As a Fisherman, My Fish Can Level Up-Chapter 156 - 146 The Cold Air of the Old Home, Fish Swimming South
Chapter 156: Chapter 146 The Cold Air of the Old Home, Fish Swimming South
“Red Magic Shrimp and sea lobster must have cost you a pretty penny, right?” Jiang Luoluo set the raw marinated dish on the table and said.
Chu Mingcheng put his binoculars aside and chuckled, “It’s alright, didn’t I get you craving them with the photos I sent before? I prepared these especially for you. You didn’t have any good meals in Peng City, how could I let you down now that you’re back?”
“Haha, then I won’t hold back. Oh my, I’m salivating already!” Jiang Luoluo immediately put on a pair of disposable gloves and picked a Red Magic Shrimp out of the box.
“I’ve heard that Red Magic Shrimp are the tastiest, but I don’t know if it’s true.”
“The flavor of the Red Magic Shrimp is ten times that of ordinary sea shrimp, and besides, these are Red Magic Shrimp from Spain, they definitely won’t be bad.”
“Is that so? Well, I’ll try it first!”
...
Jiang Luoluo couldn’t wait and peeled open the head of the shrimp, revealing the yellow and white roe and brains.
After a slight hesitation, she ended up sucking a mouthful.
“How is it?” Those accustomed to eating shrimp brains would be fine, but those unfamiliar might find it strong.
Of course, this also depended on the freshness of the shrimp. The batch Chu Mingcheng bought had just come in.
When he defrosted them, he made sure to check—they were very fresh, no issues there.
He wouldn’t dare use stale shrimp for raw marinated dishes; that was simply asking for stomach trouble.
Jiang Luoluo initially furrowed her brow, clearly a bit unsettled by the shrimp brains, but soon her expression smoothed over, “Not bad, the flavor is indeed strong, just not used to it on the first try.”
She then peeled the shell and tasted the shrimp meat, swallowing it and immediately exclaimed, “The shrimp meat tastes even better, soft and tender, sweet and delicate. You should try it too.”
Chu Mingcheng had also been eager to try and picked up a Red Magic Shrimp.
He found the taste of the shrimp brains a bit strange, mainly due to a slight fishiness, but still acceptable.
Plus, the richness of the roe was quite evident, with a distinct aftertaste.
The shrimp meat needed no further praise—it was indeed exquisite.
However, after eating a sea lobster, he suddenly found that the low-temperature frozen Red Magic Shrimp paled in comparison.
The fresh sea lobster was bouncy and crisp, not to mention sweet—there was no need to go into detail.
No wonder the price was over one hundred more than the Red Magic Shrimp. Dead and alive, indeed incomparable.
Even the Ban Qin shrimp weren’t much worse than the Red Magic Shrimp, it was just that Jiang Luoluo had eaten the Mantis Shrimp, and she couldn’t taste the difference from the Ban Qin shrimp.
Rat Spot… those who had tried it all praised it.
Delicious food can indeed lift people’s spirits.
…
Waking up and opening the curtains revealed that the sky had started to rain.
It was sunny yesterday, and today it’s raining. The weather in coastal cities is indeed unpredictable.
At that moment, Chu Mingcheng saw a text from An Xiuwen, telling him that a cold front was coming and to keep warm.
But in reality, he didn’t feel cold. Looking at the temperature and weather conditions behind Xia City, he found the area was expected to average fifteen to twenty-two degrees in the coming ten days, with little change.
The only nuisance was that there weren’t many sunny days, it was either cloudy or there were light rains.
He then checked the weather in Wen City and suddenly understood. It had indeed gotten colder there; the temperature, originally in the twenties, had dropped to around ten degrees.
So Chu Mingcheng transferred ten thousand yuan to An Xiuwen for her to buy some warm clothes, and also get a set for Chu Yongxin.
Perhaps because the transferred amount was not small, An Xiuwen immediately gave him a call.
“Son, why did you transfer so much money? Do you have enough for yourself?”
“I’m fine, I’ve earned quite a bit from fishing the past few days. I should be able to pay back what I owe you soon.”
“That’s good, then. Consider this ten thousand as your way of showing filial piety to your dad and me, and don’t deduct it from the money you borrowed!”
