However, the moment Chu Mingcheng returned to his spot, he noticed movement on his line—the telltale sign of a red seabream bite. He quickly let out some line.

But this time, the fish below seemed even more cautious than before. The line would tighten, then slacken, then tighten again.

Just when you thought the fish had swallowed the bait and was running with it, it would suddenly spit it out, and the line would slowly go slack again.

Chu Mingcheng had almost lifted his rod to set the hook, but thankfully he hesitated. Otherwise, the fish below would have been spooked for sure.

In the unseen depths, there was indeed a very large red seabream.

It circled the bait, occasionally nipping at it before spitting it out.

Sometimes it would take the bait into its mouth, but just when you thought it was going to swallow, it would spit it out again.

It was just playing games!

In reality, this red seabream had encountered a hook an hour earlier. The wound on its mouth was clearly visible.

Haunted by that memory, it was now much more cautious about its food.

After spitting out the bait one more time, it swam forward several meters, as if about to leave.

But then it suddenly turned and swam back toward the bait.

On the boat, Chu Mingcheng had been watching his line intently. When the line, which had been constantly moving, suddenly went still, he felt discouraged, thinking the fish had left.

But four or five seconds later, the line started moving again.

This made Chu Mingcheng frown. What kind of fish was down there? It was such a tease!

But the good news was that this time, the movement on the line was much stronger. He watched as the line was pulled away, and the rod slowly bent down to a certain point before suddenly plunging downward.

Chu Mingcheng was overjoyed. It was finally hooked! He quickly grabbed the rod and gave it a strong lift. The hook sank deep into the red seabream's mouth.

A successful hook-set!

The chances of landing this fish had just increased dramatically. Now he just had to get it to the surface.

The fish was fierce. Chu Mingcheng found he couldn't hold the rod steady with one hand. He paused his reeling, grabbed the rod with both hands to stabilize it, lifted it to gain some line, then quickly reeled in a few turns.

From this, he could tell that the fish below was definitely not small.

The fishing rod kept making a "creak-creak-creak" sound as the line cut through the water, pulled taut.

Wei Jianguo had just netted a small red seabream when he noticed the commotion on Chu Mingcheng's side.

Seeing that he needed both hands to lift the rod, the old man was instantly intrigued and couldn't help himself.

He threw the fish into his box and hurried over. "Is it big?"

"It's alright. Just a dozen or so jin. I'm already tired of catching them this big!" The fish was indeed substantial, but from the pull, it wouldn't be over twenty jin.

Chu Mingcheng's current physique could easily handle a fish of this size, so he was in the mood to tease Wei Jianguo a little.

"…"

Wei Jianguo was silent. He hadn't expected his casual boast to come back and bite him.

But he didn't leave. A fish of this size needed someone standing by to help.

The rod could take it, and the line could take it. Playing the fish wasn't necessary—just brute force.

Chu Mingcheng lifted the rod with both hands and reeled in, lifted and reeled in. Sometimes, when the fish pulled hard, he would hold steady and let out a little line to tire it out.

After fighting it for a good six or seven minutes, a red seabream that was clearly wider than his shoulder appeared on the surface.

Wei Jianguo saw his chance, quickly positioned the net under the fish's head, and scooped it up.

Only then did Chu Mingcheng let out a breath of relief. Good thing the weather was cool today, and even cooler on the sea. Otherwise, he'd be drenched in sweat by now.

Catching big fish was hard work. Someone with a weak constitution wouldn't last in a battle like this.

The fish was brought onto the boat. Chu Mingcheng removed the hook, and only then did he notice another wound on the fish's mouth.

It dawned on him. No wonder it had been so much more cautious than all the other red seabream he'd caught. It had learned a lesson!

Chu Mingcheng could only admire its previous narrow escape. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been his for the taking.

This fish looked quite plump. He used his fish gripper to weigh it: fifteen jin and three liang.

He didn't show the weight to Wei Jianguo. He had to respect his elders.

Then he took a ruler and measured its length: sixty-three centimeters.

A red seabream that grew to fifty centimeters, if it was fat, could easily weigh over ten jin.

An eighty-centimeter one could reach over twenty jin. The specific weight still depended on how plump it was, just like people—there were thin ones and fat ones.

