The Fish I Catch Can Level Up-Chapter 7: Fast Leveling

Chu Mingcheng scouted the rocky area and found no fish or sea crabs, but there were plenty of horn snails and small oysters. Some rocks had barnacles, but not many, and he didn't have the right tools to pry them off. So today he decided to focus on gathering horn snails, planning to sell them at the pier around 5 p.m.
As an island, Yanmen naturally had its share of fishermen. With dwindling offshore resources, those who could afford it had teamed up to buy boats and fish in deeper waters. Those who couldn't still sailed their small, rickety boats in nearshore waters, hoping to catch something good.
Ever since the cross-sea bridge opened, a group of foodies from the city would often make the long drive to the pier to wait for fishing boats to return, eager to buy the freshest seafood directly from the fishermen. This had caused prices for some seafood at the pier to skyrocket, sometimes even doubling what they'd cost at the market. It also significantly boosted the fishermen's annual income; earning over 100,000 yuan was common. The downside was that fishing was incredibly tough, and most young people couldn't handle the grueling work.
But this was good news for Chu Mingcheng. At least he wouldn't have trouble selling the aquatic products he caught.
Carrying his bucket, he walked around, searching and collecting. Before long, his lower back started to ache. Years of sitting in an office had taken a toll on his physical fitness; his six-pack from graduation had morphed into a single, less defined one. At least he hadn't gained weight yet, still maintaining his figure for now.
Chu Mingcheng straightened up, rubbed his lower back, and suddenly felt that this kind of life was pretty good. Fishing could be a hobby, and beachcombing could be a workout.
He'd been picking horn snails for half an hour, estimating he had several dozen. He checked his codex:
[Warty Periwinkle (Horn Snail), also known as Spicy Snail, Bitter Snail (Level 2)]
[Current Experience: 13/30]
[Size: +2%]
[Deliciousness: +2%]
[Capture Chance: +2%]
The "Capture Chance" and "Size" stats were interesting. Did this mean that with a higher chance, he could just casually walk along the beach and find larger horn snails? It was a shame he hadn't bought beachcombing tongs; otherwise, he could have extracted many more horn snails from rock crevices. He'd have to wait until next time.
The calm period after low tide lasted about two hours, meaning the tide would start coming in around 3 p.m. Chu Mingcheng had to move closer to shore and eventually had to leave by 3:30 p.m. While collecting, he'd picked up both small and large snails, but when selling, he'd have to release those as tiny as a pinky fingernail.
Looking at the handful of small horn snails, Chu Mingcheng wondered if releasing them and then catching them again would continue to increase his experience. Could he exploit this "bug"? He found an easily recognizable tide pool and released all the snails into it. Then he picked one up again and put it into his bucket. As expected, the experience value on his codex didn't change.
Chu Mingcheng shrugged. It was just a simple test; it was normal for bugs not to work. This meant that in the future, he couldn't just casually release the fish he caught in the reservoir; he'd have to release them far away.
It was almost 4 p.m. now, and people were surely already waiting at the pier to buy seafood. His horn snail level had reached 6. Based on the experience points, he had collected over two hundred. But after releasing a small handful, he probably had about 160 to 170 left. Still, they were quite large, weighing a little over two jin (about 1 kg), mostly due to their heavy shells.
He drove to the roadside above the pier, where there were some parking spots. He parked his car, then grabbed his bucket and walked down to the pier below. This was a small pier with two ways down: one was a set of stairs, only accessible on foot, and the other allowed cars. However, with so many people coming to buy seafood, it would definitely be congested below. Most people who knew better wouldn't drive down.
Chu Mingcheng took the shortcut and walked for about ten minutes to reach the pier. It was bustling now, with some boats already returned. As he stepped down with his bucket, several people immediately gathered around to see what he had.
"Hey, did you catch these horn snails yourself? Are you selling them?"
"Only this much?"
