108: Swallowtail Star

A big catch, nearly a hundred catties, bit the hook, and Yang Qi got excited.

He took the fishing rod from the holder, locked the switch, and started reeling in by hand. He went all out, relying on brute force.

In about twenty minutes, he landed the ninety-catty Big Vermilion Snapper. After hoisting the fish onto the deck, he immediately bled it to remove lactic acid.

Yang Qi looked into the sea. There were quite a few fish nearby, but none as large as the one he just caught.

He continued with automatic electric reel fishing, entering a leisurely angling mode.

Drinking tea, eating fried Sardine, and occasionally unhooking a fish—it was quite relaxing.

The two bottom-fishing rods had a good harvest, often catching various Groupers. However, their individual sizes weren't very large, only about two to four catties.

In contrast, the rod fishing in the middle layer caught a more diverse range of fish, and their prices couldn't compare to Grouper.

However, because of the ninety-catty Red Seabream earlier, the overall income from this rod was still very good.

Noticing there were no more big fish, Yang Qi prepared to switch all his rods to string hooks a few sizes smaller.

Yang Qi saw the fishing line of one of the bottom-fishing rods twitching occasionally and used his ability to check. He saw several small fish, weighing one to two catties, pecking at the bait, struggling to swallow it.

The small fish were bright red and very beautiful, especially their tails, which were distinctive, forked like a swallow's tail.

"What beautiful Groupers, they look like Swallowtail Seaperch!"

"Let me change to some more palatable food for you, so you don't all have trouble eating."

Yang Qi quickly reeled in, changed to string hooks, and baited them with Shrimp. He then cast them back into the sea.

As the lead sinker reached the seabed, he had barely pulled the bait two meters off the bottom when five or six fish immediately surrounded one of the hooks, fighting for the food.

The first to get hooked was the largest one, which, relying on its strength, swam over first and swallowed the Shrimp in one gulp.

It immediately felt a pain and, just as it tried to spit it out, the electric reel's recoil embedded the hook into its lip.

The same scene unfolded simultaneously on another hook.

"Hehehe, such beautiful fish, I want them alive!"

Before the fishing line could be reeled in a few meters, Yang Qi picked up the rod, ready to land the fish by hand.

He turned off the automatic reeling switch and slowly cranked the reel, pulling in ten meters, then pausing for a minute or two, carefully bringing the two fish to the surface.

Looking at the two fish in the landing net, Yang Qi's eyes lit up.

"They are indeed Swallowtail Seaperch, so beautiful! They should look great in a fish tank!"

Yang Qi had seen them at Chen Tianming's store. Their market price ranged from 300 to 800 yuan per catty.

Yang Qi had never eaten them, but according to Zhang Jun, who was present at the time, the one-to-two-catty ones were the most delicious and best-selling.

Swallowtail Seaperch, scientifically known as *Plectropomus maculatus*, gets its name from its tail, which resembles a swallow's tail. It looks very similar to the Leopard Coral Grouper, with a red body covered in white or brown spots.

Swallowtail Seaperch has tender and delicious flesh, high nutritional value, and is considered a relatively high-end delicacy.

"A true angler must catch big fish and good fish!"

"Keep going, keep going."

Yang Qi quickly put the fish into the live fish tank. Swallowtail Seaperch are not easy to keep alive, so he dared not be careless.

He re-baited with Shrimp and continued fishing. Most fish are schooling animals and exhibit collective behavior.

Swallowtail Seaperch were no exception. Yang Qi felt like he was catching more and more fish, realizing he had encountered a school.

Basically, as soon as the bait reached the bottom, fish would rush to eat it. Since the fish were not very large, the time to land them was short.

Yang Qi, managing three rods by himself, felt like he had no free time. He tried to ensure that after reeling in about ten meters with the electric reel, he would turn off the reeling switch.

However, some fish couldn't adapt to the water pressure, and their swim bladders protruded. There was no need to put these fish in the live fish tank; Yang Qi put them in a separate fish basket to be transferred directly to the freezer later.

"Yang Qi, still not resting? How's the fishing?"

Bai Xue's voice came from behind him.

"Oh, it's Bai Xue. Why aren't you sleeping a bit longer? The fishing's not bad!"

Yang Qi turned his head to look at Bai Xue and replied.

"I've woken up. I came to see you. Sure enough, you're still awake, so I'll go make you some fish porridge to fill your stomach."

Bai Xue said as she walked towards Yang Qi.

"This... this is Swallowtail Seaperch. It's truly beautiful!"

Bai Xue happened to see the Swallowtail Seaperch Yang Qi had just netted and immediately became excited.

"This fish is so pretty! Why don't we take a few back and keep them in your big fish tank? But these fish are also very expensive."

"It's fine, no matter how expensive they are, it doesn't stop us from keeping a few ourselves! We caught them ourselves," Yang Qi replied.

"Alright! I'll go make the porridge then. You keep fishing."

"Bai Xue, use these Swallowtail Seaperch to cook, I've never eaten them before."

Yang Qi pointed to the Swallowtail Seaperch in the nearby fish basket.

Bai Xue nodded in agreement, went forward, picked up two Swallowtail Seaperch, and went to cook the fish porridge.

While the porridge was cooking, Bai Xue even came over and personally caught a few Swallowtail Seaperch. In her words, how could she miss such beautiful fish?

After a few bowls of fish porridge, Yang Qi was satisfied, his heart feeling warm.

He lazily half-reclined in his chair and contentedly lit a cigarette.

"A cigarette after a meal is better than being an immortal!"

Bai Xue finished tidying the table and ran towards the electric reel because it had hooked another fish.

Under the light, a faint pink silhouette could be seen.

Bai Xue's heart was filled with anticipation as she quickly helped the electric reel retrieve the line manually. Soon, the fish was pulled out of the water.

"Wow! It really is a Longtail Red Snapper, how beautiful!"

Bai Xue scooped up the pink Longtail Red Snapper, weighing about five catties, and couldn't help but exclaim.

The Longtail Red Snapper has a crescent-shaped caudal fin with both upper and lower lobes extended into filaments. Its body is uniformly pink or silvery-white with a pink luster.

All its fins are pink, and its pelvic fins are densely covered with black spots.

Its eyes are particularly large, with pupils located below the midline of the body, and a short snout.

This is the most intuitive impression the Longtail Red Snapper gives: beautiful and unique.

Its market price is also not low, ranging from 80 to 200 yuan per catty.

This depends on the size of the fish and its freshness, as Longtail Red Snapper is very popular for sashimi.

Currently, Bai Xue was busy with three fishing rods, constantly netting fish and baiting hooks.

Yang Qi sat not far away, smoking, admiring her graceful figure busily working. His eyes couldn't help but become hazy.

The scene before him suddenly calmed Yang Qi's heart.

He understood that this was what he truly desired.

He almost blurted out that clichéd line: "I don't like money, I'm not interested in money..."

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The data that had just rebounded a few days ago plummeted again yesterday, like a stock hitting its daily limit. It's so frustrating!