Chapter 168: Strange-looking Fish

This was the trial voyage of the pilot ship, it was ancient custom to do some token fishing.

Sailing on the sea was a whole new experience for Chen Xiao Cai. Roaring waves with great momentum made Chen Xiao Cai's blood biol, it was so stirring.

Chen Xiao Cai had so much fun watching the fishermen casting nets and studying the waves.

Although the fishermen team had been fishing for many years, they had never done it on such a big ship, they worked with untiring energy.

"Second Master Chen, we've got a strange-looking fish," Qin Ming said to Chen Xiao Cai.

Qin Ming was a little embarrassed. On the first day of fishing with the brand new pilot ship, they got a strange-looking fish, Qin Ming wasn't sure whether it boded well.

"Let's have a look."

Chen Xiao Cai showed a smile on seeing the strange-looking fish, "It's all right, put it in a bucket, I plan to open an aquarium where you can watch all the strange-looking fish. Guys, if you find any strange-looking fish, please send it to me, I would love to expand the display. And there will be reward." Chen Xiao Cai comforted the crowd.

And it worked, the fishermen team looked relieved on hearing that, they were glad that Chen Xiao Cai didn't see this as an ill omen.

A fisherman on the side chimed in, "Second Master Chen, many of these strange-looking fish are poisonous. You can't eat these strange fish!"

Chen Xiao Cai nodded and said, "Thank you for the reminder, I'm not going to eat the fish."

Qin Ming glanced at Chen Xiao Cai and asked, "Second Master, you want to?"

"To display them, let more people see these creatures," Chen Xiao Cai said.

A fisherman on the boat couldn't help asking, "What kind of requirements are there?"

"The minimum requirement is that it has to be strange-looking. If it is strange-looking, rare to see and beautiful, then you can get more reward money," Chen Xiao Cai said.

The fishermen looked at each other in utter amazement, they were so excited to hear that.

Many fishermen in the team were very experienced, they had met their fair share of strange-looking fish, they usually freed the fish because they were not edible. And now Chen Xiao Cai offered to purchase strange-looking fish, they were excited that they could have more income.

Chen Xiao Cai had such a great time on the pilot ship, he enjoyed talking to the fishermen tea and learning basic navigation knowledge. He went back to the county yamen after the trial voyage.

As soon as Chen Xiao Cai left, several fishermen circled around the big boat.

"Captain Qin, is it true that we can also drive this ship for fishing?" Jiang Xian asked.

Qin Ming nodded and said, "Yes, those who intend to use the big ship need to come to me to register first. And I will make a timetable for people who want to use the ship."

Jiang Xian nodded, "How great!"

Han Xiao Zhou, Jiang Chuan'er, and a few other fishermen kids couldn't help but climb onto the boat and explored it inside and outside.

Jiang Chuan'er sat on the ship and said excitedly, "This ship is really big. If I can have such a ship in the future, it will be so great."

Han Xiao Zhou cast a glance at Jiang Chuan'er and said, "This ship is worth dozens of taels, my friend. It is not easy to save dozens of taels of silver! Hmm, good luck, I think this dream is probably somewhat unrealistic."

Jiang Chuan'er smiled and said, "I heard from my father that Second Master Chen is offering rewards money for strange-looking fish. If I can find a few more strange fish and sell them to Second Master Chen, I might be able to have some savings. And one day, boom, I can build a big ship just like this one."

Han Xiao Zhou blinked and thought it was unlikely to happen.

Qin Ming stood by the side of the ship and watched the kids jumping up and down. He made his way noiselessly to a cabin, not wanting to scare the kids away. Some kids took to their heels on seeing Qin Ming, they knew they shouldn't be running around like this on the boat, so they ran away on seeing Captain Qin.

A fisherman walked to Qin Ming's side and apologized, " Captain Qin, these children are unruly. I will chase them all down."

Qin Ming shook his head and said, "No need, they are just kids being kids. Anyway, when they grow up, it will be their turn to drive the ship. However, we better watch them in case they dismantle some parts."

Qin Ming knew the collapsing force of a group of brats. When he was back in Forest Town, he had seen some kids set haystack on fire to warm themselves up in winter, and it didn't end up well, the fire got out of control and it had ruined two houses nearby.

A fisherman hurriedly said, "I'll go up and watch them now. These kids are naughty, they are all very sensible though, they know what they shouldn't do."

Qin Ming nodded and said, "Thank you so much."

......

Chen Xiao Cai returned to the County Yamen, greatly excited from his first sailing experience.

Chen Xiao Mi glanced at Chen Xiao Cai with a radiant smile on the face, "Hey, Cai, you're in a good mood!"

Chen Xiao Cai nodded, "There are many interesting things in the Fish Cabin County! Big Brother, why didn't you go for the trial voyage with us today?

Chen Xiao Mi shook his head. "There are too many people today. There will still be many opportunities in the future."

Chen Xiao Cai nodded. "That's right, the entire team is on board today. And many villagers were watching us on shore, it indeed could make people feel uncomfortable."

"Big Brother, I got a strange-looking fish from a fisherman today. I plan to open an aquarium to display all the strange-looking fish we can find," Chen Xiao Cai said.

