Reborn in the Millennium: Building a Fortune from Fishing

Chapter 559 Cheap "Large Quantity"

"Don't worry, just mention Brother Li's name, he's really impressive," Awei said with a smile.

There are some inside stories that only the fishermen know.

On the surface, Li Ge is just a fisherman, but in reality, the local fish bosses are all well-connected and influential, even the customs officials give him some face.

The same applies to the Li family in Zhuhai; border defense and maritime departments treat them with utmost respect.

Fishermen are also known as maritime militia. If a fisherman's leader has several hundred men under his command, he is equivalent to a militia battalion commander.

Nowadays, fishermen make up a significant proportion of maritime security forces, especially in the Spratly Islands. Underwater espionage and surveillance are ubiquitous in the South China Sea, and many are recovered every year.

By the time we were all ready, it was almost 6:30, which is about 90% of the way through the tide.

Tides and waves are two different things. High tides can also be calm, as was the case today, with only fine little waves on the sea.

Although the tide was a little delayed because of the sea trip, the two men who cast their lines were in high spirits.

In these coral reef areas far from the coastline, even air force operations would be difficult.

You can use a little over 50 meters of line for fishing. Two people can sit at the bow and stern of the boat, so they won't bother each other and can even sit down and rest.

The first cast had barely reached a depth of forty meters when a fish nibbled at it. "Hey, there's something here."

Qin Dahe's face lit up with excitement; rock fishing couldn't compare to going out to sea!

You have to crank the reel quickly. You can't let the fish get away with anything in this obstacle course; one wrong move and they'll get stuck in the gaps between the fish's heads.

"A great start!" They brought out a three-pound tiger grouper right away—it was such a pleasant surprise!

It's not far from the fish farm area, so I guess they're all hidden here.

Under the azure sky, a glimmer of light began to appear on the horizon. The sun moved across the horizon and shone on people's faces, and a line of light and shadow appeared over the sea.

The small boat rocked gently on the sea as two young men enthusiastically pulled up a grouper.

"Damn it, did we stumble upon a grouper farm today?" Qin Dahe tossed another two-pound grouper into the middle cabin.

There's really no time to deal with it right now; the fish are very irritable.

Awei also had two tiger grouper, one rockfish, and a black sea bream weighing over three pounds in the front cabin.

"Damn, I'm going to make a lot of money today."

Farm-raised tiger grouper costs 70-80 yuan per catty (approximately 33-40 kg), but here they are at least 2 catties (approximately 1 kg), with larger ones weighing 4-5 catties (approximately 2-2.5 kg). A single tiger grouper can cost several hundred yuan.

As soon as the fishing rod in his hand sank, Qin Dahe knew it was time to load a large cargo.

"It's so strong, could it be a giant grouper?" He was pleasantly surprised.

Rock fishing only yields small fish; you only catch big ones when there are strong winds and waves. Going out to sea is much more exciting.

Awei glanced at it enviously; the heavy surf rod was already starting to bend slightly, weighing at least seven or eight pounds.

If you don't go to the deep sea, a heavy surf rod can also be used as a boat rod, and it's no problem to catch fish weighing around 100 pounds.

With the drag already set to five kilograms, reeling in the line was still quite difficult, so Qin Dahe immediately switched to a twenty-kilogram drag.

The fishing line and rod are high-end stuff, so what's there to be afraid of?

I kept pulling and tugging, and every time the fish stopped struggling, I frantically reeled in the line until I could finally see a dark shadow.

"Is this a mackerel?" he asked, somewhat uncertainly.

"Yeah, it's about 20 or 30 yuan a pound, which is pretty cheap," Awei said with a pained expression.

Among the large shipments, the cheapest items are mackerel, golden tuna, and sea bream, which are among the few cheaper ones in the ten-pound range.

Any other fish can be quite valuable; black sea bream and sea bass can sell for tens of yuan per kilogram.

