For convenience, all the shrimp would be steamed tonight.

The few scallops, the coconut snail, and the blue-spotted snapper would be dry-fried and served with sea urchin—guaranteed fragrant perfection.

With everyone pitching in, the seafood feast was ready in no time.

Chu Mingcheng even made a point to flake some fish, chop up steamed slipper lobster meat, and mix it with kibble for Mimi's dinner.

Perhaps it had been too long since Mimi had such a fragrant meal. She devoured it completely, not leaving a single piece of kibble in the bowl.

Afterward, the three men arranged all the dishes on the table and, in perfect unison, pulled out their phones to take videos for social media.

A feast this magnificent—it would be a crime not to make people jealous.

Just a minute later, as the three were finishing off a slipper lobster, their phones began buzzing incessantly with notifications.

Chu Mingcheng picked up his phone and saw that the customer group chat had exploded.

Everyone was accusing him of eating alone, of hoarding so many good things without sharing.

Many people even started placing pre-orders for the harlequin mantis shrimp, saying they'd buy as many as he could catch.

In Wenshi's seafood shops, slipper lobsters and spiny lobsters were easy to find, but harlequin mantis shrimp were not.

These sold for several hundred yuan per jin, and the extra-large ones could weigh a full jin each. Chu Mingcheng didn't refuse, promising to specifically target them next time.

However, these creatures were dangerous. It seemed he'd have to make small traps with plastic bottles.

After the group chat calmed down, Chu Mingcheng was about to start on the fish fillets when his mother sent a video call request.

"Son, you're living the good life, aren't you!"

In the video, An Xiuwen's face wore a mask of mock seriousness. If Chu Yongxin had seen that expression, he would have been flustered and confused, but Chu Mingcheng remained completely calm.

"Mom, you're looking great lately. How did you get even more beautiful?"

A corner of An Xiuwen's mouth twitched, and she almost lost her composure.

"Your mother is naturally beautiful—time can't leave a mark on me. Now, tell me, you posted those food photos tonight and made me hungry. How are you going to solve this?"

Chu Mingcheng feigned surprise. "Didn't Ah Wei tell you? I mentioned before—have Ah Yang drive a bigger car over, and I'll send a box of fish back for you."

Hearing this, An Xiuwen finally beamed with joy. "Ah Wei did mention it, but you should keep them to sell. Don't worry about bringing us anything. What kind of seafood haven't your father and I eaten?"

"As long as you're living well, your father and I can rest easy."

Plenty you haven't eaten, Chu Mingcheng thought to himself, but couldn't say that aloud. "Mom, I should. Now that I can go out to sea, the fish resources here are much better than back home."

"This meal today was what I caught this afternoon. I sold half the fish for several thousand yuan."

"When Ah Wei and Ah Yang return in a couple of days, I'll have them bring you some rare fish. I guarantee they'll be delicious."

Just a few sentences, and he'd coaxed his mother, who'd called to "hold him accountable," into pure happiness. Chen Yang and Zhang Wei, facing similar situations, saw this and gave him a thumbs-up.

Then they used similar tactics to charm their own parents into equally good moods.

An Xiuwen chatted for a few more sentences before Chu Yongxin also appeared on screen. But since Chu Mingcheng was eating, they didn't talk long and quickly ended the video call.

"Ah Cheng, the next two days are on you. If I don't bring back good stuff, I won't be able to face my family!" Chen Yang said with a bitter smile after hanging up.

His family situation differed from Zhang Wei's. His family was wealthy with high standards. They'd told him to get seafood back, no matter what method he used.

"Don't worry—as long as a typhoon doesn't hit, I'll definitely send you guys back loaded with treasure," Chu Mingcheng said confidently.

Yesterday's sea trip hadn't been without reward. He'd found several promising fishing spots. If fishing proved unreliable, he'd go spearfishing. Either way, he wouldn't let them return empty-handed.

Just then, Zhang Wei suddenly suggested, "Then let's go out to sea tonight. Your boat has sleeping quarters anyway. We're only staying two days. If we don't have a good harvest, we won't be able to explain ourselves when we get back."

