Chapter 207: 182 Chapter 207: 182 Chu Mingcheng then chose a Moyou Fish that weighed about three pounds, which was the smallest one among all the Moyou Fish.

The taste of Moyou Fish is said to surpass even the top-tier cod and mackerel, especially when fried or deep-fried.

When encountering a fish he had not eaten before, his first choice was always to steam it so that he could fully appreciate the fish’s natural flavor.

But since frying was said to be more suitable for Moyou, he decided to prepare it in two ways for lunch.

He started by killing the fish. First, he went to the cockpit door and, wielding the scaling tool, he scraped a large section of scales off the Moyou Fish with ease.

The fish scales were surprisingly easy to scrape off and were not hard at all.

After he finished scaling the fish, he didn’t even need to clean it– the rain washed the scales away.

Then he grabbed scissors to cut open the fish and remove the innards. Once again, he discovered a pleasant surprise.

The belly of the fish was very thick, almost comparable to that of a grouper.

However, this Moyou Fish was slightly too small, which meant that the belly was not large enough and regretfully had to be discarded. If it had been larger, the belly could have been kept for eating.

The Moyou Fish was long, but its belly was quite short.

Chu Mingcheng first cut off the head and then, using the belly as a boundary, chopped the fish into two sections.

The section with the belly was sliced from the back into two halves for steaming. The remaining section was cut into chunks for frying.

After cooking the fish, Chu Mingcheng wanted to continue with the shrimp, but Chen Yang stopped him, suggesting they save it for dinner.

Since that was the case, they would just make do for lunch!

Seated on the sofa with their rice bowls, the three of them began to eat, listening to the pitter-patter of the rain.

Chu Mingcheng first tasted the fried fish and found the surface crispy while the inside was tender and smooth, making it very flavorful and indeed better than mackerel.

He then took a bite of the steamed fish and understood why frying or deep-frying was said to be the best method.

The taste of the steamed Moyou Fish was also good; the flesh was slightly sweet and fresh, only the texture was not as good– a bit rough, lacking the excellence of fried fish.

The preference of Zhang Wei and Chen Yang for the fried fish over the steamed version was telling.

After finishing their meals and cleaning up, the rain showed no signs of stopping.

Chu Mingcheng decided to wait until two o’clock and if the rain was still heavy by then, they would head back early.

However, at one in the afternoon, the situation did not unfold as he had hoped.

Not only had the rain not lessened, but the previously bearable wind also started to pick up in strength.

The boat rocked continuously with the waves, making Chen Yang feel uncomfortable, so he went to lie down in the bedroom.

Chu Mingcheng opened the door of the cockpit to take a look and a gust of sea wind made him shiver, making it feel as if the temperature had dropped significantly.

Wasn’t it said that the temperature would drop in a couple of days? It seemed like it had already started to drop today.

It was really impossible to fish now, so Chu Mingcheng could only retrieve the anchor and return.

The catch for the day was actually decent; just the Moyou Fish alone could sell for over fifteen thousand, and the Golden Stone Clams plus three groupers could fetch twenty-five thousand without a doubt.

Unfortunately, the morning’s labor resulted in a catch only worth about as much as ten minutes of hunting a large Golden Spearfish in the Far Sea.

The wind and waves had intensified greatly, so Chu Mingcheng chose not to set an autopilot course but to steer the boat manually.

Heading against the waves caused the boat to rise and fall continuously. After half an hour, Zhang Wei could no longer stand it and went to lie flat in the bedroom as well.

Perhaps because he was steering the boat, Chu Mingcheng was not affected.

But just a short while after Zhang Wei went inside, he suddenly rushed out again, followed by Chen Yang.

“Ah Cheng, Ah Cheng, look to the left side quickly. There seems to be something on the sea surface over there.”

“What’s that?” Chu Mingcheng looked puzzledly to the left, but through the window, he couldn’t spot anything.

Still, he steered the boat towards that direction but took a wide berth to avoid parallel motion with the waves.

As they drew closer, the three on the boat finally noticed a small creature tumbling continuously in the sea.

Of course, it wasn’t tumbling of its own volition–it was being tossed head over heels by the waves.

The small creature had a slender body, and it was a little sea lion.

Its small size immediately suggested it was a juvenile, probably just starting to fend for itself.

Even though the little sea lion was a strong swimmer and could dive for extended periods,
it was, after all, a mammal that needed to surface for air.

It couldn’t fight against the force of the waves with its small body, and its energy was nearing its limit.

It now resembled a drowning person, its head occasionally submerged in seawater, then desperately struggling to resurface.

Chu Mingcheng quickly steered the boat over, while Chen Yang and Zhang Wei donned raincoats and went to the rear deck to open the small door.

The little sea lion seemed to know that the boat was there to rescue it, or perhaps it was the instinct to survive that made it grasp at any opportunity.

It showed no fear and dived into the water directly.

When it surfaced again, it was right beside the boat.

Zhang Wei picked up the net to guide it up through the rear door.

Chen Yang held on to the boat’s gunwale with one hand and Zhang Wei with the other to ensure safety.

After a short while, the little sea lion was guided to the back and then it jumped aboard.

Seeing this, Zhang Wei quickly tossed aside the net and then closed the small door.

Seeing them return to the cockpit without their raincoats, Chu Mingcheng asked, “Did you get it on board?”

“Isn’t this it?” Zhang Wei stepped aside to reveal the little sea lion poking its head around the doorway.

The little sea lion appeared to sense the crew’s goodwill–or perhaps because it was naive–showed no fear of them and followed them inside, leaving the floor wet.