It was a school of Yellow Croaker! With such a mighty chorus of "clucking" sounds, it could only be a school of Yellow Croaker.
Father Zhou sped toward the source of the sound, his body trembling faintly with excitement. "A'Lei, get the Hand Cast Net ready!"
When Yellow Croaker gathered in dense schools, they made a sound like boiling water. It was so loud it could deafen their natural enemies—a rare phenomenon among fish.
Father Zhou steered the boat over, and sure enough, they saw the school of Yellow Croaker.
Even in the dim light, they could see flashes of golden radiance.
Yellow Croaker disliked light. Once dawn broke, they would sink to the seabed.
"Quick, cast the net! The Hand Cast Net!" Father Zhou said excitedly.
Zhou Chenglei had already picked up the Hand Cast Net and thrown it out.
Father Zhou hurriedly picked up the Hand Cast Net on the deck and cast it as well.
Jiang Xia had never cast a net, but she knew how to scoop fish with a Net Pocket! She had picked up the Hand Net long ago and was ready to scoop up fish at any moment.
With one cast from Zhou Chenglei, an entire netful of fish came up.
"Dump them into the Live Well," Father Zhou reminded him.
Zhou Chenglei had opened the Live Well ahead of time. He knew what to do without Father Zhou saying anything.
Jiang Xia scooped up three fish. One golden Yellow Croaker after another was poured into the Live Well.
This one net had dozens of fish, if not a hundred, right? It was probably more than dozens.
She poured her three fish in as well, then swiftly turned around and continued scooping.
Being behind in everything is worse than being a spendthrift! The chance to make a fortune had arrived. If she still didn't know to seize it, then she might as well have transmigrated for nothing—she should just jump into the sea and feed the fish.
At that moment, Father Zhou also hauled up a net. With a "splashing" roar, countless golden Yellow Croaker vanished into the Live Well.
Zhou Chenglei and Father Zhou cast net after net, while Jiang Xia scooped basket after basket, picking only the larger fish, her hands quick and precise! After they cast three or four nets in succession, the school scattered and swam away.
Once the school scattered, it scattered. Zhou Chenglei and Father Zhou did not start the boat to chase it.
Father Zhou had never fished to the point of wiping everything out. Although it was difficult to catch every last fish and there were always fish that slipped through the net, he was not a greedy man.
Naturally, Zhou Chenglei was the same.
Still, both Live Wells were almost full!
Looking at the two brimming Live Wells, Father Zhou grinned. "Xiao Xia, you've got excellent luck at sea. The moment you went out, you ran into a school of Yellow Croaker!"
These Yellow Croaker could surely sell for several hundred yuan.
One net had earned them half a year's usual income!
Jiang Xia smiled. "Dad, your luck at sea is the good one. You chose an excellent fishing ground. Besides, you and Chenglei have the experience and knew it was a school of Yellow Croaker. I just happen to have sharper ears. If I'd gone out to sea alone, I would've been so scared I'd have hidden."
Father Zhou laughed heartily. Who didn't like hearing pleasant words? She wasn't wrong, either. If Jiang Xia hadn't heard the "clucking" sounds and they hadn't steered over quickly, they would have missed it.
This younger daughter-in-law really seemed to have changed. She certainly knew how to talk.
He had said so: when husband and wife were of one mind, their strength could cut through metal.
The saying that family harmony brought prosperity to all things had been passed down since ancient times for a reason.
He absolutely refused to believe that bringing a woman aboard would bring bad luck. He believed only in husband and wife being of one mind and family harmony bringing prosperity.
When the whole family pulled together like a single rope and exerted their strength in the same direction, they couldn't go wrong.
It was like rowing a boat. If one person rowed east while another rowed west, how could the boat move forward?
Only when everyone rowed in the same direction could the boat advance.
When they returned, he would go find that Xu fellow and make him see whether bringing his daughter-in-law aboard really brought bad luck!
As he steered the boat, Father Zhou said to Zhou Chenglei, "I'll take us farther out. You lower the net."
