Reincarnated as a Fisherman and a Dad Chapter 206
January 2002.
The bangka painted in white and blue docked at the bustling fish port.
"You can look for buyers while I tie the ropes and look after the boat and our catch," Andres told Karlos and Brandon, and they agreed.
Karlos immediately found a buyer interested in purchasing salmon. The buyer was from a local salmon factory that bought stock at standard prices, processed the fish, and then sold them to other regions at triple or quadruple the cost. Still, Karlos sold the salmon to him because he bought in bulk.
They hired five porters to carry their catch to the weighing section.
"The catch of salmon has decreased, and the factory might stop production in a week or two," the buyer announced.
"The price is 528 pesos per kilogram."
Karlos and the buyer quickly reached an agreement.
"Alright."
After the heavy task of weighing the fish, the total catch came out to 731 kilograms, earning them 385,000 pesos. Karlos tipped each porter 200 pesos, and they thanked him profusely. Karlos was well-known for giving generous tips, so most porters were always eager to work with him.
"Do you need help with the tuna?" one of the porters asked.
"Yes, I'll still pay you," Karlos answered. They had caught 3 yellowfin tuna and 2 bluefin tuna that passed the strict sashimi-grade criteria.
Each tuna was quite large, so the porters used a pushcart to transport them to the tuna section of the fish port. Karlos and Brandon followed closely behind. First, they weighed the tuna, and then the supervisor wrote the weights on slips of paper and stuck them onto the wet skin of the fish.
A few minutes later, a familiar buyer arrived to inspect the five tuna.
"Mr. Sanchez, it's nice to meet you again!"
"You too, Karlos. Are these your catch? May I inspect them?" Mr. Sanchez greeted Karlos warmly.
"Go ahead."
Mr. Sanchez was a well-known tuna buyer at their fish port. Their very first meeting had been two years years ago, when a bluefin tuna had literally jumped into Karlos's small bangka. Karlos had sold that fish at the port, where Mr. Sanchez had offered 600 pesos per kilogram, though Karlos had ultimately chosen to sell to Roman and his two business partners from Sushi Country instead.
Their initial interaction hadn't been the smoothest, but as Karlos kept bringing in sashimi-grade tuna trip after trip, both sides grew to understand and trust one another. Since then, Mr. Sanchez had become a loyal, regular buyer of his catch.
For reasons unknown, the tuna Karlos caught were always of exceptionally high quality.
Mr. Sanchez inspected each tuna, puncturing them slightly and extracting small flesh samples to verify their quality and fat content.
"I'll buy the yellowfin tuna for 510 pesos per kilogram and the bluefin tuna for 620 pesos per kilogram."
"We have a deal." The pricing was fair, and Karlos saw no reason to refuse.
The three yellowfin tuna weighed 353 kilograms combined, while the two bluefin tuna totaled 369 kilograms.
They earned about 408,000 pesos from the tuna alone. Combined with the 385,000 pesos from the other fish, Karlos's team hauled in a massive 797,000 pesos for the day, quite a stellar payday.
"Here's the cheque. See you next time," Mr. Sanchez said, handing the check over to Karlos. The tuna he purchased that day was meant for export, and he always earned a handsome commission from his employer for securing Karlos's catches. Apparently, foreign clients loved the superior quality.
Karlos checked the cheque and confirmed its authenticity. He would need to cash it at the bank tomorrow.
With the business concluded, Karlos handed each porter another 200-peso tip. Though a few porters occasionally felt a twinge of jealousy over Karlos's astronomical earnings, they also knew firsthand that fishing was backbreaking, risky work, so they readily accepted reality.
Karlos and Brandon returned to the docking area and found Andres standing guard over the bangka.
"Everything finished?"
"That's right."
"Let's head back."
The three men returned to the beach. As always, a dozen or so young local men waited to help carry the boat up the shore, and Karlos handed out tips once more.
"Let's go to my house and split the money," Karlos grinned.
"Let's go! Haha," Andres laughed. Life was steadily improving, and he was genuinely excited for the future. For the first time, he felt like life was truly worth living.
They gathered their important belongings while leaving non-essential items like storage boxes and empty fuel gallons secured on the boat.
When they reached Karlos's house, two small puppies barked at them enthusiastically. Blackey and Whitey wagged their tiny tails to welcome Karlos home.
"These dogs are pretty cute. Are you sure they'll be able to guard your house?"
"They're going to grow and get much bigger. Besides, they already bark quite loudly, so they'll definitely scare away trespassers."
Karlos opened the gate, and the puppies swarmed around their legs in sheer excitement. The three men stowed their equipment in the shed and found some seats in the yard.
"You guys are back," Maya said, opening the door and letting the children out. The twins immediately scampered toward their father.
"Papa!"
"How are my favorite kids doing?"
Karlos scooped them up and kissed their foreheads. Arabella and Iñigo had turned two years old just a week ago, and they were more active and mischievous than ever. They loved playing outside and constantly teased the puppies, following them into every corner of the house.
"Blackey!"
"Whitey!"
The twins babbled and played with the pups while Karlos sat down to calculate everyone's shares.
"Here is your cut." He handed Andres and Brandon their respective earnings, giving them 40,000 pesos each for the trip.
"Thanks, Karlos," Brandon smiled, thumbing through the bills. He had recently purchased the vacant house next to his house and was planning to renovate parts of his property soon.
"Tomorrow is Saturday, and Brandon and I are heading down to the shrimp farm to help with the harvest. Are you interested in tagging along, Andres?"
"We already agreed I'd go with you. Unless you're trying to ditch me," Andres teased. Helping out at the shrimp harvest was always a win, especially since they usually went home with kilograms of fresh shrimp as a bonus.
Brandon and Andres bid them farewell shortly after, eager to bring their cash home where it felt safe and secure.
"Let's go inside." Karlos pulled Maya close and pressed a kiss to her lips.
"Hmm... I was actually thinking we should have a financial meeting right now," she murmured playfully against his mouth.
"No problem. Let's do it right now while the twins are busy wearing themselves out with the puppies," Karlos chuckled, sweeping Maya off her feet and carrying her straight toward their bedroom.
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