Tonight was destined to be an exciting, sleepless night. The reason was simple: the net hauling had brought him two to three hundred jin of pompano and over ten red sea bream. Such a haul would excite anyone, let alone Li Hao Chen, who possessed a spatial ocean.
Now, with the aquaculture nets, he could stock and raise fish simultaneously. Once mature, they could even be conveniently bred, a multifaceted gain.
This batch of pompano alone would yield tenfold profits in six months. If he didn't rush to sell, he could also produce tens of thousands of fry annually, representing a terrifying profit.
Of course, the big fish eat the small, and the small eat the shrimp – this is the law of marine survival. In the wild, less than one percent survive to grow smoothly. However, with a vast population, even one percent would be a terrifying number.
After tidying up and cleaning the deck, it was already one in the morning. Li Hao Chen quickly showered and went to bed. Hauling nets all night had tired him out. Within moments, he fell into a deep sleep.
In the morning, Li Hao Chen was woken by a rumbling sound. Rubbing his eyes, he walked out to see a speedboat heading towards the island's sandy beach. Several men and women were on board; they were likely here for camping.
He paid them no mind, went inside to wash up, and then began cooking breakfast. He also prepared lunch and dinner to save time later.
Last night's net hauling had yielded two to three jin of squid. It would be the side dish for today, with half prepared in a flavorful sauce and the other half stir-fried spicy. One dish for lunch and another for dinner was perfect.
Breakfast was simple: vegetable and egg noodles, with two breakfast sausages. It was quite good.
After breakfast, the rice was ready, so he packed it into thermal containers. He couldn't keep it warm in the rice cooker; for about an hour it was fine, but for longer, the rice would turn into hard, dry, and tough kernels lacking any moisture. Thermal containers, however, prevented this.
Once lunch and dinner were packed, Li Hao Chen went out onto the deck and opened the inflatable kayak. The automatic inflation was reasonably fast, filling up in three to four minutes.
He pushed the boat into the sea. This time, he hadn't installed a propeller; it was for retrieving the traps. He would just pull it along with the tether rope.
However, there was still a divine artifact to install: the single-person camping tent. Li Hao Chen had searched for a long time to find one that perfectly matched the kayak's dimensions. Once set up, the kayak would become a mobile private chamber, facilitating his entry and exit into the spatial ocean during daytime operations at sea, significantly increasing efficiency.
Li Hao Chen brought the tent into the kayak and spent five to six minutes setting it up. He attached a safety buckle to connect the boat and the rope, lest the kayak drift away while he was inside the spatial ocean.
From within the tent, Li Hao Chen reached out and began pulling the main rope that secured the traps.
After pulling a few meters, the first knot appeared. Below it was a trap. Li Hao Chen untied the knot, grabbed the rope, and with a thought, he entered the spatial ocean, bringing the trap along with him. If there were no restrictions, he would have brought the entire main cable in.
He checked the trap; it was decent, containing two fish: a juvenile sea bass and a clownfish.
The sea bass would be placed in the fish pens, while the clownfish, of course, would be returned to freedom.
Li Hao Chen retrieved the trap and took it out. He then threw the empty trap back into the original spot, secured it, and continued pulling. This process repeated.
By the time the last trap was handled, it was noon, twelve o'clock. He was a bit tired, but Li Hao Chen was very happy.
He had expected only a mediocre harvest without bait, but the results exceeded his expectations. Although each trap only yielded three to four or four to five fish, and some were empty, the sheer number of traps made up for it.
Dumping Island was indeed Dumping Island; the quality of the fish was excellent. These dozens of traps yielded over ten groupers and two red groupers, each weighing two to three jin. Raised for a year or two, their weight would definitely reach six to seven jin, yielding substantial profits.
Besides groupers and red groupers, what made Li Hao Chen even happier was catching six spiny lobsters. What treasures they were! Though not large, they grew rapidly, mating two to three times a year, hehe!
Li Hao Chen climbed onto the Starship. He didn't retract the kayak; he would need it in the afternoon. Securing it to the hull with a thick rope, he began to put on his diving gear. The temperature near noon was quite high, so diving wouldn't be cold. With the increasing number of sea fish, he needed to add coral polyps, seagrass, and seaweed, as most creatures depended on these environments.
With more coral, seagrass, and seaweed, there would be more plankton. With more plankton, there would be more small fish and shrimp. Following them would be bigger fish, and then even larger fish would gather here. This was ecological balance.
This was shallow water, and the chance of encountering a shark was like winning the lottery, so Li Hao Chen didn't bring a speargun. However, he still had his special knife clipped to his thigh, just in case.
After a period of warm-up exercises, Li Hao Chen donned his diving gear, strapped on his oxygen tank, and rechecked everything. With everything in order, he fell backward into the water.
"Plop..."
The outside temperature was quite high, but as soon as he entered the water, Li Hao Chen shivered. It was indeed quite cool. Fortunately, the diving suit was good, with excellent insulation, making the thousands of yuan he spent well worth it.
Li Hao Chen's sudden appearance, a large figure, startled the surrounding creatures. Some hid, others fled. However, low-level creatures with seven-second memories quickly forgot the danger and gathered around again. As the saying goes, curiosity killed the cat. Fortunately, Li Hao Chen wasn't particularly interested in them, otherwise...
The depth here was only six to seven meters, so there was no need to acclimatize. Li Hao Chen directly swam down to the seabed.
As he swam, he saw many groupers and red sea bream, which made his eyes water with desire. However, he didn't get distracted, as his goal was very clear.
This time, Li Hao Chen brought a crowbar as long as his arm. His gaze was fixed on the large corals. While smaller coral polyps were easier to excavate, they grew too slowly, only about ten centimeters a year. It would take at least five to six years for them to become substantial, and he couldn't wait.
Of course, if he encountered smaller ones, he wouldn't ignore them; he would take what he needed.
After a few minutes, he saw a vast expanse of coral, stretching as far as the eye could see. Though it made him eager, he was helpless, as most of it was a continuous expanse, making it impossible to start.
After searching for more than ten minutes, he finally found a solitary coral. It was decent, about half a meter in size, with many sea anemones and seagrass attached to its surface. This was very good, and he was determined to take it.
He took out his crowbar and began to dig along the base. It took about ten minutes. It was only attached to the rock. Once loosened, he hugged it and brought it into his spatial ocean.
Emerging from the spatial ocean, he continued to search for his target. In this way, Li Hao Chen kept entering and exiting the spatial ocean, collecting more and more coral. During this time, he also collected a lot of seagrass and seaweed. Even the occasional scallop didn't escape his grasp.