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

It lasted a full three hours.

The intense back-and-forth battle pushed everyone's physical strength to its limit.

Wu Sui mechanically pulled the main thread upwards with alternating hands.

The gloves were soaked with seawater, and my fingers ached and went numb.

"Splash!"

A plump mackerel was pulled out of the water and writhed wildly in mid-air.

Wang Dazhu didn't even bother with a landing net; he simply grabbed the leader line and flung the fish onto the deck.

"Brother Sui, there's nowhere to put your feet!" Wang Dazhu shouted.

He stood on the deck, his ankles submerged in mackerel.

Wu Sui glanced at the live water tank.

The hatch couldn't be closed anymore; it was filled with countless gray fish backs, and water had overflowed.

The icebox was packed so tightly that no more fish could be put in.

The 12-meter boat was already undercapacitated; thankfully, all the fish were caught, otherwise the boat would have sunk.

"Pile them on the deck," Wu Sui ordered through gritted teeth. "Make sure they're balanced on both sides, don't let them sink to one side!"

The final part of the main storyline is brought to the surface.

Another seven or eight large mackerel appeared in succession.

When the last fishing hook was pulled out, Wu Sui plopped down on the pile of fish, his chest heaving violently.

"Ah Sui, I'm done here." Wu Gang's voice was exhausted, but couldn't hide his excitement.

"We've already crammed over a dozen into the driver's cab; there's simply no more room!"

Wu Sui supported himself on his knees as he stood up, walked to the side of the ship, and looked down.

Upon seeing this, cold sweat immediately broke out.

The ship's gunwale, which was originally much higher than the water, was now almost touching the sea surface.

A small wave crashed over, and seawater overflowed the ship's gunwale, flowing and splashing across the deck, washing over the piles of mackerel.

"The water's too deep," Wu Lei said, sticking his head out of the driver's seat with a serious expression.

Even a small, large wave could capsize the boat at any moment.

"Big brother, slowly move closer, tie the two boats together." Wu Sui picked up the walkie-talkie and instructed, "Be gentle, don't turn the rudder all the way!"

The motor emitted a dull hum.

Wu Gang's boat, like a heavy old ox, slowly moved over.

As the two boats drew closer, Chen Yongqiang and Wang Dazhu frantically threw the mooring ropes over.

The anchor went into the water, and the ship finally managed to stabilize itself.

Almost simultaneously, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and collapsed onto the deck.

He was panting heavily, too weak to even lift a finger.

Looking around, the two boats were practically fish transport vessels; apart from the area where people stayed, they were filled with fish.

"Brother Sui, how much stock is this?"

Chen Yongqiang lay among the pile of fish, grinning foolishly as he asked.

Wu Sui took out a cigarette pack soaked in sweat, pulled one out, and put it in his mouth.

"Our two ships, with live water tanks and ice tanks, are fully loaded with over three thousand catties." Wu Sui lit a cigarette and took a deep drag.

"Now even the deck is piled up like this. The two ships together must weigh at least 10,000 jin (5,000 kg)."

"Ten...ten thousand catties?" Wang Dazhu sat up abruptly, his eyes wide like copper bells.

Chen Yang was on the opposite boat, clinging to the gunwale and sticking his head out.

"Brother-in-law, how much would 10,000 catties of mackerel cost?"

Wu Lei picked up the conversation, counting on his fingers.

"It's currently the fishing ban season, so there are fewer seafood options on the market."

"These large mackerel, which are 70 or 80 centimeters long, have the best meat quality, and they'd sell for at least five or six dollars per pound."

"Ten thousand jin, multiplied by five..." Wu Lei's voice suddenly faltered, and he swallowed hard. "Fifty thousand yuan?!"

"Holy shit!" Chen Yongqiang jumped up, his head slamming into the metal of the cab with a "bang." He grimaced in pain, but still grinned foolishly.

