Setting out to trawl and net fish together, others pay a daily wage of four hundred, while Shen Haiqin only gives three hundred. Six veteran fishermen find her stingy, collectively jump ship to a high-paying fleet, and laugh at her for being cowardly. But beneath the flyer, that line of fine print hides a man-eating abacus: ninety baskets as a life-and-death line, exorbitant fresh water, and joint fines. Every dark blade slashes down, turning the high wage into back-debt. Until a fire seals off the cabin doors, everyone is shocked to realize that her boat, which only paid three hundred, had every rule linked to the rules of human life—it was the fishermen's life-saving umbrella at sea.