Back To the Small Fishing Village In 1982

     Chapter 38 Meeting the Mackerel Predator

Ye Yaodong swam in the sea, gradually adapting to the pressure brought upon him by the waters.

Only in the moment he initially jumped into the sea, panic engulfed him. Fortunately, he had informed his rascal friends in advance, which prevented him from sinking.

He regained the sensation of swimming freely in the sea, and the fear in his heart gradually faded away. His mind relaxed, and he propelled himself towards the shore with his hands and feet paddling.

Originally, they were thinking of having a race to see who would reach the opposite shore first. However, Ye Yaodong's actions startled them, and now no one dares to stray too far from him.

They slowly swam towards the shore until their feet touched the ground. They then walked towards the rocks with water trickling around their ankles. At that moment, the tide was still receding.

Ah Guang slowly piloted the boat behind them. When they were close enough, he jumped into the water and secured the boat. He shouted to Ye Yaodong, "Yaodong, what were you doing just now? You nearly scared me to death! I thought you knew how to swim!"

"I jumped too forcefully, and my leg cramped, which caused me to sink. But don't worry, I've recovered now. Look, I'm perfectly fine."

That jump indeed brought quite an unexpected outcome, but luckily it turned out to be a narrow escape.

Ah Guang, feeling a bit speechless, replied, "Do you think you're still growing or something?"

"Ah, the night before, I exerted myself too much. There are times when one's legs feel weak and their energy is depleted. You wouldn't understand, being a bachelor.”

Chuckling, Little Xiao playfully echoed, "Makes sense!"

Ah Guang rolled his eyes and replied, "Who do you think you're teasing? Just because you have a wife? Alright, let's go. Get the tools from the boat. The rocks here are already halfway exposed. Let's start searching and dig up whatever we find!"

Just as they had reached the shore and were about to take a rest, they had to quickly walk back into the water towards the direction of the boat. However, as soon as they climbed aboard, Ye Yaodong's eyes widened in surprise.

"There... there! It's a flying mackerel catching its prey!" 

The rest of them redirected their gaze and saw a group of flying mackerel chasing their prey in the shallow waters along the eastern shore. These fish had long, slender bodies with a spindle-shaped, streamlined form. With their incredible swimming speed and sharp teeth, they resembled cheetahs pursuing their prey. The frightened small fish darted in all directions, trying to escape.

Everyone instantly became excited, exclaiming, "It's a school of flying mackerel hunting!"

"It's the flying mackerel!"

Mackerel, also known as Spanish mackerel, are known for their aggressive nature. They frequently swim near the shores in shallow waters, especially from June to October, in search of food.

As the saying goes: In the mountains, one feasts on partridges and deer, while in the sea, one savors mackerel and groupers.

In this era, the marine resources are abundant. As far as their eyes could see, there were probably thousands of mackerel engaged in the eating frenzy.

They had never seen such a spectacular scene before, and they were instantly dumbfounded!

"Fishing nets! Fishing nets! Did any of you bring them?" Ye Yaodong was extremely excited. With thousands of mackerel present, even if they were sold for just 20 cents per jin this era, he could still make a good profit from selling just half of them.

It's worth noting that mackerels typically have a body length of around 40 to 50 centimeters or more, and each one weighs at least 6 to 7 jin. So, when we talk about thousands of them... What kind of situation is this?

"Oh no, we don't have any fishing nets!"

"I only brought the tools for sea digging."

"How could we have thought of bringing fishing nets?"

As each person expressed their disappointment, their excited spirits seemed to have been doused with cold water. Without fishing nets, what could they use to catch the mackerels? Were they supposed to dive into the water and try to catch them by hand?

They had just experienced so much joy, but now everyone felt equally dejected. It was like seeing shiny silver right in front of them, but unable to retrieve it.

"Let's search inside the cabin of the boat, maybe there's one there? Ah Guang's uncle is a trawler, so there should be fishing nets on the boat, right?"

With that reminder, everyone snapped back to reality and hurriedly went to search the cabin of the boat.

"Found it! We have it! The fishing nets are here, right inside!" exclaimed Ah Guang, his voice filled with excitement.

