I am a local in North America

Chapter 33 Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!
Su's father grabbed the internal communication microphone and pressed the broadcast button forcefully.

The deep, resonant voice instantly echoed throughout every corner of the crab fishing boat:
"Old Feng! Little Wang! Little Gavin! Assemble on deck immediately! A large group of king crabs has been spotted!"

"Let's get them out of the cage right now! Stop fucking sleeping!"

"The money is waiting for us at the bottom of the sea! Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!"

"."

Meanwhile, Mr. Su returned to the helmsman's seat.

He quickly marked the ship's current position on the GPS with both hands and named it "Lucky Ari".

"."

Marking a GPS location is like adding it to a favorites, making it easy to find again during the next crab season or next year.

Many crab fishing boats have a bumper harvest every year because they have a lot of "king crab respawn points" in reserve.

After Mr. Su finished operating the boat, it began to turn, cutting through the gray-white waves, preparing to circle back upstream where the crabs were located.

Hurried footsteps came from downstairs, along with the banging of the cabin door opening and closing.

Looking down through the cockpit window, Su Jierui saw Uncle Feng and the others wearing heavy waterproof suits, still sleepy-eyed but moving quickly, heading towards the biting cold aft deck.

The crab fishing boats making money means the crab fishermen making money. Faced with potential bonuses of up to tens of thousands of dollars, no one is unhappy about being woken up from their sleep; their faces are all beaming with delight.

Daniel Wang, the young man, was running while zipping up his waterproof suit and had an energy bar in his mouth to replenish his strength.

"Bob! Go help them!"

Without turning his head, Su's father shouted, his attention completely focused on maneuvering the boat and observing the sonar:

"Be careful, the deck is frozen! Could you please direct the order of setting the traps, and don't forget the bait!"

"Boss, leave it to me!"

Bob, a stocky man, was dressed in many layers due to the cold weather, resembling an agile walrus. He swiftly rushed down the stairs and got into work mode...

A few days ago, the sea was rough and it was not suitable to go out to sea.

The crab fishermen on the boat received a guaranteed wage of $200 per workday, but they weren't all idle. They chopped up the expensive herring bait they had purchased in advance, put it in baskets, and froze it in the ice storage at the dock.

Minced fish meat emits a bloody smell on the seabed, which is more attractive to king crabs than a whole fish, luring them into the crab trap.

The freezing process is also particular. After the herring pieces are frozen, they must be taken out and broken up again to prevent them from freezing into one piece due to the water content, which would delay the crab fishing trip.

At this moment.

Bob went up to the icy deck and, in heavily Alaskan-accented English, loudly instructed the crew on deck:

"Feng! Come with me and drag over the bait and bait containers! Get the first row of crab traps ready as soon as possible!!"

"Wang! Quickly check the crane's hydraulic system and prepare to unlock the locking mechanism to release the bait!"

"Hurry up, guys! We're robbing the ocean of our money!!!"

"And you! Gavin! Damn it, why are you so slow? Put your waterproof suit on! Be careful not to fall into the sea; the water is so cold, you could be dead in just a few minutes!!"

"..."

Bob was very experienced in crabbing, and even with a high level of "Sh*t" in his mouth, everyone still followed his instructions and started working immediately.

The four people on the aft deck, including Bob, were very busy.

Brother Wang started the heavy-duty hydraulic crane, and the engine roared, emitting a deep "whoosh whoosh whoosh" sound.

After carrying out several baskets of herring scraps, Bob and Uncle Feng worked together as a team, skillfully picking up crowbars and quickly untying the heavy ropes securing the crab cages with a few clangs!
These enormous steel crab cages, each quite heavy, are now stacked on the deck like building blocks, and are being towed one by one to the delivery track.

The air was thick with the smell of diesel fuel and the fishy smell of the sea, and a tense atmosphere was rapidly building.

Uncle Feng was getting on in years and worried that he wouldn't have the stamina to keep going. So, while he was fixing the bait can into the crab trap, he quickly ate the energy bar that he had been eating for breakfast. Because it was too dry to swallow, he even pounded his chest!
I was busy as soon as I woke up, throwing myself into high-intensity work without even a chance to relax or catch my breath.

However, everyone had already had enough rest recently, so they were particularly grateful that their voyage today went so smoothly. They had only been sailing for half a day when they encountered a crab tide.

Just a few days of hard work can earn the equivalent of four or five months of work for many people. Even with its high risks, this kind of work always attracts crab fishermen to take the plunge. Everyone wears an expectant smile, afraid of missing the best fishing opportunity.

