After Reincarnating as the Dragon King, I Made a Fortune with Seafood – CH82

Chapter 82

There was a great difference between an opah and an ocean sunfish. In terms of body shape, an ocean sunfish was flat, like a fish whose tail had been chopped off; an opah was round, like a full moon.

Ocean sunfish were much larger than opahs. The heaviest ones could even weigh several tons.

The greatest difference between the two was that an ocean sunfish’s body was somewhat pale, while an opah’s tail fin and dorsal fin were red, and its body was covered in white spots like stars in the night sky.

The fish Lu Ao had hooked gradually broke the surface, and everyone saw it.

Zhong Honghai looked at Lu Ao’s tense arm and hurriedly asked, “Just how big is this fish?”

“Judging by feel, it should be around two hundred jin.”

“Fuck!” Zhong Honghai swore and quickly called to the people beside him, “Quick, go get a fighting belt! A fish this big won’t be brought up unless you fight it until it’s exhausted.”

A fighting belt was a kind of gear worn on the body. When an angler hooked a large fish, they would usually put one on.

It was somewhat like an apron, but only the part over the abdomen had fabric.

That piece of fabric had an iron ring on it. When in use, the fishing rod was inserted into the ring, allowing the angler to use the strength of the abdomen and the whole body to press the rod down.

With the rod set into the fighting belt, the entire body could be used to battle the fish. Otherwise, relying on arm strength alone, no matter how strong a person was, there was no way to fight a fish weighing several hundred or even a thousand jin in the sea.

As soon as Zhong Honghai shouted, the people beside him hurriedly brought over a new fighting belt.

Lu Ao held the rod and battled the opah.

His expression was not obvious. There was neither anxiety nor excitement. If everyone did not know that he rarely lied, no one would have believed that there was actually a two-hundred-jin fish pulling beneath his rod.

Zhong Honghai helped him fasten the fighting belt from behind. As he did, he shouted, “Can you still hold on? Do you need someone else to take over?”

“I can do it myself.”

“All right, I’ll help you put the belt on first.”

Zhong Honghai moved quickly. Before long, he had helped Lu Ao put on the fighting belt.

Lu Ao inserted the end of the fishing rod into the iron ring on the fighting belt and used the strength of his whole body to press down on the rod.

Only after his hands were freed did he realize that both of them were sore and swollen. From his forearms to his upper arms, they were completely numb, and his muscles trembled slightly.

He pressed down on the rod and continued playing the fish.

The opah struggled fiercely in the sea, occasionally splashing up great sheets of water.

Everyone nearby gathered around to watch him catch the opah.

Before the opah had even surfaced, a crewman was already waiting nearby with a large iron gaff.

For this kind of huge deep-sea fish, they generally did not use a landing net when fishing. They used a gaff instead.

Once the fish broke the surface, an experienced crewman would stab the gaff hard into the fish’s body, and then several people would work together to haul the fish aboard.

Lin Qiyan finally arrived after hearing the news.

He lifted his camera and aimed it at Lu Ao.

He was not the only one filming. Every single person on the ship who could do so took out their phone and began recording.

They had no signal at sea, but that did not stop them from filming first and uploading the videos once they returned to shore.

The opah’s reputation was too great. Not only was this fish expensive, it was also extremely rare.

Unlike ordinary large fish, opahs did not like to live in groups. They were solitary wanderers. Under such circumstances, humans simply could not track their movements.

Many times, there would only be one or two opahs in a stretch of sea.

People might see an opah but have no way to catch it. By the time they brought the proper equipment and returned, the opah would already have vanished without a trace.

Because of that, many people also called this fish a lottery fish. Catching one was like winning the lottery—it required a certain amount of luck.

Lu Ao was fishing, and the people beside him were eager to try.

Someone shouted, “It’s already been ten minutes, right? Bro, are you tired? Do you want some help?”

Lu Ao stared intently at the sea. “I’m fine.”

