After Reincarnating as the Dragon King, I Made a Fortune with Seafood – CH5

Chapter 5: Tools

Lu Ao went sea fishing with Tian Mingzhi and the others for about a week.

He took to sea fishing extremely smoothly.

During that time, he also tried using fishing nets with Tian Mingzhi and the others, and even personally went into the sea to snorkel and spear fish. The harvests were all pretty good.

During this period, he earned nearly two thousand yuan on average every day. Even after deducting fuel, bait, taxes, and other costs, the daily net profit was still five or six hundred yuan, which was enough to feed him.

That Friday, after they finished fishing and wrapped up work, before they parted, Lu Ao said to Tian Mingzhi and the others, “I won’t be coming to fish next week.”

“Hm?!” Hu Xingjin reacted dramatically. He straightened his back and stared at Lu Ao with round eyes. “Don’t! Why?”

“I’m going back to my hometown.”

They had talked about Lu Ao’s hometown before.

Lu Ao’s hometown, Qianyong City, was by the sea. There were fewer people there, and the marine resources were abundant. Every year, plenty of sea fishing enthusiasts went there to fish.

If it was purely about fishing, it was indeed more convenient to go back there.

Hu Xingjin was unwilling to give up. “Lu God, can’t you stay here? There are so many of us here, and we can look after each other. If you go back to your hometown, you’ll be all alone, without even anyone to talk to. How lonely would that be?”

Lu Ao shook his head. “I’ve decided.”

Lu Ao was a man of few words, and he had always meant what he said. Once he said this, Hu Xingjin and the others knew there was no room to turn things around.

Chen Shengrong patted his shoulder. “Going back is good too. The fishery resources are rich, the cost of living is low, and the environment is better than here.”

Lu Ao nodded. “Thank you all for taking care of me these past few days. I’ll treat everyone to drinks later.”

That afternoon, after they returned from sea, Lu Ao specially treated the three of them to a meal at a mid-range restaurant in the city, ordering food and drinks.

Tian Mingzhi and the other two drank until they were thoroughly drunk, all of them feeling very melancholy.

After Lu Ao joined their little boat team, their lives had entered easy mode—sea fishing trips never came up empty, even pumping out rock pools brought them big catches, the videos they filmed gained followers rapidly, and the platform had even recommended them on the homepage.

Just when their career was about to take off, the most important person was leaving. How could they not feel melancholy?

Unfortunately, Lu Ao had never said he wanted to join them, and he had already made up his mind. They could not really keep persuading him.

After parting with Tian Mingzhi and the others, Lu Ao’s mood was not good either.

That night, after returning home, he lay on the open terrace on the third floor and looked at the starry sky, staring until the latter half of the night.

All these days, he had been avoiding it. He refused to turn back into a lizard, and even if there was the slightest sign of transformation, he would do his best to interrupt it.

Even so, he was very clear in his heart that he was no longer human.

He was now a lizard that yearned for the sea.

He had to find a place rarely visited by people and face his own abnormality.

The next day, Lu Ao called his childhood friend Ge Ranzhou, who was studying for his master’s degree in this city, and asked him out for a meal.

Ge Ranzhou thought it was just an ordinary dinner invitation. The moment he received the call, his eyes lit up. “Sure. Where?”

“Let’s go to the food stall we usually go to.”

“Noon or evening?”

“Evening. There’s nothing much to do at night, so we can talk later.”

“Okay. I’ll come find you once I finish today’s thesis work.”

Ge Ranzhou was studying for his master’s degree in this city. His coursework was not especially heavy, and it was convenient for him to come out.

That evening, Ge Ranzhou arrived in sandals and big shorts. The moment he entered the private room and saw Lu Ao standing up, he blurted out, “Holy shit, did you get taller again?”

Ge Ranzhou was a fair-skinned little fatty, standing at 1.74 meters tall. At this moment, he only reached Lu Ao’s nose.

It was honestly a little damaging to his self-esteem.

Lu Ao nodded. He had not measured his height these past few days, but he could also feel that he had grown a little taller. Even his pants had become shorter.

Ge Ranzhou stared at his long legs with extreme envy, then looked at his lean waist. He looked just like a young man from a comic. “You’d be qualified to debut as a model now.”

