Reincarnated as a Fisherman and a Dad Chapter 172
As the tricycle sped up, Bastos looked at the cars passing by. They looked high-class and expensive, their polished surfaces reflecting the light. His father owned a delivery truck, but it was only used for picking up and delivering rice, purely practical, not a luxury vehicle like the ones he admired. Still, he knew how to drive it, which made him feel proud.
In their neighborhood, cars were practically a luxury.
'One day I'm gonna buy my own car and use it to seduce hot chicks.'
He grinned.
"We are here, Sarap Road." The driver stopped the tricycle and announced their destination.
"Here."
Bastos paid the driver and walked toward the entrance of the red-light district. The area was lined with dozens of establishments offering pleasure services. At night, the district was bright and colorful with neon lights and lively crowds for obvious reasons. But in daylight, it looked like any ordinary street, quiet and unremarkable.
Bastos was a frequent customer of Amazing Bar, the first establishment he had visited, where he lost his virginity.
"Hey, handsome, 500 pesos, all the way."
As soon as Bastos entered the bar, a woman greeted him for business while smoking. Bastos glanced at her and shook his head.
"I already tasted you."
"I taste good, right?" Her tone was playful as she leaned closer.
"I'll agree if you lower the price by 400 pesos. How about it?" Bastos grinned.
Four hundred pesos was already a daily wage for many people. Spending it for just an hour or two of pleasure was expensive.
"Hmph! If you're broke, you should have said so." She scoffed and turned away.
Bastos didn't bother responding and instead ordered a bottle of beer from the bartender, slapping the money on the counter. The alcohol here was expensive, but he didn't mind, he had come prepared to spend. At least, that was what he thought.
While he was drinking, other fishermen also arrived, laughing loudly as they entered. The red-light district was a place where people went to unwind after days at sea.
Many seamen, fishermen, and even locals visited the area.
What Bastos didn't know was that he had gotten too drunk and unknowingly bragged about the island where lobsters and abalones were abundant. He had been trying to impress a beautiful woman in hopes of sleeping with her. Desperate, he claimed he earned around 1,000 pesos every day because of the island.
The other fishermen heard it and exchanged glances. The rest was history.
...
...
...
The next day, Karlos and Brandon continued fishing. The three young men also followed them to the island.
But unlike yesterday, when they had no lobster traps, Escudero and Robin had successfully made three traps.
They watched as Karlos and Brandon pulled up their traps filled with lobsters.
"Where should we put our traps?"
"We can put them anywhere," Bastos answered. He looked slightly pale from last night's drinking. Not only that, he felt like he had said something he shouldn't have, but he couldn't remember clearly. His head was cloudy and slightly aching.
"What if they get tangled on the rocks?"
"Escudero will dive and untangle them," Bastos yawned.
"Hey, why are you assigning that to me?"
"You're the best swimmer on this boat, and you know it."
"... Why do I feel like you just want to avoid work?"
"Nah, you're overthinking it."
In the end, the three agreed to place the traps farther away from Karlos's to avoid any issues. The floaters they used were empty plastic colored bottles, easy to recognize and different from Karlos's styrofoam markers.
"What then?"
"We just wait until tomorrow. There's nothing else we can do for now."
Setting up the three traps didn't take long, and the task was quickly finished.
They moved away from the island to find a spot to fish. Using bamboo fishing rods, they started catching fish one by one.
"I hope we can keep earning money like this. It's better than staying at sea for days," Escudero muttered. The other two nodded in agreement, sharing the same sentiment.
They were still young and had no heavy responsibilities. But once they realized how hard it was to earn money, they understood that finding an island that consistently produced abalones was a blessing.
The fish they caught that morning were modest, earning them around 400 pesos at best.
When the sun rose, it was time to harvest abalones. The two boats landed on the beach once the sea snakes disappeared.
They walked to the rocky reefs and dived into the water. Robin and the others had learned from yesterday and now used self-made waist bags to store abalones, no longer needing floating buckets.
Karlos and Brandon realized that having three more people harvesting abalones did not significantly affect their yield, the supply remained steady. The island seemed to replenish abalones every night, keeping things consistent.
"You guys haven't told anyone about the island, right?" Brandon asked the three, his tone serious.
"I didn't. I kept my mouth shut," Escudero answered.
"I didn't tell anyone either, not even my father," Robin confirmed.
"Good. Keep it that way. If more people find out about this island, we'll lose our livelihood." Brandon turned to Bastos, who kept his head lowered while using a screwdriver to pry abalones off the rocks. "What about you, Bastos?"
"I didn't," Bastos replied, still not looking at them, his eyes fixed on the reef.
By 10:30 a.m., the tide had risen significantly, and they stopped working. They carried the buckets back to their boats, preparing to leave the island.
But just as they were about to depart, they noticed a boat slowly approaching the beach. Its silhouette became clearer with each passing second, it was a mid-sized fishing bangka.