He helped Father Ye haul in all the longline hooks. It had been rainy lately, with fewer fishing boats going out, and bait was hard to buy at the pier.
Using better fish as bait felt wasteful. They were better off concentrating on the Trawl Net. There were plenty of fish in spring, and the Trawl Net yielded good catches.
So lately, they only baited their longline fishing hooks once, setting them when the boat headed out and hauling them in before the return trip. The rest of the time, they used the Trawl Net, adapting as needed.
After hauling in the longline hooks, he steered the boat toward the Submerged Reef again. It was already four o'clock. Despite having allowed plenty of time earlier, they had still been delayed until quite late.
As soon as they arrived, Father Ye frowned. "There are still six fishing pots we haven't hauled up. Who knows whether any of the others are stuck? If you're going down again, find the stuck pot first. I'll start hauling from up here. If any more are stuck, keep an eye out underwater. The sooner we haul them up, the sooner we can go home. The sun's almost setting."
Ye Yaodong nodded as he stripped off his clothes and wrung out the wet set he had changed out of earlier. "Got it."
Watching him put the wet clothes back on, along with the strange mask, tube, and Fins, Father Ye couldn't help nagging again. "Remember! Don't forget as soon as you get in the water. We can always come back. Get the fishing pots in first."
"I know. I'll be up in twenty minutes at most. My watch's in my jacket pocket. Keep track of the time yourself."
He didn't mind the discomfort of wearing wet clothes.