Page 9

Lu Ao was exceptionally handsome, tall with long legs and excellent proportions. Anyone could recognize him from far away.

The moment he got out of the car, Tian Mingzhi and the other two saw him.

Tian Mingzhi raised a hand. "God Lu, over here!"

Lu Ao walked over and asked, "Did you get the bait and everything ready?"

"Ready. We specifically bought three jin of fresh prawns." Tian Mingzhi opened the bag for Lu Ao to see. "They're all still lively."

Lu Ao glanced at them. "How much?"

"Pretty cheap. Farmed ones, forty-five per jin." Ambition gleamed in Tian Mingzhi's bright eyes. "Buying prawns makes it easy to catch big fish!"

"It does make it easy."

Lu Ao silently calculated. Three jin of prawns cost one hundred and thirty-five yuan. Split among four people, each person should pay around thirty-four.

He took out his phone. "I'll transfer the money to you."

"Oh, no need, no need." Tian Mingzhi hurriedly stopped him and rushed to say, "God Lu, you're being too polite. Didn't we sell fish yesterday? We can just pay for the prawns with that money."

Hu Xingjin chimed in as well. "We took all the money from yesterday's fish sale. We've already gotten the better deal. How could we ask you for more money?"

Seeing that they truly did not want it, Lu Ao did not insist.

Once the four were ready, they moved their things onto the fishing boat and set out directly.

Chen Shengrong drove the boat while Tian Mingzhi and the others prepared their fishing rods.

Tian Mingzhi asked for his opinion. "We're heading to Huangfan Island today. God Lu, take a look later and see where's suitable for fishing. If you find a good spot, call out to us and we'll stop."

Lu Ao nodded and asked, "Don't you usually use fishing nets?"

"Basically not. We don't know the currents or tides well enough, so we can't make a living that way." Tian Mingzhi sighed. "We tried it before too. We lost tens of thousands over a year, so we never considered it again. God Lu, are you interested in commercial fishing?"

"A little."

Tian Mingzhi shook his head. "You can't make much money fishing these days anyway. The fishery tax is so high, and the risks are huge. Very few small fishing boats still go out to sea."

Lu Ao understood.

His parents had once been fishermen. Working at sea was extremely dangerous. Even back when fishery taxes had not been so high, fishermen had not had easy lives.

Many people went out fishing, but in a month, they could only catch a decent haul for eight or ten days. During the other twenty-odd days, the fish they brought back often did not even cover the fuel costs.

That was only during calm weather. Once there was a typhoon or heavy rain, fishermen could only stay home and rest.

If they failed to return in time during a typhoon, a moment of carelessness could cost them their lives.

Even if they returned in time, they still had to haul the boat home before the typhoon hit. If the boat was damaged, repairs would cost at least three to five thousand yuan.

Fishermen often said that buying a boat was easy, but keeping one was hard.

After buying a fishing boat and docking it in the harbor, they had to pay berthing fees every month—hundreds a month, several thousand or even tens of thousands a year.

Maintaining a fishing boat was difficult too. Exposed to wind and sun and constantly riding the waves, it needed repairs every so often, which cost money.

Every trip to sea could burn through several hundred yuan in fuel. If the catch was poor that day, not only would there be no income, they would lose the fuel money too.

But those were human troubles. Lu Ao was a lizard now.

He no longer needed a fish finder. He could tell by instinct where there were more fish and where there were fewer. As a new fisherman, he probably would not lose money.

Lu Ao said, "We'll see. I might still want to give it a try."

Hu Xingjin grew interested. "God Lu, where's your hometown?"

"Qianyong City."

"My brother-in-law is from that city too." Hu Xingjin immediately became excited. "God Lu, which county are you from?"

"Shuiyuan Town, Yandong County."

"Why does that place name sound so familiar?"

Tian Mingzhi found it familiar too. He thought hard, then suddenly remembered and slapped his thigh. "God Lu, do you know Lin Qiyan from Chongxin Village in your town? He's one of the top hundred uploaders on our site. We even had a meal together last year."

"Not familiar."

"Then you do know him. What a small world!" Hu Xingjin was stunned. "He seems about the same age as you. Could you two be friends or classmates?"

"No. I just know of him." Lu Ao stared at the water, then suddenly said, "That's about right. Go a little farther, then stop and fish."

"Got it." Once it came to business, Tian Mingzhi promptly answered, scrambled to his feet, and shouted, "Old Chen, we're almost there!"

As he spoke, he hurried into the cabin to have Chen Shengrong stop the boat.

Lu Ao began preparing the ground bait.

For convenience, Tian Mingzhi and the others had bought powdered ground bait made specifically for fishing. They only needed to mix it with water and toss it in to bait the spot.

The boat soon reached the location.

Chen Shengrong turned off the engine and leaned out to ask, "God Lu, is this spot okay?"

"Close enough. Get ready to fish."

Chen Shengrong and Tian Mingzhi hurried out to fish as well.

Tian Mingzhi set up the recording equipment and happily filmed them, focusing especially on Lu Ao's figure.

After yesterday's recorded video had been edited and uploaded, several fans had already asked who Lu Ao really was.

Some praised his height, long legs, and good physique, while others admired his fishing skills.

Because of that, Tian Mingzhi and the others had received dozens more likes than usual.

Lu Ao ignored them and only said, "Don't film my face."

"Got it, got it." Tian Mingzhi quickly lowered the camera and focused on filming his heroic fishing posture.

Lu Ao lowered his head and carefully hooked the shrimp through the head, avoiding its brain so it would not die, then directly cast it into the sea.

That way, the shrimp would remain alive after entering the sea and keep swimming and struggling, making it especially easy to attract fish.

Beside him, Hu Xingjin and Chen Shengrong clumsily copied him, baited their hooks with shrimp, and cast them into the sea as well.

Tian Mingzhi and the others' fishing boat was roughly twice the size of a small speedboat, with plenty of room.

The three of them each guarded a corner and began fishing.

Lu Ao sat on a small folding stool, his gaze fixed intently on the ocean.