Captain Chen chuckled. “Nothing else aside, with Lu Ao’s stamina, never mind ten minutes—even half an hour would be fine.”

Lu Ao did not speak. He concentrated fully on fishing.

The opah caught on the hook sometimes drew close to them and sometimes moved farther away, but it stubbornly refused to come to the side of the ship and rarely showed itself above the water.

Lu Ao gripped the rod and fought the fish. Many times, he thought there was hope, only for the fish to suddenly swim away again.

Everyone watched nervously from the side, not even daring to breathe too loudly, afraid that Lu Ao’s fishing rod was not good enough and would suddenly snap, letting the fish escape.

Time passed minute by minute.

From the initial ten minutes to twenty minutes, then to half an hour, and then to forty minutes.

The opah below was exceptionally cunning and simply refused to come near the ship.

If this had been somewhere else, Lu Ao would have wanted to transform directly into his dragon form and jump into the sea to haul it up.

Today, under everyone’s eyes, he truly had no way to do that. He could only barely suppress his temper and continue fighting this fish.

Captain Chen and Zhong Honghai stayed beside him. Both of them were full of wonder at his stamina.

“It’s already been fifty minutes. Lu Ao, do you want to rest for a while? We can help you fight the fish.”

To fight the fish meant to use the fishing rod to engage in a tug-of-war with it.

Lu Ao was already panting slightly. At this moment, there was not a single part of his body that did not ache, but he still refused their request. “I can do it myself.”

He refused to believe that with all his strength, he could not outlast a single fish.

No one knew how much longer passed before the opah gradually lost strength and was dragged closer and closer to the ship more frequently.

Seeing this, Captain Chen shouted, “It’s coming, it’s coming! Pay attention! The opah is out of strength.”

The crewman Old Zhang came over with the gaff to hook the fish.

Captain Chen said, “Old Zhang, give me the gaff.”

Old Zhang quickly handed it over to him.

Captain Chen held the gaff and leaned his upper body over the railing, his eyes fixed beneath the ship.

Once the opah was out of strength, Lu Ao slowly dragged it to the side of the ship. When it had completely exhausted itself and floated to the surface, Captain Chen only needed to thrust hard and the gaff would be able to haul the fish up.

Once, twice, three times. The opah, too exhausted to keep going, drew close to the ship, then gradually swam away again.

Everyone stared at the fish and at Lu Ao, admiration and respect filling their hearts.

Lu Ao’s own strength had also been nearly drained in his battle with the fish.

At this moment, both living beings were utterly exhausted. Now it came down to who had more willpower and who could persist until the end.

“Come on!” Zhong Honghai saw Lu Ao blink, sweat seeping from his hair at the temples. He roared, urging him not to give up.

The shout startled Lu Ao. His grip on the fishing rod tightened, and he continued dragging the fish toward the ship.

“It’s out of the water! It’s out of the water!” Captain Chen shouted as he reached for the fish with the iron gaff.

The gaff was thick and sharp. After it hooked the fish, it sank fiercely into its body.

When the others saw that the fish had been hooked, they hurried over to help.

Five or six grown men gripped the handle of the gaff together and pulled the fish up onto the ship with all their might.

Veins bulged on everyone’s foreheads. After shouting several rhythmic calls, they finally lifted the fish out of the water and onto the deck.

After the opah was brought onto the deck, it still slapped its heavy body and struggled for a while. Only when it had no more strength did it slowly stop moving.

Everyone looked at the opah on the deck and could not help exclaiming in admiration. They all took out their phones or cameras to take pictures.

Lu Ao was so tired that even his lips had turned pale. He sat on a nearby stool, bending over and panting softly.

Lin Qiyan quickly filmed a few shots, then hurried over to get him an energy drink.

Lu Ao did not stand on ceremony. He twisted open the drink and gulped down the entire bottle before finally recovering a little.

