Chapter 170

Ye Cheng's fishing rod looked rather crude; compared to Lao Wang and Jiang Weiyang's, it was simply incomparable. No way—big shots are like that: performance can be poor, but equipment must be good.

"Just a heads‑up—if our rod hooks something too big, we'll just release it; otherwise the rod might not hold." Ye Cheng told Xiao Hu, adding that he too was using the system fishing rod.

Ye Cheng glanced at the sea surface; sea fishing really feels different from rock fishing.

When rock fishing you stand on reefs—at least your footing is solid; now your footing is the boat, and even if it's stopped, the hull keeps swaying.

This isn't much of an issue; the main thing is the seawater.

During those few rock‑fishing trips, Ye Cheng saw only shallow seas where the bottom could be vaguely made out; here, looking down reveals a stretch of deep blue that turns into unfathomable black, with no idea what lies within.

Never mind—what isn't fished this way?

Ye Cheng gave Xiao Hu half the bait, then baited his own hook and gave it a light cast.

On the boat there isn't as much space as on shore, so the cast can't be too wide; Ye Cheng made a light cast that landed in the water about five meters ahead.

The fishing line sank, and the float stood straight upright.

First time sea‑fishing, Ye Cheng was still a bit nervous, so he stood on the walkway beside the boat, where there wasn't much room.

Xiao Hu also baited his hook, then lit a cigarette and began watching silently.

Compared to the two of them, Lao Wang and his group were fishing more leisurely; after a casual cast, they started sipping tea from their cups.

That's the Old Age Chat Group.

On the other side, Cui Shuran moved closer to Lao Wang's group, fishing while chatting intermittently with Xiao Rou.

"Brother, your float moved." Ye Cheng was looking at someone else when Xiao Hu suddenly shouted the reminder.

Ye Cheng turned his head—damn, the float was being pulled so hard it was almost disappearing.

He grabbed the rod and lifted it up; the fish bit, and the rod bent instantly.

Judging by the force, the fish should weigh a few catties.

It's been a while since he fished; Ye Cheng felt a bit rusty, feeling nothing—just hauling hard.

Soon the fish was pulled out of the water, flopping a few times; Ye Cheng lifted the rod and hauled it clear.

Xiao Hu extended the net and scooped it up in one motion.

This was the first fish caught today; the others leaned in to have a look.

"A Cheng, what kind of fish is it? Looks like a decent size," Zhao Zhiming asked.

Ye Cheng gave it a few glances, barely identified it, then lost all interest, shaking his head as he shouted to Zhao Zhiming.

"Bonito—nothing special."

Bonito is stout and spindle‑shaped; also called bonito flakes, wood fish, or firewood fish. From the name you can guess the texture—it's famed as one of the toughest fish meats in the world, yet many have eaten it.

Because it's widely used by "foot‑basin chicken" (a slang for takoyaki vendors?) in octopus balls, Osaka‑style pancakes and other snacks—namely the wood‑shavings‑like topping: wood‑fish flower.

That's made by drying bonito and then shaving it with a special tool.

This fish tastes fishy and its flesh is very dry, so it's usually canned, selling for only a few bucks a catty; Ye Cheng's catch might even cost more than the bait.

Hearing it was bonito, the others chuckled; Zhao Zhiming waved his hand and said, "Not bad at least—we've got a catch."

As they talked, Cui Shuran's side had action—a bigeye seabream surfaced; the bigeye seabream is entirely red, and because its eyes are relatively large it's called bigeye seabream.

However, there are several subdivided varieties, and Ye Cheng himself can't tell them apart.

The fish looks auspicious, so Xiao Rou crouched over to take a look.

After re‑baiting, the third fish to bite was actually Xiao Hu's—this guy pulls hard, hauling it straight up; it's a black seabream, only a little bigger than a palm, so he tossed it back into the sea.

Xiao Hu catching a fish is good for Ye Cheng; it's a waste to keep his lucky aura all to himself.

Soon Ye Cheng's float twitched; the bait‑taking fish was aggressive, pulling straight down, and you could see its bite was fierce.

When the float dipped, Ye Cheng gave the rod a pull, ensuring the hook set, and also felt the line's tension—stronger than that of the previous bonito.

He let out some line while keeping pressure on the fish, gradually tiring it.

"A Cheng, you've hooked another?" Zhao Zhiming turned and asked curiously.

"Yeah, I got one—I don't know what it is," Ye Cheng replied while reeling in, talking to Old Zhao.

"Impressive, President Wang—just as I told you, Ye Cheng lands fish fast, really," Zhao Zhiming chatted with President Wang.

That also caught Xiao Rou's attention; she couldn't help but look over.

By now Ye Cheng had let out almost all the line; he began to bear down hard on it, entering a stalemate with the fish.

Whenever the tension on the line eased, he'd reel in; this rhythm of pull‑reel‑pull made Ye Cheng feel the catch was unusually easy.

Soon the fish was pulled to just below the surface; beneath the blue sea a red silhouette strained against the line, refusing to yield.

"Kind of ugly," Xiao Rou said as she walked over, judging it purely by appearance.

"Hmm, probably a Stone Nine Elder, though this one's a bit big."

Stone Nine Elders have turned up before during tide‑pooling, but those were palm‑sized; this one is over twenty centimeters long—definitely a big catch.

"Such a large Stone Nine Elder is rare," Xiao Rou said, also curious; she kept squatting nearby, waiting for Ye Cheng to land it, then examined it closely.

"It really is a Stone Nine Elder—much bigger than the kind we usually eat."

The Stone Nine Elder looks a bit fierce and a bit ugly, and it's red, which actually makes it fairly easy to identify.

But sea‑fish are like cigarettes—one brand, hundreds of models; this larger Stone Nine Elder is probably a sub‑variety.

No matter what, as long as it's a Stone Nine Elder, it should sell well.

After Xiao Rou had looked for a while, she went back to watch Cui Shuran, since she wasn't that familiar with Ye Cheng.

Ye Cheng came today just to experience sea‑fishing; picking up girls can wait.

Meanwhile, Cui Shuran had prepared a fishing rod for Xiao Rou; the two sat down and began chatting while fishing.

After letting Xiao Hu carefully place the Stone Nine Elder into the water tank, Ye Cheng cast his rod again.

This time the wait was a bit longer—about ten minutes—when the float moved; Ye Cheng lifted the rod to set the hook, feeling considerable pull, sensing it was only slightly smaller than the previous big horse pomfret; he steadied himself and began paying out line.

The line below was moving a bit quickly; Ye Cheng occasionally gave it a light left‑right tug, hoping to keep the hookset steady.

"Brother, a big catch?" Xiao Hu asked from the side, he caught another trash fish, a fish several centimeters long, barely edible, it was thrown into the Water Tank by him.