Chapter 205: Expert at Catching Jumping Fish

"Brother Cheng, my younger brother is great at catching jumping fish—he gets one every hook. Why not let him fish here while we go ahead?" A Fu said, stepping closer.

"Hmm, I've practiced, I'm very accurate." A Long nodded firmly.

"Really? No way you're just bragging."

"Brother Cheng, he's really accurate—give me a fishing rod and I'll show you." A Long took Ye Cheng's fishing rod over.

After planting his stance, he cast the rod; the line fell to the ground, then he pulled it back, and a jumping fish appeared on the hook.

He didn't pause at all, and the landing spot was spot on.

Ye Cheng couldn't help but give a thumbs up—damn, this skill, even watching those seaside livestreams later on, nothing was this impressive.

"Alright, A Long, your skill is good—stay here and catch jumping fish; the three of us will go dig for earth dragons and meet up with you later."

After saying that, Ye Cheng left a bucket for A Long, then took Xiao Hu and A Fu toward the shore so as not to disturb A Long's jumping-fish fishing.

They walked a long stretch, only finding two holes along the way—one empty, the other holding a crab tiger fish; basically, they came up empty-handed.

"Feels like there's nothing left," Xiao Hu muttered.

Ye Cheng glanced at the water tank—inside were only a few earth dragons and a smidge of crab tiger fish; with his luck value at 90 today, it couldn't be gone.

He looked over, pointed to a relatively narrow stretch of beach, and said, "Let's go check that out."

This beach is narrow because the cliff juts out, and part of its surface is covered with aquatic plants.

The three walked over; Ye Cheng stepped down, pushed aside a patch of grass, and immediately spotted several earth-dragon holes.

"Xiao Hu, A Fu, search the grass—there should be earth dragons here."

Actually, Ye Cheng didn't need to say it; Xiao Hu and A Fu also found them, each discovering three or four.

The three said nothing more, earnestly stuffing tobacco strands into the holes and covering them, waiting for the earth dragons to poke their heads out.

After just a few minutes, an earth dragon poked its head out from Xiao Hu's side, and Xiao Hu hooked it out in one motion,

"Brother, it's really there—this one probably weighs over a catty."

Catching just one shows that this area truly has earth dragons.

Soon A Fu also hooked one up—this one was a bit smaller and very lively.

Ye Cheng's side, meanwhile, pulled up three in quick succession, bursting from the earth; if Ye Cheng weren't quick-handed, they'd likely have escaped again.

In just over half an hour, the water tank gained another six earth dragons.

A Fu stared at the tangled earth dragons in the tank, hardly believing it—"Brother Cheng, with this many earth dragons, should we still catch more?"

"We've barely started—this is far too few, keep going." Ye Cheng said calmly.

The three detoured around this narrow beach and walked forward for ten-odd minutes; since a cliff lay behind, this beach wasn't wide at all, just a thin strip.

The wind over the sea grew stronger; Ye Cheng frowned, seeing that waves would soon rise, leaving them little time.

He planned to just have a look; if it didn't work, they'd retreat—otherwise, if the waves came in, there'd be no escape route and they'd be slammed straight into the rocks behind them.

The three walked ahead a bit, finding nothing, when just as Ye Cheng was about to give up, A Fu shouted from ahead,

"Brother Cheng, hurry over—look, there are lots of earth-dragon holes!"

Hearing there were many earth-dragon holes, Ye Cheng instantly perked up.

He rushed over and saw—sure enough, there were.

This area had many holes, round and looking like earth-dragon holes; haphazardly counting, there were probably over thirty—failing to exploit them would be a sin against heaven.

"Brother Cheng, shall we do it?" A Fu looked at Ye Cheng; everyone could see the weather, and seaside folks knew a change was coming.

Ye Cheng merely pondered briefly, then gritted his teeth and said, "Do it! Move fast—get as many as you can."

Not taking money when it's there is being a bastard.

The three pulled tobacco from their pockets and stuffed it into the holes; because there were many holes, the tobacco ran out, so Ye Cheng tore open a pack of Hua Zi cigarettes,

"Damn! I'm letting you smoke Hua Zi today—it's high-end stuff; if you don't come out and take a whiff, you'll miss big time—hurry up!"

After tearing open three packs of Hua Zi in a row, they finally managed to plug all the earth-dragon holes.

A Fu watched, feeling heartbroken,

"Brother Cheng, these Hua Zi packs cost over a hundred each."

"If you're reluctant to spend, you won't catch the wolf—just watch; I feel there's plenty down there."

Ye Cheng habitually felt for cigarettes—none left—so he handed Xiao Hu a cigarette, lit it, and they began to wait.

Besides, one side had Hua Zi, the other Li Qun; amazingly, the Li Qun side was the first to poke its head out, and A Fu hooked it, not forgetting to quip,

"Brother Cheng, they still prefer Li Qun."

Ye Cheng chuckled, "No problem—if they definitely come, I've got Mao Zi ready for them."

A Fu's earth dragon weighed over a catty, worth a few hundred bucks—just a few cigarettes' worth.

If these earth dragons drank alcohol, he'd definitely pour it down their throats.

With over thirty holes total, the three of them couldn't possibly cover them all; several holes would suddenly spit out an earth dragon, then retreat while Ye Cheng and company weren't looking.

"Xiao Hu, stick a pole in the hole that just retracted; later we'll coil it—damn, after smoking Hua Zi they still try to leave."

Ye Cheng had Xiao Hu mark the spot; after this batch of tobacco‑buzzed earth dragons is dealt with, he'll have A Fu keep hooking earth dragons there while he and Xiao Hu start digging out those that retreated.

There are three holes in total.

The first hole was fairly easy; the two dug half a meter deep together and finally pulled out a nearly meter‑long prize, very satisfying.

The second hole was much harder; they dug nearly a meter down, almost reaching seawater, before yanking this guy out—and it was still under a meter long.

As they were about to tackle the third hole, A Fu walked over and said, "Brother Cheng, I think I'm done over here—let me help you."

"Sure, how'd you get on over there?" Ye Cheng lifted his mud‑caked hand and carefully wiped his eyes.

"I got another five; I think that's it."

Ye Cheng nodded—this haul wasn't bad—and pointed to the last hole, saying,

"Alright, this is the last one—hold on tight, the seawater's coming in."

After saying that, Ye Cheng sat down to the side; indeed he was a bit tired, the wind and waves on the sea surface began to grow, and wave after wave surged up.

If the seawater flooded the earth dragon's den, then it would basically be impossible to dig it out.

Xiao Hu and A Fu each took a shovel and began digging downward along the entrance.

After digging for a while, the two discovered that the entrance was not right; it actually turned as they went down, veering toward the direction of the sea.

"Brother, I think there's no hope; look, it's already heading that way, and the seawater has started to rise." Xiao Hu pointed at the entrance, then glanced at the water level—it was about to flood this place.