Lu Ao was too lazy to respond to that sort of talk. He sat down directly and said, “I ordered a few dishes. See if there’s anything else you want to eat.”

“Let me see. Steamed turbot, salt-and-pepper pork ribs, hand-shredded chicken, stir-fried beef, beer duck, fried hairtail sections, charcoal-grilled oysters… You already ordered twelve dishes, and most of them are meat. How can two people possibly finish all this?”

“We can finish it.” Lu Ao sounded lazy. “If we really can’t, we’ll pack it up.”

“Tsk, fine.” Ge Ranzhou muttered, his eyes scanning Lu Ao up and down. “Now I don’t think you can become a model anymore. With your appetite, even if you did become a model, it probably wouldn’t take more than a few days before you turned into a plus-size model.”

Lu Ao’s reply was concise. “I’m still growing.”

Ge Ranzhou had just been about to say, You damn well are already twenty-four, what growing are you still doing?

But then he thought of how Lu Ao’s height was shooting up like bamboo shoots after rain, and swallowed his words back down. Very melancholy, he closed the menu.

Some friends were born to crush you.

Lu Ao had ordered part of the food in advance, so the dishes came very quickly.

The two ate and chatted.

Lu Ao said, “I just rented my small convenience store to someone else. I didn’t rent out the house. Here are the keys. When you’re free, help me go take a look.”

“Wait!” Ge Ranzhou did not take the keys in his hand. He stared at him in shock. “Wasn’t your convenience store doing pretty well? In that area of your house, even Xkelong doesn’t do as much business as your store, right? Why are you subleasing it?”

“It’s not that exaggerated. The income is just average.” Lu Ao said, “I’ve been going sea fishing with some people these past few days. The income is pretty good, so I want to change careers.”

“Hey, no, wait. It’s not like just anyone can be a fisherman, right?” Ge Ranzhou looked doubtful. “Don’t fishermen have to rely on skill? What season, what current, what kind of net to set—it all matters. Besides, there’s way too much luck involved in this. Taxes are high too, and income changes from day to day. That’s a lot of pressure.”

Lu Ao said, “I know what I’m doing.”

Lu Ao’s hometown was, after all, a small fishing village. Of course he knew that many things in this line of work depended on skill.

In his lizard form, his fishing skills were still quite good.

At least during those two days on the deserted island, he had never let himself go hungry.

Ge Ranzhou did not know how to persuade him, and a trace of anxiety appeared on his face.

After a long while, Ge Ranzhou accepted the keys and asked, “Who did you rent the convenience store to? Are they reliable?”

“They’re reliable. An old neighbor.”

Lu Ao’s small convenience store was located at the entrance of a residential area. It had a complete range of goods, cheap prices, and a very good reputation.

He was busy returning to his hometown, so he offered a price slightly lower than the market rate.

That morning, as soon as he posted the transfer notice, before noon even arrived, an old neighbor had already negotiated the deal with him.

Lu Ao’s shop was more than one hundred and sixty square meters, with annual rent of eighty thousand yuan. The other party also bought the remaining goods, shelves, freezers, and other things in the shop at the same time.

Lu Ao did not ask for much. For all those second-hand items, he only charged sixty thousand yuan.

After happily checking through everything, the other party signed the contract with Lu Ao that very afternoon, then went to the relevant departments to handle the procedures.

After Ge Ranzhou heard the whole story, he said, “As long as the person is reliable, that’s a little better.”

“Mm.” Lu Ao told him, “I plan to go back to my hometown the day after tomorrow.”

Ge Ranzhou found it unbelievable. “That fast?!”

After asking, he pressed again, extremely reluctant to let him go. “Can’t you stay a little longer?”

Lu Ao raised his glass and clinked it with his.

That meant no.

Ge Ranzhou ate this meal with a deeply worried expression.

Lu Ao was far too stubborn. There were no elders above him either. Once he made a decision, no one could persuade him.

Lu Ao also knew that Ge Ranzhou was worried, but there were many things he could not explain.

After arranging things at home, Lu Ao also said goodbye to Tian Mingzhi and the others, then went straight back to his hometown.

He left home at seven in the morning, first taking a coach to the provincial capital, Xinluzhou. After arriving at the train station, he transferred to a train.

The train sped across the land for three hours and arrived at the county train station.

