After Reincarnating as the Dragon King, I Made a Fortune with Seafood – CH27

Chapter 27: Lobster

Lu Ao got up early in the morning to fish, but only caught three: one large mangrove red snapper, one black sea bream, and one spotted scat.

There were no longer that many fish in this stretch of sea. Although fish from other waters swam over every day to replenish it, it was still far from enough to satisfy Lu Ao’s fishing needs.

Finding another fishing spot as soon as possible, to supplement and eventually replace this one, remained Lu Ao’s top priority. Otherwise, if he kept fishing here, the ecology of this sea area might be damaged.

The large mangrove red snapper Lu Ao caught weighed more than ten jin. The black sea bream and spotted scat together weighed over three jin. He sent the three fish to town to sell, and the money was just enough to buy groceries.

After returning home and eating breakfast, he had nothing much to do, so he simply herded the geese to the place where he had caught the big eel last night to go tide-pooling. Yesterday, he had not had much time to look around, but he had noticed that there were quite a lot of snails in that shallow sea. If he went around once, the harvest should be decent.

On the way there with the geese, Lu Ao’s phone vibrated from time to time. He took it out and glanced at it. Lin Gongshang and the others were chatting enthusiastically in the group, all talking about fishing.

Lu Ao became interested and appeared in the chat: Where are you planning to fish?

Lin Gongshang: Near Xifeng Island. Yesterday, I was chatting in our city’s big fishermen group, and they said the wind direction and tide have changed these days. There are quite a lot of fish over there.

Lin Guixiao: We went near Xifeng Island last year too. The fish over there really are good. When we fish there, we basically never come back empty-handed.

Lin Gongshang: Lu Ao, do you want to come with us? We’re planning to rent a boat to take us there.

Lin Gongshang: Hiring a boat isn’t expensive either. Six hundred a day, boat, fuel, and labor included. If you go, we can split the cost. It won’t be much.

Lu Ao: Haven’t you been fishing around Wenlong Bay these past few days?

Lin Gongshang: Yeah, but there are fewer fish there now too. We’ll rotate between spots.

Lu Ao: All right. When are you starting? Count me in.

Lin Manzhang came out: If we can find a boat, we’ll start the day after tomorrow.

The weather had been pretty good recently, and many fishing boats were busy catching fish, so they did not really have time to take private orders.

Six hundred yuan a day seemed like a decent income, but after deducting fuel costs, only a little over three hundred would remain. That three hundred-plus also had to cover labor and boat expenses. Compared with going out to sea to fish, renting out a boat actually was not very worthwhile.

Even though Lin Manzhang had a wide circle of friends, it was still difficult for him to find a suitable fishing boat.

Lu Ao privately messaged Lin Manzhang: Brother Zhang, have you considered buying a fishing boat?

—Not for now. Fishing boats are too expensive, and maintenance is difficult. If we can rent, we still want to rent.

Lu Ao: Isn’t it just over ten thousand?

—Something around ten thousand is basically a small speedboat. It’s not practical, and it’s dangerous to go out to sea in one. If you’re buying, it’s better to buy a bigger boat.

—Are you thinking of buying a fishing boat?

Lu Ao: Mm. Buying one would be more convenient, but my license hasn’t come through yet.

—Then have you taken the Certificate of Competency exam?

Operating a boat also required the relevant certificate. Different tonnages required different categories of certification.

The Certificate of Competency was similar to a driver’s license. Every fisherman had to carry it when going out to sea. If they did not have one and were checked by the coast guard, it would be very troublesome.

Lu Ao: Haven’t had time yet.

—If you want to operate a boat, it’s better to take the exam as soon as possible. Summer typhoon season is coming soon, and it won’t be convenient to get certified then.

Only then did Lu Ao remember this matter and asked on WeChat: Brother Zhang, do you have any training institutions to recommend?

—I’ll ask around.

—The one I went to when I took the exam before has stopped operating. I’ll find another one for you.

Lu Ao was chatting with Lin Manzhang when his phone vibrated again.

He backed out and found that Lin Qiyan had privately messaged him.

—Lu Ao, where are you now? Are you done fishing?

Lu Ao: Done. I’m tide-pooling.

—Tide-pooling sounds good. Where are you tide-pooling? Are there many fish?

Lu Ao: Not bad. In the reef area upstream from our village.

—Can I come too?! I happen to have nothing to do this morning.

Lu Ao: Call me when you arrive.

—Okay, I’m setting off right now! Wait for me!!!

Lu Ao exited the chat with him. Lin Manzhang had not sent any new messages for the moment.

In the group, Lin Gongshang and the others were still chatting enthusiastically.

