However, the results of the count were deeply disappointing, with only 14,800 yuan found.
The competition for the rankings had reached a fever pitch. The first place was no longer held by an amateur team but by the "Sea King," whose colossal 570,000 score made it impossible for others to catch up. Li Haochen's 210,000 placed him only eighth, with many others still aggressively pursuing the top spots.
After draining the wastewater and bagging the household garbage, he checked that everything was in order before locking up. He then went to the management office to pay the storage fees and rode his electric scooter home.
Upon returning home, as it was midday, Murong Yanran was naturally not there. He put his luggage down; it was nothing much, just some leftover ingredients.
Although the house wasn't his true home, it was at least his own little nest. As soon as he entered, the fatigue from his travels seemed to dissipate considerably.
He put away the leftover dishes and then entered his private space to dig for two jin of "General's Cap" snails. He had initially intended to dig for "Stone Clamp" snails, but he had done so recently, and they hadn't recovered yet. Although he had dug quite a few on the deserted island a few days prior, they had only just begun to regenerate their filaments and wouldn't breed for a few more months. Li Haochen suppressed his cravings, believing it was unwise to deplete resources or destroy forests for immediate gain.
"If only I could explore that 'Dunjing Island,' the harvest would surely be immense."
Li Haochen had spent the last two days circling the deserted island, gathering a general understanding, and he already had an optimal route for exploration in mind. However, it wasn't the right time to venture out yet.
After circling the Kyushu Island, he picked up the ten-jin croaker fish and exited his space.
Out of the water, the croaker fish quickly died. Li Haochen carried it into the kitchen, picked up a cleaver, and with a few swift strokes on the side of the stove, washed it and began to prepare it.
The fish was quite large, and Li Haochen spent considerable effort, especially with the fish maw, which was a valuable part. He handled it with great care.
Once the entire fish maw was extracted, he looked at it with interest. It was pale pink. "I wonder why you're so expensive."
Perhaps the croaker fish was too small, as the fish maw wasn't large, only about four liang.
After extracting the fish maw, he cut out all the fish meat and chopped the fish bones into segments, placing them aside. He then put the prepared parts into the refrigerator for preservation.
He visited the Baozhitang Chinese Medicine Pharmacy and bought a few cordyceps sinensis from the Nagqu region, along with some other medicinal herbs. Those few matchstick-sized items alone cost over seven hundred yuan, comparable to the price of the croaker fish maw. On his way back, he also purchased a free-range old hen from the village chief for 300 yuan.
Such precious ingredients. In the hearts of many Chinese people, life seemed to revolve around old hens, and it was a mystery why their prices remained stagnant.
He de-skinned the entire old hen, cleaned out its innards, and placed the whole bird into a stew pot. He poured in water and added the medicinal herbs and cordyceps. He held off on adding the fish maw, as it was fresh and prone to breaking down.
He built a fire under the stove, propping up a few large logs. Once the water boiled, he took a few towels, wet them, and tightly sealed the edges of the pot lid.
Before long, a thumping sound began to emanate from the large pot.
Li Haochen walked out of the kitchen, just about to call Murong Yanran on his phone when she rushed into his arms, "You came back without saying anything."
Li Haochen gently stroked Murong Yanran's head, "I wanted to give you a surprise."
"Isn't the hotel busy? Why did you suddenly run back?"
"I missed you..."
A single "I missed you" was worth more than all the hardships. He cupped Murong Yanran's face with his hands and kissed her.
Just then, Xie Baolian rushed in, "You little brat, you..."
"Ahem, I didn't see anything. You two continue, please continue." Xie Baolian, having stumbled upon their intimate moment, felt a bit awkward.
Murong Yanran flushed crimson and ran back to her room. She knew that Xie Baolian also had feelings for Li Haochen and decided to leave the two of them alone.
Xie Baolian walked over, looked Li Haochen up and down with great seriousness, her eyes slightly red. "You've lost weight."
"Auntie, I missed you too." With that, he pulled Xie Baolian into his embrace and held her tightly.
Xie Baolian trembled, tears streaming down her face uncontrollably. She hugged Li Haochen tightly.
After a while, Xie Baolian pushed Li Haochen away, wiped her eyes, and feigned anger as she playfully chided him, "You child, if you sneak away like this again, I'll hit you."
"Alright, next time you want to hit me, I promise I won't run."
"Still joking around, are we? You're asking for it." Xie Baolian tightly gripped Li Haochen and pulled him to sit on the sofa, as if afraid he might slip away again.
A little later, Murong Yanran also came downstairs. The two women peppered him with questions non-stop. Li Haochen gradually recounted the joys of fishing at sea and his experiences drifting on the ocean, naturally omitting any mention of the croaker fish.
As he spoke, a faint aroma began to waft through the air, piquing the curiosity of the two women.
"What smells so good?" Murong Yanran asked Li Haochen.
"Something good. You two can have more later." Li Haochen walked into the kitchen, took out the fish maw, opened the pot lid, and placed it into the stew pot before closing it again, leaving only a small log to simmer on low heat.
"It smells so good, can we eat yet?"
"Not yet, it still needs to stew for over an hour."
"So long? It looks ready to me."
"Stop chattering and go chat with Auntie Lian. I'll cook tonight." Li Haochen gently pushed Murong Yanran away from the kitchen.
The two women chatted about something, their laughter echoing frequently. Li Haochen, busy in the kitchen, pricked up his ears to listen, but all he could hear was their laughter.
Dinner was exceptionally rich, arguably priceless, though the two women were unaware of it. There was a stew of fish head, bones, and tofu, a dish of smooth croaker fish slices, and then a serving of General's Cap rice. The star, of course, was the cordyceps and king fish maw stew, which, by its price alone, was worth hundreds of thousands of yuan, making each mouthful worth over a thousand.
The soup had been stewed for at least seven hours over a large fire. The broth was clear and golden, with a delicate fragrance. The croaker fish maw was not large, and Li Haochen divided it into two portions, giving one to Murong Yanran and the other to Xie Baolian.
"Quick, drink it before it gets cold." Li Haochen urged the two women to drink the soup. They readily obliged, having been enticed by the aroma.
The fish meat, on the other hand, was ordinary, similar to common yellow croaker, perhaps even slightly inferior in texture. However, Li Haochen's cooking skills were decent, and all the dishes were finished. There was still some stewed soup left, which Li Haochen divided equally between the two women, while he himself finished off the stewed solids.
"Ah, this soup is so delicious. Even the fish maw stewed from tens of thousands of yuan per jin that I used to drink doesn't have this flavor."
"Yes, it's truly delicious. It's just that there's too little fish maw. Haochen, next time, please make a bigger piece. This small portion is gone in one bite, not enough to satisfy." Xie Baolian said, still with lingering desire. "By the way, what kind of fish maw is this? I'll ask someone to buy some."
Li Haochen's expression darkened. He couldn't tell them the truth and could only use the maw of some unknown large fish to appease the two curious women.