After leaving the county train station, he got into a minivan soliciting passengers and spent more than three hours reaching the town.

Their town was deep in the mountains, with one main road running through the entire town.

At this time, the sun was still in the sky, and the green mountains around them looked even more lush beneath the sunlight.

Most of the people coming and going in town wore short-sleeved shirts and shorts. Most had dark, weathered faces, straw hats on their heads, and spoke in an authentic local accent.

Standing among them, Lu Ao relaxed all at once.

Lu Ao got out of the van and went to the vegetable market by the fork in the road to buy groceries.

The small town had inconvenient transportation, but its local products were fairly abundant.

Beyond the mountains was the sea, so there were especially many seafood products here. All kinds of snails, fish, and shrimp were laid out on street stalls for people to pick through freely.

It was almost evening now, and the vegetables and meat were no longer that fresh, so Lu Ao did not buy much. He only carried a little over ten jin of meat and vegetables, then went to the supermarket to get hotpot base, noodles, and other things.

Turning left from the small supermarket in town was a row of fishing tackle shops.

There were quite a number of fishermen in the nearby villages altogether, so business at the fishing tackle shops was quite lively. Even now, there were many people browsing inside.

Lu Ao looked a few more times.

In a couple of days, he would also need to buy some fishing nets, fishing rods, and the like, and officially start fishing.

Aside from that, he also needed to buy a speargun.

When he had gone snorkeling a few days earlier, using a speargun had felt very good. At this stage, it should be the fishing tool most suitable for him.

The proprietress behind the counter met his gaze, and her eyes lit up. Her voice immediately became much warmer as she called him in. “Handsome, feel free to take a look. You can put your things on the counter, and I’ll watch them for you.”

Lu Ao stepped inside.

The proprietress took a basket for him to put his things in and poured him some water. “You just came back from outside, right? What kind of fishing gear are you looking to buy? We have everything here. Come, have some water first.”

There were many fishing nets in the tackle shop: trawl nets, purse seines, fixed nets, cages, and more. All sorts of things were piled inside this shop of just over twenty square meters.

Lu Ao looked around once and had no clue where to begin.

The proprietress moved a fan over to blow toward him and said warmly, “See anything you like? Our nets are especially sturdy, and the prices are cheap too. I can take them down for you to look at.”

“I need drift nets for sea use. Do you have them?”

“Yes, yes, yes. How many fingers?”

“What sizes do you have?”

“One finger, two fingers, three fingers, four fingers, five fingers, six fingers, seven fingers—they’re all here.” The proprietress pulled out the fishing nets for him to see. Seeing that his clothes and manner did not seem like a fisherman’s, she specially explained, “This is seven-finger. It can net fish from three to fifteen jin. This is six-finger, for fish from two to eight jin. This is five-finger, for fish from one to three jin.”

Lu Ao checked them briefly and asked, “How much for one five-finger net and one six-finger net?”

“The price is the same. Two hundred seventy each.”

Lu Ao frowned slightly. “Too expensive. Two hundred each. I’ll buy two.”

The proprietress had just been about to agree when the boss, who had finished serving another group of customers nearby, hurried over. “Ah, that won’t do. We’re a small business. We can’t lower it that much. At most, I can discount each one by twenty yuan. Two nets would be exactly five hundred. Wife, go settle the bill first.”

The proprietress had no choice but to go check out the customers who had just finished choosing their items.

Lu Ao did not mind the change of person and asked, “Do you have spearguns for diving?”

The boss smelled the scent of a big order. His face bloomed into a smile, and he became enthusiastic too, saying repeatedly, “Yes, yes, yes. They’re in the warehouse. Come take a look.”

As he spoke, the boss led Lu Ao toward the warehouse.

Lu Ao was much taller than him, and when entering the warehouse, he even had to lower his head.

The boss led Lu Ao to the shelves and pointed at a long row of rubber-band spearguns. “The spearguns are all here. Thickened stainless steel spearguns with barbs. The farthest shooting range is twenty meters, and they’re very accurate within five to eight meters.”

Lu Ao picked one up and weighed it in his hand. The speargun was fairly heavy, and the quality looked quite good.

“How much is this one?”

“This is the largest size. The rubber bands are all imported, very sturdy and durable. If you want it, I’ll give it to you for two hundred eighty. I sell it to others for three hundred twenty.”