Lu Ao turned off his phone and put it back into his pocket, continuing to lead the geese slowly forward.

These days, he had been doing his best to communicate with the geese using the method Song Zhou had taught him, conveying his thoughts to them.

Now, he and the flock of geese already had a faint connection. He no longer needed to herd them with a bamboo pole. The geese knew to follow behind him and did not fall behind.

Lu Ao glanced around and, after confirming not a single goose was missing, focused on wading through the water to look for fish and shrimp.

It was only past nine in the morning, and the weather was not too hot yet. There were relatively more fish, shrimp, crabs, and the like out and about.

Many fish and shrimp had protective coloring. This area also had a lot of water grass and rocks. When many fishermen came across a place like this, they would easily miss fish and shrimp because they failed to spot them.

Lu Ao was different. His senses were very sharp. When looking for fish and shrimp, he did not rely much on his eyes. Instead, he first sensed that there was a small life nearby, then walked over lightly and turned things over. With this method, he basically found something every time.

By the time Lin Qiyan rode his motorcycle to the nearby area, Lu Ao had already caught nearly half a bucket of seafood.

Lin Qiyan splashed through the water toward him. The first thing he saw was Lu Ao’s large flock of geese scattered all around, happily catching fish and pecking shrimp. He could not help being startled and looked around. “Huh, your geese are pretty good. Can geese be raised like this too?”

“Why not?”

“Well, what if they get dragged away by fish?” Lin Qiyan pondered. “Your geese aren’t even one jin yet, right? There seem to be some big ones around here too, like octopuses and eels.”

“Trading a goose for an octopus or eel wouldn’t be a loss.”

“Hehehe, true. How much have you picked up?”

Meeting his curious gaze, Lu Ao simply opened the bucket lid for him to see.

Lin Qiyan widened his eyes. “This much?! You haven’t been here long, right?”

“Mm. Good luck.”

“Your luck is way too good. Do you ever have bad luck?”

“If there’s no luck, skill makes up for it.”

“…Fine.”

Lu Ao looked at him. “Want to look for seafood first?”

“Yes, yes, yes.”

Lin Qiyan turned and searched for a while. As the temperature rose in the morning, quite a few mud crabs came out to hunt. If one had sharp eyes and quick hands, the harvest was not bad.

Lin Qiyan searched for more than half an hour and found two mud crabs, four snails, and an octopus with a head a full circle larger than his fist. Feeling that the harvest was pretty good, he edged closer to Lu Ao and asked carefully, “Lu Ao, did your friend go back?”

“Mm? Why?”

Lin Qiyan was a little embarrassed and said quietly, “I’m just asking, okay? Are you two in the early stage of dating?”

Lu Ao turned his head to look at him, his brows slightly furrowed.

Lin Qiyan quickly raised his hands in surrender. “I really don’t mean anything else. It’s just, well, I like men. After coming back to my hometown, I can’t find a boyfriend, so I wanted to ask. If your friend also likes men, maybe we could make friends.”

Lu Ao turned back, stared at him, and said rather seriously, “Don’t get ideas about him.”

Lin Qiyan understood as soon as he heard this and quickly said, “Okay, got it. I’ll definitely stay far away from him!”

Lu Ao felt that his words were not very friendly, so he added, “His situation is rather special.”

“Mm, okay.” Lin Qiyan glanced over carefully again. “Then, Lu Ao, are you?”

“Yes.”

Lin Qiyan thought, sure enough. His gaydar had not failed.

He looked at the tall, long-legged Lu Ao in front of him, his wicked heart refusing to die, and quietly asked, “Are you on top or bottom?”

Lu Ao turned his head and looked at him expressionlessly.

Under his gaze, Lin Qiyan’s heart tightened, and he quickly said, “I understand. I won’t get ideas about you either.”

Lu Ao withdrew his gaze and continued looking for seafood.

Lin Qiyan wiped the sweat from his forehead and muttered, “No one to rely on, no one to love.”

Lu Ao asked, “Are you still tide-pooling or not?”

“Yes, yes, yes!” Lin Qiyan lifted his head and looked at the sparkling water surface. “If love fails, then my career must have a bumper harvest. My harvest today will definitely be good. Just wait!”

Lu Ao was too lazy to pay him any more attention. He bent down, pushed aside the water grass, moved rocks, and reached under the grass to search for seafood.

A moment later, he grabbed two long antennae and pulled out the seafood underneath.

It was a painted spiny lobster.

The lobster’s bright, colorful shell reflected the sunlight, dazzling to the eye.

At first, Lin Qiyan had no idea what he was looking for. When he focused and saw it clearly, he was instantly shocked. “Holy shit, a painted spiny lobster?”

