As the nineties arrived, sea fishing methods changed with each passing day, and the performance of fishing boats evolved right along with them.
Motorized sailing vessels fitted with diesel engines became the mainstream.
Large-tonnage, high-horsepower fishing boats were so numerous they defied counting.
Across the azure-blue sea, an unassuming little fishing boat drifted slowly along.
Shen Lang looked straight ahead, putting his back into pulling the thick-handled oars.
"Big brother, are there really wild large yellow croakers in these waters?"
Feng Xiaodong stood on tiptoe, gazing into the distance across the sea.
In his heart, he harbored no small amount of skepticism.
In recent years, the population of wild large yellow croakers had dwindled day by day.
Even among the village's older, most seasoned fishermen, the best would hook two or three at most over the course of a whole year.
"Just wait and see. I guarantee your jaw will drop when the time comes."
Shen Lang raised his head to check the sun's position, using it to gauge the time.
The two had been out at sea for a while, and Shen Lang was sailing aimlessly, as though searching for something.
Feng Xiaodong wanted to ask, but he remembered Shen Lang's rule that the captain's arrangements were not to be questioned by anyone.
He had no choice but to swallow all his doubts and obediently tag along as Shen Lang circled aimlessly upon the sea.
"There it is!"
After who knows how long, a look of delight crossed Shen Lang's face.
After searching for so long, he had finally located the target vessel!
A large ship appeared in the distant waters; as long as they trailed behind it, boundless wealth would be within their grasp.
"Big brother, that's a military ship!"
Seeing Shen Lang pull on the oars and row toward the warship, Feng Xiaodong rubbed his eyes hard.
He wasn't seeing things—it was indeed a warship.
Compared to the tiny skiff beneath their feet, the warship not far away was an absolute behemoth.
"Keep a certain distance and follow that warship."
Shen Lang handed the oars to Feng Xiaodong, sat at the bow of the boat, and lit a cigarette.
Calculated by the time, it should now be one or two in the afternoon. As long as they maintained a steady speed behind the warship, in a little while, the school of fish would appear before their eyes.
Feng Xiaodong took the oars and began to row, asking uncertainly, "Big brother, patrolling the inshore waters all by itself, could this warship be out to catch that bunch of smugglers?"
Hearing this, Shen Lang blew out a smoke ring and said calmly, "Not to catch them, but to serve as a deterrent. To let those water-rats know the authorities are playing for keeps lately and plan to make an example of a few to force them to tone it down."
Around the turn of the new millennium, maritime smuggling was rampant, continuing day and night without interruption.
Because of this, the relevant departments had no choice but to dispatch a rare patrol boat to deter petty criminals.
During today's patrol, this small warship shouldering a deterrent mission would stumble upon the traces of a massive school of wild yellow croakers.
The news would be reported up the chain of command and eventually published in the local newspaper.
The sun gradually slanted westward, and the two hadn't caught a single fish.
Feng Xiaodong rowed listlessly, his inner doubts growing ever stronger.
"The sunset over the sea is truly gorgeous..."
"Gorgeous my ass, that's a school of yellow croakers!"
Shen Lang shoved Feng Xiaodong aside, seized the oars, and rowed himself.
The sea not far from the warship emitted a golden radiance.
Because it was already dusk, Feng Xiaodong had mistaken it for the lingering glow of the setting sun.
"A school of yellow croakers?!"
Startled out of his wits, Feng Xiaodong stretched out his neck and stared at the glowing expanse of water.
"Holy shit! They really are wild large yellow croakers! Big brother, there are way too many of them!"
As their skiff drew closer to the waters ahead, Feng Xiaodong clearly saw the sea teeming with movement.
True to their name, yellow croakers possessed bodies of pure gold, hence the moniker.
"Get ready! Once we get close, cast the net on my mark!"
Shen Lang's expression was steady, his mind calm.
The closer it got to this moment, the less they could afford to lower their guard.
"Understood!"
Feng Xiaodong quickly grabbed the fishing net, waiting only for Shen Lang's command.
Heavenly Empress above, his big brother was practically a deity!
Not only was his skill at gathering seafood the absolute best among the village's young men, but he actually had the ability to divine the future.
Judging by this spectacle, the swimming school of large yellow croakers numbered at least a hundred or more.
He had thought they would return empty-handed today, never expecting Shen Lang's calculation to be spot on!
After a brief moment, Shen Lang put his weight behind a throw, casting a large net into the sea.
The large yellow croakers, swimming peacefully and carefree, never dreamed anyone would be lying in wait for their arrival.
"We got them! Big brother, we caught wild large yellow croakers!"
Working in tandem with Shen Lang, Feng Xiaodong hauled in the fishing net with all his might, his excitement bursting forth.
Staring at the large yellow croakers within arm's reach, Feng Xiaodong felt an urge to drop to his knees and kowtow to Shen Lang.
By a rough estimate, this single cast had netted at least a dozen wild yellow croakers.
Lively and of a substantial size, every single one of them weighed at least four or five catties.
"Hoo... hoo... hoo..."
Exertting every ounce of strength, Shen Lang and Feng Xiaodong finally hauled the net back aboard successfully.
"Big brother, let's cast it again."
Feng Xiaodong excitedly tallied their "spoils."
With that last cast, the two of them had reeled in sixteen large yellow croakers.
"Let's do it!"
Shen Lang took a deep breath and cast the net into the sea once more.
Pity that the harvest from the second cast was pitifully meager, yielding a mere three large yellow croakers.
This scene further cemented Shen Lang's intention to replace their boat.
If the fishing boat beneath their feet were a motorized sailing vessel, even if they couldn't catch the entire school of wild large yellow croakers, they could at least have reeled in well over half of them.
Alas, the boat his father had left him was simply too decrepit, belonging to the absolute lowest tier of skiffs.
Its overall performance fell short of a proper motorized vessel by more than a fold.
A human-powered skiff stood no chance of matching the speed of a departing school of fish.
Fortunately, even without a complete haul, nineteen wild large yellow croakers were more than enough for Shen Lang to turn a massive profit.
Placing the large yellow croakers into the bucket on board, Shen Lang told Feng Xiaodong to make the most of the time and rest.
Night had fallen completely.
Navigating at night was fraught with immense danger, so they might as well sleep on the sea tonight.
They would head back to the fishing village at daybreak and deliver the catch to the county seat the very same day to guarantee the freshness of this batch of large yellow croakers.
"Big brother, there's something I don't know if I should—"
"You want to ask how I knew there was a school of large yellow croakers here, right?"
Lying on the deck and yawning, Shen Lang tossed out casually, "The Goddess came to me in a dream. Understand?"
"No wonder..."
Driven by his blind faith in Shen Lang, Feng Xiaodong bought the explanation and even resolved to make a trip to the Heavenly Empress Temple when he got back.
He would beg the Goddess, in light of his sincere heart, to bless his mother and help her asthma recover as soon as possible.
As dawn broke faintly, Feng Xiaodong didn't even need a reminder from Shen Lang; he took the oars of his own accord and began the journey back.
Shen Lang sat cross-legged on the deck, staring at the dozen or so large yellow croakers in the bucket while preparing for the verbal sparring match that afternoon.
Barring any accidents, the two of them would reach the county town by noon.
Next, it was time to exploit the information asymmetry with the owner of Grand Fortune Seafood Restaurant and sell their catch at a high price.
"Look, big brother. Liu Deshui has gone out to gather seafood too."
As their skiff neared the dock, Feng Xiaodong's sharp eyes spotted a fishing boat pulling ashore ahead of them, with Liu Deshui stepping off carrying a bucket.