Captain Chen was also panting. After all, he was already in his fifties or sixties, and his stamina could not compare with a young man’s. In order to drag up this fish, he had nearly thrown out his back.

After catching his breath for quite a while, Captain Chen said with certainty, “This opah has to be at least two hundred jin.”

Someone from the fishing team shouted, “Where’s the platform scale? Whether it’s two hundred jin or not, we’ll know once we bring the scale over and weigh it!”

“It’s in the cabin. I’ll go get it!”

Amid the chaos, someone quickly ran into the cabin and brought out the platform scale.

The opah was truly too large. When the platform scale was placed beside it, it actually looked small.

There was no other way. They first placed a basket on the scale, planning for several people to work together to lift the opah in one go, set it on top of the basket, and then weigh it.

However, the moment several people touched the fish, they jumped backward as if struck by lightning.

All of them wore expressions as if they had seen a ghost, and they almost spoke in unison.

“Whoa, why is this fish warm?!”

“Fuck, this fish is warm! Why does it feel like a person?!”

“The fish is warm! Touch it if you don’t believe me. It feels exactly like human skin.”

Each of them looked as though they had seen something supernatural.

The others also instinctively backed away.

Zhong Honghai was somewhat helpless. He said, “Don’t panic. That’s just how it is. It’s the only warm-blooded fish in the sea.”

“A warm-blooded fish?” Everyone was extremely surprised.

This was also the first time Lu Ao had heard of this fish. He stood and walked to the side of the opah, gently touching it.

It really did feel warm to the touch, somewhat similar to human skin.

Seeing his action, the others followed suit and stood up one after another, lining up to touch the fish. Even the crew members did the same.

The opah was extremely rare. Many people were seeing this fish for the first time; some had only just heard its name.

After everyone queued up to touch it, their faces all looked a little dreamy.

Zhong Honghai also went over and touched the fish once. Smiling, he said, “This is the famous lottery fish. Just seeing it means your luck is good. Now that everyone has rubbed a bit of the lottery fish’s luck, remember to buy a lottery ticket when we get back to shore.”

“Brother Zhong, I don’t think we need to wait until we get ashore to buy tickets. Since this lottery fish is so effective, why not ask it to bless us so we can catch precious big fish over the next few days? Ideally, each of us should earn no less than winning the lottery.”

“Hahaha, you really dare to dream. Then hurry and make a wish to it. See if it responds to you.”

“There’s no use in us making a wish. This fish was caught by Lu Ao, not me. Why not have Lu Ao come over and make the wish? Lu Ao, quick, quick, ask it to bless us so we can all catch precious big fish over the next few days.”

The corner of Lu Ao’s eye twitched.

They were clearly the executioners who had killed the opah, yet they still wanted the opah to bless them with good luck. What kind of logic was that?

If the opah were truly that effective, it would already be kind of it not to make them suffer misfortune one after another.

Lu Ao was too lazy to pay attention to such foolishness.

Everyone more or less knew his personality. They teased him for a bit, and when they saw that he did not respond, they stopped making a fuss. Instead, a few young men ran over and fought to make wishes to the opah.

Lin Qiyan also rushed over excitedly and made a wish.

These superstitious activities might not necessarily work, but what if they did? In any case, it was just making a wish to it, and it was not troublesome.

After everyone made their wishes one by one, they worked together to lift the opah onto the basket.

“Two hundred and thirty-five jin!”

“I didn’t expect it to really be over two hundred jin. This fish is huge!”

“Brother Zhong, how much is an opah this big worth? Around ten thousand yuan?”

As they spoke, they turned their gazes toward Zhong Honghai, who was standing nearby.

Zhong Honghai said, “You’ve really stumped me. Opah are especially rare, and you basically never see them on the market. I haven’t paid attention to news about this fish in a long time either. But a few years ago, I heard that an opah weighing more than two hundred and fifty jin sold for a hundred and thirty thousand. This fish should be able to sell for over a hundred thousand too.”

