Chapter 10. Upgrade

     When the number of tourists on the island increased dramatically, Li Yaolin was waiting for someone at the high-speed rail station in the city center, 30 kilometers away.

     She arrived a little early, and the train had not arrived yet, so she hid in the ticket office, enjoying the air conditioning while reading the notification just sent by the APP:

 

    【Sea Fishing Ground (Level 1)】

   Popularity: 101/100 (upgradeable)

   Pollution Index: 40 (Level 4 Pollution)

   Operation Cost: 1,000 yuan/day

 

    【 White Beach (Level 1)】

   Popularity: 115/100 (upgradeable)

   Pollution Index: 40 (Level 4 Pollution)

   Operation Cost: 2,000 yuan/day

 

     Li Yaolin never thought that the popularity of the sea fishing ground had always surpassed the white beach thanks to those anglers who were not afraid of wind and rain.

     As a result, when the Dragon Boat Festival holiday came, the white beach welcomed wave after wave of group tourists in the form of families, and its popularity rose and even surpassed it.

 

   【Sea Fishing Ground (Level 1) has met the upgrade conditions, do you want to upgrade? 】

 

   【White Beach (Level 1) has met the upgrade conditions, do you want to upgrade? 】

 

     Upgrade, of course you have to upgrade!

     The advantage of upgrading is that it does not cost money, and the pollution index continues to decrease. However, after the upgrade, the operating cost doubled, and Li Yaolin, who was penniless, almost crushed the old phone in his hand.

 

     【Sea Fishing Ground (Level 2)】

   Popularity: 101/1000

   Pollution Index: 20 (Level 2 Pollution)

   Operation Cost: 2000 yuan/day

 

     【White Beach (Level 2)】

   Popularity: 115/1000

   Pollution Index: 20 (Level 2 Pollution)

   Operation Cost: 4000 yuan/day

 

     Hearing the broadcast that a train was entering the station, Li Yaolin put away her mobile phone and came to the exit.

     Soon, passengers came out of the passage sparsely, and after a few minutes, more and more passengers came out.

     In the crowd, Li Yaolin saw her classmates at a glance.

     Lin Qitong wore a knitted straw hat and a pair of big sunglasses on her nose, which made her face and features small and delicate. She wore light makeup, but her lips were painted red.

     She wore a one-shoulder silk top, a beige long skirt, and a pair of low-heeled sandals.

     She pulled the suitcase with her left hand and carried a handbag on her right arm, which contained cosmetics, mobile phones, power banks, and a bottle of mineral water, making the handbag bulge.

     Lin Qitong was about to call Li Yaolin, when the latter stood behind the fence and waved to her: “Qitong!”

     “Long time no see!” After the two met, Lin Qitong gave Li Yaolin a big hug.

     Li Yaolin smiled and said, “You came all the way here, are you tired? Let’s go back to the hotel and rest for a while!”

     “I am a little tired, it’s too far here.” Lin Qitong stretched, not quite understanding why Li Yaolin came all the way here.

     Li Yaolin just smiled and didn’t explain. She first called an online taxi to take Lin Qitong to a chain hotel not far from Baoren Port Pier. She had already booked a room, so Lin Qitong didn’t need to worry about it.

     After Lin Qitong rested, she took Lin Qitong to the fishing village for a seafood feast… Well, she was entertaining her classmates, not for herself!

     Braised prawns, stir-fried crabs, pepper and salt shrimp, scallop lobster porridge, and steamed grouper were served one after another. Lin Qitong’s occupational disease broke out. After the seafood was served, she took a lot of photos of them and asked Li Yaolin to help her record the video.

     Li Yaolin had no complaints and helped her record a few short videos.

     Don’t think that it seems that the order is a bit too much, in fact, the portion is just enough for two people. There is no menu for eating here. Diners need to choose seafood by themselves, and then let the store process it and serve it on the table.

