"Mmm, this Purple Bream sashimi is much tastier than the sea bream sashimi we had at the Japanese restaurant yesterday." Zhang Wei commented after taking a bite of the fresh Purple Bream flesh.
"Of course, the Purple Bream costs over a hundred yuan per half kilogram, whereas what we ate yesterday was probably Black Sea Bream, only costing tens of yuan per half kilogram, no comparison!" Chu Mingcheng said with a laugh.
These two ingredients weren't on the same level, and the Purple Bream was also a specialized sashimi fish, so its taste was naturally much different.
As for Jiang Luoluo and Zhou Jiayi, they were each holding a Green Crab claw bigger than their own hands, their mouths full of crab meat with no room to talk.
This brought a knowing smile to Chu Mingcheng, the host's, face; both girls had the looks of online beauties even post beautification, yet they lacked the various issues common among such online personas, which made them quite comfortable to be around.
Only, not going fishing last night and not digging for sea earthworms today had left him feeling somewhat restless.
Fortunately, both of them would be leaving tomorrow, and thereafter, nothing would hinder him from "grinding."
After eating for a while, Jiang Luoluo, who was stealthily observing Chu Mingcheng sipping his soup, pondered for a moment before asking tentatively, "Hey, Mingcheng, have you ever thought about recording your fishing and sea foraging experiences, editing them into videos, and posting them online?"
"You mean doing social media?"
Chu Mingcheng's expression paused as he glanced at Jiang Luoluo, who kept staring at him; it seemed like he understood somewhat—this girl wanted him to be more "ambitious!"
But, with the "Golden Finger" that ensured success as long as he kept grinding away, how could he not be ambitious?
He might even become the king of competition in the fishing world someday.
Nevertheless, realistically speaking, being a social media content creator could at least be considered a career, which sounded respectable when spoken of.
Sea foraging and fishing, on the other hand, could give off the impression of being unreliable, and he doubted any parents would agree to let their daughter marry such a man—unless he was hitting them with money.
"Yeah, doing social media is actually quite good. You could make videos on foraging and even on going far out to sea to fish; there are quite a lot of people who like watching this kind of stuff. This way, you'll also have a stable income in the future, which I personally think would be better than what you're doing now,"
Jiang Luoluo blurted out a lot, and the suggestion she made was pretty good too.
Regarding what she had in mind, Zhou Jiayi, as her best friend, could guess some of it.
Being single all these years, it was rare to meet someone she was attracted to; naturally, she wanted more interaction.
It was just that concern over professions could give one pause, deterring one from going further.
"What you said makes sense; making videos could indeed offer the chance of becoming a stable career. It's just that I'm also new to foraging and fishing, not familiar enough with them,"
"I might consider making some videos after I become familiar with these things in the future."
"It's like your dance videos; it's because you're professional enough that you can perform dances that everyone likes, right?"
Chu Mingcheng also thought making videos was a pretty good idea; once he had a boat and went offshore to catch big fish, recording it would not only document his sea fishing experiences but also help him make some money on the side.
Importantly, releasing videos wasn't like live streaming, which required constant interaction with viewers; he just needed to post once a week or even less frequently, and if he didn't want to interact with viewers, there was no need to bother at all, so there weren't many constraints.
Seeing that Chu Mingcheng was receptive to her suggestion, Jiang Luoluo felt delighted, "Right, your way of thinking is correct. Remember to let me know when you start posting videos; I want to be the first to watch!"
They chatted and laughed, and the meal wasn't over until after seven in the evening.
The two girls even helped clean up together and wash the dishes, showing themselves to be quite capable.
After sending them back to the hotel, Chu Mingcheng went home and began researching rock fishing rods and the technique of rock fishing online. As he browsed, his eyes suddenly lit up; he had a new goal!
...
The next morning at eight o'clock, Jiang Luoluo sent a message to bid farewell to Chu Mingcheng. They were setting off for their next stop, Jia City, to continue filming their video and to enjoy a roasted whole lamb along the way.
Chu Mingcheng briefly chatted with her before taking Zhang Wei to the fishing gear shop, where he bought a number 3 surf rod, along with matching fishing line and sinkers, among other things.
With the number 3 surf rod suitable for catching small to medium-sized fish, he didn't go for anything expensive and spent a total of only six hundred yuan.
Zhang Wei, seeing this, felt the urge to try his own hand and picked out a surf rod as well, albeit a cheaper one.
"Ah Cheng, are you going to start sea fishing now?" As they left the fishing gear shop and got into the car, Zhang Wei took the opportunity to ask.
"Yeah, I want to get some practice first. You know there's a water channel where they dig for sea earthworms, right? We can't dig for sea earthworms when the tide hasn't gone out, so might as well go fishing instead!"
After saying that, Chu Mingcheng drove first to the local market where he bought a pound of shrimp, which he kept on ice, and after wandering around the market, he finally spotted his target fish and stepped forward to ask.
"Boss, how do you sell these Crab Tigers? Why is one kind a lighter color, while the other is so dark?"
The boss replied, "The lighter ones are wild, two hundred yuan a pound. The ones with black spots are farmed, eighty yuan a pound."
Chu Mingcheng said, "Farmed ones are eighty yuan? That's so expensive, forget it, I can't afford it!"
The boss: "..."
Having understood the prices, Chu Mingcheng, and Zhang Wei, who was trying not to laugh, left the market.
"Ah Cheng, so you bought a surf rod to fish for Crab Tigers! Why didn't you tell me earlier? I have a way that you wouldn't need a surf rod at all to catch Crab Tigers."
"With chopsticks?"
"Damn, how did you know?"
"The videos all say it's an exclusive secret recipe, why wouldn't I know about it? But the place where we dig for sea earthworms isn't suited for that method. Surf rods and hand lines are actually better for fishing there."
Fishing for Crab Tigers wasn't really difficult; they loved to eat shrimp the most. From October onwards, the two hours just before sunset were their peak feeding times, when they were most aggressive with the bait.
However, conditions like the tide and wind direction could also affect the fish's behavior, but such complexities were too much for a novice like Chu Mingcheng to grasp. So he'd just fish the way he knew how, and with more experience, he would slowly learn.
The duo arrived at East Yue Beach during low tide, Chu Mingcheng with bucket in hand and a short-handled hoe to start digging.
The level of his sea earthworm digging had reached 14, so the chances of finding large ones had increased significantly.
As they had eaten enough in the morning, Chu Mingcheng dug energetically until two in the afternoon, when the rising tide had submerged the mudflats.
Other earthworm diggers had no choice but to move to areas not yet covered by the sea. Earthworms could still be found in these spots, but they were much fewer in number.
Having dug up over five pounds and reaching level 17, Chu Mingcheng decided not to continue.
Zhang Wei was someone who couldn't sit still, and he didn't enjoy the hard work of digging for sea earthworms, so he had gone off to fish earlier.
He used a lure rod, and as expected, came back empty-handed.
Chu Mingcheng carried the bucket back, planning to grab something to eat first. However, Zhang Wei had just returned in his car, bringing him a serving of fried rice.
After eating, the two took out their surf rods, along with the shrimp they bought that morning, and returned to the mudflats, ready to fish for Crab Tigers.