I am a local in North America

Chapter 51 The Blessed and the Moonfish
Having posted dozens of videos on YouTube, Su Jerry is already quite experienced.

I just posted the full video of "Crab fishing in the Bering Sea turns into treasure hunting? Opening the missing container, what's inside is... (Episode 2)".

He then saw in the "Data Analysis" function in the background that the total revenue for the previous month had jumped from "$3309" to "$3717".

This discovery surprised him somewhat; YouTube completes its final accounting of the previous month's revenue in the first week of each month.

The official explanation is that it's to filter out invalid traffic, such as bot clicks, so the estimated revenue is not stable in the early stages and will be calculated more accurately.

However, after the adjustments were made, the income was usually a few dollars or tens of dollars less, making people suspect that they had been cheated by the platform.

This was the first time Su Jerry had ever encountered an extra $400, so he was in a great mood.

Unfortunately, the fishing and crab catching track is ultimately a relatively niche area, belonging to the category of "underwater content creators".

On YouTube, entertainment, comedy, pets, daily life vlogs, and other categories have a large audience, but the advertising rates are consistently low, far lower than those for finance, insurance, law, software, or even games, technology reviews, makeup and fitness videos, and videos of pretty girls dancing.

The main problem is that those sectors can all advertise to promote products, with cosmetics and finance being particularly lucrative. However, Su Jierui's account couldn't find advertisers willing to pay high prices, and he could only shed tears of envy while looking at the high-priced ads.

YouTube viewers from developed countries are typically far more valuable for advertising than viewers from developing countries or regions. The revenue generated from watching one American viewer can be equivalent to the revenue generated from watching dozens of viewers from other regions.

In addition, the "Daily Revenue Estimate" mainly displays advertising revenue, while revenue from audience subscription fees and tips will be delayed and calculated separately.

This resulted in the data analysis showing that the first video of "Opening the Missing Container" had over 410,000 views yesterday, but the daily revenue was only over $900, not as popular as he had imagined.

Fortunately, these videos will continue to generate some income for some time to come.

The two videos combined should earn them between ten and twenty thousand dollars on YouTube.

While his fan base and monetization capabilities aren't as strong as those of top internet celebrities, this number is already quite impressive.

More importantly, the number of fans has increased significantly recently, which can be continuously converted into income in the future.

Su Jierui carefully considered the gains from his trip to the Aleutian Islands, and could only say that he was pleasantly surprised. Not only did he gain more followers on his YouTube account with good content, but he also received a share of the $6 bounty and the right to dispose of the shipping container at sea.

There's been no new information from Layton Verick, the lawyer temporarily hired in the Aleutian Islands, presumably because the companies and departments I need to liaise with are closed for the New Year holiday.

Su Jerry recalled that when he communicated with lawyer Layton Verick, the latter mentioned that he needed to hire a qualified professional appraiser to help assess the specific value of the goods in the container, which would probably cost an additional $1000 in appraisal fees, leaving him quite annoyed.

Living in the United States, anywhere that requires human assistance is expensive, and hiring qualified expert consultants from various industries is even more costly.

After taking some time to answer some of his fans' questions in the comments section, such as whether he should return the two super luxury cars, whether he could sell them to them at a low price, or give them away in a raffle, he stood up to stretch his stiff body and made himself a cup of coffee.

In the past, if he wanted to drink coffee, he could just go to the coffee shop downstairs. Occasionally, the middle-aged white female owner who rented his house would give him some cold brew or iced drip coffee that hadn't been sold yet to try.

Now that the other party has moved out, the shop is still empty. Su Jierui got dressed and went downstairs to check on the baby rabbits kept in the cage. He fed them some rabbit food that his sister Arou had helped him buy.

Some wild rabbits are untamed and will refuse to eat or drink when put in a cage, and will even bang on the cage.

This little rabbit is different. When it chews its rabbit food with its three-lobed mouth, it seems to enjoy it immensely. Its eyes are slightly squinted, and its expression is quite funny.

Now it no longer needs to worry about being hunted by predators, and it has a fluffy little den to shelter it from the wind and rain. Since being caught by Su Jierui and brought back from afar, it has finally started to live a good life. Its life has turned around, switching from wild survival mode to retirement mode with one click.

Immediately afterwards, Su Jierui went to his familiar barbershop.

The barber shop owner's surname is Li, and he seems to be a Chinese immigrant from Indonesia in his early years. The owner's wife is from Puerto Rico in Central America.

The couple worked together in the shop and slept in the small space in the shop's attic at night. Their child lived with the family's elders in a suburban town where the cost of living was lower.

Mr. Li was surprised to see Su Jierui and said in a warm tone:
"Xiao Su, you're back! The neighbors said you went on a TV show, you were pretty good! How did it go? Did you win?"

Su Jierui's lips curled up, and he mumbled:

"I can't say these things since the show hasn't aired yet. I'll just cut it a little shorter like usual. It's been a long time since I cut my hair, and the back is almost long enough to tie into a small braid."

"Wow, your hair has grown so long, it must have been at least six months since you cut it."

When Su Jierui mentioned that it was inconvenient to talk about it, although Mr. Li was very curious and felt like he had a cat scratching at his heart, he did not press for details.

There are also taboos in the hairdressing business. If you talk too much, you may annoy customers and they may not come back to patronize your business next time. It is only appropriate to chat with customers if they take the initiative to chat.

The landlady, from Puerto Rico, was incredibly welcoming. Outgoing and talkative, she wore a black V-neck sweater and had a stunning figure. Every time she bent down to wash his hair, Su Jerry couldn't bear to look too long. At that moment, while sweeping the floor, the landlady asked in heavily accented English:
"You went to participate in 'Wilderness Solo,' right? I saw it on TikTok. Someone won a $50 prize by catching crabs and eating seaweed!"

