9: Treat yourself

Yang Qi was still very happy to harvest over 1000 yuan on his first fishing trip.

At least he earned back the money for the fishing rod, right?

This was unexpected yet entirely reasonable!

He's a cheat, after all! How could he possibly come back empty-handed?

With sparks and lightning all the way, he rushed back to his rented apartment.

He didn't know why, but ever since he got the Golden Finger, his appetite had greatly increased, and his strength had also grown quite a bit.

After an intense afternoon, he was now extremely hungry.

Wash the rice, cook the rice.

Kill the fish, clean the fish.

A series of movements flowed smoothly.

Yang Qi's life used to be tight, and he didn't have much of a social life.

In his free time, he enjoyed studying cooking.

Therefore, his cooking was quite good!

Fresh ingredients often only require the simplest cooking methods!

"Steamed Sea Bass!"

Having decided on the dish, Yang Qi began preparations, first making score marks on the fish.

He soaked the fish in a mixture of green onion and ginger water with a little salt to remove the fishy smell, giving it a brief "massage."

Fifteen minutes later, he took out the fish and began plating.

"The fish is so big, one plate can't hold it!"

Today's fish was a bit large, over three catties!

His plates at home weren't that big.

He could only cut it into two sections and barely fit it onto one plate.

Once the water in the pot boiled, he would steam it for 8 minutes.

Next, he began to cut the "three shreds" for the steamed fish:

These were ginger shreds, green onion shreds, and bell pepper shreds.

Ginger shreds were the simplest: first sliced thinly, then shredded.

For bell peppers, he first sliced them, then flattened them to remove the thick fleshy parts, leaving only the outer skin, which he then shredded.

Then there were the green onion shreds.

He used both large and small green onions.

For large green onions, he simply took a 15-centimeter section of the white part, split it vertically, removed the core, folded the skin, and shredded it along the long edge.

For small green onions, he removed the white part, selected the largest middle section, folded and flattened it, and shredded it along the long edge.

After all were shredded, he soaked them in water so the color would look good.

After 8 minutes, the fish was steamed.

He first poured out the liquid from the plate, then topped it with the prepared "three shreds."

Next, he heated some oil and poured it over the "three shreds" to release their aroma.

Finally, he poured steamed fish soy sauce along the edge of the plate.

"Done."

"Color, aroma, and taste, all perfect!"

His appetite was instantly whetted.

He picked up his chopsticks, took a piece of fish, dipped it in some sauce, and put it in his mouth.

"Hehehe!"

"Delicious, sweet, tender, and melts in your mouth!"

Indeed, fresh ingredients are the primary element of good food!

Yuan Mei of the Qing Dynasty pointed out in "Suiyuan Shidan": "If the quality of the ingredients is poor, even if Yi Ya cooks them, they will be tasteless!"

This shows the importance of fresh ingredients!

With good food, how can there be no wine?

Yang Qi immediately took out a bottle of "Niuer" that he had treasured for a long time.

He poured himself a full glass and drank it in one gulp.

One glass to his wasted years.

One glass to his wonderful life ahead.

"A cigarette, a drink, a life; half-drunk, half-awake, half-floating through life!"

"The life of a Golden Finger is destined to be colorful!"

Amidst such reflections, a whole bottle of wine was already down, and half the fish was gone.

He served rice, picked fish, and poured soup.

He devoured the food like a vacuum cleaner, gobbling everything up, sweeping away all the dishes and rice, leaving no soup behind.

Yang Qi patted his stomach: "Sure enough, I've become a glutton!"

The consumption of his ability greatly increased his appetite.

His meal today was more than double his usual amount.

After cleaning up, he started to check information on his phone.

After all, he would be living by the sea from now on, so he couldn't always be unfamiliar with the seafood in the ocean, right?

Although the ocean nurtured countless species, he could learn them slowly.

This was also something he had planned at the seaside that afternoon: when he was at home, he would look at the illustrated marine life directory on his phone.

If he had time, he would go to the seafood market to understand the prices of various seafood.

Because he had no experience, he could only think of things and then improve them as he went along.

He studied until midnight before falling into a deep sleep.

The night passed without incident!

The next day, while it was still dimly lit, Yang Qi got up and started jogging!

Exercising, right? Didn't he remind himself yesterday to exercise well and strengthen his physique?

He would start with jogging!

Half an hour later, Yang Qi finished breakfast nearby, went home, changed his clothes, and set off with his fishing gear to make money!

The air in the morning was very fresh, the sun hadn't risen yet, and the temperature was still cool.

Facing the slightly salty sea breeze, he couldn't help but feel refreshed and pleasant!

One word: "Awesome!"

The place he was going today was a bit far, and it also had a rocky area.

It was a fishing spot Zhang Jun had provided last time.

Upon arriving at the destination, he found four or five fishing enthusiasts already casting their rods.

"Never doubt the diligent and hardworking spirit of a fishing enthusiast!"

"Brother, hello! How's it going? How many have you caught?" Yang Qi asked an older man with a slight bald spot next to him.

"Just arrived! Just started fishing!"

This was actually the standard answer from a fishing enthusiast who hadn't caught any fish!

If they haven't caught any fish, don't ask.

If you ask, they just arrived!

If a fish gets away, it was always twenty or thirty catties.

The one that gets away is always the biggest!

People who are usually on good terms wouldn't dare help net a big fish.

If it gets away, even the best relationship would develop cracks!

It could even lead to a father hitting his son or a brother beating his brother!

If a big fish is caught and drags them into the water, they definitely won't let go of their fishing rod.

Things like phones and wallets are out of mind.

If a fish weighing dozens of catties is caught, they always push the cart slowly, passing their home three times without entering, circling in crowded places, and if they don't show it off, they'll feel as uncomfortable as wearing fine clothes at night.

Yang Qi just casually greeted him, then took out his fishing rod and set up his fish keepnet.

He was that confident!

Unlike the older man next door who wouldn't even set up his keepnet if he wasn't catching fish!

You don't understand the life of a cheat! He just plays, he just has confidence!

He used his Telekinesis (mind power) to activate his ability!

About thirty-five meters away, there was a school of Sea Bass!

"Not bad, you guys are it!"

He assembled his fishing gear, faced the school of fish, and cast his first hopeful rod!

"Whoosh~"

The minnow splashed into the water about forty meters away.

Yang Qi gently reeled, moving closer to the school of fish.

His hand felt a tug, he lifted the rod to set the hook, and reeled.

All in one smooth motion.

"Hooked!"

A Sea Bass weighing about two catties was dragged and pulled to Yang Qi's side.

"Hehe, sixty to seventy yuan in hand."

He put the fish into the keepnet.

After all, keeping them in the keepnet helped them survive better!

The school of fish hadn't dispersed, so he continued!

Cast, splash, reel, set the hook.

"Hooked again!"

It was also about two catties.

He caught five in a row like this before the school of fish got startled and swam out of the ability's range.

"No matter, let's rest for a bit!"

Yang Qi put down his fishing rod, shook his arms, and relaxed.

He also drank a few sips of water.

The angler next to him was dumbfounded.

He was amazed by Yang Qi's continuous catches, while he hadn't even caught a small fish yet.

He also seemed not to understand why he suddenly stopped fishing when he was doing so well!

"You don't understand the realm of the Golden Finger!"

Yang Qi secretly chuckled, "I can't exactly tell you that the fish ran away, can I?"

He pulled out the Furongwang cigarettes he had specifically bought last time to ask for advice, and went to the older man: "Brother, have a cigarette, take a break!"