It seemed that the big sea bass had used up all of Chu Mingcheng's luck for the night. After that, he didn't encounter any more big fish. He switched spots twice, but the largest he managed was a two or three-jin sea bass.

Zhao Jun's haul was decent, too. No big ones, but he'd likely clear two or three hundred yuan for the night's work.

Zhang Wei and Chen Yang didn't have much luck with their lures, catching only a handful of small fish. They had to head back before they'd even had their fill of the action.

Chen Yang bought Chu Mingcheng's two-stone bream for 150 yuan per jin, a little cheaper than the market rate. The total weight was six and a half jin, but Chu Mingcheng only accepted 900 yuan for them.

Honestly, he had wanted to just give them away. Chen Yang was about to lend him money—at least fifty thousand—to buy a boat, and he wouldn't even charge interest. What were two fish in comparison?

But Chen Yang was adamant about not taking them for free, so Chu Mingcheng had no choice but to accept the 900 yuan.

He had planned to take the rest of his catch home to keep in a tank and sell at the wet market the next day. But as it turned out, Zhao Jun also had a customer group chat with quite a few members, and they immediately arranged to come to the docks at nine the next morning to buy the fish.

That saved him a trip to the market—he could just sell them right there at the pier.

After heading home, Chu Mingcheng transferred some fish from his fishing cooler into another container, set up an oxygen pump, and carefully closed the kitchen door to prevent his cat, Little Mi, from sneaking in for a midnight snack. It wasn't that he wouldn't let the cat eat them, but he was worried it would bite them randomly. Besides, he had caught a dozen or so scorpionfish, whose fins were venomous. A sting would be nasty.

Finally, he weighed the giant sea bass. It came in at thirty-eight and a half jin, just shy of forty jin. The price of 3,888 yuan was a fair deal for Chen Yang's client.

The night passed...

When his alarm woke him the next morning, Chu Mingcheng felt sore all over—the aftereffects of the previous night's fishing, most likely thanks to that monster sea bass.

He was in such a state that even his morning jog felt like torture. He used one charge of his [Life Conversion] ability, which finally brought some relief.

He got up, went for his run, came back to eat breakfast and feed Mimi, then loaded the fish into his cooler and set off for the docks with the oxygen pump.

He wasn't even there yet when someone added him to the group chat.

He opened it to see that it was Zhao Xia, the woman who had bought his old soft-shelled turtle.

"Ah Cheng, where did you get those sea worms you sold me? How come they taste so much fresher than others?"

"I bought a jin from someone else yesterday. Not only were they small, but they had this muddy, fishy smell."

"Normally, I can tolerate that smell, but after eating the sea worms I got from you, I can't even smell the other ones anymore."

"So, what are you going to do about this?"

Chu Mingcheng stared at the messages, stunned. The sea worms he dug were tastier?

He immediately checked his attribute panel. The sea worms were already level 28, with their Deliciousness boosted by 28%. No wonder Zhao Xia was saying this. He'd only eaten them once himself and hadn't noticed the difference.

It seemed the Deliciousness stat wasn't useless after all. At the very least, it made it easier to attract repeat customers.

He wasn't worried about the secret getting out. With fish, for example, a small, thin hairtail would taste much worse than a fat one. It was normal for there to be quality differences within the same species. The fact that the seafood he caught was more delicious would just make people think he only sold high-quality products.

So he replied calmly, "Sister Zhao, just tell me how many jin you want. I'll go dig some more when I have time in the next few days."

Zhao Xia: "Haha, you get me! I want ten jin. Can I pick them up the day after tomorrow?"

Chu Mingcheng's eyebrows shot up. That many? At his current speed, that would take at least a full afternoon!

Just then, two other people popped up in the chat.

Chen Qing: "I want ten Jin too, but I'm not in a hurry. Take your time, Ah Cheng."

Wang Hong: "I'll take ten jin as well. The sea worms you dig are better than the ones I used to buy."

Chu Mingcheng was speechless. He was so busy now—how could he possibly have time to go to the mudflats every day? Fishing was more profitable and much easier.

