30: Fierce Battle with Yellowfin

Yang Qi mentally tallied the morning's catch: "36 Yellow Chicken Fish over 5 catties, 5 Bigeye Snapper, one Redtail Bird weighing 15 catties, and one King Mackerel weighing 12 catties."

"Holy crap, isn't that almost 20,000 yuan? It really is faster to make money fishing for big fish out at sea! The fish are big and valuable!" Yang Qi couldn't help but exclaim.

"I still need to earn money quickly to buy a boat!"

"My ability is still inconvenient when going out to sea with a boat. If I had my own boat and could use my ability, wouldn't I be able to stop wherever I wanted? And fish however I wanted?"

Just like this morning, Yang Qi had spotted many good fish along the way, but he couldn't explain why he needed to stop the boat.

As he thought, Yang Qi drifted off to sleep, going to chat with the Duke of Zhou.

He didn't know how much time had passed, but when Yang Qi woke up, he looked at the other bunks, and no one was there!

He pulled out his phone and saw he had slept for over three hours.

After splashing some water on his face, he went to the large lounge. Yang Qi noticed that most people were still playing around, while a small number had probably gone to rest.

Zhang Jun and his friends were playing cards, boisterously shouting and laughing. He greeted them briefly, then turned to go out on deck for some fresh air.

The front deck was scorching hot. The sun was high, but thankfully, the moving boat still provided a cool breeze.

He moved to the aft deck and saw someone trolling.

Yang Qi walked over and saw it was Wang Jinxi, who was intently focused on his fishing rod.

"Hey, A Xi, how's the fishing going?" Yang Qi asked with a smile.

Wang Jinxi looked up at him and excitedly said, "I'm waiting for a big fish! Yang Qi, you should grab a rod and fish with me. I have bait here!"

Yang Qi looked at the several Blue Mackerel in the live fish tank behind Wang Jinxi. "Okay! I'll go get a rod. I've never tried trolling before!"

Yang Qi got excited, went to get the boat-rock fishing rod, hooked a live Blue Mackerel, inserted the rod into the holder, and started trolling alongside him.

Soon after, the rod suddenly dipped sharply, and Wang Jinxi instantly tensed up, gripping the rod tightly with both hands, pulling it upwards with all his might.

But the fish had immense power, bending the rod into a bow. "Good heavens, this fish isn't small!"

Yang Qi also grew excited, witnessing a fish being caught while the boat was moving for the first time.

Wang Jinxi gritted his teeth, locked in a stalemate with the fish, periodically reeling in some line.

"Jinxi, do you need help?"

"The fish isn't too big, I can handle it. Just help me net it later!" Wang Jinxi replied.

It was clear that Wang Jinxi's sea fishing skills were very proficient. With stops and retrieves, the fish slowly began to surface.

"It's a Spanish Mackerel!"

Yang Qi deftly netted the fish.

Indeed, it was a Spanish Mackerel weighing about 20 catties.

"Awesome, brother! This fish should be worth quite a bit of money, right?" Yang Qi genuinely praised.

Wang Jinxi grinned, his face full of accomplishment. "This wild deep-sea Spanish Mackerel, around 20 catties, is priced at about 150-200 yuan per catty."

"Congratulations, congratulations!"

Yang Qi looked at the big fish, mentally calculating that if he had his own boat, catching such a fish with his ability would be as easy as pie, further increasing his desire to buy a boat.

Wang Jinxi also explained that deep-sea Spanish Mackerel are difficult to keep alive and need to be frozen promptly.

Yang Qi watched Wang Jinxi take the fish to the freezer. He then turned to look at his own rod, full of anticipation.

Soon, Wang Jinxi returned, hooked another live fish, inserted the rod into the holder, and continued trolling.

The two began smoking and chatting casually. During their conversation, Yang Qi learned that these crewmen's basic salary from the boat owner was three hundred yuan a day.

They usually help the anglers net fish, spear fish, move fish, and provide bait, etc. All the anglers combined give them two hundred yuan per person per day. So, a day out at sea is 500 yuan.

Don't think 500 yuan a day isn't much; their workload is very heavy, and they must be available on call.

At the same time, they must have rescue capabilities and constantly act as rescuers. Most people cannot handle this job.

Only when the anglers are resting can they use their own break time to fish. Of course, any fish they catch belong to them.

Just then, Yang Qi's fishing rod suddenly shook violently, the line began to run out with a "whoosh," and the rod tip was almost pulled into the water.

Wang Jinxi shouted, "Yang Qi, a big fish has bitten!"

Yang Qi immediately snapped to attention, gripping the fishing rod tightly with both hands, fiercely setting the hook. He felt a powerful pull from the sea.

He gritted his teeth and started reeling in, but the fish's strength was astonishing. The line was constantly being pulled out, and the main line shrieked as it cut across the sea surface.

Wang Jinxi helped direct from the side: "Steady, the fish is very big, don't rush, slowly wear it down!"

Yang Qi followed his instructions and put the fishing rod back into the holder.

He casually used his ability to look at it: a pig-like fish, spindle-shaped, blue on its back, silvery-white on its belly, with dorsal, caudal, and anal fins that were orange-yellow.

"Yellowfin Tuna!"

Yang Qi immediately bent down, holding the rod with his left hand, slowly leaning back, using his body weight to gradually pull the rod. With his right hand, he desperately reeled in the line.

Again and again, he repeated this set of movements.

The fishing line still ran out with a "sizzling" sound. He would reel in one meter, and it would run out one and a half meters. He continued to reel, continued to retrieve the line.

Yang Qi felt his blood boiling.

"Yang Qi, how are you doing? Do you want me to take over!" Wang Jinxi said from the side.

"I can hold on for a bit longer, you take over later."

"Okay, I'll get you the fighting belt first; we'll have to fight the fish hard soon! You hold on." Wang Jinxi immediately went to find the fighting belt.

He put it on Yang Qi first, then wrapped one around his own waist.

"Yang Qi, lock the drag, go for the strong attack."

"Alright!" Yang Qi had no experience with big game fishing, so he readily accepted Wang Jinxi's advice.

He gave the rod a strong tug, then took it down, locked the drag with his right hand, and propped the rod against the fighting belt, beginning the strong attack.

He stood firm, in a horse stance, and engaged the fish in a contest of strength.

After 10 minutes, Yang Qi was starting to lose stamina.

"A Xi, prepare to take over."

Wang Jinxi, who was ready at all times, smoothly took the rod, braced it against the fighting belt, and began the strong attack.

Another 10 minutes passed.

Gradually, a huge silhouette appeared beneath the distant sea surface. It was indeed a giant Yellowfin Tuna!

"Tuna! It's a big Yellowfin Tuna! What a huge Tuna!"

Even Wang Jinxi, who usually appeared calm, couldn't help but shout excitedly.

"Yang Qi ~ take over! I'll go get the gaff!"

Yang Qi took the rod and continued to reel in the line.

The shouts finally caught the attention of the captain.

He poked his head out of the cockpit and saw a huge Yellowfin Tuna! He immediately shouted over the broadcast: "A Hao, come to the cockpit, a guest has caught a big Yellowfin Tuna!"

If you're wondering why the captain would switch people to drive the boat, it was, of course, to film a video. Catching a big Yellowfin Tuna on his boat would definitely need to be photographed as evidence, and it would certainly boost his business.