After Reincarnating as the Dragon King, I Made a Fortune with Seafood – CH47

Chapter 47

Yellow catfish, like large yellow croakers, belonged to the Sciaenidae family.

They were also famous fortune fish.

Whenever fishermen brought them up, there was not one who did not get excited.

Lu Ao had been planning to figure out where he could catch a valuable fish to make up for his nearly emptied wallet, and now news of yellow catfish had come right to his doorstep. It could be considered fate.

He looked up and asked, “Which neighboring town?”

“Tuanbao Town, of course. Some fishermen over there said they saw yellow catfish in the sea near their town.” Lin Gongshang described it vividly. “They said it was early morning. Someone was rock fishing and saw yellow catfish come out to eat the chum. The person who saw them didn’t recognize them at first. Only after going home and looking them up did he realize they were the famous yellow catfish.”

Rock fishing generally referred to fishing from rocks or reef flats that protruded above the surface of the water.

Every year in mid-May, yellow catfish migrated from the open ocean to nearshore reefs to spawn. By late July, they returned to the distant sea. In theory, it was indeed possible for rock-fishing enthusiasts to see yellow catfish.

Lu Ao was tempted. If it was true, he could make a trip.

After all, changing back into his dragon form underwater was very convenient. He could always go and check whether the news was true.

yellow catfish were so large, often seventy or eighty catties, even over a hundred catties. A fish that big would have a hard time hiding. If he wanted to find it, it should be relatively easy.

Seeing that Lu Ao was interested, Lin Qiyan hurriedly advised him, “Lu Ao, don’t listen to him pushing you blindly. This is all hearsay. Who knows, maybe this rumor has been spreading for twenty or thirty years already. Who knows if there are still yellow catfish there?”

Lin Manzhang also said, “Around rocky reefs, there are often jagged rocks and complicated waters. Better not go.”

Lu Ao was still pondering.

Seeing that he really wanted to go, Lin Gongshang hurriedly spoke up under Lin Qiyan’s glare. “Hey, I was just joking. I don’t know if it’s true either. I just heard someone mention it casually.”

Lu Ao did not mind. “I’ll ask around when the time comes.”

For example, Li Xinyong, who had sold him the geese, was a good person to ask.

At noon, once Lu Ao got home, he called Li Xinyong.

Li Xinyong thought something had happened to the geese. As soon as he picked up, he hurriedly asked, “What happened to your geese?”

“Nothing happened to my geese. They eat well, sleep well, and have gotten a lot fatter.” Lu Ao said, “I wanted to ask you about something.”

“What do you want to ask? Go ahead.”

“I heard there are yellow catfish appearing in the sea near your Tuanbao Town?”

“That’s what people say, but who knows if it’s true? This rumor has been going around for years. So many people have come wanting to catch yellow catfish, but I’ve never heard of anyone actually catching one.”

Lu Ao frowned slightly. “So it’s more likely to be false news?”

“You can’t exactly say that either,” Li Xinyong said. “It’s just that no one can catch it. The yellow catfish people in our town saw was supposedly at least over a hundred catties. With such a huge fish, not many people would really dare go after it. Besides, old fish become cunning. A yellow catfish that big is shrewd as hell. Ordinary people can’t get their hands on it at all.”

“Where do people in your town usually see yellow catfish?”

“I think they said Niutou Island. I’m not too sure. If you want to know, I can ask around for you?”

“Please ask for me. Sorry for the trouble.”

“Hey, you’re really interested?”

“Mm. I want to try.”

Li Xinyong could only agree. “All right then. I’ll call you after I ask around.”

Lu Ao not only asked Li Xinyong to inquire about it, but also specifically went online to search for related information himself.

Their area was not very developed, and there was very little information online. Lu Ao searched back and forth for a long time but did not find much relevant information. He could only wait for Li Xinyong to ask around manually.

That afternoon, Lu Ao had originally planned to go fishing, but unexpectedly received a call from Old Chen.

