Chapter 301 - 201: Sailing Back to Sell Fish
Chapter 301: Chapter 201: Sailing Back to Sell Fish
He tossed the hooked bait into the water. As soon as the injured parrotfish hit the surface, it immediately thrashed its tail and sped away with the hook.
Gu Nan loosened the drag, letting the fish pull the line out.
However, he kept a little bit of tension on the line. Grouper were slow swimmers, and he couldn’t let the bait run too fast, lest it escape the grouper’s hunting range and get snatched by another fish.
Catching the grouper was the most important thing right now. Any other fish, no matter how valuable, would have to wait.
Estimating the length of line he’d let out, Gu Nan slowly increased the drag, keeping the darting parrotfish in place as he waited for the Giant Grouper to take the bait.
Not even thirty seconds later, the fishing rod suddenly bent sharply, almost forming an inverted U-shape.
Gu Nan was already prepared. Even though the force was immense, he remained firmly braced against the side of the boat, and with a sharp lift of the rod, he successfully set the hook.
Seeing the fish was on, Guo Xiao, who was beside him, quickly grabbed the rod to help lift it.
After the hook was set, the pained Giant Grouper went into a frenzy, yanking the rod down in an instant. Gu Nan wasn’t strong enough to hold it on his own.
Thankfully, with Guo Xiao’s help, he could lean his whole body back to resist the enormous force.
This wasn’t the first time Gu Nan had fished for this Giant Grouper; he had plenty of experience.
Wang Junhe didn’t come to help right away. Their container, who knows how it was made, was even equipped with a water pump, and he started pumping seawater directly from the ocean’s surface.
Only after the container was nearly full of seawater did he come over to help. With the three of them working together, reeling in the Giant Grouper became a bit easier.
All in all, it only took half an hour to completely tire the fish out and pull it to the surface.
Wang Junhe quickly went to bring the speedboat alongside the fishing boat, while Guo Xiao used the crane to hoist the fish up.
The massive Giant Grouper was hoisted into the air. It was a good deal larger than the seven-band grouper Gu Nan had caught before.
But that made sense. Seven-band groupers normally topped out at around 1.6 meters.
Of course, some could get a bit bigger, but Gu Nan had never heard of one exceeding two meters.
The Giant Grouper was different. In theory, it could grow up to 2.7 meters, much larger than the blue-bodied Large-spot Grouper he had sold to Sea King.
The visual impact was immense. Forget calling it a calf; this damn thing was a full-grown bull.
Fortunately, the container they had prepared was large enough. After placing the fish inside, it still had plenty of room to move, and they even had an oxygenator for it.
That made sense. After going to such lengths, it would be a joke if the fish died from lack of oxygen on the way.
"Ah Nan, have Brother Wang and the others arrived? The food is read... huh? Brother Wang, Brother Guo, we were just talking about you!" Yi Chen, finished with her work in the galley, came out and quickly greeted Wang Junhe and Guo Xiao upon seeing them.
She knew the two of them looked out for Gu Nan, and they had also gone on a sea trip together before, so she was quite friendly toward them.
Guo Xiao smiled and nodded, saying, "We just got here not long ago, less than an hour."
"But what a coincidence, you finished making dinner right as we caught the fish. I hear from Ah Nan all the time how your cooking is good enough to rival a professional chef’s. Looks like Old Wang and I are in for a treat tonight."
Yi Chen was a little embarrassed. "I’m not that good. I’m still a long way from a professional chef, it’s just some home cooking."
"Speaking of which, you’ve caught the fish already? So fast?"
At the mention of the fish, she came to the side of the boat, full of curiosity, and craned her neck to get a look.
The deck of the fishing boat was higher than the speedboat’s, but the container was large and not transparent, so she couldn’t see a thing, even when Wang Junhe deliberately brought the speedboat closer to help.
Seeing this, Gu Nan chuckled. "If you want to see it, you can go up to the flybridge. The deck isn’t high enough."
Yi Chen shook her head at his words. "Forget it, I’ll just see it at the club later! Brother Wang, hurry up and dock the boat so you can come up for dinner!"
"Alright, be right there!" Wang Junhe replied with a cheerful laugh, then slowly maneuvered the speedboat to the stern of the fishing boat.
After the men came aboard, the group went to the galley.
Seeing the table laden with all sorts of dishes that looked and smelled amazing, Wang Junhe and Guo Xiao bombarded Yi Chen with praise, making her blush with a bit of embarrassment.
This made the two men feel a bit wistful. Their own wives used to be like this—though perhaps their cooking wasn’t quite as good, they were gentle and considerate, and doted on them in every way.
Unfortunately, at some unknown point, that had completely changed. Their wives were still good wives, but that delicate, demure charm had vanished, never to return.
After dinner, Wang Junhe and Guo Xiao didn’t stay on the boat overnight. Instead, they took the speedboat and headed back that very night.
Even though the container had an oxygen supply, they were still worried something unexpected might happen.
They wouldn’t be able to rest easy until the fish was safely in the club’s room-sized aquarium.
The living habits of the blue-bodied Large-spot Grouper were similar to those of the Giant Grouper. Both preferred to be active in the shallow waters near coral, reefs, or isolated rocky islands.
Therefore, if the aquarium could support a blue-bodied Large-spot Grouper, it could support a Giant Grouper as well.
That evening, Gu Nan and Yi Chen continued to fish for a few more hours, but they didn’t stay out too late, calling it a night and going to bed around ten.
