Chapter 255: Full of Fish
Chapter 255: Full of Fish
After dinner, I cleaned up the dishes, rested for a while, and then started to put away the traps.
Li Changle picked up the iron hook and hooked the buoy onto the boat, pulled up the fishing rope, and pulled the ground trap net onto the boat.
The catch in the first basket was not good. The only valuable things were two blue crabs, one large and one small, which weighed three or four pounds in total, two or three pounds of clams, and more than a pound of shrimp.
There were already thousands of kilograms of fish in the cabin, and the men did not take the harvest from the traps that seriously. They picked out the large live shrimps, poured them into the wooden barrel, and continued to fish for the second batch of traps.
This cage was even worse, with just some clams, a few lobsters, and a few conches, not even a trace of a crab.
The trap nets collected by Li Changle were not good, and those collected by Li Erge were even worse. There was not even a lobster in them, only a few clams, which was almost an empty net.
"Pah, pah, pah!" Brother Li spat several times. "This is the first time I've seen something this bad. It's probably because of that bastard grandson of Boss Lai. If it weren't for Brother Hu Zi sending us fish, today would have been the worst day ever."
Li Changle looked around and pointed to the west side of Chuiyuan Island and said, "Brother, let's go there next time to set up the trap."
Brother Li thought of the clever killer whale, "Yes, it has been raining for a long time. Those clever fish, shrimps and crabs may have realized that this thing is a trap to catch them."
Brother Li laughed and said, "Do you think they are as smart as Brother Hu?"
After hearing this, Li Changle recalled what he had heard before, "Maybe. It is said that some fish have very good memories and can remember things that happened three months ago."
"Then we have to find another place to set up the traps." Brother Li and his friends now believe whatever Li Changle says.
In the end, the six sets of traps only collected a total of 12 to 13 pounds of shrimp, more than 7 pounds of blue crabs, more than 10 pounds of orchid crabs, a few black sea breams and some miscellaneous fish.
Shake the collected ground trap clean and fill it with bait, drive the boat to the sea west of Chuiyuan Island and lower the ground trap.
Brother Li said to Li Changle, "Ah Le, after we lower the trawl net, we will divide the fish. When we get to the dock, Ah An and I will get off the boat and deliver the fish to Ah Dong's house. You and Ah Wei will drive the boat to Tuxia Bridge to deliver the goods."
"I understand, big brother." Li Changle and Chen Yongwei lowered the trawl into the water, one drove the boat while the other sorted the fish.
The boat sailed to the waters of Zhushan Island, circled around and then turned back. When it reached the waters of Yantou Mountain, it began to collect the nets. There were fifty to sixty kilograms of conger eels, seven to eight kilograms of white shrimps, and seventy to eighty kilograms of sea bass, bluefin bream, and swordfish. The rest were just some miscellaneous fish.
I've left a bucket of miscellaneous fish for longline fishing tonight. I'll pick out some of the fish weighing between 150 and 200 grams to 1 kilogram for cooking, and save the rest for drying in the sun.
Big Brother Li and Second Brother Li carried the rubber buckets and plastic buckets onto Li Changle's boat. The two brothers started the fishing boat and headed towards the dock.
Half an hour later, Li Changle and Chen Yongwei arrived at Tuxiaqiao Pier. They used a scoop net to scoop up the fish from the live tank and put them into a rubber bucket.
Chen Yongwei looked at the sole on the deck and asked, "Brother, what should we do with the big fish?"
"Wrap it with cotton wool, tie it up with fishing ropes, and then lift it onto the cart and pull it over."
As Li Changle spoke, he set up the gangplank. The uncle who had helped deliver the fish several times before, seeing them coming, hurriedly pulled the cart to the bow.
"Young man, do you need a cart today?"
"Yes!" Li Changle lifted the cotton wool covering the big fish, revealing the big fish that was wider than the door panel.
The man driving the cart suddenly widened his eyes as he looked at the big fish on the deck. "Oh my goodness, I've been pulling cargo at the dock for a few years, but this is the first time I've seen such a big sole."
“It’s also the first time I’ve seen such a big fish.”
Chen Yongwei and Li Changle wrapped the fish with cool cotton wool and tied it up with a fishing rope. The uncle working the cart also came forward to help carry the fish to the shore.
The three men went ashore and put the fish on the cart. Then several fishmongers gathered around them. One of them lifted the cotton wool and just happened to see the pair of almost squeezed eyes of the sole.
"Shajia, a fish this big must weigh about 200 kilograms, right?"
The other man looked at the fish body which was wider than the door panel and said, "Young man, this fish is yours. Do you want to sell it?"
"It's been booked at the Phoenix Restaurant." Li Changle responded briefly, and the three of them went back on the boat to carry the fish.
The fishmongers at the dock gathered around, lifted the cotton wool to look at the sole, then looked at Li Changle's wooden boat. They all felt strange. Such a big sole usually lay on the bottom of the sea, so how did they get it up there?
Of course, Li Changle and the others would not tell them that it was the Hu Zi brothers who gave it to them. They would just say that they happened to encounter a stranded big fish and got a great bargain.
When the onlookers saw the red snapper, sole, and giant mackerel in the rubber bucket, they pulled Li Changle and said, "Little brother, give us a few. I promise the price will not be cheaper than what the restaurant offers."
"I'm sorry, if you want to buy some, go find Uncle Kun from Phoenix Restaurant. He ordered all these fish."
"Young man, untie the cotton wool so we can see what this fish looks like."
"Sorry, there's ice wrapped in the cotton wool. If you open it, it will melt quickly and the fish will no longer be fresh."
Seeing more and more people gathering to see the sole, Li Changle felt that he had made a mistake. He should have lifted the rubber bucket first instead of the big fish.
