A farming master in Stardew Valley

Chapter 30 Return
As joyful as the harvest is, as awkward as dealing with the catch.

Although these fresh sardines and anchovies are not big in size, they are all very active. When Lyon was collecting them from the fishing net and throwing them into the water tank, he was tormented by these fish.

It took him and Willy more than half an hour to throw all these guys into the water tank. At this moment, both of them were covered with fish scales and soaked in sea water. Under the sunlight, both of them exuded a strong fishy smell, which was very pungent.

However, seeing the large number of sardines and anchovies in the tank, Lyon had no reason to complain. Such a generous reward was definitely worth the insignificant price.

"I'll give you half of this catch after I process it." After counting the approximate number of fish in the tank, Willy said to Leon with a smile, "This is a considerable haul. The market for anchovies and sardines is very good right now, and they're very active, so there's no shortage of buyers."

"Half is a bit too much. I only provided some bait. The boat and the fishing net were all provided by you, and you also found the place where the fish gather." Although Leon was a little happy when he heard this, he was not blinded by the benefits. He would not hesitate to take what he should take, but he would not reach out for what he should not take. Giving up the friendship with Willy for a little immediate profit would be a loss.

"No, no, no, what you said is indeed correct, but don't forget, you are also on the boat. Without you, I can't pull up these fish, let alone throw them into the tank while they are still alive. If I were alone, I couldn't do it. You must take this half. You also put in physical labor. This is our rule at sea."

Willy shook his head and explained to Leon. Then, noticing Leon's similarly embarrassed look, he laughed and added, "Although this is your first time on a ship, your performance is no less than that of an experienced sailor. If I hadn't known you were a farmer, I would have even planned to recruit you to join my ship so we could sail the seas together."

"Do you want to be the Pirate King too?" Leon complained silently in his heart, but he didn't say it so rudely: "It's just what I should do. After all, you provide such a great opportunity. This is also a brand new experience."

"Hahaha, I like you more and more, Leon. You have the flexible thinking and wild ideas of a young person, but you also show maturity and humility in your conduct and actions. I'm very optimistic about your future. People like you can make a name for themselves in any industry."

Willy stepped forward and patted Leon on the shoulder: "Alright, half and half, that's what we agreed on. Do you still have the energy? If so, we have to go meet the flounder. Those are the real challenges."

"Of course." Leon did not refuse. He could see that Willy was sincere in sharing the benefits equally with him. Moreover, Leon felt that Willy did not seem to care about the catch. What he cared about seemed to be the specific effects of the insects from the green onions.

After the two men had discussed it, the fishing boat set off again. This time, Willy was more enthusiastic than before and his attitude towards Leon was more friendly. In addition to telling some of his stories at sea, he also shared some knowledge about fish identification and the distribution of fish in each season.

The former was new knowledge to Leon, and although he knew the latter, some details could also help him and consolidate his memory. During the pleasant conversation between the two, Willy anchored the boat in another new sea area.

The same routine: peel the worms off the green onions, set up the fishing net, pour out the water tank filled with worms, and wait quietly for the fish to be attracted and gather.

This time the wait was much longer than before. After waiting for half an hour, Willy called on Leon to help pull the net.

However, when rotating the winch, Lyon found that this time was much easier than last time, which showed that the catch was probably not very ideal.

However, when the net was pulled to the surface, Leon found that the edge of the fishing net had already leaked out of the water, but the winch could no longer turn. "Is it stuck?" Leon didn't dare to use too much force for fear of damaging the winch, so he asked Willy.

"No, there are just too many fish in the net." Willy shook his head. "Now we have to use all our strength. Like I said, this is a challenge."

Lyon nodded, and then he and Willy worked together to shout. As more and more parts of the fishing net emerged from the water, Lyon saw the situation inside the net.

Huge flat fish as big as washbasins were jumping in the net, as if trying to break free from the fishing net. There were also some small fish in the net, but compared with the orange flat fish and the larger silver-gray fish in the net, they looked much more miserable. Most of them were knocked unconscious or killed by these big guys.

"Just keep pushing. Once the fishing net is completely out of the sea, we'll have succeeded."

Willy shouted to encourage Leon, and Leon did not relax. He used all his strength to turn the winch. In the end, in this contest of power, he and Willy won.

"Let me see! Halibut, flounder, anchovies, and even eels! What a surprise!"

Lyon slumped in the boat, gasping for breath, recovering the strength he had consumed. Although Willy was also a little out of breath, he was in much better condition than Lyon. At this moment, he came to the fishing net and observed the catch with a smile on his face.

As he spoke, Willy took out a scoop net from the cabin beside him and fished the eel out of the net bag first to prevent the eel with terrible sharp teeth from biting the net into pieces, which would cause a large number of fish to escape.

As a predator in the sea, eels are very aggressive. In Willy's scoop net, Leon saw the eel rolling and moving constantly, with its head raised high, attacking every place that made it feel uneasy. Until Willy threw it into a separate tank, it was still swimming constantly, trying to escape the cage.

At this moment, Leon had recovered a lot of his strength. He stood up and helped Willy to collect the fish in the fishing net.

The flounder in the net particularly interested him. He had eaten flounder before, but this was the first time he had seen one alive. Regarding its unique flat body shape, Leon was very curious about what its internal organs looked like.

It was just because the conditions on the boat were relatively simple and the live flounder would be more valuable, so Lyon did not dissect it as he wished, and classified the different fish species and put them into different tanks, Willy said.

"It's time to return. This trip was very fruitful. We can celebrate when we get back."

(End of this chapter)