Inside the driver's cab.

Su Jierui took a deep breath of the cold air, casually placed the king crab leg he hadn't yet cracked open next to the control panel, and asked his father:
"It seems like we're a bit short-handed. Should I go help out too?"

Without a second thought, Old Man Su frowned and waved his hand, saying:

"Why are you meddling in this? Don't make things worse. There are enough of them now. Once I've steered the boat upstream of the crab tide and positioned it, you can keep an eye on the boat for me so I can go up to the deck."

"In a couple of days, when the crab traps are brought ashore, you and your mother can help sort out the small king crabs that are not big enough, so that you won't be fined for bringing them ashore."

"It's still early, let's eat breakfast first. I hope everything goes well today..."

Suddenly remembering something, Old Man Su sighed and said with emotion:

"Fishing for king crabs is really too dangerous, especially during this season. I heard that last week at another dock, a crab fishing boat went missing and did not return. There were five people in total, including the captain."

“Unlike before, satellite positioning equipment is not as advanced. If we can’t find the ship no matter what, it’s probably because the main engine is malfunctioning, the hull is flooded, or it has sunk.”

"The wind and waves can come suddenly this season, sometimes reaching several meters high. If you sail too far away, you might not be able to get back to the dock in time and could easily encounter a huge storm."

Everyone is begging for food at sea, and no one wants to see something like this happen.

Old Su's father took another puff of his cigar and placed it next to the ashtray to extinguish it naturally.

He wasn't addicted; it was just a gift from his son-in-law, something he used occasionally to relieve boredom.

"Arui, are you scared now?"

“Our boats are a little better off. Some of our old boats were built in the 1960s, 70s, or 80s. They were repaired and converted into crab fishing boats. The hull strength is barely enough. In the past, some people were unlucky and hit ice floes in the waters near the Aleutian Islands. They sank shortly afterward.”

"You can do whatever you want in the future, but I think it's best not to go to sea like I did. After a few years, when you've earned enough, I'll talk to your grandfather about selling the crab fishing boat and the crab fishing quota together."

"Bah bah bah!"

Su Jierui was smashing crab legs with a wrench, making a loud thud. Hearing this, he quickly spat a few times and said nervously:

"You can't just say things like 'I'm drifting at sea.' Think about it, how many people in TV dramas who say things like that end up with a good ending? In police dramas, things like 'After I finish this job, I'll go back to my hometown and get married' are practically curses."

"hiss……"

Old Man Su also realized his mistake instantly, and quickly spat a few times before correcting himself:

"No way! I'd rather die than sell! It's good enough to keep them and collect rent every year. These king crab quotas are perfect to keep as family heirlooms!"

"I heard that the 'Golden Crab' that had an accident a few days ago was rented to someone else for this crab fishing season. Now the people and the boat have disappeared together. I wonder how much the boat owner and his family will cry."

"Last year during the crab fishing season, a novice crab fisherman's foot got tangled in the rope and he fell into the icy seawater. He looked to be under 30 years old."

“You’ve won so much prize money this time, you’d better settle down and find a stable job. You’ll definitely have a good life, and your mother and I will be more at ease…”

Su Jierui received a message from his friend Tang Jie, but has not yet replied.

He was planning when he would have the opportunity to buy a fishing boat, or perhaps take some time to get some certifications so he could take his family's fishing boat out into the world.

As for the suggestion to Tang Jie that the two of them jointly purchase a slightly larger fishing boat... Su Jierui felt it was not appropriate.

I feel that it's best to avoid getting too much involved in conflicts of interest when getting along with friends.

Having grown up with his family fishing at sea, he had heard countless stories of couples happily buying a boat together, only to end up parting ways on bad terms.

Not to mention friends, it's not uncommon for fathers and sons to fight at the docks or for brothers to fall out and never speak to each other again.

If he were to buy a boat together, he wouldn't want to go out to sea every day. Once the ranch and gold mine are acquired, there will definitely be other things to do. Just applying for the approval to mine the gold mine will take up a lot of time, energy, and money.

This resulted in Su Jierui mostly contributing money but not labor, even when purchasing fishing boats.

If they don't make money in the end, it will make Tang Jie unhappy. If they do make money, Tang Jie is more likely to have resentment. So it's better not to go through with the partnership at all.

Since he possesses the extraordinary ability to go out to sea and find schools of fish and crabs, if he really wants to make money by fishing at sea, Su Jierui can own a fishing boat all by himself.

This also saves you from having to ask your partner's opinion on everything, making things much easier and less troublesome.
(End of this chapter)