I am a local in North America

Chapter 28 Crab Fishing Season

Still Yellowknife.

Like the shores of Great Slave Lake, this area experiences polar night for most of the day, with darkness falling in the afternoon.

New tourists might find it hard to adjust, but for Su Jerry, the long nights are the norm and suit his routine perfectly.

Before going to bed that night, Su Jierui charged the DJI Osmo Pocket gimbal camera he had bought last year, preparing to shoot a few minutes of footage to briefly introduce his recent situation as pilot material for his first video after his return.

Participating in "Living Alone in the Wilderness" to earn prize money is a one-off deal. If the show doesn't invite past champions and popular contestants back in the future, then there will be no way to make money from it anymore.

YouTube video accounts with more than 21 followers are different; if managed well, they can be expected to earn a stable income of more than $2000 per month.

Once this season of "Living Alone in the Wild" airs and Su Jerry gains some fame, he might be able to earn even more and start taking on product endorsements, which is definitely worth managing carefully.

Occasionally, you can just photograph some interesting things happening around you. It's much easier and freer than going to work, which explains why it attracts countless people who are eager to become famous.

At this moment.

Su Jierui lay on the bed, holding a gimbal camera pointed at himself, smiling broadly as he took a picture and said:

"Hi everyone, it's been a long time! I, the 'missing person,' have finally returned. I've missed you all so much."

"I also miss the delicious food, the comfortable bed, and the heated room. Looking back on my experience recently, it feels like I'm living in paradise. You only know how to cherish some things after you've lost them."

"I just got back today and I saw that my YouTube account has gained a lot of followers, and people are betting on whether I won the $100 million prize."

"I'm sorry, but the production team signed confidentiality agreements with us for promotional purposes, so we can't tell you the details for now. But based on what I've learned from the director, this season of 'Living Alone in the Wilderness' is very exciting."

"Okay, I can't say anything more, and please don't get me sued by the show's producers. I'm currently in Yellowknife, the capital of the Northwest Territories of Canada, and tomorrow I'll be traveling with multiple connecting flights to the Aleutian Islands in Alaska."

Concerned that new fans who hadn't seen last year's old videos might not be familiar with the situation of their fishing boat, Su Jierui specifically explained a few points:
“As I mentioned last year, my grandfather risked his life to fish for king crabs in Alaska for several years in a row. Luckily, he caught up with the policy reform in 1995 and applied for and obtained the 1% IFQ for Bristol Bay red king crabs.”

"This means that my family can account for 1% of the total annual red king crab catch stipulated by the authorities. Assuming that the total catch is 3000 tons of red king crab, then my family can catch 30 tons."

“This is the most valuable asset in my family. In the early years, it was rented out to others in accordance with the regulations, and we only earned IFQ quota rental fees. My grandparents even used these rental fees to pay for my sister's and my college tuition. It wasn't until last year when my parents bought a crab fishing boat that they started using the IFQ quota themselves…”

Sometimes, choice really does matter more than effort.

Back in 1995, based on historical fishing records, Alaskan authorities distributed IFQ quotas for Bristol Bay red king crabs free of charge to eligible fishermen, including Jerry Su's grandfather.

At the time, not many people realized just how valuable it was!

After the initial allocation, anyone else who wants to obtain Bristol Bay Red King Crab IFQ can only choose to buy or lease it from fishermen who hold a share.

Today, the Bristol Bay Red King Crab IFQ share is like a piece of real estate or intellectual property, providing a steady stream of rental income for Su Jerry's grandparents over the years, with some years even bringing in as much as $10 passively!
Two years ago, a professional American crab fishing company offered a whopping $130 million to buy the 1% permanent crab fishing share from Jerry Sue's grandparents.

It was precisely because of this incident that his parents decided to take out a loan to buy a crab fishing boat and start their own business.

Last year, the total catch quota was set at 2109 tons. Su Jierui accompanied his parents to sea to shoot footage, but the windy and wavery weather prevented him from going up on the deck.

In just 11 days, his family filled their quota of more than 21 tons of red king crabs. The dock purchase price was $13 per pound, and the gross profit exceeded $60!
However, purchasing each crab trap, which weighs around 300 kilograms, the fuel consumption of the crab fishing boat, tens of tons of bait, equipment maintenance and repair, insurance costs, licenses and fees, dock and unloading fees, etc., are also very expensive, and high commissions must be paid to the workers who risk their lives.

Ultimately, during last year's king crab fishing season, after accounting for all sorts of expenses, Su Jerry's family earned a total of approximately $20 in net income after taxes. In the subsequent snow crab fishing season, they also earned more than $6.

This made his parents very happy, and they felt that methods such as seine netting, trawling, longline fishing, and crab trapping Dungeness crabs were no longer appealing. They were always looking forward to the arrival of the Alaskan crab fishing season.

Although they are both fishermen, their quality of life is quite different.

It took the Su family more than half a century and three generations of hard work to accumulate their current wealth.

Because they own a 1% share of Bristol Bay Red King Crab IFQ, and have accumulated savings over the years, their property has also appreciated significantly in recent years.