"Fifty thousand dollars for one night? My dad has spent half his life at sea and he's never seen that much money."

Wu Gang leaned against the winch, holding an empty water bottle in his hand, his face crinkling with laughter.

"Don't forget, there's also the stuff that was collected by the fish traps; it'll definitely cost at least 50,000 yuan."

The crowd cheered, their fatigue completely washed away by the huge sum of money.

Everyone's eyes gleamed with undisguised ecstasy.

During breaks, everyone shared cigarettes and drank water.

Wu Sui leaned against the driver's seat, silently smoking.

Just then, Chen Yang on the other side suddenly burst out laughing.

"Brother, why are you staring at that bucket?"

Everyone followed Chen Yang's gaze.

Wu Gang was leaning against the ship's side, his eyes glancing intentionally or unintentionally toward Wu Sui.

To be precise, he was staring at the bucket next to Wu Sui's feet that contained a single bulltail fish.

Everyone knows Wu Sui's habit: whenever he comes across rare and delicious seafood, no matter how valuable it is, he always likes to keep it for his family to eat.

Startled by Chen Yang's shout, Wu Gang quickly looked away, coughed twice, and pretended to admire the scenery.

"Who's watching the bucket? Can't I look at the sea?"

Chen Yang couldn't pass up the opportunity to joke, so he leaned on the gunwale and made faces.

"Brother, why aren't you feeling sorry for the bulltail fish this time?"

"I remember last time your brother-in-law deliberately broke off the little green dragon's whiskers, you kept nagging about it the whole way home."

Wang Dazhu chimed in, "That's right, Brother Gang! This bulltail fish weighs several pounds. Brother Sui said it's a 'skinned old fish' that's undergone sex reassignment surgery. It must be worth a lot of money."

Wu Gang blushed and glared at Chen Yang with annoyance.

"Get lost, you little brat, what do you know?"

He stuck out his neck and shouted loudly, displaying a stubborn and defiant attitude.

"Am I the kind of miser who's greedy and only cares about money? Back then, my family was poor, and I had to be extremely careful with every penny. Do you think I'm short of food now?"

Wu Gang patted the pile of fish beside him, exuding a heroic air.

"Ah Sui said to save it for soup, so let's make soup. Do you think I'm a stingy person?"

Chen Yongqiang laughed so hard he slapped his thigh: "Brother Gang is so generous! Tomorrow we'll get to enjoy this oxtail fish soup that can cure rheumatism!"

Wu Gang laughed and cursed, though he spoke with righteous indignation, he was secretly grumbling to himself.

I just wanted to stop him, but does that mean Ah Sui won't eat?

Seeing Wu Gang's arrogant yet aggrieved expression, Chen Yang, Wang Dazhu, and the others could no longer hold back and burst into laughter, pointing at Wu Gang.

"Hahaha……"

Hearty laughter echoed across the sea under the night sky as everyone joked and boasted, their fatigue vanishing instantly.

The night gradually faded.

The sky began to lighten with the first hint of dawn, and the waves on the sea subsided considerably.

Wu Sui glanced at the time; it was almost five in the morning.

"Alright, stop fooling around." Wu Sui stood up. "Prepare to weigh anchor and head back."

"Alright!" everyone responded in unison, full of enthusiasm.

Chen Yongqiang and Wang Dazhu ran to untie the ropes that were tied together.

"Ouch, damn it!" Chen Yongqiang slipped and landed hard on his bottom in the pile of mackerel, causing everyone to burst into laughter again.

The motor roared back to life.

Two small boats, fully loaded, slowly moved toward the dock on the sea.

Because the ship is too heavy, it can't even reach half of its usual speed, and if you're not careful, seawater will flood the deck.

Wu Lei was at the helm, highly focused, his palms sweaty.

Wu Sui stood at the bow of the boat, facing the rising sun, watching the coastline getting closer and closer.

With such a large quantity of goods, Brother Tao must be astonished today.