Chu Mingcheng handed his phone to Wei Jianguo, then picked up the fish. "Agong, help me take a picture!"

A fifteen-jin red seabream was extremely rare. This time, Wei Jianguo didn't say anything, just silently helped him take the picture.

But he was clearly motivated by this red seabream. After returning to his spot, he fished until past twelve noon. Chu Mingcheng had already made lunch, but the old man still wouldn't rest.

"Agong, let's eat first! It's still raining, and the temperature isn't high. Even at noon, the fish won't be hard to catch today."

Although they say even the gods can't catch fish at noon, that's when the temperature rises sharply.

If the weather and temperature were right, you could still catch fish in the afternoon—the bite would just be a bit slower than in the morning.

Hearing it was time for lunch, Wei Jianguo's stomach did indeed feel hungry. Only then did he put away his rod, walk to the cockpit door, take off his raincoat, and shake the water off his shoes before stepping inside.

On the table were two large bowls of noodles. The fragrant, fresh aroma made him pause.

He sat down, picked up his chopsticks, and took a bite. His eyebrows shot up involuntarily. "Your cooking isn't bad!"

"It's mainly because the red seabream is fresh enough," Chu Mingcheng said modestly.

He had bought noodles, vegetables, and eggs that morning, originally planning to make simple egg noodles.

But he'd caught so many fish that morning, and red seabream was the king of seabream.

So, feeling indulgent, he chose an eight-liang red seabream to cook with the noodles.

But it wasn't like the fishermen's one-pot stew. After all, his dad was a chef, so he was a bit more particular with his ingredients.

He filleted the fish, then fried the head, belly, and bones until fragrant.

Once the aromatics were released, he removed the fish meat and set it aside, cut it into pieces, and braised it. He added hot water to the remaining bones to make a soup base.

Using hot water would make the soup turn milky white faster, creating a perfect base for the noodles.

This was why Wei Jianguo had smelled that fresh fragrance as soon as he walked in.

With the noodles cooked and the soup base poured over, topped with the braised fish in sauce, Chu Mingcheng's cooking skills ensured he wouldn't waste such premium ingredients.

Elderly people tend to have poor appetites, but Wei Jianguo had a rare hearty appetite today. He finished the large bowl of noodles, even drinking all the soup.

He patted his satisfied stomach contentedly, first went outside to relieve himself, feeling completely restored, then returned inside, washed his bowl and chopsticks meticulously until they were spotless, and sat back down on the sofa to rest.

Chu Mingcheng held back a laugh. The old man had made quite a production of it at the door just now. Fortunately, he was a fastidious person, so his behavior wasn't annoying, but rather endearing.

In reality, most men weren't so particular and tended to overlook these details.

But if you had a wife who was a neat freak, and one day she was suddenly gone, and the couple had shared a deep relationship, the man would definitely change.

Wei Jianguo had come from harsh times. How could he have been so particular originally?

In the past, his wife had often complained about his habits at home.

But after his closest person was gone, his life had begun to change.

Over the years, his house had transformed from messy to clean and tidy, and he'd grown accustomed to living this way.

The two rested for a while, then continued fishing.

The afternoon fishing was indeed slower, not as productive as the morning.

Time passed until around three-thirty. They hadn't caught a fish for a long while, so Wei Jianguo put away his rod.

He wasn't planning on night fishing. He didn't have the energy and couldn't stay up late.

"Ah Cheng, it's about time. I have to meet a friend for some 'flat bean curd' tonight—can't be late!"

"Flat bean curd?" Chu Mingcheng was puzzled. What did that mean?

Wei Jianguo could tell from his accent that he wasn't local, so he explained, "It's that... oh, what you young people eat—teppanyaki is about the same thing."

[TN: "Flat bean curd" is a Fujian dialect term for teppanyaki-style grilled dishes, likely named for the flat cooking surface used to prepare tofu and other ingredients.]

Chu Mingcheng understood. So he was going out to eat. He'd thought the old man was unhappy with some actual bean curd and was going to flatten it.

"Alright, let's head back then. Can't delay your 'flat bean curd,' Agong."

Wei Jianguo smiled, then took out three one-jin-plus red seabream from his fish box and set them aside.