The boss chuckled. “Spearguns have to be used underwater. Do you want a wetsuit? Wet suits, semi-dry suits, dry suits—I can get them all here. Around here, wearing a three-millimeter wet suit is enough for now. If you’re going into the water in winter too, just buy a five-millimeter one.”

Lu Ao said, “Let me see the quality.”

“I don’t have a full stock here. I’ve got a three-millimeter XL set. Take a look first.”

Lu Ao took the wetsuit from the boss.

The wetsuit really was pretty good. After Lu Ao examined it carefully, he asked, “How much for a five-millimeter wetsuit like this?”

“I won’t overcharge you. Six hundred ninety-nine. If you want it, I’ll include a snorkel and mask. They’re all good stuff.”

Lu Ao said, “Do you have fins? Long fins.”

“I can get those for you too. Fiberglass and pure carbon, both are available. It depends which kind you want. On my side, they’re usually soft fins, but if you want extra soft, medium-stiff, or stiff fins, I can order them for you too.”

“Do you have actual samples?”

“Yes, yes, yes. There’s one pair of fiberglass and one pair of pure carbon, size forty-two. Take a look. The fiberglass ones are cheaper, five hundred eighty per pair. The pure carbon ones are a bit more expensive, seven hundred fifty per pair. You can check online. Even Taobao shops don’t sell them cheaper than I do.”

At this price, there was no such thing as especially good fiberglass or pure carbon. They probably were not pure materials.

Lu Ao’s expression did not change. “Fiberglass. Four hundred eighty per pair.”

“That really won’t work. Five hundred thirty at most, and I’ll throw in a pair of diving socks.”

“Four hundred eighty, and include a pair of diving socks,” Lu Ao said. “If you sell them to me, I’ll buy the wetsuit here too. Same thing, one hundred yuan cheaper—five hundred ninety-nine for the set.”

The boss gritted his teeth. “Fine, I’ll give it to you. Only because you’re buying a lot. Come back and support my business next time.”

Lu Ao nodded. “If the quality is good, I’ll definitely come back.”

“You can rest assured about that. My shop has been open here for years. We do business with local folks, so we care a lot about our reputation.” The boss rambled for a while, then said, “How about you give me a deposit? I’ll go get the goods for you tomorrow.”

Lu Ao’s heart moved, and he asked, “Where do you get the goods?”

“From the county town. My brother-in-law is in this business too.” The boss said, “Our shop has been open nearly ten years. The quality is guaranteed. Don’t worry.”

Lu Ao said, “I’ll go with you tomorrow. I happen to need to go apply for a fishing qualification certificate.”

The boss immediately asked, “Then have you bought a boat yet? My brother-in-law has a friend who also sells boats…”

Lu Ao glanced at him.

The boss laughed cheerfully. “It’s fine if you’re not buying. When you do want to buy one, you can come to me.”

Lu Ao finished negotiating with the boss.

In total, he bought two fishing nets, one speargun, one wetsuit, and one pair of long fins from the boss, totaling 1,709 yuan. After wiping off the small change, it came to 1,700 yuan.

The boss also included a snorkel, mask, and diving socks.

Since Lu Ao had bought quite a lot, the boss asked, “It’s getting late. Where are you headed back to? I’ll take you back directly.”

“Back to Luwu Village, Chongxin Village.”

“Hey, then we’re from the same village.” The boss slapped his thigh. “I’m from Linwu Village! Lin Dawu from Linwu Village.”

Chongxin Village included three small villages: Luwu Village, Tanwu Village, and Linwu Village.

Lu Ao had been taken by his parents to Xiding City for school in the third grade of elementary school, so he was not familiar with the villagers. Hearing Lin Dawu say this, he was a little surprised.

Lin Dawu studied him carefully for a long while and asked, “Are you from Lu Xuehai’s family?”

Lu Xuehai was Lu Ao’s father.

He nodded.

Lin Dawu laughed heartily. “I knew it. No wonder you looked so familiar. You look a little like both your parents. Come on, come on. I’ll take you home.”

Translator’s Note:
The Drift net translation might be a bit off, I am not sure if the translation is correct about the “fingers” part, look up info. on google but there is no specific information, so anyone who knows more about this please message me so I can make a correction.

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