It really was a painted spiny lobster!

Lin Qiyan could no longer care about the mud crab he had found. He splashed over and leaned in front of Lu Ao to look, his eyes nearly falling out. “No way. You can find a painted spiny lobster that easily?”

“I just happened to see it.”

“This thing hides so deep, and you can still see it?!” Lin Qiyan held out his arm to compare and cried out strangely, “Damn, this painted spiny lobster is huge. Its body length has to be at least twenty centimeters, right? It’s even longer than my arm.”

“Damn, this isn’t scientific. How can you just randomly catch such a big lobster?”

While he was still shouting, Lu Ao had already put the painted spiny lobster back into the bucket. Lin Qiyan hurriedly reached over. “Wait, wait, Lu Ao, let me take a photo and post it in the group and on Moments first! I can’t be the only one shocked.”

Lu Ao let go again.

Lin Qiyan grabbed the lobster’s antennae and carefully lifted the painted spiny lobster.

This lobster was extremely lively, and its tail was still beating.

Lin Qiyan had some trouble controlling it, so he quickly stuffed his phone into Lu Ao’s hand. “Here, here, help me take a photo.”

Lu Ao did as he asked and quickly took several dozen photos in one go. Then he returned the phone to him and took the lobster back. “Pick them yourself.”

“Got it. Damn, why are the photos you take so straight-guy aesthetic?”

Lu Ao carried the bucket and continued forward.

Behind him, the flock of geese followed, honking. From time to time, they stuck up their fluffy butts and plunged underwater to peck at fish, shrimp, snails, shellfish, water grass, and other things to eat.

Lin Qiyan no longer hid himself in front of Lu Ao. With the aesthetic taste of a little gay man, he happily edited the photos and posted them in the group and on Moments—A wild painted spiny lobster caught by Lu God!

As soon as he posted the photo, it immediately blew up a crowd of people.

Lin Gongshang: Holy shit, what happened? It’s only been a little over two hours. How did Lu Ao even catch a big guy of this level?!

Lin Guixiao: A big lobster of at least two or three jin. Is there that much seafood where you went?

Lin Gongshang: Are you still there? Are there any more lobsters? I’m coming too!

Lin Qiyan looked at his phone and typed back rapidly.

—Dream on. Who has Lu Ao’s luck and skill? Even if a lobster hid under your feet, you wouldn’t find it.

—[Photo JPG]

—This is the harvest of us mortals. More than an hour, and the catch still doesn’t cover the bottom of the bucket.

Lin Guixiao: Eating lemons JPG.

Lin Gongshang: Why didn’t you ask Daddy Lu to carry you? Side-eye smile JPG.

—Daddy Lu says he doesn’t need leg pendants.

Lin Qiyan bickered with them.

His phone vibrated again. A new message came in. It was from a hotel owner he knew: Lin Qiyan, where did you catch that painted spiny lobster? It’s wild, right?

—Nearby in the village. Pure wild painted spiny lobster.

The hotel owner replied instantly: How big is it?

—Not sure yet. Around two or three jin. Anyway, it’s longer than my arm, and its antennae are over one meter.

The owner pressed: Are you selling it? Why don’t you go back and weigh it? If it reaches three jin, I’ll buy it for fifty thousand.

The owner: Hey, where are you? How about I come over personally to take a look?

Lin Qiyan hurriedly raised his head and called to Lu Ao in front of him. “Lu Ao, a boss says he wants to buy the lobster you caught. Starting at least fifty thousand! He wants to come see it himself.”

Lu Ao lowered his head and glanced. The big lobster was lying at the bottom of the bucket, its long antennae hanging over the rim. Its antennae were truly too long, and the lid would not even close.

This lobster was very beautiful. Lu Ao looked at it for a while and said, “Forget it. Not selling.”

“Hm? What?” Lin Qiyan came back to himself and widened his eyes. “Holy shit, with such a big painted spiny lobster, it’d be such a loss not to sell it! If you don’t sell it, what are you going to do with it?”

“Eat it ourselves.”

“Eat such a big lobster ourselves?” Lin Qiyan could not understand and opened his mouth wide. “Isn’t that too extravagant? If we want to eat, we can just buy smaller painted spiny lobsters. Eighty or ninety yuan a jin. Wouldn’t buying eight or ten jin of those be more worth it?”

Because painted spiny lobsters were especially beautiful, many people regarded them as auspicious, which was why the price was especially high.

In reality, wild painted spiny lobsters under one jin sold on the market for only eighty or ninety yuan per jin.

Lu Ao did not change his mind.