Ye Yaodong was overjoyed. With the nets, they would be able to cast and catch the fish they had seen.

"Quick, lower the ropes! We'll sail while casting the nets. Let's head straight towards that school of mackerel!" 

Without needing further instructions, everyone knew what to do. Those responsible for untying the ropes began to do so, while others attended to the machinery on the boat.

Ah Guang steered the boat towards the school of mackerel. As they approached from a different direction, they had initially missed the sight of the mackerel frenzy. It was a close call, but fortunately, they managed to catch up in time.

The four of them remained excited and captivated, their gaze fixed on the school of fish. As they drew closer, Ye Yaodong's eyes burned with even greater intensity. He had initially thought of coming to this deserted island to gather some seafood, but little did he know that they would stumble upon such a stroke of luck.

It seemed like all his bad luck had been left behind in the past life, and now he was experiencing an extraordinary stroke of good fortune. It was a time of extreme blessings and great opportunities.

As they neared the school of mackerel, the fish were startled and scattered in all directions. However, they couldn't escape the fishing nets that had been cast in advance.

The boat didn't stop but continued to sail forward for a while before the net was lifted. As they witnessed the lively and jumping school of mackerel caught in the net, smiles bloomed on everyone's faces.

Ah Zheng's eyes widened in astonishment. "Damn, how many hundreds of jin are in this net?”

"Wow, so many?"

Everyone's eyes are brightened!

"F*ck, hurry up! Stop wasting time and throw them into the live cabin. Let's continue casting the net while they are still around. They haven't gone far yet. This is a rare opportunity, so let's make the most of it and catch more!"

It's true that people tend to associate with those who are similar to them. In this case, the group shared a common excitement and lack of refinement, expressing their emotions with colorful language.

Ye Yaodong joined in the clamor, shouting, "Keep going, keep going! Hurry up, transfer them to the live cabin and continue casting the net!"

As the fish were dumped into the live cabin, it quickly became filled to the brim. Meanwhile, some fish on the boat were still flopping around, but everyone was too occupied to pay them any attention. Without hesitation, they immediately began casting the net again, driven by their determination to maximize their catch.

Instead of immediately lifting the second net, they decided to circle the surrounding waters twice before doing so. The mackerel that had just fled couldn't have gone too far, and this resulted in a bountiful catch when they finally lifted the net. Their decision to give the fish a little more time to gather in the net paid off handsomely.

Excitedly, Ah Guang shouted, "Damn it! Another few hundred jin! Hurry up, help out! The live cabin can't hold any more fish. Just throw them into the boat's cabin, whether they're alive or dead. As long as they're fresh, we can sell them for money!" 

Go cast a few more nets and aim for a catch of several thousand jin. With such a bountiful harvest, why would they need to work tomorrow?

Mackerel belong to the near-shore species and are warm-water migratory fish. The mackerel season is from April to June, during which they primarily feed on fish and shrimp and engage in their hunting activities. Their trip coincides with the time when mackerel are actively feeding. They have encountered a large number of mackerel due to their feeding behavior.

"Keep going…"

The boat echoed with the excited shouts of the four of them.

One by one, shirtless and wearing only shorts, they didn't mind the sun as they stood bare on the boat, their faces beaming with joyous smiles.

They continued to cast five or six nets in succession, and each time the nets remained in the sea for a longer period of time. With each net, the catch of mackerel became progressively smaller.

But everyone was content. Such good luck is hard to come by and not easily attainable.

As they looked at the live cabin and the other cabin filled to the brim with mackerel, their eyes gleamed with excitement and satisfaction.

"Other than at the Yujing Pier, I've never seen so many mackerel before. Hahaha~ It was indeed wise to follow Yaodong. His luck has been quite good these past few days, and we're benefiting from it too. Fortunately, we agreed to come along yesterday. Fatty and Ah Wei missed out on a big opportunity." 

He was very self-aware of his own bad luck, while Yaodong seemed to have incredibly good luck these past few days, as if he had stepped on a lucky charm or found a pot of gold!

"Right, right, Yaodong seems to be really lucky these days."

"Borrowing Yaodong’s light today, I made a fortune!"

 "Did you worship Mazu before you came out?"