As a Fisherman, My Fish Can Level Up

Chapter 63: Chapter 63 He Zheng’s Invitation

Yao Xin’s fish cooler was the same size as his, also thirty liters.

The amount in half a cooler was about what he had calculated; she had caught thirty-three kilograms of ribbon fish.

As for Chu Mingcheng, He Zheng was also startled when he came over. As an experienced fisherman for over a decade, he too had fiercely fished for nearly four hours, and the amount of ribbon fish he caught was similar to his?

The fish in the cooler slightly overflowed, weighing in at sixty-one kilograms, priced at forty-five yuan per kilogram, is 2745 yuan.

Seventeen kilograms, two fingers wide, these small ones aren’t worth much, He Zheng gave 300 yuan.

Some four-finger-wide ones hadn’t reached a kilogram, all were priced as three-finger-wide, totaling eleven kilograms, valued at 495 yuan.

The rest were sixteen fish, each exceeding one kilogram but not one and a half, priced at eighty yuan per kilogram, exactly a little over twenty kilograms, just a few grams more, valued at two thousand yuan.

Which means, Chu Mingcheng’s total fishing income here amounted to 5140 yuan, already exceeding his expectations, and He Zheng was able to earn over 2,000 yuan from the margin.

Moreover, it was only 11:30 PM now, at least six hours away from sunrise.

Even if the fish bite wasn’t as explosive in the latter half of the night, catching another fifty kilos shouldn’t be a problem.

He wasn’t as frail as Yao Xin; facing a school of fish, he definitely planned to fish through the night, after all, such opportunities were rare.

Though Chu Mingcheng had run out of bait, that didn’t matter.

He kept three, two-finger-wide small ribbon fishes, cut them into pieces with a knife, which could also serve as bait, and in fact, worked better than sand worms.

Huaxia Aquatic Products Institute had once dissected over one thousand two hundred East Sea ribbon fish, finding that 35% of the food in their stomachs was other ribbon fish. They are a cold-blooded fish species that practice cannibalism.

Seeing Chu Mingcheng continue fishing with the fish meat on the hook, He Zheng couldn’t help but be astonished, “Aren’t you going to rest for a bit, Ah Cheng? Can your body handle it?”

“I need to fish while I still have energy; I’ll rest when I’m out of energy in a few hours.”

“Young people do have better stamina. Just take care of yourself.”

He Zheng nodded and said nothing more, instead feeling somewhat nostalgic. He recalled how staying up all night in his twenties wasn’t a big deal.

Now… just thinking about it brings tears!

Soon, only He Zheng and two other friends, along with Chu Mingcheng, remained on the deck; he too went to rest in the cockpit.

Though the room was given to Yao Xin, he took a blanket and made do with the sofa for the night.

Chu Mingcheng had just used a life transformation, and having rested while counting the catch, his condition wasn’t much worse than when he started.

The fish bite was still good, or perhaps the ribbon fish meat attracted them more.

After baiting the fish, Chu Mingcheng lifted the fishing rod, only to find that it felt heavier than any other time.

Could it be a big one this time?

Chu Mingcheng’s eyes gleamed with excitement; large ribbon fish could be sold for over two hundred yuan per kilogram, a few more of those would be much more satisfying than small ribbon fish.

However, when he hauled the fish out of the water, he found he had brought up two trains…

Only two ribbon fish had bitten the hook, but several more ribbon fish were hanging from their tails.

One biting three, the other two, these ribbon fish were clinging to their companions’ tails and wouldn’t let go, directly being pulled onto the boat.

Ribbon fish biting tails is not to rescue their peers but to eat them.

Chu Mingcheng had encountered tail-biting before, but only one at a time. He hadn’t expected to bring up five this time, all at once, none narrower than three fingers.

Jovially sorting the ribbon fish, the fish meat that had been bitten off was also retrieved using a hook removal tool and could be used again.

Yao Xin went to sleep, and her fish cooler was borrowed by Chu Mingcheng, and unlike before, he didn’t just throw them all over the deck.

Afterwards, his efficiency remained as it had been during those four hours, occasionally bringing up two or three fish.

But in reality, the fishing efficiency of the two people on the foredeck had already decreased quite a bit, the density of ribbon fish beneath the boat wasn’t as high as before.