Old Chen told Lu Ao that his brother-in-law had already dug up the male ginkgo tree Lu Ao wanted. Lu Ao needed to go over and bring it back to plant as soon as possible. If it was left too long, the ginkgo would die.

Hearing this, Lu Ao drove his tricycle to Chenwu Village.

Old Chen’s house was still very simple, but compared with before, there was now a little more joy to it. The house also looked somewhat fresher.

Seeing Lu Ao, Old Chen hurriedly invited him inside. “Come, come, come. Have some tea first.”

Lu Ao said, “Brother Chen, have you sold out the waxberries?”

“They’re sold out.” When Old Chen mentioned this, joy could not help appearing in his eyes. “Within ten li and eight villages around here, only my waxberries were still bearing fruit. The buyer offered a good price, five yuan and fifty cents per catty. That’s several thousand yuan more in my account.”

“That’s great.”

“The fruit harvest really is good this year. I also took the honey peaches to town to sell. Three yuan a catty, and people snatched them all up in half an hour.”

“The fruit tastes good, so of course people recognize good stuff.”

“Yes. You reap what you sow. The things grown in the fields can’t fool anyone.” Old Chen said, “Speaking of the orchard, I’ve already tidied it up once. If you have time during this period, you can go look around more often. If mushrooms grow in the orchard, feel free to pick them and eat them. If you don’t have time, that’s fine too. I’ve asked my older brother and the others to help keep an eye on it.”

“I have time. I’ll come over from time to time.”

Hearing that he was willing to come, Old Chen felt slightly relieved.

Lu Ao asked again, “Have any volunteers contacted you recently?”

Old Chen quickly nodded. “Yes, yes, yes. Two volunteers and one doctor all said you introduced them. They helped me make an appointment and also rented a bed for me. Tonight, once we go over, we’ll have a place to stay.”

Lu Ao was a little surprised by how reliable Xiang Xingchang’s side was. “Is the bed rental expensive?”

“It’s all right. Ten yuan a night,” Old Chen said. “For a proper place to sleep, that price isn’t expensive.”

“Good. If anything happens after you get there, call me.”

“You too. If anything happens with the orchard, call me anytime.”

After the two sides finished discussing the orchard, Lu Ao loaded the ginkgo tree and prepared to leave. Old Chen stuffed him with a large basket of waxberries, honey peaches, and other fruit. There was even a large watermelon inside.

Lu Ao failed to refuse, so he could only accept it.

He brought the fruit and tree sapling home. He put all the fruit into the refrigerator, then soaked the ginkgo sapling in water mixed with rooting powder. He placed it in the shade and waited until sunset before carrying it to the back mountain to plant.

The ginkgo tree was also called the “grandfather-grandson tree,” meaning the grandfather planted the ginkgo tree, and only by the grandson’s generation would there be fruit to eat.

The five-year-old ginkgo tree Lu Ao brought back was not very large. Its trunk was only as thick as the mouth of a wine cup. He could carry it up the back mountain easily by himself.

Since the sapling was small, the planting pit did not need to be too big either.

Lu Ao could handle it alone, so he simply did not wait for Songzhou.

When he went up the mountain, Lu Ao only brought a hoe and carried up the goose manure he had piled up some days ago. Before planting the tree, he first placed some base fertilizer far from the roots so the tree could grow better.

Once this male ginkgo tree was planted, the female ginkgo tree might bear fruit next year. He had to apply more base fertilizer to nourish it.

Songzhou got off work late today. By the time he arrived, Lu Ao had already planted the ginkgo.

Lu Ao had not only watered the ginkgo to settle its roots, but had also specially laid a layer of mist over the field.

There was no broad water source nearby for him to use, so the mist he created was only average. Still, the air had become much more humid, and even the nearby watermelons had been moistened by the mist until they looked lush and green.

At this time, the watermelons had already begun to stretch their vines. The original neat vegetable ridges could no longer be seen. Only a continuous sheet of vines covered the entire plot, looking from afar like a piece of emerald.

