The Sea Queen of 1985

Chapter 356: Chapter 356: Caught the Earthquake Fish

Liang Xiaoyu gasped, ”What a mixed catch!”

On the deck were green groupers, red groupers, Redfish, octopuses, eels... at least twenty different kinds in total.

Sister Tang laughed. ”How interesting. Shallow-water fish, deep-sea fish, and even fish that usually hide in the reefs are all in one net. You don’t see that every day.”

Chen Yishui reminded them, ”Forget about whether it’s common or not, let’s sort them now. And don’t bother with size, just sort by species. We can separate them by size once we’re back on shore.”

Sister Lan nodded. ”Right. With so many different species of all different sizes, we can’t sort them in detail now.”

Everyone quickly squatted down to sort. It was a hassle with so many species of varying sizes, but over ninety percent of the fish they’d hauled in were valuable.

’As long as they’re valuable, that’s all that matters!’

The second net was much the same. Surprisingly, there was a lot of sea bream. It was an incredibly large and varied mix of all kinds of species.

Everyone was getting used to it and was no longer making a big deal out of it.

Chen Yishui kept hauling in the nets, and Sister Tang kept casting them.

This time, no one suggested pulling the nets in by hand. They were exhausted from before and couldn’t manage it. With this many fish, they wouldn’t last if they tried to force it.

It was the same on the other two boats; the fish they hauled in were incredibly mixed.

Among some batches of filefish, there were also yellow croakers, hairy catfish, and golden croakers. What was even more baffling was that one net hauled up bluefin tuna, while another brought in yellowfin tuna.

Sweat beaded on Chen Yishui’s forehead. Despite the huge catch, she felt a sense of panic. ”Xiao Rui, I have a bad feeling about this.”

The others felt it, too. Fish that should never appear together in a single net were now showing up.

Tuna are such fast swimmers that even if a net could catch them, they would usually just tear right through it.

But now, they were catching bluefin tuna with nothing more than a hand-cast net.

The fish were packed so densely on the surface that even after they had caught so many—filling the fish holds to near bursting—their numbers didn’t seem to diminish at all.

It was as if something terrifying was lurking on the seabed, preventing the fish from daring to dive deeper.

Han Xiaorui felt it too. ”We’ve caught enough. Let’s not wait any longer, let’s get out of here. Even though the sea is calm, this is giving me the creeps.”

Qi Heng and Wu Guangfu were also veteran fishermen.

Unlike their excited crews, their brows were furrowed as they scanned the surroundings with binoculars.

The sea was still calm, but it had started to rain again.

However, seeing the hauls from net after net, the two captains swallowed the words they were about to say about heading back.

Han Xiaorui borrowed Xiao Dai’s vision to survey the area.

Another net was hauled up. When it was opened, a massive ”hairtail,” over three meters long, was inside.

Han Xiaorui frowned. ”Why does this hairtail look so strange?”

Chen Yishui leaned in for a closer look, and her face went pale. ”This is... this is an Emperor Fish! They get spooked by earthquakes and flee to shallow water. Their appearance is a sign that a major earthquake is about to happen.”

At the same time, Xiao Dai also conveyed a strong urge to leave the area.

The family of little dolphins swam over, chattering urgently, trying to lead Han Xiaorui away.

There was no time to waste. Han Xiaorui said quickly, ”Sister Shui, we need to head back right now! We can’t stay here any longer.”

Chen Yishui nodded. ”I agree. If there’s an earthquake nearby, it’s too dangerous to stay. Everyone, finish sorting, quickly! I’m going to start the boat.”

Han Xiaorui grabbed the walkie-talkie. ”Uncle Qi, pull in your nets! Stop fishing! We just caught an earthquake fish. We can’t stay here, we’re heading back. Follow my boat and don’t lose sight of us.”

Qi Heng was stunned to hear this. ”An earthquake fish? That’s a terrible omen! When they show up, it usually means an earthquake or a tsunami is coming. Our small fishing boats wouldn’t stand a chance.”

”Exactly. So follow me. We’re heading back immediately, full speed,” Han Xiaorui ordered, then relayed the same message to Wu Guangfu.

Wu Guangfu quickly complied. ”Alright, pulling in the nets now.”

The crew was reluctant to obey the captain’s decision. There were still so many fish; they wanted to catch every last one.

Han Xiaorui directed Chen Yishui at the helm, and as they got underway, she periodically used the walkie-talkie to make sure the boats behind were keeping up.

Sister Yun and the others leaned over the bow, staring covetously at the fish they were leaving behind. ”I really wish we could keep fishing!”

”Yeah, I wish our boat was ten times bigger right now so we could catch more,” Sister Lan added. The fear brought on by the Emperor Fish was already starting to fade.

Liang Xiaoyu was not convinced. ”Forget about it. We can’t be greedy. We’ve only been out for a day and a night and our holds are already overflowing. We’re lucky enough as it is. All I want now is to get home safe and sound.”

Hearing this, the others agreed. ”Yeah, let’s just get home.”

By now, the rain was coming down harder, and the wind and waves were picking up.

Guided by the little dolphins, Xiao Dai, and the sea snakes, Han Xiaorui found the most favorable course to steer.

Behind her, a terrified Qi Heng and Wu Guangfu personally took the helms of their boats, sticking close to Han Xiaorui’s vessel. They could only hope that Han Xiaorui, with her incredible good fortune at sea, could guide them home safely.

At first, they had doubted Han Xiaorui’s skills. After all, navigating at night in the rain and rough waves was incredibly difficult.

But they soon discovered that following her lead was easier and made for a smoother ride. She was better than them.

At sea, you listen to whoever is best. Everyone’s lives were on the line, and all they wanted was to get home safely.

Chen Yishui was so tired her face had gone pale. Han Xiaorui immediately said, ”Let me take over!”

’That way I won’t have to relay directions, I can just steer the boat myself.’

But Chen Yishui refused, letting Wu Mengyue take her place instead. ”Steering is exhausting right now, and you have to be on your feet the whole time. Xiao Rui, you just worry about keeping yourself safe. Everyone, put on your life vests and get inside the cabin! Don’t stand out on deck in the rain.”

Since it was an order from the captain, the others did as they were told without question.

Disobeying an order might be fine on a normal day, but in an emergency like this, they had to listen.

Everyone fell silent, praying to Mazu to watch over them and grant them a safe return home.

「Two hours later, the sky had brightened completely.」

Liu Huamei made seafood congee for everyone to replenish their strength. The other two captains also called for their crews to eat, but Han Xiaorui didn’t dare let her guard down, keeping a close watch even as she ate.

Xiao Dai, the little dolphins, and the sea snakes swam relentlessly onward.

Though they were now deviating from their original course, Han Xiaorui trusted the warnings of danger from marine creatures like Xiao Dai.

Qi Heng’s voice came over the walkie-talkie. ”We’re a bit off course. Is everything alright?”

Han Xiaorui replied without a moment’s hesitation, ”It’s fine! Just follow my lead!”

Perhaps it was because of Han Xiaorui’s resolute tone, but Qi Heng, who had opened his mouth to argue, simply closed it and did as she said.

Wu Guangfu had the same doubt. Feeling too awkward to question Han Xiaorui directly, he radioed Qi Heng instead. ”This detour is taking us pretty far out of the way.”

Qi Heng advised, ”Things are complicated right now. Let’s listen to the boat owner. Xiao Rui isn’t like most people. We might have more experience, but our luck at sea is nowhere near as good as hers.”