1983Fishing and Farming between Mountains and Seas

Chapter 121: Turn on the light to lure fish, catch at night
"It's not that complicated. The worst that can happen is that we just reverse the fishing time. We used to cast the nets during the day, so why don't we just do it at night? We'll catch the fish wherever they are found on the seabed!" Liang Ziqiang suggested simply.

"It seems like it might work! Some fish that like to chase light are easy to catch at night. Normally, everyone is too tired to go out for night fishing, so few people go out for night fishing. Let's do some night fishing for a while, maybe we can catch more fish than if we cast a net during the day!" This time, it was Zhong Kang's younger brother Zhong Ming who first agreed with Liang Ziqiang's idea.

"You want to fish at night? Fishing at night is tiring and not very convenient. But sometimes we can catch more fish than during the day! When I was young, I also did some night fishing from time to time, but I can't stand it anymore when I get older!"

Liang's father cast a circle of nets on the surrounding sea and came back again. When he heard one ear, he interrupted and said something.

After a pause, he added, "However, the thieves from other villages who steal fish only do it at night. If you go fishing at night, you can actually guard the fish at the bottom of the sea at the same time!"

After hearing this, Li Liang said repeatedly: "Look, Uncle Fu said this method is effective, so why are you still hesitating? Brother Qiang and I will do night arrests together! Zhong Kang and Zhong Ming, do you want to join us?"

Zhong Kang thought about it for a while, but still had doubts: "The night capture did keep the thieves at bay, but when those bastards saw our boat lights, they ran away! In this way, we can only guard but cannot catch the thieves!"

"If we are lucky, we can catch the thief!" Liang Ziqiang took over the conversation and simply told him his thoughts:
"Here's what I think. Judging from the current situation on the seabed, that bastard must have come out in the second half of the night to do it. So we can do this. We can do a night hunt in the first half of the night. At four or five o'clock in the morning, we can drive the boat behind the reef pile of Guanqi Island, turn off the boat lights, and watch quietly from there.

This way, the thief will definitely not be able to find us. When he sneaks under the sea, we will suddenly surround him with a boat, making it impossible for him to escape. It's the same as closing the door and beating a dog!"

"Brother Qiang's method is good! Maybe it can really catch the thief? Damn, I'll beat the shit out of him then!" Deng Zhaocai was most annoyed about the fact that he had stolen hundreds of kilograms of fish. When he heard that this method could catch the thief, he began to feel fascinated.

"Okay, count us two brothers in! Let's go for a night arrest together and catch the thief at the same time!" When Zhong Kang heard that Liang Ziqiang's method was more reliable, he agreed immediately.

Having lost the submarine so many times, they both wanted to catch the thief, so that they could recover all their losses!
The six people discussed some details and agreed to start the night hunt starting tonight.

Since Mr. Liang did not release the fish from the sea, and since he was too old to handle night fishing, he did not get involved. He only told the young men to be more cautious and keep in mind the limits.

Since we are going to start night fishing, we shouldn’t continue to waste too much energy on the sea during the day.

Liang Ziqiang continued to cast a few nets, caught some miscellaneous fish, and returned to the shore early.

This time when I went to Zheng Liu's place, I didn't catch much fish.

I sold it for a total of twenty-six dollars, the bulk of which was thanks to the one "surviving" underwater fish I caught.

The price of plum fish is 50 cents per pound, and if there are about 20 pounds, it will cost about 10 yuan.

A red crab costs one dollar and two cents, and weighs more than six pounds, and this one costs seven or eight dollars.

Some other shrimps, white snappers, and white croakers worth a few dollars a pound were caught from the seabed, along with the miscellaneous fish caught with the net, and all of them sold for more than eight yuan.

Chen Xiangbei was surprised to see that he had returned home early at noon. While cooking for him, she asked:

"Did you come back early because you caught a lot of fish today?"

"Don't mention it. Today is the day with the least catch!" Liang Ziqiang took out the twenty-three yuan and told her to put it in the box.

"Twenty-three is quite a lot! It's impossible to encounter so many fish every day!"

She was quite content. While putting the money away for him, she comforted him.

Liang Ziqiang told her about the theft of the submarine and the night arrests that would begin tonight.

Chen Xiangbei also hated the fish thief, but she was more worried. She was worried that he would miss out on sleep and get too tired from fishing at night; she was also afraid that he would suffer a loss or even get into danger when catching the thief. It was not until Liang Ziqiang revealed that with the Zhong brothers, Li Liang, Deng Zhaocai, and him and Liang Zifeng, there would be no mistakes, that she felt a little relieved.

After lunch, Liang Ziqiang asked Liang Zifeng to have a good sleep in the afternoon to get enough rest, and then he returned to his small room and fell asleep.

Chen Xiangbei didn't disturb him. She helped him close the door and went to do housework.

As night fell, around seven or eight o'clock after dinner, when all the fishermen were resting at home, Liang Ziqiang started to go out.

"Don't be busy all night. It's too tiring. It's almost time to sail back, okay?" Chen Xiangbei sent him to the door, still reminding him repeatedly.

"I know what's going on. I've done night raids before. You don't have to worry about anything. Just go to sleep!" Liang Ziqiang quietly squeezed her hand and comforted her.

She looked at Duobao who was following her closely and said with a disappointed tone:
"Duobao, why don't you grow up faster? If he grows as big as Dahuang, he can go out with you tonight to catch the thief and help you bite the thief a few times!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Duobao actually barked and followed Liang Ziqiang to run down the road.

"It's quite brave, but it's a little too small!" Liang Ziqiang patted Duobao, turned around and said to Chen Xiangbei, "Let it stay at home, so you can sleep more peacefully!"

After sending Duobao back, the two brothers went to the beach.

Tonight is the first night of the new year. There is not a single moon in the sky and the entire seaside is pitch black.

With flashlights on, Liang Ziqiang and Liang Zifeng boarded the boat, turned on the boat lights, and headed out to sea. Soon, Zhong Kang and Zhong Ming's boats, Li Liang and Deng Zhaocai's boats also joined them.

The three boats headed towards Guanqi Island together.

"Damn, it turns out that the sea on the first night of the New Year is so dark that you can't even see your hand in front of you!" Zhong Ming, who seldom goes out to sea at night, sighed as he looked at the pitch-black night.

"A dark spot is good. The darker the night, the more interested the light-chasing fish will be in the boat lights. This is the most suitable way for night fishing!" Zhong Ming's brother Zhong Kang said.

It seems that Zhong Ming is older and has some experience in night arrests.

He was right. The darker the night, the more effective the boat lights are in attracting fish. Phototactic fish are more sensitive to light in the dark.

When the boats were still a short distance away from Guanqi Island, the three boats slowed down, deliberately very slowly, so that the boat lights could be seen by more fish, thus luring the fish on the sea to swim forward.

The six people were talking as they sailed slowly in the dark night.

After chatting for a while, I inadvertently glanced around the ship lights.

After seeing this, they couldn't help but stop talking. They didn't know when a lot of fish had gathered near their boats!
"Wait, let me see, there seems to be more than one kind of fish?!"

Deng Zhaocai ran from the bow to the side of the boat, and then from the side to the stern, looking at all the fish surrounding him from all sides.

"One, two, three... there seem to be at least four or five kinds of fish! Should we start fishing now, or wait until there are more fish?"

Deng Zhaocai counted the different fish, then shouted at Liang Ziqiang and Zhong Kang's boat...

(End of this chapter)