After Reincarnating as the Dragon King, I Made a Fortune with Seafood – CH4

Chapter 4: Sea Fishing

Lu Ao woke up early the next morning. After eating breakfast, he went to the Public Security Bureau. When the people there learned it was him, they were all startled.

Almost everyone had thought he was already dead. No one expected him to come back alive.

A group of police officers brought him tea and water, one after another asking what had happened over the past few days.

Lu Ao left out the part about turning into a lizard and repeated the version he had told Tian Mingzhi and the others.

The officers all sighed over how lucky he was.

Before the formal questioning began, Officer Liao, who was handling the case, specially reminded him, “If you’re injured, you can claim compensation with the hospital settlement receipts.”

What Lu Ao feared most right now was going to the hospital for an examination.

He quickly shook his head. “It’s nothing. I was very lucky and basically wasn’t injured.”

“That’s good.” Officer Liao said, “If there’s no problem on your end, we’ll ask about what happened that night. This questioning will be video and audio recorded. I hope you answer honestly and fairly.”

Lu Ao nodded.

Officer Liao began asking questions, while his colleague beside him took notes.

Lu Ao said as much as he could about what he could say, and claimed not to know clearly about what he could not say.

After more than half an hour of fussing around, Officer Liao finally finished the questioning. He then had Lu Ao review the relevant transcript and sign to confirm it.

Lu Ao looked it over, and after confirming there was no issue, signed his name.

Officer Liao’s colleague turned off the recorder.

Seeing that their questioning had ended, Lu Ao asked one more question. “Excuse me, those people who chased and beat me that night, they…”

“They’ve all been detained. Every last one, big and small.” Officer Liao comforted him. “Don’t worry. No one will be able to come out and take revenge on you.”

“I heard them say that night that some of them were under fourteen.”

“There were some, but even if they’re underage, they’ll still be sent to a juvenile correction facility for discipline.” Officer Liao sounded rather rueful. “They’re all repeat offenders. Even if they go to juvenile correction, it’ll start at one year.”

Lu Ao narrowed his eyes and pressed down the trace of ruthlessness in his heart.

He was not worried that this group of people would come seek revenge.

He was the one who wanted revenge.

Since the police had already helped settle it, and that group of thugs was still in the detention center, this matter could only be left like this for the time being.

Those guys were lucky. Otherwise, he would have made sure they lost a layer of skin even if they did not die.

After leaving the police station, Lu Ao went straight to a phone store and bought the same model of phone he had used before. Then he went to replace his SIM card and downloaded the apps he commonly used.

He specifically went on WeChat and told his childhood friend Ge Ranzhou that he had just gone to the police station.

Ge Ranzhou replied very quickly: What did the police say? Those scumbags were all caught, right?

—Mm. They were caught.

Ge Ranzhou let out a huge sigh of relief: Then I’m relieved. Let’s go out to eat together on the weekend. My treat. We’ll get rid of the bad luck.

—Sure. I also happen to have something to tell you.

Ge Ranzhou had a strange premonition in his heart: Tell me what?

Lu Ao said: I’ll tell you then.

He planned to look for another way to make a living. Right now, he already vaguely had an idea.

If he relied only on running the convenience store, with that eight or ten thousand yuan of pure profit a month, he probably would not be able to feed himself.

But making a living from the sea seemed highly promising.

After finishing his conversation with Ge Ranzhou, Lu Ao relied on his memory and entered Tian Mingzhi’s WeChat number.

Search for friend. Add friend.

Almost as soon as his friend request was sent, the other side accepted it.

Tian Mingzhi: Lu God!!! Want to come pump out rock pools?

Lu Ao’s fingers paused, then he asked: You haven’t set off yet?

—No. The island we’re going to today can only have its pool fully drained after the tide goes out this afternoon. Right now, half of it is still underwater.

—If you’re coming, we can leave earlier and go sea fishing for two hours first.

—I’ve prepared bait mix and fishing rods. They’re definitely easier to use than yesterday’s rods.

