https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-55-Never-Would-I-Have-Thought-He-Was-This-Kind-of-Zhou-Chenglei-/12831752/
Chapter 56: Ignoring the Past
Chapter 56: Ignoring the Past
Jiang Xia was enthusiastically fishing.
Zhou Chenglei stood guard beside her, his back to his father, completely ignoring the elderly man behind him.
Jiang Xia seemed to have a cheat code activated, as she reeled in a fish every three to five minutes, never exceeding ten minutes.
After catching a rockcod, she landed a mackerel.
Mackerel was cheaper than rockcod, but its large size made it valuable. A mackerel weighing over ten pounds could sell for more than three dollars.
Zhou Chenglei removed the mackerel from the hook and re-baited the line.
After the mackerel, she caught a sea bass, followed by a yellow croaker...
Zhou Chenglei's father, eager to fish himself, called out to his son every few minutes. However, Zhou Chenglei was oblivious to his father's calls, his attention fully on his wife.
This infuriated Zhou Chenglei's father, who gnashed his teeth and wished he could kick his son off the boat.
Finally, when Jiang Xia reeled in a pomfret, it was time to haul in the net.
Jiang Xia: "This fish should fetch a good price, right?"
In modern times, wild pomfret could sell for over a hundred dollars per pound.
Pomfret was known as the top-tier fish, and its price reflected that.
Zhou Chenglei carefully removed the fish: "Yes, about a dollar and a few cents per pound."
Zhou Chenglei's father slowed the boat and gritted his teeth: "Zhou Chenglei, it's time to haul in the net."
Zhou Chenglei finally heard him and responded: "I know."
Jiang Xia also put away her fishing rod.
She glanced at their catch over the past two hours and was quite satisfied!
There were two large fish—a rockcod and a mackerel—along with a large bucket of smaller fish. If there were fishing records, Jiang Xia felt she might have broken the Guinness World Record.
Even though some of the smaller and toxic fish were returned to the sea, she felt a great sense of accomplishment from catching them herself.
There was a different kind of satisfaction in catching fish by hand compared to dragging a net.
Zhou Chenglei and his father worked together to haul in the net, while Jiang Xia watched from the side.
Seeing them struggle, she guessed the net had burst.
Zhou Chenglei's father, delighted, said: "It's so heavy, it must have burst!"
As the net was pulled closer, a large mass of fish gradually emerged from the water!
"Wow, so many golden pomfrets!" Jiang Xia exclaimed, her voice filled with excitement.
Zhou Chenglei's father was overjoyed. The entire net was nearly full, and he had never caught so many fish in one haul.
It must be his daughter-in-law's good luck. Every time she went out to sea, they had a great catch!
Zhou Chenglei: "We must have encountered a school of golden pomfrets."
He had guessed this when he caught two golden pomfrets in a row.
The father and son struggled for a long time but couldn't pull the large mass of fish up. Jiang Xia also came to help.
The three of them exerted all their strength to finally bring the catch aboard.
"I need to rest a bit before I can sort the fish," Zhou Chenglei's father said, exhausted.
After resting for five minutes, he stood up and called out to Zhou Chenglei to help sort the fish.
It took several attempts for the father and son to empty the net onto the deck.
The deck was filled with golden pomfrets, their white bellies and golden fins looking beautiful.
Even if they caught nothing else, the deck full of golden pomfrets could fetch nearly a hundred dollars.
Zhou Chenglei's father instructed: "Zhou Chenglei, go and set the net again. I'll sort the fish."
He didn't want to be a mere figurehead anymore.
This time, Zhou Chenglei didn't refuse. He organized the net and set it again.
It would take at least two hours for the net to be ready to haul in, but there was no time for fishing now. They had to sort the fish on the deck. Zhou Chenglei's father, who was no longer willing to drive the boat, ordered his son to do it.
Zhou Chenglei didn't refuse this time.
Although sorting the fish left no time for fishing, Zhou Chenglei's father, still hopeful, fixed two fishing rods to the edge of the boat, thinking that even catching one or two fish would be satisfying.
The sun was high in the sky, and Jiang Xia donned her gloves, straw hat, and face veil before starting to sort the fish.
These golden pomfrets were all about the same size, each weighing around seven or eight ounces, making them easy to sort.
Jiang Xia worked with both hands, swiftly tossing each fish into two different baskets. Her speed was incredible, like a string of pearls breaking free.
Zhou Father glanced at the two baskets of fish. The fish in the same basket were all the same size, while those in different baskets were clearly of different sizes.
How did she manage to sort the fish, one large and one small, with both hands so accurately?
Was her hand some kind of mold?
Every fish fit perfectly.
Is this young daughter-in-law even human? She sorts fish faster than this old fisherman!
Zhou Father grumbled to himself.
"Father, it looks like we have a bite," Jiang Xia said, glancing at the two fishing rods and noticing the lines moving.
Zhou Father immediately ran over.
Sure enough, there was a bite!
Zhou Father happily reeled in the line, revealing a golden pomfret and a sea bass. Ha, not bad, not bad at all!
After removing the fish, he baited the hooks again and continued fishing.
With Zhou Father's divided attention, the two of them still hadn't finished sorting the fish on the deck after two hours, but they were almost done.
It was time to haul in the second net.
Father and son worked together to pull up the net.
Another deck full of golden pomfrets!
Zhou Father chuckled, "We must have disturbed the golden pomfret's nest!"
Jiang Xia suggested, "With so many golden pomfrets, why don't we dry some and sell them in the city with the dried shrimp?"
The shrimp had already been dried.
Zhou Chenglei agreed, "That's a good idea."
He had been thinking the same thing.
Zhou Father frowned, "Drying them would earn us more money, but it's a lot of work. Drying is troublesome, and if we can't sell them, it's even more trouble."
Jiang Xia said, "We don't have to dry all of them. We can try drying a portion. Remember that middleman we met when we sold the yellow croakers? We can call him and ask if he buys dried golden pomfrets."
Zhou Father's eyes lit up, "Right, we can ask! If he does, we'll dry them."
Zhou Father finally understood why Jiang Xia had asked for the middleman's phone number.
Educated people really are quick-witted.
It was already noon. After eating lunch, Zhou Father stopped sorting fish and went to drive the boat to drag the net, while Zhou Chenglei and Jiang Xia continued sorting.
In the afternoon, they dragged two more nets. The first net had only half a load, mostly golden pomfrets, which was still pretty good.
It was now three o'clock, and they decided to drag one more net before heading back.
To their surprise, they encountered another fish school!
This time, it was a school of mackerel, and the net burst with the weight. Father and son struggled to pull it in.
Zhou Father thought about the small bag of mixed fish and golden pomfrets he had just thrown in, and he deeply questioned his life!
Zhou Chenglei looked at the deck full of mackerel, weighing several hundred pounds.
Zhou Father said happily, "Should we go to the city dock?"
Zhou Chenglei replied, "It's getting late. Let's not go. We can sell them in the village. We still need to find someone to clean the fish."
"Probably a difference of ten or twenty yuan," Zhou Father said, looking at the hundreds of pounds of mackerel and spotted fish. But if they went to the city dock, it would be too late. He decided to let it go.
As the sun set, boats from all directions converged, creating a spectacular sight.
The dock was filled with various-sized fishing boats.
The village's dock wasn't just for one village but for nearby villages, so there were quite a few boats.
This was the busiest time at the dock, and today was especially lively.
(End of Chapter)
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