As he spoke, he asked Captain Chen beside him, “Old Chen, have you heard any news about opah recently?”

“No.” Captain Chen said, “Even if you bring a fish this big ashore, it may not sell quickly. It still depends on Lu Ao’s luck. If he meets the right buyer, selling it for over a hundred thousand won’t be difficult. If he doesn’t, maybe it’ll go for fifty or eighty thousand.”

Lu Ao was not worried.

If it were someone else, they might worry about how to sell these fish, but he had a rich people’s auction group, and everyone inside was loaded.

Once he brought the fish ashore, someone would definitely be interested. Even if he could not sell it whole, selling it by the jin after cutting it up would not be a problem.

Many people began discussing how much money he could make this time. Their faces carried envy, and several people even showed jealousy.

Catching a fish worth over a hundred thousand in one morning—even after tax, he would still have fifty or sixty thousand. This money was simply too easy to earn.

They wanted to earn that much in one go too. Even if not fifty or eighty thousand, twenty or thirty thousand would be good enough. With one trip out to sea, they would not have to worry about a month’s income.

With Lu Ao’s successful example before them, everyone fished even more seriously afterward. Those who had been chatting or dozing off at first stopped chatting and sleeping. All of them focused intently on their rods.

They were still beside the kelp forest. There were many fish nearby, swimming in groups. Their chumming had worked well, and few people usually came here to fish, so the fish here were not too clever and were relatively easy to trick. Fishing was fairly easy.

However, as everyone kept fishing, all they caught were small fish. Even fish over ten jin were rare, never mind large fish weighing over a hundred jin.

The crew moved the opah into the cabin for frozen storage.

Their ship was a specialized fishing vessel. Once fish were caught, they would be quickly placed in the blast freezer. Even if they were transported ashore after half a month, the fish would still be fresh.

After catching such a fish, Lu Ao was utterly exhausted and did not want to move at all. He tossed his rod aside and sat on a chair, leaning against the railing to rest.

His gaze fixed on the kelp forest.

Layers upon layers of giant kelp grew all the way up to the surface. The air bladders on the fronds held them afloat, and with the sea current, the kelp seemed to swim through the water.

Compared to his original form, these giant kelp looked more like long dragons.

Because he had caught such a large and valuable opah, Lu Ao did not fish anymore afterward. After resting for a while, he went into the cabin to eat.

That night, he also returned to his cabin early.

Everyone had seen him fight the opah for so long, so they all knew he was exhausted and did not disturb him.

After returning to his cabin, however, Lu Ao did not sleep. Instead, he called Song Zhou.

As soon as the call connected and Lu Ao had only just said hello, Song Zhou said, “Did something happen today? Your voice sounds so tired.”

“Nothing major. I just caught a particularly large opah today,” Lu Ao said. “It was really huge. More than two hundred jin.”

“You caught such a big fish by yourself?”

“Basically. At the end, Captain Chen and the others helped gaff it up.”

“No wonder you’re so tired.”

“Physical fatigue is one thing. Actually, I’m a bit mentally tired too,” Lu Ao said. “I’m starting to wonder whether it’s appropriate for me to use the advantage of my identity to catch such large fish.”

Song Zhou was not surprised to hear him say this. “Since your rebirth, have you made any luxury purchases?”

“No. Does buying a fishing boat count?”

“No. You didn’t buy a yacht.”

Lu Ao said, “Then no. My biggest expense was buying that boat.”

Song Zhou said, “The money you earn hasn’t been spent extravagantly. You’ve only used it to buy necessary survival materials and production materials, correct?”

Lu Ao gradually understood. “Yes. My money has basically gone toward those two things.”

“Then there’s no need to be too conflicted,” Song Zhou said. “If you weren’t living in modern society and able to buy so many things with money, you would catch far more fish in the sea than you do now. As a dragon, you need enough food to ensure your growth. Fishing is perfectly natural.”