—How about it, Lu God? Coming?

The fish Lu Ao caught yesterday had sold for 1,286 yuan. Even after subtracting the one hundred yuan given to Lu Ao and deducting taxes, the three of them could each split more than two hundred yuan.

Adding the fish they caught from pumping the rock pool, their individual income yesterday had directly broken past five hundred!

Tian Mingzhi now found Lu Ao extremely pleasing to the eye.

In the time it took Lu Ao to say one sentence, Tian Mingzhi had already clattered out a whole pile of words.

Lu Ao looked at his invitation, thought for a moment, and finally agreed.

—Lu God, where are you? We’ll drive over to pick you up. We can treat you to a meal while we’re at it. The fish you gave us yesterday sold for over a thousand. Let’s go have a feast.

Lu Ao did not agree. He glanced at the time and replied: Let’s meet directly at the pier at eleven-thirty. Don’t waste time.

—Okay, no problem. See you at eleven-thirty.

Lu Ao turned off his phone and directly took a taxi to a nearby buffet restaurant with a good reputation.

Meat filled him up better than other things right now.

After arriving at the buffet, he directly asked for a grill and ate cooked meat while grilling raw meat.

It was only a little past ten in the morning, so there were plenty of dishes in the buffet restaurant and not many people.

Lu Ao quietly ate a large pile of meat without the slightest politeness. Once he was about eighty percent full, he left and took a taxi to the pier.

Tian Mingzhi and the other two felt quite a bit of reverence toward Lu Ao, so they had specially prepared everything early and were waiting at the pier.

Lu Ao was exceptionally handsome, with a tall figure, long legs, and outstanding proportions. He could be recognized from far away.

The moment he got out of the car, Tian Mingzhi and the other two saw him.

Tian Mingzhi raised his hand. “Lu God, over here!”

Lu Ao walked over and asked, “Have you prepared the bait and everything?”

“It’s all ready. We specially went and bought three jin of fresh prawns.” Tian Mingzhi opened the bag for Lu Ao to see. “They’re all still jumping around.”

Lu Ao glanced at them. “How much?”

“Pretty cheap. Farmed stock, forty-five yuan per jin.” Tian Mingzhi’s bright eyes were filled with ambition. “Buying prawns makes it easier to catch big fish!”

“It does.”

Lu Ao silently calculated it. Three jin of prawns cost one hundred thirty-five yuan. With four people splitting it equally, each person should pay about thirty-four yuan.

He took out his phone. “I’ll transfer you the money.”

“Oh, no need, no need.” Tian Mingzhi quickly pressed his hand down and rushed to say, “Lu God, you’re being too polite. Didn’t we sell fish yesterday? The money for the prawns can come out of that.”

Hu Xingjin also chimed in, “We already took advantage by keeping all the money from yesterday’s fish. How could we take your money again?”

Seeing that they really did not want it, Lu Ao did not stand on ceremony with them.

The four of them finished preparing, moved everything onto the fishing boat, and set off directly.

Chen Shengrong steered the boat, while Tian Mingzhi and the others prepared the fishing rods.

Tian Mingzhi asked for his opinion. “We’re going to Huangfan Island today. Lu God, later, take a look and see where it’s suitable to fish. If there’s a good spot, just call out, and we’ll stop.”

Lu Ao nodded and asked, “Don’t you usually use fishing nets?”

“Basically, no. We’re not familiar enough with ocean currents and tides. We can’t make a living from that.” Tian Mingzhi sighed. “We tried before, but after a year, we lost tens of thousands of yuan, so we never thought about it again. Lu God, are you interested in fishing for a living?”

“A little.”

Tian Mingzhi shook his head. “These days, you can’t make much money from fishing. Fishing taxes are so high, and the risks are big. Very few small fishing boats still go out to sea now.”

Lu Ao understood.

His parents had once been fishermen. Working at sea was extremely risky. Even back then, when fishing taxes were not so high, life was not easy for fishermen.