     Of course, there is also a situation of short weight after processing, it depends on whether the guests will care.

     Lin Qitong was so full that she packed up the salt and pepper shrimp and lobster porridge she hadn’t finished eating to take back for afternoon tea.

     After she had eaten and drunk her fill, she began to care about her work: “Where should I shoot? Does your company have any requirements?”

     Li Yaolin said: “Just shoot it as it really is. The boat for noon today is gone. The next boat will be at 4 pm. Let’s go and take a look later. You can start shooting tomorrow.”

     At around 4 pm, Li Yaolin and the fully armed Lin Qitong boarded the Xingzhou Island.

     At this time, there were very few people on the island, but there were still dozens of tourists on the island, and they were having a great time at the beach.

     “Not bad!” Lin Qitong looked around. She thought it was an undeveloped deserted island, but she didn’t expect that the gate was built quite well.

     She took out her mobile phone and took a few short videos from different angles as materials.

     Li Yaolin didn’t disturb her and served as a foil throughout the whole process. The two soon arrived at the white sandy beach. At first glance, Lin Qitong was so fascinated that she forgot to take pictures and record short videos. She took off her shoes and ran to the beach.

     “It’s so beautiful, just like a filter!” Lin Qitong exclaimed.

     She has shot many food videos and visited many tourist attractions. She knows that many promotional photos of tourist attractions will add some filters, and the real scene is far less beautiful.

     Some seascapes are shot from high and far away. The sea surface is indeed azure, but the waves hitting the beach are not so clean.

     Some people say that it is not necessary to be so harsh, but compared with the seascapes in Southeast Asia and Malaysia, you can see a clear difference.

     She has been to Redang Island and was captured by the sea there.

     At present, the sea water and beach of this island are not as good as Redang Island, but she thinks the future is promising!

     Not to mention Lin Qitong, even Li Yaolin herself was shocked by the beautiful scenery in front of her and wondered if she had gone to the wrong island.

     This must be an optimization after the scenic spot was upgraded, but she didn’t expect that the beach and sea water under level 2 pollution would be as clear and blue as Dominican blue amber. I dare not imagine how beautiful this place would be under level 1 pollution or no pollution!

     At this moment, the sea surface is relatively calm, and the waves hitting the shore are not big. The sea and the beach look very calm. The sea water slowly spreads on the beach and then quietly seeps down. Going further into the sea, the waves are sparkling, and the shells and crabs under the water are like amber stones dusted in transparent flowing pine resin, like a work of art.

     Li Yaolin grabbed some fine sand with her toes, and it quickly flowed away under the scouring of the sea water.

     It looks good, right? It was bought with money.

     Li Yaolin thought very inappropriately.

     Looking at the five-digit balance, she calculated that this money would be enough for a few days.

     Fortunately, the number of tourists “243/300” gave her hope.

     Lin Qitong had come back from a tour, and she enthusiastically shared her experience with Li Yaolin: “The sea view here is really very good, but you can see that it has not been developed yet. There are not only no pavilions or parasols to shade the sun, but also no resort hotels. Oh, although there are many vegetation on the island, it doesn’t have that tropical feeling, you know?”

     Li Yaolin glanced at the island mountain and nodded: “I understand.”

     There is no development there, and she has no idea of planting more trees or putting some animals in there to make it an animal paradise for the time being.

     It was almost time to sail, and there were not many tourists on the beach. There were only some anglers who were going to stay overnight at the sea fishing field. Li Yaolin and Lin Qitong also walked back.

     At six o’clock, several anglers hurried over with equipment and buckets and caught the last boat.

     “How is the fish situation?” The crew member Lao Du asked the familiar anglers.

     Among these anglers was Lao Li. Lao Li said with a smile: “Today’s catch is better than the previous few days. Look, what is this!”

     Lao Du looked into the bucket and suddenly widened his eyes: “Big yellow croaker?!”

