As a Fisherman, My Fish Can Level Up-Chapter 160 - 149: The Gift-Giving Fish

Chapter 160: Chapter 149: The Gift-Giving Fish

Jiang Luoluo, although she reeled in a big fish, had also nearly exhausted her physical strength, so she didn’t continue fishing that evening.

Just as she was about to head back to the cabin to rest, she was stopped by Chu Mingcheng.

“Luoluo, wait a moment, I want to show you something.”

“What is it!”

Seeing Chu Mingcheng mysteriously opening the fish box, she curiously leaned over.

“Eh, what’s that on its neck?”

...

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Before her eyes was a not-so-large cod, but it wasn’t as ordinary as its fellows.

This was a rich fish; it ‘had mines at home’, so it even carried a jade bracelet outdoors.

Indeed, there was a jade bracelet stuck around the neck of this cod.

But it was uncertain whether the bracelet was real and what its condition was.

Being stuck around the fish’s neck for so long, it might have suffered significant wear and tear or been corroded by seawater.

Chu Mingcheng didn’t understand jade, but he also felt that the value of this piece of jade wouldn’t be high since it didn’t have that warm and moist feel to it.

However, it still needed to be removed from the bracelet, but whether it was the fish’s stomach or head, both were a bit large and made it difficult to take off.

So, he had no choice but to take a knife and cut open the fish.

Unfortunately, the fish’s swim bladder was too small and not very valuable. Chu Mingcheng himself didn’t much care for eating cod, so he decided to leave the fish meat for his cat, Little Mimi!

“I’ll clean this jade bracelet, and you can continue fishing!”

Jiang Luoluo took the jade bracelet from Chu Mingcheng’s hand and then walked into the cabin.

Until eight o’clock in the evening, although the fish were biting alright, Chu Mingcheng decided to reel in the fishing rods and head back.

At this time, there were still twenty to thirty fishing boats on the sea, probably those with bedrooms planning to stay overnight, while the smaller fishing vessels had already left.

Back in the wheelhouse, he started the fishing boat and set it on autopilot.

“Luoluo, keep an eye on the boat. I’m going out to sort the fish.”

“Okay, and by the way, take a look at this jade bracelet.” Jiang Luoluo hurriedly took out the cleaned jade bracelet she had prepared.

Chu Mingcheng looked at the bright green jade bracelet in surprise and said, “There isn’t a single trace of being soaked in seawater, could it be glass?”

“Uh, is it glass?” Jiang Luoluo, who was initially quite happy, hadn’t expected the jade bracelet to look so beautiful after washing it and thought she really found a treasure.

But now, hearing the word ‘glass’, she was momentarily stunned and then looked at the jade bracelet skeptically, unsure, “It shouldn’t be, right? Who would wear glass for no reason!”

“I’m not very sure either. How about we get it appraised tomorrow?”

“Yes, that’s the only thing we can do.”

Afterward, Jiang Luoluo sat in the pilot seat while Chu Mingcheng went out to sort the fish.

He sorted out the golden pomfret that were over five jin, just three of them. Sea bass over ten jin, also only three.

As for the cod, besides the thirty jin one that Jiang Luoluo caught, he only caught two that were over ten jin, unfortunately, none exceeded fifteen jin.

Upon arriving back at the pier, it was already past eleven, but the pier was still quite lively.

Chu Mingcheng unloaded the fish ashore, asking Jiang Luoluo to stay on the boat while calling a fishmonger to sell the fish.

The buying price from the fishmonger was rather cheap; the golden pomfret was only twenty-five yuan per jin.

Chu Mingcheng didn’t catch many, just fourteen jin, sold for three hundred and fifty yuan.

The cod price was also low, the same twenty-five yuan, but there were more of them, fifty-eight jin, sold for one thousand four hundred and fifty yuan.

The sea bass were the most, priced at thirty, totaling ninety-three jin, sold for two thousand seven hundred and ninety yuan.

All added up to four thousand five hundred and ninety yuan, plus a small golden drum fish was lumped in, Chu Mingcheng received four thousand six hundred yuan.

Today’s fuel cost was about four thousand, plus miscellaneous expenses, probably around four thousand five hundred yuan.

