Within the Binhai Grand Hotel, Murong Yanran was visibly worried.
"General Manager Yan, what should we do next? The seafood in the warehouse won't last another two days."
"Sigh..."
Murong Yanran sighed, feeling a sense of helplessness. "Manager Yang, let's try sourcing from the next city. It's better than getting nothing here. The price is a bit higher, but at least we can retain our customers. We can make up the difference with tobacco, alcohol, tea, and other dishes, so we probably won't lose money."
Yang Tao said with some concern, "I'm afraid that if we compromise this time, they'll continue to raise prices. Then we'll be in a very passive situation."
"This is the only way for now. Let's try to hold on and see if we can get any seafood when the other fishing boats return."
"Then... that's all we can do."
After Yang Tao left, Murong Yanran's worries deepened, her thoughts drifting to Li Haochen. "One person can't possibly support this large hotel alone. This guy."
She knew this was Li Haochen's way of showing his care. She decided to let him be. If the hotel couldn't be sustained, she would just sell it.
Li Haochen stopped fishing. He propped up his fishing rod and began preparing dinner. It wasn't elaborate, just some steamed dishes and a winter melon soup with mud carp.
Floating alone at sea, it was easy to develop psychological issues. Fortunately, he had downloaded several movies and novels yesterday. Otherwise, it would have been difficult to endure the long night alone and in isolation.
The movie was quite funny, making Li Haochen laugh heartily, which only highlighted his solitude in the dark sea.
After eating, Li Haochen weighed anchor and moved to a new spot. He had no particular destination in mind, just wanting to leave his current location and explore deeper waters.
He set sail for the deep sea at an economical speed. Sailing at night was quite frightening; he couldn't see anything. Although he had a navigation chart, he was still worried about hitting reefs.
After sailing for over an hour, he encountered more signs of human activity. From a distance, he saw several large ships with bright lights, likely engaged in night fishing.
Li Haochen blew a long flute, dropped anchor, and stopped. The location made him feel more at ease, at least he could see other people.
He checked the navigation chart. They were still in inland waters, but very close to the open sea, with a depth of about 20 meters. He turned on the fishing lights, and the surroundings instantly lit up. He baited his hooks and set the electric reel to a depth of 18 meters, then lowered the baited hooks.
Because of the considerable depth, to prevent tangling, Li Haochen only deployed two rods, placed diagonally.
Li Haochen moved his tea set to the deck, brought out his newly purchased reclining chair, brewed a pot of black tea, and sat back, enjoying the leisurely moment.
*Ring, ring, ring~*
"Got a bite, hehe!"
Li Haochen had just sat down and hadn't even had time to drink his tea when he heard the sound of the bell on the rod tip. He had specifically attached them so he could know immediately when he got a bite.
He walked over and pressed the retrieve button, but the retrieval speed wasn't fast, and the fishing line swung back and forth.
"It's got some weight."
About twenty to thirty seconds later, he successfully reeled it in – a sea bass weighing four to five pounds. Not bad, at over thirty yuan per jin. Although sea bass is common, its flesh is fine and sweet, and it's not expensive, making it one of the most frequently used fish for banquets.
*Ring, ring, ring~*
"Again?"
Li Haochen removed the sea bass, re-baited the hook, and quickly walked to the stern of the boat. He pressed the button and waited for the retrieval, this time it was more powerful than the previous one, judging by the rod tip, but it couldn't compete with great human inventions.
"This is truly comfortable. If I had to reel it in manually, it would probably take several minutes. This money was well spent."
In about half a minute, he pulled in another sea bass weighing around six pounds.
"Could there be a sea bass nest down there?" After catching two sea bass in a row, Li Haochen started to suspect he had found a sea bass nest.
He released the fish into the live bait well. Just as he was about to re-bait, he stopped and went into the cabin to get a spool of size 8 line to replace the current one.
"I should switch to a thicker line. If I encounter a large fish, this size 4 might break."
As soon as he finished changing the fishing line, the fishing rod at the bow bent over again, and the fishing line sliced through the water, creating streaks. But Li Haochen didn't rush. He first baited this rod and lowered it, then went back to press the button.
What came up was still a sea bass, and a decent-sized one at that, weighing five to six pounds. After releasing the fish, just as he was about to change the line, a series of urgent ringing sounds startled Li Haochen. He looked in the direction of the sound, and the fishing rod at the stern was already bent into a large arc, the fishing line pinging, darting left and right.
"Damn, a big one."
He rushed over, intending to press the button, but seeing the force, he worried that the electric reel might not be able to handle it, as it only had a pulling force of over 20 kilograms. If it broke, it would cost thousands. Without hesitation, he disengaged the manual mode, braced the rod handle against his stomach, gripped the rod tightly with his left hand, held the handle with his right, took a deep breath, and unlocked the brake.
Instantly, the line flew off the reel at high speed, dozens of meters disappearing in seconds. Li Haochen gripped the handle tightly, resisting the pull.
"Holy hell, this fish is even more ferocious than the grouper before."
Li Haochen gritted his teeth, all his strength concentrated in his hands. Veins bulged, and his muscles felt as hard as stone.
Neither side would yield; it was a back-and-forth struggle, much like a tug-of-war.
The fish had incredible stamina. After more than twenty minutes, it still showed no signs of tiring. He was sweating profusely, and the sweat dripping into his eyes was extremely painful. He couldn't let go to wipe his eyes, so he could only blink rapidly to alleviate the discomfort.
The battle continued. The fishing line had only been reeled in by a little over ten meters. However, he could feel the fish's strength gradually weakening, which made Li Haochen breathe a sigh of relief. He couldn't hold on much longer.
But he still had to guard against a counterattack. Li Haochen looked at the electric reel and had a sudden idea. If he could time it right, defeating this fish would save him a lot of energy.
Finally, at the fortieth minute, he found the right moment. Just as the big fish was about to launch a counterattack, he switched to the electric retrieve function. The powerful pull caused the fish to stumble.
"Damn, I wasn't ready yet. That's just unfair."
The big fish seemed resentful, but it was to no avail. Lacking strength, it could only be at the mercy of its captor. Li Haochen was already waiting with a large landing net.
A few seconds later, the subdued big fish revealed its true form: a sea bass over a meter long, estimated to be over 50 pounds.
Li Haochen was so thrilled that he shouted loudly to release his excitement. Although he eventually relied on high-tech assistance, he had genuinely fought with it. Looking at the meter-long sea bass, he felt a great sense of pride.
He had to admit that the products from this small, peaceful country were of excellent quality. Lifting something weighing tens of pounds was effortless.
Li Haochen used an extra-large landing net to scoop the entire sea bass into it, secured the opening, and with great effort, pulled it onto the boat. The fish was too large, so he didn't dare put it directly into the live bait well for fear it would harm the smaller shrimp and fish inside. He ended up tossing the entire landing net in.
This was the first time Li Haochen had successfully caught and subdued a fish weighing over fifty pounds. If he had encountered tuna weighing a hundred pounds or more, even if he had caught and defeated them, he could only give up tearfully. Could human strength, without a crane, haul them in?