In just two hours, Li Haochen didn't know how many fish he had caught, but the live bait tank was almost full. If the two women hadn't gotten tired and their novelty hadn't worn off, the ice chests would have been full too.
Even so, Li Haochen was so busy he was on his feet all the time, soaked from head to toe.
While the two women went to shower, Li Haochen cleaned the fishing gear and scrubbed the deck. After finishing these tasks, he carried the stonefish into the kitchen.
Having caught so many fish tonight, Li Haochen decided to make a feast of them.
After quickly cooking the rice, Li Haochen carefully prepared the stonefish, took out a box of tofu from the refrigerator, and made stonefish tofu soup, followed by steamed butterfly bream and sweet and sour sea bass.
With the meal ready, he sat at the dining table full of anticipation, waiting and waiting... It took them nearly half an hour to emerge slowly.
"I say, can't you two take any longer showering? I'm almost asleep."
"It hasn't been an hour yet, what are you fussing about? When we buy a bigger boat, it must have a bathtub, it's not comfortable to take a bath like this."
"Exactly, fishing is so tiring, and we can't even take a hot bath. Remember to give us a massage later."
Li Haochen's face darkened, feeling a bit like crying without tears. He muttered in a low voice, "I don't even have a bathtub at home. Did I buy the wrong boat?"
"What are you muttering about? Come and eat quickly, the food's getting cold."
"Hey, you two remember the dishes are almost cold now?" Li Haochen said with a hint of annoyance.
"Such a show-off. Seeing as you performed well today, I'll let you have some wine, hee hee!" Xie Baolian poured a full large glass for herself and Murong Yanran, while Li Haochen's was...
Looking at the half-empty bottle of Golden Ice Valley in front of him, Li Haochen could only think of a song, "Let the wind blow – let this great wind blow and blow, blowing away the pain and sorrow in my heart."
"Sigh~"
Seeing Li Haochen's resentful expression, the two women laughed and clinked their glasses triumphantly, making Li Haochen grit his teeth.
Of course, this was just a seasoning for life, and Li Haochen genuinely enjoyed this feeling. This was home, this was life, and days spent with family were always filled with joy and happiness, even if it was simple fare.
After dinner, Murong Yanran naturally did the dishes, while Li Haochen began massaging Xie Baolian. "Mom, how's the pressure?"
"Hmm, good."
Xie Baolian closed her eyes, enjoying the massage. After a while, she looked towards the kitchen below the cabin and said softly, "Son, when we go back, we'll buy a house. It's not good to keep renting. Also, you can't take Yanran's money. A man needs his own house to avoid gossip. Mom still has some savings, which we can use for the down payment then."
"Mom~" Li Haochen stopped his movements, his eyes turning a little red.
Xie Baolian patted Li Haochen's hand. "That's settled. I'll go with you to look later. We need to buy a bigger one, otherwise, it won't be enough if more people live here later."
"Mom, no need to buy a house, let's build one ourselves, three and a half stories high, with a large garden for planting fruits and vegetables, hehe!"
"You're dreaming before even going to bed. Building a house will cost at least 2 million, and my savings aren't even enough to buy tiles," Xie Baolian said, rolling her eyes at Li Haochen.
Li Haochen glanced at the kitchen. Seeing that Murong Yanran hadn't come out yet, he leaned in and whispered to Xie Baolian, "Mom, I'm serious. I bought land in Dalong Village, 120 square meters, and I've also rented ten mu of land around it. In a while, I'll find a company to design and start construction."
"Really?"
"Why would I lie to you?"
Upon hearing this, Xie Baolian jumped up, overjoyed. She immediately grabbed Li Haochen and pulled him outside.
"Mom, why are you dragging me out?"
"To go fishing, what else? Catching one more fish means hundreds more yuan. I need to catch the money to build the house."
Li Haochen was caught between laughter and tears. He quickly pulled Xie Baolian back. "Mom, do you really think one fish is worth hundreds of yuan? That's only for some rare species. The common ones are only a few dozen yuan."
"That's still good, a few dozen yuan is still money. Building a house needs money for every brick and tile. Alright, hurry up and get ready. Watch me catch millions, ha ha ha!"
As soon as Murong Yanran came up, she saw Xie Baolian rushing out in a flurry and looked at Li Haochen curiously. "What's up with Auntie Lian?"
"Her?" Li Haochen was a little amused, but also deeply touched. "Mom said she's going fishing to earn a few million to buy us a wedding house, hehe."
"Ah..." Murong Yanran froze for a moment, then rushed out.
"Yanran, where are you going?"
"To go fishing and earn money for a wedding house, hee hee!"
Watching their hurried figures, Li Haochen could only smile wryly, "Alright, as long as you like it."
He went down to the ice chest to get bait and came back up. This time, he didn't need to teach them. They could do it themselves, and they were quite skilled at it.
Li Haochen didn't fish. He brought out a lounge chair, opened a beer, and munched on peanuts while admiring the two women he loved and who loved him. It's not just earnest men who are charming; women who are earnest in their work are even more so.
Under the brilliant starry sky, with the gentle sea breeze blowing, his three thousand strands of hair danced in the wind. Li Haochen was drunk, intoxicated by this intense affection.
Ring, ring, ring~
"Hahaha, I've got a bite!" Xie Baolian was as excited as a little girl. She pressed the button, grabbed the landing net, and eagerly anticipated what would appear.
Li Haochen also walked down, ready to help unhook the fish. The moment the fish came up, Li Haochen was stunned. "This, this..."
"What's wrong? Hurry up and unhook it. It's not big, just this small. Ten or eight pounds would be about right."
Li Haochen swallowed with difficulty, looking at Xie Baolian with some surprise. "Mom, what you just caught is a croaker. Do you know what a croaker is?"
"What croaker, what small, hurry and unhook it for me so I can continue."
"Auntie Lian, this is called a croaker. This one you caught is worth at least 3,000 yuan," Murong Yanran said. She still remembered the croaker Li Haochen caught last time, which left a deep impression on her. A few fish had earned them over 100,000 yuan.
Xie Baolian stumbled in shock, exclaiming as she looked at the croaker, which was about a pound, "This is worth several thousand yuan?"
She then shouted excitedly, "Hurry and unhook it, I'm going to catch dozens more."
Ring, ring, ring~
This time it was Murong Yanran's turn. However, what came up was only a small reef fish weighing about three ounces. She was a little disappointed, but quickly adjusted her mindset and continued fishing.
Every time the bell rang, it would gather the attention of the two women. Although they didn't catch any more croakers, they did catch quite a few groupers, black breams, and red sea breams. Their golden finger physique was once again evident.
After two to three hours, the fishing rods had been silent for a long time. The two women were also sweating and feeling a bit sticky, so they had to stop and go for another shower.