The Sea Queen of 1985

Chapter 167: Chapter 167: Xiao Dai ”Calls Her Friends” Again

Han Xiaorui nodded with a faint smile. ”Sister Xiao Yu and I caught a few large Yellowlip Fish with the small boat before and sold them for a lot of money. We got lucky again this time and caught more.”

Liu Huamei nodded. ”Yeah, that’s some really good luck. Those fish usually live near deep-sea reefs and are very hard to catch.”

As Liu Huamei was taking a basin of fish scraps to dump overboard, she suddenly cried out, ”Huh?”

Han Xiaorui walked over and asked curiously, ”Sister Mei, what is it?”

Liu Huamei pointed at the sea and asked with a smile, ”Boat Owner, take a look. Is that turtle in the water the same Turtle from last time, the one who came to get its barnacles cleaned?”

Han Xiaorui looked down at the surface of the sea and paused. ’It seems so.’

In fact, she had already sensed that it was indeed Xiao Dai.

This place was very far from where Xiao Dai had appeared last time. ’How did it get all the way over here?’

The little sea snake also swam out from under the boat, circling Xiao Dai playfully.

When it saw Han Xiaorui, Xiao Dai’s mung-bean-sized eyes seemed to light up with joy, and it dove headfirst into the water.

When it resurfaced, Xiao Dai was followed by a dozen or so other Turtles and dozens more large sea turtles.

The backs of these sea turtles were all covered in barnacles; on some, you could barely see the original surface of their shells.

Han Xiaorui didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. ”This little rascal... does it really think I’m a free cleaning service? Did it call all its friends to ask for my help?”

Liu Huamei also couldn’t decide whether to laugh or cry. ”Right? It’s so intelligent. Xiao Rui, should we help them?”

Han Xiaorui smiled. ”They’ve come right up to the boat; we can’t just turn them away. I feel bad making the crew do this extra work, so I’ll pay them for the overtime.”

Hearing this, Liu Huamei waved her hand. ”Even if you offer, no one will take it. It might be extra work, but these creatures are sentient. Helping them might bring us good fortune.”

Just as Liu Huamei had said, none of the crew members wanted overtime pay and volunteered to clean the barnacles off the sea turtles.

So, under Chen Yishui’s direction, everyone used fishing nets to haul the large sea turtles aboard and then began cleaning the barnacles off their bodies.

After the barnacles and parasites were scraped off, each sea turtle would happily shake its head.

Once thrown back into the sea, they would swim around even more joyfully, circling the fishing boat, unwilling to leave.

Some only had barnacles on their backs, while others had them on their necks, limbs, and even near their anuses, causing them great discomfort.

Especially near their excretory openings—if those got blocked, they could actually die from the blockage.

Everyone wore gloves and worked carefully, becoming more and more skilled. By the time they had to haul in the next net, they still weren’t finished; there were still many sea turtles left!

Seeing the huge fishing nets haul up fish, the sea turtles seemed to be deep in thought.

Don’t underestimate these sea turtles; some were older than Sister Tang, who at forty-two was the oldest person on the ship. With decades of experience, they knew a lot.

This net was full of squid, all very fresh. They were sorted by size and put into storage.

Although squid isn’t expensive, this single haul weighed over five thousand pounds, which was still a considerable income.

That was the advantage of a large fishing vessel. No matter the catch, as long as the nets were full, you could earn a lot simply through sheer volume.

After sorting the squid, they cast the nets again.

Once the deck was clean, they resumed removing barnacles from the sea turtles.

Since it was Han Xiaorui who had suggested they help, she didn’t stand idly by. She kept cleaning the turtles as well.

These gentle sea turtles, which represent longevity and good fortune in Hua Country culture, really made one feel fond of them.

She gave each sea turtle that came aboard a bit of her Water Ability.

’I really hope they can live better lives, instead of having their numbers dwindle due to overfishing by humans.’

Before they pulled in the nets for the second time, they had finally finished cleaning all the barnacle-covered sea turtles.

”You all be smart now. If you see a fishing net, swim away fast. Don’t get caught inside,” Han Xiaorui said with a smile to the sea turtles beside the boat, tossing them some small fish to eat.

Xiao Dai bobbed its head in the water, then surprisingly extended a front flipper, pointing southeast.

Xiao Dai had received the most of Han Xiaorui’s Water Ability and was also the cleverest. It had been brave and resourceful enough to get into the fishing net all on its own to ask for help.

Now it was pointing out a direction for Han Xiaorui. She only thought about it for three seconds; any longer would have been disrespectful to Xiao Dai’s good intentions.

”Alright, let’s head southeast,” Han Xiaorui said, giving the direction to the substitute captain, Wu Mengyue. ”Let’s see if Xiao Dai can bring us a surprise, shall we?”

Wu Mengyue laughed. ”Sounds good. If we catch some good fish, I’ll be sure to give Xiao Dai extra next time I see it.”

This haul was, surprisingly, almost entirely Redfish. They had run into a school of them.

Most of them weighed between ten and twenty pounds each, the perfect size for the best texture and flavor.

This net was also filled to the brim—another massive haul.

Everyone loved sorting fish like this. They weren’t too big or too small, they were valuable, and the sorting went especially fast.

Han Xiaorui had eaten Redfish sashimi and pan-fried Redfish last time and found them unforgettable.

”Sister Xiao Yu, grab two and take them to the kitchen. Ask Sister Mei to make sashimi and pan-fried fish for dinner.”

Liang Xiaoyu beamed when she heard this. She knew Han Xiaorui would say that. ”Okay, I’ll pick them out now.”

Sister Yun quickly picked out two that weren’t in perfect condition and handed them to Liang Xiaoyu. ”This one’s damaged. Eat these two; they won’t sell for a good price. Save the good fish to sell!”

”You got it!” Liang Xiaoyu thought the same way. For fish they had just caught to eat themselves, appearance didn’t matter.

If Han Xiaorui were to pick the fish, she might feel too awkward to choose the imperfect ones. More likely, she wouldn’t even care about those two fish and would just grab whichever ones caught her eye.

The boat owner was generous enough to let the crew eat the catch, but the crew couldn’t just accept it without a thought. They also had to help the owner save money for things to last in the long run.

They really loved this job!

After casting the nets again, Wu Mengyue steered the boat while Han Xiaorui gave directions from the bow.

It was already four in the afternoon.

After casting the nets again, Wu Mengyue steered the boat while Han Xiaorui stood at the bow, giving directions as she followed Xiao Dai.

A boat in the distance saw Han Xiaorui’s vessel change course and quickly turned to follow.

Last time, they had followed Han Xiaorui’s boat and caught more fish than ever before, earning more money as well.

Before setting out this time, their boat owner had also told them to follow Han Xiaorui’s lead in everything.

Captain Qi did exactly that. Not only had he made no mistakes, but after just two days at sea, their fish hold was already more than half full.

At this rate, he estimated they would fill the hold in another three or four days and be able to head back early.

’Making money like this is so much easier than before.’

Han Xiaorui was standing at the bow when Liang Xiaoyu came over. ”Xiao Rui, you should go rest. I’ll keep an eye on Xiao Dai.”

Han Xiaorui smiled. ”It’s fine, I’m not tired. I’m just so curious where these sentient creatures are taking us. What kind of surprise could they have in store?”

Han Xiaorui didn’t leave her post, even eating dinner on the deck at the bow. It was Redfish sashimi. Although the plating wasn’t as pretty as Granny Cai’s, the taste was just as incredible. Absolutely divine!

After the sashimi, they had pan-fried Redfish. The different flavor was even more mouth-watering, earning endless praise and becoming an unforgettable meal.