Chapter 248: Bored and Idle, I Went Fishing

Ye Cheng casually took out a small bag of fish and shrimp, threw it into the basin; this guy didn't even think, just scrambled over.

"Brother, staying at home feels lonely too; tomorrow I'll take you to drain the water pit and then catch some fish for you, okay?"

Da Huang ate with his head down, unwilling to bother Ye Cheng; he'd been hungry for half a day, and frankly, it's better at sea—at least he can eat without watching people's faces.

Da Huang was thinking about whether he should return to the sea.

Based on yesterday's experience, Ye Cheng deliberately left some small fish and shrimp for Da Huang in the morning.

After getting up in the morning, he had instant noodles with sausage, while Da Huang ate fresh seafood.

Damn, come to think of it, this guy's diet is great.

He opened the system and took a look.

Luck Value: 70+20

Points: 4690

Savings: 175,000 (to pay 135,000 in three days), external debt 40,000, mortgage 300,000 (including interest).

Luck Value is good; today I really need to put in a big effort.

Ye Cheng had Xiao Hu bring the tricycle over, mainly because it had two water pumps that a motorcycle couldn't carry, plus a fishing rod, water tank, net, and of course his own "Great God" Old Yellow.

Thinking back, when he first went clamming he just grabbed a shovel and went; now clamming feels like moving the whole household.

"Brother, we're just draining the water pit—why bring a fishing rod? Aren't you not interested in fishing anymore?"

"Draining takes time, so we should make use of it—lately we're short on money." Lately we're short on money, only a few ten thousand left.

Before, having a few dozen yuan on hand didn't feel like a shortage, but now it really is different.

Xiao Hu rode the tricycle with Ye Cheng sitting in the back, and they set off.

The tricycle currently has no battery installed, relying purely on leg power, so it can't pick up speed and is tiring; fortunately Xiao Hu is strong enough, otherwise he really couldn't pedal it.

"Yo, Lao Er, still going clamming? Haven't you already contracted the tidal flat?" On the road, he ran into several aunts and uncles heading out, who immediately started teasing him.

Ye Cheng smiled, waved his hand, and said nothing.

Watching Ye Cheng's retreating figure, a few people muttered, "This Ye Lao Er sure can stir things up, but his judgment isn't great—he contracted the tidal flat for ninety bucks, and now that he's got money he's turned stupid."

"Exactly, this tidal flat in our village—I'd consider fifty for contracting it too expensive."

"So, not having read books means not having read them; a nouveau riche can't last. He's contracted all this, yet he doesn't even properly improve the tidal flat, still goes clamming—just watch, he'll surely lose money."

Ye Cheng didn't need to think to know what the people behind him were saying; lately his expenditures have been a bit large, inevitably arousing everyone's envy.

But as long as his own strength improves further, then those people will have no envy, only admiration; everyone will no longer be on the same level.

What used to be a ten-minute motorcycle ride now takes nearly twenty minutes on the tricycle.

As soon as they arrived, they saw the water pit where he'd thrown the pig's head yesterday; yesterday it was shallow, but today it's completely full.

"Let's get to work!"

The two of them found a good spot to park the tricycle, then carried the water pump over.

"Brother, this water pit is a bit big—I estimate it'll take about two hours to drain it."

"Let's get it set up first; we'll move a bit over there—it drains better that way."

They found a stable spot, tossed the drainage pipe into the water pit, then started the pump.

After a few roars, a thick white column of water shot out from the back of the pump, quite a sight to behold.

They then brought over the second water pump; with both pumps running, the water level still dropped only slowly.

But it didn't matter; since they'd brought fishing rods, Ye Cheng took Xiao Hu to a seaside rock during the lull, each with a rod, and they began to fish.

Da Huang was also picked up by Ye Cheng and placed at the seaside to play on his own.

Besides, he hadn't fished in a long time, his hands felt a bit rusty; Ye Cheng cast three times before feeling satisfied.

He set up the rod, lit a cigarette, the sea breeze blew, he drank his happy water—was this what life was supposed to be like?

But before he'd taken two puffs of the cigarette, the float suddenly sank—a fish had bitten.

Ye Cheng quickly lifted the rod, feeling a tug; the force was decent, he stood up and played the fish in a circle, then pulled it out of the water—a fish over three catties was hauled up.

This was a seven-star grouper, also of the grouper family; its body is elongated and oval, laterally compressed, with a relatively large head, wide mouth, grayish-brown or brownish-brown, named for the seven distinct dark horizontal bands on its sides.

The seven-star grouper's flesh is delicious and high in nutrition; it's generally considered a tonic that nourishes yin, strengthens the kidneys, benefits the spleen and stomach, and because it's not farmed, its price is relatively high, selling for over a hundred per catty.

This one could sell for over three hundred yuan, also counting as a good start.

Such an expensive fish certainly needs to be kept in a water tank.

After changing the bait, Ye Cheng cast again; not to brag, but with such high Luck Value, it's awesome—within minutes another fish bit.

This fish put up more fight than the seven-star grouper; Ye Cheng played it for ten minutes before landing it—clad in blue, it was undoubtedly a blue-clothed fish.

This blue-clothed fish wasn't small, over five catties, and the catch was not bad.

Meanwhile Xiao Hu had been squatting for half an hour with nothing to show; he wasn't in a hurry, after all fishing and catching are Ye Cheng's job—he just needed to do odd jobs.

"Damn, my brother Tiger, move a bit, pull the rod!" Ye Cheng shouted dissatisfied.

"Brother, if just pulling the rod could catch fish, the sea would be empty by now; if you can catch, you can; if you can't, whatever you pull is pointless."

Ye Cheng was momentarily speechless—damn, that's actually quite philosophical.

On the third cast, after five minutes the float moved again; Ye Cheng gave it a pull, feeling little resistance—should be a small fish—he didn't play it, just lifted it straight up.

Er...

A puffed-up, spiny-covered thing was hauled up.

A pufferfish, that's what it is.

This pufferfish has a star-shaped black eye-spot behind its pectoral fin—it's a dark-pattern eastern puffer.

Although called a pufferfish, it's not actually entirely freshwater.

Many are catadromous—juveniles in freshwater, adults returning to the sea.

Of course, the pufferfish is most famous for two things: its toxicity—its organs contain poison, with many news reports of pufferfish poisoning—so it must be handled with extreme care.

But at the same time, it also has a very cute side, which is that when it encounters danger or fright, it puffs up, then purses its lips and looks extremely adorable.

Of course, it puffs up not to make itself look cute; mainly it's to look stronger and scare off enemies.

Another point is that after puffing up, some fish can't open their mouths wide enough to swallow it, so they just give up.

Pufferfish meat is delicious, so its price isn't low, but for ordinary anglers, seeing this kind of thing, they dare not sell it, mainly because eating it can cause trouble.