"May I?"
"Of course, come over."
Li Haochen pulled Murong Yanran onto his lap, placed her hands on the steering wheel, and said, "It's just like driving a small car, not difficult..."
Murong Yanran learned quickly and looked quite adept, though her driving was a bit wobbly. Fortunately, the deviations weren't large, otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to stay balanced.
After a while, she was doing much better and exclaimed excitedly, "Sailor Li Haochen."
"What are the Captain's orders?"
"I'm thirsty, go get your Captain a drink, teehee!"
"Uh, Captain, you're sitting on me, I can't get up, hehe!"
"Get lost, who's sitting on you?" Murong Yanran said playfully and got off Li Haochen's lap.
"Not playing anymore?"
"I'm not playing anymore. I have to keep my eyes focused, and I'm seeing double vision." Murong Yanran walked to the kitchen and brought back two bottles of chilled root beer. She unscrewed the caps and handed one to Li Haochen. "Your favorite Asian glass bottle."
Li Haochen took a big gulp. The coolness and fizz made him let out a long burp. The unique menthol scent was incredibly refreshing.
"How's the hotel doing lately?"
"Well, it's the same old story. Your method was discovered by the Mu family, so it's no longer usable. However, things are moving in a better direction. They don't dare to keep up this antagonism. Plus, I heard some gossip that the Hong family has fallen out with them. Their hotels are no longer getting supplies from the Mu family. If that's true, the Mu family is just asking for trouble by opposing us. If they can't consume so much seafood, they'll lose a fortune."
Li Haochen was a bit surprised by this turn of events. "Heh, that's good news. With this, your hotel's pressure should ease up soon."
"Yes, let's hope so."
"Stop chatting, come down for dinner."
"Ah, coming." Li Haochen slowly reduced speed, parked the boat, and then pulled Murong Yanran along as they walked off.
"Wow, it smells so good, Mom. What delicious dishes have you cooked?"
"Go wash your hands, they're dirty."
After washing his hands, Li Haochen eagerly picked up his chopsticks and started eating. The spread today was incredibly rich: a steamed sea bream, brought from the live well, stir-fried beef, and watercress with a fried egg. The two ladies, showing a surprising interest, had even opened a bottle of Golden Ice Valley, which made Li Haochen drool.
"Darn it, you're doing this on purpose."
"Be good, you have to drive the boat. No drunk driving. I'll let you drink more when we get back, teehee!"
Li Haochen looked at the nearly empty wine bottle and thought to himself, "Get back? I bet these few bottles will be gone by tomorrow."
With no wine to drink, Li Haochen vented his frustration on the food, eating heartily. His resentful gaze amused Murong Yanran and Xie Baolian, making them roar with laughter.
After dinner, everything was tidied up. Murong Yanran brewed a pot of red tea and brought it over. The three of them sat on the tatami, sipping tea and chatting.
Half an hour later, both ladies started to feel sleepy and went to their rooms for a beauty sleep. Li Haochen continued his journey. By dusk, they finally reached the coastal waters of Binhai. However, there was still a considerable distance to go, so he decided to rest there for the night and head back in the morning.
As soon as the boat was docked, Murong Yanran and Xie Baolian came up, refreshed. "This nap was so comfortable."
"Haochen, what are you doing?"
"Preparing bait to go fishing. Otherwise, where would I get the money to support you two? Hehe!"
"Fishing? Aunt Lian, let's try it too."
"Okay, I've never done it before."
The mention of fishing piqued the interest of both ladies, and they looked forward to it with great anticipation.
Li Haochen didn't dare to teach them how to use lures, as he would surely be the one suffering later. After setting up the electric reel fishing rods, he called the two ladies over. "This is called an electric reel rod. It's very easy. Just attach the bait and press this button on the left to lower it. Once you get a bite, the bell on the rod tip will ring. Then you press this one on the right, and the electric reel will automatically reel the fish in. You hold this landing net to scoop it up when it's close, and I'll help you unhook it. You guys give it a try."
After a couple of tries, the two ladies couldn't wait to start fishing, completely leaving Li Haochen to the side.
*Ring, ring, ring...*
As soon as Li Haochen finished attaching the bait, he heard the excited shouts of the two ladies. "Hahaha, I caught a fish!"
"Me too, me too!"
"Yanran, take a look, which button do I press? I forgot."
"Uh... maybe the left one."
"Oh, is that so? Let's try it."
This attempt proved to be rather disastrous. They were immediately pulled over a hundred meters by the fish, and their fishing lines got tangled. Fortunately, Li Haochen noticed it in time, otherwise, the entire spool of line would have been ruined.
"I told you, but you weren't listening."
Li Haochen cut the two fishing lines. Fortunately, the fish weren't very large. He reeled them in by the lines. Although the lines were cut, bringing back two black bream, each about a pound, wasn't a total loss.
Li Haochen re-tied the hooks and gave them another brief explanation of the operation before leaving them to it. He was happy as long as they enjoyed themselves; it was fine even if the fishing rods were damaged.
As soon as he cast his line, Murong Yanran next to him got excited again. "Hahaha, another bite!"
This time, there were no mistakes, and they successfully reeled the fish in. "Haochen, come quickly, this fish is so ugly."
Li Haochen walked over and saw it was a stonefish, about a pound. He quickly snatched the landing net from Murong Yanran. "Yanran, this is called a stonefish. Its dorsal fin is highly venomous, capable of killing an elephant. Be careful."
"Ah~" Murong Yanran was so scared that she quickly retreated several meters from the landing net.
"Heh, don't worry. As long as it's handled properly, it's fine. And this fish is quite expensive, over a hundred yuan per pound. It's a high-end product. Your hotel probably needs it very much."
"Someone eats something so ugly?" Murong Yanran got goosebumps just looking at it, wondering if those who ate this thing had problems with their brains.
"You're wrong to think that. This fish is very delicious. Once cooked, it's not poisonous at all, and it's exceptionally sweet. I'll cook it for you tonight." With that, Li Haochen carefully unhooked the stonefish and kept it in a separate bucket.
As soon as he had unhooked the fish, Xie Baolian called out to him again. "Haochen, Haochen, come quickly, I caught a fish too! Hahaha!"
"Wow, not bad, Mom. This is a butterfly grouper. It's over two hundred yuan per pound." Li Haochen marveled at Xie Baolian's incredible luck. This butterfly grouper must have weighed about two pounds.
"So I've earned five to six hundred already? I work my fingers to the bone for a month and only make 6,000 yuan. Maybe I should go fishing with you, hehe!"
"Of course, that would be great, if you don't mind getting as tanned as I am."
"Uh, maybe not then."
As soon as Li Haochen sat down, the two ladies dragged him off to unhook their fish. He didn't know how many times he had done it. Looking at his completely still fishing rod, he forced a wry smile. They were only a few meters away, yet he couldn't get a bite.
That night, Li Haochen didn't catch a single fish, but his hands ached from unhooking them. He felt that the two ladies, with their incredible luck, were the real cheat codes.
"Haochen..."
"Again? Help me..."