Chapter 313: Chapter 208: Let’s Livestream Some Sea Fishing

Although his cousin’s arrival was unexpected, seeing her gutting fish at the entrance gave Gu Nan an idea of what was going on. He knew about his older cousin’s daughter.

Sure enough, after entering the shop, he learned some details from his mother.

His cousin Gu Xin’s younger daughter had leukemia. But she was lucky; after waiting for over two years, they found a successful bone marrow match, and the transplant was a success.

However, the whole ordeal cost over a million yuan. Her husband’s family was just an ordinary one, so they naturally had to borrow money from everywhere to pay for their daughter’s treatment.

Leukemia is covered by medical insurance, but the reimbursement amount varies depending on the circumstances. Her daughter was only in the first grade, and her insurance was the type paid for collectively by the village, so it didn’t cover much. As a result, they were over a million yuan in debt to others.

Zhao Suying and Gu Dacheng had lent them 100,000 yuan, something Gu Nan hadn’t known.

"Son, your cousin’s husband is from a remote area with low wages, so she came back here to find a job, hoping to earn more."

"But your cousin never even finished high school, so what kind of job can she find? That’s why your dad and I were thinking, since we need someone to gut fish here, why not let your cousin do it?" Zhao Suying suggested, seeking his opinion.

The shop belonged to Gu Nan, so she and Gu Dacheng hadn’t made the decision on their own.

Gu Xin had been job hunting today and, hearing that her uncle’s shop was here, had simply come over to take a look. She didn’t know they were looking for someone to gut fish; she just saw how busy the shop was and pitched in.

"Gutting fish is a dirty job. Is my cousin willing to do it?" Gu Nan recalled that this cousin used to be quite concerned with her appearance.

Before her child was diagnosed with leukemia, their family’s situation wasn’t great, but they were living a decent life.

The couple had no sons, just two daughters, so there wasn’t much financial pressure. She stayed home to take care of the kids, and her husband, a designer, earned 8,000 yuan a month.

It’s just that they lived in a small town. If they were in Bazhou City, his salary would probably be around 10,000 or even 12,000 yuan.

Of course, the cost of living was different in the two places as well.

Gu Xin had come here to find a job precisely so she could save every penny to earn more and pay back their debts.

Thankfully, they were daughters. When they got married in the future, the dowry could be just a token gesture, and they could let the young couple live their own lives.

If she had a son, she’d probably be even more worried.

"If you two think it’s okay, then I have no problem with it. We’re relatives, after all, and our family gets along well enough with my uncle’s side. Let’s offer her a salary of 5,000 a month, with lunch and dinner included. We can give her a bigger red envelope at the end of the year," Gu Nan decided after some thought.

"Mom, talk to her privately later. If she’s willing, she can stay. If not, that’s fine too. But if she tries to slack off, we can’t just put up with it. We’ll have to fire her if it comes to that. I don’t care about our reputation; at worst, we’ll just be one relative short."

A peck of rice is a favor, a bushel is a feud. Gu Nan hadn’t seen his older cousin in years and didn’t know what her personality was like now.

It was best to get the unpleasantries out of the way with his parents in private first, to prevent them from feeling wronged later because they wanted to help a relative.

Of course, Gu Nan didn’t really think his cousin, burdened with so much debt, would be anything less than diligent.

Zhao Suying nodded and then offered her own suggestion, "Five thousand feels a bit high. It’s just gutting fish. You and your dad do all the heavy lifting and moving stock. Your cousin’s a woman; she won’t have the strength for that. How about 4,500? After all, it includes two meals a day. If she’s hardworking, we can give her a bigger red envelope at the end of the year, or even a raise next year?"

"You and Dad can talk it over and decide. I’m going to take a few fish and visit Chenchen’s grandmother tonight." Gu Nan had no objection to her suggestion.

He might have been a bit of a bleeding heart back in college, but after a few years in the working world, those sentiments had vanished. He’d even become a little selfish.

But that was normal. Society, to put it bluntly, was all about transactions of mutual benefit. It was only with Ye Jing and An Jun, whom he’d grown up with, that things were much better.

His relationships with Wang Junhe and Guo Xiao, at least, could never be that pure.

But they were all adults. As long as they got along, some things were better left unsaid.

Carrying two deep-sea scorpionfish, Gu Nan said a quick goodbye to his cousin, left the old shop, and went to the new one.

It was about one in the afternoon. He hadn’t told Yi Chen he would be back at noon, so when he arrived at the new shop, he found the door closed.

Seeing this, he figured Yi Chen had probably gone home. Since he had to deliver the fish anyway, he decided to just drive directly to her house.

But before that, he made a quick stop at his own home to shower and then went out to grab a bite to eat.

By the time he got to Yi Chen’s house, it was already two in the afternoon. He carried the fish to the door, knocked, and called out, "Grandma, are you home?"

"Is that you, Ah Nan? Come in, quick. Chenchen’s home too," Zhao Chunlan replied from inside.

Gu Nan pushed the door open and went inside, finding the grandmother sitting on a recliner in the corner of the living room, enjoying the fan. She was holding Gulu in her lap.

"Grandma, I went sea fishing last night and caught two deep-sea scorpionfish. The meat is very tender. I’ll clean them in a bit, and you can make soup or steam them for dinner tonight," Gu Nan said, holding up the fish in his hand.

"You silly boy, you shouldn’t always be bringing fish over. It’s too much trouble. An old woman like me can’t eat that much," the old lady said, feigning complaint, but the smile on her face was exceptionally kind.

"What trouble? I caught them myself, so they were free. Besides, you have a fridge. If you can’t eat both, just have one tonight and the other tomorrow."

"Your granddaughter’s future husband sells seafood. If you still have to buy your own fish in the future, wouldn’t that be a slap in my face?"

As Gu Nan was saying this and about to head to the kitchen to gut the fish, he heard a sound from the stairs. The next moment, Yi Chen came running down, THUMP THUMP THUMP, clearly having heard his voice.

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