84: Taking parents out to sea

At this point, the "moving in" process was considered complete!

Yang Qi's original choice for the master bedroom on the second floor was ultimately "appropriated" by Mother Yang. He was "forced" to choose the third floor instead.

The reason was very simple and direct: "I don't want to live on the first floor, and I don't want to climb to the third floor."

They would let him move back down after they returned to their hometown in a while.

Yang Qi didn't mind; as long as Mother Yang was happy!

The next day, Yang Qi woke up early and called Bai Xue. This was something they had agreed on the day before: taking Yang Dad and Mother Yang out to sea today.

After picking up Bai Xue, the four of them drove a van to the training center's pier.

Because they had called the oil and ice vendors in advance, these people were already there when they arrived. First, they brought the inflatable boat, several landing nets, and some vegetables from their car onto the boat and put them away.

Several workers helped transfer the ice to the ice hold, and the boss settled the bill and left. Refueling wasn't as convenient.

Yang Qi regretted not having filled up the tank beforehand; it was delaying them!

While the refueling truck was fueling the boat, Yang Qi and the others went to get breakfast and buy live bait.

Yang Qi also gave the gate guard an entire pack of cigarettes and asked him to keep an eye on the refueling truck.

When they returned, the old man was indeed by the refueling truck, watching. Yang Qi nodded at him, expressing his gratitude!

Yang Qi noticed that the fuel gauge showed nearly 3,000 liters had been added. Considering the more than a thousand liters of fuel left from last time, he said to the boss:

"Just add 3,000 liters this time. We'll add more next time. Let's go out to sea first!"

Now, Yang Qi was considered a big client of this refueling boss. Of course, it was whatever Yang Qi said.

After scanning the QR code to pay, Mother Yang and Yang Dad exchanged glances upon hearing the sound of the boss's phone announcing a payment of over 20,000 yuan, their eyes filled with shock and worry.

However, since there were outsiders present, neither of them spoke.

It was only when Yang Qi slowly backed the boat out of the berth, turned the bow, and started to accelerate that the two expressed their concerns:

"Son, how much does it cost to fill this boat with fuel once? I heard you say just now that it cost over 20,000 yuan and it wasn't even full yet."

Yang Qi explained: "Yang Dad, Mother Yang, this boat's fuel tank holds 6,000 liters. It costs about 40,000 yuan to fill it up."

"Is the expense that great? Can you even make money then?" Yang Dad was a bit worried.

"Dad, don't worry! We add a lot of fuel to travel to more distant places to catch bigger, more valuable fish."

Yang Qi reassured Yang Dad and Mother Yang.

After the two had calmed down slightly, they were accompanied by Bai Xue as they climbed to the flybridge to enjoy the scenery.

Neither of them had ever seen the ocean, let alone a sunrise over the sea.

Fortunately, neither of them got seasick.

At this moment, the fiery red sun had just peeked out from the horizon, painting the sky and the sea a beautiful red. It was breathtaking.

The seawater on the surface transitioned from dark blue to blue, then to gold, then back to blue, and deep blue.

Gusts of sea breeze blew, segmenting the sea surface into strands of golden fragments. The white fishing boat sped along, like an arrow shooting into the distance.

For over an hour, Yang Qi showed no intention of stopping the boat. It wasn't that he hadn't found any fish.

It was just that the schools of fish were too small or consisted of less valuable species, so Yang Qi didn't bother to stop. With such a large fishing boat, the fuel consumed by stopping and restarting might be more expensive than the fish themselves.

Yang Qi only stopped when he reached a confluence of ocean currents where strong undercurrents brought enough microorganisms to attract countless small fish to feed, followed closely by larger fish.

Big fish eat small fish, small fish eat shrimp, and shrimp eat plankton.

Yang Qi even spotted Large Yellow Croaker among the schools of fish.

As Yang Qi slowly stopped the boat, everyone knew they had probably arrived at their destination.

Yang Dad had already learned how to use a fishing rod during the voyage, under Bai Xue's guidance. Although he wasn't very familiar with it, he still had a success rate of more than half.

As for Mother Yang, it was even easier; she just used a boat rod with an electric reel.

Including what they obtained from the last auction, Yang Qi and Bai Xue now had three electric reels. Bai Xue had already installed them separately.

"Bai Xue, there's a school of fish. Use the sabiki rig on the electric reel. The water depth is 38 meters. Drop the hooks."

Yang Qi shouted.

"Okay, 38 meters, school of fish, got it."

Bai Xue replied loudly.

This was something they had summarized from their usual practice: repeating the other person's words to avoid misunderstandings.

Yang Qi also stepped out of the cockpit, picked up a boat rock fishing rod, and baited it with a Shrimp that Mother Yang had taken from the live bait box.

With a flick of Yang Qi's rod, the hook with the Shrimp splashed into the water in the distance.

Yang Qi inserted the fishing rod into the rod holder.

He went over to help Bai Xue adjust the electric reels. He locked all the line-out switches, preparing for the electric reels to automatically fish, while Mother Yang would just wear gloves and unhook the fish.

Yang Dad was also using a boat rock fishing rod and had already cast his line.

Before Yang Qi even returned to his own fishing spot, he saw the tip of his rod shaking violently.

He immediately stepped forward, pulled out the rod, and set the hook.

"Got one!"

Yang Qi saw that a Black Sea Bream weighing over two catties had taken the bait. He immediately reeled in the line, pulling the fish out of the water.

Just as it was about to surface, Yang Dad beside him shouted excitedly:

"Fish on! Hahaha, I got a big one too!"

Yang Qi grinned. He already knew Yang Dad had caught a Red Seabream weighing seven or eight catties. Not bad.

He understood Yang Dad's excitement at catching his first saltwater fish.

A catty of fish feels like ten catties of force, and the tens of meters of water depth in the ocean were far from comparable to the shallow rivers of their hometown.

Seeing Yang Dad momentarily flustered and at a loss, Yang Qi said:

"Dad, don't rush. Tighten the drag on the reel a bit and just reel it in."

Yang Dad heard him and immediately understood. It was similar to fishing with a surf rod back home.

He quickly calmed down and calmly followed Yang Qi's advice.

After all, it wasn't one of his cheap fishing rods from back home, and he pulled the fish out of the water in just a few minutes.

"Son, what kind of fish is this, and how much is it worth?"

"Yang Dad, this is an Red Snapper, also called Red Seabream. Depending on its individual weight, it sells for 60 to 100 yuan per catty. Your fish isn't particularly big, so it's probably about 60 yuan per catty!"

Yang Qi explained to Yang Dad.

"This isn't big? 60 is 60, it definitely weighs seven catties, so doesn't that mean this fish is worth about 400 yuan? Wow, sea fish are really valuable!"

Yang Dad exclaimed.

"Haha, last time Brother Jun caught an Red Snapper over a hundred catties."

"There are ones that big? Then I want to try too." Yang Dad was a bit unconvinced.

While they were still talking, Mother Yang and Bai Xue's electric reels were continuously catching fish.

Fortunately, they had automatic line retrieval. Bai Xue taught Mother Yang hand-by-hand how to unhook the fish, releasing air from those that needed it, putting live fish into the live fish hold, and putting others into the freezer hold.

Two people managing three electric reels was still manageable.

Mother Yang was also very happy and proud to see three or four fish caught with one rod.

She repeatedly asked Bai Xue what kind of fish they were and how much they were worth.

Mother Yang was truly "blessed by the European Emperor."