Li Hao Chen walked over and dismantled the two net hauling devices, leaving only two fixed small winches. Though small, their pulling force was considerable, capable of hauling sixty pounds.
He found a long rope, tied one end to Zhang Hong's tail, and pulled the other end to the winch on the opposite side, winding it securely. He adjusted the rope to keep it taut.
Untying the rope that had been secured to the base of the fishing hole, he wound it onto the adjacent winch. To prevent the fish from being scraped as it was pulled up, Li Hao Chen specifically took out the tatami soft cushion and placed it against the outside of the ship's gunwale behind the two ropes.
To make both winches work simultaneously, Li Hao Chen removed the support pillar from the middle of the net hauling device, adjusted its height with a small stool, and extended it to press the switch. He mentally recited "start," and on both sides, the winches began to rotate slowly, driven by the current.
Li Hao Chen rushed to the side of the ship and saw Zhang Hong's tail being slowly pulled up, just resting on the soft cushion.
Since the two winches were not in a straight line, a significant amount of pulling force was dispersed, estimated to be only eighty to ninety pounds. While insufficient to pull such a Zhang Hong, it was barely enough.
Zhang Hong slowly lifted, its weight pressing down. Both winches emitted creaking sounds. To prevent the winches from breaking, Li Hao Chen took another rope, tied it to the fish's tail, and pulled with all his might. With the combined three forces, Zhang Hong was slowly pulled into an inverted position.
Two minutes later, Zhang Hong was completely lifted out of the water. Li Hao Chen propped the lounge chair against the aisle, creating a slope that allowed the fish to slide down. Without this slope, if the fish fell from the gunwale onto the deck, its flesh would surely be damaged.
Li Hao Chen grabbed the fish's tail, adjusted the falling position, and with a strong tug, the entire Zhang Hong smoothly slid onto the deck via the lounge chair.
Looking at the massive Zhang Hong, over a meter long, on the deck, Li Hao Chen, unable to contain his excitement, rushed inside to grab his phone. He lay down beside the fish, intimately embracing it for a selfie. In his excitement, the phone came first, much like how people today take pictures of their food before eating.
After taking the photos, his excitement was uncontainable. Not caring about being tired, he stood on the deck and let out a "Siu-lam" style roar, which was heard even by the Shan Feng Hao hundreds of meters away.
"Damn, fishing deep. Gave me a fright," Liu Yu Feng said.
Liu Yu Feng picked up his binoculars and looked over. Upon seeing the large Zhang Hong on the deck, his eyes widened like duck eggs. "Damn it, what kind of dog-shit luck is this? We only caught two yellowfin, totaling a hundred pounds or so, not even half of his."
The more Liu Yu Feng thought about it, the angrier he became. He immediately yelled at the men who were casting bait, "Damn it, haven't you eaten? Cast further!"
Li Hao Chen was still excited but dared not waste time, as this behemoth had already died.
He went into the kitchen and found a sharp fruit knife. Fortunately, he had researched how to bleed fish online before coming, otherwise, the price would have dropped significantly if he just took the fish back like this.
Reading about it was one thing, but practicing it was another. It was his first time bleeding a fish, and he was quite nervous. After all, it was his first time, with no experience. The incision was a bit crooked, but thankfully, it didn't affect the price.
He made an incision at the tail, not too shallow. Then, he went to the gills, opened the belly, and cleaned out all the internal organs. He made a small hole with the knife in the middle where the head connected to the body. If the fish were stood up, the blood would flow out. However, Li Hao Chen's boat didn't have a crane, so he had to lift the tail upwards, trying his best to drain all the blood.
After about a minute, seeing no more blood flowing out, Li Hao Chen went to get a large bucket of seawater to wash the fish clean. With immense effort, he finally managed to push the Zhang Hong into the ice locker and cover it with seawater ice before letting out a sigh of relief.
"Phew~ Not installing a crane was the biggest mistake. Just one over a hundred pounds has exhausted me like a dog. I can't imagine Captain Donkey going out to sea with five or six or seven or eight large tuna. How could his small frame handle it?"
Li Hao Chen did not rest immediately; he had to quickly clean up the bloodstains on the deck, otherwise, it would become very smelly later.
While cleaning the lounge chair, he checked it and found that it was completely fine, showing how sturdy its quality was.
After putting away the fishing rod, Li Hao Chen was starving. The energy replenished by the chocolate earlier had long since vanished. He ate two pineapple shortcakes to sustain himself and then started preparing lunch.
He was almost exhausted by the Zhang Hong. Now, he had to replenish his energy, so for lunch, he skipped the vegetables and only ate meat.
Li Hao Chen took out a piece of beef weighing over two pounds, cut it into three portions: one for minced beef patty and rice, one for sliced stir-fried bell peppers, and the last one for stewed potatoes.
While the food was still being cooked, he took a hot shower. When he came out, he could smell the delicious food. After getting dressed and drying his hair, he started eating.
The meal was thirty percent more than his usual portion, but Li Hao Chen still managed to finish it all, his stomach feeling like a small ball.
After tidying up the bowls and chopsticks, he sat on the bed to rest. With no other entertainment, he looked at the photos he had just taken. As he looked, he became more and more excited. Firstly, he had conquered a hundred-pound big fish, and secondly, he had made a lot of money.
This Zhang Hong was now a star ingredient for sashimi, with prices steadily rising. Four or five years ago, it was only forty to fifty dollars, but now it started from a hundred dollars, with prices generally around 120. The one Li Hao Chen caught was worth at least fifteen thousand.
After indulging in daydreams for a while, his eyelids became too heavy to bear. Li Hao Chen turned off his phone, lay down on the bed, adjusted to a comfortable position, and fell asleep within seconds.
He woke up around 4 PM. Li Hao Chen stood up, twisted his neck, and stretched his back. His whole body was sore, especially his thighs. The muscles after the cramp felt particularly tender. Although his muscles were sore, his physical strength and spirit were fine.
He walked out of the cabin and took a few breaths of fresh air, feeling much better. Although the room had a ventilation system, it was still an enclosed space. No matter how good the ventilation system was, it couldn't compare to the comfort of the outdoors.
After doing some warm-up exercises, Li Hao Chen put on his gloves and started pulling up the traps. As he was pulling up the traps, Liu Yu Feng again watched him. "He's always up to something unproductive. Why not just focus on fishing? What good can these miscellaneous things do..."
When Liu Yu Feng saw the traps Li Hao Chen pulled out, he didn't dare to say the rest of his words. He was so envious that his teeth felt like they were about to fall out. He had no choice but to dejectedly toss aside his binoculars and pick up his fishing rod, taking charge himself.
That's right, Li Hao Chen had pulled up all the traps and gave him another big surprise: six deep-sea bigeye fish weighing four to five pounds each, over twenty spiny lobsters, and they were not small either, starting at three pounds. Even two of them reached seven to eight pounds. The eel traps were also very productive, with 3 large conger eels weighing seven to eight pounds each. This catch was even more valuable than the large Zhang Hong he had caught in the morning.