"Damn, they got the cheapest one." Although it was a bit of a pity, Qin Dahe still kissed the fish as he put it in the tank. Cheap didn't matter, the feeling of handling big fish was really satisfying; these ten pounds of mackerel were equivalent to about twenty pounds of silver carp and bighead carp.

Ah Wei has another tiger stripe on his side, and his mouth is stretched all the way to his ears.

"Damn it, Dahe, how much is one of your boats? Get me one."

If you can drive this around, wouldn't it be great for fishing?
"It's not cheap."

Grade 5 aluminum alloy isn't very valuable; a set of batteries and motors alone costs 2000 yuan, and labor costs are also considerable.

A master welder needs to work for several days in a row. Even if he provides the blueprints, the labor cost will be at least 1,000 yuan.

"Not counting the battery and motor, how much is the aluminum alloy casing?" Awei asked, his eyes shining.

"Don't rush. I might find a machining factory to make molds and die-cast later to try to reduce the cost."

The two started to pack up and rest for a while. The tide had already passed seven-tenths, and they would fish for another two hours later.

He took out a cigarette and handed one over, while Qin Dahe lit one for himself and took a deep drag.

"Awei, do you think selling this ship is a good business opportunity?"

"Yes, Uncle Li would definitely be interested. It would be great if the village could have some lone wolves who go online, so everyone could make money."

The fishing pier in Shachong is located on an inland river, and the time to enter and exit is quite long. Everyone concentrates on casting their nets near the estuary, so they don't earn much money. They mainly rely on fishing boats to go to the open sea to make money.

With the modular boat, wouldn't it be great to just drive a tricycle out and set nets? The surrounding beaches all belong to their village, and they can even claim some of the public waters.

"Okay, go back and talk to Uncle Li. If you can get it done, I'll have it produced as soon as I get back, and I'll send it to you next year," Qin Dahe said with a smile.

Actually, it's not appropriate for a machining factory to manufacture it, as they lack the necessary qualifications.

If nothing goes wrong, all is well; but if something does go wrong, the punishment can be severe. Qin Dahe still prefers to find a shipyard to cooperate with, or directly sell the design patent and blueprints, and let his own fishing gear company act as an agent for sales in the mainland.

Shipbuilding is not like building fishing gear; if something goes wrong, at most you'll get a bad review.

Whether it's freshwater or seawater, there are all sorts of accidents that can happen once you go on the water; it would be a terrible sin if someone were to drown due to a leak.

Dahe Fishing Gear does not have the qualifications to build small boats, nor would it apply for separate qualifications for a niche consumer product like a lure boat.

He's not running a small workshop; Fuji has already called back, indicating that they'll discuss a joint venture in November, and everything needs to be formalized.

After finishing their cigarettes, the two rallied and continued working. A big mackerel was quite a treat, and who knew, there might be more.

Awei had just cast his line when a fish came in; he'd only let out 20 meters before it arrived.

"Bulk shipment?" he asked as he laid out the cable.

Awei uses a lure fishing rod, which can bend a two-pound sea fish very sharply.

"A bit bigger, probably no more than five pounds." Awei chuckled and turned on the drag at three kilograms to reel in the line.

You can't let the fish run around freely, nor can you force it. Even though it's a No. 2 braided line, it can still cut.

The main reason is that he is reluctant to replace the cord. Every time he finishes using it, he goes back to soak it in water to remove the salt and then continues to use it. Over time, this causes many hidden damages.

Fish have also arrived at Qin Dahe. The fish activity in the coral reef area is quite vigorous. We're going to make a fortune today.

Fifty dollars?

Damn, I'll bring all the dried squid with me tomorrow. It's just money, after all.

The thought of being able to stand up for himself when he got home made him feel incredibly relieved.

"It's a tiger grouper again."

"Looks like it weighs over two pounds, it can sell for three or four hundred," Awei said sourly. This one was wild, and he was extremely envious.

(End of this chapter)