Chapter 87: East Star Grouper, East Star Grouper, ah

One bite, the line was pulled and sank with a swoosh; Ye Cheng went with it, letting out line, then he jerked the rod to hook the fish. The rod nearly bent into a half‑circle—the fish was strong, and he could barely hold the line.

It's a big one, let out a bit more line, don't rush.

Brother, give it some slack, then pull, tire it out a bit more.

The two strategists beside them clenched their fists, nervous as could be, lacking the steadiness of Zhuge Liang the Chancellor.

With a splash, a surge of water rose from below; the big fish started constantly turning and trying to escape underwater.

Ye Cheng gradually learned the rhythm: when the fish pulled hard he let out a little line, waited for its effort to spend, then jerked hard to hook and reel, always keeping the line at a certain length.

After a while, Ye Cheng felt mentally highly tense, sweat beginning to bead on his forehead.

Brother, it's about done, it's coming up.

Xiao Hu's headlamp shone on the sea surface; a black shape glided beneath, tinged with a hint of red—he didn't know what fish it was.

The fish's strength had worn down; Ye Cheng gradually pulled it to the surface—a somewhat pinkish fish, seven or eight catties, a decent size, no wonder it had been so hard to reel in.

Not a black seabream, this one's a bit bigger—I'll go down and scoop it up.

Chen Jinshui took the net and went down again; Xiao Hu glanced at his own net bag, 'Damn, you're still snatching the work, huh.'

Ye Cheng also looked speechless: you scooped up the small one earlier, now you're scooping this big one too—you're just here to enjoy the thrill of netting fish, right?

He should probably charge him an extra share for the netting work.

Chen Jinshui, treading water below, removed the fishhook, then rose with the net bag in both hands, grinning as he sought credit.

A true seabream, A Cheng—what a big true seabream!

The true seabream is a kind of seabream, also known as red seabream or standing fish; its color is fairly vivid, usually reddish, with some speckles of shine.

Though the true seabream and black seabream differ by only one character, their prices differ considerably.

Moreover, because the true seabream's body is red, some places consider it auspicious; it is often served whole during holidays, giving it a wider appeal.

This true seabream before us is estimated at six or seven catties; it could fetch a bit of money.

'Uncle Chen, just put it in the rear water tank.' Ye Cheng began preparing the next bait; this little fish still wouldn't cover the expenses of going out to sea.

Chen Jinshui bent over, placed the fish inside, then turned to Ye Cheng and said, 'Did you set up a bait spot? How are you catching fish one after another?'

'Yeah, brother, I'm over here too—my side hasn't had a twitch.' Xiao Hu also felt an itch to try.

He walked over and brought his steady‑as‑an‑old‑dog fishing rod over, setting it beside Ye Cheng.

Of course, to match Ye Cheng's style he gave it a few hard casts, finally managing, with difficulty, to fling the line to a spot near his feet.

Brother, watch me—with my skill I'll definitely be stronger than you.

Xiao Hu rubbed his hands, thinking that even with Ye Cheng's crappy technique he could catch fish; as an old hand he'd surely have no problem.

Ye Cheng pursed his lips, 'Fine, we'll see who's stronger in a moment.'

Not long after Xiao Hu dropped his line, it twitched; he jumped up excitedly, eyes locked on the line.

When the line went down again, Xiao Hu jerked the rod, shouting loudly, 'Brother, I'll show you a slant‑45‑degree rod‑pull hook—handsome...'

Before his words finished, something was yanked out by Xiao Hu in one pull.

On the pitch‑black sea surface, a panicked octopus was wrapped around Xiao Hu's hook, its round black eyes looking innocently at him; seeing its feeble helplessness, Xiao Hu could only close his eyes and toss it back into the sea.

Big brother, could you please not eat my bait next time?

Xiao Hu's clumsy performance ended, and Chen Jinshui began speaking to show his worth: 'A Cheng, let me look at your bait—it should be aimed at seabream, right? That's why we've been catching black seabream and true seabream.'

'You've done well, but if you want to catch groupers like this, you still need to change bait—I usually bring four or five kinds when I go fishing.'

'Oh.' Ye Cheng gave a monosyllabic reply, lest Uncle Chen leave and have someone to shoot the breeze with.

Hardly had he spoken when Ye Cheng's line here jerked down—another bite.

This was the fourth time; Ye Cheng was already steady, he gave a light tug, estimated the fish's size at one or two catties, its strength not great.

He let out a bit more line, then gave a small jerk to hook, quickly draining its stamina.

Then, finding the right moment, he made a neat upward‑slant rod pull and lifted the fish out of the water in one motion.

It was a red silhouette; before Uncle Chen could even get his net ready, Ye Cheng had hooked it, and it thrashed wildly in the air trying to break free.

'Xiao Hu, see that? A handsome slant‑45‑degree rod‑pull hook.' Ye Cheng gave him a look.

Xiao Hu turned his head away, unwilling to speak.

'East Star Grouper, East Star Grouper, A Cheng.'

Uncle Chen exclaimed in delight, carefully unhooking the fish and cradling the red East Star Grouper like a treasure into the water tank.

No need to say more about the East Star Grouper—it's famous, often mentioned in Hong Kong dramas and films; whenever it appears it's the show‑stopper main dish, so its reputation has long been established.

Of course, the main reason is that it's indeed delicious, red, and called 'East Star,' a homophone for 'rising east,' evoking the image of the sun rising in the east, so sales have always been strong and the price quite lovely.

If we can catch an East Star Grouper tonight, that's definitely a big profit.

'A Cheng, this one's over a catty but under two—pretty good, just right.' Chen Jinshui squatted beside the tank, gazing at the East Star Grouper as if looking at his newborn child.

Xiao Hu was also excited, gently touching it with his hand, then said to Uncle Chen, 'Uncle, you said my brother's bait only works for seabream, so how come we're hauling up an East Star Grouper now?'

Chen Jinshui gave an embarrassed chuckle, 'Maybe he just felt like changing the flavor on the spur of the moment.'

'Tch, I'm telling you, Uncle, there's nothing my brother can't catch—do you believe it?' Xiao Hu began to get a bit full of himself.

Ye Cheng hurriedly smoothed things over, 'Nonsense, I'm not the Sea Dragon King.'

While saying that, Ye Cheng kept preparing bait, and Uncle Chen took some bait to study, first sniffing it, then licking it, furrowing his brow,

'What exactly did you put in this? It smells really good.'

'I added MSG,' Ye Cheng made up on the spot.

This time Ye Cheng didn't plan to just toss the hook into the sea; since he couldn't master the cast, he'd resort to a cruder method.

Ye Cheng held the rod in his right hand, the line in his left, applied a light pull then released; his right hand swung outward, the line finally no longer in free fall, he forced it out three meters.

'Yes!' Ye Cheng felt a little excited.