The Fish I Catch Can Level Up-Chapter 101: The Return Voyage

The fish was quickly hauled aboard the Sky High, where it was immediately measured and weighed.
The amberjack measured a full 2.23 meters long and weighed 113 kilograms—226 jin.
It was the largest amberjack caught in recent years.
Six years ago, someone had caught a 148-jin amberjack in the East China Sea. Four years ago, another angler had landed a 180-jin specimen in the Taiwan Strait, measuring nearly two meters long.
And now, Chu Mingcheng was famous again.
Rumor had it that someone had once caught a three-meter-long, 380-jin amberjack at the Nanyou oil rigs.
If that was true, then Chu Mingcheng's was the second-largest on record. If not, his was the largest—a new record.
At the market price of sixty yuan per jin, the 226-jin fish could sell for over thirteen thousand yuan.
Realistically, it would easily fetch twenty thousand, and someone might even pay thirty thousand for it. Another day of incredible profits.
They took commemorative photos, and this time, Jiang Yuqi joined in.
Once the pictures were taken, the crew took the fish to be packed in ice.
Chu Mingcheng turned to Jiang Yuqi. "The trolling's on me today. Come on, let's keep going!"
"Okay!" Jiang Yuqi didn't stand on ceremony this time, readily agreeing.
They spent another two hours fishing, but didn't encounter any more exceptionally large fish. Their catch consisted mostly of mackerel, with a few mahi-mahi mixed in.
The smallest were five or six jin, the largest over twenty.
They didn't catch huge numbers, but Chu Mingcheng still landed seven, while Jiang Yuqi caught two more than he did this time.
With the crew helping to net the fish and the aid of electric reels, they could land a fish as soon as it was hooked.
Even so, her haul wasn't nearly enough to cover the cost of the trip.
After they finished trolling, all the anglers slept soundly that night. The Sky High set off in the dark, heading for the final fishing spot.
In reality, however, the boat had already started making its way back during the night.
They would set off again early the day after tomorrow and head straight home, arriving back at the pier around two in the afternoon.
Chu Mingcheng had no particularly noteworthy catches on the last day, only landing a few longtail snappers, groupers, and amberjacks. None were large, averaging only seven or eight jin.
The fish resources at this final spot were mediocre at best. By the time they stopped fishing at midnight, he had only caught twenty-two fish, totaling just over 150 jin.
Through his fishing experiences over the past few days, Chu Mingcheng had noticed something.
The vast majority of people on the boat were just dabbling—treating fishing as entertainment, a side activity on their vacation.
Whenever he fished late into the night, there were usually only a dozen or so anglers still at it.
As a result, very few managed to earn back the cost of their ticket. Jiang Yuqi was a prime example.
If Chu Mingcheng hadn't been there to guide her, it was questionable whether she would have even caught ten fish on this trip.
Right now, she was busy sorting her catch. She had no intention of selling—she was simply dividing them up to give as gifts.
She planned to give some to her family and some to relatives and friends, letting everyone taste genuine wild seafood.
The seafood market was a chaotic mess. Some vendors injected their fish with water or tried to pass off stale products as fresh.
Worse yet were those who preyed on people's ignorance, passing off cheap seafood as high-end delicacies to scam them.
Fortunately, information was readily available these days, and many phone apps had scanning functions that could identify most things, so with a little caution, you could avoid being cheated.
As for the fish she had caught herself, as long as they weren't from the waters near a certain small island nation【TN: Likely referring to Japan due to Fukushima contamination concerns】, they were perfectly safe to eat.
The Sky High was officially on its way back. The crew brought out everyone's catch, letting the customers sort through it themselves.
Some people who had caught a lot sold their excess directly to the boat owner.
Others packed their fish, ready to have them shipped as soon as they docked.
But the star of the boat was, without a doubt, Chu Mingcheng.
The sight of his two massive coolers was enough to make everyone crowd around for a look.
Chu Mingcheng first packed up all the ornate spiny lobsters. He had caught thirteen in total. After selling two to Jiang Yuqi and eating one himself yesterday, he had ten left, which he divided into two portions.
One portion of eight was for his family, Chen Yang, and the others were to try.
The other portion was destined for Xiamen. As soon as he got a signal, he would ask Jiang Luoluo for her family's address.
Chu Mingcheng had made a fortune on this trip, so he no longer felt the sting of giving away a few thousand yuan worth of lobster.
Next, he picked out the two largest rockfish to send home, then prepared to sell the rest of his seafood.
After tallying his catch, Chu Mingcheng borrowed a pen and paper from Jiang Yuqi.
Once his phone had a signal, he first received a thirty-thousand-yuan transfer from her. He then posted a message in the group chat, announcing that he would start selling fish in half an hour. With that done, he made a video call to Jiang Luoluo.
It only rang twice before connecting.
Seeing the cascade of beautiful black hair on the screen, Chu Mingcheng was taken aback. "You dyed your hair again?"
"I did. The collaboration recording is finished, so I dyed it back," Jiang Luoluo nodded, then gave him a playful smile. "Doesn't black hair look more natural?"
"Both look good. Black hair has its style, and this color doesn't clash with your dancing," Chu Mingcheng said. He did prefer her with black hair, but wouldn't say so directly.
"Really..." Jiang Luoluo didn't dwell on the topic. Instead, she asked, "Are you back from the Xisha Islands?"
Before heading to Xisha, Chu Mingcheng had told his parents and friends, so they wouldn't worry when they couldn't reach him. It wasn't surprising that Jiang Luoluo would ask.
"Still on the way back to the pier. We'll be docking around two this afternoon. By the way, send me your family's address. I have something to send you."
"No, don't. I don't like seafood."
"..." Chu Mingcheng was speechless at her disingenuous reply.
He remembered who had eaten so enthusiastically at his house, but he understood her meaning. He walked over to his two large coolers, opened the lids, and showed her the fish packed in ice.
"Look, these two big fish are my haul from this trip. They're worth tens of thousands."
Without a point of reference in the video, and with the camera at a distance, Jiang Luoluo couldn't tell the exact size of the two fish.
But the fact that they were worth tens of thousands was enough to shock her. She never imagined two fish could be so valuable.
Seeing that he seemed to have stunned her, Chu Mingcheng moved the camera to show her the two lobsters he was planning to send.
"This is the ornate spiny lobster, a specialty of the South China Sea. It tastes much better than the regular spiny lobster. I caught a lot, so I'm sending some to my family and friends."
"And you're my friend, aren't you? I definitely couldn't forget you!"
Hearing him say he couldn't forget her, Jiang Luoluo snapped back to her senses and broke into a radiant smile. "Alright, since you're being so generous, I'll accept them!"
"When I have time, I'll come visit you and treat you to a meal."
"Sounds good!" Chu Mingcheng agreed instantly, a secret smile playing on his lips. He had a feeling he'd be having that meal very soon.
He was heading to Xiamen shortly. He could just imagine how surprised she'd be when he called and asked her to pick him up from the airport.