The three lay side by side, and the two behind were visibly smaller than the first, a full size smaller.
He swept his flashlight back and forth. By his estimate, the two behind were about 1.2 to 1.3 meters long and probably weighed thirty to thirty-five kilograms each.
One had a bulging belly. He guessed it was the one that had just swallowed the tern and had been caught before it could digest it. He fetched a knife from the corner, planning to bleed it.
Father Ye was delighted. "These three weigh over a hundred kilograms altogether. The small ones aren't worth much, but fish this big are worth quite a bit."
"Yeah, probably seventy or eighty yuan. With these three, today's trip has already paid off."
Ye Yaodong deftly wielded the knife and bled it. Father Ye was in no hurry to start the boat, instead watching him work with immense satisfaction.
His third son had become so practiced lately that even he thought he looked like an experienced old fisherman. He really had grown up.
Some men really did mature later than others.
After watching for quite a while, Father Ye waited until he had finished processing one fish before gathering the mullet beside them into a basket.
The mullet varied in size, but even the smallest weighed over half a kilogram. One or two of the larger ones probably weighed two and a half kilograms; he could tell just by hefting them.
Mullet were also called flathead grey mullet. Their backs were a dark blue-gray, while their bellies were a paler silvery white. They also had some black patches on their bodies.
Around the Beginning of Winter each year, mullet were at their fattest and most active. At this time, they prepared carefully for winter and spawning,