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

Wang Dazhu put on gloves and swung his arm around.

"Brother Sui, sit here and rest. Leave the rest to me."

Just as Wu Sui was about to reach out to help, Wu Lei stepped over and shoved him against the plastic basket next to him.

"Don't move around, go wash your hand injury."

He pulled over a relatively clean, dry towel and handed it to Wu Sui.

"These cuts are so deep already. If you soak them in seawater, they'll swell up like pig's trotters tomorrow."

Wu Sui looked at her hands, feeling somewhat helpless.

"Brother Lei, don't be so delicate. This little injury is nothing."

"Don't take it lightly. It was my oversight. We'll have to bring some medicine next time we go out to sea." Anything can happen at sea. The weather can change, fish fins can cut your hands, not to mention that many fish are poisonous... They hadn't taken it seriously before, but now it seems they really need to prepare some medicine. Wu Sui didn't try to be brave and went to the stern to wash his wound with fresh water.

Wu Lei turned to Wang Dazhu and shouted, "Dazhu, hurry up and finish collecting them so we can get back as soon as possible. Every minute this gold nugget stays in the water makes my heart pound."

"Alright!"

Wang Dazhu agreed loudly, his hands alternating as he moved the thread upwards.

The appearance of the large yellow croaker was like a shot in the arm, sweeping away everyone's previous gloom and fatigue.

I don't know if the big yellow croaker brought me good luck.

Although there were still quite a few empty hooks, the harvest was much better than before.

The more I wanted to finish packing and go home quickly, the slower I could get going.

Everyone was extremely anxious, but the fish just kept coming in.

On the ship next door, Wu Gang also increased the speed of the winch.

After finishing the longline fishing, Wu Lei rushed to the live water tank for a quick look.

The large yellow croaker was already quite weak; although it wasn't dead, it probably wouldn't last much longer.

He told Dazhu to tidy up the deck, then went into the wheelhouse and started the boat.

"Full speed back!" Wu Gang responded immediately.

Two boats carved two white streaks on the sea as they raced toward the dock.

On the way back, the walkie-talkie never stopped.

Chen Yang was as excited as a child, chattering away nonstop.

"Brother-in-law, this is the first time I've ever seen a live yellow croaker. It's so beautiful and shiny."

"How much can this thing actually sell for? Is it enough to buy an apartment in town?"

Chen Yongqiang also joined in the fun.

"Xiao Yang, what a pathetic sight you've got! A wild yellow croaker weighing over ten kilograms—that's worth a fortune!"

"I heard my dad say that large yellow croakers grow slowly. A croaker this big would take twenty or thirty years to grow, and it's probably not far from dying of old age."

Wu Lei listened to their discussion, his voice filled with emotion.

"The yellow croaker does grow slowly. If Ah Sui hadn't pulled it up today, this fish probably wouldn't have lived much longer."

"Generally, wild large yellow croaker can grow from fry to about 2 pounds in 3 years."

"It takes 8 to 10 years for a baby to grow to more than 5 pounds, and the growth rate slows down as time goes on."

"This one is probably at least 20 years old. Generally, the lifespan of a large yellow croaker is only 20 to 25 years. They don't live very long."

After hearing his explanation, everyone felt even more sorry for him.

If Wu Sui hadn't been lucky, the fish might have died.

Doesn't this also show that Wu Sui is lucky?

The group started chattering again.

"Don't get excited."

Wu Gang's voice rang out, his tone somewhat heavy.

"Second brother, Lei, and the rest of you, listen up!"

"No one is allowed to utter a single word about this large yellow croaker."

Wu Lei immediately grabbed the walkie-talkie to respond.

"Brother Gang, you think the same way I do. This absolutely cannot be leaked."

Wu Gang sighed, his voice tinged with helplessness.

"You all know the character of the people in our village."

"If someone catches a few hundred extra kilograms of fish, people will gossip about it behind their back for days."

"If they found out that the second son had gotten his hands on such a gold nugget, wouldn't there be an uproar?"

"When that happens, all the jealous and malicious people will come knocking on our door. How will we live then?"

Chen Yang quickly expressed his opinion from the side.

"Brother-in-law, don't worry, I'm keeping my mouth shut. I wouldn't tell even if you killed me."

"Me too!" Chen Yongqiang echoed.

Wu Lei turned to look at Wang Dazhu.

Wang Dazhu raised three fingers.

"Brother Lei, Brother Sui, don't worry. If I, Wang Dazhu, utter a single word of it, I'll make sure I get empty hooks every time I go out to sea!"

Wu Sui leaned against the ship's railing, listening to everyone talking at once about how they cared for him, and felt a warmth in his heart.

Actually, he didn't think it was that serious.

If this fish is to be sold to Lin Tao, there are many people and eyes at the dock, and sooner or later, word will leak out.

However, since everyone is protecting him, he's happy to have some peace and quiet.

"Okay, I'll listen to Big Brother and Brother Lei."

Wu Sui picked up the walkie-talkie and said, "Everyone has worked hard today. Each of you will receive a bonus of 1000 yuan."

"Long live Brother Sui!"

Chen Yongqiang immediately cheered, and Wang Dazhu and Chen Yang joined in the commotion.

Wu Gang and Wu Lei were unusually quiet.

It's common for owners to give a small reward when they catch something valuable at sea.

Wu Sui was more generous, giving away 1000 yuan.

However, considering the value of the fish, they felt relieved.

The boat had been sailing for over an hour.

Wang Dazhu would run to the live water tank every ten minutes or so to check on it, treating it more closely than if it were his own son.

When he lifted the lid of the live water tank again and peered inside, he found that...

"Holy crap!"

He slipped and almost fell into the live water tank.

"Brother Sui, Brother Sui, come quick!"

Upon hearing the shouts, Wu Sui quickly went over.

Inside the live water tank, the large yellow croaker had stopped swimming.

It lay on its side on the water's surface, its gills moving intermittently, clearly taking in more air than it was exhaling.

The golden scales still gleamed in the sunlight, but the fish's vitality was rapidly fading.

"Brother Sui, is this fish going to die?" Dazhu was so anxious that he kept slapping his thigh and pacing around on the deck.

"If it dies, the price will definitely be discounted. Oh no, how much money will we lose?"

Wu Lei also got out of the driver's seat, looking at the large yellow croaker with its belly turned up, his face full of heartache.

"Brother Sui, what should we do? Should we give it artificial respiration?"

Wu Lei slapped Wang Dazhu on the back of the head.

"Are you out of your mind? How do you give a fish CPR?!"

Wu Sui looked at the live water tank, his brows furrowing slightly.

Large yellow croakers will die if they are taken out of water; this is an unchangeable fact.

The only solution now is to get to shore as soon as possible and sell the fish while they are still fresh.

He looked up and gazed in the direction of the town's dock.

"Brother Lei, speed up, get to shore at full speed!"

Wu Lei nodded and quickly returned to the driver's seat.

Wu Sui then instructed Da Zhu: "Go to the cold storage and get some ice to cool the water down. Also, turn on the oxygen. Every little bit helps us live a little longer."

They are now racing against time. As long as the fish can get back to the dock alive and be kept fresh as soon as possible, there will be no problem.