Fifty nets really were a lot. By noon, they had only hauled in eighteen, mainly because the trip out had taken about an hour, and hauling in the longlines had taken another two.
Still, an extra pair of hands did make things more efficient. At their current pace, they should just about finish hauling in the nets by dark. But afterward, they would still need another half hour to an hour to set them again, so they would still get home at seven or eight.
Tomorrow, though, they wouldn't have any longlines to haul in or set, so they should be able to reach shore just as dusk fell.
It was tough. Making money was hard!
Not making money was even harder!
Nothing came easy.
Ye Yaodong saw that it was already lunchtime. More importantly, he was hungry too, so he stopped after hauling in the net he was working on.
"You two take the fish out first. I'll heat up lunch. It should be ready by the time you're done."
"Go ahead."
The fragrant bone broth made him even hungrier. Luckily, he had eaten rice that morning; otherwise, he wouldn't have lasted until noon.
Once he figured the radish and pig skull soup in the pot had come to a boil, he ladled himself a bowl first. The rice was sitting above it and wouldn't heat up as quickly.
He smacked his lips a few times before calling the others over for soup.
"Dried radish slices taste even better stewed with pig skull bones. Add a little rice wine, and it smells even better. Tomorrow, after A Qing finishes drying the fish, I'll ask her to dry some radishes too."
"Have your mother do it over the weekend."
"Right, A Qing has too much on her hands. I'll get