Tonight, he just quietly held his girlfriend and slept. After diving in the afternoon and then preparing such a huge spread for dinner, Gu Nan knew how to dote on his wife-to-be.
Having gone to bed early, he was still up by three in the morning. The return trip would take fourteen hours, and if they didn’t leave early, it would be dark by the time they got home. Then he would still have to sell the crabs and whatnot, and who knew how late he’d be busy.
He hauled up all the shrimp pots, crab pots, and ground cages, and the deck was instantly piled high.
He had no time to sort through it all. He just covered the catch with a sunshade cloth and placed some ice around it to keep it as cool as possible before quickly starting the boat and heading back.
He couldn’t worry about how many of the swimming crabs would survive the trip back. They would all have to be sold off cheap; at most, he could keep a few to sell at the old shop.
When Yi Chen woke up, the fishing boat was already halfway home. She didn’t stay idle, either, going to sort through the shrimp and crabs from the pots.
She also added some ice to the swimming crabs that were on the verge of death to chill them beforehand. ’Even if these chilled crabs could only be sold cheaply for about twenty yuan, it’s still money. We can’t just let them go bad!’
By the time they returned to the dock, the sky had already grown dark. Gu Dacheng and Zhao Suying had closed up the shop early and were waiting for them at the pier.
The buyers from Junhao Hotel were there too. They wanted to buy some line-caught fish from Gu Nan—both deep-sea and shallow-water varieties—but they had mainly come because they heard he had wild, live blue-tailed shrimp, which was a truly rare item.
They had also wanted to buy some swimming crabs, but after a full day, most of the ones on Gu Nan’s boat had died, so they had to pass.
Their hotel focused on high-end dining, so dead crabs weren’t suitable, even if they had just died and were still fresh.
Green crabs would go bad before they were even fully dead, but swimming crabs were much better in that regard.
Back at the dock, Yi Chen hurried to greet Gu Dacheng and Zhao Suying when she saw them.
Old Gu nodded with a chuckle, while Mrs. Gu was much more affectionate. After boarding the boat, she didn’t even look at the catch, instead taking her future daughter-in-law’s hand and showering her with caring words.
Gu Nan paid no mind to his mother, who seemed to have forgotten her son now that she had a daughter-in-law. He got busy with his dad right away. There was too much to sort through, and they had to sell off the buyers’ orders first.
He had already sorted the fish Yi Chen had caught, and he made sure to sell hers first.
After all, Junhao Hotel’s purchase price wasn’t low, and they were buying in large quantities.
At the same time, Gu Nan also called over a fishmonger and sold him all the swimming crabs and other cheaper seafood that he couldn’t be bothered to sell at the shop.
Zhao Suying soon brought Yi Chen along to help sort the catch. The two elders had been running the seafood shop for several days now, and with their previous experience working at the wet market back home, they were quite adept at the task.
Even so, by the time the buyers and the fishmonger had loaded up and left, it was already past ten at night. The remaining catch would be taken to the shop to be sold.
Zhao Suying spent the evening tallying everything up, getting a clear account of the catch sold tonight and what was being taken to the shop to sell gradually.
"Son, Chenchen’s share sold for a total of over sixty-three thousand five hundred. Yours was twenty-six thousand, and the swimming crabs sold for a total of twenty-six thousand seven hundred. You two can split this money yourselves. Your dad will take the rest of the catch back to the shop in a bit. I’ve already tallied the types and quantities, and I’ve noted down all the prices."
"It’s just this grouper... how are you planning to sell it?"
Gu Nan explained, "The grouper is already spoken for, but I need to get it tested for ciguatoxin first. Dad, you and Mom take the car and go home to rest. I’ll drive the pickup to the shop and take the fish for testing tomorrow."
Gu Dacheng glanced at his future daughter-in-law. "Since someone’s going to the shop anyway, your mom and I will take the stuff back. Chenchen hasn’t been home in a few days, and her grandmother will worry. You should take Chenchen home first."
Hearing this, Yi Chen quickly said, "It’s no trouble for me! Uncle, Auntie, you two have to wake up early tomorrow. We should be the ones to do this!"
As she spoke, she tugged on Gu Nan’s clothes, and he naturally understood what she meant.
But before he could say anything, Zhao Suying put on her matriarchal air and shooed them away.
Seeing this, Gu Nan could only shrug and drive Yi Chen home in the car first.
As for the fishing boat, the club was already closed, so he could just return it tomorrow.
He had rented it from Angler’s Life anyway, and they wouldn’t charge him extra for being a little late.
"Chenchen, the kitchen at the new shop is ready. I have a rather special fish coming in tomorrow. You should come show off your cooking skills. We can pick up your grandma and my parents and have them all over for lunch."
Yi Chen naturally had no objections and agreed at once.
But after mentioning her grandmother, Gu Nan thought for a moment and added, "Your grandma’s getting old. What if I just pick her up for meals from now on? What do you think?"
"Grandma probably wouldn’t agree." Yi Chen was tempted by the idea, but she shook her head, thinking of how her grandmother disliked troubling the younger generation.
In fact, after she and Gu Nan had settled their engagement, Yi Linfei had wanted to have his mother move in with them to make it easier to care for her. Unfortunately, Zhao Chunlan refused, on the grounds that she was still spry and didn’t want to be a burden.
She wouldn’t agree no matter what they said, so the matter was dropped.
"That’s simple. From now on, we can just eat at your place. If I’m not at the shop, I can have my dad look after it. And when you have time, you should go get your driver’s license. It’ll be more convenient to get around by car."