"It's almost time; we should head back!" Edward raised his fishing rod again, and a soft squid hung from the hook. He glanced at the sky and saw it was nearly four in the afternoon. People would be arriving soon, and the fish he had caught still needed to be cleaned up. After nearly four hours of fishing, the afternoon had been quite successful.
Edward had caught the most fish. After all, he was a professional. In four hours, he had caught a half-meter-long Atlantic cod and twelve herrings, each nearly twenty centimeters long. This was the first time Jiang Hai had eaten such fish.
Additionally, there was a grouper more than ten centimeters long, but he had released it. According to Edward, it was better to let such valuable fish grow bigger. He had also caught three sea bass, a thirty-centimeter-long salmon, and five crabs—all deep-sea swimming crabs. This type of crab is quite expensive in China. Each crab weighs almost a kilogram, and it could sell for about one hundred and fifty yuan per kilogram in China. Besides these, there were some small squids and octopuses, but most of them had been thrown back. People in the United States don't typically eat such creatures.
As for Robbins, he had also caught a lot of fish. He had five cod, but they were all relatively small. Three were more than 20 centimeters long, and two were over 30 centimeters. These were about the same size as the fish he had treated Jiang Hai to. There were also two sea bass and four herrings. Compared to Edward, who caught a variety of fish, Robbins specialized in these types. Codfish tend to eat small squid, so he had asked Edward for some of the squid and octopuses he had caught.
Jiang Hai, however, had the least luck. In four hours, he had lost 21 fish hooks and 18 lead blocks. He was no ordinary fisherman. As for his catch, well, if three seaweeds could be considered a harvest, then he had at least gotten something, but the result still left him dissatisfied.
"No, I'll try one last time. I don't believe I can't catch anything!" Jiang Hai was stubborn. After playing for four hours and receiving some guidance, he had finally gotten the hang of it. In the last half hour, he had only cast the line once without losing the lead, but still, no fish had appeared.
"Haha, okay, you're the boss. We'll clean up first while you continue." Edward laughed, gathering the fishing rods and other equipment. He tossed the squid that had been meant for him over to Jiang Hai.
"Huh, I don't believe it." Jiang Hai, not afraid of the squid's movements, picked it up without hesitation. However, as he hung the squid on the hook, it had its own agenda.
Taking advantage of Jiang Hai's inattention, the squid bit his finger. A drop of blood was instantly sucked into its body.
"Damn, bad luck. I lost both my wife and my army," Jiang Hai cursed. Though the wound healed quickly, the blood was already gone. The giant snake tattoo on his chest, which had grown many scales, lost three more at that moment. But no matter what, the blood was lost, and he couldn't just let it go. Besides, there was no way to explain it.
Gritting his teeth, he threw the lead block, now hooked with the squid, into the open sea once more. Perhaps out of frustration, he cast the line particularly far this time. He threw the 100-meter fishing line about 90 meters before it hit the water, then reeled it back in immediately to prevent the lead from sinking to the bottom and getting tangled on the reef.
"Tsk tsk, don't say our boss's fishing skills aren't great, but his strength is really something else. It's hard to imagine where all this strength comes from, considering he's not that big," Robbins, who was gathering fish in the distance, chuckled. Collecting fish was easy enough; after all, they had to wait for Jiang Hai. It was better to clean them up here by the sea since doing it at home would cause the smell to spread everywhere.
The garbage at Jiang Hai's manor was another issue. The town's garbage truck only came once every three days, and before it arrived, they had to pile up the trash. Fish waste, for instance, was pushed into the sea to avoid the smell.
The seawater was clear and did not pollute the area, making it a perfect place to clean up. Fish offal and bones were natural food for marine life, so they didn't have to worry about pollution.
"Haha, skills are learned over time. No worries, he's the boss after all. As long as he wants, he can practice anywhere." Edward laughed in response to Robbins.
Robbins agreed. While his boss was warm-hearted, he didn't know much about farming, ranching, or fishing. He was like many young people in the city—lazy and uninformed. If he kept pretending to know, it would only cause trouble. It was better to let him be idle for now, and over time, he'd learn.
After a few days of hard work, he'd have plenty of time to learn these things.
Just as Robbins smiled, not continuing the conversation, Edward also smiled. They both understood each other's thoughts.
As a boss, he needed to be coaxed, especially in such a tough economy.
"Hey, I caught a fish!" Suddenly, Jiang Hai's voice broke through their conversation.
Startled, both Edward and Robbins turned toward him. They saw that Jiang Hai had raised his fishing rod, and the line was taut, feeling as though it might snap at any moment.
The rod's tip was even slightly bent. Seeing this, the two men were momentarily stunned.
"Boss, you scraped it against the stone again?" Edward frowned, chuckling.
He wasn't worried about the fishing rod. The one he had given Jiang Hai was a beginner's model—sturdy but unremarkable. It was inexpensive at only fifteen dollars, so he didn't mind if it broke.
However, with the way the rod was bending, it seemed more likely that Jiang Hai had scraped it against a stone. If it were truly a fish, it would likely be huge—hundreds of pounds, which seemed impossible.
"No, no, no, it's not scraping against the stone. It's still swimming left and right!" Jiang Hai hurriedly shook his head.
Edward and Robbins glanced at the fishing line, and sure enough, it was moving slightly from side to side. This meant it wasn't stuck on a stone, and a big fish was indeed on the line.
"This... this is impossible!" Edward stood up, moving toward Jiang Hai, wanting to take the rod to try it himself. Jiang Hai wasn't confident at the moment; the power of sea fish was immense.
As Edward reached for the rod, Jiang Hai passed it to him. But the moment Edward grabbed it, he felt a massive force pulling, almost pulling him into the sea. If he hadn't weighed over 200 pounds, he might have been yanked in.
"Oh no, it's a big fish. Boss, you pull it. I can't hold it!" Edward gritted his teeth and handed the rod back to Jiang Hai. Jiang Hai, feeling the immense strength, gritted his own teeth in determination.
"I don't believe it!" he muttered. His muscles bulged as he exerted all his strength. With one hand firmly against his lower abdomen, he began reeling in the line.
At this moment, any fishing expert would likely scold Jiang Hai for not following the proper technique. The best approach was to release some line to tire the fish out and then reel it in slowly. However, with only 10 meters left in the 100-meter line, releasing more line seemed pointless.
The best option now was to protect the fishing rod and let the line play out. But despite the low-cost rod, Edward was eager to see what kind of fish had this much power.
The fishing line held steady, and the reel slowly turned. Even Robbins stopped cleaning the fish and came to watch.
After about five minutes, Jiang Hai had reeled in about fifty meters of line, officially bringing the big fish closer to the surface.
In the astonished gazes of the three men, a large fish fin appeared about forty meters away from the dock. Seeing this, the three exchanged glances, and Jiang Hai's excitement grew—It was a shark!