Chapter 282: Fishing

The fish was quite large, and to avoid breaking the rod, Zhou Yimin could only tire it out, draining its energy before pulling it up. Otherwise, a bamboo rod could easily snap.

After a few minutes of tiring out the big fish, Zhou Yimin seized the opportunity and hauled it up.

Zhou Yimin didn’t expect his first catch to be a large yellow croaker, and judging by its appearance, it seemed to weigh around five or six pounds. Catching the target fish on the first try greatly boosted his confidence.

“Zhou Expert, impressive!” Chen Changhui complimented.

“Hehe, not really, just a fluke. I don’t fish much,” Zhou Yimin replied modestly.

“Don’t fish much? That makes it even more impressive.”

Zhou Yimin planned to catch more seafood. With his shop space, he could store quite a bit. Preservation wouldn’t be a problem; he could even keep it for decades, until the price of yellow croakers reached tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands per pound.

Determined to keep the momentum going, Zhou Yimin continued fishing without wasting any time.

However, things didn’t seem as fortunate afterward, as he mostly caught squid, mackerel, needlefish, and other types of sea creatures.

Regardless, he was still enjoying the process of fishing.

Over an hour passed quickly, and they finally arrived at their destination.

Although the boat had been traveling for a long time, it hadn’t actually gone very far.

Chen Changhui observed the area and believed there were schools of fish nearby.

Unlike in the later generations, where fish schools could be detected with sonar, nowadays, knowing where fish schools are located relies on the captain’s experience.

Fortunately, fish resources were still relatively abundant at the time, unlike in later years when overfishing caused many species to become endangered or even extinct.

Chen Changhui instructed the crew to stow the sails, as they would now need to rely on manpower to row the boat.

The anchor was essentially just a piece of processed wood; after all, iron was still valuable at this point. For a small wooden boat, even without an anchor, it wasn’t a big deal.

Once the boat stopped, Shang Jianguo opened his eyes, which had been closed, and after resting for over an hour, his seasickness had greatly improved. He only felt a slight dizziness now.

Upon reaching the destination, Zhou Yimin reluctantly put away his fishing rod. Since he was going to participate in the fishing, it wasn’t convenient to keep fishing.

Chen Changhui asked, “Zhou Expert, I believe there are fish schools here. Should we start fishing here?”

After all, the purpose of this trip was to let Zhou Yimin experience the life of fishing at sea, so it was essential to consult with him before setting up the nets.

Zhou Yimin replied, “Captain, you’re the professional, I’m just an amateur. If you think this is the best spot, then we’ll fish here.”

He was here for the experience and didn’t want to give orders in front of a professional. It would only cause unnecessary annoyance without yielding any benefits. If he understood the process, it would be different.

Chen Changhui didn’t expect Zhou Yimin to be so easygoing. He had thought experts would be more aloof and unwilling to listen to others.

“Alright, then let’s start fishing here.”

The crew members began getting busy, but their tasks didn’t change just because Zhou Yimin and the others were on the boat.

Zhou Yimin also helped out—after all, how could it be called an experience if he didn’t pitch in?

“Zhou Expert, leave the heavy lifting to us. You just need to oversee things from the boat,” Chen Changhui said quietly.

Fishing was no easy task, and unlike in the future, where large fishing boats allowed for mostly automated operations, everything here relied on human strength. From setting the nets to completing the catch, the process required significant manpower.

In the past, fishing could be so tiring it made one question life itself.

“It’s fine. How could I call this an experience if I didn’t help?” Zhou Yimin replied casually.

After hearing this, Chen Changhui relented and began setting the nets.

First, the fishing nets were tied to a buoy to make it easier to start the fishing process. One person stood at the edge of the boat, methodically putting the nets into the water.

Zhou Yimin quickly followed suit and took over the task.

The crew was eager to do less work, and seeing someone else step in, they quickly left everything to Zhou Yimin.

Chen Changhui wanted to reprimand his crew, but seeing Zhou Yimin not minding, he decided against it.

After all, Zhou Yimin was someone his cousin had to be polite to—he couldn’t afford to offend him. But these guys were slacking off at a time like this!

Chen Changhui and two crew members rowed the boat, while Zhou Yimin stood at the back, laying down the nets. After about half an hour, all the nets were in place. The next step was to herd the fish toward the nets, increasing the chances of a good catch.

Zhou Yimin took on the task of herding the fish. Holding a long bamboo pole, he stood at the front of the boat, continuously tapping the surface of the sea.

This was a real physical job. The bamboo pole was at least three or four meters long, and raising it took a lot of effort, especially when needing to keep it up for a long time.

Had he not been in good shape, Zhou Yimin might not have been able to endure this.

“Slap!”

“Slap!”

The sound echoed across the vast sea.

The “slap” noise woke the cafeteria director, who had been sleeping. He opened his eyes and saw Zhou Yimin herding the fish. For a moment, he thought he had mistaken him for someone else or was seeing things, but soon realized it really was Zhou Yimin.

Seeing that Zhou Yimin had been working for so long, Shang Jianguo approached and said, “Yimin, take a break. Let me try.”

Since he had never been out to sea to fish, he was still quite fascinated by the process.

“Brother Jianguo, aren’t you still seasick? If you start moving around, it could worsen your symptoms,” Zhou Yimin reminded him.

Although Zhou Yimin was a bit tired, it wasn’t to the point where he couldn’t continue. He wasn’t sure if it was from regularly cycling or driving trucks, but his stamina was much better now than in the past.

The cafeteria director quietly approached Chen Changhui and asked, “Changhui, how could you let Zhou Expert do this?”

He had explicitly told them the day before to take good care of Zhou Yimin. Yet, after a nap due to seasickness, he woke up to find Zhou Yimin doing such physically demanding work. This was a problem.

If he didn’t complete the task assigned by the factory director, his chances for promotion would be ruined.

Chen Changhui helplessly replied, “Cousin, Zhou Expert insisted on trying it out. I couldn’t stop him.”

Zhou Yimin smiled and said, “It’s not Chen Uncle’s fault. I’m the one who insisted on this. I’m just causing trouble for everyone.”

Hearing this, the cafeteria director breathed a sigh of relief. He was worried that his cousin had asked Zhou Yimin to do the work. That would have been hard to explain back home.

If Zhou Yimin chose to do it himself, then there was no problem.

“It’s no trouble, no trouble! But take a break for a while!” Director Zhang quickly said.

(End of chapter)