Chapter 411: Ebb Tide
Chapter 411: Ebb Tide
In the end, each family set out to sea in their own boats.
Zhou Chengxin, along with his younger brothers Zheng Qiang and Tian Caixia, sailed out on their new boat.
Jiang Xia's family set sail in their own old boat.
Zhou Yongguo and Zhou Kangping took the boat that Zhou Chenglei had bought later.
The four boats, maintaining a safe distance, headed out to sea under the cover of night.
From now on, the brothers would take turns sailing the old boat, with Zhou Chenglei taking the helm today and Zhou Chengxin tomorrow.
Zhou Fu didn't bother splitting the cost of the boat with his sons, as he now frequently ventured out to sea on a large boat.
He didn't lack spending money, as his younger son gave him several thousand yuan each time he went out to sea, never less than five thousand.
Most importantly, he had few expenses, as his younger son covered all his needs for food, clothing, shelter, and transportation.
After the boats had sailed some distance, Zhou Fu asked, "Xia Xia, are you fishing?"
A pregnant woman's luck was at its best, so when else would she fish if not now? In a few months, Wang Cai's belly would grow, and he wouldn't be going out to sea anymore.
Jiang Xia replied with a smile, "Sure!"
Zhou Chenglei glanced at Jiang Xia, wanting to call his father to take over the helm.
Zhou Fu said, "Don't call me. My ears aren't working today, and even if you call me, I won't hear you!"
The old man wanted to fish with Wang Cai!
Zhou Chenglei: "...I wasn't calling you, I was calling my wife! Xia Xia, it's still dark, go back to sleep for a while, and then fish after you wake up."
Zhou Fu: "..."
You little rascal!
Jiang Xia smiled and said, "I slept well last night and I'm not tired. I'll sleep again at noon."
Zhou Fu glared at his son: Hmph, his daughter-in-law is better!
Zhou Fu handed the fishing rod to Jiang Xia: "Xia Xia, help me cast the fishing line."
Jiang Xia took it with a smile, cast the line for Zhou Fu, and then handed it back to him.
Zhou Mu smiled and said, "I'll take over the helm. A Lei, you go and set the net!"
"Okay."
His mother is the best!
Zhou Mu walked over to take the helm, and Zhou Chenglei went to set the net.
After setting the net, he came to Jiang Xia's side to fish with her.
Zhou Chenglei helped Jiang Xia, but instead of fishing himself, he just watched by her side.
Previously, in the hot weather, Jiang Xia could catch a fish every ten to fifteen minutes. Now, after almost twenty minutes, there wasn't a single bite.
However, Zhou Fu wasn't worried. Fishing in winter often meant that the fish would hide in deeper waters to stay warm and avoid the cold. As the temperature dropped, the seawater cooled, and the fish became less likely to feed.
But with Wang Cai around, they would strike it rich sooner or later!
Jiang Xia said, "I think there might be fewer fish in this area today." It had been quite some time without a single catch.
Just as she finished speaking, Zhou Fu had a fish on the line.
It was a long and thick sand eel. In the dim light, Jiang Xia mistook it for a snake at first glance, giving her a startle. She quietly moved closer to Zhou Chenglei.
"It's probably a sea eel, not a snake," Zhou Chenglei explained.
Zhou Fu reeled in the line, pulling the fish onto the boat, and said with a smile, "It's a sand eel, and it's not bad. It should be around two and a half to three pounds!"
Zhou Fu took the fish and placed it in a bucket.
Just then, Jiang Xia's fishing rod also had a bite.
Jiang Xia reeled it in with some effort, and with Zhou Chenglei's help, it turned out to be a flatfish, and it was not small in size.
Zhou Fu took a look and smiled, "Not bad! This fish is valuable. It should sell for around ten to eight yuan."
He fixed the fishing rod and took the hand net to help.
The father and son worked together to bring the ten-pound flatfish onto the boat.
Just as they finished with the flatfish, Zhou Fu had another bite on his line.
This time, he caught a black grouper weighing around two pounds.