"Yes, it's a good idea." Chen Xiao Mi's eyes sparkled.

Chen Xiao Mi heard that Lu Lin mentioned something called aquarium in modern society. It was said that in modern society, people would put ornament fish in a fish tank made of glass, glass was a solid and transparent material, people could watch the fish through glass.

Chen Xiao Cai said joyfully, "Really? Big Brother, do you think it's a good idea too?"

Chen Xiao Mi nodded and said, "Of course, many rich people like novelty. If we can collect enough strange-looking fish, we can even charge a small fee."

Chen Xiao Cai said admiringly, "Big Brother, this is a good idea! You are so smart."

Chen Xiao Mi waved his hand and said, "I've heard it from your Lin Ge."

......

After Lu Lin arrived at the Fish Cabin county, he set up a fleet and opened restaurants, attracting many people from neighboring counties.

The various seafood delicacies of the Fish Cabin county won a lot of praise.

Lu Lin had opened a high-end seafood restaurant next to the restaurant featuring Roast Whole Lamb. At first, he used the old restaurant's popularity to boost the business of the seafood restaurant. However, the seafood restaurant's popularity had surpassed the old restaurant. There was even a section displaying all the strange-looking fish in the seafood restaurants, a lot of families loved to visit that section.

The Roast Whole Lamb was a bit expensive for ordinary people. In comparison, the seafood restaurant next door was a lot more wallet-friendly.

The fishermen in the fleet had been handing over 20 percent of their fishing to Lu Lin.

"You can just put the unsalable fish in this basket, I will pay you accordingly," Qin Ming stood aside and comforted the fishermen who felt sad that they had some unmarketable fish in their net.

Han Feng walked to Qin Ming and said, "Captain Qin, no one wants this type of fish. Why would Magistrate Lu want so much?"

Qin Ming glanced at Han Feng and said, "Working for Magistrate Lu and Second Master Chen for so many years, I've learned something, there is nothing unmarketable in this world, you know?"

Han Feng scratched his head in confusion.

"You will understand later."

Qin Ming thought to himself, 'Magistrate Lu is going to open a buffet restaurant soon, we can make fish balls and fish cakes with these fish.'

As soon as Lu Lin's buffet restaurant opened, it attracted a lot of people. The price was very wallet-friendly, it was 10 cents per head, and on the opening day, it was 50 percent off, so each person could enjoy a seafood buffet with just 5 cents.

Although most of the villagers were not rich, 5 cents was still nothing to them.

Buffet was a new idea to the local people, they were thrilled by the idea of 'all-you-can-eat'.

......

After the number of the fishermen and their family members hit a hundred, Lu Lin had suspended the recruiting, the Qin brothers started to manage the team members according to regulations.

Qin Lang divided the fishermen into groups. Each month, the best fisherman could be rewarded.

"Wang He, how much did you sell for your strange fish?"

It had been a while since Chen Xiao Cai collected strange-looking fish. Wang He was lucky enough to find a strange fish days ago and sold it to Chen Xiao Cai.

"Five hundred cents," Wang He gesticulated a five with his fingers.

A few fishermen said with envy, "500 cents! It is half of my monthly income!"

Wang He smiled and said, "Second Master has given me three meal tickets as well."

" Tickets to the buffet restaurant, right?"

Wang He nodded and said, "Yeah! I heard they are sold for 10 cents each."

"It's true, it's half price on the opening day, but it has been 10 cents since that day. Wang He, you can go have a meal, treat yourself!"

"It's best to have dinner there and skip lunch, you know, so you can have a lot of food!"

"Right, right, don't drink too much water before you go."

"I can definitely make it worthwhile. I heard that there are a lot of delicacies, including buns, you know what, the worst scenario is I just eat 10 buns and make the money worthwhile."

......

The fishermen had a good time giving Wang He advice and suggestions.

The buffet restaurant was very popular, and many people went there in the hope of 'money well spent'. They would usually go there with an empty stomach, some people didn't even drink water.

Chen Xiao Cai sometimes would reward the best-performance fishermen with meal tickets.

With the stimulation of this reward, many fishermen worked extra hard.

......

Han Xiao was sitting on the bed when his father came back home. He immediately sat up straight and said, "Father, Chuan'er's father got two free meal tickets for free!"

Han Feng nodded and said, "Yeah! I've heard of it."

Jiang Xian was an expert in fishing, that was why Han Feng invited him to join the fleet.

Han Feng thought to himself, 'Jiang Xian, now you must feel so great that you have joined the fleet and your ability is being appreciated, hmm, joining the fleet is a wise decision, isn't it?'

Han Xiao Zhou held his chin and said, "Chuan'er said that his father wouldn't take him to the buffet restaurant, saying that he has a small stomach, it's not money well-spent."

Han Feng nodded, "Well, he is not wrong."

......

Chen Xiao Cai stood upstairs in the restaurant watching the customers coming and go, he turned around and smiled at Shen Chi, "A lot of people here have a big appetite, don't they?"

Shen Chi looked at the account book and said, "The profit is still very high. A lot of ingredients are from the fleet, the business is doing great."