He hurriedly asked Chen Yongwei and the man working the cart to get on the boat to move the fish. He had to guard the cart to prevent anyone from taking advantage of the situation.
After they lifted the remaining rubber buckets onto the cart, secured them with ropes, and pulled the cart away, the onlookers slowly dispersed.
Li Changle helped push the cart. "Uncle Xu, are you waiting for the goods at the dock every day?" Old Xu nodded. "Yes, I have three sons. Two of them have started families, and the youngest is still in junior high school. I have to save money to build a house for him to study."
Li Changle hired him several times and felt that he was quite discerning. "Next time I come, I'll ask you to bring the goods!"
Old Xu said happily: "Okay! I saw you coming today, so I hurried to find you."
Li Changle and Lao Xu went to the restaurant's kitchen, knocked on the door, and said to A Yu, "Where's Uncle Kun?"
A Yu smiled and said, "A few old customers came to see Uncle Kun. They were talking upstairs." Then he said, "Brother A Le, I know the price of red snapper."
"You definitely don't know what's happening today, please go and shout, there's a big fish for him to see."
"Big fish, how big is it?" After stretching his neck and seeing the fish on the cart, Ayu quickly turned around and ran inside.
Li Changle and the uncle with the cart carried the rubber bucket and the plastic bucket into the yard, but the big fish was too big to be carried through the door.
Just when I was worrying, A Kun and A Yu came hurriedly.
"Ah Le, what big thing did you get?"
"A big sole." Li Changle pointed at the fish on the cart with a smile, "Uncle Kun, the fish is too wide. Can you please call two young men over so we can carry the fish vertically in?"
Ah Kun lifted the cotton wool and took a look, then patted Li Changle on the shoulder excitedly, "Good boy, you managed to get so much cargo on a small boat. I can't imagine what good cargo you can get if you drive a big boat out."
Li Changle was also very happy, "Uncle Kun, you are too kind. I am lucky to have met you by chance."
He felt that he was really lucky after his rebirth. Being favored by Ocean Street might be due to his good luck!
Old Xu spoke up for Li Changle, "Boss, there are many people at the dock who want to buy fish from Ah Le and offer high prices. They even have people come to you and say that you ordered it."
"Good boy, Uncle Kun was right about you." An idea flashed through A Kun's mind, and he said to Li Changle, "A Le, take apart the cotton wool."
Then he looked at Ayu and said, "Go and call three people out, and quickly ask the front desk to open the two front doors. We will carry the fish in through the front door."
"Oh oh!" Ayu turned around and ran inside.
Li Changle looked at A Kun in confusion, thought for a moment, and seemed to understand his intention, but also seemed not to have figured it out, so he hurried to untie the rope and cotton wool that tied the sole.
After the cotton wool was untied, A Kun looked at the big fish and smiled from ear to ear. He called out to a few young men and carried the fish into the restaurant through the front door, attracting many diners to watch.
After seeing this, Li Changle understood it immediately and looked at Uncle Kun with admiration.
He is indeed quite capable, no wonder he can hold the position of chief steward.
"Shajia, there really is a fish wider than a door panel..."
"Yeah, it's hard to lift it through the door if it's any smaller."
Ah Kun said cheerfully to the diners who were watching: "Hello bosses, today we just caught a large sole, which is also called flounder.
It is difficult for small fishing boats to catch fish. What we usually eat is fish that has been frozen in the freezer of large ships for several days. It is rare to see fresh fish caught on the same day! "
"Tsk, tsk, tsk, it's too big. I wonder if the fish will taste tough?"
"Don't worry, sole meat is white, tender and delicate, and stewed with tofu is even more delicious..."
They carried the fish into the kitchen and heard the diners ordering dishes. Some asked for sole stewed with tofu, while others asked for braised sole...
After the fish was carried into the back kitchen, A Kun patted the big sole happily and said, "A Le, if you want good things, you are the one I really need. This is the first time I have seen such a big and fresh sole."
Ah Kun listened to the excitement outside and said happily, "I'll give you four dollars and a half per pound for this big fish."
Li Changle was delighted and nodded immediately, "Okay, you have the final say."
Ah Kun looked at the live fish in the bucket happily and said to Ah Yu, "Hurry up and weigh these live shrimps and live fish and send them to the fish pond to raise them."
"Okay!" Li Changle hurriedly helped them to separate and weigh the fish on Brother Li's boat. The three big red snappers weighed a total of 89 kilograms, still at ten yuan per kilogram.
The two swordfish and two tunas weighed a total of 92 kilograms. A Kun said that the old price was 75 yuan per kilogram. The two soles weighed kilograms, also at yuan per kilogram.
There were 46 kilograms of red snapper weighing more than 3 kilograms and less than 73 kilograms, at 5 yuan per kilogram, and 1965 kilograms of red snapper weighing more than kilograms, at yuan per kilogram. Together with shrimps and crabs, Brother Li's boat of fish sold for a total of yuan.
After Brother Li finished weighing the fish, he began to weigh Li Changle and his friends' catch.
There were 123 kilograms of big red snappers weighing more than 2130 kilograms, plus those weighing more than kilograms and those weighing or kilograms, as well as large sea bass, mackerel, shrimp and crabs, which sold for a total of .
After the live fish and shrimp were weighed, Li Changle and the two young men lifted the fish onto the scale and added weights several times before they found out the weight of the sole, which was 217 kilograms. They sold it for 976 yuan.
With a daily income of more than 3,000 yuan, Li Changle was so happy that he couldn't stop smiling. He thought that next time he met the Hu brothers, he would make something delicious for them to eat.
(End of this chapter)