Beachcombing: The beach is full of amazing seafood, but my wife won't let me get out of bed!

This whole longline fishing setup was like stirring up a horde of strange fish.

It's either stonefish, pufferfish, or rockfish, with the occasional unwanted sea catfish mixed in.

Chen Yang was busy sorting and packing the fish into buckets, working up a sweat.

"Brother-in-law, have we fished up all our relatives who were hiding at the bottom of the puddle?"

He couldn't stop smiling as he watched the stonefish accumulating in the bucket.

"There are many hidden reefs and rapid currents at the bottom of this cliff, which is exactly where these bottom-dwelling fish like to stay."

Wu Sui explained as he unhooked the hook.

"These fish usually hide in the crevices of rocks, and they can't be caught by ordinary trawl nets. Only when we use longline fishing can we bring them up."

The set of five hundred hooks was quickly collected.

Wu Gang stepped out of the driver's seat and glanced at the catch on the deck.

"Second brother, there are quite a few stonefish here, it looks like there's more than half a basket full."

"It weighs about 30 kilograms." Wu Sui stretched his sore shoulders.

Chen Yang started counting on his fingers to calculate the accounts.

"Over thirty pounds, at three hundred yuan per pound, that's another ten thousand yuan!"

"Including the ones from the puddles, we can make 20,000 from stonefish alone tonight?!"

He rubbed his hands together excitedly, his eyes shining brightly.

"Brother-in-law, hurry up, it's the third group. I feel like we're going to make a fortune tonight."

Wu Sui gave up his seat and pointed to the winch.

"You unhook this set, I'll take a break and tidy up the lines."

"Alright, watch me!" Chen Yang stood impatiently next to the winch, urging his older brother to start the boat quickly.

Wu Gang hesitated, wanting to say something but holding back. This kid's luck was... well, it was hard to explain.

But seeing Wu Sui's indifferent expression and thinking about what he had gained that day, he stopped worrying about it.

The boat started again. They were the only family fishing with longlines here, so there was no need to look for them. They quickly found the third group.

If other people are fishing with longlines in this area, then you need to find your own marker.

The locals' approach is simple and straightforward: either they use colors to distinguish between them, or they write names on the buoys, since no one will try to retrieve someone else's buoy.

The buoy was retrieved, and the main line was secured to the roller.

As soon as the machine was turned on, Chen Yang stared at the water's surface, muttering to himself.

"Valuable goods, valuable goods, you must give me valuable, large-scale goods."

The first few hooks were all empty, and Chen Yang was a little discouraged.

When the seventh hook was used, the water surface suddenly began to churn violently.

With a "splash," a large, white fish was pulled out of the water.

The fish was enormous, and it struggled desperately in mid-air, pulling the main line taut and splashing water all over Chen Yang's face.

"Wow, we've got a big shipment!" Chen Yang shouted excitedly.

Wu Sui took the landing net, seized the opportunity, scooped up the big fish, and lifted it onto the deck.

The big fish was jumping around on the deck with a "plop, plop" sound, its tail slapping against the deck with a dull thud.

Chen Yang excitedly leaned closer, but upon closer inspection, the smile on his face instantly froze.

"This...this is a sea bass?"

Wu Sui nodded, squatted down, and unhooked the fishhook.

"Yes, judging by its size, it must weigh sixteen or seventeen pounds, which is a pretty good haul."

Chen Yang, however, was somewhat disgusted. Was his luck really that bad?

My brother-in-law pulled up a stonefish that cost three or four hundred yuan, while his big fish, weighing over ten kilograms, was worth less than a one-kilogram fish.

"What's the use of a sea bass weighing over ten kilograms? It's only ten yuan per kilogram, so a fish this big would only cost a little over a hundred yuan."

He curled his lip, kicked the bass into the basket, and didn't even want to look at it again.

"It's not even worth as much as that half-pound stonefish from before. What a waste of my excitement."

"Brother-in-law, why don't you do it? My luck is really bad."

Seeing Chen Yang's unwilling expression, Wu Sui's face darkened, and she stood up to look directly at him.

"What nonsense are you spouting, you brat?"

Chen Yang was startled by Wu Sui's sudden sternness and stood frozen in place.

"Brother-in-law, I... what did I say wrong?"

Wu Sui pointed to the bass in the basket.

"Catching fish is a gift from the ocean. Do you think you can always catch something worth hundreds of dollars a pound?"

"One should not be too greedy, and should have a sense of awe for the sea."

Wu Sui's tone was serious, and there was no hint of joking in his voice.

"Many fishermen go out to sea and can't even earn back the cost of fuel. It's common for them to be caught out of the water."

"You can sell a fish for over a hundred yuan now, and you're still not satisfied?"

The driver's cab window was pushed open, and Wu Gang poked his head out.

"The second brother is right, Xiao Yang, this kind of mentality is not good."

"We fish in the sea and rely on the weather for our livelihood. We can't look down on others for eating meat while we're eating plain rice."

Wu Gang exhaled a smoke ring.

"Your brother-in-law brought you out here to learn skills, not to be a pampered young master. You think a hundred yuan isn't enough?"

Chen Yang lowered his head, his face flushed red.

He'd been following Wu Sui these past few days, and making money had been so easy that he'd gotten a little cocky.

"Brother-in-law, elder brother, I was wrong," Chen Yang said softly, admitting his mistake.

"Alright, get to work quickly, finish early and go home early." Wu Sui waved his hand, not continuing to lecture.

Chen Yang took a deep breath and stood back next to the winch.

This time, Chen Yang behaved himself. Whether it was a small yellow bream weighing a few ounces or a worthless sea catfish, he carefully unhooked it without uttering a single complaint.

"Brother-in-law, if you think about it carefully, this hundred yuan is not a small amount. My father's orchard only earns a few thousand yuan a year. He works hard in the fields, facing the loess soil with his back to the sky. It's much more tiring than this."

Chen Yang worked while trying to find a replacement.

Wu Sui, who was tidying up the cables nearby, nodded but didn't say anything.

He wasn't just giving Chen Yang a warning; he was also reminding himself.

Making money has been too easy lately, and everyone's getting a bit cocky. This kind of mentality isn't good at sea; we need to be more cautious.

The third group harvested half of their catch, and the result was decent.

Although there weren't any high-priced items like stonefish, I still managed to get a small half-basket full of miscellaneous items.

Chen Yang was unwrapping a palm-sized stone goby and had just thrown the fish into the bucket.

"Creak!"

The winch suddenly emitted a screeching sound as it struggled under the strain, and the main line, which had been rising at a steady speed, instantly became taut.

Before Chen Yang could react, he felt the deck beneath his feet suddenly sink.

"Ouch!" He stumbled and fell on the deck.

The bow of the fishing boat was pulled downwards by this enormous force.

Wu Sui reacted quickly, grabbing the railing beside him to steady himself while shouting.

"Brother! Stop the boat! Stop the boat now!"

Wu Gang, who was in the driver's seat, also noticed something was wrong and immediately cut off the power.

The winch motor was still spinning frantically, but the rollers were jammed, and a foul, burnt smell was coming from the motor.

"Shut down the machine quickly!" Wu Sui rushed over and slammed the power switch on the winch.

The buzzing stopped, but the fishing line continued to be pulled outwards.

There seems to be something enormous underwater.