35: Nanyou Feast

Chang Jianqiang lost his balance and stumbled, almost falling forward.

A fellow angler standing nearby, with quick eyes and hands, grabbed him, saving him from falling into the sea.

Before Chang Jianqiang could steady himself, he hastily raised his fishing rod, only to find that there was no longer any pulling force from it. He quickly reeled in, unwilling to give up.

As the fishing line swayed lightly, everyone knew: the line had broken, and the fish had escaped!

“Oh my goodness! My heavens!” Chang Jianqiang angrily slapped his thigh!

“How did the fish get away?”

He leaned over the boat’s railing, staring blankly at the seawater, looking left, right, and all around, as if searching for that big fish.

The others exchanged glances, and the atmosphere became a bit awkward.

Some wanted to laugh but dared not.

“These guys must have been secretly cheering ‘Oh ho! Oh ho!’ in their hearts just now!”

Yang Qi thought mischievously,

“Good thing they didn’t shout it out. If they had, and then the fish got away, would Chang Jianqiang have started cursing?”

A moment later, Chang Jianqiang turned around, and Yang Qi saw that his eyes were red.

The few anglers who had intended to joke around also dared not speak, fearing he might really lose his temper.

“I’m telling you: this was definitely a Tuna over 500 catties!”

“Brother Jun, I’m telling you: based on the feel, I’m sure it was a Bluefin Tuna over 500 catties!”

Zhang Jun patted him on the shoulder, not taking up the conversation.

He cursed inwardly: “He’s even copying my lines, ‘based on your feel’! Have you ever caught a Bluefin Tuna, kid?

Given your current state, I won’t say anything, but if you bring it up again later, just wait and see if I don't argue with you.”

Only Yang Qi knew that what was below was a large shark weighing over two hundred catties.

The fishing enthusiasts also dispersed, returning to their fishing spots to continue their battle.

Time quickly passed, and it was now early morning. Suddenly, the captain's urgent voice came over the broadcast:

“Holy cow! So many Tuna! A Tuna school has arrived! This is a rare opportunity!”

“Crewmen, quickly throw out bait to keep the fish here! Bosses, whether you can fill your holds with Tuna depends on you!”

Under the captain’s arrangements, the crewmen brought out boxes of frozen bait and began chumming.

Zhang Jun took out two fishing rods and handed one to Yang Qi.

Yang Qi saw that it was a two-section, 2.1-meter long boat fishing rod, with a pulley system at the tip and a high-power electric big drum reel. It was clearly a professional-grade, high-end item.

“This is a gift I specially prepared for you. I didn’t give you a gift when you moved last time, so don’t say anything about it!” Zhang Jun said while securing the fishing rod.

“This… Brother Jun, this is too expensive!” Yang Qi said.

“If you acknowledge me as your big brother, then accept it. Don’t say anything else!” Zhang Jun said.

Yang Qi was silent for a moment, “Okay, Brother Jun, thank you for the gift! I’ll remember it!”

If it were the old Yang Qi, before he gained his ability, he would definitely feel pressured receiving such an expensive gift from someone.

But now, with his ability, Yang Qi felt confident that he would surely be able to repay this favor in the future.

So, Yang Qi stopped overthinking and began assembling the fishing rod holder.

He scooped up a Skipjack Tuna weighing over three catties, hooked it with a sharp hook under its dorsal fin, and cast it into the sea.

“Fish on! I’ve got a fish! Tuna!”

“Wahahaha! I’ve got a fish!”

“It’s coming, it’s coming.”

“Hahaha, I’ve got one too!”

There was a commotion, like a bustling country fair.

The entire boat was bringing in fish. Other fishing boats nearby were also catching fish, making it very lively.

In Yang Qi’s ability vision, he could also see a large school of fish fleeing ahead, closely followed by larger predators hunting behind them.

There were Tuna, large Spanish Mackerel, Barracuda, and even a few sharks that weren’t very large.

“Is it really a Tuna school? I should have gotten a high-power electric reel. Now I’m screwed, reeling in so slowly.” A few anglers grumbled while manually pulling in their lines.

Electric reels with average power could only pull in fish weighing twenty or thirty catties. If they hooked a fish over sixty catties, they would be overwhelmed, spinning idly and generating a lot of heat.

Fortunately, all the rod holders had hoses and faucets underneath, allowing them to pour water on the electric reels to cool them down.

“Hahaha! This one’s excellent! Definitely over sixty catties, nice and fat. Hahaha! Ship worker, Ship worker, net the fish, net the fish, be careful! This is a big one!”

Someone with better equipment had already reeled their fish to the surface and started showing off.

“...What the heck! It’s barely over forty catties, why are you so loud? Anyone would think you caught a four-hundred-cattie fish!...”

Those with less good equipment grumbled inwardly while manually pulling in their lines.

“Plop!” “Plop!”

“Whoosh whoosh whoosh~”

Yang Qi’s two boat fishing rods hooked fish almost simultaneously. In his ability vision, two Yellowfin Tuna, one about forty catties and the other about sixty catties, were shaking their heads and struggling.

Yang Qi hadn't locked the line brakes on both rods beforehand. Seeing that he had hooked fish, he quickly pulled the rods to set the hooks, then tightened the brakes and activated the automatic reeling switch.

He operated the rod with the sixty-plus catty Tuna himself.

“Huff, huff!”

His hands were a blur, and in less than ten minutes, he saw the fish’s silhouette—a spindle-shaped Yellowfin Tuna, like a small pig.

“Ship worker, net the fish.”

Wang Jinxi heard Yang Qi’s call and immediately ran over, scooping up the Tuna.

“Yang Qi, this one’s good, about sixty catties, nice and fat.

Oh! That rod has a fish too.”

“Yes, the fish on that rod shouldn’t be too big.”

Yang Qi finished speaking, re-baited with a Skipjack Tuna, and cast it towards the school of fish. He then took over the other rod.

A forty-catty fish was nothing in front of this professional-grade big game Tuna rod.

Soon, this forty-catty Yellowfin Tuna was also reeled in.

Wang Jinxi bled and de-acidified both Tuna, then pulled them on a cart to the freezer.

Yang Qi was about to re-bait his hook when suddenly, a huge silhouette appeared in his ability vision.

A Yellowfin Tuna of at least four hundred catties was swimming towards their boat. Yang Qi’s eyes lit up; this was a big treasure.

He quickly adjusted his fishing rod, hooked the largest Skipjack Tuna, and cast it out, placing it in the big fish’s path.

Soon, the large Yellowfin Tuna discovered the strangely wriggling small fish ahead.

“A small fry, not even enough to fill a tooth gap! Oh well, better than nothing!” It accelerated. It gave a flick of its head.

The fishing rod suddenly dipped, forming a large arc, and Yang Qi knew the big fish was hooked.

He gripped the fishing rod tightly, braced his feet against the boat’s railing, and began to wrestle with this large Yellowfin Tuna.

The fishing line was taut, emitting a “buzzing” sound.

“Yang Qi, this fish isn’t small, you need to hold steady.” Zhang Jun shouted from the side.

After a few minutes of stalemate, Yang Qi loosened the brake a little, letting the Tuna run with the line for a while to relieve some of its strength.