18: Rent 2

The two ate their meal, chatting idly.

The food at this "Fly Restaurant" was indeed very delicious. No wonder business was so good.

Since neither of them drank alcohol, they finished eating quite quickly!

Bai Xue secretly marveled at Yang Qi's appetite.

The meal cost a total of 156 yuan.

Yang Qi exclaimed, saying the "Fly Restaurant" was more cost-effective!

The two left the restaurant and waved goodbye.

They each went their separate ways.

By the time Yang Qi returned to his rented room, it was almost dark! He first charged his tricycle in the parking shed on the first floor, then went upstairs to his room.

The night passed uneventfully!

At five in the morning, Yang Qi got up. After washing up, he loaded his gear onto the tricycle, preparing to head to the beach for an early catch.

He bought a rice ball and a cup of soy milk on the way, then drove directly to the reef area where he had saved Bai Xue last time.

Indeed, one should never underestimate any angler; two fishing enthusiasts were already casting their rods so early.

He filled the live fish tank with some water, assembled his lure rod, and Yang Qi began to search for fish.

He concentrated his psychic power and activated his ability.

Soon, he saw a school of Sea Bass foraging about 40 meters away.

He immediately turned sideways, cast his rod, and then slowly reeled in the line.

As the fishing rod slowly twitched, several Sea Bass noticed the small, alluring fish.

"Hmph ~ Where do you think you're going ~"

Instantly, the fastest one spotted it, swallowed the small fish in one gulp, and swam towards the surface.

"Why run! You've already got it in your mouth, are we going to snatch it from you?"

The other fish watched the one that had eaten alone swim away, grumbling as they continued to forage.

In less than a minute, Yang Qi reeled in this fish, weighing about three catties. He didn't even need a landing net.

Then he removed the hook and casually tossed it into the live fish tank.

"Not bad, not bad at all, a good start!"

"Keep going, keep going!"

He cast the rod, reeled in the line.

His fishing rod twitched again. Yang Qi immediately raised the rod and set the hook.

"Got one!"

He quickly reeled the fishing reel, pulling the fish to the surface in just a few movements.

Unhooking and releasing the fish, all in one smooth motion.

"Keep going, keep going ~"

"Here it comes! Your delivery has arrived, please sign for it!"

The fish once again discovered a small fish that appeared, slowly swimming towards them. It showed no panic at all upon seeing them, the predators.

How could the fish tolerate such provocation? They accelerated and pounced, scrambling to snatch the food.

After all, the quick-mouthed get it, the slow-mouthed don't!

"Got one!"

Another lucky fish took up residence in the 38-liter fishing box.

He caught five fish in a row like this. Seeing fewer and fewer companions around them, the remaining few finally got scared and scattered.

Yang Qi also stopped to rest for a bit. While drinking water, he continued to search for fish schools.

He squinted and lit a Ziyun cigarette, taking a few puffs, feeling quite content!

He spotted several more schools of Sea Bass, Black Seabream, and Yellowfin Seabream. In front of the reef, there were some dazed Rockfish at the bottom, and he even saw three to five crabs scuttling around, waving their large pincers, looking for food.

Looking at the school of Yellowfin Seabream chasing a few small shrimp, Yang Qi smiled, "So you guys like to eat shrimp!"

That's easy to deal with. Yang Qi immediately switched to a fake shrimp lure.

"Whoosh ~" The fake shrimp hit the water with a splash!

A school of Yellowfin Seabream suddenly discovered a colorful small shrimp, completely unfazed, leisurely leaping before their eyes.

Provocation! It was absolutely blatant provocation!

An uncle could tolerate it, but an aunt could not!

"Splash," it was swallowed in one bite!

Another combination of bending the rod, raising it to set the hook, reeling in the line, and lifting the fish. A little over two catties, not bad!

Just like that, Yang Qi fished for Yellowfin Seabream, then Black Seabream.

Time passed without him noticing.

"A laugh in the vast sea! The surging tides on both banks..."

