Reincarnated as a Fisherman and a Dad Chapter 169
The next day, Karlos and Brandon woke up early. Their bodies moved out of habit, despite their eyes still heavy with sleepiness. Brandon first visited Karlos to help carry their equipment.
They walked on the concrete road at first, until the road ended and their feet stepped onto the sandy beach. It was quiet, and the sound of the waves was calming. Some fishermen were already working early, and Karlos and Brandon greeted them.
The two placed their belongings in the boat and attached the engine. Karlos untied the boat from the coconut tree, and the two carried it to the beach, grunting lightly as it was heavy.
"Hey!"
Suddenly, someone yelled at them. Both men looked at the approaching figure. It was still dark, so they couldn't recognize who it was. Their eyes narrowed instinctively.
"Bastos? Why are you yelling at us?"
Karlos was confused. This young guy was shouting very early in the morning, and it was annoying.
"Why didn't you tell us that the island has a lot of snakes at night? I almost got bitten." Bastos frowned at them, blaming them for what happened.
...
...
...
Two days ago, out of excitement, Bastos led their boat to the island without caution. He didn't even bother using a flashlight when the boat docked on the beach.
He got chills when he stepped on a snake and screamed like someone in a horror movie. He jumped so high and returned to the boat so fast.
"Kyaaahh!! Snakes!!"
It was humiliating, and the memory still haunted him. Even Robin and Escudero teased him, laughing without holding back.
"Haha, why are you screaming like a pussy?"
"Snakes! Look at the beach!"
They turned on their flashlights and immediately shut their mouths when they saw sea snakes crawling everywhere on the beach. Their amusement vanished instantly.
Bastos checked his feet and knees and sighed in relief when he confirmed that he wasn't bitten. Still, it was embarrassing and terrifying.
The three young men decided to wait until the sun rose. They also talked about making traps to catch lobsters, trying to distract themselves from the earlier scare.
"I see some floaters. Why don't we check them?" Bastos pointed at the pieces of styrofoam floating on the surface of the water, greed flickering in his eyes. He had been saving money to get laid...
"Those are traps that Karlos owns. We shouldn't touch them," Robin said, shaking his head.
"But they are not even here. We can take the lobsters instead. No one will know, unless you snitch." Bastos lowered his voice slightly.
Both Robin and Escudero stared at Bastos like he was crazy. Bastos clicked his tongue and didn't speak anymore.
'These two are too soft,' he thought in disdain.
Then, the sun rose and the snakes gradually left the island.
That day started badly, but things improved when they reached the reef filled with abalones. The three men worked hard, and even their fingers bled while chipping off abalones. The pain was nothing compared to earning money.
"Karlos and Brandon didn't show up today," Robin noticed.
"Heh, that's a good thing," Bastos scoffed.
The three men were confused as to why Karlos and Brandon didn't show up that day. Robin felt guilty about it. He thought Karlos and Brandon didn't want to meet them.
Karlos and Brandon had sold the ginseng that day, so they didn't go fishing, unaware of the misunderstanding.
A day later, their traps were still unfinished, so they just harvested abalones again.
Karlos and Brandon were also absent that day because they went to the shrimp farm.
The three young men were happy because they earned 35,000 pesos from selling abalone within those two days. Bastos spent his money on vices and girls.
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...
Now that Bastos saw Karlos and Brandon today, he wanted to blame them for not telling him that sea snakes lived on the island at night.
"Why didn't you tell me that the island is snake-infested?"
Karlos and Brandon looked at each other and laughed, finding his complaint ridiculous.
"Don't tell me you're too stupid to step onto the island without turning on a flashlight. That's your fault." Brandon waved his hand dismissively... He was actually disappointed that Bastos wasn't bitten.
"..." Bastos was speechless, his face flushing red.
Karlos and Brandon didn't bother talking to him anymore and sailed away. They had work to do.
"Those bastards!" Bastos muttered under his breath.
"Hey, Bastos, let's go! Why did you disappear?" Escudero showed up and frowned at him. He believed Bastos had disappeared because he didn't want to help, which was true.
"I saw Karlos and Brandon," Bastos replied.
"Okay, what about it?" Escudero asked.
"Isn't it obvious? We have competition in harvesting abalone."
"But they were the first to discover the abalone," Escudero countered.
"So you want our profit to decrease?"
"Of course not. But we can't prevent them from going to the island. Unless you want to fight them. Do you think you can beat Brandon in a fight? That guy knows how to throw hands." Escudero lowered his voice.
"Tch, let's go." Bastos decided to drop the issue. The two walked to the boat where Robin was waiting.
"Where did you go?" Robin asked.
"I saw Karlos and Brandon. They are going fishing today."
"That's good to hear. They haven't checked their traps for two days. If they let them sit for another day, the lobsters might die," Robin said.
"Shouldn't you be worried about us?" Bastos frowned.
"Why should we be? We can harvest the abalones together. Karlos and Brandon have more experience in chipping off abalones, and they can help us. We can ask for their help." His words were sincere, free of malice. His mindset was different from Bastos.
"..."
Bastos stayed silent. Robin had a point, but he couldn't accept that their profit might decrease because of competition.
[Sorry for not updating these past few days, I'm very depressed and lack the motivation to do anything productive. I'll try to be better.]