Li Haochen and his companions found a suitable fishing boat, which was quite good, about the same size as the Starship. After the four of them worked together to move all the supplies onto the boat, Liu Zixuan and the others went to check the fuel tanks, water tanks, and spare fuel. Li Haochen checked the boat's equipment. The principles were the same, and with a little learning, it would be fine; understanding one thing leads to understanding a hundred.
Once everything was in order, they had the staff check the fishing gear and bait. The foreigners' work efficiency was very high. However, when they inspected Li Haochen's mussel bait, they couldn't help but stare, their eyes filled with doubt and a hint of mockery. They chuckled and whispered, "This can catch fish? China is truly a magical place, hahaha!"
Li Haochen understood perfectly and replied with a smile in fluent English, "China is indeed a magical place. Perhaps this can give you an unexpected shock."
The staff members were stunned for a moment, then laughed heartily, their eyes full of disdain. However, they didn't say anything further. After checking and confirming everything was fine, they notified the front desk to let them pass.
"What were they saying just now?" Xu Qing asked after the foreigners left.
"They said they've rarely seen such a sexy and beautiful Oriental beauty."
"I don't believe you!"
Xu Qing gave Li Haochen a sidelong glance. Although she didn't understand English, could the tone of their voices and their expressions be anything good?
"Haochen, sailor, let's set sail!"
"Yes, Captain Xu Qing."
Li Haochen was very cooperative with Xu Qing. It was a competition, not a battlefield; a little fun wouldn't hurt, and happy people naturally had good luck.
However, Zhu Wenxuan and Tang Shengtian were a bit upset. It wasn't pleasant to see them flirting in front of them.
"Toot~"
With a deep blast of the ship's horn, Li Haochen's boat slowly pulled out of the harbor. Dozens of ships set sail together, creating dozens of white wakes. Especially the countless seagulls chasing the waves, something not seen in China. The scene was truly spectacular.
Not long after setting sail, they encountered an awkward situation. The boat only had a master cabin and guest cabins with double beds, but there were four of them. What to do? If it were all four men or two men and two women, it would be easy to handle, but with one woman and three men, this...
"Wenxuan and Shengtian can share a room. As for Haochen... do you want to sleep with me? I don't mind, hee hee!"
"Uh~"
Li Haochen's face turned dark. Could she speak properly, big sister? Could she say such things casually?
"The cockpit here is quite spacious. I'll sleep here, as there are enough bedding and such."
"Oh, what a pity, five days. These long nights will be so boring. In that case, I'll hog the two-meter bed in the master cabin all to myself. You're welcome to bother me, hee hee!"
Li Haochen wanted to say something more, but decided against it. It's better to do less talking and more doing; too much talk leads to mistakes and trouble. It's better to focus on sailing.
Out of the four, only he knew how to sail, so it was quite tiring. After sailing for three or four hours, he stopped in a sea area based on the fish-finding techniques he learned from Dai Changrun. After all, there were no fish finders on the boat, so this was the only way. As for whether there were fish below, it was up to fate.
As soon as Li Haochen stopped the boat, Xu Qing and the others also came up. Seeing their energetic spirits, they must have rested well during these past few hours.
"It's still early, why did you stop? The chance of encountering big fish is greater if we go further."
Liu Zixuan said with a questioning tone, which made Li Haochen quite displeased.
"I'm tired. I'll rest for a while and fish here. If the bite is poor, we'll change spots after eating."
It's easy to talk when you're not the one doing the work. Try sailing for a few hours yourself. Li Haochen couldn't be bothered to reply. He drank some water, used the restroom, and then lay down in bed to rest.
"You..."
Zhu Wenxuan still wanted to say something, but Tang Shengtian pulled him aside and whispered, "Xu Qing's expression isn't very good. Shut up quickly."
"Hmph!"
Zhu Wenxuan snorted coldly, turned around, and ran back to the bedroom. When he came out, he brought his fishing rod and walked out, casting a contemptuous glance at Li Haochen, who was lying in bed.
Tang Shengtian gave a slightly awkward smile, then ran back to get his fishing rod and went out to prepare to fish. Xu Qing, on the other hand, walked to Li Haochen's side with a smile, "Brother Haochen, don't be angry. Come, your little sister will give you a kiss..."
Li Haochen's skin crawled. He quickly rolled up his quilt and jumped up, "I say, beautiful Xu, can we get along properly? I already have a family."
"I'm not a wolf, why are you so scared? Hehe!"
"Not a wolf, but a tiger. A tigress is even more frightening." Li Haochen dared not say this aloud, only muttering it in his heart.
"Liu Zixuan is actually fine. I hope you don't mind. I'm not afraid to tell you, you replaced one of our companions, and you're his best brother. It's inevitable that he'd have some reservations. The higher-ups have entrusted us with an important mission this competition, so we must be united. I'll talk to him about it. Sorry!" Xu Qing put away her playful expression and spoke sincerely.
"Mmm, good, good. I like you better like this."
"Are you saying you like me? Hee hee!"
"Don't take it out of context. I didn't mean that, and besides..."
"Besides what?"
Li Haochen smiled, looked into the distance, and patted his chest, "I'm full here!"
Xu Qing was stunned for a moment, then envied the woman in Li Haochen's heart, "It must be very happy to be loved by such a man, right?"
"I'll go out and fish too. Who knows, maybe I'll win the championship today, and I can travel around America, hahaha!"
"It's not even evening yet."
"You never know, hehe!"
"Alright, go ahead and fish for your champion fish. I'm going to cook."
Li Haochen spread his hands, picked up the Qianlong, and walked out. Liu Zixuan and Tang Shengtian occupied the two best spots on the sides, so Li Haochen had to go to the stern of the boat to begin.
"Hahaha, I got a bite!"
As Li Haochen was setting up his fishing rod, Liu Zixuan's excited shouts came from the front. The volume was likely intentional, meant to show off to Li Haochen.
Following the sound, he looked up. Although the guy's mouth was unpleasant, his skills were indeed quite good. Coming from a professional background indeed gave him some ability. However, it was a pity. Li Haochen observed the tension of the fishing line and the action of the rod tip; this fish would have a hard time exceeding 300 pounds.
However, Li Haochen didn't want to remind him. How could he participate in such a competition without such basic judgment?
Fortunately, this guy wasn't completely unlearned. After fighting for a few minutes, realizing something was wrong, he decisively cut the line and re-rigged it.
"The national team really has some substance."
Li Haochen gave a bit more praise for Liu Zixuan's decisiveness.