Last year, Su Jierui's grandfather, though old, was still young at heart. On his 67th birthday, he even bought a used Ferrari 488 worth more than $8!

It was a rare moment of impulsive indulgence, fulfilling my youthful dream of driving a sports car.

Sports cars, especially used ones, are much cheaper in the United States than in many other countries.

During the birthday dinner, Mr. Su worried that people wouldn't understand his actions, so he explained that he wanted to use it as his last car, driving it until he was in his coffin. Assuming he could live another 20 years, that would average out to just over $4000 a year, which wasn't expensive. Su Jerry, his parents, and sisters all respected his decision; as people get older, they often have dreams they want to fulfill.

Compared to many elders in North America who are only responsible for raising their children and then completely abandoning them, Grandpa Su has worked hard for most of his life and has already given more than enough.

Only Su Jierui's grandmother was unhappy, saying that if it was going to cost so much money, she might as well buy a motorhome and go on road trips. She said that the Ferrari's acceleration was so fast that it almost gave her a heart attack.

Now that they've placed an order for the car without even saying hello, they'll probably want to get a younger wife next.

Actually, I'm happy too.

It's just that she had experienced hardship and was used to saving money for most of her life. She always felt that she should leave more money for her descendants and was reluctant to spend it on herself.

After that, both Su Jierui and his father tried to get close to Grandpa Su, wanting to swap cars with him for a few days, but they were refused and were only allowed to drive for a short while to have some fun.

His grandfather also said that if Su Jierui finds a reliable girlfriend soon, gets married, has children, and carries on the family line, he can buy him another car he likes.

……

Lying on the soft bed in the warm room, Su Jierui felt rather uncomfortable and tossed and turned for an hour or so before finally feeling a little sleepy.

Before going to sleep, he thought about that junior schoolmate named Qian Shuyao. In his drowsy state, he thought that she was not only beautiful, but also seemed to have a pretty good personality.

They talked for more than an hour tonight before their conversation was temporarily interrupted by a phone call from Qian Shuyao's mother.

the next day.

Before dawn, Su Jierui packed his luggage and headed to the airport.

He first bought a pet carrier and paid to ship the baby rabbit to Seattle. However, the black walnut stick, which was about two meters long, encountered some problems during the shipping process.

Because it exceeded the prescribed length, the stick, which he had meticulously crafted for a long time, could not be sent on the plane and had to be broken. He plans to find an opportunity to make beads into a bracelet or carve some patterns to display at home as a memento.

After a two- or three-hour flight, we landed in Vancouver.

Because the University of British Columbia is easily accessible by car from Seattle, this was Su Jerry's first time at Vancouver International Airport, even though he had clearly studied there for a year.

He chose a two-year master's program. If he completes his thesis and graduation project as soon as possible and makes up for the credits he missed this semester, he might be able to graduate smoothly in June next year.

The thought of his clueless graduation thesis gave Su Jierui a terrible headache. He took a moment to call his sister Su Yarou again, and soon after, he boarded the plane again to Alaska, an American enclave.

He glanced at a TV series he hadn't had a chance to catch up on recently and was surprised to learn that "The Morgan Family," which he had been following for several years, was about to end, leaving him feeling somewhat empty.

But soon, he began to curse the eighth season of Game of Thrones for its terrible ending, realizing that not watching the finale in the first half of the year was indeed the right decision.

I was either on a plane or waiting for a transfer. I ate hamburgers and fried chicken along the way, and finally took a car in the evening, arriving smoothly at the Dutch pier on Makanak Island.

Last year during the crab fishing season, Su Jierui came here and easily found his own "Junlin" crab fishing boat.

Upon seeing her son, his mother was stunned, then overjoyed, she opened her arms wide and exclaimed excitedly:

"Didn't I tell you to go home first on the phone? How did you end up here! Come on, give your mom a hug, congratulations on winning the championship!!"

"...You're such a big person, can't you just not carry me?"

Su Jierui's lips twitched as he explained:
"I've gained more subscribers on YouTube, so I need to quickly shoot some footage to solidify that. It's been a while since I've seen you all, so I came to check in. How are you all doing?"

His father, Su Zhenhai, was very happy, but he said:

“Catching king crabs is too dangerous. You should take some photos and then stay at the hotel to rest, or give the camera to your mom and ask her to take some videos for you when she has time.”

"The sea has finally calmed down, and we've finished packing up the crab traps. We'll be heading out to sea tonight. Yesterday, the 'Giant Claw' risked securing the crab traps and encountered a migrating crab swarm, but their captain refused to tell me where they were for free. He actually asked me for $25000 for information!"

"I feel so bad, this information can actually be sold for money!? Last year, after our family reached the quota, people asked me where I got it and even gave me beer and cigars. I didn't think much of it at the time and just told them."

"Thinking back on it now, I'm so angry! No wonder they kept congratulating me and inviting me for drinks; they were just trying to get me drunk and extract information from me..."

(End of this chapter)