351: Looking for schools of fish

Under the scorching sun, the four of them hurriedly finished lunch and went back to rest without even bothering to digest first.

Yang Qi also returned to the cockpit, lay down on the small bed, and fell into a deep sleep before long.

When he woke up again, it was already after four in the afternoon. He stepped out of the cockpit to wash his face and found Bai Xue and the other two were preparing dinner.

Yang Qi went to check the live fish hold and saw it was densely packed with fish, all of which were quite active.

At that moment, Yao Shanshan came over carrying a dish and said to Yang Qi,

"Brother Qi, I just fished out the ones floating belly-up and put them in the freezer. The rest should be fine, right? Let's eat first!"

Yang Qi nodded upon hearing this.

"Yeah, from the looks of it, the remaining ones are quite lively. However, it's best to check on them occasionally, just in case."

"Alright, leave that to me. I'll come check every day."

After dinner, Yang Qi piloted the fishing boat southwest for another two hours before finally reaching the actual waters of the Xisha Islands.

He didn't head toward the distant areas where fishing boats were clustered. Instead, he found a remote reef where the water was about seventeen or eighteen meters deep.

"We'll stop here for the night. Let's drop the Crab traps first! After that, you can fish if you want or just relax to recover your strength."

He said this because he noticed during dinner that the others looked a bit tired, especially Wang Yan.

After setting the Crab traps, the four of them sat on the deck drinking tea and chatting.

By now, the entire sky was draped in a black curtain, and scattered stars had appeared at some point.

The surroundings began to turn pitch black, and they could only vaguely see the flickering lights of many fishing boats in the distance.

The lights from the setting sail shone on the sea surface, attracting many phototactic small fish that occasionally jumped above the water.

These small fish couldn't pique Yang Qi's interest at all. There were some Grouper in the crevices of the seabed reefs, though.

However, very few of them caught his eye, so he just sat there without moving a muscle.

"Starting tomorrow, we'll look for schools of fish and catch the big ones. Let's keep the other two small live fish holds as backups."

Yang Qi suggested.

"Sounds good to me. This is only our first day here; we might run into some high-quality catches in the coming days."

Bai Xue nodded in agreement.

"Exactly! We definitely have to find big fish. Otherwise, how are we going to fill our large freezer? Besides, we haven't even satisfied our urge to fish yet; it's just been you casting the net by yourself."

Yao Shanshan teased with a grin.

In this sea area at night, the sea breeze dissipated the day's heat. Wearing loose clothing, the four of them felt very refreshed and comfortable.

If the Anglers in the distance, who were currently struggling with their rods, saw this, they would surely give them a scolding.

What kind of decent person would sail a fishing boat all the way to the Xisha Islands in the South China Sea and sit there drinking tea in the sea breeze instead of rushing to fish?

Does such a person deserve to be called an 'Angler'?

But who could have known that after only one day at sea, before even reaching the Xisha Islands, the setting sail's live fish holds were already full?

Yang Qi and the others didn't cast a line until ten at night. He had looked underwater; although the small fish were increasing, they still hadn't attracted any big ones.

The reef crevices were also full of one or two-pound Grouper. Normally he might have caught some, but given the current state of the live fish holds, he ultimately didn't make a move.

"Let's rest! It's getting late!"

Yang Qi said, checking the time.

Just as he was lying on the small bed, dazed and about to fall asleep, he heard the 'click' of a door closing.

Then, a soft body entered his arms. Opening his eyes, he saw it was Bai Xue... When he woke up the next day, Yang Qi found his bed partner was already gone.

Once he dressed and left the cockpit, he found Bai Xue and the others making breakfast, including his favorite steamed buns and seafood porridge.

The harvest from the Crab traps was quite good; each trap had more than seven or eight Crabs, along with some large prawns and Mantis Shrimp.

Following the principle of keeping the big ones and releasing the small, Bai Xue and Yao Shanshan dumped all the small Crabs back into the sea.

They had good luck and even caught two large Sea Eels weighing three or four pounds.

"Hubby, at noon I'll steam some Conger Eel with black bean sauce for you. I guarantee you won't forget it once you taste it. And I'll make some braised Sea Eel for Teacher Wang; it's good for the complexion."

"Great, then I'll be looking forward to your delicious food."

Wang Yan chuckled softly.

Speaking of which, eels might be one of the few oddities among all seafood and river food. The price of wild freshwater eels is much higher than that of wild Sea Eels.

The price of wild Sea Eel, depending on the size, is only around fifty to over a hundred yuan per pound. Farmed Sea Eel is even cheaper.

Meanwhile, the price of wild freshwater eel can range from one hundred fifty to seven or eight hundred yuan per pound, depending on the species, origin, and size.

Even some top-tier wild river eels (such as those from the Qiantang River), weighing just 400 grams, can cost over a thousand yuan per pound.

Yang Qi left the task of tying the Crabs to the three women. Not to mention Bai Xue, even Yao Shanshan was much faster than him now.

As for Wang Yan, she was just there to help out.

Yang Qi piloted the fishing boat toward the south, moving far away from the waters where fishing boats of all sizes were gathered.

Along the way, he occasionally picked up his binoculars to look around, attempting to find traces of a school of fish.

"Sigh! In this vast ocean, my Golden Finger is a bit useless; I still have to rely on the power of technology."

He occasionally encountered many schools of fish on the way, but they were either too small in number or had no large fish following them, so he had to give up.

"Hmm? Something seems to be happening to the front right!"

Yang Qi suddenly spotted a flock of birds through the binoculars. Many birds were circling over the sea, flying at varying heights.

He understood that those were seabirds preying on a school of fish, so he immediately turned the helm and headed in that direction.

When he got within two or three nautical miles, he could see with the naked eye a large flock of white seabirds circling above the sea, and he could even vaguely hear their 'ya ya ya' cries.

There were also many seabirds floating on the water, devouring small fish.

What caught his eye even more was that the sea surface was splashing everywhere, as if fuel had been poured into the water.

This was the phenomenon of a school of fish being chased by large fish and forced to the surface.

Yang Qi had encountered this situation several times and was not unfamiliar with it. He knew deep down that it was time to act.

"Everyone, get ready quickly! We've found a school of fish."

As Yang Qi piloted the boat closer, he finally saw that it was a school of Balang Fish. The large fish following behind were very likely Tuna.

Although this large school of fish was nowhere near as big as the 'Balang Fish Storm' he and Bai Xue had encountered last time, it was still enough to shock anyone.

Since the school was not moving very fast, Yang Qi circled to the front and positioned the fishing boat across the path the fish were taking.