The entire ocean is my fishing ground.

Chapter 7 This is outrageous! We must buy a boat!

The excitement of becoming rich overnight turned into a sense of security the next morning.

Today's information has been updated (4/4)

[Intelligence 1 (Resource Category): Near Reef No. 2 in the nearshore area, at a depth of 3 meters, a group of small fish, mainly mudskippers and sardines, is gathering, numbering approximately 50 kilograms.]

[Intelligence 2 (Resource): In the deep-water reef area east of the village, there is a nest of about twenty plump, high-quality sea urchins. However, the current in this area is quite strong, and the round trip takes about three hours.]

[Intelligence 3 (Opportunity): A street-front stall in the town's seafood market is being offered for sale at a low price. The stall owner is asking for only 70% of the market value due to a family emergency.]

[Intelligence 4 (Treasure): At the foot of Dongshan Mountain outside the village, there are several old oyster shells over thirty years old on the seabed. They may contain pearls, but the probability is less than 10%.]

The four pieces of intelligence weren't entirely useless, but they weren't exactly a pleasant surprise either.

Miscellaneous fish are worthless; even after spending a lot of effort to catch them, you can't sell them for more than a few hundred yuan, so the profit is too low.

Although the sea urchins are reasonably priced, the location is too far, requiring a three-hour round trip, which is too time-consuming.

As for the seafood market stalls, Lin Chen only wants to directly connect with restaurants and take a high-end approach; he has no intention of setting up a stall for retail himself.

The probability of those old clam shells opening into a pearl is about 10%, which is similar to the probability of winning a lottery ticket.

"Looks like the system doesn't give out the top prize every day, huh..."

Lin Chen used to be a purchasing manager in Shenzhen. He had to look at hundreds of supplier information every day, but only about one-tenth of them were actually useful.

The fact that the system can provide information every day is already incredible. Expecting it to feed you big yellow croakers and king abalones every day is not a cheat code, it's a pipe dream.

There's no good fishing spot today, so I can take this opportunity to tidy up my fishing gear.

Lin Chen took out his father's old fishing net, which had been used for more than ten years, from the storage room and spread it out in the yard.

The fishing nets, constantly submerged in seawater and scraped by rocks, have several large holes in them.

He found a roll of thick nylon thread and a shuttle for mending nets, sat on a small stool, and patiently began mending.

He learned this skill from his father when he was a child.

Back then, every time my father returned from a sea voyage, he would sit under the banyan tree in the yard, mending nets while telling him stories of the sea.

Lin Chen learned very quickly, and by the time he was thirteen or fourteen, the knots he could mend were almost as good as his father's.

But after moving to the city, I rarely thought about these childhood skills and memories anymore.

"Squeak—"

The courtyard gate was pushed open, and the father, Lin Jianguo, returned from outside, carrying an empty fish basket in his hand, his face not looking too good.

Instead of washing his fishing gear as usual, he took out his pipe, filled it with tobacco, and lit it.

Lin Chen sensed something was wrong, put down what he was doing, and went over.

"Dad, what's wrong? Was the harvest bad today?"

Lin Jianguo smoked half a pipe of cigarettes, his eyes filled with suppressed anger and helplessness, and then he sighed.

"Is... Zhang Meng causing trouble at the docks again?"

Lin Chen's heart sank.

Lin Jianguo did not answer directly, but instead emptied his cigarette ash and recounted what had happened at the dock that morning.

It turns out that early this morning, when he was unloading cargo at the dock, Zhang Meng, along with two thugs, blocked the bow of his ship.

Zhang Meng didn't make a move; he just spoke in a sarcastic tone.

"Old Lin, I heard your son's struck it rich lately? Abalone king croaker and big yellow croaker, must have made a fortune!"

"Such great skills, it's such a waste for one person to work alone. How about this, from now on, your son should sell all his fish through me. I won't treat you unfairly, I'll give you a good price, how about that?"

He patted Lin Jianguo on the shoulder, his hand conveying a sense of pressure.

"It's my son's decision to make."

Lin Jianguo replied.

"Hehe, no rush, no rush."

Zhang Meng looked Lin Jianguo's dilapidated little fishing boat up and down.

