"Not bad, Hao Chen. This spotted mackerel must be about eleven or twelve pounds. Let me help you process it. This one's quite fierce," Chen Yaohong said, wrapping a cloth around the mackerel's head and deftly removing the hook with a pair of pliers.
"Thanks, Brother Hong. Don't bother with a tag. This thing isn't worth much. Add some to the kitchen's dishes later; it's quite tasty braised."
"Over a thousand yuan isn't worth much? You don't think it's just ordinary mackerel, do you? This is a spotted mackerel. It's different, you know. About 80 yuan a jin. It's best during the Qingming Festival, and the price will be even higher, especially in Xiangshan. It's outrageously expensive there."
"Uh... I really didn't know until you mentioned it, but it's fine. It's worth a try, heh heh." Li Hao Chen changed the bait and continued trolling.
Chen Yaohong brought over two chairs and two bottles of drink. "Hao Chen, sit down for a while. It must be tiring standing up all the time."
"Whoosh~"
The fishing line suddenly tugged again, with even more force than before. However, Li Hao Chen was prepared and nothing unexpected happened. "Brother Hong, this fish is a bit enthusiastic. I need to entertain it, heh heh!"
Chen Yaohong found it rather strange. Since morning, he had seen Li Hao Chen catch quite a few fish. Honestly, his technique was only slightly above average, nothing special. The only thing that surprised him was the bait. "Could it be that he processed this mussel meat with a special method?"
As he was pondering, Li Hao Chen had already successfully reeled in the fish. It was another spotted mackerel, and this one was even bigger than the last, easily fifteen pounds.
Li Hao Chen didn't immediately continue. One had to catch their breath after such a fight, right? He sat down on a chair and drank some soda.
"Not fishing anymore?" After helping Li Hao Chen process the mackerel, Chen Yaohong saw him sitting down to rest, walked over, and sat down as well. "Hao Chen, with your luck, catching a hundred fish a day wouldn't be difficult."
"The captain found a good fishing spot, that's all. Heh heh."
Chen Yaohong inwardly scoffed at Li Hao Chen. He didn't believe him; the others weren't catching so many fish. Therefore, he was extremely curious about Li Hao Chen's continuous success. It was like an itch he couldn't scratch, "Ahem, Hao Chen, there's something I've wanted to ask you for a long time, and it's been bothering me. It's okay if it's a personal secret."
Li Hao Chen was taken aback and became wary, but his expression didn't change. "What secrets could I possibly have? Brother Hong, go ahead and ask. I'm completely in the dark."
"Uh... was your mussel meat processed using an ancestral method? It seems like the fish really love your bait."
Li Hao Chen's heart suddenly pounded a few times. His mind raced, and just as he was trying to come up with an excuse, Li Zhi Gang's voice rang out, "What are you guys talking about?"
"Brother Li, I was just asking Hao Chen if his mussel meat was processed with a secret ancestral recipe. He's been catching fish non-stop, heh heh!"
"Oh, now that you mention it, I do recall. Hao Chen, give me a couple to try. I haven't caught anything yet."
"Give me a couple too, so I can share some of your luck, hahahaha!"
"Yes, yes, give us some too, so we can borrow some luck and catch a big fish to spite that disgusting source."
With things having come this far, Li Hao Chen had no choice but to feign generosity, giving a few to everyone.
Seeing that most of the box of mussel meat had been distributed, Chen Yaohong felt a bit ungracious and said sheepishly, "Hao Chen, I'm truly sorry. I didn't expect this and now you barely have any bait left."
"It's fine, Brother Hong. Don't worry about it." Although he said that, he felt a bit displeased inwardly.
About ten minutes later, the boat had stopped, and the figures of several ships could be seen in the distance, likely other countries' fishing teams.
Except for Zhang Yuan and his disciple, everyone else had come out to prepare for fishing. Li Hao Chen also returned to his fishing spot. He had caught three spotted mackerels trolling earlier, all over ten pounds, which was very good.
Regarding the bait issue, Li Hao Chen was still quite unhappy with Chen Yaohong. Now, however, he was very grateful to him. Because when others used the mussel meat to fish, it seemed to have lost its magical effect. After half an hour, none of them had caught anything. This way, Li Hao Chen's continuous catches would be attributed to his good luck alone.
"Hahaha, I didn't expect Chen Yaohong to help me so much. Speaking of which, why did the mussel meat lose its effect when it got into their hands? Could it be... only I can use it?"
After thinking for a few minutes, Li Hao Chen felt somewhat certain. "It must be. If I could also get Captain Lu's ability, combined with my bait, that would be perfect."
While Li Hao Chen was lost in his fantasies, Li Zhi Gang next to him burst into laughter. "Hahaha, finally, we've made a catch."
"Congratulations, Brother Li. This red snapper is good, must be over thirty-five pounds."
"It is good." Li Zhi Gang was very satisfied with his first catch, his smile never ceasing, beaming with joy.
In the afternoon, the entire team's atmosphere livened up because everyone had caught good hauls. The most outstanding performer was the relatively taciturn Wang Jiepeng, who caught two large fish weighing over a hundred pounds, one bigeye and one yellowfin.
As soon as the news spread, Zhang Yuan, who was in his room, couldn't stand it. He felt his position was threatened, and he flusteredly grabbed his tackle box and headed outside.
Upon coming out, he saw Liu Qinghe chatting happily with them. It was then that Zhang Yuan realized the crisis. "I can't slack off anymore. If they surpass me, and Liu Qinghe fans the flames back home, I'll be finished."
Liu Qinghe saw Zhang Yuan emerge but didn't go to greet him, intending to give him the cold shoulder. He didn't expect this delay to be so beneficial, as he watched Zhang Yuan competing with the others throughout the entire afternoon.
The increase in catches also gave Liu Qinghe a glimmer of hope.
Li Hao Chen's hands itched as he watched them catch big fish, but he suppressed the temptation. "Stick to smaller fish. The most important thing now is quantity. Let's secure that first."
All afternoon, everyone was fired up. This competition continued until sunset, with everyone beaming with smiles, having a strong desire to continue even after dinner. This was because they had experienced the prowess of the潛龍 (Qian Long - Hidden Dragon) and all wanted to catch one. The most profound experience was for Wang Jiepeng, who could effortlessly reel in tuna weighing over a hundred pounds.
Seeing that everyone had a bountiful harvest today, Captain Wang Lei also breathed a sigh of relief. If the fishing spot choice hadn't been good and the catch was poor, it was likely that no one would hire him to go out to sea in the future.
Li Hao Chen wanted to continue fishing. This method wasn't too tiring, but he had used up all three boxes of mussel meat he brought. Moreover, everyone else had packed up their gear and returned to prepare for dinner. If he stayed alone to fish, it wouldn't be good. This was just like in the workplace: you can work hard, but you can't detach yourself from the group, otherwise, it would be difficult to carry out any work in the future.