An Xiuwen’s words made Chu Mingcheng smile wryly, “It was originally for you to buy clothes with. It’s getting colder in Wen City, you two need to be careful not to catch a cold. The weather here is still very warm, I guess it will take some time before it cools down.”
“Okay, oh, and the fish you brought last time were great, especially the Fighting Pompano, very tasty. But don’t bring them next time. Your dad said the fish you brought were worth a few thousand, how can you afford to be so generous?”
“Of course, I’m willing to treat you.”
“Always the smooth talker, alright, enough now. I’m going to get Aunt Le to go clothes shopping with me.”
“Sure.”
After hanging up the phone, Chu Mingcheng put away his phone and looked out the window, his mind pondering if the drop in temperature in Wen City might cause some migratory fish to head south?
Xia City’s current temperature was comfortable, and the fish were still very active.
Maybe it was time to ask Wei Jiaguo. He owned a boat and loved fishing, so he should know about these things.
“Hey, Grandpa, how did that Rat Spot taste?”
Hearing Chu Mingcheng’s teasing and looking at the Rat Spot in his fish tank, Wei Jiaguo was somewhat speechless.
He wasn’t foolish. Would he just kill the fish he bought before it died?
“What do you need, speak up?”
“Ahem…” Seeing his teasing hadn’t worked, Chu Mingcheng started on the real issue, “I noticed today that the temperature has dropped in Wen City, and I was wondering if some migratory fish might come this way because of that.”
“So I especially called to ask Grandpa if you know about some fishing seasons.”
“The temperature dropped there?” Wei Jiaguo hadn’t noticed this, as he fished for pleasure, not for a living. He responded, “Wait a moment, let me ask a few friends.”
Normally, what Chu Mingcheng mentioned did indeed occur.
For instance, sea bass would head to deeper waters or migrate south after a temperature drop and return north after winter.
Also, around January in winter, the roe-filled mullet from Treasure Island Strait were famous; each one big-bodied and fatty, their bellies all full of eggs.
What’s called mullet on Treasure Island is actually the grey mullet. In winter, fishermen catch them and immediately slaughter them to take out the eggs.
After only a little processing, the mullet roe can fetch prices of eight hundred to one thousand yuan per pound.
The male fish’s swim bladder is equally valuable—it’s the internal organs that make this fish precious.
Simple fish flesh isn’t valuable, just a few yuan per half a kilo.
Now that the Treasure Island Strait has been opened, Chu Mingcheng can hang up the national flag and wander around at will. He definitely won’t miss this season for mullet. (Previous chapters stating crossing the line wasn’t allowed have been corrected. Our country took full control of the Treasure Island Strait in August; local fishermen won’t be detained without reason anymore.)
This chapt𝒆r is updated by frёewebηovel.cѳm.
After a short while, Wei Jiaguo called and informed him of the current situation he had gathered.
Sea bass had indeed migrated southward, and indeed many Fishing Men and fishermen had gone out to sea to seek their fortune.
Not only sea bass, but many migratory fish species were also part of the rush toward the Treasure Island Strait. However, since the temperature drop had been recent, the exact situation was still uncertain.
After speaking, Wei Jiaguo also provided several routes previously taken by the fish during their southern migration.
With these routes, as long as Chu Mingcheng persisted in going out to sea over the next few days, he was bound to have a catch.
Although it was raining today, he still prepared to set out to sea.
He packed his fishing and hunting gear to bring aboard, and then he went to Jiang Luoluo’s house.
By now, they knew each other’s door codes, so entering was just a matter of going straight in.
The difference was that Chu Mingcheng’s bedroom door was never bolted, whereas Jiang Luoluo’s was definitely locked to prevent anyone from sneaking in at night and causing her harm.
Upon arriving at her room, she was already up and preparing breakfast.
Noticing his arrival, Jiang Luoluo said, “Ah Cheng, wait a moment for me, I’m almost done here.”
“No rush. By the way, Luoluo, do you have anything on today, or do you want to come out to sea with me?”
“You’re going out to sea even with the rain today?”
“Yes, mainly because the rain is not heavy. Wen City has cooled down, and I got some fish migration routes from Grandpa, so I’ll be trying my luck these days.”
“Then all right, I just got back from Peng City and was planning to rest for a couple of days. I’ll join you for some fun out at sea!”
