Financial freedom begins with fishing

Chapter 22: Another Link

"No wonder it's so strong! It's not surprising if it's a military fish!" Xiao Peng said excitedly.

"Yes, the mandarin fish is known for its great strength. It's not surprising that such a giant mandarin fish can exert two or three times the strength of other fish of the same size."

Everyone nodded in agreement with this viewpoint.

At this moment, Xiao Kai also realized what was happening and couldn't help but nod.

After all, it's normal for such a large fish to have such strength.

Moreover, this shows that there was a reason why he hadn't spoken for so long.

Besides the unexpected problem with the fishing line setup, it should also have a significant connection to this fish.

As is well known, the mandarin fish is an omnivorous fish, but it also has some characteristics of predatory fish.

With it in the nest, even if other small fish are gathered by the Golden Finger, they probably won't dare to enter the nest and will only dare to circle around it.

As for why the mandarin fish didn't take the bait for a long time, he couldn't guess that.

Anyway, the fish was finally caught.

"Xiao Kai, you can handle the rest yourself!"

As the giant mandarin fish was being pulled out of the water, Xiao Peng prepared to return the fishing rod to Xiao Kai.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Kai shook his head.

"Peng, you should do it!"

He was afraid the fish was faking it. If it suddenly attacked, he wouldn't mind falling into the water, since he was wearing a life jacket, there were people all around, and the weather was nice.

But if he accidentally gets caught on an obstacle and runs off the line, even if he breaks his thigh, it won't help.

To be on the safe side, it would be better to let Xiao Peng, who is more experienced, do it.

Moreover, even if Xiao Peng really did manage to get the fish away, he would feel better about it.

After all, given his relationship with Xiao Peng, it wouldn't be so bad that a fish would affect their relationship.

As for the others, including Yu Qiqiang, who had been asking to play the fish, they all stopped mentioning it after seeing the fish's true form.

After all, if it were accidentally lost, it wouldn't be such a simple matter.

Even if Xiao Kai is generous, if a fish worth tens of thousands of yuan gets away, it will have a significant impact on the relationship between the group and their mood, leading to an unpleasant ending.

This is still Xiao Kai; if it were someone more petty, it would definitely cause some unnecessary disputes.

Soon, with Xiao Peng's more careful handling, after a struggle of more than ten minutes, the giant war fish was finally dragged to the shore.

Seeing this, Xiao Kai immediately grabbed a net and went over.

Then, he carefully scooped the net towards the fish's head.

With a whoosh, the giant warfish, worth tens of thousands of dollars, was finally successfully brought ashore.

"Quick, quick, how can we not take pictures of such a huge mandarin fish?"

Xiao Peng, who doesn't usually like taking photos, immediately changed his expression the moment Xiao Kai lifted the fish ashore. He grinned so wide he almost twisted his mouth, and kept asking Xiao Kai to take a picture of him and the giant war fish.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Kai was somewhat tempted and immediately agreed with a smile.

"That makes sense!"

"Me too! Me too!"

"Haha, me too!"

Everyone responded enthusiastically.

They wouldn't dare to handle such an expensive fish, but they would be very willing to take photos.

After all, everyone has their moments of pride. Such a large mandarin fish—you might as well miss this opportunity!

Xiao Kai naturally did not object to this, but considering the risk of releasing the fish while taking photos by the water, at Xiao Peng's suggestion, the group carried the giant military fish to the open space of the camp.

After taking a few joyful photos, everyone returned to their fishing spots with satisfied expressions, including Xiao Kai.

With the twelve or thirteen-pound fish placed in the fish basket by Xiao Kai, this thrilling battle between man and fish finally came to an end.

Considering that big fish are not so easy to encounter, Xiao Kai switched back to his previous 4+2 line setup in the following period.

As it turned out, his decision was correct.

Not long after the line setup was changed, his float started moving again.

Soon, he successfully pulled a large crucian carp weighing over a pound ashore.

This once again proves that his previous guess was correct. The giant mandarin fish that was caught in the net did indeed affect his catch while it was in the water, to the point that he did not catch any fish for a long time.

For the next hour or so, until nightfall, Xiao Kai returned to the linkage position.

They caught quite a few fish in a row.

He caught a variety of fish, including large crucian carp, mandarin fish, red-tailed fish, and even smaller bream.

However, most of them are not very big. The largest mandarin fish is only a little over a pound, while the mandarin fish are similar to the others, with normal-sized individuals weighing two or three pounds.

In addition, he also caught a large carp weighing seven or eight pounds.

This time, he fulfilled Yu Qiqiang's and the others' wish to catch the fish, which was a perfect ending to their previous failure to catch the giant mandarin fish.

Everyone could only envy Xiao Kai's good fortune.

After all, these achievements were made in front of everyone, so there's no way there could be any foul play involved.

Before we knew it, it was getting dark.

Seeing this, Zhou Jianjun suggested that they go back to the camp to rest first, get some dinner, and then come back to fish.

No one objected to this.

Before leaving, Xiao Kai secured his fish basket to the shore and tied the outlet with a rope.

This is to avoid unexpected situations.

After all, there was a fish in that fish basket that was worth as much as he was worth.

In addition, he took out two small fish weighing two or three pounds each from the fish basket to prepare for dinner.

Xiao Kai had long heard that the fish was delicious, but he had never tasted it, not even the farmed kind.

Now that he had the chance, he naturally wanted to give it a try.

Moreover, since I caught so many, it's only right that I share them with everyone.

"Haha, we're in for a treat tonight!"

When everyone saw Xiao Kai return to the camp carrying two military fish, they naturally guessed what he was thinking and immediately began to celebrate.

We are all ordinary people, and most of us have never eaten wild mandarin fish that can cost hundreds of yuan per kilogram. Even if we have, we wouldn't mind trying it again.

"Brother Xiao, how would you like to eat this fish? Steamed or braised?"

Old Mo was in charge of cooking. He cooks a lot at home, so he volunteered to cook dinner tonight.

Seeing that Xiao Kai had brought out the fish, he asked how to cook it.

Upon hearing this, before Xiao Kai could speak, a different voice came from the side.

"Steaming and braising are so boring, this kind of fish should be eaten raw!"

It turned out that Zhou Jianjun had overheard their conversation and spoke without thinking.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Kai looked puzzled.

Seeing this, Zhou Jianjun explained:

"As the king of freshwater fish, the mandarin fish has very high requirements for water quality. Therefore, it generally grows in waters with very good water quality. Its flesh is tender and has almost no fishy smell, so it is considered by many people who like to eat raw fish to be one of the most suitable freshwater fish species for making raw fish."

"Oh? Is that so? Then let's make one sashimi and the other steamed!"

Hearing Zhou Jianjun say this, Xiao Kai became interested and thought for a moment before replying.

"Okay, but this sashimi requires quite a few ingredients, right? Our facilities here are basic, so I doubt we have enough side dishes?"

Lao Mo naturally had no objection to Xiao Kai's decision, but he did express his concerns.

Zhou Jianjun smiled and said:

"Don't be afraid, Lao Mo. I have a refrigerator in my car. Just tell me what you want and I'll go get it and see if I can find it."

Besides, it doesn't matter if there's nothing at all; what matters is the original flavor!

"right!"

Xiao Kai nodded upon hearing this, and the others echoed his sentiments.