Seeing Chen Yang was also tempted, Chu Mingcheng was speechless. "You guys drove almost a whole day—aren't you tired?"

"Let's rest well tonight. Tomorrow we'll prepare properly, then spend a night at sea."

"True. Oh, the lobster's getting cold. Let's eat, let's eat!"

After dinner and cleanup, the three sat on the sofa chatting, mainly Chen Yang and Zhang Wei, asking about Chu Mingcheng's recent situation.

Just as they were talking, a message from Jiang Luoluo arrived.

Chu Mingcheng picked it up and understood immediately.

She hadn't contacted him before, probably because she was busy. Now that she was free and had seen the feast on his social media, how could she sit still?

"So mean! You have a big meal as soon as I leave? I can't eat it, and you still post it on social media. You're too cruel!"

Chu Mingcheng automatically ignored his two brothers' voices and replied, "Zhang Wei and another brother of mine, Chen Yang, came, so I specially prepared some seafood."

"But I also found a really good place this time. When you come back, I'll take you there for a big meal too."

"(￣^￣) Fine, I'll forgive you for eating alone this time. Sob, sob... I want to eat it too..."

Looking at the message, as if seeing the greedy Jiang Luoluo holding her phone at this moment, Chu Mingcheng couldn't help but show a slight smile.

When the chat ended, he looked up and was surprised to find Zhang Wei and Chen Yang watching him with knowing expressions.

Zhang Wei: "Look how happy he's smiling, how... unrestrained."

Chen Yang nodded: "He must be thinking of doing something bad."

Zhang Wei: "No, no, no, you can tell at a glance he's fallen into the sour stench of love. You single folks wouldn't understand."

Chen Yang nodded: "Mm... huh?"

…….

The next day, the three didn't get up until after nine, looking somewhat listless.

It was a rare gathering of brothers, and they'd chatted until after two in the morning before sleeping.

As for what they'd talked about?

They themselves weren't entirely clear. They'd discussed women, their past "glorious deeds," bragged a bit, and time had just passed like that.

After washing up, Chu Mingcheng petted Mimi for a while, checked on the three little kittens, and found no problems.

Their little paw pads were pink, and he couldn't help pressing each one.

With the automatic cat food dispenser, Mimi's meals weren't a concern. She could also care for the three little kittens herself without needing him.

However, Chu Mingcheng still took out the fish head he'd refrigerated last night, boiled it into soup, and set it aside to cool.

Then he had Zhang Wei and Chen Yang wait at home while he drove to the recycling station to buy large Coke bottles.

It was fine to eat harlequin mantis shrimp himself, but if he wanted to sell them, he needed large bottles.

Harlequin mantis shrimp were hot-tempered and would attack each other if kept together.

The recycling station didn't have much variety, but gathering some large Coke bottles was no problem.

The price was a bit steep though—fifty cents each. The buyback price for these large bottles was only ten or fifteen cents.

But he had no choice. It was too troublesome to collect them himself; buying was more convenient.

He selected fifty relatively clean large bottles—Coke, Sprite, or mineral water, it didn't matter—had the owner give them a simple wash, and kept the caps.

When finished, he wrapped fishing line around each bottle's mouth, tied them together one by one, and loaded them in the trunk. Fifty bottles filled it completely.

Then he went to the supermarket and bought fifty-centimeter-long green bamboo skewers.

These bamboo skewers were flat, about one centimeter wide, perfect for making traps.

Two skewers and a piece of fishing line could make a small trap. After baiting it with squid meat and inserting it into a mantis shrimp's burrow, after a while, the mantis shrimp inside would be attracted by the squid meat and come to investigate.

When it tugged on the squid meat, the fishing line looped around the burrow entrance would tighten, naturally catching it.

The principle was the same as Chu Mingcheng's use of a snare to catch harlequin mantis shrimp yesterday—the only difference being manual versus automatic operation.

Next, he went to the supermarket for fruits, vegetables, and meat. He wouldn't buy seafood since they'd definitely have it when they went out to sea.