After breakfast, the two set out with their gear in Chu Mingcheng’s car.
Items like Shrimp Brick and crushed ice had to be bought; the squid meat purchased earlier still hadn’t been used up since he had spent the past two days mostly fishing and hunting, so it remained unused.
They also bought some vegetables for lunch and then headed for the dock.
As usual, they added water and fuel. The boats at the dock made sure the nearby gas stations earned a fair amount every year.
Wei Jiaguo had given routes that were all on the northern side of the strait, so Chu Mingcheng chose the closest one to start with and investigate.
The binoculars Jiang Luoluo had bought for him came in handy. There were many boats out at sea today, and he could use the binoculars to follow others, making it easier to find fishing spots.
This trip was quite far, taking over three hours before he spotted a group of seabirds fluttering and fishing boats bobbing up and down with the waves.
Last time, when fishing for Pilchard, there were only over twenty boats. Today’s scene was more spectacular, with at least fifty or more.
And it was visible that the fish activity was excellent, with some people frenetically reeling in fish.
Through the binoculars, he could clearly see the fish being pulled up.
It wasn’t the sea bass he had expected, but golden pomfret with golden fins.
Most looked to be about half a pound to a pound in size, with occasional excited Fishing Men pulling up a golden pomfret estimated to weigh about five to six pounds, giving Chu Mingcheng a good idea of what was happening.
To fish for golden pomfret, the same line assembly used for Pilchard would work, and if a large one was hooked, it could still be easily reeled in.
“Ah Cheng, what kind of fish are there today?” Jiang Luoluo had put on her raincoat and walked out of the cabin to ask Chu Mingcheng, who was beside her.
Without binoculars, plus the boat not being that close and considering the gloomy weather, it was difficult to clearly see what fish others had caught with the naked eye.
“Here, take the binoculars,” offered Chu Mingcheng, instead of answering, handing her the binoculars.
“Wow, these are golden pomfrets, right?”
“Right, they’re golden pomfrets. Although the price isn’t that high, with good fish activity and catching a lot, it is still profitable.”
Chu Mingcheng, who had made tens of thousands in the past several days, wouldn’t turn up his nose at these, even if fishing all day would probably only garner at most ten thousand yuan worth of fish.
“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s start fishing!” Jiang Luoluo urged eagerly, “Oh and don’t forget to bring the camera. Are you running out of stock for your videos?”
“Yeah, only two episodes left, about to be finished.”
“Then after I get tired of fishing, I’ll go into the cabin and help you with the editing.”
“Sure!”
Chu Mingcheng took out the Shrimp Brick and squid meat to defrost them, then started tying the line assembly, and Jiang Luoluo watched to learn.
Once the squid meat thawed a bit, she picked up the knife and began chopping it into pieces.
She threw the innards and such into a bucket to be discarded into the sea later—ready-made bait, which could also save some Shrimp Brick.
After they got ready, the two started fishing on the left side of the boat.
Golden pomfret are warm-water fish that prefer the upper middle layer, and since they were in the vast sea, sinking the bait to the middle upper layer would be adequate.
If they were near an island reef, then they would need to wait for the tide and fish with a string hook near the bottom, as the golden pomfret would usually be in the water layer about fifty centimeters from the bottom.
After casting their lines, they patiently waited. Within a short period, Chu Mingcheng’s rod bent just as he hoped.
The tip of the rod was yanked down to a 90-degree angle, then snapped back up, only to quickly bend down again.
The speed at which the line was pulled out was beyond his expectation, the main line twirling circles as if powered by the magic of love.
“Wow, a big one, a big one!” Jiang Luoluo exclaimed excitedly, seeing the commotion.
After all, it seemed improbable for a small fish to create such a fuss. Chu Mingcheng also thought so.
He lifted the rod for a pull, and then gave it another tug, the tip of the rod bending up forcefully.
But it was this exact force that gave him a bit of uncertainty—the jerk was strong, but the fish didn’t feel heavy at all!
However, his motion once again startled the fish below, causing it to exert a primal force for one last struggle.
It cleverly swam towards the bottom of the boat, as if understanding it could use the angularity of the boat to break the fishing line.
But no matter how smart the fish was, it could never outsmart humans at the top of the food chain.
