96: A day and a night's harvest

“No one leaves at noon! My treat. It’s a welcome feast for Uncle and Auntie. We agreed on this last time, so don’t try to snatch the bill from me!”

Chen Tianming called out to everyone.

“You should be treating us. Didn’t you say last time that you’d host a seafood feast when Uncle and Auntie came over? We won’t argue with you!”

Zhang Jun said, then took Zhang Fei to put away all the seafood Yang Qi had given them.

Yang Qi asked Bai Xue to drive and pick up Bai Lang so he could eat with them at noon; otherwise, he would be left alone at home, starving.

Next, Yang Qi and Chen Tianming settled the accounts.

Good heavens! You don't know until you calculate, and when you do, it's astonishing!

The Yellowfin Tuna prices were the same as last time: 280 yuan per jin for fish over 200 jin, 220 yuan per jin for fish between 100 and 200 jin, and 100 yuan per jin for fish between 50 and 100 jin.

This Bigeye Tuna was very fat, weighing 156 jin, calculated at 300 yuan per jin.

The Tuna alone sold for 428,630 yuan.

Large conch sold for 300 yuan per jin, and live large abalone weighing one jin each sold for 3,000 yuan per abalone. Those weighing seven liang to one jin sold for 1,000 yuan each.

The prices for Grouper, Red Bird Tail, Porgy, and other fish remained largely unchanged.

These fish catches combined totaled 185,780 yuan.

The total harvest for the four people in one day and one night was:

185,780 + 428,630 = 614,410 yuan.

And this doesn’t even include the fish Yang Qi just gave away.

Yang Dad and Mother Yang, including Bai Dahai and his wife, listened with wide eyes, full of exclamations of praise.

Although Zhang Jun and Zhang Fei came from prominent families and were wealthy, they also secretly marveled when they heard about Yang Qi’s one-day-and-one-night harvest.

Chen Tianming slapped his thigh excitedly, “Yang Qi, you’re really amazing! I’ve never heard of anyone being so good at fishing. You’ve earned so much in just one day and one night!”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Just then, Bai Lang rushed in with Bai Xue, loudly exclaiming as soon as he entered:

“Brother, I heard you guys had another huge harvest this time! You’re incredible. Is there a seafood feast today? I’m starving!”

Everyone was amused by his appearance.

Soon, the group arrived at the reserved restaurant.

Chen Tianming ordered a table full of seafood: crabs, lobsters, sea cucumbers, and everything imaginable.

Everyone sat around, enjoying the delicious seafood and sharing interesting stories from their fishing trip.

Yang Qi watched his parents chatting and laughing with everyone, their faces beaming with happy smiles, and his heart was filled with warmth. He became even more determined to have his parents live here.

After the meal, everyone let Chen Tianming insist on paying the bill.

Everyone then bid farewell and left. Yang Qi said to Bai Dahai and his wife:

“Uncle Bai, Auntie, come over to my place for a bit! I have something I want to discuss with you!”

“Alright, you drive ahead. I’ll ride my electric bike and come slowly!”

Yang Qi drove back to his home, parked the car in the yard, and called Bai Lang to start filling the large fish tank with seawater. Fortunately, there was a desalination pipe passing near his house.

Then he put the Groupers into the tank one by one. He turned on all the equipment: the filter and the booster pump.

There were still over 20 Groupers, including several varieties: Green Grouper, Sesame Grouper, Tiger Grouper, and Pearl Grouper.

These Groupers were full of vitality, swimming around the small bubbles sprayed by the booster pump. It was a beautiful sight.

Before long, Bai Dahai and his wife also arrived on their electric bike.

Yang Qi welcomed everyone into the living room. His mom made tea for everyone, and Bai Xue helped out.

“Uncle Bai, Auntie, please have some tea. Dad, Mom, you two sit down too.” Yang Qi greeted them.

“Let’s first divide the money we earned from this fishing trip. As we agreed before, Bai Xue gets 10%, and you two, Mom and Dad, also get 10% each.”

“Just give it to Bai Xue! Why should we take any money? No, no.”

His mom immediately spoke up.

“Besides, isn’t what’s mine yours?”

“I don’t want it either. You should pay off your debts first!” Bai Xue said from the side.

“How can that be! Listen to me, you can do whatever you want with this money.” Yang Qi said.

Yang Dad saw his son wink at him, then looked at Bai Xue and said:

“Alright, take it! We’re all family, so it’s all the same whose pocket the money goes into, isn’t it?”

Seeing his wife about to speak again, Yang Dad gently tugged her clothes and imperceptibly winked at Mother Yang.

Mother Yang immediately understood, “That’s right, if I don’t take it, Bai Xue will also feel awkward taking her share!”

“Her share was already agreed upon, and Bai Xue also put in a lot of effort on the boat. I can always give it back to my son later. Besides, I really like this girl, Bai Xue; she’s pretty, hardworking, and sensible.”

After realizing this, Mother Yang also said to her son, “Alright, son, I’ll listen to you!”

Yang Qi transferred 62,000 yuan to each of the three.

His dad had just grinned and clicked to receive the payment when he saw his wife staring at him intently, which made him feel uneasy.

“Ah! Forget it!”

He immediately transferred all the money to his wife.

Yang Qi grinned and chuckled. His dad glared at him but didn’t say anything.

Yang Qi turned to Bai Dahai and his wife and said:

“Uncle Bai, Auntie, this is what I’m thinking: my parents only have me as a son. I plan to develop here, and I want to bring my parents to live here.”

“They currently feel that coming here to live, they don’t have anything to do for a while. Originally, I wanted them to just relax here and enjoy their retirement.”

“But it seems they can’t sit still, so I’m thinking of finding them a job, something that can both earn money and give them something to do.”

Yang Qi paused for a moment, lowered his head, and took a sip of tea. Hmm, too much tea, a bit bitter!

He looked up and saw everyone watching him, waiting for him to continue. He scratched his head, a little embarrassed, and went on to say:

“Originally, they could follow me on my fishing boat, but I always feel there’s a bit of surplus labor.”

“So I want to buy another fishing boat. You and my dad can go fishing together, and I’ll provide you with good locations.”

“You’re an old fisherman, experienced. Although my dad hasn’t been out to sea before, you can teach him. He’s very hands-on. I feel he’ll pick it up very quickly.”

“Of the fish caught, I’ll take 10%, and the rest you two will split equally. How does that sound to you?”

Bai Dahai’s heart immediately filled with joy.

Although he was currently working in renovation, he often had no work for days. He hadn’t actually earned much money, just enough for household expenses.

Through his last fishing trip with Yang Qi, he knew Yang Qi’s ability to find fish schools. Now that Yang Qi was giving him an opportunity to earn money, how could he not agree?

As long as Yang Qi could provide some good fishing spots, with his own skills and experience, bringing in the fish would be a piece of cake!