Many people went out to fish, but in a month, there would only be eight or ten days when they caught a decent amount. For the remaining twenty-some days, the fish they brought back often were not even enough to cover the fuel cost.

And that was only during calm weather.

Once a typhoon came or heavy rain fell, fishermen could only stay home and rest.

If they failed to return in time during typhoon weather, a moment of carelessness could cost them their lives.

Even if they came back in time, they still had to quickly pull their boats home during a typhoon. Once a boat was damaged, it could not be repaired without three to five thousand yuan.

Fishermen often said that buying a boat was not difficult; maintaining one was.

After a fishing boat was bought and moored in the harbor, a mooring fee had to be paid every month—several hundred a month, several thousand or even over ten thousand a year.

Maintaining a fishing boat was also difficult. Exposed to wind and sun, riding waves and cutting through water, the boat needed inspection every few days. That was another expense.

Once out at sea, burning several hundred yuan’s worth of fuel was common. If the catch that day was poor, not only would there be no income, the fuel money would also be lost.

But those were human worries.

Lu Ao was already a lizard now.

He did not need a fish finder. By instinct alone, he could tell where there were many fish and where there were few. If he became a new fisherman, he should not lose money.

Lu Ao said, “We’ll see. I may still want to try.”

Hu Xingjin became interested. “Lu God, where’s your hometown?”

“Qianyong City.”

“My brother-in-law is from that city too.” Hu Xingjin immediately became excited. “Lu God, which county are you from?”

“Shuiyuan Town, Yandong County.”

“Why does that place name sound so familiar?”

Tian Mingzhi also felt it sounded familiar. He thought hard for a moment, then suddenly remembered and slapped his thigh. “Lu God, do you know Lin Qiyan from Chongxin Village in your town? He’s one of the top hundred uploaders on our site. Last year, we even had a meal together.”

“Not close.”

“Then that means you know him. This world is so small!” Hu Xingjin was stunned. “He seems about the same age as you. You two couldn’t be friends or classmates, could you?”

“No. I just know of him.” Lu Ao stared at the surface of the water and suddenly said, “Almost there. Go forward a little more, then stop and fish.”

“Got it.” When it came to serious business, Tian Mingzhi quickly responded, scrambled up, and shouted, “Old Chen, we’re almost there!”

As he spoke, he hurried over to the cabin to have Chen Shengrong stop the boat.

Lu Ao began preparing the bait mix.

For convenience, Tian Mingzhi and the others had bought special bait powder for fishing. Later, they only needed to mix it with water and throw it down to make a fishing nest.

The boat soon reached the spot.

Chen Shengrong stopped the engine and poked his head out. “Lu God, is this place okay?”

“More or less. Get ready to fish.”

Chen Shengrong and Tian Mingzhi quickly came out to fish together.

Tian Mingzhi happily set up the filming equipment and aimed it at them, mainly filming Lu Ao’s figure.

The video they had shot yesterday had already been edited and uploaded online, and several fans had asked who Lu Ao was.

Some praised his tall figure, long legs, and good build, while others admired his fishing skills.

Because of this, Tian Mingzhi and the others had gotten dozens more likes than usual.

Lu Ao ignored them and only said, “Don’t film my face.”

“Got it, got it.” Tian Mingzhi quickly lowered the camera a little and focused on filming his heroic fishing posture.

Lu Ao lowered his head and concentrated on hooking the prawn by the head, carefully avoiding its brain so it would not die. Then he directly cast the prawn into the sea.

This way, after the prawn entered the sea, it would still be alive and would keep swimming and struggling, making it especially easy to attract fish.

Beside him, Hu Xingjin and Chen Shengrong clumsily copied his movements and hooked their prawns before casting them into the sea as well.

Tian Mingzhi’s fishing boat was roughly twice the size of a small speedboat, so there was plenty of space.

The three of them each guarded a corner and began fishing.

Lu Ao sat on a small folding stool, his gaze fixed on the ocean with great focus.

He did not know what was going on, but he could faintly sense that there were fish in the sea.