Zhou Chenglei closed the Live Well, answered him, and walked over to lower the net.
Once he had lowered it, Father Zhou increased the boat's speed.
Jiang Xia could vaguely see the Fishing Net gradually descending, spreading toward the seabed under the force of the current.
Trawling was a long process. Summer days were long; although the sun had not yet risen, the sky was already bright.
Zhou Chenglei said to Jiang Xia, who was lying there watching the Fishing Net sink into the seabed, "The Trawl Net needs at least one or two hours. You can sleep for a while."
After they finished this net, they would find a Sea Island and moor by the shore. The sun would be strong then, so she could stay on the island.
Jiang Xia was astonished. "That long?"
"Mm. If we don't drag it for long enough, we won't catch many fish. If we stop temporarily, the Fishing Net will sink to the seabed. So it takes at least one or two hours. Get some sleep."
"No need." Jiang Xia shook her head. She watched the Fishing Net sink into the seawater with great interest. After a while, she began walking around the boat, studying how to use its equipment and asking curious questions about everything.
She also watched how Father Zhou steered the boat. Seeing that she was interested, Zhou Chenglei patiently explained things to her.
Jiang Xia finished examining everything, and only ten-odd minutes had passed. But the sun was about to come out, so she simply sat down and waited to admire the Sea Sunrise.
The boat moved forward across the sea. The sun emerged, its rays piercing through the thick clouds. In that instant, the sky blazed with endless rosy light!
Jiang Xia sat quietly, the red glow of the rising sun shining across her fair, clean face. The fine fuzz on her skin gleamed beneath the sunlight.
Zhou Chenglei's gaze inadvertently fell on her, and for a moment, he forgot to look away.
Jiang Xia watched for a while before losing interest. Sitting idle was rather boring, and she wasn't used to taking things so easy. She asked, "Do we have fishing rods?"
Zhou Chenglei shook his head. "No."
Then she could only sit there doing nothing. Jiang Xia decided to study whether the Fishing Net on the seabed had caught any fish.
Two hours passed before anyone noticed. Father Zhou said, "A'Lei, haul the net up!"
"Okay." Zhou Chenglei answered.
Father and son worked together to pull in the net. Jiang Xia watched from not far away and saw that the two of them were having some difficulty.
Father Zhou said happily, "It's so heavy. We've got an Exploding Net!"
As the Fishing Net came closer and closer, a huge bundle of fish gradually emerged.
"So many fish!" Jiang Xia cried out.
Zhou Chenglei said, "We must've run into another school."
The father and son were excited too. Catching so many fish right after going out to sea was something they rarely encountered—perhaps not even once in several years.
The two of them summoned every ounce of their strength before finally dragging the entire net of fish aboard.
Afterward, Father Zhou still had to rest for a while before he had the strength to empty the fish out together with Zhou Chenglei.
Jiang Xia watched as father and son each seized one end of the Fishing Net. Father Zhou shouted, "One, two..."
The two of them tugged at the Fishing Net in unison, keeping to the rhythm.
A huge mass of fish poured out, filling the entire deck!
They piled up like a small mountain. At Jiang Xia's feet, Spanish Mackerel were jumping all over the place.
They must have run into a school of Spanish Mackerel preying on a school of prawns.
That was why this one net had caught both the Spanish Mackerel and the prawns in one fell swoop.
Most of them were Spanish Mackerel and Tiger Prawns, along with various other miscellaneous fish.
"How should we deal with these fish?" Jiang Xia asked whenever she didn't understand.
She figured they couldn't just leave them scattered all over the deck.
It was summer. If they were left in the sun for half a day, they would be neither fresh nor odorless.
Although it was still early morning, the sun was already scorching. Jiang Xia had long since wrapped up her head and face.
Father Zhou said, "Sort them and put them in baskets. You two do that. I'll keep casting the net."
Zhou Chenglei said, "Dad, steer the boat over to the Sea Island and moor for a while."
He had deliberately steered the boat to this area just now. There was a small island not far away.
"What for?" Father Zhou asked.
Before you continue