The Fish I Catch Can Level Up-Chapter 29: An Unwavering Support

"Beachcombing and fishing?" This time, it wasn't just his mother, An Xiuwen, who was surprised. Even his father, Chu Yongxin, was surprised, pausing in the middle of preparing dinner in the kitchen.
"Yeah, look what I caught." Chu Mingcheng held up the mud crabs and sea worms. "Dad, these are for you."
"Well, now, these two mud crabs look fantastic. And you've got sea worms? You went digging for these things? Sounds like you had a pretty good holiday!" Chu Yongxin took the seafood from him, teasing him good-naturedly.
Even An Xiuwen smiled. "Beachcombing and fishing are better than cooping yourself up at home all day. It's good you're getting out. You already look much healthier."
Chu Mingcheng twitched his lips. His parents were always like this. When he was a rowdy kid who loved running wild outside, they wished he would just stay home quietly. Now that he was an adult who preferred staying home, they wished he would get out more and stop being an eyesore.
A little while later, dinner was ready, and the family sat down at the table. Chu Yongxin had been a professional chef, and his skills were undeniable. The table was filled with dishes that looked, smelled, and tasted incredible. Chu Mingcheng had learned everything he knew about cooking from his father, but since his heart was never in it, he'd probably only picked up twenty or thirty percent of his dad's talent. Even so, it was more than enough for a few decent home-cooked meals.
It had been a while since he'd tasted his dad's cooking, and Chu Mingcheng dug in enthusiastically. He only slowed down once he was about sixty percent full.
Seeing her chance, An Xiuwen put down her chopsticks, pulled out her phone, and showed him a picture of a girl. "Ah-Cheng, your grandmother introduced you to a girl. Take a look."
Chu Mingcheng glanced at it out of curiosity but immediately lost interest. "Mom, I'm only twenty-eight. I'm not done having fun yet. I don't want to go ruin the life of a nice, honest girl."
An Xiuwen didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Your grandmother specifically recommended her because she's a sweet, obedient girl and a great homemaker. She's quite pretty, too. With a little dressing up, she'd be gorgeous."
"That's right. You should marry for virtue, not just looks. Why don't you at least chat with her and meet up?" Chu Yongxin, who had long been eager for grandchildren, chimed in to support his wife.
"Sigh." Chu Mingcheng let out a long breath. As someone who was a complete sucker for a pretty face, he felt truly apologetic. It looked like his only option was to change the subject.
"Dad, Mom, I have something to tell you. I quit my job."
Chu Yongxin and An Xiuwen both froze.
"Why did you quit?"
"So what's your plan now?"
"It's a company that expects overtime without overtime pay. There was no point in staying. I plan to go beachcombing and fishing, then film videos and become a content creator."
As soon as the words were out, An Xiuwen objected, just as he'd expected. "Absolutely not. Beachcombing and fishing aren't proper jobs. Quitting is fine, we can always find you another one."
Chu Mingcheng knew she would react this way. He grinned and dropped a little bombshell. "Mom, during this one week of the holiday, I earned about seventeen thousand yuan. And that's not even counting the six or seven thousand I spent on fishing gear and living expenses."
"How much?!" An Xiuwen's voice shot up.
Chu Yongxin cleaned out his ear, suspecting he'd misheard.
"In just these seven days of beachcombing and fishing, I made what used to take me three months to earn at my old job."
"..."
"..."
Chu Yongxin and An Xiuwen stared at each other, speechless. They didn't doubt him for a second; they trusted their son.
"What exactly did you do these past few days to earn so much?" Chu Yongxin knew more about beachcombing than his wife, and making twenty thousand in seven days just didn't sound right. If it were that easy, why would anyone bother working in a factory?
"A little while ago, a few parks in Lecheng were offering a bounty on alligator gar, an invasive species. It was a thousand yuan for each one caught. I caught nine."
"Then, during the day, I was at Dongyue digging for sea worms and fishing for gobies. At night, I went to the reservoir on Yanmen Island to fish for crucian carp. I was making at least fifteen hundred a day."
