Chapter 59: Gigantic School of Fish
The sea was trembling.
It was as if a giant, black-spotted hand was churning the water from the depths of the abyss.
The blue-gray water was forced upward, roiling with layer after layer of a viscous, black shadow.
The shadow blotted out the sea, and under the slanted morning light, it took on a chilling, inky-black hue.
This was no school of fish.
This was a moving continent of black.
Countless Hai Pangtou fish leaped from the surface as if in a frenzy. Their silver-gray scales exploded in the sunlight, like a never-ending rain of shattered silver.
They swarmed together, back to back, their immense formation resembling some vast army on the march.
Occasionally, the silhouettes of larger fish could be seen mixed in, constantly preying on the unlucky ones in the ranks.
The sky was filled with seabirds, mostly Silver Gulls. They spread their wings and let out sharp cries, like a battle horn. They would dive down, their talons precisely snatching a Hai Pangtou before they rapidly ascended.
"Holy crap! So many fish!"
Zhao Wenwu’s jaw dropped in shock, his fishing net nearly falling onto the deck.
"H-How many years would it take to eat all this?"
Er Gouzi was trembling all over, his lips quivering.
"B-Brother San! It’s a huge school of Hai Pangtou! A really huge school! I’ve never seen so many fish in my life! I’ve never even heard of something like this!"
Zhao Wenjun was also dumbfounded, muttering in a daze, "This is great. The family can eat their fill. We’re rich!"
"Fuck, don’t just stand there gawking! Big Brother, cut the engine! Get ready to cast the nets!"
Zhao Wendong’s shout snapped everyone out of it. Without needing to be told, Zhao Wenjun steered the boat directly over the school of fish. The four of them each took a position and cast their nets simultaneously. This was the plan they had discussed beforehand, though none of them had expected to run into a school of fish. Zhao Wendong had an inkling it might happen, but even he hadn’t imagined a school this massive.
Four fishing nets unfurled in the air, forming four fan-like shapes. The mesh caught the morning light as the nets landed steadily in the sea, sending out circles of ripples.
The moment the nets hit the water, Zhao Wendong could already feel the heavy weight from below, and the force of the fish struggling relentlessly.
"Damn, they’re strong! Everyone, be careful! Don’t get pulled into the sea!"
Zhao Wendong yelled a reminder to the other three as he began forcefully pulling in his net.
’Humans. There are humans catching Hai Pangtou fish, too. I need to hurry.’
’Will the humans hurt this bird?’
’These damn birds are too fast, I can’t compete at all.’
The thoughts of the birds overhead were a dense clamor, and the thoughts of other animals constantly rose from the seafloor. Thankfully, the Hai Pangtou themselves gave off no mental feedback, otherwise Zhao Wendong’s head would have exploded. Even so, it was like being in a wet market, facing five hundred gossiping women at once, his mind buzzing with the noise.
He could only focus his entire being, holding his breath and staring intently at the net in his hands. The net was already bulging in the water, a dense mass of writhing, silver-gray backs packed together. The net rope was pulled taut, looking as if it could snap at any second.
"Fuck! Get up here!"
With a roar, Zhao Wendong used all his strength to haul the net back. The rope steadily rose from the sea, which bubbled furiously. Then, a huge mass of silver-gray fish was pulled out by him!
SPLASH! The net broke the surface, sending water everywhere and soaking Zhao Wendong’s pants with salty, fishy seawater. The netted Hai Pangtou were crammed together. The largest was a good thirty centimeters long, and even the smallest was over ten. After Zhao Wendong hauled them into the boat’s hold, they thrashed wildly, their tails slapping against everything.
The hatch to the hold was already open. After dumping the fish inside, Zhao Wendong finally let out a breath and looked at the others. Zhao Wenwu had also pulled up his net and was about to dump an equally full catch into the hold. Zhao Wenjun was struggling to pull his net up, while Zhao Ergou was in the most danger. He was teetering, his face flushed red, on the verge of being dragged into the sea by his net.
"Don’t panic, Er Gou, I’ll help you!"
Zhao Wendong leaped over in a single bound and helped Zhao Ergou grab the net rope. Only then did Zhao Ergou regain his footing, his heart pounding violently.
"B-Brother San, I’m so useless."
"Don’t talk that bullshit."
Zhao Wendong shot back, then immediately shouted to his two older brothers.
