net. From the net mouth with a diameter of fifty to sixty centimeters, a sea bass weighing about three or four pounds and a small pile of anchovies were poured out.

"I also have a perch and a Bao Gong, and the others are all small fish..."

"It looks okay, there are a few good fish."

"Let me help you pull this net..."

The diameter of the hand-scooped net is so small, and the net is limited. I made a large batch of them before to catch jellyfish. They can't catch as much as a hand-cast net that is spread out.

The two hand-cast nets were pulled up one after another, with just a few seconds between them, and then both fell onto the deck together.

The two small piles looked like they only weighed a few dozen kilograms. The straw raincoats they wore particularly affected the physical movements of casting the nets, so that the fishing nets that everyone cast could not be opened to the maximum.

But don't ask for too much, just small amounts and multiple times will be enough.

Among the goods poured out, there were big fish and small fish, but not many big fish, basically all kinds of small fish.

"It's not bad... there are still a few big fish..."

"Spring is here, and the bass are more plentiful..."

"The perch is good and worth the money."

After everyone poured out the catch in the fishing net and saw clearly what was there, they discussed for a few words and continued to cast the fishing net into the sea, not in a hurry to pick them out. Who knows when these jumping fish on the sea will disappear.

The drizzle was still falling. Ye Yaodong stood on the rudder tower and looked through the rain curtain at everyone busying themselves below.

Perhaps it was due to the fact that he had given out red envelopes generously the previous two times, and everyone worked very hard and did not treat the work passively or perfunctorily just because it was raining.

The view through the windshield was not very clear due to the light rain, so he walked out of the cockpit to see the scenery outside more clearly. Anyway, there was no need to change the direction of travel, and he did not have to stay in front of the steering wheel all the time.

His face was wet with raindrops. He wanted to take out his handkerchief to wipe his face, but the raincoat he was wearing was difficult to hold, so he had to let the raindrops fall slowly on his face.

Just as he was wondering how long these fish would jump, he saw a flash of lightning suddenly appear in the sky, flashing away and instantly illuminating the deck.

At the same time, the sailors on the deck also cheered.

"snapper!"

"This net is full of red snappers. I'm rich. They're all snappers. Let me help pull them out..."

"Lightning? Will there be thunder later?"

"Put it up first."

The fishing net had just been pulled out of water a little when Ye's father, who was holding a scoop net nearby, saw it. He immediately exclaimed, pulled up the scoop net, and threw it aside. He didn't care about the fish jumping out of it, and happily reached out to help.

"Is it really a red sea bream? Is it a real sea bream? Hurry up and bring it up for a look..."

"Is it a real sea bream or some other type of sea bream?"

"I don't know. We have to pull it up and take a look. Just look at the red color."

Hearing the noise, the others also turned around to ask. Some wanted to come over to take a look, but they had work to do. They had to catch the fish quickly while they were still jumping out of the water. They couldn't just leave them there and run over to watch the fun.

The five people below were divided into two groups standing on both sides of the boat's side, each casting a net to catch fish, so as to avoid having too little space to cast the net if they all stood on one side.

Although it was not easy to just drop the tools in your hands and run over to watch the fun, but when everyone was fishing, they also turned their heads and paid attention to the fishing nets being collected.

In an instant, with the help of Ye's father and another boatman, a large bag of goods was collected and thrown directly onto the deck. The fish inside were still jumping in the fishing net.

Everyone pointed their flashlights at the fishing nets below. Ye Yaodong's flashlight also moved from the sea to the deck. Another flash of lightning streaked across the sky, making the catch on the deck brighter and clearer.

“It’s a red friend fish.”

"Red Friend Fish? This fish is valuable."

"Ah! Are they red friend fish? This net is a big win, it caught a lot of fish, and it looks like it weighs more than 100 kilograms."

"Hurry up, keep casting the nets. It's a pity that the fishing boats are working. I don't know if we can still catch any fish. The school of fish should be behind us."

"Let's try casting the net again. The fish at the bottom have all floated up. It should be easy to catch them now."

"There's lightning, but I don't know if there will be thunder... Let's cast two more nets and see..."