     Lao Li was very pleased, and the other anglers also had envious expressions. One of the anglers was so jealous that his facial features were distorted.

     These days, the anglers who were fishing with him had caught a lot of fish, but he was the only one who didn’t catch a single fish! He had a small harvest in the first two days of sea fishing here, but since he didn’t listen to the advice of the girl who claimed to be a staff member that day, he had nothing.

     It’s really weird!

     Wild big yellow croaker is an endangered species. It was once sold at a high price of 20,000 yuan per catty. Even if more farmed big yellow croakers entered the market later, the price of wild big yellow croakers was still over a thousand per catty.

     The wild big yellow croaker that Lao Li caught looked only two catties, but he could make a small profit of two thousand yuan if he sold it.

     Not to mention the anglers who understand the value of yellow croaker, even the tourists on the same boat cast envious eyes at him.

     Gao Zhenhai and Lin Qiang, who met Li Yaolin on the ferry, looked at her and hesitated to speak. Finally, Lin Qiang whispered to her: “After this news spreads, it will definitely attract fishermen to catch it in large quantities.”

     Where yellow croakers appear basically has a population, so fishermen can often catch a whole family of yellow croakers in one net. Lao Li caught a yellow croaker, and he only saw a few thousand yuan, while the fishermen saw hundreds of thousands or millions. Such a high rate of return is worth their risk.

     Li Yaolin understood Gao Zhenhai and Lin Qiang’s hesitation to speak. They probably wanted to ask her if she would feel heartbroken if her resources were taken away.

     After all, she has been developing the island until now, and she has not charged admission tickets; secondly, anglers can take away any valuable fish they catch openly, and she is the only one who loses.

     Li Yaolin: “…”

     Don’t ask, even if you ask, she also wants to change her career to catch yellow croakers!

     Poverty made her want to take risks.

     When Lao Li went ashore, many fishmongers who heard the news had surrounded him. One of them offered 700 yuan per catty, and the other offered 1,000 yuan directly. It was like an auction, and the bids were higher and higher. Finally, a rich man jumped out from the tourists and offered 1,800 yuan per catty. 

      This wild yellow croaker was naturally taken by the rich man. The tourists around were so shocked that they forgot to go to dinner, and they all shared the interesting stories they saw with their family and friends in the group.

     After having dinner with Lin Qitong and sending people back to the chain hotel safely, Li Yaolin returned to her rented house.

     Lin Qitong couldn’t wait to share the photos she took today on WeChat Moments. She asked Li Yaolin if she could share these photos before the promotional video was released, and the answer she got was naturally affirmative.

     She has many friends and good relationships. After only half an hour of posting on WeChat Moments, she already had more than 50 likes and more than 30 comments. One of her classmates left a message saying, “The place you went to looks familiar. I remember Li Yaolin also posted similar photos.” 

     She replied, “This place was recommended by her!” 

     “Is it fun?”

      “Of course…” 

     Just as Lin Qitong was chatting with her friends, Li Yaolin was not idle. She opened the APP and found that there were indeed fishing boats illegally invading the east of Xingzhou Island.

      On the map, the icon of a small red boat crossed the boundary of the sea area owned by Xingzhou Island and slowly approached Xingzhou Island. There was a very eye-catching warning sign next to it. 

     These fishing boats may not be here for the yellow croaker. After all, someone caught the yellow croaker tonight, and public opinion fermented for at least three days, so this fishing boat is likely to come for the red grouper. 

     Unfortunately, Li Yaolin cannot control the fish catch and fish species of the anglers. 

     Suddenly, she had an idea and tried to create a new planning area, enclosing the entire sea area within her rights and setting it as a no-fishing zone.

     You can fish, but you can’t catch fish.

     She was a little nervous, after all, she was not sure whether the planning of a non-attraction and non-infrastructure project would be successful.

     The next second, the APP popped up a reminder:

 

     【Do you want to spend 0 yuan to establish a no-fishing zone? 】