"Second Brother, after you dump the fish, don’t repack the net. Come pull on this one with me. I’m going to help Big Brother. Er Gouzi, you’ll be in charge of repacking the nets and handing them back to us."
"Yeah!"
Zhao Ergou’s eyes lit up. ’Brother San’s plan is great. This way, I’m not useless. I can contribute too.’
Zhao Wendong realized he had overlooked something. Normally, catching a few, maybe a dozen, fish in one cast was considered a good haul. But this was different. One cast now brought in dozens or even hundreds of pounds, possibly even two or three hundred. In this situation, one person per net was clearly inefficient!
He couldn’t be blamed. In his past life, he’d never fished a massive school like this either. So, he immediately adjusted their strategy, switching to an assembly-line operation.
Although he had spent decades in a village in his past life, he was a master with his phone and took in a wide range of information. Many people his age, and even younger ones, would come to him for "interesting" websites and the IDs of online "goddesses." Concepts like assembly-line production were common sense to him.
The adjustment had an immediate effect. Zhao Wendong and Zhao Wenjun worked together to cast and haul in a net. Zhao Wenwu, strong enough to match both of them, handled his own net from start to finish. Meanwhile, Zhao Ergou was responsible for untangling and preparing the used nets to be cast out again. Their fishing efficiency increased dramatically.
Net after net of Hai Pangtou were hauled onto the boat and dumped into the hold. As the catch grew, they had to cover the hatch after each load, otherwise the fish would jump out. The cover was constantly being knocked about by the fish below. Fortunately, the temperature was low, so the fish would freeze to death soon after being brought aboard and wouldn’t keep thrashing around.
The group worked in a frenzy of excitement. The sun moved from the east to the west. Everyone’s body ached with exhaustion, but their eyes sparkled. It was the joy of a massive harvest.
"San, I’m hungry!"
Zhao Wenwu shouted. He was strong, but he was working alone, unlike Zhao Wendong and Zhao Wenjun who could take turns helping each other. It was hard on him to go so long without a break.
"Second Brother, hang in there! One more net now means another one or two hundred pounds of fish! Er Gouzi, feed your Second Brother a pancake!"
"Okay!"
Zhao Ergou responded, pulling out a corn pancake. In the gaps between readying the nets, he cleverly scurried over to Zhao Wenwu’s side to feed him the pancake and give him water. Once Zhao Wenwu had eaten and drunk his fill, he did the same for Zhao Wendong and Zhao Wenjun.
"SNAP!"
After a few more hauls, Zhao Wenwu’s net finally gave out under the weight and snapped open. When he pulled up the tattered remains, there were only a few unlucky fish inside. Surprisingly, one of them was a cod.
"That’s it, one net’s broken!"
"It’s fine, we still have three left. Keep going!"
Zhao Wendong wasn’t concerned. He was already mentally prepared for this. Even if all the nets were destroyed today, they would have died a worthy death!
After two of the remaining three nets also broke, Zhao Wendong finally called a halt. He had to. There was no more room in the boat.
The entire hold was packed with Hai Pangtou, at least three thousand pounds of them. Even the baskets on deck were full. There was no place to put any more fish. Besides, it was a small boat, and it could easily capsize if it was severely overloaded.
Even with its current load, their return speed would probably be cut by thirty percent.
"San, I can still go!"
Zhao Wenwu’s body ached, but he wasn’t satisfied yet. Zhao Wenjun and Zhao Ergou also looked at Zhao Wendong, the plea to continue clear in their eyes.
"No! We really can’t catch any more!"
"We’re at our limit. There’s no more room, and we have to guarantee our own safety!"
"One net. Just one more net. I won’t pull it up, I’ll just drag it behind us!"
Zhao Wenjun’s eyes lit up as he thought of a solution. An opportunity to catch a net full of fish with every cast might never come again in his lifetime.
"Fine!"
Zhao Wendong thought for a moment and nodded in agreement. But Zhao Wenwu was faster. He immediately snatched the last good net, stealing Zhao Wenjun’s plan right along with it.
"Hehehe, step aside, Big Brother. I’ll do it, I’ll do it!"
Zhao Wenwu cast the net into the sea, and it filled with Hai Pangtou. Just as they were preparing to head back, they heard a strange cry. The sound was like a baby crying, yet also like a pet whining for attention.
’Run, something big is coming.’
’Go, go, go, let’s find another spot.’
The flocks of birds in the sky also scattered in a sudden panic.