While they were talking, Ye Yaodong also walked onto the deck, and the cargo in the fishing net was emptied out, and the fishing net was put back into use.

He adjusted his raincoat to make it easier for him to squat down, and with one hand he shone a flashlight on the red friend fish on the deck.

This is a purple snapper, also known as the red friend fish.

He had fished many times but had never caught a full net. The fish were indeed not cheap, with a wholesale price of 50 or 60 cents per pound. Judging from the current weather, they would not stay for a few days. They would probably take all the fish back and would not have to sell them to the fresh-collecting boats at a discount.

There are more than 100 kilograms of goods here, most of which are red fish, and there are only about a few dozen kilograms of small miscellaneous fish, which can be sold for dozens of yuan.

"I was lucky enough to catch a school of fish. The probability of this happening is quite low. The boat was moving around, but I was still able to catch some."

Father Ye smiled and said, "Who said it wasn't true? The accuracy of the shots was pretty good."

"Dad, you go up there and watch the direction. Let me take over. You go and take a rest."

Father Ye rubbed his arms, which were a little sore from catching so many nets, and said, "Okay, I'll leave it here for you. I'll go up there and watch."

Ye Yaodong took the hand-held net handed over by his father. What his father had just caught were all small fish. Most of the fish that jumped up from the sea were also small fish. It was not easy to catch a whole net of good fish.

This also makes the rarity of the internet-famous fish that was just caught seem obvious, and it was really a stroke of luck.

In other words, the handle of this hand-scoop net is long enough so that it can be extended farther; otherwise, it would be difficult to reach nearby.

He was also helping with the salvage work, and everyone chatted while working.

"Fortunately, the rain wasn't too heavy, so we can still see..."

"Yeah, luckily it didn't snow heavily. If it did it would be hard to deal with. But I just saw lightning, and I don't know if there will be thunder."

"What a crow's mouth! If it hadn't rained, these fish probably wouldn't have jumped out of the water..."

Just as everyone was busy and chatting, there was a sudden rumbling sound in the sky.

Ye Yaodong opened his mouth and cursed, "Fuck, Sailinmu, you crow's mouth, who just said thunder..."

"Looking for trouble..."

Everyone was cursing, and suddenly a flash of lightning streaked across the sky, followed by another bolt that struck the sea directly. The light brightened and dimmed, dimmed and brightened again.

They all looked up, and at that moment, they saw a huge fish jumping out of the sea. Then there was another flash of lightning in the sky, which actually hit the big fish directly?
Hit?
"What happened just now? Was I dazzled? Did another lightning strike the sea?"

"It looked like a fish jumped out and was struck directly by lightning?"

"I saw it too. I just happened to see lightning flash by. I looked up and saw a fish jumping out of the water. Then there was another lightning bolt. It seemed to have struck me?"

“Hit…hit! Yes…hit!”

Ye Yaodong also looked in surprise at the distance. The fish that just jumped out of the water was not far from them, so he could see clearly that it was indeed struck directly by lightning.

"It really was struck by lightning. Holy shit, it's the first time I see a fish and I'm struck by lightning! Even scumbags don't necessarily get struck by lightning, but a fish actually got struck by lightning!?"

"What is a scumbag? The fish that just jumped out of the water seemed to be quite big. It should be dead after this chop, right?"

"No, there's thunder and lightning. Should we go back?"

"Yeah, forget about the fish. It's starting to thunder and lightning. Should we just go back? If it rains hard and there are winds and waves, it will be very dangerous."

"It's quite dangerous. We've come quite far. We're in the middle of the sea now. It'll take several hours to drive back..."

"Adong, do you want to discuss this with your father?"

Everyone felt uneasy watching the thunder and lightning and wanted to go back directly. The boat seemed particularly lonely as it was swaying in the wind on the sea. Just now a big fish had been struck by lightning and they were also worried about what would happen if the lightning fell directly on the fishing boat.
Ye Yaodong nodded and thought it would be better to return directly. There were thunder and lightning, so it was no longer a matter of light rain.

"Dongzi, Dongzi, go to the sea, go and look at the sea..." Father Ye shouted loudly from the helm.