"Old Lin, you're a smart man. You should know who's in charge here in Huangni Village. Go back and have a good talk with your capable son. I'll be waiting for your good news."

After saying that, he led his men away in a swagger.

After listening quietly to his father finish speaking, Lin Chen felt the anger that had just subsided suddenly flare up again.

He was testing his sales channels and warning him that he should either hand them over or face even harsher measures.

This isn't just about collecting dock fees; it's about directly taking away the supply channels he's worked so hard to build.

Lin Chen forced himself to calm down; getting angry wouldn't solve the problem.

"Damn it, these bastards."

The voice of Liu Guilan, the mother, came from inside the house.

She had clearly overheard the father and son's conversation, and rushed out of the kitchen with red eyes.

"Chenchen, you absolutely must not confront them head-on."

"Zhang Meng is not someone to be trifled with. His older sister's husband, Zhao Defa, is also a prominent figure in the village and knows many people. We ordinary folks can't fight city hall, so we shouldn't suffer any losses."

Lin Chen remembered Zhao Defa.

The village's small contractors, relying on connections, take on odd jobs like road repair and house construction, supporting a group of people and wielding considerable influence in the village.

Zhang Meng's arrogance is largely due to his brother-in-law's support.

"Mom, don't worry."

"I know what I'm doing. I won't confront him directly, but I won't just let it go like this either."

He knew that his parents wouldn't understand if he tried to explain what channel value or business competition was.

The only thing he could do was to take action to solve this problem and stop his parents from worrying about him.

He sat back down on the small stool and continued mending the tattered fishing net.

After dinner, Lin Chen returned to his room.

Instead of reading or playing on his phone as usual, he sat on the edge of the bed and thought for a long time.

Zhang Meng served as a wake-up call for him.

His weakness is obvious: efficiency.

Whether he went to the Fishermen's Song Restaurant or the Seafood House in the city, he could only get there by a broken three-wheeled motorcycle.

From the village to the town, and then to the city, a round trip takes three or four hours.

His outdated transportation methods limited both his shipment volume and his range of activities.

More importantly, he didn't have a boat.

Without a boat, he could only fish and dive in the rocky areas near the shore, which limited his fishing range.

The more valuable resources in the distant seas mentioned in the system's intelligence reports were completely out of his reach.

Without a boat, he had to pass through docks or beaches every time he went out to sea, and he couldn't escape the eyes of Zhang Meng and his men, so he was always in a passive position.

An idea popped into his head.

He needs a boat of his own.

With a boat, he could go to more distant seas and find schools of fish of higher value.

He could transport the catch directly from the sea to the town or even the city, completely bypassing the troubles in Huangni Village and rendering Zhang Meng's blockade ineffective.

Shipments can also increase exponentially, no longer limited by a few foam boxes and plastic buckets.

He immediately opened his mobile browser and typed "second-hand fishing boat prices" into the search box.

A large amount of information immediately popped up on the webpage.

"【For Sale】8-meter fiberglass speedboat, 90% new, Yamaha outboard motor, powerful engine, asking price 35,000."

"【Urgent Sale】10-meter wooden fishing boat with a simple refrigerated compartment, all documents complete, asking price 6."

"【Boat Owner Trades】12-meter steel-hulled trawler, in good condition, engine had a major overhaul last month, 5-ton deadweight, asking price 12.8, negotiable."

Lin Chen gained a general understanding of the market situation for fishing boats.

Fiberglass boats used for short trips in coastal waters cost between 30,000 and 50,000 yuan.

Steel-hulled fishing boats, which are around 12 meters long and capable of operating in the open sea, can cost anywhere from 80,000 to 150,000 yuan.

He glanced at his bank account balance: 14770 yuan.

We're still a long way from buying a decent boat.

Based on his earning speed over the past few days, barring any unforeseen circumstances, his average daily net income is around two thousand yuan.

If there are a few more high-value catches like catching large yellow croakers in the future, this number will be even higher.

He only needs to work hard for another two weeks to get the speedboat that costs 35,000.

If it's a steel-hulled fishing boat worth 100,000 yuan, it will probably take more than a month.

More than a month.

Lin Chen wrote a line in his notebook:

My medium-term goal is to buy my own boat.