If they hadn’t stayed overnight and encountered the cod, his current income would only have been three thousand one hundred yuan.

Even if including the three specially sorted golden pomfret and three sea bass, at most he would have earned just over one thousand yuan.

Then, he returned to the boat, locked the wheelhouse, carried the fish box and the foam box of the big cod, and headed back to the car with Jiang Luoluo.

Grandpa should be asleep by this late hour, so in the end, the two decided not to disturb him.

As the car passed by the Seafood Restaurant and saw it was still open, they decided to sell the fish there.

There was a golden pomfret weighing about ten jin, which could only be sold for sixty yuan per jin, selling this one for six hundred and thirty yuan.

The remaining two were calculated at forty each, sold for four hundred and eighty yuan.

The three sea bass together weighed forty-one jin, and because they were not bred in captivity, the price was seventy yuan per jin, sold for two thousand eight hundred and seventy yuan.

All in all, it was about what Chu Mingcheng had anticipated; without the cod, indeed the earnings were not too much.

The two cod were priced at only fifty yuan per jin, weighing twenty-two jin, sold for one thousand one hundred yuan.

In the end, since all the fish were sold, they might as well sell the large cod too.

Mainly because Chu Mingcheng thought about not having a freezer at home, and the fish could only be kept in the foam box which wasn’t ideal, he felt sorry for Grandpa.

Next time… definitely next time.

This thirty jin cod, priced at one hundred yuan per jin, sold for three thousand eight hundred yuan.

Mainly because it was caught on the line, it was fresh enough. If it had been caught in a net, the price could only be sold for eighty yuan per jin.

Back at home, Chu Mingcheng wanted to split the money.

But Jiang Luoluo accepted only the three thousand eight for the cod, leaving the rest as boat fees, leaving Chu Mingcheng both amused and frustrated.

Although she didn’t catch much, the cod she caught in the evening, along with the morning’s golden pomfret, were also worth several hundred yuan, so it just about covered the boat fees.

Aside from costs, they earned over four thousand yuan today. This should be the regular earning for a Fishing Man when he goes out to sea and encounters a school of fish.

Slightly lesser days might net only a few hundred to one thousand yuan.

Moreover, this does not include losses and rest days at home. It seems that this meal isn’t so easy to enjoy.

…

The next day, it was still raining, but Chu Mingcheng got up very early. He wanted to head out to sea early to continue intercepting the southward-moving schools of fish.

Unfortunately, there was no chance.

Early in the morning, Jiang Luoluo found him, “Ah Cheng, let’s go buy two freezers! You can clean up that small room and it will just fit. I can also put one at my place so we’ll have somewhere to store fish when we have excess.”

“This afternoon we can also appraise that jade bracelet from yesterday.”

Chu Mingcheng nodded and then left.

While they were still at the mall looking at freezers, Brother Haiwang called, saying he would be in Xia City this afternoon and wanted to film a video out at sea with him tomorrow.

Right, Jiang Yuqi was coming over to join the fun too.

This little girl who likes to show her nostrils, Chu Mingcheng almost forgot about her.

“What’s up, someone’s coming this afternoon?” Jiang Luoluo, who was standing nearby, couldn’t hear clearly. Seeing him hang up the phone, she asked.

“Yes, Brother Haiwang is coming, and he wants to shoot a video with me tomorrow. But since he’s arriving this afternoon, I was thinking about maybe going out later to get some good catch, and shoot two episodes to take advantage.”

Chu Mingcheng thought about it and felt his plan was quite feasible, so it seemed he would have to go fishing this afternoon.

Jiang Luoluo nodded, saying, “Hmm~ we indeed need to prepare well, so I’ll come with you this afternoon and help you steer the boat.”

“How about this, I’m not sure when I’ll be back from sea, so you better stay home this afternoon, and help me welcome them when they arrive?”

Chu Mingcheng thought for a bit and decided it was better to get her out of the way.

Fishing hunts on rainy days often exposed one’s head; he was afraid he might catch a cold, especially since the water temperature wasn’t very high today.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Luoluo felt the implication was somewhat intimate. Hosting them, wouldn’t that usually be done by someone closest?

