"Oh ah..."
The next morning, Li Haochen woke up and stretched with a groan. Although his body was a bit sore, he showed no signs of a cold, which relieved him. If he caught a cold, he would have to rest for two or three days on the spot.
After washing up, Li Haochen took his phone out to the deck. He couldn't forget his half-hour session of "Compendium of Materia Medica," but with so many things happening recently, a full session left him a little breathless.
"Looks like I need more exercise."
The morning sun shone on him, and exercising felt quite comfortable, giving him a feeling of absorbing the essence of the sun and moon.
Li Haochen walked back to the kitchen to prepare breakfast, and also started preparing lunch and dinner. After all, it would be late at night by the time he returned to the harbor.
After breakfast, seeing that the rice was ready, he began to cook the dishes. He had to pack them in insulated containers, so he didn't cook any green vegetables. If they were stewed all day, the vegetables would turn eggplant-colored and taste rather awkward, just like the cauliflower in yesterday's two lunch boxes, which had been stewed into mush. They melted in his mouth without any texture.
Li Haochen put on his apron, took out the defrosted chicken mid-wings, cut decorative slashes into them, and then blanched them with ginger slices in boiling water to remove any fishy smell and blood.
Looking at the layer of grayish-white foam floating in the pot, a wave of nausea washed over him. He quickly poured it out and washed the pot clean.
It was best to eat less of this feed-based food, especially chicken tips and feet, which contained a large amount of residual hormones.
It was okay to have them occasionally, as long as they weren't consumed frequently.
The physical health of Chinese people was declining year by year, and food was one of the factors. Especially M and K, these two, after years of infiltration, had harmed the health of Chinese people immeasurably. It was ironic that we happily flocked to them, always thinking foreign goods were so good, unaware that we were being harmed while still singing their praises.
Li Haochen picked up the non-stick pan, wiped it clean, dried it, poured in an appropriate amount of peanut oil, and then turned the heat to low after the oil reached the right temperature. He stir-fried ginger and garlic until fragrant, then slowly added the chicken wings, pan-frying both sides until lightly golden. He added an appropriate amount of soy sauce, oyster sauce, and salt, then a small spoonful of cooking wine, stir-fried for a few moments, and then poured in 200ml of Pepsi Cola. After it boiled, he covered it with a lid and simmered on medium-low heat for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Finally, he opened the lid and reduced the sauce over high heat.
Why Pepsi? Anyone who has made cola chicken wings knows that Pepsi Cola has a slightly lighter flavor and is sweeter due to its higher sugar content. The chicken wings made with it will have a taste similar to honey-glazed chicken wings. If Coca-Cola is used, the chicken wings made with it will also be sweet, but with a slight hint of bitterness.
While the chicken wings were simmering, the other stove was not idle either. Li Haochen was stir-frying beef, and there was quite a lot of it, about a pound.
As the beef was ready, the chicken wings were also done. The collision of different flavors promised a wonderful culinary experience.
After packing the rice and dishes into the insulated containers and tidying up the kitchen, he went out to prepare to retrieve the fish traps.
He put on his gloves and originally thought about untying the fixing rope, but seeing that it was pulled taut, he decided against it. Otherwise, with one careless move, it would sink to the bottom of the sea. And at such a depth, even with deep-diving equipment, he wouldn't dare to go down to find it.
Li Haochen held the rope firmly with one hand in front and the other behind, adopted a horse stance, leaned back, and used his body weight to pull. The fish trap slowly began to move.
"Heave~"
The fish trap did move, but at a depth of over 80 meters, coupled with the water current, it was still very strenuous to pull it up.
Li Haochen exerted all his might. After more than a minute, he finally pulled enough rope to successfully hook it onto the electric winch on the other side, and then let out a sigh of relief.
As the electricity flowed, the whirring winch rotated evenly, pulling up dozens of centimeters with each turn, making it very convenient and fast.
If it were done manually, not only would it take a long time, but his palms would also peel off a layer of skin. Therefore, Li Haochen greatly admired Dai Changrun and the others. Hundreds of fish traps! The calluses on his hands last time were almost a centimeter thick, which was heartbreaking to see.
This is life!
Two minutes later, the first fish trap was brought to the surface. Li Haochen ran over and turned off the electric winch, then lowered the round transport board. This way, the iron frame of the fish trap wouldn't scratch the hull.
He continued to operate the electric winch, pulling the fish trap up. Seawater continuously flowed out from the blue-green mesh, and a large puddle of water quickly accumulated on the deck.
Earlier, the mesh was obscured by seawater, but now that most of it had drained, the contents were clearly visible.
Li Haochen was delighted to see the live, wriggling sea fish. There were grouper, red snapper, clownfish, and two colorful lionfish. These creatures were venomous. Although not fatal, a sting from them would leave you with a memorable experience.
Although the fish were not very large, the quantity was quite good. The catch from this one fish trap could fill a large bucket halfway.
The few groupers did not show bulging eyes or white bellies, likely because the speed of the electric winch was not too fast, and they had adapted to the water pressure.
This was even better, saving him the trouble of operating on them. Moreover, there were two lionfish in the bucket, and he dared not reach in to grab them.
However, leaving them in the bucket for too long was also not good, as it was too cramped, and the small fish could easily be squeezed and damaged. Li Haochen took them into the cabin and then sent them into the spatial ocean, adding quite a bit of "money babies," making him extremely happy.
After leaving the space, he continued to operate the electric winch, and soon the second fish trap was pulled out, with equally pleasing results.
In this way, Li Haochen made a trip to his spatial ocean for every fish trap he retrieved, tirelessly. Seeing his unclosing smile, he wished he had hundreds more to retrieve.
When the last fish trap was pulled onto the boat, the object inside made Li Haochen exclaim in surprise.
"Holy cow, Paul's dad's dad?"
Inside the three-meter-long fish trap, a red octopus, as large as a washbasin, was coiled up, occupying two-thirds of the trap's space.
Its tentacles were as thick as an arm, and its suction cups were the size of silver coins, which was quite intimidating.
Li Haochen grabbed the fish trap, and just as he was about to drag it back to the cabin, the creature flipped over, revealing its fearsome mouthparts. Ugh... it looked just like that one place.
Li Haochen's backside tightened, and his legs went weak.
"My goodness! I'll never eat octopus as long as I live!"
He averted his gaze and forcefully dragged the large octopus back to the cabin and into the spatial ocean. The creature refused to come out, so Li Haochen untied the rope at the exit and threw the entire fish trap down.
The subsequent crab traps and eel traps brought even greater joy. There were large spiny lobsters, bread crabs, leopards, and unknown large sea snails. The quantity of each item was no less than two dozen.
With such a rich harvest, Li Haochen's mood was beyond words.
As he was cleaning the deck, Li Haochen started singing, "...Today is a good day, all wishes come true. Today is a good day, we open our doors to welcome the spring breeze..."