Only they couldn’t see, but the density of ribbon fish beneath the water on Chu Mingcheng’s side was somewhat higher than theirs.

Moreover, the proportion of four-finger-wide fish he brought up this time was somewhat higher than before, with much fewer two-finger-wide ones.

When immersed in fishing, one does not feel the passage of time.

When the first rays of sunlight hit the sea, Chu Mingcheng suddenly realized, he had been fishing all night.

No wonder the fish were increasingly reluctant to bite; the water had also deepened without his noticing.

However, he had just used life transmutation once, and his mental state was still decent; although his body was tired, it could hold up.

And around him, the ribbon fish was piled up—a glance revealed that the catch in the latter part of the night was more than in the earlier part.

He glanced at the data panel and discovered the ribbon fish had already reached level 8.

[Ribbon Fish, also known as Hairtail (Level 8)]

[Current Experience: 45/90]

[Body Size +8%]

[Deliciousness +8%]

[Catch Probability +8%]

Dig 242 ribbon fish in the latter half of the night?

Chu Mingcheng calculated the number, and was astonished—he had caught 79 more ribbon fish than in the first half of the night!

In terms of fishing time, the efficiency was indeed no worse than in the first half of the night, but in reality, others weren’t getting as many bites. The “Golden Finger” was really something.

Chu Mingcheng looked at the five ribbon fish laid neatly on the deck.

Each of these ribbon fish was over a meter long and definitely weighed more than two pounds.

It was a pity he hadn’t encountered any of the truly large ribbon fish; even one 1.5 meters long would probably weigh over five pounds and could be worth two thousand yuan.

Chu Mingcheng started to select ribbon fish before He Zheng woke up.

He picked ten ribbon fish about four fingers wide, preparing them for his parents, Chen Yang, and Zhang Wei to try, specifically choosing two one-pound fish for his parents.

Ten three-finger-wide ones were also selected to share later on.

This time, there were only about ten pounds of two-finger-wide small ribbon fish, most of which were nearly three fingers wide, but He Zheng wouldn’t count them as three-finger-wide, so he decided to pack them all and take them home, as they weren’t even worth two hundred yuan.

It was difficult to oversleep on a sofa on a small boat. As the two who fished on the aft deck cleaned up and entered the cockpit, they woke He Zheng with their noises.

Seeing that the sun was already rising, he got up, washed his face, and started counting the catch.

When he reached the front deck and saw the catch, he was stunned for a moment.

He had never imagined that Chu Mingcheng’s catch alone could almost match the tallies of his two friends, which gave him an idea.

“Ah Cheng, you’re working hard to ensure I have a full table!”

Such an abundant catch made He Zheng very happy, since he made five thousand yuan from Chu Mingcheng alone. How could he not be happy?

Chu Mingcheng spread his hands and smiled, “Well, Sister Yao took me out twice, and she said so last night, how could I not make her happy?” @@novelbin@@

“Yes, it’s about making her happy!”

He Zheng smiled widely. Never mind Yao Xin’s happiness—he was even happier!

Then, he added, “Ah Cheng, are you interested in fishing with me long-term at sea?”

Chu Mingcheng looked at He Zheng’s expression and understood his meaning.

He wanted Chu Mingcheng to work for him by fishing regularly!

If it had been before, Chu Mingcheng might have been interested, given that He Zheng was an experienced fisherman, skilled at locating fish and had access to fishing news.

However, he was about to move to Xia City soon and work under someone else wouldn’t be as free as working alone, so he tactfully refused, “Brother He, I’d like to, but I’m about to move to Xia City soon and will be developing myself there. It’s a pity.”

He Zheng paused, then laughed heartily, “That’s a pity indeed. By the way, when are you moving to Xia City? I’m planning to fish for yellow croaker in a couple of days. Will you join me?”

Having Chu Mingcheng fish with him regularly would mean he’d have to be responsible, but he’d provide a base salary plus commission and cover meals.

While this meant that Chu Mingcheng might earn less in a single trip, He Zheng would ensure he took him out to sea every time.

So, a month’s total income wouldn’t normally be meager, just more tiring.

But as Chu Mingcheng had refused, He Zheng’s further invites wouldn’t involve teaching him the experiences of finding fish at sea; it would merely be a pure business collaboration for mutual benefit.

If it weren’t for the fact that he had two people going away, he wouldn’t have invited Chu Mingcheng.