Jiang Hai now only drinks two types of beer: Corona and Bud Light.
Both are light and barely bitter, making them easy to drink. When paired with lemon juice, they taste almost like a cocktail—but with the fizz of a carbonated alcoholic beverage. It's not the same as pineapple beer; it tastes much better and still packs a decent punch.
At the very least, it's not any weaker than regular beer. Most standard beers have a concentration of about 9% to 11%, but these beers exceed 11%. Even if only by a few tenths of a percent, it still means their alcohol content isn't any less than typical beers.
And in many ways, they're better. Of course, that's subjective.
If Jiang Hai were to drink it with people from his father's generation, they'd likely frown and say, "How can this taste good? It's like drinking water—no kick at all."
Jiang Hai had no argument for that. Just like Edward Anderson and Robbins Garcia—they weren't fans either. They preferred Cowboy Song's home-brewed barley beer. Bell Lester, however, loved it.
After trying it once, Jiang Hai stocked up on light beer at home. Compared to China, the variety available in the U.S. is staggering. You can buy beer from almost any country here.
Even with access to famed German and Chinese brews, Jiang Hai still prefers these two.
As he and Fu Yuan sang and drank, Huang Yunfei and Xu Wei came over, opened a couple of bottles, took a sip—and nodded in agreement. It was refreshing and light, with barely any taste of alcohol.
Then they added some lemon juice. Instantly, their eyes lit up—it was delicious.
Seeing Huang Yunfei's expression, Lu Jiao came over, curious, and took a sip as well. She quickly found she liked it too.
Unlike Huang Yunfei and Jiang Hai, though, she just cradled a single bottle in her hands, taking small sips. After all, she was still a woman.
"This is boring—just sitting around drinking and watching the sky. Let's do some fishing and then have lunch," Jiang Hai said after finishing his bottle, turning to his friends with a smile.
Everyone was immediately interested. After all, it would be a shame to come all the way here and not fish.
They went into the cabin and took out three fishing rods—exactly enough for the three guests. Jiang Hai had planned ahead and left them there specifically for this kind of occasion. He handed each person a rod, attached some fake bait he had purchased after his last night fishing session, and they got started.
"Jiang Hai, aren't you going to fish?" Lu Jiao asked, noticing that Jiang Hai was standing off to the side while the others were already casting lines under Fu Yuan's guidance. Fu Yuan was the only one among them with any real sea-fishing experience—thanks to Jiang Hai, no less. Still, he looked like he'd really gotten the hang of it.
Lu Jiao frowned slightly. In her eyes, it seemed unfair that the three men had taken Jiang Hai's rods and left him standing in the sun.
"I am fishing," Jiang Hai said with a grin as he sorted through his fishing line.
"But… how can you fish without a rod? Yunfei, give yours back to Jiang Hai," she said, puzzled, turning to Huang Yunfei.
But Huang Yunfei, thoroughly enjoying himself, was reluctant to give up the rod.
"No need," Jiang Hai said. "Let them use the rods. I'll catch more fish without one."
Everyone paused, blinking at him.
"Bragging much?" Huang Yunfei laughed. "Go on then—catch something without a rod."
Jiang Hai shot him a look of disdain, then calmly took a piece of fake bait, attached it to a line, tied on several colorful streamers, and tossed the line into the sea.
"Just because you haven't seen it doesn't mean it can't be done. Today, I'll open your eyes."
His friends glanced at each other, unsure whether to laugh or be concerned. Was Jiang Hai serious?
Xu Wei was about to crack a joke when suddenly Jiang Hai began reeling in the line.
"What the… he actually caught something!" Xu Wei gasped.
The others rushed over and watched as Jiang Hai pulled the line in. Sure enough, a fish jumped out of the water near the end of the line.
"No way! Seriously? What is this? Is the sea biased or something?" Xu Wei shouted.
Jiang Hai calmly reeled in the fish, and when the line was fully retrieved, a palm-sized fish dangled from the hook, wriggling.
"What kind of fish is that?" Fu Yuan asked.
"It's a baby tuna," Jiang Hai said. "No good for eating—it's mainly used as bait."
This was the technique Jiang Hai had picked up in the Caribbean, taught by a local girl. No rod needed—just a line, a hook, and some brightly colored ribbons.
Compared to this, using a fishing rod seemed primitive.
Of course, professionals still use rods—only rods can catch the bigger fish. This method is mainly good for reeling in small, aggressive carnivores. Smart, cautious big fish? Not so much.
Still, Fu Yuan and the others were stunned. They watched as Jiang Hai unhooked the flopping tuna and tossed it into a nearby tank.
Then he cast his line again.
Less than a minute later, another tuna bit.
This area was still within Jiang Hai's private waters—rich with spiritual energy, which made the local algae grow excessively well. That in turn attracted schools of fish.
Many migratory species that passed through ended up staying permanently, including the tuna. Other oceanic fish that drifted in often never left. This abundance was one reason Jiang Hai never worried about feeding the fourteen dolphins—or his newest companion, Roger the giant squid.
As for predators that might follow these fish, like sharks? Not a chance. Against Roger, the massive sand tiger shark, and the dolphins, they didn't stand a chance.
Just imagine the kind of haul Jiang Hai could get once he started large-scale fishing. It was almost scary to think about.
Though tunas are normally temperate and tropical fish, there were plenty of them here.
In just half an hour, Jiang Hai had caught over twenty small tunas. Huang Yunfei and the others, after watching in awe for a while, finally got bored and wanted to try their luck.
But this kind of fishing required some skill. With their mediocre abilities, it wasn't easy.
In that half-hour, only Fu Yuan managed to catch anything—a tiny sea bass, barely ten centimeters long.
Still, Fu Yuan was so thrilled that he took a photo with it… only to fumble and let it flop back into the sea.
"Alright, that's enough," Jiang Hai said as he reeled in another small tuna.
"What? Done already? Didn't you say they weren't even good for eating?" Huang Yunfei asked, disappointed.
"I meant these little ones are enough—for bait. You guys go ahead and fish for fun. I'm going to get us something we can actually eat."
With that, Jiang Hai reeled in his line, removed the fake bait, picked out one of the tunas, and—with a few deft cuts of his tactical dagger—cleaned it, trimmed the fins, and made several incisions along its body.
He hooked it onto the line and cast it back out into the sea.
Now came the real wait. This time, he was aiming for something much bigger—and far trickier to catch.
Huang Yunfei and the others watched for a while, curious, but seeing no movement from Jiang Hai's end, they lost interest and turned back to their own rods.
Just as they began to chat again, Jiang Hai made a sudden move.
He was reeling in the line—fast.
Everyone turned to watch.
At first, they couldn't see what was on the hook. But when it got close—three or four meters from the deck—a long, slender fish, nearly a meter in length, appeared, thrashing at the end of the line.
"A fish! A big one!" Lu Jiao shouted, excited.
Jiang Hai signaled to them, then yanked the line with force, lifting the fish onto the deck.
It flopped violently, trying to leap back into the sea—but even as it struggled, its mouth remained tightly shut.
(To be continued.)