While Father Ye hauled in the fishing pots, Ye Yaodong stripped off his soaking clothes, wrung them out, then turned a bamboo basket upside down and casually spread his clothes over it to dry.
He also took the opportunity to straighten out the fishing pots they had just hauled aboard, folding and stacking them neatly.
They needed to put these away properly and bring them back to set next time, or set them along the coast on the way home. No wasting them or leaving them idle.
But before setting them again, he would have to clean them first.
After being left in the sea for so long, these fishing pots had accumulated plenty of algae and slime from fish and shrimp. They looked filthy.
Such buildup was usually quite heavy, and it also obstructed the flow of water. Worse still, too much buildup would clog the pot trap nets, directly reducing their effectiveness.
So whenever they had some spare time, they needed to give them a proper cleaning. Since they were taking them home to lie low anyway, they could take advantage of the good weather to scrub them and dry them before putting them back into use.
"Dongzi, no good! I can't pull it up again."
Father Ye gripped the rope, his face flushed red under the blazing sun. Sweat dripped from his forehead, and his whole head was drenched.
"What are you saying, Dad? What do you mean, I'm no good?"
"Huh? I meant the fishing pot! What were you listening to?" Father Ye wiped the sweat running down his cheek and said speechlessly, "Hurry down and see if it's stuck again."
"If the fishing pot's stuck, just say it's stuck... What do you mean, no good... I already freed seven or eight that were stuck. How