After Reincarnating as the Dragon King, I Made a Fortune with Seafood – CH65

Chapter 65

After chatting with his gay friend for more than two hours, the friend spent plenty of time complaining to Lu Ao about straight male friends he had known in the past. Things like slapping each other’s butts and touching thighs were perfectly normal. When they were especially close, kissing and helping each other get off were apparently possible too.

Lu Ao had always had a rather cold personality. He did not have many friends, and he certainly did not have friends that intimate.

His gay friend said with certainty, “If that person really is the way you described, then he probably doesn’t mean that kind of thing toward you. It’s more likely he’s just taking care of you, like taking care of a younger brother.”

Lu Ao gave a low sound of acknowledgment.

His gay friend laughed. “Forget about him. You might not even truly want to be with him either.”

“Mm?”

“I mean, if you really like someone, you’ll definitely feel desire for his body.” His gay friend said, “Have you ever had a wet dream about him? When you see him normally, do you subconsciously look at his chest, his butt, that kind of thing?”

None of that.

Lu Ao had never deliberately looked at those two parts of Song Zhou. Even when he saw them in daily life, no thoughts stirred in his heart. At least, he had never thought in that lustful direction.

He fell silent.

His gay friend laughed. “See? I told you this isn’t normal. You don’t even feel physical desire. How are you supposed to date?”

“I get it.”

“I’m guessing you still don’t.” His gay friend said directly, “When you really start dating someday, you’ll understand. Too bad you’re a bottom. Otherwise, we could try. I’m very skilled.”

Lu Ao said, “Stay safe.”

“Hahahaha, I knew you’d say that. You’re way too proper. You don’t look gay at all.”

“There are proper gays like me too.”

“Those are usually deeply closeted. Alright, I won’t keep talking. I’m going back to grind out my thesis. If there’s anything else you don’t understand next time, you can keep coming to me. I’m always here.”

“Got it. Thanks.”

Lu Ao hung up and lay on his bed, trying hard to imagine matters of the flesh.

He failed in less than two minutes.

Even if it was only in his mind, coveting a friend’s body felt too strange. It was practically obscene.

Early the next morning, Lu Ao went fishing, and everyone saw the dark circles under his eyes.

Lin Gongshang specially handed him his sports drink. “Did you not sleep well last night? Why don’t you skip fishing today? You look terrible.”

“I’m fine. I’ll rest for a bit.” Lu Ao rubbed his face and asked, “Did you buy the bass hooks?”

“Not yet. Da Wu and his wife haven’t opened the shop, so I didn’t want to buy from someone else.”

Lin Guanchen and his girlfriend were already almost fully recovered, but they still needed a few more days before they could be discharged.

In Lin Gongshang’s heart, Lin Da Wu’s fishing tackle shop was the one he trusted most. Buying from another shop always felt like a betrayal.

Lu Ao yawned. “Buying them in a few days is fine too.”

“No need to wait that long. I’m making them now. They should be done by this afternoon. How many bass hooks do we need? I’ve made about thirty so far.”

“Twenty per person. There are three of us, so about sixty will do.” Lu Ao said, “If you can finish them today, I’ll buy some shrimp for bait when I sell the fish later.”

“I can. I won’t nap at noon today. I’ll get them done quickly.”

This was Lu Ao’s first time fishing for bass since returning home. Hearing him say they would be finished by the afternoon, he was not stingy when he sold the fish and directly bought five jin of shrimp.

Bass preferred fresh, live food. Around here, when people fished for bass, they generally used sea shrimp or sea centipedes. Shrimp could still live for a day or two after being hooked through the head, making them the best bait.

In the afternoon, Lin Gongshang said the bass hooks were ready and tagged Lu Ao and Lin Qiyan in the WeChat group.

Lin Qiyan immediately went to borrow a boat.

They agreed to meet at the seaside by Linwu Village and load the tools onto the boat.

Lu Ao drove his three-wheeler over and arrived not long after.

When Lin Gongshang carried the bass hooks onto the boat and turned back to see the shrimp Lu Ao was carrying, he could not help saying, “You bought way too much.”

“If we don’t use it all, I’ll bring it back and cook it.”

“That works too. Rich guy, do as you please. Let’s go, let’s go. Start the boat. Are you driving today, or am I?”

“I’ll drive.”

Lu Ao had stayed home for online classes today and had not gone to the county seat, nor had he touched a boat. His hands were itching to try.

Lin Gongshang had no particular craving for driving boats and did not fight him for it. He only said, “Honestly, if you like driving boats so much, you might as well buy a small one. A boat over twenty meters long is too big.”

“A bigger boat is safer. It can stay out at sea.”

“Bigger boats burn more fuel.”

Lu Ao shook his head.

He had considered it carefully at the time. If he went out to sea, he definitely would not catch only a few dozen jin of fish at a time.

If the boat was not big enough, it might not even be able to hold all the fish he caught.

Small fishing boats also had difficulty going offshore. If he wanted to go out to sea for fun, driving a small fishing boat would be inconvenient.

All things considered, it was better to get a big boat directly.

A big boat was indeed more expensive, and daily maintenance costs were also higher, but given his current assets, that amount of money was nothing much to him.

Lin Gongshang muttered a few things, then quickly pointed the way. “This way, this way. We’re heading toward the oyster farming area.”

The first condition for fishing bass was having something to secure the bass hooks to.

