67: First time fishing for oyster slabs

Yang Qi was considering where to get some money this afternoon. If things got really bad, he would go check out Dapan Bay again.

Zhang Jun's call came in, "Hey~! Yang Qi, did you pass the exam this morning?"

"Of course, I passed. Such a small matter couldn't possibly stump me."

Yang Qi: "Brother Jun, are you that free this afternoon?"

"I actually don't have anything on this afternoon. A friend of mine opened an oyster farm recently, and they're starting fishing. I'm planning to go support him," Zhang Jun said.

"Then Brother Jun, take me along. I was just wondering how I'd pass the time this afternoon!"

"Alright, then. Let's meet at your town's pier in half an hour. Chang Jianqiang is going too."

"Okay, I'll get ready then. See you later."

Since he was going fishing at an oyster farm, Yang Qi took out his professional-grade, heavy-duty boat fishing rod and left it at home.

He loaded all his other gear onto his tricycle and headed towards the town pier.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Jun and Chang Jianqiang had already arrived. The three of them boarded a fishing boat and set off for the oyster farm.

Yang Qi listened as Zhang Jun explained that this boat was specifically for transporting people to the oyster farm for fishing. The round-trip boat fee was 50 yuan per person, and the fishing fee was 200 yuan per person. The fishing time was from 7 AM to 5 PM.

The oyster farm was not far from the pier, about a fifteen-minute journey at full speed. Yang Qi occasionally passed by there when he went out to sea.

Soon, the fishing boat arrived. This oyster farm was quite large.

Each individual oyster raft was about 20 square meters. They were constructed from pontoons, bamboo poles, and an iron frame. Many oyster rafts formed a large area, too many to count easily with the naked eye.

Zhang Jun introduced Yang Qi to Boss Wang, the owner of the oyster farm. Yang Qi took the opportunity to add him as a friend.

Boss Wang refused to accept the fishing fee from the three of them. Zhang Jun, however, insisted that since they were there to support him, they definitely had to pay.

Seeing the two of them at a stalemate, Yang Qi interjected playfully:

"Boss Wang! If you don't take our money, how can we possibly feel good about taking the fish we catch? We're all experts, you know."

In the end, the three of them paid three hundred yuan, and that settled the matter.

(Dear readers, don't think that because I only fished for half a day, I should only pay half the price. I have personally experienced it several times: as long as you drop your line, no matter how late, they charge for a full day. There is no half-price option.)

There were already about fifteen to twenty anglers fishing on the oyster rafts, each person occupying one raft, not disturbing each other.

Yang Qi activated his ability to scan the area. About thirty meters to his right, there were quite a few fish swimming around under several empty spots.

"Brother Jun, Chang Ge, let's try over there. I have a good feeling about that spot!" He led the two of them in that direction.

"Alright! Let's go!" Zhang Jun and the other followed.

The three of them found three adjacent oyster rafts and began fishing.

Yang Qi carefully observed the water below. Sure enough, there were many Black Sea Bream, mostly weighing between one and two catties.

Several Groupers were also lurking on the seabed, making Yang Qi's heart pound.

After choosing their spots, the three began to fish.

Yang Qi took out his stainless steel fish-luring cage and stuffed it full of broken antarctic shrimp bricks.

He sank it into the water, positioning it near the Black Sea Bream school, about thirty meters away.

Yang Qi took out his boat rock fishing rod. He began fishing precisely near the fish-luring cage.

A large school of Black Sea Bream immediately gathered near the fish-luring cage, a dense, dark mass.

He planned to target this school of Black Sea Bream first.

As soon as the bait sank near the school, a fish took the hook.

He reeled it in and saw a Black Sea Bream weighing about one and a half catties. Not bad.

The live fish tank was already filled with water, the oxygen pump was on, and there was no need to close the lid.

Yang Qi knew that what followed was his 'inventory acquisition' mode.

One Black Sea Bream after another was continuously reeled in by him. It was as satisfying as watching some fishing experts on short videos 'dominate' crucian carp in a black pit.

Zhang Jun, who had been watching Yang Qi, noticed his continuous catch streak and walked over to him.

"Brother Jun, how's it going? Have you caught anything?"

"Yang Qi, you're really amazing! I've only caught two fish, and you're already on a continuous streak," Zhang Jun replied.

"Just good luck. Did you bring a fish-luring cage? There might be a school of fish nearby, so we need to find a way to keep them here."

Yang Qi reminded him.

"I brought it, I brought it! I understand! I'm going back now."

"Okay, I'm fishing at the 30-meter mark. You can try that."

Hearing Yang Qi's words, Zhang Jun was somewhat delighted. He even quickened his pace.

Chang Jianqiang was about to come over and ask Yang Qi something, but Zhang Jun pulled him back halfway.

Zhang Jun told him how to fish and about the water depth for luring fish.

Next, all three of them started getting continuous bites. However, Yang Qi caught more and larger fish. Because he could see the size of the fish, he tried his best to put the bait into the mouths of the bigger ones.

During this time, Yang Qi also caught those few Groupers. They weren't very big, five or six-catty Green Groupers.

The speed at which the three of them were catching fish finally attracted the attention of nearby anglers.

"Holy cow, these guys are really fierce! Are the Black Sea Bream lining up to bite the hook?"

"That young man is still the best. I've been watching for a while, and he barely has an empty rod. He's even caught several Groupers."

Several anglers exclaimed in surprise!

"Why can they get continuous bites, but we barely get any?"

Yang Qi's live fish tank was almost full, and he had quite a few fish in his fish basket beside him.

After another half an hour, Yang Qi saw that the fish school below had mostly dispersed.

So he reeled in his rod and walked over to Zhang Jun, saying:

"Brother Jun, there are too many fish. We can't take all these live fish! It's only been two hours. Leaving now feels like a loss!"

Zhang Jun gave Yang Qi a look: "That's because you've caught too many. Others wish they could catch as many!"

"Besides, Boss Wang here buys fish, just a little cheaper than on shore. It's still better than taking dead fish back."

Yang Qi's heart brightened when he heard they could sell fish. "Hmm, let's ask about the price first, shall we?"

Yang Qi immediately called Boss Wang, whom he had just added, and explained the situation.

Less than two minutes later, the oyster farm owner arrived. He looked at Yang Qi's live fish tank, handed Yang Qi a cigarette, and said:

"Young man, you truly are an expert, with great skill. I also buy fish here, though it's slightly cheaper."

"For Black Sea Bream weighing over a catty, I can give you 60 yuan per catty for live fish, and 40 yuan for dead ones. How does that sound?"

Yang Qi heard that it was indeed five or eight yuan cheaper than on shore. However, the convenience was a plus, and clearing out the fish tank meant he could fish for a few more hours. It was a good deal no matter how he looked at it.

"Alright, let's go with the price Boss Wang said!"

"Great! Boss Yang, please wait a moment. I'll arrange for someone to come and weigh the fish and settle the bill."

After speaking, Boss Wang took out his phone and started making a call.

"Boss Yang, someone will be here shortly. Please wait! I'm going to check on Manager Zhang's situation!"

With that, he walked towards Zhang Jun.

Within two minutes, two workers from the oyster farm came over, one pushing a scale and the other a large live fish tank.

........................

The data has dropped quite a bit these past two days. Please like, comment, and urge for more updates. Please support this free 'powering by love' initiative. Give a newcomer some motivation to write!