Then he moved the fish box next to the boat's live well, and under Chu Mingcheng's confused gaze, poured all the remaining fish from the box into it.

"Hey, hey, hey, Agong, what are you doing?"

Chu Mingcheng didn't even have time to stop him before all the fish were transferred.

"This is the boat fee. I'm taking those three fish for my 'flat bean curd.'"

"What boat fee! You gave me the fishing spot, Agong, and you took me to catch mandarin fish before. I'm taking you out to sea to fish—how can I charge you?"

"Then give me your big red seabream!" Wei Jianguo stared directly at Chu Mingcheng.

"Alright, Agong, since you're having 'flat bean curd,' take that three-jin sea red grouper too!"

Today, the two of them had only caught seven sea red groupers total, all around a jin. This three-jin one was the largest.

Seeing that Chu Mingcheng was so thoughtful, Wei Jianguo nodded. "Good!"

That big red seabream was still very lively. The market price per jin was about one hundred and fifty. If it died and had to be iced, the price would be cut in half—about eighty per jin.

So this fish was worth about twenty-three hundred. The red grouper was also alive, and three jin could sell for fifteen hundred, for a total of about thirty-eight hundred.

Wei Jianguo had caught over thirty jin of red seabream today, plus three one-jin sea red groupers and five two- to three-jin stone bream. The total value was only higher. Overall, Chu Mingcheng still came out ahead.

But back on shore, not long after Wei Jianguo left with the fish, Chu Mingcheng received a transfer of twenty-five hundred yuan from him.

It came with a stern message: 'If you don't accept it, don't come looking for me in the future. The sea red grouper is your gift to me!'

Chu Mingcheng didn't know whether to laugh or cry. This stubborn old man!

He could only obediently accept the money. At worst, he'd send Agong some good ingredients for his 'flat bean curd' in the future.

Then Chu Mingcheng began sorting out his catch.

The crushed ice today had been wasted. All the fish were still alive and very lively.

So he threw away all the ice—there wasn't much, and it wouldn't last until tomorrow anyway.

He consolidated all his catch into one fish box, stored the other box in the cockpit, and locked the door.

Then Chu Mingcheng drove to the seafood restaurant to sell his fish.

If the seafood restaurant would take everything at fair prices, he wouldn't need to sell at the scenic area entrance.

As for whether the restaurant would take it all?

The female manager took one look and immediately decided: "I'll take everything."

Wei Jianguo had taken a fifteen-jin red seabream and a three-jin sea red grouper. The remaining red seabream totaled fifty-seven jin and two liang.

But the fish were much smaller, so the prices weren't as high. Except for two five-jin-plus red seabream that were priced at one hundred fifty, the rest were all one hundred thirty.

The sea red groupers were all over a jin, priced at three hundred.

There were also quite a few stone bream—eleven in total, twenty-seven jin and eight liang, priced at one sixty.

But considering the deliciousness of red seabream and the fact that he'd never eaten sea red grouper himself, he specially picked out a one-jin specimen of each to take home.

So in the end, the two large red seabream—one six jin and one liang, one eight jin and three liang, totaling fourteen jin and four liang—sold for 2,160 yuan.

The small red seabream totaled forty-one jin and eight liang, bringing in 5,434 yuan.

The sea red groupers, five in total weighing six jin and two liang, sold for 1,860 yuan.

The stone bream brought in 4,448 yuan.

The grand total was 13,902 yuan, but he was feeling generous and graciously rounded off the change for the manager... two whole yuan!

Manager: How generous!

Adding Wei Jianguo's twenty-five hundred, Chu Mingcheng's income today was sixteen thousand four hundred, but his actual expenses had also reached over eight thousand.

The fish boxes and fuel alone were over eight thousand, plus ice, bait, and lunch ingredients.

Fortunately, the fuel wasn't a one-time expense. He could make another trip or two to sea.

Chu Mingcheng calculated his fuel consumption for the day. He'd driven for about three and a half hours total, burning roughly two hundred eighty liters, which cost 2,240 yuan.

This was with him going straight to the fishing spot and straight back, without wandering around at sea.

If he'd explored a bit, the fuel cost would have exceeded three thousand.

If he went out to sea and came back empty-handed, his heart really couldn't take it.