Chapter 390 - 321: Captain! Captain

With some prior fishing experience, Ni Bingyan was a quick study. In just over half an hour, she was able to fish independently.

Since she was just starting out and hadn’t built up much experience, she kept her ambitions modest. She didn’t dare to aim for tuna, focusing her efforts on small and medium-sized fish instead.

After the whale shark left, a large school of yellowtail amberjack arrived. This fish, with its high fat content and delicate texture, was perfect for sashimi. Ni Bingyan managed to catch one herself.

Everyone was thrilled, and they asked the chef to prepare it as sashimi for dinner.

Ni Bingyan had thrown up a lot today, and her stomach was still upset, so she didn’t dare eat too much cold food. She had one piece to try it, then put down her chopsticks.

She wasn’t very experienced, but she was patient and eager to learn. She only needed to hear a few pointers to figure things out on her own.

After catching a string of black porgies, yellowfin seabream, and the like, she figured the school of fish had probably moved on. She called over Duanmu Li and asked her to take the Spanish mackerel to the kitchen and have the chef pan-fry it.

The ship’s chef was an expert at preparing seafood. A short while later, he brought her a fragrant, steaming plate.

She couldn’t finish it all, so she shared some with the others. She served herself a small bowl of rice and ate a couple of pieces of fish, taking small bites.

"It must be tough being a celebrity. Even when you eat, you have to count every grain of rice."

Earlier, Brother Hao had treated everyone, using the yellowtail he’d caught to make sashimi. When he saw Ni Bingyan eat only a single piece, he assumed she ate like a bird.

"My stomach’s a little upset. Eating small, frequent meals helps me keep my energy up without worrying about gaining weight."

As she spoke, her float bobbed. Ni Bingyan put down her rice bowl and unhurriedly began to play the fish.

Before long, she reeled in a fiery red fish.

’This fish is gorgeous!’

Freshwater fish are rarely so vibrant. Even a carp, just for having a red tail, is considered a good omen.

In the past, no matter how hard times were, most families would braise one for the New Year, symbolizing a prosperous and abundant year ahead.

But many saltwater fish are beautiful.

’What’s a red tail? This fish is red all over! It looks so festive!’

Ni Bingyan used a pair of pliers to grip its mouth and, with the help of a crew member, unhooked the fish.

Before she could ask, Xiao He from the spot next to her leaned over and started explaining:

"This is a swallowtail grouper. A lot of people don’t recognize it and often mistake it for a leopard coral grouper. Compared to the leopard coral grouper, this one is much cheaper and not as tasty."

Xiao Luo was a professional angler who made his living from sea fishing, so he knew the price of every fish like the back of his hand.

The trio had clearly put a lot of thought into making the entertaining.

Ni Bingyan knew why he had been placed next to her, so she asked, "What’s the difference between the two fish? How do you tell them apart?"

"The difference is huge! The most obvious feature is the swallowtail grouper’s tail. It’s shaped like a swallow’s. If you look at the tail, you can tell them apart at a glance."

Ni Bingyan immediately said she’d learned something new.

How many species of fish are there in the entire South Sea Territory?

The answer is over a thousand known species.

Among those, one to two hundred have commercial fishing value.

There were far more than she knew from freshwater fishing.

Having been born and raised inland, Ni Bingyan was mostly familiar with seafood that was easy to transport. Naturally, there were many she didn’t recognize.

Brother Hao and Xiao He patiently taught her, just like teachers.

It had to be said, the reason they put so much effort into teaching her was not just because the production crew was paying them, but largely because she was humble and eager to learn.

Ni Bingyan had always been lucky. She caught an especially wide variety of fish, and her questions were often quite tricky. When Xiao He couldn’t answer, he would turn to Brother Hao.

If there was a fish that even Brother Hao had never seen before, the entire boat would flock over to get a look.

More than half the night passed in this relaxed manner.

At midnight, Ni Bingyan held another bowl, this time sipping a hot, milky-white fish soup.

’The fresh fish soup is so savory you could swallow your own tongue. My only regret is not being reincarnated as a cow with multiple stomachs!’

Just as she put down her bowl, a shout rang out: "The tuna are here!"

Everyone quickly baited their hooks with live pond loaches and waited with bated breath.

Seeing her just sitting there in a daze, Brother Hao couldn’t help but remind her, "Hey! These things show up in schools! Hurry up and bait a hook! See if you get lucky and catch something!"

A thrill shot through Ni Bingyan. Unable to resist the temptation, she baited a hook as well.

’What’s the harm in trying, anyway?’

"Got one!"

"Heh! Got one!"

...

Shouts of "Fish on!" came from all around her. Ni Bingyan counted at least four.

Meanwhile, her hook remained perfectly still.

’Lady Luck can’t smile on me every single time!’

Ni Bingyan consoled herself. ’If all the good things happen to me, how is anyone else supposed to live?’

With that thought, her mood became quite peaceful.

’A classic case of self-consolation.’

Tsk!

The smallest one was reeled in after five minutes.

A crew member helped weigh it. "Forty-two pounds!"

The man let out a long sigh and waved his hand, telling someone to take it away for bleeding and acid removal.

Ni Bingyan knew he was dissatisfied with the fish’s size.

’At least he caught something! I haven’t gotten a single bite.’

Ni Bingyan felt a pang of envy, but it wasn’t quite jealousy.

Seeing no action at her own spot, she wandered around to watch the others fish.

The others landed their fish one by one. For a moment, the crew was a whirlwind of activity, and the captain strolled around with a broad grin.

When he took people out and they all had a great haul, it proved he was good at finding fishing spots. That meant they would book his boat again.

Compared to the unstable income from the catch itself, selling fishing spots for a fixed price per person was much more profitable.

Someone hooked a big one. They fought it from the bow to the stern, with three burly men taking turns for half an hour before they finally managed to land it.

They weighed it—holy cow! It was over two hundred and twenty pounds!

It made staying up all night for the tuna’s peak feeding time around dawn worthwhile.

Everyone took turns posing for photos with the massive fish, had a little something to eat, and then returned to their fishing spots.

Ni Bingyan was still leisurely munching on some dried shrimp provided by the captain when she heard Xiao He sigh.

"A lot of people think all tuna are expensive, but that’s a huge misunderstanding! Even though they’re both tuna, the price of a yellowfin is nothing compared to a bluefin! This biggest one here is only worth a few thousand yuan."

Ni Bingyan was shocked. "Only a few thousand?"

Xiao He nodded. "And that’s only if it’s bled promptly and the acid is properly removed. If it’s not handled well, I’d rather eat a mangrove red snapper!"

"And what’s a mangrove red snapper?"

After the burst of excitement, everyone was feeling a bit tired. To stay awake, they all started chatting quietly with their neighbors.

Hearing another unfamiliar term, Ni Bingyan didn’t pretend to know and asked directly.

"It’s a type of snapper with a purplish-red color..."

Just as Xiao He was about to explain what it was, Ni Bingyan’s eyes narrowed and she gripped her fishing rod in pleasant surprise.

"Whoa! I finally got some action!"

’Haha, I got up bright and early only to be late to the party.’

Still, she was delighted.

But as soon as Ni Bingyan started reeling in the line, she sensed something was off.

’This thing... it isn’t struggling, is it?’

"Xiao He, can you take a look for me? What did I just hook? Something feels a little off."

Xiao He stood up and leaned over the railing to look down. The moment he saw it, his eyes went wide and he started shouting frantically, "Captain! Captain!"

Without waiting for the captain, he had already grabbed the large landing net behind him, getting ready to haul the thing up.