But looking at Chu Mingcheng’s serious face, she saw nothing out of the ordinary and, suppressing her pounding heart, she silently nodded.

After finalizing their plans, they asked the shop to deliver the freezers right away. Once they were placed in suitable positions, Chu Mingcheng rushed to the dock to set sail.

The boat could still run for about four hours, and the destination was where they last encountered the Rat Spot fish, so there was no need to refuel yet.

Upon arrival, he immediately changed into his diving suit, not in the mood for filming this time.

He prepared the fishing bait, trying to catch live ones if possible.

Buying the freezer had taken quite some time, and by the time they arrived at the coral reef, it was already 10:30 AM.

After setting up the fishing line, Chu Mingcheng took out the remaining squid to thaw.

Then he swiftly made some food for himself and had a quick lunch.

The main goal today was to score big, so he didn’t bother cutting up the small squid.

After resting a while, Chu Mingcheng took his fishing spear, the net bag with the squid hung over his body, and a diving knife, then descended into the water holding the fishing line.

At noon, many fish were hiding; only some ornamental or small fish were roaming around.

Not long after diving in, Chu Mingcheng spotted a venomous lionfish. Its fins were poisonous, but its flesh was delicious and could sell for over one hundred yuan per pound.

This lionfish was comparably large for its species, probably not a pound but close to seven or eight taels.

However, Chu Mingcheng hesitated, decided to let it go for now. It was still a bit small, and capturing it carried certain risks.

He then left that area and continued slowly searching for other prey.

Finding fish at this time was a bit time-consuming. He had to check every possible hiding spot, such as beneath corals or in rock crevices.

Unlike that night when the fish came out on their own, making the search quite easy.

Just as Chu Mingcheng discovered a hidden spot and was prying away the small rocks obstructing the front, suddenly a dark shadow darted out of a hole and bit towards his hand.

He reflexively withdrew his hand, avoiding the bite, and with a kick, he swiftly moved two meters upward.

Chu Mingcheng broke out in a cold sweat, narrowly avoiding being bitten.

Looking down, he saw an extremely ferocious-looking sea eel.

Fortunately, it wasn’t a sea snake. If he had been bitten by a sea snake by accident, this book would have come to an end.

But since it was a sea eel, the roles of hunter and prey needed to be reversed.

The sea eel, which had just attacked him, now became Chu Mingcheng’s target.

From the part of its head that was visible, this eel wasn’t small.

Because of the rainy weather, the underwater light was dim, and Chu Mingcheng couldn’t make out the specific type of sea eel; he would have to wait until it was caught and above water.

Although he had a fishing spear, he avoided killing if he could catch them alive.

He took a small squid from the net bag and hooked it onto the fishhook.

He prepared with the thickest Dali Ma Line from his own boat. Although the sea eel was hard to pull out of the cave, the Dali Ma Line wouldn’t snap from sheer pulling, as long as he was careful not to touch the coral reef stones at the cave entrance.

The sea eel had already retreated into its cave, and Chu Mingcheng placed the squid right at the entrance and patiently waited.

As fierce as the sea eel had been when it bit him, it too was startled and now hesitated to come out; even the squid at the entrance didn’t lure it.

Chu Mingcheng was not in a hurry. Instead, he quietly waited just above the blind spot at the entrance.

Five to six minutes later, there was finally some movement inside the cave.

The sea eel couldn’t resist the temptation of food any longer, or perhaps it no longer sensed Chu Mingcheng’s presence, and slowly approached the entrance and fiercely bit into the squid.

But Chu Mingcheng did not immediately pull the line when he saw it. Instead, he waited for the eel’s second swallowing motion and a successful hook before he sharply tugged the line upward.

When the sea eel bit onto the hook and felt the pain during the second swallow, it tried to retreat back into its cave, but suddenly a strong force from above not only caused the foreign object in its mouth to embed deeper but also pulled it partially out of its hiding.

But the sea eel’s strength was no joke. After it recovered, Chu Mingcheng couldn’t hold onto the line, and it was pulled back into the cave.

This was a pure struggle of strength, and obviously, he was no match for the sea eel without a footing in the water.