Although it was called fishing for bass, what they were actually doing was tying hooks baited with lure to something out at sea, then coming back the next day to collect them. Since the bass hooks had to be tied in place overnight, they needed to be fastened to something.

No one outside their village did aquaculture, so they had to go to another village.

Because of that, they had to drive the boat for quite a while before reaching their destination.

Lu Ao operated the engine, and the fishing boat chugged forward, cutting through the water and leaving splashes in its wake.

They did not stop along the way and went straight for their destination.

After the boat ran for over half an hour, they finally reached the oyster farming area. Lu Ao asked, “Is it okay to set them here directly? Won’t the owner of the oyster farm say anything?”

Lin Qiyan said, “He won’t. I already greeted him. The owner has no objection. He just told us to be careful and not damage his oyster seedlings.”

When they drew near the oyster farming area, Lin Gongshang went over to steer the boat.

He was afraid Lu Ao’s skills were not good enough and that he would ram straight into someone else’s oysters.

If they damaged someone else’s farming equipment, paying compensation was a minor matter. They would definitely get scolded.

Lin Qiyan lifted the camera. “I’m starting to film.”

“Film away.” Lin Gongshang said, “Make me look better. Don’t make me look that dark again.”

“Fine. I’ll adjust it in post.”

Recently, Lin Qiyan had asked Lu Ao and Lin Gongshang to appear on camera quite a few times. Afterward, he had paid them.

Lu Ao never showed his face directly and did not take money, so Lin Qiyan helped him raise the geese instead. That counted as compensation.

Lin Gongshang said, “Then I’ll go closer to the bamboo tubes. Lin Qiyan, be careful and don’t get hit.”

Lin Qiyan made an OK gesture from behind the camera.

The oyster farm they had chosen used a combination of bamboo stakes and longline farming.

Thick, treated bamboo tubes were inserted into the sea. Basically, every six tubes formed a funnel shape over the sea mud, and ropes were tied at the bottom to secure them.

The oysters were grown on those funnels.

Apart from these funnels, many thick ropes had also been tied nearby, secured to reefs.

Tying ropes served one purpose of making the bamboo tubes sturdier, and another purpose of expanding the farming area.

They were mostly going to tie the bass hooks to the ropes.

Bass hooks looked a bit like fishing rods, except without the rod—only a line and the hook below. After the line was tied, it could be left directly in the sea overnight, then collected the next day.

This was much more convenient than ordinary fishing. They did not need to guard the rod, saving labor.

The lines on the bass hooks were very strong. Once tied, even a bass over ten jin could not snap them by struggling.

Whether or not they caught bass, they would know the next day. There was no need to wait anxiously.

Lu Ao and Lin Gongshang each tied more than half a row. Once Lin Qiyan had filmed enough material, he quickly said, “I’ll do the rest!”

He carefully fixed the camera onto a bamboo tube using an octopus tripod, then slowly came over to film his own portion.

Compared to Lin Gongshang and Lu Ao, he was not a fisherman, and his hands and feet were not as nimble. Filming this kind of video was rather difficult for him.

Seeing that he was afraid the camera would fall, and also afraid he himself would fall, Lu Ao said, “I’ll film.”

“Sure! Thanks.” Lin Qiyan swiftly detached the camera and handed it to him. “Just film however you like. I’ll edit it later. Whatever footage can be used, I’ll use.”

“Alright.”

After no longer having to worry about dropping the camera into the sea, Lin Qiyan became much more agile. He even had time to explain the principle behind bass hooks to the camera.

They had brought sixty bass hooks in total and tied up two long rows.

After tying them all, the three did not linger and directly drove the boat back. They only needed to come over tomorrow after fishing to check the results.

As they drove away, Lin Gongshang looked at the two rows of bass hooks, his heart full of anticipation. “I wonder how many bass we’ll get?”

Lin Qiyan was reviewing the footage he had filmed today. Hearing this, he said, “I’m not asking for much. I’ll be satisfied if we get ten.”

Wild bass now sold for over forty yuan per jin.

Sea bass were generally quite large. One bass was at least two or three jin, while bigger ones could reach six or seven jin. If they caught ten, that would basically be fifty or sixty jin of fish.

That many fish, once sold at the town market, after subtracting taxes and costs, could still earn each of them two or three hundred yuan. The income would be very decent.

Hearing this, Lin Gongshang chuckled. “If someone else set these bass hooks, catching eight or ten fish would already be something to secretly celebrate. But if Lu Ao sets them, tomorrow there’ll be at least twenty fish here.”

Lu Ao said, “Not necessarily.”

“There’s no ‘not necessarily.’ There’ll definitely be twenty or thirty. I believe in you!” Lin Gongshang patted his shoulder. “Don’t worry. We believe in you more than you believe in yourself.”

Lin Qiyan rarely agreed with him. “With your luck, we’ll definitely catch twenty or thirty tomorrow. By the way, when we come collect the bass hooks tomorrow, remember to bring the oxygen equipment.”

Lin Gongshang said, “And bring an extra big bucket too. I feel like the fish hold won’t be enough.”

“True. Why don’t we drive straight to the pier to sell the fish tomorrow? Let’s not make a big detour back and end up killing the bass.”

“Sure. If the fishmongers can’t take that many bass, we’ll do a livestream and see if your followers want to buy any.”

The two of them went back and forth, imagining the outcome. The more they imagined, the more enjoyable it became.

Lu Ao sat at the stern, steering the boat. Listening to the engine chugging away, he narrowed his eyes, feeling very relaxed.

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