novelraw Chapter 232: Hunt One, Find Another
Chapter 232: Hunt One, Find Another
Chapter 232: Hunt One, Find AnotherDue to customer orders, Chu Mingcheng couldn't afford to slack off in the period before the fishing ban.
After burying a large number of plecos, he immediately used the Life Conversion he had accumulated to enhance his physique and restore his energy.
By the time he returned home and showered, the sky was already brightening.
Chu Mingcheng didn't go to the bedroom for a nap, nor did he look for Jiang Luoluo for some "morning exercise." Instead, he went to the kitchen to make breakfast first.
Once breakfast was ready, he went into the bedroom to playfully wake his sleeping beauty.
Jiang Luoluo was in deep sleep, but a certain someone's mischievous hands successfully roused her. In a daze, she felt a strange sensation in a sensitive area and was instantly startled awake.
"Ah Cheng, don't... I'm so tired..."
"Since you're awake, get up, wash up, and let's have breakfast. The customers have tons of orders, so I need to work hard before the fishing ban." Chu Mingcheng reluctantly withdrew his hand, the soft, elastic touch leaving him wanting more.
Seeing that he made no further moves, Jiang Luoluo breathed a sigh of relief.
In just a few days, she felt her legs were weak and powerless, and her overall condition was less than half of what it used to be.This situation made her realize she needed to rest and recover, or she wouldn't be able to practice her next dance routine.
These few days were supposed to be her rest period. Hearing that Chu Mingcheng was going to work hard, she forced herself to endure the soreness in her body and get out of bed.
As for the drone and yacht licenses, Jiang Luoluo planned to register for them after this trip, at which point she would also start working on her next dance video.
After washing up and eating breakfast, her condition had mostly recovered.
The two left home, bought some crushed ice and bait, and set off in the boat, heading for the small island where the little sea lion lived.
Today, Chu Mingcheng's main target was the coral reef area, where he planned to hunt more fish.
The main goal for the restaurant bosses in his group was to stock up on fish that were low in supply but high in price. Of course, they also wanted mantis shrimp, but they didn't necessarily need them alive.
Since Chu Mingcheng sold them live, they certainly wouldn't be foolish enough to store them—they'd sell them quickly while they were still fresh.
So this time, to increase his catch, he had even brought along the buoy fishing gear he'd made before.
Of course, he hadn't forgotten the shrimp pots either.
He wouldn't have time to catch giant tiger prawns this trip, so he'd just toss a few shrimp pots out at night to try his luck.
As for regal mantis shrimp, he'd see how it went. If he had time, he'd catch some; if not, there was always next time.
The fishing boat started up, with Chu Mingcheng at the helm today.
Jiang Luoluo had been dozing off in the car, and once the boat was moving, she simply sat on his lap and buried her head in his chest to sleep.
This left Chu Mingcheng not knowing whether to laugh or cry. She wouldn't sleep in a comfortable bed, insisting on being so clingy.
But since their relationship had deepened, he'd noticed a change in Jiang Luoluo—she was much clingier than before.
Perhaps this was the change that came with tying her life to his.
Chu Mingcheng didn't find it annoying. On the contrary, he himself loved the feeling of holding her, as if he possessed the entire world.
With the boat on autopilot, four hours had passed by the time they reached the small island.
Even though Chu Mingcheng had set out very early, it was already noon.
Jiang Luoluo wasn't sleeping deeply. In a daze, she sensed the boat had stopped and slowly opened her eyes.
The first thing she saw was Chu Mingcheng's gentle, smiling face. She looked up and smiled back, a little dazed and adorably cute.
"We're here?"
"Mm-hmm, go to the bathroom and wash your face to freshen up. I'll make lunch."
"Okay, I'll come help after I wash my face."
Jiang Luoluo gave him a light peck on the lips before getting down and heading into the bathroom.
Chu Mingcheng didn't immediately start cooking. He first went to the deck and looked around. He didn't see the little sea lion, so he decided not to worry about it for now.
After the two had lunch, he baited the ten buoy hooks he'd brought with small squid and cast them one by one into the deep water area of the coral reef.
The water depth here was thirty-three meters, which was just right.
Afterward, he took Jiang Luoluo to begin their diving practice.
It was the same routine: ten minutes of static apnea, followed by deep diving.
But this time, because they were at the coral reef, they discovered large schools of coral fish as soon as they entered the water.
These fish weren't large, but their vibrant colors were quite beautiful.
Jiang Luoluo was prepared. She picked up the camera hanging from her wrist and swam over to film them.
Chu Mingcheng quickly followed beside her to prevent any accidents.
As she was filming, Jiang Luoluo keenly noticed some movement in the corner of the frame. Looking closely, she saw it was a large fish.
She moved the camera away and looked in the direction she'd filmed. There really was a grouper there.
She quickly turned back to signal Chu Mingcheng, pointing in the grouper's direction.
Chu Mingcheng followed her finger and immediately saw a grouper with black and white mottled patterns and a body covered in small black dots.
It was a Malabar grouper. The name was a bit of a mouthful, but in most parts of China, it was known as a "flowery grouper."
This Malabar grouper was not small. Judging by its length, it was sixty to seventy centimeters long and definitely weighed over twenty jin.
