Back to the small fishing village in 1982

Chapter 1843 Harvest
The saury's distinctive bluish-silver scales reflect a large expanse of cool light under the setting sun, interspersed with the purplish-brown tentacles of squid leaping out of the fishing net, and occasionally other deep-sea fish flashing different colors.

As soon as the fish-collecting bag left the water, rain began to fall from the bottom of the net, like a waterfall, with the sound of water mixed with the crackling sound of fish tails slapping against the surface.

The fishing nets, undulating like a long snake, were filled with a dense array of fish. Some fish had already turned belly up and were floating on the surface, while others were still swimming and wagging their tails. The nets stretched as far as the eye could see.

The more than twenty crew members who were preparing to sort the cargo on deck all stopped what they were doing.

"In my entire life... I've never seen so many fish in one net..."

"This net must have caught over a hundred tons, right?"

"My goodness, just cleaning this up will take more than 20 of us until tomorrow morning."

"These saury are wholesaled for one or two yuan per jin (500g), but since we're doing a large quantity, we'll charge one yuan per jin. This whole net is worth at least 200,000 yuan..."

"20...that's terrifying."

"We can't use those to make fishmeal; we have to sell them for money."

"Any of the useless fish and miscellaneous items inside could be cleaned up and made into fishmeal..."

"The boss is going to make a fortune again. It's amazing. He felt that the resources in the near sea were not enough, so he bought bigger ships to sail to the open sea and made a killing. In the past two years, with more ships going to the open sea, he has come to the high seas."

"Haha, the boss said before that the risks of running on the high seas are high, so he raised our salary to 1000 a month. That's awesome."

"Actually, they're all at sea, so they all feel the same. There's no village or shop in sight, just the sea."

"It looks the same, but the risks are greater. After all, there are other foreign fishing boats. Anyway, we'll take the high wages and make everyone else envious."

"Haha, stop talking and get to work, the goods are all hoisted up..."

When the net bag was completely lifted off the water by the main crane and was rotating three meters above the deck, everyone quickly moved forward and took their positions.

The sound of countless scales rubbing together was right beside my ears, and the smell of the sea grew stronger, wafting towards me.

The deep-sea plankton brought ashore had a faint sulfurous smell, and the squid ink sacs that had ruptured also had a slightly bitter iodine smell, mixed with a strong seafood aroma. The smell was so strong that the crew members in the front row subconsciously held their breath.

The sorting station was surrounded by whispering crew members, while the captain in the bridge was beaming with joy. The more cargo there was, the more commission he would receive at the end of the year.

The captains were naturally among the first to qualify to purchase houses in the family compound and were also among the first to be added to the pension list.

Ye Yaodong also wanted these people to help him manage the fishing boats, and they would always be the first to receive any benefits, just to make them work wholeheartedly for him.

Now is the best time to make money fishing. He's ahead of the curve in everything he does. It won't be as profitable after the millennium, so he naturally has to seize the opportunity.

Ye Yaodong was still fast asleep. From the time they discovered the fish in the early morning to the time they prepared to cast the net, it was almost noon. They only ate lunch and went to sleep after the net was cast.

By the time they hauled in the nets, the sun was almost setting, but the fish were still a large school, so they were able to collect them quickly.

It'll probably be midnight by the time all the cargo is brought up from the sea.

Ye Yaodong woke up at night and could still see the busy scene and smell the strong odors.

He came out of the rest cabin, stood on the wheelhouse, watched everyone busy at work, and asked the captain, "How much cargo have you collected? Is it all collected?"

"It's not finished yet, but it'll be done soon. It should be ready in two hours."

"Can you estimate how many kilograms we'll need?"

"Excluding miscellaneous goods, I estimate it should be around 100 tons. There are too many saury, and they are worth a lot of money. I had them all sent to the cold storage. The miscellaneous goods are enough to process into fishmeal."

"Sure, I'll do as you say."

Ye Yaodong had already estimated in his mind that if it were 100 tons, he could sell it for around 20 yuan a net, and he had already established relationships with companies that had import and export rights.

The goods sold online are almost enough to cover current expenses and the wages of the processing workers.

A boat with 68 workers, each earning 1000 yuan, would cost 7 yuan. Some of these workers would also have to share the profits. There are also various consumable expenses, such as the equipment added before setting sail and the maintenance of the fishing boat.

Now he not only earns more, but also spends more. After all, things are different now than a few years ago. Prices have risen, there is inflation, and even the cost of building a ship has increased two or three times. Upgraded and advanced equipment is even more expensive.

However, as long as he can catch a large quantity of goods, he can still make a fortune.

"It's dark now, so let's alert everyone. There's coffee and tea on board."

"I know. As you said, we've only turned on the navigation lights. I'll also give Lao Zhou some instructions during the handover later."

“I just woke up, and I won’t sleep at night either; I’ll keep an eye on it.”

"Go eat first, and you can also go to the fish hold to check on the cargo that's been dumped in. I don't know if my estimate is accurate, but judging from the way those bags are being put down, it should be pretty close."

"Ah."

Ye Yaodong grabbed a toothbrush, quickly washed up, and then went to eat.

The workers on deck were still in high spirits, but their initial excitement had probably worn off, and they were now just focused on their work.

They were all wearing headlamps and rubber gloves, quickly shoveling and sweeping to classify different types of seafood, and then precisely picking out the juvenile fish that were obviously less than 18 centimeters long and throwing them into the chute that needed to be processed into fishmeal.

