The night sea was pitch-black, with only the fishing boat's lights illuminating a small patch of water.

Ten minutes passed, and the three electric reels remained motionless.

The fish finder had shown there were fish below. Chu Mingcheng suspected the bait was the problem—perhaps the fish down there weren't interested in frozen mackerel.

"Agong, how about we try live shrimp? This frozen mackerel isn't working."

"Get some for me, too," Wei Jianguo said, turning around.

He was getting impatient himself. He had wanted to save the live bait for a better spot, but it seemed he couldn't hold out any longer. He could always catch some live squid later.

"You got it!" Chu Mingcheng immediately went to the foredeck, opened the live bait well, and scooped out some live shrimp.

Once they switched to live shrimp, the rods quickly came to life.

Chu Mingcheng was the first to get a bite. He pressed the button, and the electric reel immediately began to retrieve the line.

Judging by the rapid change in the depth numbers on the screen, the fish probably wasn't very big—the numbers were jumping so fast, it was clear the fish had no power to resist being pulled up.

Jiang Luoluo had wanted to watch and help with the landing net, but then her own rod started moving. She quickly pressed the button and began reeling in as well.

A short while later, the sound of a reel came from Wei Jianguo's side behind them.

Sure enough, live shrimp was the way to go. No wonder the hook-up rate was so high when sea fishing with live shrimp.

But the cost was also much higher than other baits. It seemed you really did get what you paid for.

Chu Mingcheng's fish was hooked first, and his electric reel was the most powerful, so his fish was naturally the first to reach the surface.

Most of the deep-sea fish he had caught were red. He put on his gloves, saw the fish wasn't big, and simply grabbed the line to lift it.

It was a splendid alfonsino, its body a lovely pink, its large eyes tinged with a pale yellow, making it look very beautiful.

But this wasn't the especially precious red beryx from Japan—it was a bigeye beryx.

The bigeye beryx could be caught in the deep sea near the islands of the country. The price was decent; a well-preserved, iced one could sell for one hundred and twenty yuan.

It was forty or fifty centimeters long, with a wide back and a large belly.

It was the same length as a leopard coral grouper, but about twice the weight, around six jin.

It could sell for six or seven hundred yuan, about what an ordinary person would earn in three to five days of work. Not bad.

Of course, it couldn't compare to the red beryx from Japan, which sold for several hundred a jin.

If he wanted to catch that fish in his country, he would have to risk going to the northeast of Taiwan. He hoped that by the time his big boat was launched next year, the country would have opened up that sea area.

A short while later, Wei Jianguo's fish also came up.

Chu Mingcheng looked over and saw it was a Bin Diao snapper, about three or four jin.

This fish could really be found in any deep-water area of the South China Sea. No wonder its meat was delicious, but its price couldn't compare to a longtail snapper.

Seeing that Jiang Luoluo's fish hadn't come up yet, Chu Mingcheng first baited his hook with a shrimp, let it sink to the bottom, and then walked over. "Still not up? Is it a big one?"

"Yeah, look, the numbers are moving so slowly!" Jiang Luoluo pointed at the electric reel screen, a little frustrated.

This is my girlfriend, so her catch is my catch... Chu Mingcheng silently repeated this to himself several times, then said with admiration, "Your luck is great, getting a big one on your first fish."

But Jiang Luoluo waved her hand. "Don't praise me yet. Wait until it's up. If it's a good fish, then you can praise me!"

"..."

Chu Mingcheng chuckled and reached out to pat her head, but she dodged.

"Your hand just touched a fish, it's dirty!"

"My mistake, my mistake..."

A short while later, Jiang Luoluo's fish still hadn't come up. The depth was still over seventy meters, so it would probably take another ten minutes or even longer.

Chu Mingcheng went back to his own spot first and pressed the button to retrieve his fish.

This time it was a longtail snapper, also five or six jin. Excellent!

Just as Chu Mingcheng was reeling in his third fish, a surprised cry came from Jiang Luoluo's side. "Ah Cheng, Grandpa, come and look, what a huge fish!"

The two men immediately dropped what they were doing and went over.

Wei Jianguo looked at the water in surprise. "How is that possible? How can we have such a large ruby snapper in our country?"

Although Chu Mingcheng was surprised, he didn't share his doubt, as he had already encountered several unusually large fish.

But seeing Jiang Luoluo catch such a large fish made his heart itch. The five or six-jin fish he had just caught suddenly lost their appeal.