Suddenly, another ringtone sounded. Yang Qi put down his fishing rod. He took out his phone and saw it was Bai Xue calling.

"Hello ~ Bai Xue!"

"Hey ~ Yang Qi, I've found a house for you. If you have time, come and see if it's suitable!" Bai Xue said from the other end.

"Oh, oh! Alright, thank you, Bai Xue. I'm fishing right now, I'll head back immediately to sort things out, then I'll come to your place to take a look!"

After hanging up, Yang Qi checked the time; it was only 7:30. He immediately packed up his gear, slung the live fish tank over his shoulder, and headed home.

He went to a nearby purchasing station and sold all his catch. The price at the purchasing station was certainly not as good as selling retail himself; the unit price for each type of fish was basically five or six yuan cheaper.

After all, middlemen also need to make a profit! But to save time, this would have to do!

"When I have time, I still need to sell retail myself!"

He sold them for over 800 yuan in total!

Without even going to his rented room, he set off directly from the purchasing station towards Qingshan Town.

He raced all the way, arriving at the "Fly Restaurant" where they had agreed to meet.

Bai Xue was already waiting.

"Bai Xue, I'm sorry, have I kept you waiting?"

"Not at all! I just arrived myself!"

After greeting each other, Bai Xue began to tell Yang Qi about the house.

It was in Bai Xue's village, about 10 kilometers from Qingshan Town, a ride of over 20 minutes by electric bike.

The house belonged to Bai Xue's great-uncle. It was a three-room, two-story house with a courtyard.

Then Bai Xue rode her electric bike, leading the way, while Yang Qi slowly followed behind on his tricycle.

Watching Bai Xue ahead, with her ponytail, white T-shirt, and black jeans, she exuded vitality and youthful energy.

This subtly stirred the heartstrings of Yang Qi, who had never been in love.

After passing a few fishing villages, they soon arrived at the village where Bai Xue lived.

The village was not large, with about seventy or eighty households. Various unnamed green plants and fruit trees were planted everywhere along the village roads, making it look lush and green.

Under the largest tree shade, a group of people sat chatting.

The two arrived at a house at the southernmost end of the village. Bai Xue got off her bike and pointed at the house: "It's right here."

She then took out her phone and made a call, speaking a bit fast. Yang Qi didn't understand a single word of the local dialect. It must have been a call to her great-uncle.

Yang Qi didn't mind and started to observe the surroundings of the house.

He saw a weedy farm road in front of the house that led directly to the seawall road. It seemed that no vehicles had used it for a long time, as only a small trace in the middle was visible.

In front of the courtyard was about an acre of land planted with Casuarina trees. Yang Qi knew these trees were mainly for wind protection and were common in the area.

On the other side of the road, some areas were for growing vegetables and grains, but most were for various fruits!

As he was looking, a voice from behind called, "Xiao Xue!"

He turned to see a man around 60 years old cycling over.

As he approached, Yang Qi noticed the old man had white hair and a somewhat dark complexion, but his spirits were very high.

Through Bai Xue's introduction, it was indeed her great-uncle. Yang Qi didn't know his name, so he just followed Bai Xue and called out, "Great-uncle."

The old man responded, then looked at Bai Xue with a beaming smile, took out a key, opened the main gate, and entered first. The two followed him inside.

"The courtyard is really big!" Yang Qi's first impression was of the large courtyard, about 25 meters by 12 meters.

The three two-story rooms were neither new nor old, but quite clean, without any cluttered 雜物.

One of the rooms on the first floor must have been the kitchen, and if you asked Yang Qi how he knew, it was because the wood-burning stove was still there.

The other two rooms were empty.

There was also a bathroom partitioned off under the stairs. Yang Qi tried it, and it was still functional!

He went up to the second floor and looked around. Everything was quite clean. It was clear that although it was an old house, it must have been maintained and cleaned regularly.

There were no signs of rats or sparrows nesting, which often happens in old, unoccupied houses!