“Mm. I understand now.”

Song Zhou smiled. “Actually, there’s no need for you to think too much. Compared to those massive fishing vessels, the number of fish you catch is truly limited. Besides, the sea is so vast, with so many predators. Even without you, very few of these fish would die of old age.”

“Hearing you say that makes me feel much better.”

“These are all facts. I’m not deliberately comforting you.”

After talking about his own matters, Lu Ao asked him, “What about you? Did anything happen on your side today?”

“Not really. My day was very ordinary. There weren’t even any criminals. I just handled paperwork all day. I did go water the vegetables today. The early-ripening watermelons on the back hill seem almost ready. By the time you come back, they should be just about ready to eat.”

Lu Ao counted on his fingers. By the time he got back, it would already be September. It seemed normal enough for watermelons to grow in about two months.

Song Zhou also said, “Lin Manzhang mentioned today that Old Chen’s wife is about to be discharged. By the time you return, you should be able to go to his house and transplant the fruit trees.”

Lu Ao had not expected that. “Then how has she recovered? Did she get the kidney transplant?”

“I’m not too sure. When you come back, we can go ask together.”

“All right. We’ll talk about it when I get back.”

Lu Ao chatted with him about all sorts of random things, and without realizing it, he gradually calmed down.

When he was about to sleep, Lu Ao picked up the phone and glanced at it. Today’s call duration was again over a hundred minutes.

A strange thought passed through his mind: Luckily, he was good at fishing and could catch valuable big fish every time. Otherwise, with this kind of spending, he probably would not even be able to afford the phone bill.

For the next three days, Lu Ao did not fish much.

He only fished for a while before meals. The fish he caught were not sent to be blast-frozen, but were sent straight to the kitchen to add another dish.

The other anglers found his behavior completely baffling. It was not easy to make a trip to the open sea. Everyone was working as hard as possible to catch more fish and earn more money. Every little bit counted.

For Lu Ao to think that he had caught too many fish and feel somewhat guilty, so he simply stopped fishing, was simply incomprehensible.

The sea was so vast. A single large fish ate countless kilograms of fish every day. Whether they caught a few more or a few fewer would have no effect on the sea at all.

Of course, “feeling somewhat guilty” was only their own guess, not something Lu Ao had said. Other than that reason, they could not think of why Lu Ao would stop fishing.

After all, judging from how busy he was every day, he did not seem like a lazy person.

Captain Chen, however, had grown very fond of Lu Ao. Before this, the two had only spoken in the group chat. They could be considered acquaintances with a little prior connection. After Lu Ao came aboard, Captain Chen had naturally treated him a little more warmly than the others.

Now, Captain Chen sincerely wanted to befriend him.

A young man in his twenties could restrain his desires, hold reverence for the sea, strive forward, and remain kind. His character was much stronger than that of the average person.

Putting everything else aside, such a friend was worth making.

Captain Chen was even thinking that after they went ashore, he had to invite Lu Ao to his home for a meal and introduce him to his son, so his son could understand what it meant for there to always be someone better, and what it meant to have a good teacher and helpful friend.

Captain Chen’s fondness for Lu Ao showed itself through repeatedly inviting him to drink.

Lu Ao’s alcohol tolerance was not particularly good, but his drinking manners were very good. He never got drunk when drinking. He always stopped at the right point. Drinking with him was pleasant. If he could drink, he drank. If he could not, he simply did not. He would not hem and haw or make all sorts of excuses.

After drinking together for several days in a row, the two actually began to look like friends despite their age difference.

That day, Lu Ao had just arrived at the dining hall when the captain hurriedly greeted him. “Lu Ao, come over quickly and have breakfast. After that, we’ll go up to the deck and see if we can catch tuna today.”

Lu Ao asked, “You found a school of tuna?”

