Wang Rui, thirty-two, was a middle manager at a major internet company. His project was canceled, and he was laid off. He sent out twelve resumes and got no replies. He had 64,000 yuan in savings, and still had no idea how he would pay next month's rent.
He dragged his suitcase back to his seaside hometown. The old house stood empty, and dust covered his father's portrait. Just when he had nothing left, he found a rusty ancient bronze fishhook in an old wooden chest in the attic, along with a yellowed note: "When the fog rises, head out to sea."
On the night of the full moon, fifteen days into the lunar month, dense fog blanketed the sea. He cautiously took his father's old fishing boat out on the water. A golden light burst from his net, and the boat transmigrated through time, arriving in a blue-green sea: the waters off Dengzhou during the Zhenguan era of the Tang dynasty.
In the unpolluted waters, once-extinct premium purple abalone was everywhere, and wild yellow croaker weighing over ten pounds swam in schools. He hauled in net after net of riches that did not belong to this era, brought them back to the modern world, and sold them to high-end Japanese restaurants and private clubs.
Starting with two hairtail for 3,000 yuan, he registered Mistbound Seafood and established a trade route between two worlds. In the Tang dynasty, he partnered with Su Sanlang, a shrewd merchant fallen on hard times, and earned the nickname "Immortal Guest of Penglai" by trading ice and refined salt. He used glassware and high-proof liquor to gain an audience with the Duwei of the Qinghe Cui clan, becoming a favored guest of Dengzhou's officials and merchants. He took on a major military supply contract for the court's campaign against Goguryeo, and gladly accepted a tribute merchant's token from Chang'an's inner court
