Xiang Yang's house was a red brick house that he built himself. It was quite big for a family of three to live in. It was spacious and had an empty room. But if Uncle Xiang and the four old sailors that Uncle Xiang had recruited were added, it would not be a question of whether it was crowded or not, but that there would be no room at all.
The four old crew members said that the empty room in Xiang Yang's house could be given to Uncle Xiang, and the four of them could make do on the fishing boat.
But how could Xiang Yang agree to such a ridiculous suggestion? He rejected the suggestion directly, first vacated the empty room in his own house for Uncle Xiang to move in, and then called his third uncle who had already gone to Zhuhai, wanting to rent the house from his third uncle's house for 600 yuan a month.
Uncle San also had a house in Yanlong Village, but because he rented a house in Zhuhai while working, he later moved his whole family there. The house in his hometown was empty anyway, so when Uncle San received the call, he agreed to rent the house to Xiang Yang without saying a word.
Once the housing problem is solved, some people become restless again.
They were the fifteen crew members Xiang Yang recruited in the village. They were young and passionate, and full of curiosity about everything. They wanted to take a ride on the big ship but didn't dare to come and tell Xiang Yang themselves, so they pushed Xiang Chen out and asked Xiang Chen to talk to Xiang Yang.
Xiang Yang was in a dilemma. After all, he actually wanted to drive the fishing boat out for a stroll after the fishing boat came back, but his uncle Xiang and the four old crew members had just come back, and it was not good to ask them to go out at this time. Without his uncle Xiang and the four old crew members, it would not be easy for Xiang Yang to drive the fishing boat out.
"Next time!" Xiang Yang declined.
"Next time we go out to sea we will be fishing. Since we are free today we might as well let everyone experience life on a boat." Unexpectedly, Uncle Xiang was there too and he spoke directly to Xiang Yang.
Xiang Yang was obviously a little tempted, but he still asked: "Uncle, you and Zhou Wang have been drifting on the sea for a few days. Don't you want to rest first?"
Uncle Xiang said nonchalantly, "When we were in the fishing team, the longest time we drifted at sea was more than four months without seeing the mainland, and we didn't complain. What are a few days?"
Now that things have come to this, what else can Xiang Yang say
"Take fresh water and diving equipment and set off!" Xiang Yang gave the order directly.
The newly joined crew members cheered and ran to the dock carrying buckets of drinking water.
Uncle Xiang wanted to get some more vegetables and fruits on board, but was stopped by Xiang Yang. In Xiang Yang's words, this voyage was just for a stroll to let the new crew members experience life on the sea. If they were fast, they would be back in the afternoon of the same day. At the slowest, they would just stay at sea for one night and be back the next day. There was no need to bring vegetables and fruits.
Uncle Xiang thought about it and agreed, so he didn't insist.
After all the crew members were on deck, Xu Fang in the operation room immediately started the fishing boat and steered it away from Qinglong Bay.
The fishing boat left the shore and the hull shook violently.
Many young sailors on the deck immediately staggered to and fro, grabbing hold of anything they could to avoid falling.
Xiang Yang leaned against the side of the boat and nodded slightly. When a fishing boat is docked or leaving the shore, these are the times that test the skills of a fishing boat driver the most. Xu Fang's performance in steering the fishing boat off the shore was very good. At least Xiang Yang believed that he would not be able to do it so smoothly if he were to do so.
Uncle Xiang and the two veteran sailors stood firmly in the middle of the deck, their legs seemed to have taken root and their bodies did not shake at all.
"The fishing boat is about to gain pressure and move forward. It will be the bumpiest time soon. Hold on tight and don't fall off the boat." Xiang Yang shouted loudly when he saw that some new crew members were imitating the standing posture of his uncle Xiang and the others.
Uncle Xiang took out a cigarette case, lit himself a cigarette, took a puff, and then laughed and scolded: "You guys, you are still a long way from being able to stand firmly without a handrail when the fishing boat leaves the shore!"
A new crew member was not convinced and tried to loosen his hands from holding onto the side of the boat. As a result, the sea water on one side of the fishing boat churned and the entire boat tilted, frightening the man and he quickly held onto the side of the boat with both hands.
As soon as it left the shore, the fishing boat became stable and the speed gradually increased, soon reaching about eight or nine knots.
Someone ran to the stern of the fishing boat and looked at the rolling white line, exclaiming, "How fast."
"Captain, go that way?" Xu Fang's voice came from the intercom on Xiang Yang's chest.
"16 degrees due south by east, go straight ahead." Xiang Yang decided to drive the fishing boat to the flounder habitat he discovered last time. Although he was bringing the new crew members out to adapt to life on the lower deck, the fishing boat needed fuel to drive out, and Xiang Yang was not prepared to go back empty-handed.
A large group of strange fish that were round and fat like tadpoles but much longer than tadpoles were chasing after the fishing boat, causing many new crew members who were watching the waves at the stern to exclaim, "Isn't this a bubble fish?"
"I know this fish. When it gets angry, it turns into a big bubble. It's not only called a bubble fish, but also a pufferfish."
"Pufferfish?"
Xiang Yang and his uncle looked at each other, and both of them hurriedly ran to the stern of the boat.
"It's really pufferfish. The fishing boat's engine hasn't even started up yet and we've encountered a large group of pufferfish. My luck is incredible." Uncle Xiang looked at the huge black shadow swimming in the water. After confirming that it was indeed a group of pufferfish through the few fish that occasionally floated up, he was so excited that his face turned red.
The sale of puffer fish is prohibited by local policies in many places because puffer fish contains strong toxins that are resistant to acid and high temperatures. Conventional drying and steaming methods cannot remove the toxins. Every year, many people die from poisoning after eating puffer fish.
But what is indisputable is that puffer fish is indeed a food with delicious meat. Many people cannot help but try it even though they know it will cause poisoning. There is even a folk proverb that people would rather die than eat puffer fish.
"Captain, don't pufferfish live in rivers? How come they are also in the sea?" someone couldn't help but ask.
"There are river pufferfish species and those that live in the sea. There are even some that have migratory habits and can live in both seawater and freshwater. The group we encountered is the migratory one. Only migratory pufferfish will chase after boats when they just enter the ocean from rivers."
"Xiang Yang, stop talking. Cast the net first and wait until you catch these puffer fish before you talk about it." Uncle Xiang shouted.
"Okay." Xiang Yang didn't hesitate, he took off the intercom and shouted loudly: "Xu Fang, slow down the fishing boat, Zhou Wang, prepare to put down a fine-mesh fishing net, we will tow a boat of pufferfish back."
"receive!"
"receive!"
Two different voices were heard in succession from the intercom. The speed of the fishing boat gradually decreased, and Zhou Wang also ran towards the winch with two new crew members.