But this was no time to hesitate. Chu Mingcheng quickly grabbed the largest landing net and scooped at the fish.

Perhaps because this electric reel was slower, although this ruby snapper had been pulled up from the deep, it was still alive and quite energetic.

It kept dodging the landing net at the surface, making Jiang Luoluo cry out in alarm, terrified that the fish would get away.

Fortunately, Chu Mingcheng was steady. On the third try, he successfully netted the fish's head, then used both hands to lift it bit by bit.

Seeing the fifty-jin fish being lifted up so easily, Wei Jianguo couldn't help but pat his shoulder. "Young man, you're strong!"

Chu Mingcheng smiled and said, "Of course. Without some strength, how could I hold my girlfriend?"

"Get lost!" Jiang Luoluo kicked him in the shin.

Wei Jianguo burst out laughing at this. It was the first time he had seen such an interesting and open couple.

Chu Mingcheng wasn't annoyed by the kick. He chuckled and went to get the ruler.

A wild ruby snapper of a few jin was common, but one of fifty jin probably wouldn't be seen in a year.

He measured its length—exactly one meter and one centimeter. The weight could be read directly from the crane arm; this crane was quite advanced and could weigh things directly. It turned out this ruby snapper weighed a full fifty-three jin.

Tsk, tsk, tsk, the same length as a sea bass, but more than twice the weight. This fish was impressive!

"Agong, how much can this ruby snapper sell for per jin?" Chu Mingcheng asked.

This kind of fish was occasionally seen in the Xiamen market. He had heard that the farmed ones only sold for thirty yuan a jin, but he didn't know the price of the wild ones.

Wei Jianguo thought for a moment and said, "About a hundred yuan a jin! The specific price depends on the market day, but Luoluo's is big enough, so the price per jin can be higher."

Jiang Luoluo nodded with satisfaction after hearing the price. "Not bad, at least five thousand yuan! Boyfriend, help me take a picture!"

"You got it!" Chu Mingcheng took off his gloves and took several pictures of her from different angles with his phone.

Wei Jianguo saw this and returned to his own fishing spot to avoid having to watch the young couple's public display of affection.

After being around girls more, Chu Mingcheng's photography skills had indeed improved a lot. Most of the photos he took satisfied Jiang Luoluo.

He then put the fish in the cold storage compartment and arranged it nicely, to be taken out when they returned.

Chu Mingcheng came out of the cold storage compartment, no longer planning to fish for these small deep-sea fish.

He planned to try his luck and see if there were any large amberjacks or similar fish in the middle water layer.

"Luoluo, you watch my electric rod. I'm going to get my fishing rod and fish for big ones. If you can't handle it later, call me."

"Sure!" Jiang Luoluo nodded and agreed.

Fishing with an electric reel was very convenient. She could operate two machines by herself without any problem.

If she caught a fish she couldn't lift, her boyfriend was right there, ready to be called at any time!

Chu Mingcheng went to get his #80 boat rod, tied on a Dyneema line and a large hook, then threw all the mackerel meat Jiang Luoluo had cut earlier into the water to chum the area. He then baited the hook with a large, live shrimp and cast it into the water to see if any big fish would bite.

Mackerel meat would still attract many fish, and the commotion it made as it sank would also attract the attention of some nearby fish.

If a fish sensed something falling nearby, it would think it was food and would usually swim over to take a look. Chu Mingcheng had learned this from spearfishing.

When you encounter a fish in shallow water but it doesn't approach, you can dive to the bottom, lie on a reef, and wait.

Generally, if a fish has noticed you, it will swim closer to observe from a distance, thinking there is food.

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And the small basin of fish meat Chu Mingcheng had thrown in had indeed attracted the attention of a nearby fish.

It was swimming leisurely in the middle water layer. When it noticed something falling, it wagged its small tail and swam toward the fish meat.

It was in a hurry, but unfortunately, its speed was very slow.

After swimming for a short while, it finally reached the area above where the fish meat had fallen.

But as it swam over, it was surprised to find a large shrimp in front of it.

It didn't usually get to eat this kind of food, only getting to pick up scraps when it encountered a school of shrimp, so it opened its mouth without hesitation and swallowed it in one gulp.

On the boat, Chu Mingcheng's main target was large fish, so he hadn't locked the spool, leaving some buffer.