Everyone looked up involuntarily, and then turned to look in the direction that father-in-law Ye's finger was pointing. Just then, a big fish was floating on the sea, passing by the boat.

"Fuck, it's over... Dad..."

Father Ye shouted, "I'll go and turn the boat around and give chase..."

After the others reacted, they quickly lay on the edge of the boat and watched the big fish floating in the wind on the sea.

"What a big fish passed by..."

"I have to give it a try... I just watched it float past, and I didn't even get a good look at what kind of fish it was."

"What kind of fish is that? It looks grayish white... Oh, it's getting farther and farther away..."

"That fish should be the one that was struck by lightning just now." Ye Yaodong said with some doubt.

"It looks like it should be. Otherwise, how could such a big fish float on the sea? It looks dead."

"Such a big fish was killed with just one chop. I don't know what kind of fish it is... We're getting closer..."

"It's getting closer, it's caught up...give me the hand-cast net..." Ye Yaodong snatched the hand-cast net from the boatman next to him.

Because there had just been thunder and lightning, and a big fish was struck directly by lightning, everyone stopped their fishing work and were discussing it. Now that the fish was floating so close, no one had the heart to cast the net and they all gathered around to watch.

Ye Yaodong asked everyone around him not to surround him and to leave some space. He was worried that he would not be able to move freely under the raincoat he was wearing, so he took it off first.

Fortunately, the rain is only a little heavier than at the beginning and does not affect the vision. Getting wet in the rain for a while is nothing for a young man like him.

He looked at the distance between the fishing boat and the big fish, turned sideways, tilted a little, and used some strength from his elbows to fully spread the fishing net and cast it towards the big fish.

Only when the fishing net covered the big fish and the fish that were still tumbling on the sea did he immediately reel in the net and pull the line.

"bingo!"

"The net is here!"

"I'll help pull it..."

With the buoyancy of the sea water and the fact that the fish was already dead and floating, it was not difficult to pull the net in. Ye Yaodong even found it very easy to pull the big fish close.

If this fish was still alive, it would not be so easy to catch it. Such a big fish must be struggling hard.

Everyone was holding a flashlight, and the light of the flashlight kept covering the fish, getting closer and closer until the fish was pulled to the side of the boat. Only then did everyone change their discussions and speculations into exclamations.

"Boom! It's a hairfish!"

"It's a hairy fish! Oh my goodness, it's a hairy catfish! Such a big hairy catfish!"

"Oh my god, Sailin Liang, he is really a hairy fish, he is really rich now~"

"Get rich, get rich~"

"Ahhh~ Oh my god~ Hairfish~"

Before the fish was even pulled up, everyone had already started exclaiming, their eyes widened, and they even leaned over half the edge of the boat to get a closer look to see if the fish was a hairtail.

Ye Yaodong had been working hard to collect the fishing net. The light was dim at night and he had no idea what kind of fish he had pulled up. He couldn't lie on the edge of the boat and look down like everyone else, he had to collect the net.

After hearing everyone's exclamations one after another, I was also very surprised. But immediately after the surprise, I felt a sense of excitement as if pie in the sky had fallen.

"Hairfish? Hairy catfish? It's really a hairy catfish? Are you sure you're not seeing things?"

"It's a hairtail, everyone has seen it, pull it up quickly, and you'll know once you pull it up."

When Father Ye saw in the cockpit that the fishing net had caught the big fish, he slowed down the boat and adjusted the direction before walking out of the cabin.

As soon as he came out, he heard everyone's exclamations and heard the hairy catfish. He was instantly surprised and happy. He immediately quickened his pace and walked down the deck, shouting as he walked, "Where is the hairy catfish?"

Just in time, everyone helped Ye Yaodong to pull the fish up, and with a snap, it fell directly onto the deck.

There were quite a few big and small fish piled on the deck, but this fish fell directly onto the deck, making it particularly conspicuous, not only because of its size, but also because of its charred head.

This was because he was struck by lightning, so his hair turned burnt, and that's why he died.

Because the head was burnt, no one recognized it when they first saw it. It was not until they got closer that the boatmen dared to call it out for sure.

"It's really a hairfish!" Father Ye smiled excitedly, his mouth wide open, "Luckily I caught it and didn't let it float away."