"Jerry, you're amazing! You own several fishing boats, and such a big house and shops that you can rent out. If you ever want to get married, you must come to me. I have many relatives whose daughters are all very beautiful and kind."

"My older brother's daughter got into Dartmouth College? I think that's her name, and she even got a full scholarship!"

“I can send you her WhatsApp or Facebook. She's smart and hardworking, you young people will definitely get along. If you two get together, she can stay and live in the US…”

Puerto Rico is a self-governing state of the United States, and its residents are U.S. citizens. Despite the landlady's accent, she speaks very quickly.

"That speaking speed... he might have some rap talent."

Su Jierui thought to himself.

The daily life of a husband-and-wife business involves playfully undermining each other, yet also a tacit division of labor. Mr. Li, the owner of the barbershop, smacked his lips in displeasure and glared at his wife, saying:
"Many young girls around here like Arui. With his family's wealth, do you need to introduce him? The Su couple can earn hundreds of thousands of yuan just by going to Alaska to catch king crabs. They even have a Ferrari at home. When they have nothing to do, they go wash towels. When guests come over, they almost run out of dry towels to dry their hair."

The Puerto Rican proprietress wasn't angry after hearing this, and replied:
"Just stuff those towels into the washing machine when you're done. I'm going out to set up a manicure stall for tourists later. It's sunny today, and there seem to be a lot of people at the pier..."

Su Jierui laughed awkwardly after hearing this, unaware of what his neighbors were saying about his family.

Anyway, in the early years, some girls would leave chocolates and love letters at his door on Christmas Eve. Since we often saw each other, it was quite awkward.

As people reach a certain age, similar incidents have stopped happening in recent years.

Instead, his mother and grandparents would urge him to find a girlfriend as soon as possible. They said that after graduation, he should focus on his work and settle down before getting married, so as not to waste time.

Grandma Zhuang had repeatedly reminded her that if she couldn't find it at school, her social circle would shrink rapidly after entering society, which would be troublesome.

Su Jierui always ignored these words. He was willing to listen to his parents' advice on some things, but he absolutely could not let them interfere with him on others.

But he actually agreed with the saying that "going to school is like going to the beach, there are plenty of fish to catch," but unfortunately he never met the right girl, what could he do?
After listening to the barber shop owner's words, Su Jierui only politely said:
"I'm graduating next year, and I plan to focus on my career first. I don't plan to think about those things for now..."

After getting my hair cut, my head felt several hundred grams lighter, and my entire neck felt much more comfortable.

Su Jie paid Mr. Li $35, and felt refreshed as he stepped outside and was greeted by a cold wind.

Just as I was about to go home, heat up the leftovers from last night, and eat with my sister Arou, my cell phone rang in my pocket, displaying the satellite phone number of the Junlin crab fishing boat.

The call connected immediately, and without asking who was on the other end, Su Jierui said:
"We have food at home, don't worry. Where are you?"

On the other end of the phone was Mr. Su:

“We’ve reached nearshore waters, so we can just head south along the coastline. I called you to tell you that your Uncle Zheng just called me and said that we’re preparing to return to Seattle. The ‘Fortune’ and the ‘Moonfish’ will both be docked at Anacortes Port next week to unload cargo.”

"He should go back first, we might not be able to get back in time. Remember not to silence your phone, go to the dock yourself and keep an eye on things. Remember to clean the cargo hold and deck before they return the ship, so we don't have to help them clean up."

"You don't need to worry about the money. Our family owns 35% of the catch on the boat. Remember to keep a clear count, and I'll settle the accounts with your Uncle Zheng later..."

Both the Fuyou and Moonfish are deep-sea fishing vessels owned by Su Jierui, and are over forty meters long.

The former belongs to his grandfather, and the name registered under the Fuyou ship has not been transferred to Su's father's name. This also makes it convenient to use his grandparents' names to avoid taxes and save money for daily expenses.

Su Jierui's parents went to Alaska to fish for king crabs, and the family's other two fishing boats were also rented out to Uncle Zheng to fish in international waters. They have been away for more than two months.

Occasionally, when some high-value fish, shrimp, and crabs enter the fishing ban period, the Fuyou and Moonfish will be rented out to earn some rental income, so as to avoid paying high berthing fees when they are docked at the pier. This saves a lot of money.

Su Jierui was already used to this, but worried that it would delay his trip to inspect the beaver ranch, he pressed for details:

"Around what date will Uncle Zheng and the others be back? Did they give a specific time?"

His father replied:
"Probably the 8th or 9th. If the fish-finding sonar goes off on the return trip, it might delay the catch by a couple of days, allowing for a few more nets to be caught. Who can say for sure?"

Knowing there was still plenty of time, Su Jierui felt relieved and readily agreed:
"Okay, give me a call before they reach the shore. How did Uncle Zheng and his men fare this time?"

"It's so-so. There are too many deep-sea fishing vessels at sea now. Some large processing ships are at sea all year round, and they've almost fished out all the fish in the deep sea. They don't follow any of the regulations of international organizations."

Old Su's father made a fortune on this trip to the Bering Sea. He didn't seem to mind the cost, only giving one piece of advice:
"By the way, if anyone asks about your prize money, don't tell them. The economy is getting worse this year, so keeping quiet and making a fortune is the safest thing to do. I haven't even gone back yet, and already acquaintances are calling me to borrow money. They all know our king crab quota is very profitable..."

(End of this chapter)