Daily life of fishing and hunting in the 1980s
Chapter 386 Today’s First Internet Blast
Chapter 386 Today’s First Internet Blast
Brother Li stopped the fishing boat next to a group of longline fishing and walked out of the cab, “This net is 100% a big hit!”
“It is certain that the internet will explode. Whether the goods are good or not can only be known after they are released.”
When the net bag was pulled onto the deck, what Brother Li said was indeed right. It was indeed a big explosive net. This net was bigger than any previous one. After it was hung on the crane arm, the crane arm also creaked.
Chen Yongwei rubbed his hands happily, “This net weighs at least 4,000 kilograms.”
“There’s only more, not less!” Brother Li turned his head and looked at Li Changle, “Ah Le, after dinner, we’ve collected the longline. Do you think we should go back directly or rest for a few hours before leaving?”
“Let’s ask Boss Chen later and see what he says.”
“also!”
As they were talking, Wang Xincheng had already taken Wang Jie to untie the net bag, and a ball of fiery red emerged from the net bag. It was full of long-tailed sea breams, ranging from more than one foot long to five or six feet long. Some were still alive and kicking, while others had already died.
“Brother, pour out half of the bag first, sort out the ones on the deck, and then pour out the rest.”
Brother Li responded and turned off the machine. Chen Amao’s excited voice came from the intercom beside him, “Boss Ah Le, I broke the Internet. Haha, today is the first time I broke the Internet!”
“My net also exploded. When the net bag was untied, hundreds of kilograms of long-tailed sea bream came out. Now there are yellow croakers.”
“The price of yellow chickens is quite good. The big ones can be sold for more than one dollar.”
“It’s the first time I’ve caught a yellow chicken fish.”
Li Changle was very happy about the good catch. Although he had snatched so many fish from the black-bottomed boat, they were still stolen fish after all. Although he was happy, he still felt a little uncomfortable in his heart.
“It’s a pity that my boat couldn’t withstand the storm last night. Wait for my big ship to come back, and then we can go out to sea as a team.”
“Have you ordered a big ship?”
“It’s settled. I decided to go all in. I bought a 32-meter house and paid a 5,000 yuan deposit. My trouser pockets, which had just bulged a little, are now deflated. I’ll have to pay more than 30,000 yuan by the end of next year!”
“From which company did you order the boat?”
“Lao Zhang’s, you said his shop is good, so I went to his shop. The configuration is the same as the boat you ordered, and the old brand insisted on 38,000 yuan and refused to budge. I compared the price with several other shops, and his price is still reasonable, so I ordered it from him.”
Li Changle thought about the price of the maritime radio, “The maritime radio I got today is quite new. You can send it to him to install on the new ship, and you can save some money.”
“That’s what I was thinking. I can save 1,600 yuan!” Chen Amao said, “I also cast a longline near the island in front. I’ll get some food to eat before I catch some fish.”
“Let’s eat first, and then we’ll have a good meal after we catch the fish!”
Li Changle put down the intercom, and Chen Yongwei held a one-meter-long golden fish and handed it to him, “Brother, your favorite.”
“Fuck, this is really top-notch!” Li Changle took it with shining eyes, and weighed it for a few times, “It’s at least twelve or thirteen pounds.”
Brother Li pointed to the bamboo basket beside him and said, “There are two more baskets here, with a few more five or six jin in them.”
Li Changle looked around and picked up a bamboo basket. “That guy Ah Hao said he wanted the freshest goods. Forget about the ones in the cargo hold. Let’s pick a new batch for him.”
“Put all the fresh produce for him together and place it directly on the top shelf of the cargo hold. It will be convenient for him to pick it up at the dock.”
Li Changle agreed and picked out thirty-two well-proportioned pomfret from the bamboo basket, and then the yellow croaker…
“Look at this ugly thing, there’s something like an antenna on its head.” Wang Xincheng shouted while holding a big fish.
Li Changle turned his head and took a look. “This is a toad fish. Don’t be fooled by its ugliness. The meat is fresh, tough and chewy, just like shrimp. The price is better than that of swordfish.”
“There are four…five…all of them…big stuff!” Wang Jie picked up two toad fish in each hand and put them into the bamboo basket.
Li Changle smiled and nodded. Although Ajie was not good at speaking, he was a good worker and had great strength.
By the time they got the hang of it and took the big ship back, they had an extra helper.
This net sorted out more than 90 baskets of fish, including nine baskets of bigtail snapper weighing more than 400 kilograms, ten baskets of yellowtail fish, and two baskets of toadfish…
The most common fish were cobia, the two largest weighing over 40 kilograms, and then there were the old faces.
The value of them is not very high, but the quantity is large. After more than 90 baskets were put into the cargo hold, the cargo hold was almost full.
Li Changle kept two large yellow croakers weighing more than two kilograms, a dozen crabs with broken claws, some roe-filled mantis shrimps, and a few kilograms of small squids, and placed them on the top floor of the cargo hold, and took out two large pork elbows from the hold.
When Brother Li saw him take out the meat, he asked happily, “Ah Le, are you planning to cook it yourself?”
Li Changle smiled and nodded, “Steam two pork elbows, call Boss Chen and the others over, and have everyone gather together.”
“Okay!” Brother Li handed the rice basket with steamed buns to Wang Xincheng, “Acheng, take it and heat it up. We’ll fill our stomachs first and eat something good later.”
“Okay!” Wang Xincheng agreed and left with his lunch basket. Everyone washed the deck clean, and even sat on the deck without taking off their waterproof pants and rain boots, too tired to move.
A gust of sea breeze blew, and the smell of rotten sweat, fish, and sea water on several people intertwined together. The taste was no different from the rotten pickles in a large jar.
