Catch the sea: start with a sand shovel and take over the entire beach

That's just how life is sometimes; you never know whether the next moment will bring a shock or a surprise.

At this moment, Zhao Qin was overjoyed.

Thinking that it was Ahe who told him to go fishing, he felt an urge to hug and kiss him. Well, Ahe wasn't on the boat.

Of course, if it really came down to it, judging by his appearance, Zhao Qin might just kiss the other person's face with his palm.

The fish wasn't affected by the water pressure; it's still lively and energetic.

Although the pipefish resembles an eel, its mouth is duck-billed, and its teeth are not as terrifying as an eel's.

Zhao Qin gently stepped on its head and carefully removed the hook.

I pinched its muzzle with my hand and first tested its weight, roughly estimating it to be between one and a half and two pounds.

Then, by measuring its length against his own body, he concluded that it was definitely over 1.2 meters, probably around 1.3 meters.

The old Taoist priest required four feet, and this one perfectly met that requirement.

In high spirits, I couldn't help but hum a tune. I picked up the fish, found a basket with a net opening, put them inside, and then sealed the net opening.

Only then was it thrown into the live cabin.

With this one tail, at least the minimum requirement has been met. The old Taoist didn't say he needed more, so one tail should be enough.

However, considering that I still needed to get medicine for my grandfather, more was better than less.

So he went back to his original spot and reattached the fish to the hook.

To his delight, less than two minutes after the hook hit the water, he caught another fish, and this one was even bigger than the first.

It weighs over two kilograms and is about 1.4 meters long.

A short while later, another fish appeared, similar to the second one.

Having caught three fish in a row, Zhao Qin was completely calm. After thinking for a moment, he went to the wheelhouse and decided to call the old Taoist priest.

“Master, it’s me, Aqin.”

"You haven't gone to sea yet?"

"I'm on the boat, Master. Are three enough?"

"One is enough, how big?"

Upon hearing Zhao Qin's description of the length and weight, the old Taoist priest laughed heartily, "That's enough. Hurry up and send it to me, alive."

"Then tell my sister and have her arrange the flight path. I'll have my plane deliver it to you around 10 p.m. tomorrow. It's still alive."

"Row."

"We ordinary folks are really, really happy today..." He hummed a song again after hanging up the phone.

Back at the fishing spot, I baited the hook and said, "I don't want that stuff, give me a spiny abalone, I want to eat it for dinner."

Just like the previous three times, he hooked a fish after the bait had sunk very low, and he had a bad feeling in his heart.

Seeing that it was another pipefish over a meter long, he couldn't help but curse, "Damn it, why is it this thing again?"

He completely forgot the longing look on his face just half an hour ago.

In a short while, he caught seven pipefish, bringing his total to ten.

He put away his fishing rod and said with some regret, "Oh well, it seems I'm not destined to eat abalone with thorns today."

After tidying up the catch, I took two groupers, each weighing about two pounds, out of the cold storage and started cooking dinner.

It was already past seven o'clock. Although it was still light, the sun was about to set, and the visibility was not as good as before.

Once the meal was ready, he blew the horn several times.

After waiting for about fifteen minutes, several people came swimming back, pushing a small boat.

He took the basket and first loaded all the seafood from the small boat into it.

Zhao Ping took off his net bag, opened it, and poured the snails into the basket. "Aqin, we've found enough. Let's keep the rest for seed."

"Big brother, I've got something good to show you."

Zhao Qin told everyone not to rush to load the snails, and led the people to the live hold to lift up the hanging net basket.

"A horsewhip?" Everyone's faces lit up with joy.

"Ah Qin, it's so big! Where did it come from?"

"Haha, we caught nothing with our net that's several kilometers long, but I didn't expect to catch ten fish in just one hour, and every single one of them was compliant with regulations."

"Is that enough? Why don't you fish more?"

"Brother, that's enough. Master said one or two is enough."

With their objective achieved and seeing Zhao Qin's expression return to normal, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"Alright, let's finish loading all the snails onto the boat first, then we'll eat," Chen Xun reminded him with a smile.

Only then did everyone realize what was happening, and they returned to the side of the boat to continue loading cargo.

In just two hours, the seven men's efforts were remarkable; the small boat was packed full, containing at least two or three thousand snails.

At 20 yuan each, that's tens of thousands of yuan.

After all the snails were stored away, Asia's two brothers tied the small boat back to the side of the ship.

After a quick shower and changing his clothes, Zhao Ping sat on the deck and asked, looking at the dishes Zhao Qin had brought out, "Qin, shall we go home first thing tomorrow morning?"

"Brother, there's no time. Let's eat first, and then we'll set up the net around ten o'clock. We should be done by two o'clock."

We'll walk home tonight; we should be home by 5 PM tomorrow.

"Okay, it's just a pity that the net was cast for too short a time, so the catch probably won't be very good."

"It doesn't matter whether we get any or not. The first net was pretty good, and we also found so many snails. These are all unexpected bonuses."

Zhao Ping thought about it and realized it was true. A smile appeared on his face. "Want to have a drink?"

"Let's do it, we have to." Knowing how hard everyone worked collecting snails, Zhao Qin didn't give orders; instead, he went to the warehouse and grabbed three bottles of liquor.

The baijiu (Chinese liquor) always kept on board is naturally not Maotai or Wuliangye.

Initially, Zhao Qin didn't have much money, so he carried local bottled baijiu. Now, all three boats are equipped with Luzhou Laojiao, which costs over 40 yuan a bottle.

Even so, other fishing boats can't compare. Most fishing boats don't provide alcohol; you have to bring your own.

Zhao Qin provided it because many people on the three ships liked to have a sip, but they generally didn't overindulge.

Everyone sat in a circle, and except for Chen Xun, everyone poured themselves a glass. They ate and drank, chatted and laughed, and the atmosphere was quite nice.

About an hour later, everyone finished eating, and the boat set sail again to collect the nets.

Zhao Qin patted his slightly bulging belly, and in a good mood, he ate a little more than usual.

When they arrived at the net-hauling area, he had no intention of handling the fish himself. Zhu Zi started pulling first, and as soon as the first fish surfaced...

Zhu Zi said excitedly, "Qin, it's abalone, not just one, but a whole string of them."

"Damn!" Zhao Qin didn't usually use filler words, but this exclamation of national essence was truly heartfelt.

I was just desperately seeking a single fish and couldn't get one, but now that I'm full, I can get a whole bunch of them right away. Are you kidding me?

"Ahe, kill two of them later, remove the thorns from their skins, and you can have them as a midnight snack or breakfast."

"Huh?" Ahe was a little annoyed. He didn't want to do it. Removing the thorns was too troublesome. It would take more than an hour to process just one thorn.

"Bullshit, you don't have to do it."

This net had only been in the water for a little over three hours, but the catch was no worse than the first net.

The first large net alone yielded over 400 jin of abalone, and with other fish like eels, the total harvest was nearly 1,000 jin.

The second net yielded a similar catch, with about 800 pounds of seafood, mostly sea bass.

With all the nets loaded onto the boat, Ah-He, looking dejected, went to prepare the abalone. It was almost 2 AM; too late for a late-night snack, they'd have to eat it tomorrow morning.

Zhu Zi and his men packed the net up.

Zhao Ping adjusted the rudder and activated the engine telegraph; the ship began to accelerate.

The trip was successful; it's time to go home.