The next day, Chu Mingcheng arrived at the pier at nine o'clock. The owner was standing at the dock, collecting money from everyone with his phone and having the crew ferry customers to the Sky High on a smaller boat.

The Sky High was a sixty-six-meter-long vessel. From the pier, the people on board looked like tiny ants.

Chu Mingcheng paid the remaining balance and added a two-hundred-yuan tip for the crew. He received a key from the boat owner, attached to a small tag with the number 03.

The tip for the crew was essential—it would make his fishing much more convenient. The crew provided various services like netting fish, bleeding them, attaching identifying zip ties, untangling lines, freeing snags, and helping to tie rigs. The two hundred yuan was well worth it.

But the expenses didn't stop there. He still needed to buy bait, and if he caught a large fish, the boat also provided foam boxes and ice. A long box cost fifty yuan, a square one thirty. Upon returning to shore, they would also help arrange logistics, air freight, and so on, but those costs had to be borne by the anglers themselves.

Fortunately, as long as the catch was good, these costs were negligible.

Taking the small boat to the larger vessel, he followed a crew member to his room.

Walking down the corridor, Chu Mingcheng noticed that many of the doors on the first floor were open. He curiously peeked inside and saw two types of rooms.

One was a four-person room, slightly larger, with bunk beds on both sides. It did have a small private bathroom. The customers' luggage was stored below deck, but the room still felt cramped.

The other was a two-person room, smaller, also with bunk beds, each a meter wide. But it was much more comfortable than the four-person room—at least not as crowded.

He then went up to the second floor. Entering his room, he found it much drier than the first floor, which was somewhat damp. The room was about the same size as the two-person room on the first floor, the difference being that it had only one bed—a small one, 1.2 meters wide.

Sitting on the bed and comparing the three room types, Chu Mingcheng suddenly had the strange feeling that spending an extra five hundred yuan was an excellent deal.

He put away his suitcase and began examining the room's layout.

There was a nightstand by the pillow, built into the room and immovable. Above it was a power strip for charging. The bedding looked clean, with a faint smell of disinfectant. He didn't dwell on whether it was truly clean or not. This was fishing—a little hardship was normal.

He took advantage of the fact that they hadn't left yet and still had a signal. He went out on deck, filmed a short video, and sent it to his customer group chat.

"Everyone, I'm about to head to the Xisha Islands to fish for deep-sea varieties. If I have a good catch, I'll send updates to the group when I have signal. You can pre-order then, and I can arrange for air freight as soon as I get back to shore."

The message immediately set the group buzzing.

Every customer expressed their anticipation. In Wenzhou, without the right connections, it was impossible to buy deep-sea fish from the Xisha Islands, unless you had a friend who was a deep-sea fishing enthusiast.

Chu Mingcheng didn't chat with the customers in the group. They hadn't even set off yet. He could discuss prices after he had caught some fish. For now, this was just to build some hype.

When fishing in the Xisha Islands, there was no signal most of the time. He would probably get signal when he was two or three hours from shore on the way back. At that point, he could send pictures of his catch to the group and let everyone place their orders.

Chu Mingcheng checked his current savings. After paying the boat fee, he had only sixty-seven thousand yuan left. But fishing also required buying bait and other expenses, which would probably cost another two thousand.

He made a note of his savings. After he returned and sold all his fish, he would know how much he had earned from this trip.

Customers boarded one after another. By nine-forty, everyone was on board.

The boat owner then boarded, started the Sky High, and the engine began warming up.

At ten o'clock, with a long blast of the horn, the Sky High officially set off, heading for the Xisha Islands.

For the first ten minutes, the sixty-six-meter-long boat was very stable. But after a while, the whole vessel began slowly rising and falling with the waves.

Chu Mingcheng stood on the foredeck, watching the Sky High brave the wind and waves. He suddenly felt a strong urge to get to Xiamen and have his own boat.

After watching the scenery for a while, he felt bored and returned to his room.

No one on the boat seemed to be seasick. Those who rented spots to fish in the Xisha Islands were basically seasoned anglers—they wouldn't get seasick just after setting off. At most, they might feel a little queasy when the waves got bigger in the deep sea.

In his room, Chu Mingcheng took out his laptop. He took advantage of the free time to edit the videos he had taken of catching large yellow croaker and learning freediving and spearfishing in Qiongzhou. 【TN: Hainan's historical name.】

He hadn't really posted any videos to his account yet, mainly because he had been too busy. If it weren't for the fact that making videos could attract customers and allow him to sell his fish at market price, he really wouldn't be bothered.

The large boat sailed on the sea, not as smooth as walking on flat ground, but with a slow, gentle rocking motion. For those who were naturally good with boats, lying in bed in this situation was very comfortable—like being in a cradle. But for those who weren't, their stomachs would probably be churning by now.

As Chu Mingcheng was being rocked, he was lulled into drowsiness and yawned. Fortunately, it was already noon, and a crew member with a megaphone called everyone to the dining hall for lunch, which woke him up.

The food on the boat was good—meat, fish, and vegetables. A crew member stood by, serving everyone. The tableware was disposable, but each person received a set to use until they disembarked, and the quality was quite good.

Chu Mingcheng took his food to an empty table. He took a bite and found that the chef's skills were surprisingly good. The simple, large-pot meal was delicious, and his appetite soared. If you wanted more, you could go back for seconds until you were full.

The dining hall was large, and the anglers basically had their own small groups, gathered together and chatting about their past glorious fishing achievements. He also saw a few female anglers gathered together. The sound of their chatter almost drowned out all the men in the dining hall. Truly terrifying!

After finishing his meal, he took his tableware to be washed, then brought it back to his room.

The boat would probably reach the fishing spot late at night on the first day. Everyone would come out for night fishing then.

Chu Mingcheng first went out on deck to walk around and aid his digestion. When it was one in the afternoon, he went back to sleep. Although he was refreshed after lunch and not sleepy for the moment, he still closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep.

He had experience with night fishing. If he didn't rest well in the afternoon and get enough energy, staying up all night would be very uncomfortable.

He fell asleep without realizing it. When Chu Mingcheng woke up again, it was already past four in the afternoon. It wouldn't be long before dinner. He got up and washed his face, then found a crew member and learned that they would arrive at the deep-sea fishing spot around eleven tonight.

The target species were deep-sea red snapper, amberjack, red diamond, and grouper, at a depth of about one hundred and fifty meters.

With this information, Chu Mingcheng had a plan. He went back and took out his electric reel and fishing rod. He would use the 12-strand, 8-braid PE line he had bought before, with a 30-gauge carbon leader.