Chapter 486: Got a Giant!

Water splashes kept churning, making Ye Cheng unable to see what was below at all, but soon a dark fish tail flicked out.

Big catch! Brother, what a huge fish!

Whoa, Lao Er, this fish is probably over a meter long.

Ye Cheng also saw it, his heart racing involuntarily, his voice hoarse,

Get ready, don't let it get away.

Swish—smack.

Another big tail sweep came up, kicking up a meter-high splash.

Brother, it feels about the same size as the horse mackerel you caught last time.

If it's a horse mackerel, that's not bad either—it's worth a fair bit.

Duan Chunsheng said while lowering the net.

As soon as it touched the fish's body, the fish gave a violent flick, and Duan Chunsheng couldn't scoop it up at all.

But it did expose part of the fish's body above the water.

Overall grayish-brown, with prominent spots on the surface.

Brother, what kind of fish is this? I've never seen anything like it.

Ye Cheng searched his memory but couldn't recall what kind of fish it was.

Never mind, I'll pull it up—you guys use the net to hold it.

Having said that, Ye Cheng grabbed the fishing net with a gloved hand and began pulling upward with all his strength.

The fishing net was quickly pulled out of the water.

The big fish's silhouette was already visible—over a meter long and quite round and plump.

Ye Cheng's eyes lit up, and the speed of his hands increased again.

Duan Chunsheng seized the moment, slipped the net over the fish's head, and helped Ye Cheng pull upward together.

Soon the fish's entire body was pulled out of the water, hanging upside down on the flowing-spike net.

Grayish-brown body, yellow fins, huge mouth.

Duan Chunsheng's eyes widened enormously, and the net in his hands began to tremble,

This... this could it be?

Xiao Hu stared fixedly at the big fish, his Adam's apple bobbing, before finally shouting,

Giant grouper, brother, it's a giant grouper.

Ye Cheng was no better off—even though he'd seen plenty, upon seeing this giant grouper his heart raced and his eyes shone.

Giant grouper!

A giant among groupers!

One meter is normal!

Two meters isn't the limit!

The largest recorded in the news is over three meters—an absolute giant.

Now this one, over a meter long, can only be considered ordinary size.

As a grouper, its flesh isn't as delicate as the mouse grouper's, but it's extremely thick, firm, chewy, rich in collagen, and richly flavored.

Besides the flesh, the giant grouper is most famous for its fish skin.

In the Manchu-Han Imperial Feast there is a dish: Dragon Robe Tops the World, whose main ingredient is the giant grouper's skin.

Because the giant grouper's skin differs from ordinary fish skin, it has no fishy odor.

Moreover, the giant grouper's skin is thick enough—large specimens are nearly five centimeters thick—and contain abundant collagen, so when layered it feels like jelly, an absolute human delicacy.

Among seafood, it's definitely high-end goods.

Once pulled out of the water, no matter how strong, the fish quickly loses its strength.

After struggling a few times on the net, the giant grouper was left only gasping.

Xiao Hu pressed the winch with trembling fingers, and the giant grouper landed on the deck.

Sea wind blew spray onto the three of them; they felt nothing, mouths cracked open, they stared stupidly at the giant grouper and smiled, saliva almost dripping.

Giant grouper.

Brother, we've struck it rich.

I've never seen such a huge giant grouper.

Once a giant grouper leaves the water, the sudden drop in external pressure damages its organs, so it dies quickly; thus a live giant grouper is out of the question—only frozen fresh is possible.

For such high-end goods, to preserve freshness and texture, it needs to be bled immediately.

Duan Chunsheng went to the kitchen, picked out a sharp knife, and stabbed it into the giant grouper.

Instantly, fish blood flowed down along its body.

Quick, stand it up so the blood flows faster—if we wait too long, the flesh will turn sour.

The two had wanted to lift it, but this giant grouper weighs over a hundred catties.

Lifting it would be hard for the two, but fortunately it's still hanging on the net.

All we can do is use the winch again to hoist it up.

Blood water dripped onto the deck and soon drained away.

The three fetched a hose, washed the fish thoroughly, and cleaned it.

Meanwhile, Duan Chunsheng jumped straight into the cabin and began making ice.

Hurry up, lower the fish, then cover it completely with ice.

The two placed the giant grouper on the ground, then began to untie the net.

Although the flowing-spike net doesn't pierce the fish's mouth like a hook, it still causes considerable harm to the fish.

The main issue is that the harder the fish struggles, the tighter the line gets, often damaging its skin and fins.

Fortunately, this giant grouper has thick skin, so the impact isn't too great.

The ice chunks Duan Chunsheng hauled up varied in size; to ensure they all covered the fish, the two grabbed a small stool and began crushing the ice into smaller pieces, scattering them over the giant grouper.

"Almost there." Duan Chunsheng climbed out of the water cabin, his hands frozen red; he quickly found water to rinse them and warm them up.

To keep the ice fresh, he went back inside and fetched the dirty thin blanket the three had used while resting, then covered the giant grouper with it.

What was once just a fish is now dressed up mysteriously.

After finishing all that, the three sat on the deck, exhausted, panting heavily.

They exchanged a glance, then the three burst into foolish laughter again.

"Brother, a giant grouper—I never even imagined that."

"Haha, I never expected to catch such a huge giant grouper either; I've been fishing for over thirty years—I haven't even seen one like this, let alone caught one."

Ye Cheng shook his hands, looking happily at the giant grouper on the deck, then heaved himself up with a sudden push.

"Come on, let's finish pulling in this net, then we'll head back first to show Lao He what's badass!"

There was still half a net left, and they hauled up a few yellowfoot and peelskin fish, but the three's minds were no longer on that.

As soon as the net was hauled in, they immediately throttled the engine to max and raced straight for the dock.

Xiao Hu steered the boat with a satisfied grin, saying, "Brother, do you think another one might show up later? If so, we'll have to come back out again."

Ye Cheng gave a warm smile, saying, "You're dreaming—there's no way we'll get another stroke of luck like that. But remember to fetch more ice later and get plenty."

"Exactly, get more ice—if we'd had plenty earlier, we could really have finished up and come back."

Xiao Hu pouted, saying, "Fine, then it's on me."

After an hour's return to the dock, Xiao Hu volunteered to jump off the boat, swinging his arms as he went to find Lao He.

Ye Cheng and Duan Chunsheng then lifted the blanket, carried the giant grouper ashore, and set it down there.

Then they crossed their arms, proudly watching the passersby.

This is the pride of fishermen.

When it's time to show off, you show off.

Such a massive creature instantly drew the attention of everyone on the dock.

"Holy shit!"

"A giant grouper? Looks like a giant grouper!"

"This... this is about 1.5 meters long, goodness, we've never seen a giant grouper this big on our dock before."

"We've struck it rich now."

"Lao Er, hurry up and grab a camera, take a photo—this needs to go up on the wall at home."