Ye Yaodong was also very surprised. Looking at everyone's reactions, he realized that this fish is very expensive now.

"It turned out to be a hairtail catfish. I was right to call it a big fish. I've really made a fortune. This fish looks to be about 1 meters or meters long and weighs about kilograms. I've made a fortune. I've really made a fortune this time!"

He quickly untied the fishing net. He was no longer interested in the fish that were still jumping on the sea.

Hairy catfish is also known as "big fish" and stonehead fish. For convenience, it is also called hairy fish in the local dialect.

It is a close relative of the large yellow croaker and the yellow croaker. It has stone ears on its head and their "sin" - isinglass - on its belly. In Zhoushan, it is commonly called "big fish". Simple and crude, its most obvious feature is its size. The smallest hair fish caught by fishermen weighs 40 kilograms.

It is often mistaken for bighead carp. Although they are close relatives, there are still differences.

The hairtail has a variety of skin colors, ranging from golden to grayish brown to brown and silvery, with a blunt tip on the head.

Ye Yaodong opened the gill cover and found that the gill openings were particularly large. The most obvious thing was that its tail fin was double concave, confirming that it was undoubtedly a hairtail catfish.

The nutritional value of hairy catfish is very high. Of course, the most valuable part of its body is its isinglass!
The price of a piece of fish maw is more expensive than a 100-pound catfish meat.

Also because of isinglass, this fish became increasingly scarce and rare, and after the 21st century, it was almost impossible to see.

The old people said that if a child is in poor health, as long as he eats a piece of hairtail fish maw, he will grow taller and stronger within a year.

Moreover, the longer isinglass is stored, the more valuable it is. The storage method has been continued for hundreds of years. Before the 70s, people living by the sea usually put it at the bottom of the rice jar and stored it for a few years. It will not rot, and the older it is, the more expensive it is, or the older it is, the more moist it becomes. Although there is a lack of scientific basis, it has been regarded as a treasure among the people and passed down from generation to generation.

Then when you are ready to eat it, take it out and flatten it with a hammer, then soak it in rice washing water overnight, then wash and chop it into pieces, put it in a large casserole, pour in a little old wine, cover the pot and steam it.

Or you can chop it up and cook it into porridge, which is also a good choice.

However, this was something that only the previous generation could afford. His generation can no longer afford it, and the next generation has never even seen it. Every hairy catfish weighing more than 100 kilograms is worth hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars.

Although hairtail is not as famous as yellow croaker, it is also very rare. One fish is worth a house, which is absolutely unimaginable.

It also has a beautiful name in the East China Sea.

Big yellow croaker, small yellow croaker, yellow croaker, whitebait, croaker, yellow lip croaker and hairy catfish are known as the "Seven Yellow Croaker Brothers" in the world, but their prices vary greatly.

The reason why the seven kinds of fish are called "Seven Yellow Croaker Brothers" is because they either have golden body color, or are commonly known by the word "yellow", or look very similar, and all belong to the Sciaenidae family of the bony fish class.

In the 21st century, the big yellow croaker can be said to be the "number one fish in the sea" and is named after its golden color.

"I'm rich, I'm rich. This is a big fish. The isinglass inside may weigh one kilogram if taken out and dried." Father Ye was very happy. He didn't expect to have such a gain on this trip.

"Of course there is. This one weighs over 100 kilograms..."

"Luckily it's this fish. If it was another fish that was struck by lightning like this, it might not be worth much. The most valuable part of this fish is the fish maw. It doesn't matter if the outside of the fish is burnt by lightning, not to mention that only the head is burnt now."

"Yeah, luckily it was this fish that got chopped. Dong made a lot of money this time!"

"How much can a fish this big sell for?"

"That's hard to say. For a fish this big, it depends on the price the boss offers."

"It's hard to calculate the price of a fish this big, but it won't be cheap, it will definitely cost several hundred yuan."

“Maybe it can be sold at a higher price.”

"It's possible."

Ye Yaodong also squatted down, measured the belly of the fish with his palm, and grinned. Judging from the long body of the fish, the isinglass inside must be about 50 centimeters long. If it is taken out and dried, it may really weigh one kilogram.