“Probably. At around four this morning, the fish finder showed the shapes of fish. Tuna are so big, and they like moving in groups. This is also one of the sea areas they often appear in. I reckon that besides tuna, it shouldn’t be anything else.”

Zhong Honghai happened to walk in. Hearing their conversation, he shouted from afar, “It’s definitely tuna. I’ve fished for so many years. There’s no way I’d be wrong. Other than tuna, I can’t think of any other fish that would look like that.”

Captain Chen raised his cup to him and said with a smile, “Then I wish you good luck today. Let’s see if we can freeload a tuna meal tonight.”

Zhong Honghai was in high spirits. “No problem. Today, we’ll do our best to have everyone catch at least two.”

“I saw that this group of tuna looks pretty decent in size. They should be over seventy or eighty jin. Remember to wear fighting belts when you fish later.”

“They’re already on. Everything is ready now. We’re just waiting for the fish to bite.”

Lu Ao had not been very active in fishing these past few days, so after everyone discovered the tuna, they did not call him.

Lin Qiyan had originally wanted to go down and call him, but then he thought, with Lu Ao’s fishing skill, no matter what time he got up, as long as others could catch something, Lu Ao definitely could too. There was no need to rush him awake. So he let him sleep well.

Hearing this, Lu Ao asked, “What bait are you using to fish for tuna today?”

“For the first round, we’ll use live-bait drifting and see if we can lure them out.”

Over the past few days, Lu Ao had become quite familiar with these professional fishing terms. Live-bait drifting meant catching a fresh live fish, hooking it near the back of the tail, throwing it directly into the sea, and then sailing forward.

The injured fish would struggle in the sea. If the tuna saw it, they would go after this wounded fish. If they rose to the surface and swallowed the bait in one bite, they would be hooked.

Live-bait drifting was a common method for catching tuna. Many people started with live-bait drifting when fishing for tuna.

If that method did not work, they would consider other methods.

Hearing this, Lu Ao became a little interested in going out to fish.

Seeing him like this, Captain Chen smiled and said, “It’s still early. Eat breakfast first. It won’t be too late to go and watch after you’re done. What do you want to eat today? I had the kitchen specially set aside a big pot of noodles. How about noodles?”

Lu Ao had no objection.

Captain Chen personally went to the kitchen and brought back a large pot of noodles.

When he said large pot, it really was the kind of pot that was forty or fifty centimeters deep.

The pot was full of noodles. Lu Ao took a rough look and saw ham, fish, shrimp, shellfish, and some precious vegetables inside.

Lu Ao asked Captain Chen, “Have you eaten?”

“I have, I have. This pot of noodles was specially saved for you. Just eat with peace of mind.” The captain took a drag from his cigarette. “With that appetite of yours, no matter what ship you go on in the future, you’ll have to build a good relationship with the kitchen. Otherwise, just not having enough food will make you suffer.”

Lu Ao said, “I just bought a boat.”

“Hahaha, I heard. Your boat should be back soon, right? Have you taken your license exam? When do you plan to put that boat to sea?”

“I’ve taken the exam. I’m not sure when I’ll put it to sea. Probably around October. I’m not familiar with boats, so I might wait until this year’s last typhoon has passed.”

“Right. As a newcomer, it’s better to be cautious when going out to sea. Have you recruited all the people for your boat? I do have a few suitable people I could recommend.”

“Not for now.”

After hearing that, Captain Chen did not force it. He said, “If you ever want to hire people, just tell me, or ask in the group. Everyone has been drifting at sea for so many years. We all know a few suitable candidates.”

“Got it. Thanks.”

Lu Ao finished the huge pot of noodles in less than half an hour. After eating, he brought the pot back to the kitchen, then went up to the deck to have a look.

The deck was full of people. Apart from the fishing team, the crewmen were also watching from the side.

Most of the anglers were holding their rods, waiting for fish. Their expressions were both excited and expectant.