"Everyone, I'm a professional fisherman now, and I'm planning to buy a fishing boat to head out to sea soon. I'll probably only have time to dig for seaworms for a little while longer. After that, I likely won't be able to supply them in large quantities. Thanks for your understanding!"

"Ah, Cheng is buying a boat? Congratulations! If you get any good catches in the future, you have to let your big sis have the first look."

Zhao Xia and Wang Hong were a little surprised but offered their simple congratulations.

Chen Qing, however, was intrigued. "So you're a fisherman now, Ah Cheng? Do you charter your boat?"

"I'm not considering charters for now. Not until I find a few good fishing spots. But Brother Chen, if you ever want to go out to sea, just let me know."

After chatting for a bit, Chu Mingcheng arrived at the pier. It was still more than half an hour until nine, but Zhao Jun was already there with his tricycle, surrounded by a few people.

He put away his phone, parked his scooter, and got off. Zhao Jun and the others immediately gathered around.

The only fish Chu Mingcheng brought today were the sea bass and Blackhead Seabream. He'd left the scorpionfish at home. They weren't very big, topping out at around three jin, so he planned to take them home for his parents to try for lunch. In terms of flavor, scorpionfish was superior to both sea bass and Blackhead Seabream—its only drawback was its small size.

He had caught the most sea bass yesterday—fifteen in total, ranging from one and a half jin to seven jin, for a total of fifty-three and a half jin.

Zhao Jun's customers bought them all at market price, earning him a total of 2,135 yuan. He'd knocked off a dozen or so yuan, rounding down the change since there were multiple buyers.

He didn't have many Blackhead Seabream, just three, which sold for 240 yuan.

After getting the money and saying goodbye to Zhao Jun, Chu Mingcheng went home, picked up the giant sea bass and the scorpionfish, and headed into town.

He went to Chen Yang's place first. With his parents living out of town, Chen Yang lived a life of complete freedom, usually sleeping until noon before heading to the shop with Zhang Wei.

Chu Mingcheng confidently took the elevator to the fourth floor and walked into Chen Yang's bedroom.

"Zzzzzzz..."

It was past nine, and the guy was still snoring away.

A wicked grin spread across Chu Mingcheng's face. He didn't disturb Chen Yang. Instead, he tiptoed out of the room and went to the kitchen, opening the freezer.

Inside were high-quality steaks, fish fillets, various kinds of ice cream, and even three boxes of Maotai-flavored ice cream【TN: Maotai is China's most prestigious liquor brand】.

He picked up a box, then hesitated. Melted ice cream wouldn't taste good. He put it back and opened the fridge instead.

The fridge was neatly stocked with all kinds of drinks: fruit juices, a few bottles of mineral water, and some otaku happy water: Internet slang for soda/cola】.

Very thoughtfully, Chu Mingcheng grabbed a bottle of mineral water for Chen Yang, worried he might be thirsty when he woke up.

He closed the fridge and walked back into the bedroom with the water...

"AHHHHH—!!"

A deafening scream echoed through the room, followed by Chen Yang's furious voice. "DAMN IT! I could handle the ice, but you had to shove it down my pajamas and hold it there?!"

Chu Mingcheng was already on the floor, laughing so hard his stomach hurt. The three-second transformation on Chen Yang's face—from shivering to confused, to utterly horrified—was something he could laugh about for a whole year.

Chen Yang sat up in bed, his hair a bird's nest, glaring daggers at Chu Mingcheng. The bottle of mineral water that had instantly woken him lay beside him.

"I'll remember this. You better hope I don't get a chance, because next time, I'm going to get you back big time!"

"I'll be waiting!" Chu Mingcheng wasn't scared in the slightest. His house didn't have a keypad lock, and he didn't sleep in it anymore.

Chen Yang's eye twitched. For now, he had no way to get revenge. "Fine," he said irritably. "Spit it out. What are you doing here?"

Chu Mingcheng spread his hands. "Delivering your fish, of course. Isn't your client coming to pick it up today?"

"...Damn it," Chen Yang grumbled, his face a mask of regret. "If I'd known this would happen, I never would have introduced you to my clients!"