Now, with the sudden bite, the rod immediately bent down, and the line from the spool ran out at a steady pace.

He immediately lifted the rod with force to set the hook.

Then he gripped the handle and started to reel in... but it wouldn't turn.

"Hiss~! What a huge fish!"

Chu Mingcheng felt the heavy force on the rod and knew the fish was not small, but its speed was not fast. So he slowly locked the spool to increase the tension.

"Did you catch a big one?" Jiang Luoluo ran over, surprised.

"Yeah, it's a big one. But its speed isn't fast—I don't know what it is." Chu Mingcheng nodded. Locking the spool increased the tension, and he also felt more of the fish's strength.

This feeling was like fishing for a slow-swimming, large grouper.

Wei Jianguo walked over, feeling a little speechless.

This young couple, each getting a big catch—what was he, an old man, supposed to do?

"Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!"

The quality of the fishing rod was very good. This fish wasn't big enough to break the rod and line.

Chu Mingcheng braced the rod butt against his fighting belt and began to pull back with all his might.

But even with his current physical fitness, which was comparable to an ordinary athlete, and with his all-around enhancement, not just in one area, his strength was still no match for the fish. It was just the beginning, and he couldn't overpower it yet.

Therefore, even with the spool locked, the line was still being pulled out bit by bit.

It was just that the fish's speed was slow. If it were a tuna, it would have run out over a hundred meters by now.

But a fish can't exert its full strength continuously. When it paused, Chu Mingcheng would forcefully lift the rod and quickly reel in a few turns of line.

So after twenty minutes of pulling and tugging, the fish was still in the same spot.

Jiang Luoluo and Wei Jianguo hadn't stayed by his side the whole time. Their electric reels were still working, and they had to go and deal with their own fish when they got a bite.

Time slowly passed, and Chu Mingcheng's forehead was already sweating.

But he finally waited until the fish ran out of energy. Now it was his turn to exert his strength.

He held the rod diagonally in his arms, with the butt tucked under his armpit, then began to lift the rod with force while reeling in the line.

Bracing the rod butt against the fighting belt was generally for when the fish was exerting its full strength, so you could hold the rod with both hands for a better stalemate.

In fact, when the fish was hard to pull, you could also use this posture to pull it in by force, provided you could overpower the fish.

Now that the fish's resistance was not strong, tucking the rod under his arm was more suitable for one-handed exertion and also convenient for the other hand to quickly reel in the line.

As the line was reeled in bit by bit, he felt the fish's strength decrease even more, and its resistance grew weaker and weaker.

Now, he was going to use his ultimate move.

He gripped the rod with both hands again, and when the rod tip was parallel to the water surface, he suddenly lifted it. The fish in the water was immediately pulled a large distance closer, and so was the line. He could reel in several turns of line at once.

But the rod tip couldn't be pressed too low. For such a large fish, without a lot of time, it was difficult to completely exhaust its stamina. It could counterattack at any time.

Therefore, if the rod was pressed too low, it would be difficult to lift it again.

Ten minutes later, finally, a large, silver-white, rather round fish was pulled to the surface.

Under the light, he could see many white spots on its body, and its long, red fins were especially eye-catching.

The fish was lying flat on the surface, looking like a large, round plate.

"Oh, isn't that an ocean sunfish?" Jiang Luoluo was surprised when she saw the fish.

Wei Jianguo walked over and looked at it, his expression stunned, then turned envious. "This isn't an ocean sunfish; this is a spotted opah, different from an ocean sunfish."

"That's right, no one wants an ocean sunfish, but this fish is not cheap—it can sell for a lot of money," Chu Mingcheng agreed.

"I see, then Ah Cheng, hurry up and get it up here!" Jiang Luoluo understood, and when she heard it could sell for a lot of money, she immediately urged him.

"Mmm..." The opah was very large, but because its body was round, Chu Mingcheng couldn't estimate its weight.

But from the pull, this fish was at least a hundred jin. It would be very difficult to pull it up.

The fish was already lying flat. He handed the rod to Jiang Luoluo to hold for a moment, so the fish wouldn't get away.

Then he started the small crane on the boat, turned it over, tied a rope around the fish's tail, and then pulled it up.

The head of the crane rope was like a snare, a loop. After putting it over the fish's tail and pulling, it would tighten.

He looked at the weight displayed on the crane and was surprised to find it was one hundred and sixty-seven jin and three liang.

