"Going to the sea to fish?" Not only was An Xiuwen surprised, but Chu Yongxin in the kitchen making dinner was also shocked.
"Yes, look, these are what I caught." Chu Mingcheng lifted the Green Crab and sea earthworm in his hand, "Dad, I'll leave these to you."
"Oh wow, these two Green Crabs look impressive just by their appearance, and sea earthworms too? Did you go digging for these things? It seems you had a nice time this National Day!"
Chu Yongxin took the Green Crabs and sea earthworms, joking continuously.
An Xiuwen also smiled and said, "Going to the sea and fishing is better than staying at home every day. You really should go out more; it looks like it's made you much healthier."
Chu Mingcheng pulled a face; parents were always like this. As a child, when he was naughty and liked to go out to play, they couldn't wait for him to stay quietly at home.
When he grew up and became a homebody, they couldn't wait for him to go out every day, just so he wouldn't be underfoot at home.
After a while, dinner was ready, and the family sat down at the dining table to eat.
Chu Yongxin had been a chef before, so naturally, his cooking skills needed no explanation—every dish was full of color and aroma.
Chu Mingcheng's culinary skills were all learned from his father, though his mind wasn't really in it, and he probably only grasped about thirty percent of it.
Even so, his cooking skills were sufficient for making everyday meals.
Having not tasted his dad's cooking for a long time, Chu Mingcheng thoroughly enjoyed his meal, and only after he was about sixty percent full did he slow down.
Seeing this, An Xiuwen put down her chopsticks, took out her phone, and showed him a photo of a girl: "Ah Cheng, your grandma has introduced a girl to you; take a look."
Chu Mingcheng glanced curiously but soon lost interest, "Mom, I'm only twenty-eight. I haven't had enough fun yet; I don't want to drag an honest person into this."
An Xiuwen couldn't help but laugh and cry, "It's because she's a gentle and obedient girl, and good with housework, that your grandma specially asked me to show you. The young lady is also quite pretty; she looks really good when dressed up."
"Yes, choosing a wife for her virtues. Why don't you chat with her and meet her?" Chu Yongxin, who had been eager for a grandchild for a while, urged along with his wife.
"Ah~"
Chu Mingcheng sighed. As someone focused on appearances, he was truly sorry. It seemed he needed to divert their attention.
"Dad, Mom, let me tell you something. I quit my job!"
Chu Yongxin and An Xiuwen were both stunned.
"Why did you quit just like that?"
"What are your plans next?"
"A company where overtime doesn't pay, there's no point in continuing. I plan to go to the sea to fish and then make videos for social media."
As expected, An Xiuwen opposed this.
"No way; going to the sea to fish is just too unreliable. It's okay that you quit; you can always just find another job."
Chu Mingcheng knew she would oppose; thus he chuckled and dropped a little bombshell: "Mom, this National Day week, I earned about seventeen thousand, not counting the six or seven thousand spent on fishing gear and living expenses."
"How much?!" An Xiuwen's voice suddenly rose!
Chu Yongxin also dug in his ears, suspecting he heard wrong.
"I made in these seven days what I earned in the previous three months by going to the sea and fishing."
"..."
"..."
Chu Yongxin and An Xiuwen were at a loss for words. As for whether this was a bluff, they naturally trusted their son.
"What did you do these days to make so much?" Chu Yongxin knew much more about going to the sea than An Xiuwen. Making twenty thousand in seven days just didn't seem right.
If making money from the sea was so lucrative, why would anyone work in a factory screwing bolts!
"Actually, a while back, Le City had several parks offering rewards for catching Alligator Gar, an invasive species. Catch one, get one thousand, and I caught nine."
"Then during this period, I've been digging sea earthworms in Dongyue during the day and catching Crab Tiger Fish by the side, and at night going to the reservoir up Yanmen Island to fish for Crucian Carp. I could make at least fifteen hundred a day."
Chu Yongxin suddenly realized there had been a bounty. Even so, his son was making a good amount of money.
"Digging sea earthworms is hard work, can you handle it?"
Digging sea earthworms was naturally tiring, but it coincided with his toughest time when he had just experienced a transformation of life, which helped him adapt successfully.
"It's okay, I got used to it. That's secondary, though, soon I'll start a social media channel, post videos online, and the income will stabilize, so you don't have to worry!"
"Anyway, it's only a few months until the end of the year, why don't you let me try this, and if it doesn't work, I'll get a job next year?"
With his son putting it that way and also really making some money, although Chu Yongxin and An Xiuwen still felt it was unreliable, it was just a few months, so letting their son give it a try seemed fine.
"Son, if you're not happy with your job, it's okay to quit. Don't worry, your dad has everything prepared for your future wife, house purchase, and the dowry. Go ahead and do what you want to do!"
An Xiuwen also nodded repeatedly, "Yeah, a job that pays seven thousand a month but requires daily overtime isn't worth the trouble. Don't even mention sea fishing; even if you were to pull a rickshaw, I wouldn't mind as long as you find a daughter-in-law for me."
Chu Mingcheng was touched yet found it amusing—what would he do driving a rickshaw?
With a car already, shouldn't he consider driving for rideshare services?
But having convinced his parents, Chu Mingcheng felt completely relieved.
After spending a night at home, the next day, he drove back to Yanmen Island, picked up Little Mimi, and headed to the pet hospital in Le City for a check-up.
After the deworming and vaccines were done, the morning just flew by.
Luckily, Little Mimi was very healthy. According to the vet, the cat was very well taken care of, prompting a visit to the pet store to buy some canned food and catnip.
Little Mimi, who had been quietly lying on the back seat, then saw Chu Mingcheng get a mischievous idea and tossed her a catnip, and by the time they got home, she was as limp as a noodle, her little tongue sticking out of her mouth.
After lunch, he even managed to take a rare nap, not waking up until three in the afternoon.
By then, Little Mimi had returned to normal, lazily lying in the yard basking in the sun, which Chu Mingcheng ignored as he drove to the fishing gear store.
The shop owner was very enthusiastic to see him!
But hearing that he wanted to buy two sea rods, including one for catching big fish of good quality, puzzled the store owner.
He had a store on the island, so naturally, all the fishing rods he sold were of mid to low quality. There were sources for high-quality rods, but with no demand, he didn't bother to stock them.
Chu Mingcheng was buying two sea rods to prepare for sea fishing, planning to spend fifteen thousand on them.
Especially for the big fish rod, he budgeted ten thousand.
But the fishing gear store owner didn't have such good quality rods, so out of options, he had to look elsewhere, only to be persuaded by the store owner.
"Ah Cheng, I can order the sea rod you want, but it'll take a few days. Don't worry about the price though, it definitely won't be expensive. The prices for fishing rods are all transparent now, a quick check and you'll know."
"But if you're going to sea fish, I think you should start by buying a 7.2-meter hand rod from here for practicing on big freshwater fish like Green Crab, grass carp, and Lianyong."
"Get used to it beforehand, so you won't be caught off guard when facing big fish in the sea; catching big fish takes a lot of effort."
Chu Mingcheng looked at the fishing gear store owner, suspecting he wanted to sell an extra rod, but had no proof.
However, his charter for sea fishing wasn't finalized yet, so waiting a few days was no big deal, and buying a hand rod for some initial practice on Green Crab would do.
Thus, under the owner's influencial sales pitch, he spent fifteen hundred on a 7.2-meter hand rod. This time, the owner was generous, throwing in the fishing line and hooks for free.
Not only that, but also a support stand, a large landing net, bait, and nesting material were all provided for free.
The price he paid was an extra five thousand yuan as a deposit for ordering the two sea rods.