Chu Mingcheng didn't rush forward. Instead, he first brought Jiang Luoluo back to the surface. After taking a breath, he led her back down.
The water here was over thirty meters deep. He left her in the middle water column, holding the camera to film.
Chu Mingcheng continued descending slowly, speargun held in front of him, already loaded.
The market price for a Malabar grouper was around one hundred and fifty yuan per jin. One over twenty jin could sell for more than three thousand. He hadn't expected to find three thousand yuan just waiting for him while taking his girlfriend out for diving practice.
This just showed that the resources here were indeed excellent. If this place were frequently visited by people, it would be difficult for this Malabar grouper to grow so large.
Closing in to five meters, Chu Mingcheng raised his speargun and took aim.
Who would have thought that upon spotting him, the grouper not only didn't flee but charged straight at him.
Chu Mingcheng was startled, but because the angle of its charge wasn't ideal, he could only dodge.
If he fired now, the spear would go through the fish from front to back, potentially damaging a large area of its flesh and causing more of it to spoil.
It wouldn't matter if he were eating it himself, but this was for sale. That's why he chose to dodge first, planning to reposition and shoot it from the side.
Then, both he and Jiang Luoluo saw the Malabar grouper take a bite at the spot where he'd just been.
'How dare it!'
Chu Mingcheng was very surprised. If it had been a giant grouper over 1.5 meters long, it would be normal for it to come and bite him. But for a sixty or seventy-centimeter grouper, this one was quite bold.
The Malabar grouper missed its attack and turned to chase him again.
Chu Mingcheng had no choice but to change position again. This time, he didn't hesitate. After a brief moment of aiming, he pulled the trigger.
The spear instantly pierced through the Malabar grouper's gill cover. It seemed to have severed the spine inside, as blood gushed out as if it were free.
As the grouper struggled violently, it soon stained a small area of the water black. Then, the diluted blood was carried away by the current.
Chu Mingcheng checked the time and saw that a minute had passed. He let go of the speargun and, while pulling on the line, swam upward, beckoning for Jiang Luoluo to follow him.
Breaking the surface, she spat out her snorkel and asked curiously, "Ah Cheng, what kind of grouper is that? It's so fierce! Also, why is the fish's blood black underwater?"
While pulling in the fish, Chu Mingcheng explained, "That's a Malabar grouper, also known as a flowery grouper. You've got some good luck, spotting such a big grouper just by filming the scenery. It can sell for over three thousand."
"As for the color of the blood, it has to do with light underwater. When we're in the water, the sea looks green. When that combines with red, doesn't it become black?"
Jiang Luoluo had a moment of realization. Another piece of knowledge gained.
"So it's a light issue. I was wondering if this grouper was special, having black blood. But the price for this fish is pretty good—over three thousand."
Having found a fish, her excitement grew. In the subsequent dives, she would always prioritize searching for fish hiding within the coral reef.
A short while later, she spotted another plain-looking fish.
Ordinarily, such a plain-looking fish wouldn't have caught her attention, but it was huge—nearly a meter long, considerably larger than the Malabar grouper from before.
Jiang Luoluo knew very well that when you encounter a big fish, you can't let it go.
Even a giant trevally, which wasn't in high demand, was worth hunting if it was exceptionally large.
She quickly tapped Chu Mingcheng, who was beside her, and pointed at the large, leisurely fish below.
'This fish...'
Chu Mingcheng was also taken aback when he saw the fish. For a moment, he didn't recognize it.
He mentally sifted through the encyclopedia of information in his head and finally recalled the fish data he'd looked up back when he started spearfishing.
Among the introductions to fish species from foreign waters, he'd seen this fish before.
It was an extremely rare blue short-fin snapper, which could grow up to 1.1 meters.
The price for this fish didn't seem to be high—only about fifty yuan per jin.
But it was very rare to encounter one in China. He never expected to find one here, and one that had grown to nearly a meter.
If it were only thirty or forty centimeters, Chu Mingcheng wouldn't be interested in this blue short-fin snapper; it wouldn't sell for much.
But at nearly a meter, it had to be at least twenty-plus jin, possibly even reaching thirty.
The total value was already over a thousand, making it worth his while.
After Jiang Luoluo went up for air, Chu Mingcheng began to move, swimming toward the bottom.
The blue short-fin snapper was completely unaware of the approaching danger. It was busy biting at the coral with its sharp teeth, for reasons unknown.
Taking advantage of its distraction, Chu Mingcheng sent it to the afterlife with a single shot.
Suddenly gravely injured, the blue short-fin snapper instinctively tried to flee.
However, its injuries were quite severe. As it tried to swim, it just went in circles, quickly becoming dizzy.
Chu Mingcheng gave it no chance, immediately pulling it back by the line.
Even though a nearly one-meter fish was large, in its severely injured state, it was no match for his strength.
The line was also thick enough. As long as it didn't get cut, pulling in a twenty or thirty-jin fish by force was relatively easy.
Once it was close, he brought the fish with him toward the surface. Jiang Luoluo got a close-up shot of the fish and then followed him up.
Without even waiting for her to ask, Chu Mingcheng directly explained the fish's origins.
At the same time, he took out his diving knife to bleed the fish.