As Li Hao Chen returned to the cabin after tidying up, the radio crackled to life, "Captain Li, what a haul today."
"Could this guy have been peeking at me with binoculars the whole time?" Li Hao Chen shivered. He had a sneaking suspicion about Liu Yu Feng's frequent radio calls, unsure whether to answer or not, which was quite vexing.
After a moment's thought, he braced himself and replied, "Heh, just good luck. Captain Liu, you guys are the impressive ones. I saw you land three big ones today, made my eyes water with envy."
"We... we're doing alright, hehe!"
Liu Yu Feng's lips twitched. He didn't dare to respond, instead hanging up the radio and muttering, "This scoundrel, always making snide remarks. Damn it, it turns out these cage traps are so profitable. I'm buying some when I get back, why the hell bother fishing for tuna."
It was still early, but Li Hao Chen had no intention of fishing further. The fish finder indicated the vicinity was no longer suitable. However, Li Hao Chen didn't leave, waiting for the annoying fly that was the Shan Feng to depart.
As someone who made a living fishing professionally, high-tech equipment like fish finders was indispensable. Sure enough, before long, the Shan Feng also began to weigh anchor and move. He figured it must have checked its fish finder as well.
The Shan Feng moved quite quickly, without even a greeting. It was likely Liu Yu Feng didn't want to see that scoundrel Li Hao Chen.
Now that he was gone, looking at the empty surroundings, Li Hao Chen felt a touch of nostalgia. Having someone to chat with was better than being alone in the vast ocean.
"Let's go, change spots for the night, see if I can snag another good one, then head back tomorrow."
Li Hao Chen also raised anchor, started the engine, and turned slightly to starboard, heading in the opposite direction of the Shan Feng.
After more than an hour of sailing, a colossal steel structure could be seen towering over the sea in the distance. Indeed, this was China's oil rig. The closer he got, the more awe-inspiring it was. Standing at its base, one would feel like an ant looking up at an elephant.
Li Hao Chen slowed down. Several large ships were also visible in the distance, anchored about a hundred meters away from the platform. Faint figures could be seen moving on the decks, likely enthusiasts who had rented boats for sea fishing.
As the Xing Chen entered the area, many people shifted their gaze, but soon lost interest and returned to their jigging.
Looking at the fish finder display, the resources here were even richer. As the Xing Chen passed, its sonar detected numerous fish, and the red dots indicated they were not small. Ten minutes later, Li Hao Chen found a spot with relatively abundant resources, dropped anchor, set the bait, and threw in the cage trap.
Li Hao Chen's action of deploying the cage trap was observed by many other anglers. Most scoffed dismissively, but one middle-aged man with a buzz cut became interested, as he recognized the Xing Chen.
"Brother Hong, why are you so interested in that small fishing boat?" a nearby angler asked curiously.
"Heh, that's the Fishing King. Why wouldn't I be interested?"
"Come, let me see what the Fishing King looks like?" Several anglers around them also picked up their binoculars and peered over. They immediately retorted, "Tsk, just a young whippersnapper. How can he be called that? I'd be called a god then."
"Hahaha... Exactly. We were busy and couldn't make it to the last competition. Otherwise, how could that 'Sea King' have gotten first place?"
The buzz-cut man took a drag from his cigarette, glancing at the loudmouths who were clearly bragging. He said calmly, "Well, the whippersnapper you're talking about is the seventh-place finisher in this sea fishing competition. He earned over 500,000 yuan in a month with just one boat. If you can do it, go ahead and try."
As soon as the man finished speaking, many people around them became animated. They all raised their binoculars to catch a glimpse of the Fishing King's demeanor, while those who had been boasting slunk away to a corner, furiously jigging, feigning intense focus on their fishing.
Li Hao Chen had no idea the commotion he was causing on the larger boats.
He diligently prepared the mussel bait. After a few minutes, feeling it was ready, he baited the hook and cast it out, not tightening the drag completely, leaving a slight opening.
"Swoosh~"
Before the fishing line even reached the set depth, the fishing rod bent significantly. The bell on the rod tip let out a pleasant chime. Judging by the tension, Li Hao Chen estimated the fish to be around ten pounds. He immediately locked the drag, pressed the button, and the powerful electric reel engaged in an unequal contest with the fish, reeling in the line at a steady pace.
The fish, perhaps panicked, tugged the line back and forth erratically, with wide swings. Suddenly, the line dived towards the bottom of the boat, startling Li Hao Chen. He stopped the electric reel and loosened the drag slightly.
With less resistance, the fish quickly swam into the deeper water. Li Hao Chen only relaxed when the line started to come out again. Otherwise, if the line rubbed against the hull, it would have to be cut. That length would have ruined an entire spool of line, which was extremely expensive.
Pressing the button again, Li Hao Chen found the speed too slow. He put on gloves and started pulling the line himself. With his added effort, the speed increased considerably. Within five minutes, more than half of the line had been retrieved.
To prevent the fish from diving under the hull again, Li Hao Chen sped up his retrieval. Fortunately, the fish didn't burrow further. Within a minute, it was finally brought to the surface.
"Uh, is this a yellowfin tuna?" Li Hao Chen looked at the creature with its yellow dorsal and ventral fins and somewhat cute eyes, and knew immediately what it was.
Li Hao Chen scooped the fish into a net, looking at the tuna weighing just over ten pounds, and grumbled with dissatisfaction, "It's too small. I can't even cut many slices of sashimi from this. Ah well, I'll take you into the space and let you live out your days."
Emerging from the space, he replaced the bait and continued fishing.
Just as he took a sip of soda, he felt a tug again. The pull was clearly stronger than the previous one. The fishing line cut through the water at a rapid pace, making a hissing sound.
The sudden activation of the electric reel caused the fish to falter, making it dizzy. It was brought to the surface in a daze. Li Hao Chen saw it was another yellowfin, weighing seventeen or eighteen pounds. However, he didn't plan to sell it; his space was running low on stock.
After catching two fish in a row, Li Hao Chen didn't continue. The sky was getting dark, and his stomach was starting to rumble. However, he didn't reel in the fishing rod, as he planned to do some night fishing. Tuna, in particular, eat all day long, so there was no issue with choosing a fishing time.
The harvest from the past two days was very encouraging. For dinner, Li Hao Chen didn't skimp on his meal. He entered the space and took out two lobsters and a stone fish from the fish guard.
After draining the lobsters and extracting the meat, he made fried rice with shrimp and egg with diced vegetables. Unfortunately, he didn't have time to put the rice in the refrigerator to cool before stir-frying, so the presentation was slightly lacking. The lobster shells, especially the heads, and the stone fish were used to make a creamy seafood and tofu soup.
Even though the fried rice wasn't perfectly even in grain size, the taste was absolutely first-class, and the fish soup was incredibly fresh and sweet. Li Hao Chen ate to his heart's content.
"This is too delicious. I'll cook a meal for Yan Ran and Mom when I get home."