Chapter 342: Chapter 228: The Next One is Better

"In your shop? Hey, isn’t this that foreign blackfish?" Ye Jing’s eyes lit up as he remembered.

"But that’s not right," he added, a bit confused. "I remember the ones in your shop being mostly black. I’ve never seen one with this black-and-white pattern."

"This species only turns completely black once it’s fully mature. Mine is a juvenile, which is why it’s black and white. We get small ones in the shop occasionally, but you don’t come by often enough to have seen one," Gu Nan explained before putting the fish away.

He had to admit, the quality of a real-life Ryukyu blackfish was clearly a step down from the ones produced by the game. It wasn’t as plump, but it would do.

Even though the fishing season had started, the price of this fish hadn’t dropped. It was still two hundred sixty yuan per jin and was quite popular on the market.

He’d heard that on Hong Kong Island, this fish was also called the "True Three-Knife Fish." Gu Nan didn’t know the specifics; he had only overheard a customer mention it once.

The two went back to fishing. The waves were still rough that afternoon, but with the boat stationary, Ye Jing seemed to have adapted and wasn’t getting seasick anymore.

Having failed to catch any large yellow croakers, the two fished until two in the afternoon and then went to take a nap, preparing for the all-night session ahead.

When he woke up, the gloomy gray sky was unchanged. A glance at the time showed it was 4:40 p.m.

Beside him, Ye Jing heard the movement and woke up groggily. He yawned and asked, "What time is it?"

"It’s 4:40. We should get up. Why don’t you figure out what to cook for dinner? I’ll start the boat and find a new spot. Judging by the fish here, we’re guaranteed to come up empty-handed tonight."

Thinking about the poor fishing conditions from the morning and noon, Gu Nan decided to move.

"Sure, I’ll cook tonight. I’m pretty handy with rice and stir-fry," Ye Jing nodded, wiped his face, and headed out.

Gu Nan made his way to the helm, started the fishing boat, and weighed anchor, wondering where to go.

Then he noticed that more than half of the fishing boats that had been anchored nearby were gone. Several others seemed to have just started their engines, heading off in a northwesterly direction.

A thought struck Gu Nan. ’So many fishing boats heading in the same direction... Could a school of fish have appeared?’

’The few boats staying put are probably still holding out for large yellow croakers.’

Gu Nan considered for a moment, then decided to follow them and check out the situation.

’If there really is a school of fish, tonight could be a massive haul. If not, or if it’s not the kind of fish I’m looking for, I can always come back later.’

Besides, it was dinnertime. He hadn’t planned on fishing right away anyway.

He trailed behind several other fishing boats until they reached a wide, open stretch of sea.

Gu Nan could already see fishing boats packed densely together—far more than he had seen that morning.

The water here was deep enough, though, a good hundred-ten-odd meters.

He then motored around, watching the fish finder, and soon spotted a sizable school of fish on the screen.

The fish were at a depth of thirty to forty meters, not concentrated in one large mass, but scattered about in smaller groups. A situation like this called for chum to lure them all together.

Normally, news of a find like this would have been shared in the fishing club’s group chat, but unfortunately, he had no signal and couldn’t check.

He stopped the boat and stepped out of the cabin.

Ye Jing, who was in the middle of making fried rice, seemed to be too focused to get seasick. When he saw Gu Nan, he asked, "Found a good spot?"

Gu Nan shook his head, sounding uncertain. "I don’t know if it’s a good spot, but a lot of boats have gathered here. I’m going to adjust my rig and chum the water. We can start fishing right after we eat."

"Okay, I’m almost done here!" Ye Jing didn’t ask any more questions and went back to his cooking.

Gu Nan adjusted his rig, then pulled out his only bag of powdered bait and started kneading it with some Antarctic krill to form a dough.

He formed the mixture into several fist-sized balls and tossed them into the water. PLOP. PLOP. PLOP.

The bag of powdered bait was just some old leftovers. If he hadn’t suddenly remembered he had it, he would have just used a bait cage.

Still, these balls of chum would work just as well, perhaps even better.

The balls were large enough to dissolve and disperse slowly as they sank, allowing the current to carry the scent and attract fish from the surrounding area.

He tossed four near his own spot and another four in front of Ye Jing’s, then washed his hands to get ready for dinner.

After dinner, they both picked up their rods and started fishing.

They each baited their hooks with sandworms and cast their lines. Weighed down by the lead sinkers, the bait sank quickly.

Gu Nan watched the colored markers on his fishing line. When he estimated it had reached a depth of thirty to forty meters, he flipped the bail on his reel. He also tightened the drag until it was just shy of its maximum setting.

He worked quickly and was already fishing.

Ye Jing was much slower. After all, he was still a novice angler; even baiting a hook took him an eternity.

If Gu Nan hadn’t already gotten a read on the fish from the finder and helped adjust his rig, it would have taken him at least another twenty minutes just to get his line in the water.

Ye Jing lifted his rod, cast the baited hook out, and then lowered the rod tip. Once the line reached what he thought was the right depth, he flipped the bail.

Just as Ye Jing finished his cast, Gu Nan’s rod suddenly twitched. He felt a tug—not a huge one, but he definitely had a fish on the line.

’Catching these small fry every day is getting pretty boring,’ he thought. ’I’ll have to find a chance to go tussle with a big marlin in a day or two.’

He reeled in at a steady pace, and in just a moment, a golden legend broke the surface.

"Whoa, talk about a lucky start! A large yellow croaker right off the bat!" Ye Jing’s eyes lit up, his heart suddenly filled with anticipation.

He had already covered his costs after catching just a dozen or so large yellow croakers that morning. If they landed a lot of them tonight, he could make several thousand yuan. The thought of that kind of easy money was exhilarating.

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