At this time, the Shunfeng ship not far away sounded its whistle. Chen Amao waved to a few people on the deck and went to the waters in front to reel in the longline fishing.
Li Changle and his crew’s boat was near a group of line fishing. After Wang Xincheng brought out the steamed buns and filled his stomach, he placed the bamboo basket under the capstan, took the iron hook and started to reel in the longline fishing.
The wind was a bit strong at night, causing the buoy to shake. Chen Yongwei used the iron hook and tried several times before he hooked the buoy onto the deck.
Li Changle removed the buoy and inserted it, then pulled up the main line and put it on the winch and locked it, while Wang Jie rushed to turn the winch.
Li Changle put the main line that was pulled up into the bamboo basket and coiled it up. Then the main line that was pulled up was automatically coiled in circles in the bamboo basket.
Soon, the first line reached the side of the boat. Everyone looked into the water and a red shadow soon emerged.
Brother Li took a look and said, “It looks like a redfin snapper?”
“It’s a redfin snapper.” Li Changle pulled the sub-line and pulled the fish up. He unhooked the fish and handed the fish to Brother Li. “It’s a red fish for the first time. Today’s catch must be good.”
The redfin snapper is a species of the genus Lutjanus in the family Lutjanidae in the order Perciformes. Father Li said that they used to be able to catch a lot of them in the offshore reefs and rocky beaches, but now they rarely catch any.
Chen Yongwei and the others nodded in agreement, “A good start, lots of fish.”
This redfin snapper weighs about four or five kilograms. Maybe because it has been hooked for a long time, it lacks vitality and its belly is bloated.
Brother Li quickly poked it with a deflation needle, and Wang Xincheng carried it into the living cabin.
Soon, the second sub-line came up, also a red-fin eagle. This one was bigger than the previous one. The swim bladder ran from the stomach to the mouth and was thrown on the deck. After a jump, the swim bladder retracted into the stomach.
Brother Li was busy deflation of the fish, while Wang Xincheng was busy sending the fish to the live tank.
Over there, the third sub-line reached the side of the boat again, and this time it was a big red friend fish, weighing eight or nine pounds.
Just after I let the air out of the black sea bream, the fourth line came again. A big fish swung around on the water surface and then sank again.
Chen Yongwei excitedly said, “Brother, it looks like a big tiger grouper!”
“Wait for me to pull it up and take a look.” Li Changle grabbed the sub-line and found it heavy. He was worried that the fish would get off the hook and run away, so he hurriedly said, “Awei, use the scoop net.”
“coming!”
Li Changle saw him coming over and suddenly pulled the fish out of the water. Chen Yongwei quickly caught the big tiger grouper with a scoop net. “Brother, it must be 18 or 19 kilograms.”
Li Changle grinned and nodded, “Hurry up and take the hook off and send it to my second brother to deflate it.”
“Give it to me, give it to me!” It was the first time that Wang Xincheng saw such a big grouper. He excitedly held the fish and ran quickly towards the living tank.
Four hooks were pulled up in succession, and three of them were good catches. Everyone felt that their fish catching rate had increased by following the experience they had gained.
Chen Yongwei became happier and happier as he pointed at the fishing machine and said, “Brother, this is good. It saves a lot of trouble. At this speed, it won’t take long to collect a thousand hooks.”
“If it’s not easy, why would we spend money to buy it!” Li Changle patted him proudly, “You come and collect the fishing line, I’ll go and steam the pork elbow to reward you.”
“Okay!” Chen Yongwei stood to the place where he had just stood, and Li Changle went to the kitchen to steam the pork elbow.
First blanch two large pork elbows in water, then heat the iron pan, put the pork elbows in the pan and sear the skin until it is browned, then cut into small cubes with the skin on.
Cheers from Brother Li and his companions could be heard from the deck from time to time. Li Changle quickly scrubbed the ginger and garlic clean. His hands, which were chopping the ginger and garlic, seemed to be equipped with a small electric motor. He chopped and chopped non-stop, and soon a handful of ginger and garlic were chopped into fine pieces.
Put chopped ginger and garlic on the meat, then add bean paste, oyster sauce, old wine and soy sauce and marinate for a while. Fill two enamel basins with two large elbows and steam them in a steel pot.
He learned how to steam pork elbows from the chef at a Sichuan restaurant when he used to eat out. When he was on fishing break and had nothing to do at home, he would make it. The greedy Li Xiaotao loved it the most.
Li Changle closed the pot lid, added some coal, and went to the deck excitedly, “How is it, what good stuff have you got on board?”
“The fish catching rate here is higher than that of Chuiyuan Island. A set of lines has at most a dozen hooks and there is nothing to catch. There are about ten tiger groupers, red groupers, yellowfin snappers, black hair fish…”
Chen Yongwei named a bunch of fish and said, “We just caught more than ten red groupers from the group we hooked. The big ones weighed five or six kilograms, and the small ones weighed two or three kilograms. We also caught a few puffball fish.”
Brother Li took over the conversation, “Ah Le, it’s really much easier to use this winch to pull the longline fishing. We have already pulled five sets of lines to fish. I calculated that the fish catching rate is more than 70%.”
“Brother, I found that if we let the longline fishing run for a few more hours, the fish catching rate will be higher than if we let it run for three or four hours.”
With a fish catching rate of over 70%, there are more than 700 fish caught from 1,000 hooks. The smallest fish caught by longline fishing is more than one kilogram. If one fish weighs three kilograms, there are more than 2,000 kilograms of fish caught, which is much more cost-effective than trawling.
Brother Li and Chen Yongwei both nodded when they heard this. “Next time, we will collect the ones that are released at night the next day, and collect the ones that are released in the morning in the afternoon.”
(End of this chapter)