The Fish I Catch Can Level Up-Chapter 47: Who knocked up my cat?

"What? She's pregnant?" Chu Mingcheng stared in utter shock, the veterinarian's words ringing in his ears. He couldn't help but wonder,
Who knocked up my cat?
"Yes, and she's already more than a month along," the vet explained patiently. "The mother is perfectly healthy. She should give birth in about eighteen to twenty-three days. Any earlier than that would be considered premature."
More than a month along?
A wave of relief washed over him. At least it didn't happen on his watch. It meant Mimi was already pregnant before he found her; he'd simply inherited the situation.
Maybe that's why she was stealing fish back then, he mused. She had babies in her belly and wasn't getting enough to eat.
Leaving the vet's office, Chu Mingcheng glanced at Mimi, who was lounging lazily on the passenger seat. His feelings were complicated. Taking care of one cat was manageable, but a whole litter? He worried he wouldn't be able to handle it. He spent so much time fishing that he didn't even have time for a girlfriend, let alone a bunch of kittens.
Thankfully, the vet said there were only three. That wasn't too bad. Mimi would be able to care for them herself when they were born. If she'd been expecting five, six, or even more, he would have been in real trouble and would have had to find new homes for them once they were older.
On the way back, Chu Mingcheng swung by a store and picked up a head-mounted action camera, dropping three thousand yuan on it. He tested the video quality and, satisfied, decided it would do for now.
When he got home, he started making lunch. He'd barely taken two bites when the tackle shop owner called—his two new sea rods had arrived.
Hearing the news, Chu Mingcheng wolfed down the rest of his meal in three large gulps, locked the door, and sped over to the shop.
The owner greeted him with a wide smile and brought out the rods he'd ordered.
Neither rod was particularly long, one being 2.1 meters and the other 2.7. They were technically boat rods, which was exactly what he'd bought them for.
The five-thousand-yuan rod was a size #30 boat rod, 2.1 meters long. The ten-thousand-yuan one was a size #80, a heavy-duty rod meant for battling absolute monsters—something he wouldn't need under normal circumstances. It was an investment for future trips to the open sea, where he might encounter giants like amberjack or cobia. For that, he'd probably also need an electric reel for deep-sea night fishing.
When you added it all up, a dedicated sea-fishing enthusiast's gear could easily cost as much as a decent car. And Chu Mingcheng was now firmly on that path.
He inspected both rods and confirmed there were no issues. After paying the remaining ten thousand yuan, the shop owner grinned and pulled out a large bag of fishing line.
"Got you a little something extra when I ordered your rods. Take a look."
Chu Mingcheng curiously pulled out a spool of line. The brand was Sufix 832.
"Anything special about this line?"
"Let me start with the downsides," the owner began. "It tends to absorb water and swell, the color fades quickly, and it's not as smooth or as good for long-distance casting as YGK."
Seeing Chu Mingcheng's silent, unimpressed face after listing four drawbacks, the owner chuckled, a little disappointed he didn't get a bigger reaction, and continued, "But, for its price and diameter, its knot strength and abrasion resistance are the best on the market. Plus, it's a great value. A 300-yard spool of 832 costs less than two hundred yuan."
"This 6LB line is equivalent to YGK's 0.8 diameter. With that M-power lure rod you bought from me, you could easily land a culter over ten jin."
"And this 20LB line is like YGK's 2.0. With your MH lure rod, you could go after fish over thirty jin. With good technique, even sixty jin isn't out of the question."
Chu Mingcheng was noncommittal. He had, after all, already landed a thirteen-jin grouper with that MH rod. Saltwater fish were a different breed from freshwater ones; the fight from that thirteen-jin grouper felt stronger than three culters of the same weight combined. That catch had taught him that with the right technique, you could land big fish on light tackle.
Still, his two lure rods were primarily for casting from shore. At 2.4 meters, they were a bit long and unwieldy for boat fishing.
"Alright, I'll take two spools of this line to try out," he said to the owner. "And you can get me a jigging rod while you're at it."
"You got it!" The owner, having achieved his goal, beamed and brought out several models of jigging rods suitable for Chu Mingcheng, explaining each one.
In the end, he spent another five hundred yuan on a straight-shank jigging rod. It was 2.03 meters long with a fast-fast (FF) action and a medium-light (ML) power, weighing only 103.5 grams—even lighter than his other two lure rods. It was a versatile rod, perfect for handling most fish he'd encounter on the boat, and it could even manage larger ones with relative ease.
Of course, that was the sales pitch. The rod's main targets were sea bass and various types of sea bream, though with luck, he might hook into a Spanish mackerel.
Besides, Chu Mingcheng wasn't a rookie who could only "auto-attack" anymore. If he ran into a big one, he wouldn't panic like he used to, terrified of his rod snapping. He'd play the fish if he could, and if he couldn't, then snapping the line or losing the hook was just part of the game.
With a spinning reel and line, the new setup cost him another thousand yuan. If he weren't making money so quickly these days, he really wouldn't be able to afford this hobby.
With new rods in hand, the next step was obvious: test them out. But since they were boat rods, he needed a boat.
Sharing a charter was an option, but he preferred to ask Zhang Wei and Chen Yang first. If they were in, they could just charter a small boat for themselves.
"Hey, Wei," he said after dialing his friend. "My boat rods are here. I'm planning to go out to sea to test them. Want to come?"
"Holy crap! Are you having another insane haul like last night?" Zhang Wei exclaimed. "But of course I'm in for sea fishing! When are you going?"
No true fishing addict could refuse the call of the sea. Zhang Wei agreed on the spot without even considering if he owned a boat rod himself.
"It would be a sad day for fishing if the sea were all plastic bottles," Chu Mingcheng joked. "I need to check on chartering a boat first, then I'll get back to you with the time. Hey, can you ask Yang if he wants to come? He can borrow one of my rods."
"Sure, I'll ask him. Just text me when you have the time set."
After hanging up, Chu Mingcheng thought about the boat situation. There weren't any charter services on Yanmen Island; he'd have to go to the pier in Wenzhou, which was a hassle.
Just then, as he was driving, he passed a house and noticed two people in the yard mending a fishing net. His eyes lit up.
Isn't that Zhao Jun and his wife? My boat problem might be solved!
He pulled over and walked into the yard.
Zhao Jun looked up, sensing someone approaching. He seemed a little surprised. "Cheng?"
"Sister-in-law," Chu Mingcheng said, greeting Zhao Jun's wife politely first. Then he turned to his friend. "Brother Zhao Jun, you're not out at sea today?"
"Nah, it's the neap tide," Zhao Jun said with a smile, holding up the net in his hands. "So I brought the nets in to patch and dry them with your sister-in-law here."
Chu Mingcheng realized he was right. Thinking about it, the neap tide had just started today. This was perfect for him. Since Zhao Jun wasn't out fishing, it would be much easier to ask about chartering his boat without feeling like he was imposing.
"Brother Zhao Jun, does that mean your boat is free?"
"It is. Why, you want to use it?"
"Yeah, I was hoping to charter it from you. How about from two in the afternoon until ten tonight for fifteen hundred yuan? We won't go far, just to the abandoned bridge pier near the main bridge. I'll have two friends joining me in the evening."
Chu Mingcheng had a rough idea of charter prices. For sea fishing, a four-hour trip on a small, four-person boat was about eight hundred yuan per person, and that included the captain finding a good spot. Since the spot under the Yanmen Island bridge was well-known and close by, fifteen hundred yuan was a pretty good deal for Zhao Jun.
Of course, it was an even better deal for Chu Mingcheng, considering he was getting the boat for a full eight hours.