Small fry are considered defective products to them; live ones are released back into the wild, while dead ones are recycled and processed.

Just like some with severely damaged skin, or whose tails have been cut off by crabs or big fish, they are all defective products and can only be remade.

They are a large fishing fleet that values ​​quality, so they don't waste any fish, and their fishmeal is very profitable.

Another juvenile fish was flicked at the worker's wrist, tracing a silver parabola as it accurately fell into the sea.

"Little ones, go back, come back when you're older!" The worker's hoarse shouts were drowned out by the roar of the machines.

Ye Yaodong stood aside and watched for a while, and even helped catch a few octopuses that were running around all over the deck.

This thing is the most annoying. It's incredibly resilient; even if you bring it up, it won't die and will crawl all over the deck.

Apart from the porters who might grab something while moving, no one turned around. Everyone was busy with their own tasks like on an assembly line, exchanging a few words from time to time at most.

"Why does this freshly caught saury smell like cucumber? It's supposed to smell really bad, but it also smells a bit like cucumber. It's so strange. Can you guys smell it?"

"You smelled it too? I thought there was something wrong with my nose, but I didn't dare to say anything."

“I just took over the job, and I smelled it too.”

"Right? It does smell like cucumber. It's stinky, but you can still smell a hint of cucumber?"

Ye Yaodong was about to leave when he heard them complaining, so he chimed in with a comment.

"Freshly caught saury can smell a hint of cucumber fragrance, but if you wait an hour until they die, all that's left is the pungent smell of seafood. If you wait two hours, it will smell like your sweat, diesel fuel, and rubber gloves—that's when it really stinks."

"boss!"

"boss!"

"I had been saying that it tasted like cucumber, which made me want to eat cucumber."

Ye Yaodong said with a smile, "It will take at least half a month before we can eat it. When the fresh seafood ships return, I will ask them to bring over a few baskets."

Someone said, "Next time, you should wear a mask."

"I'll go tell the kitchen to cut some ginger slices for you to suck on later. It will help eliminate the smell and also refresh your mind."

"Okay."

"Once the cargo ship returns, have them buy some ginger candy to bring back to sea."

"This is good!"

"You guys go ahead with your work. If you get hungry tonight, there'll be some late-night snacks in the kitchen."

After Ye Yaodong finished speaking, he went to the restaurant to eat. It was neither too early nor too late, well past dinner time. There were only some cooked seafood and leftovers from dinner left. The kitchen was all cleaned up and they were preparing for a late-night snack.

He wasn't picky; he just wanted them to make fried rice with eggs, along with any of the ready-made cooked food.

There are only proper and substantial meals during mealtimes. At other times, there are also things to eat and drink, but they are kept warm and you can only eat whatever you can find.

After finishing his meal, Ye Yaodong went to the refrigerated hold. There were several on the ship. He followed the workers up the gangway to the refrigerated hold where this batch of goods was stored, and the temperature dropped directly to -25°C.

The noise from the machinery on deck was reduced, with only the distant hum of the compressors. There was also a metallic smell unique to low temperatures in the air, mixed with a very faint fishy smell.

"boss!"

Every worker who saw him greeted him.

"I'll just take a look at this batch of goods that was just caught and check the cold storage while I'm at it. You guys go about your business and don't worry about me."

The cold storage room needs to be inspected by a designated person every few hours to prevent incorrect temperature or power outages, which could affect the cargo in the entire refrigerated compartment.

The saury were piled up haphazardly in the corner of the refrigerated compartment, illuminated by LED lights on the ceiling. He casually glanced at their freshness and freezing status before checking the other goods.

The online store offers a wide variety of goods, with dozens of different types of seafood, each categorized and stacked separately.

After inspecting the cargo, he glanced at the temperature inspection record sheet on the hatch, which showed that everyone was responsible for checking the temperature, and only then did he feel at ease going up.

The workers on deck continued their mechanical work as usual, like on an assembly line. They had entered a state of work meditation, with only the fish under their hands, the basket in front of them, and the action to be completed in the next minute in their eyes.

An average person sees more fish in a lifetime than they do in a single day, and touches more fish in a lifetime than they do in a single day.

But their wages are two to three times that of ordinary people, and everyone is willing to accept it.

When he came up from the cold storage, he saw Ah Zheng just getting up and wandering around on the deck.

"Dongzi's made a fortune!"

"You made a fortune right after you got out?"

"Isn't this a way to make a fortune? One net can sell for hundreds of thousands."

"A worker's monthly salary is 1000 yuan..."

"Huh? Then I'd have to pay 5000?"

Ye Yaodong rolled his eyes at him, "Why don't you just rob someone? Can you do the work of five workers?"

"I'm the consultant you hired."

"Go to hell! If you're free, go help out. Don't just talk the talk."

"They've almost finished processing it. To be honest, I didn't expect to catch so much in one net, over 100 tons! Luckily, I partnered with them on one ship. Next year, I'll go all out and make a killing."

"Then you should pay me money, right? I've already given you the experience to gain on the ship, so it's your turn to pay tuition."

Ah Zheng's eyes widened. "Screw you! Dream on! I'd rather give up a carefree life than come to your ship to suffer and toil, and you even want me to pay you out of my own pocket? Where's your shame?"

"Experience is the most valuable asset, so pay me."

"I'll just give you the wages I earned, you don't need to pay me back."

P.S.: I suddenly had a burst of inspiration today and managed to come up with the opening for my new book!
(End of this chapter)