For example, right now, two or three sea wolves were circling near the hook.

The sea wolves began testing the prawn, and the float trembled lightly.

“There’s a fish!” Hu Xingjin saw the float tremble and stood up excitedly. “Lu God, there’s a fish!”

Lu Ao gave a sound of acknowledgment and began slowly pulling the rod.

Chen Shengrong also came over. “Lu God, do you need the landing net?”

“Yes.” Lu Ao let out the line to relieve the force, then slowly guided the fish toward the fishing boat.

The fish soon broke the surface.

Hu Xingjin gripped the railing with his hands and shouted, “It’s a sea wolf!”

Sea wolf, also called barracuda, was not expensive locally. Wild barracuda currently sold for about twenty or thirty yuan.

The sea wolf Lu Ao had caught was big, probably around seven or eight jin. Earning over a hundred yuan from it was still not bad.

Hu Xingjin was excited. “A successful first battle!”

Lu Ao gave a hum and reminded him, “Watch its teeth.”

“Got it, got it.” Hu Xingjin quickly put on gloves, removed the hook, held the sea wolf with both hands, took a photo with it in front of the camera, then sent the sea wolf into the fish hold.

Lu Ao continued hooking prawns and casting the line.

Tian Mingzhi focused on filming him. He did not dare film his face, but secretly filmed several shots of those long, slender fingers that looked like white mutton-fat jade.

Lu Ao did not care.

Less than five minutes after his hook was cast down, the hook moved again.

It was another sea wolf. This one was slightly bigger, over ten jin.

Over the next two hours, Lu Ao kept catching fish: sea wolves, black sea bream, white croakers, rockfish…

None of these were considered particularly precious sea fish, but Lu Ao simply caught too many of them.

Hu Xingjin counted the fish in the hold, then said to the camera in particular gloom, “Every time I watch Lu God fish, it seems especially easy. But in reality, I squatted here for two hours and only caught this—”

As he spoke, he scooped up a black sea bream of six or seven liang from the fish hold and showed it to the camera. “At most, this is an eight-liang black sea bream. Wild black sea bream here is about sixty or seventy yuan right now. This one would sell for less than fifty yuan.”

“Old Chen had slightly better luck. He caught one red grouper and one black sea bream. Together, they might weigh around three jin and sell for maybe two hundred sixty or seventy.”

“Now that we’ve seen the fish we caught, let’s look at Lu God’s—”

Hu Xingjin scooped them up one by one, muttering as he counted, “Sea wolves, three, at least twenty-five jin altogether. Black sea bream, seven, twelve or thirteen jin altogether. White croakers, two, around four jin. Rockfish, six, adding up to a little over one jin. And now comes the impressive part. Lu God also caught a stone snapper—”

Tian Mingzhi quickly gave the stone snapper Lu Ao had caught a close-up shot.

Hu Xingjin held the fish in both hands in front of his chest and continued introducing it. “Stone snapper. Its scientific name seems to be starry snapper, and it’s also called yellow-winged fry. Wild stone snapper is pretty rare these days, and the price is high. It’s hard for our local market to absorb it, but if sold to Xinluzhou, it should go for over eleven hundred yuan per jin.”

“This stone snapper Lu God caught is at least four jin. That’s an easy four thousand yuan in hand.”

Chen Shengrong also leaned in front of the camera and put on a sorrowful expression. “Everyone can probably see it too. When the fish Ah Xing and I caught are placed beside Lu God’s fish, they look downright pitiful, as if they weren’t caught in the same place at all.”

Hu Xingjin pretended to wipe away tears. “And yet the truth is not like that! The three of us were all on this same fishing boat. Even if the directions we cast our hooks in were different at first, later on, we put Lu God right in the middle and placed our hooks so close together they were practically within one meter of his!”

“But the fish just wouldn’t bite our hooks. They only bit Lu God’s hook!”

Chen Shengrong spread his hands and sighed. “Nothing we can do. This is probably what it means to have rotten luck.”