The large fish thrashed desperately, perhaps a final burst of energy. The commotion caused the fishing rod and reel to creak, and the fishing line sang with tension.
"Snap~"
"Huh, what was that?"
Li Haochen looked up. "Holy shit!"
The section of the rod in his hand was about to snap. His heart clenched as he silently pleaded, "Don't break, please don't break."
As if summoned by his fear, a "crack crack..." sounded, and the fishing rod shattered into several pieces.
The line went slack. The large fish, as if taunting him, did a flip in mid-air, breaching the water with a mighty splash.
Several onlookers, who had been observing, sighed sympathetically for Li Haochen, but their feet were already moving. They quickly returned to their own fishing spots, casting bait and chumming the water with renewed vigor.
Unfortunately for them, their efforts were futile. Although the rod had exploded, the fishing line remained intact.
Li Haochen was resolute. Unafraid of the line cutting his hands, he held the reel with one hand and the fishing line with the other, employing a Tai Chi-like maneuver, circling his hands.
He had to admit, this direct struggle with the fish was quite exhilarating. Even though the fishing line was biting into his hands, turning them bright red, Li Haochen felt no pain. His mind was fixed on a single thought: drag it ashore and whip it a hundred times.
Not long after, the fish's final surge of energy waned, and it became Li Haochen's easy prey.
Seeing the fish being pulled out of the water, Li Haochen was overjoyed. He accelerated his reeling, and within two minutes, the fish, belly up, was dragged to the bank. If not for the gentle fanning of its pectoral fins, Li Haochen would have assumed it was dead.
"This... is this a Goliath grouper?" Li Haochen's eyes widened with surprise as he gazed at the Goliath grouper, measuring about 50 centimeters. He was ecstatic. It was understandable; they started at 150 yuan per jin.
However, getting it ashore was another matter. He didn't have a large landing net. Just as Li Haochen was pondering this dilemma, a large net was handed to him from behind. He looked up and saw the fish vendor from yesterday.
"Brother Li, what good luck! To catch a Goliath grouper here."
"Good luck, good luck," Li Haochen replied, scratching his head and smiling.
"Quick, pull it up! If it regains its strength, it might get away."
Li Haochen tightened the fishing line, while Liang Pinliang helped scoop the grouper. Together, they worked for three to four minutes before finally hauling it ashore. It was a hefty specimen, at least thirty jin, no wonder it fought so fiercely.
"Thanks, Brother Liang!"
"Just lending a hand. Brother Li, about this grouper..."
"Of course, I'm selling it. Brother Liang, name your price. If it's reasonable, it's yours."
Liang Pinliang pondered for a moment. "Brother Li, Goliath groupers are usually 150 per jin on the market. How about 170?"
"Deal, it's yours."
Liang Pinliang, with considerable strength, gripped the net with both hands, let out a low grunt, and lifted the grouper onto the electronic scale.
As soon as it was on the scale, the grouper was still restless, flipping over with a splash. The numbers on the electronic scale jumped wildly before finally settling at thirty-six jin and seven liang.
"6239 yuan."
"The money has been sent. Brother Li, please check."
Upon receiving the money, Li Haochen grinned from ear to ear. How could he not be happy? Over six thousand yuan! That's a lot of coconuts to harvest.
Li Haochen tidied up the shattered remains of his fishing rod, picked up his fish basket and net, and transferred the striped seabreams into a plastic bucket. He then rode his electric bike to the entrance of the pier, where a fishing tackle shop was located.
"Boss, I want to buy this model of fishing rod again. Do you have it in stock?" Li Haochen asked, placing the broken rod on a small table.
The boss put on his reading glasses and examined it. "Hasuda Assassin 2.44. Let me check."
"Little brother, take a look." After a short while, the boss returned with a set of fishing rods.
Li Haochen picked up the rod and compared them. After a moment, he nodded. "Yes, it's exactly the same. I'll take two sets."
Upon returning home, he put one set back into the storage room. After all, the broken rod belonged to the owner of the house, who had likely discarded it. However, if they remembered it later, it would be awkward. A few hundred yuan was nothing compared to a few fish; there was no need to be greedy.
When he returned, the striped seabreams in the plastic bucket were still lively. Li Haochen promptly threw them into his spatial ocean to serve as breeding stock.
His spatial ocean, besides the conches and coconuts, had very little else. The vast ocean was devoid of anything. With only about ten striped seabreams and a few large green crabs, what could he possibly achieve? Even with excessive breeding, he couldn't produce many offspring.
It was like farming in enclosed waters; a large base population was necessary for substantial harvests.
Of course, nothing was absolute. Given enough time, anything was possible. In a few hundred or thousand years, the population would likely be astonishingly large.
Li Haochen suddenly felt the urge to buy a boat and go out to sea. The thought consumed him, and as soon as he exited his spatial dimension, he took out his phone and searched for shipyards in Binhai.
"Near Binhai Pier?"
With his phone and wallet, he hopped on his Xiaoaima. He placed his phone in the mount, opened a navigation app, searched for the location, and set off. "Devious Map continues to guide you..."
Half an hour later, he arrived at the shipyard entrance. A large dog suddenly lunged out, nearly causing Li Haochen to fall. Fortunately, it was leashed, otherwise...
What was even more infuriating was that the greasy-haired security guard nearby remained unfazed, leisurely smoking his cigarette.
"Hey... kid, what are you here for?"
"What else would I be here for at a shipyard?" Li Haochen walked in directly, not even glancing at the security guard.
The plot wasn't supposed to go like this. Shouldn't he offer a pack of cigarettes or a red envelope? Feeling indignant, the security guard rolled off his chair and chased after him, reaching out to block him. "Hey, you can't go in?"
"I'm here to buy a boat, and I can't go in?"
"Looking at your shabby appearance, what proof do you have that you're here to buy a boat?"
"What proof do you have that I'm *not* here to buy a boat?" Li Haochen retorted.
"You... you... if I say you can't go in, you can't go in."
Just as Li Haochen was about to lose his temper, a middle-aged man in a suit and tie walked over quickly. Seeing the name tag of the security guard, Guo Dabing, he immediately understood the situation.
"Sir, I apologize for the inconvenience. You, get back to your post."
"Hmph, fine, I'm going."
After Guo Dabing left, the man shook his head and said apologetically, "Sir, please excuse the display."
Li Haochen glanced at the name tag on the man's chest, "Manager Li Yongxin," and looked at him with some confusion. "Manager Li, why haven't you fired security guards like him? He's a liability."
"Alas, to be honest, he's a relative. Although I'm a manager, I can't do anything about it." Li Yongxin harbored long-standing resentment towards Guo Dabing and had wanted to fire him for a long time, but with a powerful backing, he could only try to ignore him.
"Come, sir, this way. Don't let that uncouth ruffian spoil your mood."
"May I know your surname, sir?"
"My surname is Li. Li Haochen!"
After introducing themselves, Li Yongxin led Li Haochen into the warehouse.
The warehouse was enormous, estimated to be the size of two football fields. The sheer variety of boats on display dazzled Li Haochen.