Really made a fortune!
"God, this lightning strike is great, it hits the right spot."

Father Ye smiled and said, "Your shipping is good."

Others also echoed, "Yes, Adong's shipping is really good. The old people often say that shipping is really possible. It is passed down from generation to generation. There is really such luck as shipping."

"Of course. People who make a living by the sea must have things like shipping. What our ancestors passed down must be correct. Adong's shipping is really good."

"People in the village have long heard that your shipping is good, so you have made a fortune every year in recent years. It's true. I saw it with my own eyes, and I really have to believe it."

"Yes, those who are good at shipping can have fish delivered to their door."

"It's just like when a person is lucky and often picks up money when he goes out. Ah Dong picked up money on the sea..."

After the boatmen marveled at the performance, they all smiled and complimented the artist.

"Brother Dong Dong Dong, you are awesome!"

"Hurry up and let this fish bleed, and stop staring at Dongzi."

"Okay."

Ye Yaodong was so happy that he forgot about it for a moment and quickly turned around to get the knife. At this time, he found that the sea had returned to calm.

"Eh, no more fish?"

"The fish on the sea surface are not jumping anymore?"

"Not dancing anymore? No more?"

"No more, are they all hidden in the water?"

He muttered again, "It's only been about half an hour? It's over so soon?"

They were just so happy and talking about the hairtail that no one paid attention to the sea surface and no one knew when it disappeared.

With this hair fish as an example, no one cared about those other goods anymore.

"If it's gone, then it's gone. I see the rain seems to be getting lighter too."

“It seems to have become smaller?”

"So should we return or continue working at sea?"

Everyone looked at Ye's father.

Father Ye also hesitated. After all, there had just been thunder and lightning, and the rain was getting heavier, sometimes heavy and sometimes light, and he couldn't figure it out.

After some hesitation, he also threw the question to Ye Yaodong.

For him, Ye Yaodong has gradually become his backbone, and he gradually comes to rely on his opinions. Besides, Dongzi's shipping is so good, so he should be right if he listens to him.

"Let's take a look first. There were two thunderclaps just now and then it stopped. It looks like the rain is getting lighter. Let's wait and see. We can return when the rain gets heavier."

"That's fine. There are no fish in the sea now. I'll go back to the cockpit and chat with my in-laws."

"Ask Uncle Pei. All the fish jumped out of the surrounding sea just now. Did he catch any good fish?"

"Well, you handle this, and carry it to the cabin when you're done."

Ye Yaodong continued to bleed the fish skillfully. He just needed to cut open the gills and tail and drain all the blood. He did not directly cut open its belly to take out the isinglass.

He planned to carry it back directly, make a big fuss, and sell the fish and the fish maw together, which might fetch a better price.

Hong Wenle from Hongsheng had previously asked him to send over the good stuff he had salvaged. This was definitely good stuff. He had spoken very nicely before, saying that he wanted to treat him as a friend. This guy seemed to be a good guy, so he decided to keep the whole thing and bring it back to town to have a look.

The weather doesn't look very good. If it keeps raining like this, we will go back early when the fish warehouse is full and won't stay any longer.

It was really a coincidence that I got the gills of the manta ray before. I don’t know if they are still quite expensive now. However, although they are expensive, they are not that rare. It is still easy to buy them if you have money. It was not convenient to return at that time.

He also has to consider his own factors. This time he can send the person back directly to please him.

While bleeding the fish, the others also sorted out the goods on the deck. He also specifically instructed that the small fish should be kept and not thrown away.

I was lucky just now. I got quite a lot of fish from a popular online friend. I put them in two baskets and should be able to sell dozens of them directly on the shore.

Other sea bass, bream, black bream, tench, etc. were also packed into a basket. The harvest was pretty good and these good fish could be sold for about 10 yuan.

"I forgot. Chen Shi, go up and tell my dad... Forget it, let's find someone else..."

"Uncle, go up and tell my dad to tell Uncle Pei to remember to keep all the groceries now. The weather doesn't look good, and we don't know what will happen next. We should only stay for two days at most, and then go back after the cabin is full."

For the sake of the fish, that's about right.

(End of this chapter)