Lin Qiyan chattered beside his ear in heartache. “You’re way too willing to spend. I’m telling you, that boss offering fifty thousand is already low. If it really reaches three jin, it might sell for eighty thousand if you ask.”

Lu Ao did not respond.

Last night, he had said that if he caught something good today, he would keep it and eat it with Song Zhou.

He would not go back on his word over this bit of money.

Lin Qiyan followed him and nagged the whole way. Seeing that he truly had no intention of selling it, he could only open his phone, tell the boss that it was not for sale, and delete the Moments post from earlier.

The pictures in the group were not deleted, nor could they be.

Lin Gongshang and the others were still discussing exactly how heavy the lobster Lu Ao had caught was and how much it was worth on the market now.

Lin Qiyan snorted inwardly and sent: Stop thinking about it. Lu Ao said he’s not selling.

Lin Gongshang immediately replied: If he’s not selling it, what can he do with it? Eat it himself?

—Yes, eat it ourselves.

Lin Gongshang: That’s a painted spiny lobster worth tens of thousands!

—So what if it’s worth tens of thousands? Those dressed in silk are not the ones who raise silkworms! What’s wrong with us fishermen catching some fish to eat ourselves? Hmph JPG.

Lin Gongshang honestly said: Nothing wrong. Just can’t bear to.

Lin Gongshang: We were just discussing renting a boat. If this lobster were sold, it’d be enough to buy a pretty decent small fishing boat.

Lin Guixiao: Um, well, didn’t Lu Ao just sell a large yellow croaker worth hundreds of thousands a few days ago? Isn’t that enough to buy a fishing boat…

As soon as these words appeared, the group fell silent.

A moment later.

Lin Gongshang: Fuck!

Lin Qiyan: Fuck!

Tan Junhao: Fuck!

Lu Ao glanced at the group. Everyone was very excited.

He did not know what to say. After thinking for a moment, he simply sent several big red packets in the group.

As soon as the red packets were sent, everyone in the group was sharp-eyed and quick-handed. They could no longer bother talking and immediately tapped.

Lin Gongshang: Eighty-six yuan. Thank you, Daddy!

Lin Qiyan: Ninety-nine yuan. Thank you, Daddy!

Tan Junhao: Fifty-five yuan. Thank you, Daddy!

Lin Guixiao: Hey, what’s wrong with all of you…? Ninety-seven yuan. Thank you, Daddy!!!

Lu Ao did not sell any of the seafood he found while tide-pooling.

This half bucket of seafood was not even enough for him to eat alone, let alone enough to entertain Song Zhou.

After saying goodbye to Lin Qiyan, he carried the seafood back and also brought back more than half a bucket of seawater.

The lobster, mud crabs, snails, and the like were all raised in basins, with oxygen pumped in. They would be fine to eat at night.

As for lunch, Lu Ao only planned to make a simple large plate of egg and seafood fried rice, with snail meat, shrimp meat, fish meat, sea urchin roe, and other things inside, just to make do.

This rice dish was simple but still delicious. The sea urchins had also been picked up that morning. After cutting open the shells with scissors, he took out the sea urchin roe and set it aside.

Seven sea urchins yielded one bowl of roe. He poured in a small spoonful of cooking wine to marinate it briefly, then sent it to be stir-fried quickly over high heat with hot oil. While stir-frying, he added egg and snail meat, then finally poured in the rice.

For this kind of fried rice, the heat had to be high. The fried rice that came out had distinct grains and steamed with heat, every grain of rice wrapped in the fresh flavor of sea urchin and egg.

When eating, he blew on it slightly and stuffed a big mouthful into his mouth. Lu Ao could not help narrowing his eyes. He felt as though the rice was still leaping, constantly releasing its fresh, delicious aroma. It was hot and savory, making him unable to stop himself from taking the next bite.

The snail meat in the rice was delicious too, crisp and fresh. Paired with the firm rice, it was indescribably wonderful.

Lu Ao finished the entire pot of rice and went to take an afternoon nap.

When he got into bed, he saw dark clouds outside the window and estimated that it was going to rain. Unexpectedly, not long after he fell asleep, heavy rain came pattering down.

The rustling sound of rain continued without end. Cool air, carrying moisture and the scent of earth, seeped indoors, wrapping around Lu Ao as he sank into deep dreams.

Lu Ao slept until nearly three o’clock before waking.

There were not many fish left at the fishing spot he often went to, and it was rather late now. He sat cross-legged on the bed and decided to plant watermelons.

The watermelon seeds were from the watermelon Song Zhou had brought last time.

That was the best watermelon Lu Ao had eaten since childhood. When eating it, he could not bear to throw away the seeds, so he had specially collected them and dried them. Now they were wrapped in paper and kept in a drawer.

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