But he still needed bait. He bought fifty jin of squid—two small boxes costing over six hundred yuan.

Back home, the fish head soup had cooled. He fed it to Mimi.

Then he took out the ice cubes he'd stored in the refrigerator yesterday, placed them in the fish box, and moved the fish box to Chen Yang's car before setting off.

When they arrived at the pier, Chu Mingcheng unloaded a large pile of plastic bottles, immediately stunning Zhang Wei and Chen Yang.

"Ah Cheng, what did you buy so many bottles for?"

"Wasn't that mantis shrimp from yesterday delicious? These are for holding mantis shrimp."

Chu Mingcheng explained, then filled the boat's water tank, checked the bottled mineral water, and seeing there was still plenty, didn't need to buy more. Then he called for a fuel truck to refuel.

Although he'd refueled yesterday, they'd be spending the night at sea tonight and might visit multiple locations, so he had to ensure the boat's range.

Zhang Wei and Chen Yang weren't without knowledge. Hearing Chu Mingcheng's explanation, they understood the bottles' purpose and quickly helped move them onto the boat.

In China, harlequin mantis shrimp are only found in the southern Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea.

And the waters off Xiamen were part of the Taiwan Strait.

In the past, Chu Mingcheng would have had to be careful when driving the boat, not to cross the strait's midline, or it would be very troublesome.

Now he didn't have to worry. He could just fly the national flag and roam freely!

"This boat is nice!" After Zhang Wei boarded, he continued looking around, even eyeing the sofa as if considering whether he could sleep comfortably at night.

Though in reality, he hadn't slept on the sofa last night.

"Ah Cheng, your boat can't go to the open ocean, right?" Chen Yang emerged from the cockpit and asked.

Chu Mingcheng nodded: "Under normal circumstances, no, because the open ocean has strong winds and waves, and this boat's seaworthiness isn't that high. But if the weather's particularly good and the wind and waves are mild, it can manage."

"It's just that you'd have to find a tanker at sea for refueling. Otherwise, the boat can run, but if there's not enough fuel, it won't work!"

The boat's fuel tank was only eight hundred liters, with roughly ten hours' endurance. This was the main limitation preventing him from venturing into the open ocean.

"So when are you going to buy a bigger one?" Zhang Wei asked.

Chu Mingcheng looked at him strangely without answering.

Zhang Wei felt uncomfortable being stared at and asked again, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Chu Mingcheng held his forehead, amazed by this guy's logic: "When are you having a baby?"

"I don't even have a wife..." Zhang Wei's voice trailed off, and he looked embarrassed.

Chen Yang laughed, seeing this: "You're really something. Ah Cheng just bought this boat and just got his license. You're already asking when he's getting a bigger boat?"

Zhang Wei laughed too: "I just didn't think it through—I asked subconsciously!"

As they joked around, the fuel truck arrived and filled the tank. The fuel cost was about what he'd calculated yesterday—over one thousand six hundred yuan.

The propeller was still new, so fuel consumption remained normal. Over time, consumption would gradually increase, but not dramatically.

Setting off, Chu Mingcheng didn't head to yesterday's discovery first. He'd leave that place alone for now and wait until Jiang Luoluo returned. He could take her diving and foraging there then.

Harlequin mantis shrimp could be found in many coral reefs. He'd encountered several such places yesterday, so he could explore those first.

Setting the autopilot, Chu Mingcheng took out scissors, picked up a bottle, and cut a large vertical opening.

Then he made small horizontal cuts at both ends of the opening, creating a slot for inserting caught harlequin mantis shrimp.

As long as this type of mantis shrimp reached seven liang or more, they could sell for nearly three hundred yuan per jin. Those with Roe could even fetch four hundred.

The main reason was that large mantis shrimp weren't numerous in China. Basically, those in seafood markets were imported from Southeast Asia, making them very expensive.

Of course, there was also peacock mantis shrimp imported from Thailand, which was slightly more expensive.

Locally, a large mantis shrimp would probably only cost about seventy to one hundred yuan per jin.