This kind of fish was very rare, and there was no set price per jin on the market. They were usually sold by the fish.

However, he could calculate an average, which was about two hundred a jin.

Therefore, Chu Mingcheng's opah was estimated to be worth over thirty-three thousand yuan. This price was not much different from a bluefin tuna of the same weight and average quality.

Chu Mingcheng felt the fish was very suitable to give to Wei Jianguo.

The boat was so luxurious, with a chef to cook and a crew to clean.

With this kind of treatment, he would be embarrassed not to give him a valuable fish.

"Agong, are you interested in this fish? How about I give it to you as the boat fee?"

Jiang Luoluo heard that Chu Mingcheng was going to give away this valuable fish and had no objections. She respected her boyfriend's decision.

Wei Jianguo looked at him and shook his head. "You sell this fish yourself. Compared to an opah or tuna, I'm actually more interested in marlin."

"If we can run into a sailfish, that would be even better. You have to get me one then. I can make a specimen of the fish's head and hang it on the wall!"

"Uh, if we run into one, I'll definitely get one for you!" Hearing about making a specimen and hanging it on the wall, Chu Mingcheng couldn't help but laugh. He also understood his intention.

Sure enough, it was classic Wei Jianguo—always looking for his next trophy. The fish wasn't for eating, but for showing off.

Since he didn't want this fish, he would bleed it first and put it in the cold storage compartment, and sell it when he got back to the pier.

When bleeding it, Chu Mingcheng touched the fish's blood and found it was indeed warm.

The opah is the world's first discovered warm-blooded fish.

The constant flapping of its pectoral fins can generate heat, which is the main reason its blood is warm.

After dealing with the fish, the group continued to fish.

The open sea was the open sea. They fished until after twelve at night before they packed up their rods and went back to sleep.

Apart from the opah, Chu Mingcheng didn't catch any more big fish.

Jiang Luoluo's two electric reels had a good harvest, but she didn't catch any particularly large fish, with very few exceeding ten jin.

These fish would be sold, and the money would be put into a joint account.

She called this their "love nest egg."

In the future, when the two of them went out to sea together, if they fished together, the money from selling the fish would be put into this account.

When they went shopping or traveling together, the money would come from this account.

As for particularly large fish like the ruby snapper and the opah, the money from selling them would go into their respective hands and not be put into the joint account.

But the person who had proposed the joint account was not Jiang Luoluo, but Chu Mingcheng.

Because Jiang Luoluo's original intention was that the fish she caught would also belong to him. She felt that since they were together, it would seem distant to separate their catches.

Chu Mingcheng didn't want to take advantage of her like that, so he proposed that the joint account be managed by her.

Therefore, apart from the two big fish tonight, the remaining deep-sea fish totaled thirteen.

Seventy or eighty jin, worth about ten thousand yuan.

He could only say that the open sea was really great. In just two hours, the earnings were already not much different from when he had good luck in the coastal waters.

Back in the cabin, he was about to follow Jiang Luoluo into the bedroom when she slammed the door shut and locked it.

If her boyfriend were completely dense, Jiang Luoluo wouldn't mind being a bit more forward with her affection and intimate gestures.

But her boyfriend was a total rogue, so she had to stay on guard—otherwise she'd be swept off her feet before she knew it.

Looking at the closed door, Chu Mingcheng didn't mind. Instead, he knocked and called out, "Luoluo, I have something serious to discuss with you."

"You forgot the word 'not'!" came Jiang Luoluo's voice from inside.

"Oh, you want to talk about something not serious? That works too—we can talk all night!"

"Get lost~!"

"Your wish is my command!"

Inside the room, Jiang Luoluo noticed the silence outside and couldn't help but pout. "You troublemaker!"

She actually wanted to spend some sweet time with Chu Mingcheng, but the timing wasn't right. Late at night like this was too dangerous.

But the next moment, a familiar voice came from outside again.

"Luoluo, is my toothbrush in your bag? I can't find one over here!"

"..."

Jiang Luoluo rolled her eyes. She'd packed everything herself—of course, it was there! "Go back to sleep. This door isn't opening tonight. I put your toothbrush and everything else in the bathroom, nice and organized!"

"Sigh~!" Chu Mingcheng sighed with disappointment.

He was just worried his girlfriend might feel scared in an unfamiliar place and wanted to hold her for comfort and security!

How could he possibly have any ulterior motives?