As Chu Mingcheng carried his thermos into the cockpit, He Zheng noticed him and set his own fishing rod aside, walking over.

"Living the good life, huh? You even brought a midnight snack?"

"Of course. Fishing’s hard work," Chu Mingcheng replied, opening the thermos. A wave of fragrant steam billowed out.

"Wait, is that fish soup?" He Zheng’s brows rose in surprise. He had thought it was chicken or pork rib soup.

"Yeah. I caught a seven-banded grouper the day before yesterday and had my dad make it into soup."

"..."

He Zheng was silent for a long moment before patting him on the shoulder with a sigh. "When it comes to finding and catching fish, besides experience and skill, the most important thing is luck."

"A seven-banded grouper the day before yesterday, a red-spotted grouper today... for us coastal fishermen, how many people have that kind of luck?"

Chu Mingcheng just smiled without saying anything. Luck was a fickle thing.

Just as he was thinking this, a commotion erupted on the foredeck.

"Holy shit, a three-jin wild large yellow croaker...!"

"What’s going on today? First a ten-jin red-spotted grouper, and now a three-jin yellow croaker!"

He Zheng had been just about to ask Chu Mingcheng for a taste of his soup—after all, he’d never even tried such an expensive fish like a seven-banded grouper.

But then he heard someone had caught a three-jin large yellow croaker. Who had time to be greedy now? He immediately left the cockpit and ran over.

Chu Mingcheng didn't move, instead watching the scene through the front window.

A three-jin large yellow croaker was being held up. The whole fish was long and slender, its golden color exceptionally eye-catching.

The angler who had caught it was grinning from ear to ear. The price of large yellow croaker fluctuated wildly. Many fishermen and anglers might not encounter a three-jin one in a whole year.

It wasn't as rare as his ten-jin red-spotted grouper, but it wasn't far off.

The price was probably between six thousand and ten thousand yuan. How much it sold for also depended on the season. If it were before the New Year, it would definitely be over ten thousand.

A short while later, Chu Mingcheng had almost finished his snack. He saw He Zheng coming toward the cockpit with the angler, probably to discuss the price. So he packed up his things and left ahead of them.

He Zheng saw him come out and nodded with a smile, then let the angler into the cockpit.

Chu Mingcheng put his thermos back in his tackle box, picked up his rod, and got back to work for the second half of the night.

His original plan was to get his savings up to eighty thousand before heading to Qiongzhou. Now, with the twenty thousand from the red-spotted grouper, his savings had jumped from seventy-two thousand to ninety-two thousand. He was only eight thousand short of a hundred thousand.

He'd already caught about twenty-something jin of large yellow croaker—a pretty good haul worth four or five thousand. If he worked a little harder and caught another twenty jin, he could hit a hundred thousand in savings before he left.

Swoosh!

Fish on.

Chu Mingcheng quickly lifted his rod to set the hook. But the weight on the line… it felt heavy in a familiar way, like the sea bream he’d caught before.

A flicker of disappointment crossed his face. A two or three-jin sea bream wasn’t worth much.

Still, a hooked fish was a hooked fish—he had to land it.

But as he reeled it in, something felt off. Under the beam of light, the fish breaking the surface had a yellowish sheen.

A sudden thought flashed through his mind. Could it be…?

Sure enough, a long, slender large yellow croaker emerged from the water, close to seventy centimeters in length.

[Click To View Image]

Another one over three jin. This boat really had sailed into a sweet spot today.

This time, no one bothered to crowd around. Two large yellow croakers over three jin in a row had left everyone numb.

But at the same time, a new fire burned in their hearts—hope that they, too, might reel in a big one.

After watching Chu Mingcheng check the fin length and neatly unhook the fish, the chubby angler beside him finally couldn’t hold back. He set his rod in its holder, rubbed his hands together, and sidled over with a fawning grin.

"Brother, your luck is incredible. Mind if I shake your hand and borrow a little of it?"

Chu Mingcheng chuckled and didn’t refuse. "Sure."

The chubby angler gave Chu Mingcheng’s hand a firm shake, then, as if he truly believed he had absorbed some of that good luck, hurried back to his spot, eyes gleaming with anticipation.

Meanwhile, Chu Mingcheng used his fish gripper to weigh the large yellow croaker. The display read 2076 grams. He raised a brow—he hadn’t expected this one to top four jin!

Everyone knew that with large yellow croakers, every extra jin meant a sharp jump in price. This four-jin catch was in a completely different price bracket from the three-jin one earlier.

When Chu Mingcheng carried the fish into the cockpit, the angler who had caught the earlier three-jin croaker felt his happiness evaporate.

His three-jin, three-liang fish had sold for 2,500 yuan per jin, netting him over eight thousand.

But this one… this one was definitely worth more than ten thousand.

Two fish in one night had earned him thirty thousand. Why would he ever go back to tightening bolts in a factory?

He Zheng looked at Chu Mingcheng with a complicated expression. "If this were the last century and you were out at sea alone with someone, you might’ve been fed to the fish."

Chu Mingcheng shrugged. "In the last century, these two fish wouldn’t have been worth much. Even that red-spotted grouper would’ve only sold for, what, a normal worker’s two years’ salary?"

"Two years’ salary is plenty of reason to feed you to the fish!" He Zheng laughed and cursed before taking the croaker to weigh it.

When he saw it hit four jin and confirmed it was wild, his face lit up with genuine delight.

"What’s your price?"

"The market price for a three-jin one should be around three thousand per jin. That angler’s fish probably sold for ten thousand at market. So… four thousand per jin for this one isn’t too much, right?"

He Zheng gave a wry smile. "Ah Cheng, you can’t calculate it like that. If everyone did, all the fishmongers would be out of business."

But Chu Mingcheng didn’t care. He had already given He Zheng face with the red-spotted grouper. If he couldn’t get his asking price for this large yellow croaker, he simply wouldn’t sell. Quality like this was never hard to move. Besides, he’d be selling his twenty jin of regular yellow croaker to He Zheng at a low price later—He Zheng had already made plenty.

"Why do you think so many fishermen refuse to let fishmongers lowball them and would rather sell the fish themselves? Just like you, He-ge—you’re slowly building up your own customer base, fishing yourself and buying from other anglers, aren’t you?"

"Didn’t a five-jin large yellow croaker sell for twenty-five thousand before? That’s five thousand a jin. Four thousand a jin for this one is perfectly reasonable."

This was a rare catch. If the other party wasn't willing to sell, He Zheng couldn't force him. Was he really going to feed him to the fish? This much money wasn't worth it—not like the tens of thousands in the sixties or seventies.

So he thought for a moment and felt that buying the fish using Chu Mingcheng's previous method was a good idea. "How about this," he said. "I'll take it for fifteen thousand. Whatever I can sell it for above that is all mine. How about it?"

Fifteen thousand was a reasonable price. It wasn't before the New Year, so Chu Mingcheng had no reason to refuse. He nodded in agreement.

As for how much He Zheng could make, that was his own skill.

Leaving the cockpit, Chu Mingcheng was surprised to find his original spot already occupied by the chubby angler.

But the man immediately noticed him and waved eagerly. "Brother, I saved your spot! Come on, hurry back."

"What’s going on?" Chu Mingcheng asked, puzzled.

"Someone got jealous and tried to take your spot," the chubby angler said with a sneer, cutting a glance at a man not far away. "I held it for you, just waiting for you to come back."

Understanding dawned, and Chu Mingcheng smiled. "Thanks, but you go ahead and fish here. I’m a little tired—I’ll rest in the cockpit for a while."