Lin Qiyan was standing off to the side with his camera, filming.

Lu Ao walked over and asked Lin Qiyan, “Do you want to fish? If you do, I’ll film for you for a while.”

“No, no. I don’t need to film that much anyway. The material I have is already enough for two videos.” Lin Qiyan looked up with a smile. “I’m just really interested in this stuff and want to record it with the camera.”

“You’re not fishing anymore?”

“You guys fish. I’m not that interested in fishing anyway. Besides, tuna are so big. It’d be bad if one dragged me into the sea.”

He lowered his voice for the last sentence.

Although being dragged into the sea by a fish was a low-probability incident, it had happened before.

Lin Qiyan had always been self-aware. He would not do something this dangerous.

Seeing everyone fishing, Lu Ao’s hands itched a little.

He simply picked a fishing rod and started fishing too. Since they were fishing for tuna with live bait, his first step was to catch the bait.

The bait for tuna did not need to be too big. Three to five jin would be enough.

Lu Ao chose a suitable rod, hooked on a sea shrimp, and cast it straight into the water.

The rods of the people fishing for tuna nearby had no movement at all. On his side, however, while catching live bait, a fish bit in less than three minutes.

Lu Ao pulled it up and saw that it was a fish he did not recognize.

He did not dwell on it. He took the fish down directly, then changed rods, tied the fish onto the line, and threw it into the sea as live bait for drifting.

Fishing was not an easy matter. Its greatest charm lay in uncertainty, and its greatest difficulty also lay in uncertainty.

The August sun was scorching. Even with the sea breeze, the weather was still hot. Many people broke out in layer after layer of sweat. Gradually, their clothes were soaked through, leaving white salt marks behind.

Seeing that it was almost eleven o’clock and no one on the boat had caught a tuna yet, Zhong Honghai grew somewhat anxious. He looked at the sky, then at the current, and said, “This won’t work. We need to change methods.”

A team member beside him asked, “Change to what?”

“Use dead bait to lure them first.” Zhong Honghai made the decision. “Everyone, go to the fish hold and bring over some of the fish we caught these past few days. We’ll throw bait down and see if the tuna come up to eat.”

Tuna were expensive, far more valuable than the small miscellaneous fish they had caught in the previous days. Hearing that they were going to use fish to lure fish, no one had any objections. They all went to the cabin to bring out fish they had caught.

Lu Ao had not caught much these days, so naturally, he had no bait fish in the hold.

Seeing this, Captain Chen hurriedly had someone bring him fish from the boat. Lu Ao did not stand on ceremony and directly contributed ten jin of fish as bait.

These fish had all been caught in the previous days. They had long died and had been blast-frozen. Now that they had been thawed, they soon became not very fresh.

Unfresh fish gave off wave after wave of unpleasant fishy odor. This kind of fish worked best as bait.

Tuna had a very sharp sense of smell. If they caught the scent of fish, they definitely would not be able to resist coming up to eat.

Zhong Honghai directly led people to cut the fish into chunks about five or six centimeters long.

As they cut the fish chunks, they threw them into the sea.

As their boat moved slowly forward, the chunks behind the boat soon drifted into a long trail of bait.

The anglers hid fishhooks inside some of the bait pieces and lowered them into the water. After that, it all depended on luck. If a tuna ate a chunk with a hook inside, it would get caught. If not, the bait would simply be used to feed the fish.

The bait trail was very obvious. No matter how clever these tuna were, they still could not resist the temptation of food.

Soon, they saw schools of tuna rising toward the surface on the fish finder, coming up in groups to eat the bait.

“Keep throwing, keep throwing!” someone shouted. “I see tuna. This is working really well!”

“I see them too. It’s a school of bluefin tuna. Everyone, get ready to fish.”

“The boat! The boat can stop now. No need to keep going forward.”

“Right, stop the boat. We’ll fish right here!”