There were also early-blooming yellow flowers in the watermelon field. Several bees and butterflies circled around the yellow flowers, gathering nectar and pollinating them. It likely would not be long before this watermelon field produced round, plump watermelons.

When Songzhou saw Lu Ao, he came over to help him carry the shoulder pole.

Lu Ao quickly moved away. “No need. I’ll carry it.”

Songzhou did not insist. “Walk back?”

Lu Ao washed his hands clean in the nearby ditch. “Either way. Let’s go to the vegetable field first and pick some vegetables. Let’s eat vegetable congee today? The weather is too hot. Something refreshing would be nice.”

“What vegetables do you need for congee?”

“Let me see. Some pumpkin, luffa, green beans, maybe? Dice the pumpkin, cut the luffa into chunks, and only use the beans from the green beans. We’ll go back earlier to cook the congee and make it soft and thick.”

“Won’t you be hungry drinking congee at night?”

“As long as the side dishes are rich enough.”

Lu Ao carried the shoulder pole, and the two of them walked down the mountain one after the other, casually chatting as they went. “I asked Tan Junhao today. Haining Mountain in their village still hasn’t been contracted out. That mountain is quite big, and their asking price is also high. Fifty-six yuan per mu per year. No one can afford it.”

In Yandong County, growing agricultural products was actually not very profitable.

Because most places in their county were mountainous. Transportation was not very developed, and they were far from the city.

If someone wanted to sell agricultural products to the city, the transportation cost would be extremely high.

On top of that, a large portion of the population had moved away. There were not many young people in the entire county. Most of the laborers were middle-aged and elderly people in their fifties and sixties. Agricultural products could not be produced on a large scale, so they were not very competitive.

It was not easy to make a living locally, so more and more people ran elsewhere. The local area had thus fallen into a vicious cycle.

Lu Ao had asked around. If he wanted to contract a mountain, it was still relatively easy. Basically, no one would compete with him. If he bargained a little, he could probably get it for forty-eight to fifty yuan per mu.

It was just that the mountain was too large. It was said to have a total area of over two thousand mu. The annual rent alone would be around a hundred thousand yuan. He really did feel some pressure.

As for that mountain itself, it was actually a good mountain. The soil on the mountain was yellow-black earth, and years of accumulated humus had made the mountain very fertile.

The mountain was half-ringed by the river, so drawing water would be very convenient. Planting things there would be relatively easy.

After hearing his worries, Songzhou said, “I actually think you can contract it. Other than money, is there anything else you’re dissatisfied with?”

“Not really.” Lu Ao thought about it carefully. “If I had to say something, it might be that the mountain is simply too large. I might not be able to make full use of it.”

“You won’t,” Songzhou said with certainty. “Only when you live on a larger mountain will you feel comfortable.”

“Mm?” Lu Ao was full of question marks. “Wait, why would I live on the mountain?”

Songzhou asked in return, “Do you ever especially want to change back into your dragon form?”

That, he did. Sometimes when Lu Ao saw the sea, he wanted to change back into his dragon form and frolic in the water.

He asked, “What does that have to do with me living on the mountain in the future?”

“Your dragon form will grow larger and larger. When the time comes, you’ll want to change back into dragon form every day to stretch out. When you change back, you can’t possibly stay in the sea all the time. You’ll also need a place to coil up and sun yourself. If, by then, you have a private mountain where you can freely change back into dragon form and bask in the sun, your sense of happiness will be much stronger.”

Lu Ao had never thought about that. “If I need a mountain before I can freely change back into my dragon form, how big will my dragon form be after I grow up?”

“I’m not entirely sure about your exact body length, but a few hundred meters is certain.”

“That big?!”

Lu Ao carefully imagined himself being a few hundred meters long and found that he could not quite picture it.

“That’s only a possibility,” Songzhou said. “In the Dharma-ending age, the resources here may only be enough to support you growing to a few dozen meters.”

“That’s still very big.”

Lu Ao still found it hard to imagine.

Turning into a dragon really was too expensive. Not only did he eat a lot, he even had to contract a mountain just to raise himself?

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