317: The lucky yet tragic fisherman

Yang Qi stood behind him in silence for a while, not knowing what to say.

"Damn it, two rods snapped in a row! This is insane!"

However, fearing the man might do something rash, he braced himself and walked over to the big brother's side, saying softly:

"Big brother, have a cigarette first and calm down. Who knows, maybe you'll catch something else in a bit?"

The man turned around and took the cigarette, and Yang Qi noticed that his eyes were bloodshot.

*Puff*

The man took a deep drag and exhaled heavily. After a few seconds of silence, he spoke:

"Thank you! Brother!"

"This is the luckiest day of my fishing career; two big fish took the bait in one afternoon."

"Especially the second one, it definitely weighed over fifty catties. It's a pity I couldn't land it. I won't get another chance like this. *Sigh*!"

The man sighed as he smoked, his face filled with an expression of utter dejection.

"You're doing better than me. I haven't even caught a tiny Crucian carp yet. At least you got to experience the thrill of the fight twice."

To comfort him, Yang Qi began to mock himself.

"Hubby, time to eat!"

Bai Xue's voice came from not far away.

"Come on! Big brother, let's go grab some food together!"

Yang Qi invited the man.

"No, I won't go. You guys go ahead and eat! I have some bread here; I'll just make do with a few bites."

The man quickly declined.

"Big brother, all Anglers under heaven are one family! Meeting like this is fate. Keep the bread for a late-night snack. Come on, let's go eat something warm!"

Under Yang Qi's sincere invitation, the man came over to their RV.

Right next to the RV's kitchen, Bai Xue and Yao Shanshan had already set up a canopy and arranged several tables.

On a dining table made of two tables pushed together, five or six dishes were laid out. Aside from a plate of stir-fried greens, which looked normal...

The rest were served in large basins: stewed steak, fish with pickled cabbage, steamed Grouper, fish head with chopped chili, and a large basin of steamed Crab, Octopus, and Mantis Shrimp.

"Come, come, come! The roasted lamb chops are here!"

At that moment, Yao Shanshan brought over the roasted lamb chops.

"Big brother, sit down. Would you like a drink? We have beer and wine, but since we're fishing, we can't get drunk."

Yang Qi invited the man to sit and eat.

"This... these dishes are way too lavish!"

The man was a bit surprised. He had originally thought that since they were out camping, how good could the food really be?

Unexpectedly, reality completely defied his expectations. These dishes were more impressive than what he had during the New Year.

Sure enough, poverty limits my imagination!

Learning that the man didn't drink alcohol, Yang Qi brought him two cans of red bull. The four of them sat down to eat.

"Come, come, meeting is fate. Big brother, don't be formal."

"Alright, thank you for your hospitality."

"Hmm? What kind of fish is this? The taste is really good!"

The man first took a piece of the fish with pickled cabbage, tasted it, and asked.

"That's Wrasse; I caught it in the South China Sea. So is this fish head with chopped chili. Try it."

Yang Qi explained.

"Wrasse? It tastes great, a completely different flavor from freshwater fish."

"Mm! Try this Sesame Grouper too. Among Groupers, this one is considered quite delicious."

Yang Qi pointed to the Sesame Grouper and said.

"Oh! So this is Sesame Grouper! I've only heard of it but never eaten it! Let me try."

The man quickly picked up a piece of fish and tasted it.

"Tender and juicy, fresh and fragrant! It really is incredibly delicious."

"Oh my, I'm benefiting from your generosity today to be able to eat such delicious and expensive seafood. Thank you for the treat!"

"These dishes aren't as expensive as you think. Except for the beef and lamb, I caught everything else myself. It's not as pricey as it is in the market."

Yang Qi handed the man a large Crab and explained further,

"Actually, we are just coastal Fishermen who often go out to sea. These things aren't that valuable in our local area."

"Other seafood might not be expensive at the source, but these precious fish wouldn't be cheap even by the coast."

The man said with a tone that suggested he shouldn't be fooled. It was clear that this big brother named Nickname was also a very talkative person.

Upon learning that Yang Qi and the others had recently fished in the South China Sea and the Diaoyu Islands waters, and were now out on a three-day camping trip to relax...

The man said he was willing to be a guide for Yang Qi and the other two for three days, taking them around the area to fish properly.

He hadn't participated in sea fishing, but when it came to local freshwater angling, he spoke at length about where to catch good fish and how to catch them.

He mentioned several fish species, and when Yang Qi's group looked them up on their phones, they found them very appealing.

Among them were military fish, peach blossom fish, and stream grouper.

Bai Xue and Yao Shanshan, in particular, were deeply attracted by the appearance of the peach blossom fish and stream grouper after seeing their photos.

"Hubby, I want to go catch peach blossom fish and stream grouper. They're so beautiful; let's set up a freshwater aquarium when we get home to keep them."

Bai Xue said, her large eyes blinking at Yang Qi.

Yang Qi had no objections. He used to see peach blossom fish and stream grouper often in the river back in his hometown, but they were hard to find the last time he went back.

These fish were not only stunning in appearance but also tasted very fresh. They were definitely among the best of freshwater fish!

However, they had very high requirements for water quality and could hardly survive in even slightly polluted water. Nowadays, they generally only lived in mountain pools and streams far away from residential areas.

As for the military fish, it didn't have any particularly outstanding features in terms of looks, appearing somewhat similar to a Grass Carp.

The difference from the Grass Carp was that their heads were slightly more pointed and they had barbels at the corners of their mouths.

Due to their even higher water quality requirements, the texture of their meat was much better than that of Grass Carp.

Its biggest characteristic was that its scales were delicious, with a slightly chewy, gelatinous texture. It was said that eating military fish was all about eating its scales.

"Alright, we'll go for those fish over the next few days. Big Brother Nickname, how about we hire you as our guide for the next few days to take us to catch them?"

"We'll charter your vehicle for three days at six hundred yuan a day, how does that sound?"

"Yang Qi, how can that be okay? I don't want your money; I'll take you guys out for three days!"

Liu Zheng stated he couldn't take the money. Damn it, he worked himself to the bone driving for Huolala and earned five hundred at most on a good day. And that was before fuel costs!

"Brother Zheng, just listen to me on this. 600 yuan a day isn't much. If you stop taking orders for three days, it will affect your account to some extent."

Yang Qi urged.

"Oh! Brother A Qi, you even know about that!"

Liu Zheng looked at him with some surprise.

"Hehehe, what's so strange about that? I worked as a delivery boy for a while."

"If you don't take orders for a long time, the platform will reduce the number of orders it dispatches to you for a while. Fortunately, three days isn't too bad; the account will be fine after nurturing it for a few days."

Yang Qi said with a smile.