It dawned on Chu Yongxin. So there was a bounty involved. But even so, his son's earnings were impressive. "Digging for sea worms is hard work. Can you handle it?"
It was exhausting, of course, but his Life Conversion ability had helped him adapt during the toughest initial period. "It's alright. You get used to it. And besides, this is just the beginning. Once I get into content creation and start posting videos online, my income will stabilize. You won't have to worry."
"Anyway, there are only a few months left until the end of the year. Let me give it a try. If it doesn't work out, I'll go back to a regular job next year, okay?"
Since their son had put it that way and had indeed earned real money, Chu Yongxin and An Xiuwen, despite their skepticism, agreed that letting him try for a few months was fine.
"Son, if you were unhappy with your job, then quitting was the right thing to do," his father said firmly. "Don't you worry. The money for your wedding, your house, and the betrothal gift—your dad has it all ready for you. Whatever you want to do, just go for it with confidence."
An Xiuwen nodded vigorously. "That's right! A job that pays seven thousand a month with constant overtime isn't worth keeping. Forget beachcombing and fishing—as long as you find me a daughter-in-law, you could drive a tricycle taxi for a living and your mom wouldn't say a word."
Chu Mingcheng was both touched and amused. Why would he ever drive a tricycle taxi? If anything, with a car, he should be driving for ride-sharing, right?
But having convinced his parents, a huge weight lifted from his shoulders. He was free.
After spending the night at home, he drove back to Yanmen Island the next day, picked up Mimi, and took her to the vet clinic in Lecheng for a check-up. The deworming, examination, and vaccination took up the entire morning. Thankfully, Mimi was perfectly healthy.
According to the vet, she was a very well-cared-for cat. Afterward, he stopped by a pet store to buy some canned cat food and catnip.
Mimi had been lying quietly in the back seat, but Chu Mingcheng had a mischievous idea. He tossed her the catnip. By the time they got home, Mimi was limp as a noodle, her little tongue lolling out of her mouth.
He had lunch and a rare afternoon nap, not waking up until three. Mimi was back to normal by then, lazing in the sun in the yard. Chu Mingcheng left her to it and drove to the tackle shop.
The owner was thrilled to see him. But when he heard that Chu Mingcheng wanted to buy two sea fishing rods, one of which needed to be a heavy-duty rod for massive fish, he was stunned. The shop was on a small island, so he naturally stocked low-to-mid-range gear. It wasn't that he couldn't source high-end rods, but with no demand, there was no reason to stock them.
Chu Mingcheng was clearly preparing to go deep-sea fishing. He was planning to spend fifteen thousand yuan on two setups, with a budget of ten thousand for the big game rod alone.
The shop owner didn't have anything that good. Chu Mingcheng was about to leave to look elsewhere when the owner stopped him.
"Ah-Cheng, I can order the rods you want, but it'll take a few days. Don't worry about the price; it'll be fair. Rod prices are transparent these days; you can look them up yourself."
"But if you want to get into sea fishing, I think you should start with a 7.2-meter hand pole from my shop. You can use it to practice on big freshwater fish like black carp, grass carp, and bighead carp. This way, you can get used to it beforehand, so you won't be caught off guard when you encounter big fish during sea fishing. Catching big fish takes a lot of effort."
Chu Mingcheng eyed the shop owner suspiciously. He was pretty sure the guy was just trying to upsell him, but he couldn't prove it. Besides, his deep-sea fishing plans weren't set in stone yet, so waiting a few days was no big deal. Practicing on black carp sounded like a good idea.
And so, under the owner's smooth persuasion, he spent fifteen hundred yuan on a 7.2-meter hand rod. This time, the owner was generous, throwing in the matching line and hooks for free. Not only that, he also provided a rod holder, a large landing net, and all the bait and groundbait needed, all complimentary.
The price for this generosity?
Chu Mingcheng had to put down a five-thousand-yuan deposit to order the two sea fishing rods.