443: Squid ink fried rice

Accompanied by the ink flying through the air were two crisp and ear-piercing screams.

"Ah!", "Ah!".

Luo Jiao and Chen Qianqian were covered in black from head to toe; even the deck and hull near the gunwale were sprayed with ink from the Squids.

"Hehehe, didn't I tell you to lift them slowly? You can't just fly the Squids out of the water when fishing for them."

At this moment, Bai Xue's slightly gloating voice came from nearby. She was holding a landing net, scooping up a Squid, and wasn't in a hurry to pull it onto the deck.

After the Squid in the landing net was startled, it began to struggle frantically on the water's surface, simultaneously spraying ink that instantly dyed the seawater black.

Bai Xue waited until the Squid had finished spraying its ink before lifting the landing net onto the deck.

"Sister Xue, I was so nervous just now that I forgot!"

"Sister Xue, I'm sorry, I got your pants dirty!"

The two of them hurriedly apologized to Bai Xue.

"It's fine. It's normal since you've never fished for them before. Keep fishing for now, and take a shower later!"

Bai Xue said nonchalantly.

"Brother-in-law, you're such a dog! You ran away so early that you didn't get a single drop of ink on you! Hahaha!"

The three girls burst into another round of laughter.

Yang Qi had a face full of black lines and didn't reply, continuing his great fishing endeavor.

In fact, this was the Squid's means of escape. They have Ink Sacs in their bellies, and when they encounter danger or are startled...

...they spray ink to dye the seawater black, obstructing the predator's vision and taking the opportunity to escape.

When it leaves the water, it becomes scared to death and will instantly spray all the ink in its Ink Sac at once.

Next, the four of them began a "consecutive rod" mode for the Squids, catching them one after another. Soon, the water on one side of the fishing boat was dyed black.

The four of them turned and went to the other side of the boat to continue fishing.

The price of these sea-caught Squids is quite expensive when freshly landed; the purchase price for larger ones can reach 70 to 80 yuan per catty.

Moreover, fishing for Squid is much simpler than fishing for sea fish. As long as you can find a school of Squid, turn on the boat's lights at night, and use Glowing Wood Shrimp Hooks, it's practically something anyone can do.

There are professional Squid fishing boats in the deep sea, and professional Squid fishers in the nearshore. Going out at night can earn them one or two thousand yuan in a single night.

For a time, the "setting sail" was filled with constant laughter, a scene of a bountiful harvest.

Everyone fished until twelve o'clock, then Yang Qi brought out an iron plate and lit the charcoal fire.

He began processing the freshly caught Squids, cutting off the heads, first removing the internal organs and Squid bones, and then taking out the Ink Sacs and Squid Roe.

Then he removed the teeth and skin, used scissors to cut open the tubular bodies, and threaded them onto skewers. He also cut many Squid rings.

He started grilling them on the iron plate.

Pouring a bit of oil and adding some onions, a sizzling sound came from the iron plate, and a fragrant aroma filled the air.

"Mmm, really not bad, delicious!"

Yang Qi picked up a Squid ring and tasted it.

"Oh, brother-in-law, you didn't even call me when you finished grilling, you just started eating by yourself."

The three girls had just finished showering and coming out when they saw Yang Qi eating Squid rings, so they hurried over to ask for food.

"Brother-in-law, what are you keeping that bowl of Ink Sacs for?"

Chen Qianqian pointed to the bowl of Squid Roe and Ink Sacs beside Yang Qi and asked.

"I'm keeping them to make Squid ink fried rice for you tomorrow. Wait until you see how incredibly fragrant it is!"

Yang Qi said with absolute certainty.

"Oh, I'm so looking forward to it!"

Luo Jiao and the other girl's eyes lit up; it seemed they were both foodies as well.

After finishing the midnight snack, the three girls went to the rest cabin to sleep—they could still squeeze onto the large bed—while Yang Qi, as usual, slept in the cockpit.

Nothing more was said that night.

The next morning, as soon as Yang Qi woke up, he went to boil rice, preparing to make Squid ink fried rice for everyone later.

Actually, it's best to use overnight rice for fried rice; that way, the cold rice won't stick to your teeth when fried, and it will be elastic, fragrant, and the grains will be distinct.

Then Yang Qi went to get two Groupers and stewed a fish soup, also steaming a few buns while he was at it.

After the rice was cooked, he spread it out to cool. Then he took out the Squid Roe and Ink Sacs from the refrigerator from last night, poured them into the rice, and stirred vigorously. Before long, the entire batch of rice turned pure black.

The next part was simple, the same operation as egg fried rice, except it had Squid ink and Squid Roe in it, so it had more of the Squid's unique fragrance and elasticity.

"Oh, brother-in-law, is this the Squid ink fried rice? It's so pitch black and ugly!"

At this time, the three girls had also just finished washing up and coming out, and they saw Yang Qi frying the rice.

"Although the color is black and not very good-looking, it's fragrant! You'll know once you taste it. There's also stewed fish soup in the pot. Get ready to eat!"

Yang Qi explained with a smile.

"Okay, okay, okay, I'll try it first."

Chen Qianqian stepped forward, scooped up half a bowl of rice, and couldn't wait to take a bite. Her eyes instantly lit up.

"Mmm! It's so fragrant, so delicious!"

"Come, come, come, have some fish soup!"

Bai Xue brought over a pot of fish soup and served a bowl to everyone. Eating it with the Squid ink fried rice was truly wonderful.

"They say you can't judge a person by their appearance; actually, some things also require looking past the surface to see the essence. Who would have thought this ugly Squid ink fried rice could be so delicious!"

Luo Jiao couldn't help but sigh in admiration as well.

After everyone had a wonderful meal, they began to retrieve the Crab traps. The two girls had never experienced catching shrimp before, and seeing the traps overflowing with Crabs, they were all screaming with excitement and jumping up and down.

Seeing how skilled Bai Xue was at tying the Crabs, they also clamored to learn. However, seeing the Crabs waving their claws, they didn't know where to put their hands.

They were truly "noobs who love to play"!

Fortunately, after trying to tie two Crabs, the two of them decisively gave up on the task, so they didn't slow down the overall progress.

It's good to have self-awareness!

After Yang Qi and Bai Xue finished processing the Crab traps, Luo Jiao and Chen Qianqian insisted that Bai Xue teach them how to drive the boat.

Actually, driving a boat is simpler than driving a car; at least in the ocean, you don't have to worry about hitting others or others hitting you.

Seeing the three girls in the cockpit, chirping and playing happily, Yang Qi shook his head and climbed up to the Flybridge, lying on the sofa and unknowingly drifting off to sleep.

When he woke up again, he found that more than two hours had passed.

Going to the cockpit to take a look, he found that it was Luo Jiao who was driving the boat, while Bai Xue and Chen Qianqian were sitting on the small bed chatting.

"Oh, brother-in-law, you're here! Look, am I driving steadily?"

Luo Jiao asked with a proud look on her face.

"Steady, it's extremely steady!"

Yang Qi gave a thumbs up and then complained in his heart:

"How could it not be steady? It's not a two-wheeled electric scooter that's easy to tip over!"

He glanced at the display screen again and was somewhat speechless and had a bit of a headache.

"What kind of ghostly place is this? How did we almost reach the waters near the Pratas Islands? This is over sixty nautical miles off from my original destination."

This area is a bit close to the Pratas Islands and seems to be under the jurisdiction of Wan Province. No wonder not a single fishing boat can be seen.

Should I get out of here first?