31: Tugboat release

“A big Yellowfin Tuna! Did someone catch a big Yellowfin Tuna?”

“Who stepped in dog shit?”

“Let’s go, let’s go! Let’s go see!”

“Stop messing around with cards!”

Hearing the broadcast, everyone instantly became restless and rushed out of the lounge like a gust of wind, heading to the aft deck.

“Holy crap, what a huge Yellowfin Tuna!”

The Captain was seen giving directions:

“Boss, don’t rush, pull it in slowly. A Xi, use the snaring rope, don’t use the gaff hook. It’s not good to injure it anywhere; this Tuna isn’t getting away!”

“Hahahaha, I knew it was you, Yang Qi, you’re truly amazing!” Zhang Jun arrived.

Yang Qi looked at the listless Tuna lying flat on the water, then at Zhang Jun, whose drool was almost dripping.

“Brother Jun! You should have come earlier, that was so exciting just now! Why don’t you finish it off now!”

“This~!” Zhang Jun was stunned for a moment. He knew this must be Yang Qi’s first Tuna. It was about to be brought onto the boat, and now he was letting him have a go.

He was very touched.

After a moment of hesitation, he still spoke, “You should finish this glory yourself! After all, it’s your first Tuna, and you should be the one to complete the final step for it to be perfect!”

“Alright then! Next time I catch one, I’ll definitely let you have a go!”

Yang Qi didn’t say much more and continued to follow the Captain and Wang Jinxi’s instructions, slowly reeling in the Tuna.

Behind him, there was also a clamor,

“Wow wow wow! It really is a Yellowfin Tuna!”

“What a huge Tuna, it’s bigger than me!”

“It should be over two hundred catties, almost three hundred catties!”

The fishing enthusiasts behind him were all envious,

Envious beyond words.

They secretly shouted “Oh no, oh no” in their hearts, unable to suppress it.

After all, if the fish was caught, Yang Qi would be happy alone, but if it “got away,” everyone would be happy.

“Don’t rush, pull it over slowly, A Xi, get the snaring rope ready!” The Captain began to direct.

Wang Jinxi, holding a thumb-thick snaring rope, began to loop it around the fish’s tail with the help of two other crewmen.

“Don’t rush, take your time, reel in a little more line, pull it to the edge of the boat.”

Wang Jinxi and the others slowly slipped the rope loop over the Tuna’s scissor-like tail fin.

Using a pulley and a crane, they pulled it onto the deck.

An employee covered the fish’s eyes with a towel, and then the fish stopped thrashing and struggling.

He quickly picked up a knife and made two cuts behind the gills and on both sides of the tail.

Then, he picked up a water hose and inserted it into the cut behind the gills to flush water, and blood flowed onto the deck from the cuts.

Soon, a strong smell of blood permeated the deck.

The onlookers behind him started discussing again:

“How much can this big Tuna sell for?”

“It depends on the fat content of the meat! At least one hundred fifty or sixty yuan per catty. If the fat content is high, it can sell for two or three hundred yuan per catty.”

“One hundred fifty or sixty yuan per catty, this one is over two hundred catties, so that’s over thirty thousand yuan.”

“How can such a big fish be so cheap?” This person had a tone that suggested, “I’m not well-educated, so don’t lie to me!”

“What he said should be correct. Last time, a friend of mine caught a Yellowfin Tuna weighing sixty or seventy catties. It only sold for 45 yuan per catty in the end.”

“That cheap? No way? When I eat at a restaurant, such a small dish costs hundreds or even thousands?” Someone raised an objection.

“That’s Bluefin Tuna, and those prices are deliberately hyped up by the Japanese, it’s all smoke and mirrors, pure IQ tax. It makes you not want to eat it a second time after you’ve had it once!” A knowledgeable person explained,

“Because the Japanese have already broken through the deep-sea cage farming technology for Tuna. In order to promote their farmed Tuna, they inflated the price of Bluefin Tuna so high.”

“Oh~ So that’s how it is! That’s really eye-opening!”

Here, the Ship worker used a water gun to spray the Tuna to bleed it, remove acid, and cool it down. There, the Captain arranged for personnel to change the ice water in the bleeding tank.

After the fish blood was drained, it had to be passed through ice water and then promptly sent to the freezer. This was to preserve the Tuna’s taste.

Everyone quickly took turns taking photos with this Yellowfin Tuna.

After the photo session ended, several crewmen tied green zip ties around the Tuna and sent it to the freezer.

Seeing Yang Qi troll a several-hundred-catty Yellowfin Tuna while the boat was moving, everyone felt a little restless and wanted to try their luck.

Finally, the Captain decided that everyone would be divided into groups of 4 to troll on the aft deck for half an hour. If no fish were caught, the next group would take over.

They would rotate in sequence. Those who didn’t want to fish could continue to rest.

After the grouping was completed, the first group of four excitedly walked to the aft deck and began trolling.

They stared intently at their fishing lines, their eyes full of anticipation. Time passed minute by minute, but the lines remained motionless.

Half an hour quickly passed, and the first group regretfully left the field, as trolling required luck.

The second group quickly took over.

When it was Yang Qi and Zhang Jun’s group’s turn, Zhang Jun held his fishing rod tightly, his eyes firm.

He didn’t even know why, but whenever he fished with Yang Qi, he was full of confidence.

He baited with a Blue Mackerel and began to troll.

In less than ten minutes, the fishing line moved, and Zhang Jun excitedly shouted, “There’s a fish on the hook!”

Yang Qi used his ability to take a look; it turned out to be a Spanish Mackerel, quite large, probably around 20 catties.

It was also a stroke of luck; among the few big fish chasing the boat, only this one bit Zhang Jun’s hook.

The other three quickly reeled in their lines, fearing that tangled lines would cause the fish to escape.

If you say, “I’ll just fish for myself, regardless of whether others catch fish or not.” Well, fine, but next time you catch a fish, others will also mind their own business, and who will you blame if your fish gets away then? Besides, everyone is in the same circle, and these are unwritten rules.

Everyone’s gaze converged. Everyone cheered him on, and some acquaintances began to tease,

“A Jun, are you up to it? Do you need me to help you? You’ve never caught such a big fish, what if it gets away?”

“A Jun, such a big fish, you can’t handle it, let me do it!”

“Oh no~”

“Oh no~”

“Oh no~”

Zhang Jun also ignored these guys’ teasing, gritting his teeth and struggling with the fish.

In fact, he was also nervous, afraid that these jinxes would actually be right and it would “get away.”

Although Zhang Jun often didn’t catch fish, he was well-versed in theoretical knowledge. He knew how to fight a fish, so he operated with ease.

After a fierce struggle, he finally brought the fish to the surface.

“It’s a big Spanish Mackerel!”

“Boss Zhang is awesome!”

A burst of cheers erupted from the crowd, and everyone congratulated Zhang Jun.

Yang Qi, standing beside him, had already prepared the landing net and casually scooped up the fish.

Zhang Jun breathed a long sigh of relief and grinned, “It’s finally up! The feeling of fighting a big fish is so exhilarating!”

Everyone took turns taking photos again.

The crewmen got busy again, processing this newly caught fish, bleeding the Spanish Mackerel, removing acid, and then sending it to the freezer.

The four eager members of the third group were already impatient. They quickly went up to switch places.

Everyone looked forward to the upcoming fishing time even more.