Amid the shouts, Captain Chen quickly had someone stop the boat. Everyone threw fish into the sea while casting their hooks.

Seabirds smelled the fishy scent and appeared from who knew where. Flapping their wings and crying out, they dove down to fight the tuna for food.

The wind was strong today. Everyone’s clothes and hair were blown into a mess, but every face carried an excited expression.

There was a whole school of tuna below. As long as they caught even one, it would bring in several thousand yuan. If they caught two more, this trip to sea would not have been in vain.

Lu Ao did not have such a strong desire for money. He simply had never caught tuna before, and he was very interested in this group of fish.

Soon, this whole stretch of sea became lively. Apart from tuna, other fish also swam over to eat the bait.

From time to time, other fish were hooked on everyone’s rods, such as sea wolves.

Lu Ao alone caught three sea wolves.

However, not a single person caught a tuna.

This school of tuna was extremely clever. Even when they came up to eat the bait, they only ate the pieces without hooks. After eating, they sank back down, leaving everyone helpless.

Zhong Honghai gradually noticed it too. “Change the method, change the method. This school of tuna can see the fishing line. They won’t eat bait with hooks hidden inside.”

Tuna were big, so the rods used to catch tuna were specially made rods, and the fishing line was specially made too. It had to be able to withstand at least several hundred jin of pulling force.

Such long and thick fishing line could not escape the tuna’s eyes underwater. If the tuna saw it, they would not come over to eat the bait.

After all, there were plenty of fish chunks nearby without hooks hidden in them. They could eat the fish beside them and still get full.

One team member had been busy all morning and had caught nothing. Instead, he had lost quite a few fish he had caught earlier. Now tired, hungry, and angry, he wiped the sweat from his forehead and said with a hint of dissatisfaction, “What method can we even change to now?”

Zhong Honghai glanced at him. “Switch to kite fishing.”

The team members beside him immediately understood and rushed to the cabin to get the kites.

Kite fishing was a common method used to catch big fish. This method was rather unusual. The fishhook was still hidden in the bait, but a kite would be tied to the fishing line.

When the kite caught the wind, it would gradually fly up, bringing the fishing line into the air.

At that point, the line was no longer in the water and was blocked by the fish chunk. The tuna could not see it and might come bite the bait.

This method was very effective for catching big fish, but it had one small problem: it required very high skill. After all, kites were not exactly easy to control.

If the kite flew too low, the fishing line would still soak in the sea and be seen by the tuna, making the method meaningless. If it flew too high and dragged the bait onto the surface, the tuna would not be able to reach it and would not bite, so the method would also be useless.

This was Lu Ao’s first time encountering this fishing method, and he was full of interest.

Seeing his curiosity, Lin Qiyan used his advantage as the cameraman and specifically went to Captain Chen to ask for a kite.

Lu Ao had flown kites before, so he was fairly familiar with it. He tied the kite to his own fishing line and slowly adjusted its position.

The others were also slowly adjusting theirs.

The wind over the sea was strong, and the boat was not particularly large, so they could only fly a few kites.

When flying kites, they also had to be careful and keep away from other people’s kites as much as possible to avoid tangling lines.

Lu Ao had very good hand-foot coordination. After becoming a dragon, his coordination had become even better.

He was the first to successfully get the kite up and adjust the position of the bait.

The others watched him do it. The more anxious they became, the worse they did. Even Zhong Honghai’s kite had not flown up yet.

Lu Ao saw this and had just been about to go help when the rod in his hand sank. Clearly, a fish had bitten.

A sharp-eyed person beside him could not help shouting, “A fish! He’s got a fish on this side!”

Lu Ao turned back, holding the fishing rod. The familiar pull told him that the fish below was definitely a large fish of no less than a hundred jin.

At this time, in this place, catching such a big fish—there was no doubt it had to be a bluefin tuna.

After Reincarnating as the Dragon King, I Made a Fortune with Seafood [Farming]