“Silence, all of you! What’s all this racket in the middle of the night? Keep it up and I’ll send you back immediately.”
Liu Qinghe’s arrival halted Zhang Yuan and the others’ bickering. He was already in a foul mood, and to witness his own people squabbling ignited his temper. Those words were no trivial matter; for people who made a living with the title of “Fishing Master,” being sent back mid-competition would ruin their careers in the industry.
Zhang Yuan and the others immediately changed their demeanor. Just moments ago, they were nose-to-nose, faces red, mouths spewing curses. Now, they were arm-in-arm like best buddies. “Director Liu, we were just messing around, just playing. Don’t be angry.”
“Right, right, Director Liu, we were just joking. We’ll go back to sleep now.”
The farce ended comically with Liu Qinghe’s statement, but a rift had already formed in their hearts. Li Haochen watched and sighed, “It’ll be hard to even get one point, I reckon.”
Back in his room, with the noise gone, Li Haochen quickly fell asleep.
He woke up the next morning to find the ship anchored. They must have reached the outer sea fishing grounds.
After washing up, Li Haochen went to the ice storage, took out a box of mussel meat to thaw, and headed to the second deck. He took out his phone, turned down the volume, and started doing the shuttlecock exercise to the music.
The half-hour workout was just right, dispelling the chill in his body while also exercising all his muscles. He returned to his room, wiped himself dry with a towel, and then went to the dining hall for breakfast.
It was still early at this hour, and only Li Haochen had arrived. Even the cook was surprised. “Young man, you’re here so early. What would you like to eat?”
“I’m used to waking up early. Please give me a bowl of porridge with two eggs, and two meat buns, thank you!”
The breakfast was ready-made and didn’t take long. The taste was quite decent. Ten minutes later, Li Haochen had finished it all and returned to his room to pick up the潛龍 (Qiánlóng) fishing box and bait, then went to the first deck and sat down at a fishing spot.
The fishing rod box was quite stylish. Carrying it made him look like a cool sniper from a movie. Opening the box, a complete set of equipment was very enticing and comprehensive, with various models of fishing lines, hooks, and sinkers to choose from.
Li Haochen didn’t plan to use large hooks; those were for catching giant creatures. He was hesitant to mess around with limited bait, so he decided to start with smaller catches.
He selected the line group he needed, assembled the fishing rod, and the sunlight shone down, emitting dazzling golden light. The oversized electric reel, in particular, had a powerful line capacity, at least 1000 meters. As for the drag force, there was no information, but he believed it wouldn’t be bad. The functions were simple and clear. The purely Chinese buttons were much more pleasing to the eye than those of the Japanese.
The mussel meat was quite large, and there wasn't much of it, so he had to cut it in half to increase the potential catch by double. Li Haochen had also considered cutting one into four pieces, but the meat would be too small to cover the hook. Even with divine bait, fish weren’t entirely foolish; many would eat everything and swim away. Therefore, it was better to cover the entire hook first for concealment, ensuring a precise catch.
He installed the fishing rod in the fishing hole, attached the bait, opened the drag, and let the sinker descend. After tens of seconds, he felt it hit the bottom. He checked the depth on the display: 80 meters. Li Haochen reeled in a few meters of line.
Seeing no reaction, he went inside his room to fetch his water cup. While going to the kitchen to get hot water, he ran into Li Zhigang and Situ Haoliang, who was close to him.
“Haochen, so early. Have you eaten?”
“Good morning, Brother Li, Brother Liang. I’ve eaten. I forgot my thermos, so I’m just getting some hot water to make coffee to wake myself up. It’s not good to fall asleep while fishing, hehe.”
“Oh… you’ve already started?” Li Zhigang and the other were impressed by Li Haochen’s early start to fishing.
“You guys eat first, I’ll go down and take a look. Maybe I’ve got a bite, hehe!”
As soon as Li Haochen finished speaking, Zhang Yuan and his disciple walked over. Liu Yuxuan glared at him, as if wishing he could take Li Haochen down.
Li Haochen didn’t even glance at the two, showing an expression of disgust as he walked out.
Returning to his fishing spot, the rod tip was pulled into a slight bend. To his surprise, the electric reel had started operating automatically, which startled Li Haochen. “Could someone have passed by, seen I had a bite, and helped me press the button? Or…”
Li Haochen shivered, daring not to think further.
“Haochen, what are you spacing out about?”
“Ah…”
The sudden voice startled Li Haochen, his heart leaping. He couldn’t help but shout out.
“Whoa… what’s wrong with you? You scared me to death.” Liu Qinghe patted his chest, looking overly startled.
“Uh… Director Liu? You shouted at me without making a sound, of course, you startled me.” Li Haochen preempted him, attributing his scream to Liu Qinghe’s sudden appearance, thus covering his embarrassment at being scared by talk of ghosts and spirits.
“Stop talking. The fish is coming up. Get the landing net and see what it is.”
A few seconds later, he lifted the fishing rod, and the fish’s shadow appeared. Li Haochen quickly scooped it up with the landing net and looked at it.
“Golden Pineapple. Heh, that’s nice. This weight is quite rare.” Liu Qinghe recognized it immediately. Perhaps it was the first catch of the day, and with its festive color, it was considered a good omen. He wore a wide smile.
“Yes, it’s nearly two pounds. That’s very good.”
The Golden Pineapple, scientifically known as the Grouper, or also called Spotted Grouper or Redfish, has a red and white segmented body, with speckles of gold along the lateral line. Its eyes are large, framed by gold and black, making it look like a goldfish from a distance, very beautiful. Its price is also very beautiful, ranging from 130 to 200 yuan. However, these fish usually weigh about seven or eight ounces, and catching one weighing around two pounds is quite rare.
Liu Qinghe also called Chen Yaohong to attach a label and put this Golden Pineapple into the fishing box.
Although the first cast yielded a catch worth several hundred yuan, Li Haochen wasn’t particularly pleased. This was because all the fish caught in the competition would be handled by the association after valuation. Only five percent of the proceeds would go to the contestants, with the rest used for the association’s operations and competition rewards.
As the national team, they came here to gain fame. Now, with the significant change in the competition format, they couldn’t gain fame or money. This was also a major reason why Zhang Yuan and the others were prepared to go through the motions without putting in their full effort.
News that Li Haochen had started fishing and had already caught a two-pound Golden Pineapple quickly spread. This was, of course, Liu Qinghe’s doing, with an obvious objective.
He re-baited the hook and cast it again. In less than two minutes, the rod tip was pulled into another slight bend, and the bell rang crisply. Just as he was about to ask if the button had been pressed, the electric reel began to operate automatically again.
“This… could this reel be a smart device?” Even Chen Yaohong, who was holding the landing net to help, stared with wide eyes and an open mouth, as if seeing a ghost.
“Little Chen, that’s great! You caught another fish so quickly?” Liu Qinghe, who had just spread the news, returned and saw Li Haochen catching another fish, his joy increasing.
“Director Liu, does this electric reel automatically operate when it detects a bite?”
“Feeling good? If you want one, you’ll have to work hard for it, hehe!” Seeing the longing in Li Haochen’s eyes, Liu Qinghe fanned the flames. “If you can get first place in a single category, I’ll personally give you an upgraded version, hehe!”
“This… I’ve decided I want it!”