Chu Mingcheng looked at the group, then reached in and grabbed a handful of horn snails. "I just picked these myself from the beach. They're all pretty good size. There are about two jin here. If anyone wants them, sixty yuan takes the lot."
"Sixty? Give me a discount! I'll take them for fifty!" Hearing a potential bargain, a middle-aged woman grabbed a handful to inspect them, immediately trying to haggle. Chu Mingcheng noticed the wallet on her waist and realized she was probably a fish vendor. If she bought them from him, she could resell them for thirty-five yuan a jin. And he had more than two jin in his bucket, so she could probably make an extra ten or twenty yuan.
A man nearby, who seemed to be a regular customer buying seafood, heard Chu Mingcheng offer them for sixty and quickly said, "I'll take them for sixty! I'll transfer it to your phone." He pulled out his phone, ready to pay first.
"Sixty it is! I'll take them!" The middle-aged woman, seeing someone trying to snatch them, got anxious. Forgetting to haggle, she quickly pulled money from her wallet.
"Auntie, this brother here looks like he specifically came to buy some fresh seafood. I only have about two jin of horn snails, so you won't make much profit. Don't compete with him." Chu Mingcheng smiled, gently pushed away the money the middle-aged woman offered, and then took out his phone to receive payment from the man.
"Fine, fine!" The profit was only a little over ten yuan. The middle-aged woman seemed easygoing; she just smiled, didn't mind that he wouldn't sell to her, and turned to wait for other vendors' goods.
The man paid, went to his car to find a bag, and emptied all the horn snails into it. Chu Mingcheng then went back with his empty bucket, drove to a fishing gear shop to buy a luminous float and a headlamp. He had also planned to buy insect repellent elsewhere, but the shop owner had everything, even snake repellent powder. It wasn't uncommon for anglers to encounter venomous snakes or catch water snakes at night, so he shouldn't skimp on these small expenses. He also bought a hundred-yuan aerator, just in case the fish he caught at night couldn't survive until morning.
After buying his supplies, he went to a nearby seafood noodle shop. Walking in, he noticed it wasn't very busy, probably because he was a bit early. The signature dish here seemed to be the "Three Delicacies Noodles," which typically included clams, white shrimp, and small yellow croaker, for eighteen yuan a bowl. Chu Mingcheng was about to order one when he saw "Mud Crab Noodles" and "Peanut Worm Soup Noodles" on the menu.
"Mud crab" was the local name for green crab, and also an ancient term for it. "Peanut worm" was called "earth worm" or "black earth worm" here, and "mud worm" in some other places. Its scientific name was Sipunculus nudus, a fearsome-looking but incredibly delicious marine creature.
"Boss, you have mud crab noodles here. How much is that?"
"The mud crab, you'll need to select your own first. As for the peanut worm soup noodles, they're eighty-one yuan a bowl now. Sea worms have gotten expensive recently—no choice. If you came two months ago, it was only sixty-one a bowl." This noodle shop was a husband-and-wife operation. Both the boss and the boss lady were there. Hearing Chu Mingcheng ask the price, the boss lady quickly came out from the kitchen.
"Then how much are your mud crabs?"
"Mud crabs are expensive now too—one hundred fifty yuan a jin. They're all raised by my uncle, freshly bought and guaranteed to be full of roe and meat. If you find a skinny one, I'll pay you triple." The boss lady said, pulling out a plastic crate filled with green crabs tied with red ropes. Looking at the red ropes, which surely weighed at least two or three liang (75-150 grams) on each crab, Chu Mingcheng's eye twitched, and he immediately abandoned the idea of eating a bowl of mud crab noodles.
However, he was quite interested in the peanut worm soup noodles. Though he was trying to save money, at this moment, for the sake of food, he ordered a bowl. Sea worms were one of the aquatic species, and he could catch quite a lot after a day's hard work. Perhaps when the horn snail leveling slowed down, he could go digging for sea worms on the mudflats.