Mu Shaoyang had considered transferring the money to Mai Jiaqi for her to expand her territory, but upon deeper reflection, he abandoned the idea. Such a large sum might tempt her to have ulterior motives, and if she absconded abroad, he’d be left in a predicament.
Since he couldn't trust her, he had to be hands-on, though it was merely supervision; Mai Jiaqi still had to do the actual work.
Mu Shaoyang drove his beloved car back home and tiptoed to put all the fakes back in their original places. He patted the two identical USB drives in his pocket. "Damn, forgot about this. What should I do?"
"Let's try anything to save it. Pick one... okay, you're it." Mu Shaoyang randomly placed one and hurried out of the study. He then drove to pick up Mai Jiaqi, and they headed straight to Hua City.
Meanwhile, Li Haochen was his usual cheerful self, singing songs. Early in the morning, he shouldered his bag and set off for the pier. It was the same old routine: a bag of Antarctic krill for sustenance, no seasonings, no baiting. His performance in the past few days had made him an idol among the local anglers; he never returned empty-handed.
Upon arriving at the pier, after receiving a round of admiration, he began fishing. The process was as usual: baiting the hook, casting, and reeling. His skills had improved significantly, and he could now cast the fishing line thirty to forty meters.
Wearing headphones, he listened to old songs and simultaneously cranked the reel.
"Swoosh~"
"Heh heh, got a bite."
Judging by the pull, it wasn't a big one. Since it wasn't big, he just reeled it in with all his might. For fish under two to three catties, brute force was the surest way to success, unless one was seeking the thrill of playing the fish. Li Haochen certainly wasn't doing it for fun.
"Scrape..."
The fish broke the surface, a brownish-red rockfish with sharp fin tips. Li Haochen dared not touch it directly. This guy was fiercer than the mudskipper. A prick from it couldn't be cured without eight-two-year-old virgin boy urine.
He grabbed a towel, lowered it along the fishing line, grasped the fish's head, and then removed the hook. Not bad, a little over three taels. This weight could be considered a big brother among rockfish, though larger ones existed, they were rare.
He tossed it into the fish creel, and it immediately began to wriggle and dart about, even trying to break free for liberty. After several failed attempts, it retreated to the bottom of the creel to conserve energy and plan a comeback.
Before long, the sky turned gloomy, and soon a drizzling rain began to fall.
Raindrops landed on the sea surface, creating ripples that spread outwards. A faint, ethereal mist rose from the sea, making it look like a fairyland.
Fortunately, the rain wasn't heavy. His fishing hat and sun-protection clothing could shield him, so Li Haochen stayed to continue fishing.
With this light rain, the fish were biting well. He noticed even the anglers who usually returned empty-handed were catching fish. How could he, with his unofficial golden finger, fall behind? For every fish they caught, he caught three. A fishing tug-of-war began, though Li Haochen alone was equivalent to several of them.
Since he caught that large grouper last time, he hadn't caught any fish over five catties. Today was no different. Although he was catching many fish, the heaviest was a sea bass weighing around two catties.
He didn't know why, but lately, he'd been catching mostly threadfin bream, mudskippers, or rockfish. Li Haochen was quite dejected and was contemplating whether to change his spot.
"Swoosh swoosh~~!"
Suddenly, the fishing line became taut, and the tip of the rod bent into a massive arc. The sudden, erratic pull of the line almost overwhelmed Li Haochen. It was just like the thirty-odd-catty grouper he'd caught last time, no, perhaps even more intense.
"A big fish, definitely a big fish!" That was Li Haochen's first thought.
Excited, he was like a warrior roused to battle, unafraid of the wind and rain, pressing forward against the odds.
Because it was raining, the ground was a bit slippery. Li Haochen braced himself against a concrete pillar, gritted his teeth, held the rod tightly, and strained to turn the handle.
The fish's endurance exceeded Li Haochen's imagination. After more than ten minutes, it was still as ferocious as ever. The raindrops mixed with sweat dripped into his eyes, stinging them. He wanted to wipe them, but feared the fish would escape, so he endured the pain.
The rain intensified, and the strong wind made his sun-protection clothing rustle. His fishing hat had long been blown away to some unknown corner, and he was drenched to the bone.
With the strong wind, the raindrops felt like they were fired from toy airguns, striking his skin with painful force.
Li Haochen didn't know any sophisticated fish-playing techniques. He could only forcefully jerk the rod and then crank the handle, a contest of strength against strength, a battle of willpower and endurance. Coupled with the strong wind and rough waves, the difficulty increased significantly.
"Brother, hang in there!"
"Yeah, keep going!"
Without him realizing, several people had appeared behind Li Haochen. Without looking, he knew they must be the anglers from nearby. This time, they weren't just watching coldly. However, since Li Haochen wasn't speaking, he might be displeased if they intruded to help, so they could only cheer him on from the sidelines.
With the cheers, Li Haochen felt a surge of strength, as if he'd downed half a bottle of Dongpeng Special Drink. Gritting his teeth, he furiously yanked and reeled, and indeed, he managed to gain back several meters of fishing line. Fortunately, it was a newly replaced fishing rod, otherwise, it would have been ruined again.
Li Haochen was already exhausted, and he didn't know what was keeping him going. Belief? Probably.
Fortunately, the fish's strength gradually weakened. Li Haochen, like a robot, stared at the large fish still thrashing on the sea surface and slowly reeled it in, inch by inch.
Finally, after thirty-five minutes, he brought the big fish to the shore. It was nearly a meter long. Li Haochen was overjoyed, estimating it to be at least 40 catties. He was already calculating how much money he could sell it for.
"Ah, a grouper. What a shame."
"Indeed. It's a big catch, but unfortunately, it can't be sold."
"What? Can't be sold?" Li Haochen was bewildered. Why couldn't this fish be sold?
The other anglers looked at Li Haochen as if he were an idiot. "Brother, you haven't gone mad from fighting that grouper, have you?"
"Don't do anything reckless. You'll be eating free meals here."
"Exactly. You dare to sell a protected species. You'll be picking up soap soon."
"Could it be these guys are envious and jealous and are ganging up to trick me? Isn't this just a grouper, just a bigger one? Wasn't the last grouper about the same?" Li Haochen was somewhat disbelieving, but also afraid of the possibility, which left him in a dilemma.
"Huh, Haochen brother, you caught another big fish?" Liang Pinliang, who had just finished packing his catch, saw several people surrounding Li Haochen and chattering away, so he walked over. "Damn, a grouper! At least 40 catties, right? What a shame."
"Brother Liang, is this grouper a protected species?"
"You didn't know?"
"Good heavens, are you playing with me!" Li Haochen was greatly disappointed. The breath left him, and he slumped onto the ground listlessly. The grouper seized this opportunity and suddenly darted away, taking Li Haochen's fishing rod with it.
"Damn it, give me back my fishing rod!"