After a moment to calm his excited heart, Li Hao Chen saw that the croaker still had breath. He quickly grabbed a fishing net and went into the cabin, entering his space and hanging the fish there to raise it. In a short while, the originally weak croaker became lively again.
Seeing that the croaker had regained its vitality, Li Hao Chen came out of his space.
"I can't sell it, it's too small to have any swim bladders. I'll keep it in the sea in my space."
The croaker is a national protected animal, so he couldn't sell it. However, since he caught it, he wouldn't be a hypocrite. Anyway, he had the sea in his space, so he'd raise it. Perhaps he'd get lucky and catch a few more, giving them a home to breed and thrive in his space sea would be good, much better than here, where they were almost extinct.
"Ring ring ring~"
"Oh no, I forgot about this."
Li Hao Chen came out and heard the bell on the fishing rod ringing, reminding him that he had a bite. However, it was understandable, he was too excited about catching the croaker.
He walked over, pressed the button, and left the rest to the electric reel. He just held the landing net, ready.
The moment the fish was out of the water, Li Hao Chen was stunned.
"Holy crap, another croaker? Are they in a school?"
This time, the croaker was a bit bigger, estimated to be at least seven catties. Suppressing his excitement, he skillfully unhooked it and put it into the fishing net in his space sea.
Ring ring ring~
"Again?"
When he reeled it in, he saw, "Thankfully it's a sea bass, you scared me to death."
As he thought about it, something felt off. "Holy crap, did I get my head stuck? Isn't catching a croaker a good thing?"
Not long after, after Li Hao Chen caught another croaker weighing over three catties, he was very certain that there was a juvenile croaker school nearby.
This thought made Li Hao Chen even more frenzied, even rigging up those few lures.
Li Hao Chen spent the entire night in exclamations, and for no other reason than catching croakers one after another. He even became a little numb to it. He caught at least thirty of them, most weighing three to four catties, with the largest being close to ten catties.
He used fishing nets to keep the largest ones and threw the rest into his space sea to breed freely. This was also a contribution to the protection of endangered marine life.
He definitely wanted to try the taste of these largest ones, which were worth tens of thousands per catty. He figured the swim bladders of a ten-catty fish wouldn't be too small, perfect for making a soup to nourish himself and his wife.
If Li Hao Chen were to reveal these croakers, the fishing competition could end. Of course, that was impossible, and he wouldn't dare to reveal them. It was better to make money quietly and not be too ostentatious.
He tidied up his fishing gear, cleaned the fishing boat, checked the lights, and after confirming everything was fine, he took a bath and went to sleep. Emmm... one sheep, two sheep, three sheep... twelve thousand sheep...
Li Hao Chen was too excited, tossing and turning in bed. He counted over ten thousand sheep but couldn't fall asleep. He finally dozed off around four in the morning, but his sleep quality was not good.
He woke up close to noon, but Li Hao Chen was not in good condition. His hair was messy, his face was somewhat pale, and his eyes were swollen like eggs, bloodshot.
He had no choice but to lie back down, and before he knew it, he fell asleep again. When he woke up again, it was past three in the afternoon, and his stomach was growling.
This long nap allowed Li Hao Chen to fully recover. He was refreshed and even cooked with passion.
He hadn't eaten breakfast or lunch, and dinner was not far off. Therefore, Li Hao Chen cooked a very rich meal: braised beef with tomatoes, pan-fried sea bass, and steamed egg custard, a meal that counted as three.
After eating his fill, he naturally thought of... fishing! Although the thirty-plus croakers from last night were valuable, they couldn't be cashed in. Moreover, he hadn't had a proper fishing session due to those two disgusting guys. The catch in the live well, only about ten fish, was a bit disappointing for someone with a golden finger.
He didn't change fishing spots because this was a blessed location. Li Hao Chen was still fantasizing about catching more croakers.
Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. However, the fish bites were good, but they were all small fish, mostly Red-banded grouper and Flathead mullet. Although these two were priced around 35 yuan, they were popular on the dining table. So Li Hao Chen didn't move. He fished until evening when there were no more bites, then he gave up.
He checked the live well. It was okay. In about three hours, he had caught over ten catties, worth nearly 500 yuan. Calculated by the hour, it was nearly 170 yuan per hour, which was indeed not low.
Li Hao Chen picked up the small landing net, scooped about ten Red-banded groupers and ten Flathead mullets, and put them into his space sea to work for him. As he came out, he casually picked a few coconuts.
He had eaten at past three, and although he had fished for nearly three hours, he didn't expend much energy with the electric reel. Li Hao Chen cut open a young coconut, sat on the lounge chair on the deck, drank coconut water, and gazed at the sky, which had turned fiery red under the sunset.
His mind and body relaxed. His mind was completely clear, without any worries, just staring at the sky. After more than ten minutes, this state disappeared, followed by a sublimation of his body and mind, which was very comfortable, just like an epiphany in a martial arts novel.
His fatigue vanished, his body and mind were comfortable, he weighed anchor and set off.
With a long blast of the horn, he headed towards a distant island. The island was called Dunhuang Island, said to be named after someone who caught a dragon-grouper weighing eight stones in ancient times.
This fishing spot was one Li Hao Chen had researched online beforehand. The guide said it was a good spot, often yielding large groupers weighing twenty catties or more. However, it was often windy and rough, making it difficult for small fishing boats to get too close.
Although Dunhuang Island appeared close, it took a full hour and a half to reach it, proving the old saying: "Seeing a mountain and running to death like a horse."
As soon as he entered the hundred-meter range of the island, the boat's rocking increased significantly, showing how strong the waves were. Fortunately, the "Star" had enough tonnage to contend with it. Li Hao Chen sailed the boat to within 30 meters of the island and dropped anchor.
Dunhuang Island was quite large. Information indicated that its highest point was 76 meters, with an area of about 0.13 square kilometers. There was also a small beach on the island. If it weren't for the strong winds and rough waves, Li Hao Chen would have wanted to land and explore it.
The wind and waves were particularly strong during the evening low tide, and Li Hao Chen could barely stand steadily. After some wobbling, he took his time to prepare for fishing, measured the water depth, and then started baiting and casting.
After a few minutes with no response, Li Hao Chen ignored it and went into the kitchen to make food. He didn't cook tonight, but made a noodle dish with beef, tomatoes, and lettuce. As soon as he finished cooking, a long horn blast sounded from outside.
Li Hao Chen took his noodles outside and saw a sea fishing boat of the same model docked three to four hundred meters away.
He picked up his binoculars and took a look, "Xiaoyao Hao?"