Li Hao Chen picked up the landing net, submerged it entirely in the seawater, and slowly approached the grouper. Once the entire fish was within the net, he swiftly lifted it. The grouper, having exhausted its strength, felt the confinement of the net and began to thrash wildly again.
Fortunately, the landing net was of good quality and didn't tear. He successfully brought the grouper onto the deck. As he lifted it, he could feel that the fish easily weighed over twenty catties, worth thousands of yuan at 150 yuan per catty.
To prevent it from harming the fish in the live-bait well, Li Hao Chen had to put the grouper into a fish retainer and then place the entire retainer into the live-bait well.
The fish was caught, but he felt utterly drained, a wave of weakness washing over him. Li Hao Chen walked over, opened the Snickers bars. They had melted into a mess and were still warm.
Looking at them, he immediately lost his appetite. He tossed them into the trash bin, tied the bag shut, and out of sight, out of mind.
He was too lazy to cook, and there were no snacks. Luckily, he had a few bananas. After eating them, he felt a sense of fullness. He then drank a chilled young coconut, and his whole body felt refreshed, his pores opening up.
Seeing that it was still early and he had some bait left, after resting for about ten minutes, he resumed fishing.
This time, he didn't cast the line. He simply lowered it from the side of the boat. After it had descended about seven or eight meters, he locked the drum reel and placed it in the rod holder.
After waiting a few minutes with no action, Li Hao Chen went into the cabin to make a pot of tea. After a few cups, he came back out. The tip of the fishing rod was slightly bent, and the fishing line was already taut.
"Just a small fish."
Li Hao Chen casually walked over and, without removing the rod from the holder, began to reel in the drum. Within ten seconds, he pulled it up. It was elongated and flattened, with a slightly yellowish hue.
"A small croaker. Not bad, can sell it for over forty."
Li Hao Chen didn't examine it closely, grabbing it with his hand. The struggle was not strong, weighing around seven or eight taels. As he was unhooking it, a thought struck him, "No... something's not right, this..."
Li Hao Chen picked it up again and looked closely. "The caudal peduncle is relatively long, the lower lip is longer than the upper lip, and the mouth is relatively rounded when closed. This is a large yellow croaker."
Li Hao Chen exclaimed, shouting with excitement. It was a large yellow croaker! This one, weighing only seven or eight taels, could sell for over a thousand yuan.
It was too precious. Li Hao Chen dared not put it in the live-bait well. He ran into the cabin and entered his spatial sea, releasing it into the water.
Large yellow croakers die shortly after being brought out of the water. Even if they haven't died yet, releasing them back into the sea would not help them survive. However, the spatial sea was different. As long as they weren't dead, they could definitely survive when placed inside. This was a result Li Hao Chen had discovered by chance.
Exiting the space, Li Hao Chen quickly brought all the fishing rods out, baited them all, and lowered them into the rod holders. Large yellow croakers were schooling fish, there wouldn't be just one.
Soon, the fishing rod on the left side bent slightly. Li Hao Chen rejoiced and ran over, strenuously reeling in the drum. But when it surfaced, he was greatly disappointed. "A yellow drum? You said they were schooling? Have they migrated?"
He re-baited the hook and lowered it into the rod holder again.
"Swish..."
The fishing rod on the right side had a bite. The tip was bent more than the previous one. He could feel it when reeling in the drum, it should be over a catty.
When he pulled the fish out of the water, Li Hao Chen stomped his feet in excitement. Looking at this entirely silver fish with a hint of yellow, he found it incredibly beautiful. This was sea gold! While it couldn't be said to be the most expensive seafood in the world, it was definitely in the top tier.
"Over a catty, and a few thousand more in income, hahaha, let's keep going."
After sending it into the spatial sea, he rushed back out. On the deck, two more rods had bites. Upon pulling them up, he saw another large yellow croaker weighing over a catty, and the other was just a yellow drum weighing over a catty.
In half an hour, Li Hao Chen had caught eight large yellow croakers, the heaviest weighing over two catties. If he sold these large yellow croakers, they would definitely fetch tens of thousands of yuan.
But with the spatial sea, he wouldn't be foolish enough to deplete the resources. It was a stroke of immense luck to encounter them, and whether he would encounter them again in the future depended on fate. As for these eight fish, in ten or eight years, they would become a large school of fish within the spatial sea, and the money generated would come in faster than from a printing press.
"If only a few more ten or eight-catty ones would appear..." Li Hao Chen fantasized, chuckling foolishly.
"Swish..."
"Here we go again, hehe!"
As expected, Li Hao Chen pulled up another large yellow croaker weighing seven or eight taels. This joy continued for an hour. In total, he caught 27 large yellow croakers, the largest weighing about four catties, and two weighing over three catties. Li Hao Chen kept these three heaviest large yellow croakers in a fish retainer within the spatial sea, intending to sell them to Murong Yanran's hotel to enhance its prestige.
Li Hao Chen waited another half hour, unwilling to give up, but didn't catch anything else. He had no choice but to give up, pack everything up, and head home.
"Beep—!"
A long, drawn-out blast of the horn sounded, and the anchor chain slowly retracted with a loud clanking sound. The propeller's speed increased, churning the seawater and creating huge splashes.
Eager to return home, he hit the accelerator, heading directly for Binhai Marina at maximum speed. With over twenty large yellow croakers, the fuel cost was insignificant. He wanted to get home and embrace his wife as soon as possible.
An hour later, the coastal buildings were clearly visible, but the Starship's speed remained unchanged. At such high speed, it left a massive white wake that lingered for a long time.
"Wow, a boat is coming back."
A sharp-eyed tourist shouted excitedly. More and more tourists gathered at the dock, eager to see the harvest of the first returning ship.
Meanwhile, the staff responsible for weighing and pricing the fish were already getting tired of shooing flies. The return of a ship was more exciting than participating in a fishing competition.
On the other side, the Binhai Grand Hotel and other buyers had already heard the news and came prepared with ample funds for a major transaction.
Although the Binhai Grand Hotel had priority purchasing rights, it depended on the price. Also present were purchasing agents from the Mu family. They had received strict orders from Mu Zhengtao not to let the Binhai Grand Hotel acquire a single fish.
Li Hao Chen, still speeding across the sea, found his phone incessantly buzzing as soon as he got a signal. He glanced at it and was astonished by the sheer volume of messages.
Li Hao Chen ignored them and immediately called Murong Yanran.
"I'm back."
"Really? Where are you? I'll come pick you up."
"Not at the dock yet, but I'll be there soon, maybe ten minutes. I caught a lot of fish, so quickly call your procurement department to prepare for reception."
"Okay, I'm heading over now."
Murong Yanran missed Li Hao Chen dearly. After hanging up, she grabbed her keys and drove towards the dock.
The dock was bustling. After waiting for so long, they had finally welcomed a returning competition fishing boat. Even the television crews had rushed over to capture firsthand material for the evening news.
Many tourists had set up their cameras, waiting for the exciting moment. As the boat drew closer, a wave of disappointment spread as people recognized it.
"Tch, it's just the Starship. What a waste of time!"