Chen Mo had been to Qu County before. There's a river there that's a tributary of the Yellow River, but since Qu County is at a high altitude with flat terrain, the river becomes calmer when it reaches Qu Shui. The river is named Qu Shui, which is how the county town got its name.

Every year after winter sets in, Qu Shui freezes over with thick ice, solid as can be, and it won't completely melt until May of the following year.

Some joke that Qu County has only two seasons a year: winter and spring. Even in summer, the highest temperatures don't exceed twenty-five degrees, truly a summer retreat.

Thus, there's an interesting situation at play here.

Current regulations state that fishing is prohibited on the Yellow River from early April to the end of July, but Qu Shui doesn't melt until May. Additionally, Qu County has built a large reservoir, which means this river falls outside the fishing ban!

So every year after the ice breaks, locals start fishing in a legal and compliant manner, and at this time, the fish are at their most valuable.

There's a saying that carp hibernate after the water freezes in winter, staying still throughout the season, purifying their organs, clearing their skin, and storing nutrients.

When caught after the river opens, the changes resulting from hibernation enhance the carp's meat quality, making it more succulent and pristine, giving the fish an unprecedented freshness in flavor.

This Yellow River Carp flowing into Qu Shui, combined with the river's characteristics, is basically invaluable with a market price of fifty yuan per jin.

This type of fish, with a large mouth, few scales, and a distinctive red line along its back, often sells for two to three hundred yuan per jin in upscale restaurants.

How does Chen Mo know this? He once followed Jiang Fei to Qu Shui for a project inspection when the client treated them... At that time, a three-jin river fish was served, and the client praised the fish extravagantly, leaving a strong impression on Chen Mo.

If this was really a river fish, no wonder it's worth a lot. If the fish die midway, the driver would certainly bear some responsibility. It's no wonder the uncle is wailing; he probably won't earn even a tenth of the transport fee himself.

"But regulations are regulations, and our staff can't do anything. Uncle, we're just saying, is there any other way to remedy the situation?" The policeman's perspective on the problem differed from the uncle's.

Given the circumstances, we could only think of ways to mitigate the situation. Even if it couldn't be fully remedied, reducing the loss was at least something.

Moreover, it wasn't the staff's fault. The little girl earns three or four thousand a month, and her superiors instructed her to do this. She had no choice.

"Remedy?" The uncle was still emotional but seemed utterly desolate. "It's beyond remedy now... Fixing the freezer is too late."

In the June noon sun, the heat was unforgiving, and the temperature inside the vehicle quickly rose.

Upon hearing this, Chen Mo also felt that there wasn't much that could be done.

Having insurance would have been good. In a situation like this, the insurance company might cover part of the loss. But looking at the old uncle, he didn't seem to have insurance.

A person, ah, fears impulsiveness.

Chen Mo sighed helplessly. If the old uncle had taken a step back then and parked the vehicle by the roadside first, at least the temperature inside the vehicle would have remained low. Then, having the freezer repaired after exiting the toll station might have remedied the situation.

But now, it's too late to say anything.

The old uncle was hanging onto the toll station, hoping to see if he could get some benefits to cover his loss. Anyway, Chen Mo thought it was unlikely.

"Uncle, now that things have come to this, don't be down." Chen Mo wanted to offer him a cigarette but didn't have any, so he said, "How about I buy a fish from you first? The market price is fifty, I'll pay sixty."

The uncle looked at Chen Mo in bewilderment, feeling like he was being teased, and turned away, ignoring him.

Seeing a fishing net stuck between the head and the compartment, Chen Mo, preparing to find a place to park and eat after exiting the toll station, thought adding a fish to the lunch wouldn't be bad!

He climbed up the ladder on the side of the compartment, scooped randomly with the fishing net, and pulled out a lively fish.

A bystander opened his trunk, "I've got a scale!"

"Why do you carry a scale?" Chen Mo didn't understand.

The guy chuckled, "I carry a scale with me; whenever I buy something, I reweigh it. With so many unscrupulous vendors, I don't want to be cheated."

Such a clever guy.

This type of scale is the kind with a hook, held by hand. Chen Mo took a plastic bag from his car, put the fish in, and hooked it!

"Alright, a two-jin Yellow River Carp. I'll give you one hundred and twenty."

The car was filled with money, yes, Merit Money. Otherwise, Chen Mo wouldn't have had cash.

The old uncle looked bemusedly at the one hundred and twenty yuan Chen Mo stuffed into his hand, seemingly feeling a glimmer of hope.

The policeman next to him felt quick-witted, "Yes, strength in numbers! We can mobilize the community; if everyone buys a fish, wouldn't that solve the uncle's problem?"

The guy with the scale laughed, "Officer, I'd buy one out of sympathy, but your plan is unlikely. Fish must be eaten fresh; buying it at this highway exit would mean it's dead by the time we get home. Who would pay such a high price for a dead fish?"

The hope that had just been rekindled in the old uncle quickly withered again.

Indeed, there are about a thousand jin of fish here, at least five or six hundred fish, and each would sell for around one hundred. Where to find so many good people and benefactors?

Saying there's strength in numbers, isn't this just charity?

The policeman knew this was wishful thinking, so he sighed heavily, at a loss for what to do.

After paying, Chen Mo had no further connection to this matter.

Many things in this world are like this; it's hard to say who's right or wrong.

Was the old uncle wrong? He just wanted to go through the green channel first and then complete the paperwork.

Was the young lady wrong? Her superiors ordered her to do so. If she didn't comply, would she pay the toll herself?

This kind of situation is often summed up as being the fault of the world!

It didn't matter. Chen Mo carried the two-jin Yellow River Carp, drove out of the queue, and parked the car at a corner of the toll station, a spot that wouldn't obstruct traffic and was in the shade.

He then left the driver's seat and got into the dining car.

"I don't know how to prepare fish either?"

"System, is there an automatic fish processor?"

[...]

[Can demonstrate the detailed steps of fish preparation for you, would you like to learn?]

"Well, learning from books alone is not enough; to truly understand something, you have to do it yourself. Shall we learn, then? It's always good to acquire more skills."

In his mind, the steps for preparing fish began to play automatically. Meanwhile, Chen Mo chopped off a bit of the fish tail fin and tossed it into the inlet.

[It has been detected that your ingredient is authentic wild Yellow River Carp. The best method for preparing this ingredient has been analyzed for you.]

"Let's see what this is."

[Recipe: Yellow River Carp]

Chen Mo: ???

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