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"Not dizzy."

"All right, then let's get ready to go."

The six of them boarded the boat, and Chen Shengrong went to the cockpit to start it.

With the engine chugging away, the fishing boat gradually left the dock and headed into the distance.

It was already past four in the morning. The sky was still dark, but the horizon had begun to pale. Before long, daylight would replace the night and descend upon the world once again.

The morning wind was quite chilly. Lu Ao sat against the railing, eating breakfast as he watched the distant scenery.

Seabirds circled overhead, occasionally diving down to catch fish.

By five o'clock, it was already light.

The sun had yet to rise, but brilliant morning clouds could be seen, dyeing the sky a fiery red.

Tian Mingzhi and Lin Qiyan raised their cameras to film the sunrise clouds and seabirds.

After finishing breakfast, Lu Ao lazily caught up on some sleep.

Chen Shengrong had driven for over an hour before reaching their destination.

There were only a few fishing spots for Large Yellow Croaker, and quite a few people had already arrived by the time they got there.

Everyone spread out, keeping their distance from one another.

Lu Ao carefully sensed the area, then directed Chen Shengrong to stop the boat at a fixed position.

Like most fish, Large Yellow Croaker disliked strong light. For most of the day, they would dive deep into underwater trenches to avoid the sun, only coming into shallower waters to move around in the morning and evening.

Lu Ao looked around and said, "Let's chum the water."

The chum they used was ordinary commercial bait. Mixed with water, it smelled quite fragrant.

They formed the bait into balls and threw them around the fishing boat before starting to bait their hooks.

Yellow croaker actually came in two varieties: Large Yellow Croaker and Small Yellow Croaker. Today, they were fishing for Large Yellow Croaker.

The rods were Red Sea Bream Rods personally chosen by Lu Ao, fitted with number six line and spinning reels.

This was a setup commonly used by beginners.

For bait, they chose Bird Shells and Small Sea Intestines.

The six of them spread out and cast their hooks into the water, quietly waiting for the fish to bite.

Besides fishing, Tian Mingzhi and Lin Qiyan also had to film the fish they caught that day. Holding cameras while fishing was inconvenient, so they used octopus camera mounts to secure the cameras to the railing.

Fishing was not easy at all.

After they cast their hooks into the sea, no one besides Lu Ao saw any action for half an hour.

It was not just them. The nearby boats were the same; not a single one had caught a fish.

The people on two boats suspected there were no fish here, so they simply reeled in their rods and went elsewhere. New fishing boats soon came to take their spots.

Lu Ao did catch two Black Seabream, which was better than nothing.

The six of them had already become too lazy to talk, sitting quietly in their chairs and waiting for fish to bite.

The longer they fished, the more they began to wonder whether the fish had eaten the bait and slipped away.

They could not help lifting their rods to check. The bait was still properly hanging from the hooks, yet somehow no fish would bite.

Just as they were growing anxious, they suddenly heard someone shout, "Got one, got one!!! I saw it! It's a Large Yellow Croaker!"

Everyone perked up and turned to look. The people on the neighboring boat all sprang to their feet, with one of them carrying a landing net to wait by the side.

The person who had hooked the fish carefully reeled it in.

A moment later, they lifted the fish out. As soon as it broke the surface, its yellow scales seemed to glitter in the morning sun. "Fuck! It really is a Large Yellow Croaker! It's seven or eight taels!"

Lu Ao took a glance, then looked away.

He could sense it too. There really were fish by the boat.

Just then, the rod in his hand suddenly dipped—he had a bite!

Lu Ao stood up and carefully turned the reel. "I've got one. It's not small. Get the landing net."

"Right!" Lin Qiyan answered, hurriedly bringing over the landing net. He also frantically adjusted the camera, wanting to capture the fish emerging from the water.

Lin Manzhang took the landing net and said, "I'll do it."

Lu Ao did not care who handled it. He focused completely on bringing the fish in.

As soon as the fish surfaced, Lin Qiyan said excitedly, "Large Yellow Croaker! It's a Large Yellow Croaker!"

Tian Mingzhi hurriedly aimed his camera at the fish on the surface as well, while Hu Xingjin and Chen Shengrong ran over to help.

Lin Manzhang was quick-eyed and quick-handed. The instant Lu Ao pulled the fish close, he thrust the landing net forward and scooped the Large Yellow Croaker right up.

The Large Yellow Croaker was still alive after coming out of the water, and Hu Xingjin could not help shouting, "Careful, don't damage it!"

Large Yellow Croaker were expensive and valued for their appearance. Once they were bruised, they became inferior fish, and their price would not go up.

Lin Manzhang moved the landing net onto the deck and estimated, "Whoa, this one's about two jin, right?"

Lu Ao reached into the net, removing the hook as he judged its weight. "More than two and a half jin."

With Dragon Boat Festival approaching, wild Large Yellow Croaker weighing two jin started at 3,500 yuan per jin. From two jin to two jin and one tael, they cost 3,500 yuan; below three jin, every additional tael added another 500 yuan to the price.

Hearing Lu Ao's words, Hu Xingjin clicked his tongue. "Six thousand in the bag?"

"Not sure. We'll weigh it again when we get back." Lu Ao said, "Get me a plastic bag."

After wild Large Yellow Croaker left the water, they had to be wrapped in opaque plastic bags and stored in ice away from the light. Only then would they retain their bright yellow appearance.

If they were exposed to sunlight, their golden color would fade, and their price would be greatly reduced as well.

There was a lot of commotion on their side. Hearing that they had caught a Large Yellow Croaker weighing over two and a half jin, the people on several nearby boats became quite excited.

The area was only so large. If the Large Yellow Croaker could take their bait, they could naturally take everyone else's bait as well.

Everyone went back to fishing with full concentration.

Over the next two hours, Lu Ao kept landing fish one after another.

The people on the neighboring fishing boats watched until their eyes turned red, but the Large Yellow Croaker only took Lu Ao's bait and ignored everyone else's.

The only slightly comforting thing was that the people on Lu Ao's boat had not caught many fish either. Only Lin Qiyan had caught a Large Yellow Croaker weighing around one jin and six or seven taels.

Within three hours, Lu Ao caught five fish in total, three of which weighed over two jin.