As a Fisherman, My Fish Can Level Up

Chapter 64: Chapter 64: Booking a Ship, 800000

Go fishing for yellow croaker in a couple of days?

I absolutely must make time for that!

Chu Mingcheng hadn’t expected He Zheng to invite him fishing at sea even after he had refused.

However, the more he caught, the more He Zheng earned, so the invitation made sense.

He then received the yellow croaker price quote from He Zheng: three taels or less was US$ 100 per catty, four or five taels were US$ 150 per catty, six or seven taels were US$ 260, and eight to nine taels were US$ 400.

One catty was one thousand, two catties were one thousand eight hundred, and three catties or more were two thousand five hundred.

If he caught any farmed fish that had escaped the net cage, they would be purchased at US$ 30 per catty.

Normally farmed yellow croaker sold for twenty to thirty per catty. He could pay thirty because those that had escaped had been free for a while and could fetch a higher price.

Of course, there aren’t really wild yellow croakers that large anymore. Prices for those over one catty are just to look at, no need to consider them.

Chu Mingcheng knew somewhat about the market prices for yellow croaker, and He Zheng’s prices this time seemed a bit low. For those under one catty, the average profit was fifty yuan per catty, which was quite a bit higher than what he earned from hairtail.

However, fishing for yellow croaker couldn’t be as efficiently continuous as fishing for hairtail, plus he didn’t need to pay for a boat rental, so it was still an okay deal when he calculated it.

Seeing that Chu Mingcheng had agreed, He Zheng’s smile widened a bit as he started to tally up his catch from the latter half of the night.

The fish that were three fingers wide weighed sixty-seven catties eight taels, totaling US$ 3051.

Those four fingers wide but not reaching one catty totaled twenty-one catties for US$ 945.

This time, those over one catty were more than before, totalling twenty-six catties for US$ 2080.

There were also five fish over two catties, just earning an extra twenty yuan per catty at one hundred yuan per catty, selling for a total of US$ 1120.

After deducting the hairtail he was taking home, he had earned US$ 7196 from the latter half of the night, plus US$ 5140 from the earlier half, netting Chu Mingcheng a total of over twelve thousand three hundred yuan from this sea outing.

Earning over ten thousand in one overnight session was a deal anyone would grab; a night’s work was well worth it.

As for the high price of the hairtail, could He Zheng actually sell it?

The hairtail caught were specifically not intended for ordinary families, but rather for those with good financial circumstances who were food enthusiasts.

Perhaps He Zheng had connections and could directly package and sell to hotels.

Back at the dock, Yao Xin was still asleep and hadn’t come out.

Chu Mingcheng had no choice but to send her a message, then he turned down He Zheng’s invitation for lunch.

He needed to go back to catch up on sleep, and in the afternoon, schedule a boat and get a physical examination to prepare for his driving license test.

Zhao Xia would also be coming in the evening to pick up the sea earthworms, so he didn’t have much time.

However, before leaving, Chu Mingcheng discussed with He Zheng about the configuration and price of this boat, so he wouldn’t be cheated when booking his own.

Once back at home, after eating breakfast, Chu Mingcheng caught up on some sleep.

Slept at eight and woke up at eleven, even the King of Hell would praise my good health!

Chu Mingcheng fed Little Mimi some cat food and after considering it further, he bought an automatic timer feeding machine online, which also included a water dispenser, lest his disturbed rest times interfere with Little Mimi’s meals.

Then he took the hairtail back to the town and handed them over to An Xiuwen.

“Oh, son, did you go fishing for hairtail last night?”

An Xiuwen loved fish, especially Changyu, hairtail, and small yellow flower fish. She liked the shiny skin of the hairtail that Chu Mingcheng brought.

“Yeah, I went to a friend’s boat last night to fish for hairtail at sea. Knowing you like them, I specifically kept some, and sold the rest.”

“Do you have any left for yourself?” @@novelbin@@

“Yes, I saved some for frying later.”

Chu Mingcheng didn’t stay at home long, he grabbed lunch and then headed to Huang Town Shipyard to look at boats.

He went straight to the large shipyard, and the salesperson was surprised to see him but then became very happy.

The first visit might have been just a look, but a second visit meant a much higher chance of buying, so the reception this time was even warmer than before.

Since Chu Mingcheng had decided to buy, he wouldn’t hesitate anymore.

“I understand that your main factory is in Xia City, right? I will be moving there soon, so I would like to order a boat to be launched there.”

The salesperson’s expression paused briefly, then he recovered with a smile, “Of course, no problem. So, Mr. Chu, let’s see what kind of configuration you need.”

“Alright…” Chu Mingcheng nodded and followed the salesperson to the office to discuss configurations and prices.

He had found out from He Zheng that his boat, bought just a year ago, was 11.88 meters in length, 3.24 meters in width, had a displacement of 6.8 tons, and a draft of 0.48 meters; it was equipped with twin 200 horsepower diesel outboard engines.

The fuel tank capacity was 800 liters, and freshwater capacity was 150 liters.

The cockpit included radar GPS, fish finders, and other equipment; the shipyard had handled all three necessary certificates fully, and he had paid eight hundred thousand yuan for it.

Chu Mingcheng thought He Zheng’s model was quite good, but there were actually two types of propellers, gasoline, and diesel.

The gasoline one was faster, with a theoretical maximum speed of 45 knots, while diesel’s maximum was only 30 knots.

But diesel engines are more economical and consume less fuel.

A 200 horsepower diesel outboard engine consumes about 40 liters per hour, so two engines would consume 80 liters, and that’s at economical cruising speed; fuel consumption would increase at maximum speed.

Running it for two hours would cost more than one thousand five hundred yuan, and a single trip out to sea would cost at least two thousand yuan.

But even then, it’s much cheaper than gasoline outboard engines, which consume even more fuel.

After understanding Chu Mingcheng’s requirements, the salesperson asked him to wait for a moment and then went to contact the head factory to get a price.

About twenty minutes later, the salesperson came back with good news.

“Mr. Chu, here’s the situation. Normally, when you order a boat from us, you have to wait two to three months for it to be launched. That’s already considering that we have the hull built, only finishing and installation of equipment are needed.”

“However, our main factory currently has a new boat that has just been finished. It was originally ordered by someone else who already paid the deposit. But now, that customer has some financial issues at home, so the boat has been set aside.”

“The configuration of this boat is quite similar to what you requested, but it has twin gasoline engines. Would you accept it?”

Chu Mingcheng was surprised to hear that there was a finished boat available and naturally, it would be best if he didn’t have to wait. However, he definitely didn’t want a gasoline engine.

“I only want diesel.”

“Mr. Chu, actually, gasoline has its benefits, like…”

“I haven’t completed my boating license yet, which will take at least a month. Refitting a boat will take just two to three months; I’m not in a hurry.”

Hearing this, the salesperson was speechless and then smiled again, “Alright, Mr. Chu, you can pay a deposit first, and I will communicate with them to change the engines.”

Changing the engines wasn’t a big issue, so once Chu Mingcheng insisted on diesel, the salesperson naturally wouldn’t persuade further.

When paying the deposit, he checked the contract, which also stated that the boat in Xia City needed a change of engines. He just had to go to Xia City and pay the full amount within two months, the price was still eight hundred thousand yuan.

After placing the order for the boat, Chu Mingcheng went to the hospital for a checkup, and once the medical report was out, he could register for a boating license at the Maritime Bureau.

It would probably take a little over a month. Once the license was issued, he would then head to Xia City.

In that month, he could earn some more money and hence borrow less from his parents.