Not bad!
Black grouper is quite cold-resistant and is a common catch when sea fishing in winter.
It could sell for two to three yuan as well.
After another twenty minutes or so, Jiang Xia had another bite.
Once again, a snake-like fish!
Jiang Xia: "..."
She handed the fishing rod directly to Zhou Chenglei.
Zhou Chenglei took it and reeled in the fish, "It's a red mackerel, not a snake."
Jiang Xia also recognized it, having encountered it before. The red mackerel is also known as the horsewhip fish in some places due to its red body.
This red mackerel was quite large, thick, and long, weighing about three catties and a little over.
Zhou Fu glanced at it and smiled, "Not bad, even such a rare fish has been caught by Xia. This fish is delicious as sashimi!"
The red mackerel is uncommon, and those who understand fish like to use it for sashimi.
Read the correct version at 69 Book Bar! 6=9+Book_Bar.
After Zhou Chenglei took the fish off the hook, he asked Jiang Xia, "Do you want to keep fishing? Do you want to take a break?"
They had been fishing for almost an hour, and only two fish had been caught.
There was still an hour before they would haul in the net, so Jiang Xia nodded and said, "Let's fish!"
But in the next hour, neither Zhou Fu nor Jiang Xia caught a single fish.
Zhou Fu put away the fishing rod, "Forget it, let's not fish anymore. Let's haul in the net."
Today's fishing luck was off, it was definitely not a good day for fishing! Jiang Xia also stopped fishing and put away her rod.
The sky had already brightened, and from a distance, the boats of the first and second wives were all hauling in their nets.
Zhou Chenglei and Zhou Fu went to haul in their net.
"Net's full! Net's full!" Zhou Fu muttered to himself as he pulled in the net.
A bundle of fish surfaced, and compared to previous full nets, this one had only two to three hundred catties, which wasn't much compared to the previous four to five hundred catties.
Zhou Chenglei easily emptied the net by himself.
Zhou Fu looked at the large fish on the deck and laughed, "It's not about the quantity, but the quality of the fish!"
This net was almost entirely yellow grouper, and they were all over a catty, not the smaller six or seven liang yellow groupers.
The price of yellow grouper is slightly lower than that of red snapper, but it's still a valuable fish.
And among the catch, there was also an extremely large flounder, about one and a half meters long, and estimated to weigh fifty to sixty catties.
Such a large flounder should fetch sixty to seventy yuan.
Zhou Fu estimated that the remaining yellow groupers and other miscellaneous fish and shrimp could also sell for around one hundred yuan.
This net alone brought in one hundred and seventy yuan.
In winter, to have such a catch from nearshore fishing is quite impressive! Including the fish they caught earlier, they should be able to earn around two hundred yuan.
Zhou Fu laughed heartily, "A-Lei, you continue trawling, I'll sort the fish. Xia, you take a rest."
At this moment, Zhou Mu spoke up, "Where have we sailed to? It feels like we're about to reach the shore."
Zhou Mu could sail, but she was also unfamiliar with the sea, and before she knew it, she had sailed to an unknown location.
Zhou Chenglei stood up and took a look, "It should be the bay on the northern side, and today is probably the day of the ebb tide."
Zhou Fu glanced into the distance and said, "It's near the red mangroves, and it's probably ebbing there. A-Lei, you go and sail, don't trawl for now, sail a bit further and then trawl!"
Jiang Xia asked curiously, "Ebb tide? Can we beachcomb during the ebb tide?"
Zhou Mu was a bit excited, "Yes, when the tide ebbs at this beach, there are lots of good things! It's just that we don't know when the tide will ebb. Let's sail closer, and I'll go beachcombing."
"I'll go too."
Zhou Chenglei said, "It's still early, let's wait for the seawater to recede further, exposing a larger beach. It won't be too late to go beachcombing then. Let's trawl one more net, and you can rest first, then go beachcombing after you've rested."
To beachcomb at this beach, one needed a boat, so there was no worry about missing out on good finds.
(End of Chapter)
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