Chapter 325: Chapter 218: Asking for Large Yellow Croaker Fishing Spots

"Holy shit, you’ve got this all planned out for me, haven’t you!" An Jun laughed good-naturedly.

Since he’d brought the items over, he was obviously prepared to share.

The large yellow croakers he bought had been specially selected, each weighing a little over a pound, so the price he’d paid this morning was not low.

He had bought twenty of them for over 30,000 yuan.

With just a few words, Gu Nan had laid claim to six thousand yuan worth of fish.

But Gu Nan wasn’t going to let An Jun take a loss. He pulled him over to the cold storage, pointed at the remaining tuna on the floor, and said, "Your cured dishes use tuna, right? This albacore is pretty good. Take one back with you when you leave."

"Perfect, perfect. I was just about to run out of that ingredient, so this will be a great restock." An Jun beamed, not expecting to get a free tuna today.

"I’ll have lunch here. Your place is spacious, so it’s a good chance to break down the fish first."

As he spoke, he chose a smaller one, not the hundred-plus-pound beast.

Gu Nan wasn’t surprised and helped him carry the fish out.

"This fish has been frozen for two days. Let me help you put it in a bucket of ice water to age."

"Sure. A small fish like this should be ready after a morning. I’ll head back to take care of some things and come over again at noon."

An Jun nodded and got to work with him, chopping off the fish’s head and tail before placing the body into a large styrofoam box.

The ice plant delivered sea ice, so they just had to cover the fish’s body with it and add some water.

Once that was done, An Jun left two of the large yellow croakers for their lunch and took the rest with him.

He had a busy morning ahead, with fish to deliver.

Gu Nan couldn’t figure out why An Jun had suddenly bought these. To him, large yellow croakers were like an IQ tax—completely unnecessary to purchase.

In reality, small yellow croakers were delicious and not necessarily inferior to their larger counterparts.

But since they were already bought and couldn’t be returned, he would be "kind" enough to help eat two of them.

Now that the fishing season was open, Gu Nan thought he might as well take a trip to the waters where large yellow croakers were found when he had time.

Large yellow croakers were mainly found along the domestic coast, and his small boat could reach their habitats.

After all, the pricing for these things was insane. The price leaped with every hundred grams, and those over a pound could fetch anywhere from 1,200 to 1,500 yuan. The prices had been hyped to an absurd degree.

The Mid-Autumn Festival was just around the corner. If he had the chance, Gu Nan naturally wanted to stock up on a batch. He could make a huge profit then.

So, he pulled out his phone and sent a message to Wang Junhe.

"Brother Wang, do you know any good spots for large yellow croaker?"

Gu Nan knew the general areas where large yellow croakers appeared, but who knew if Wang Junhe and Guo Xiao had their own special, secret spots? If they did, his fishing trip would be far more efficient.

"I do have some. You’re going to fish for those?" Wang Junhe replied quickly.

Gu Nan: "Yeah. The Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays are connected this year. I’m thinking of trying to catch a batch of large yellow croakers before the holiday to store and sell later. If you tell me the spots, Brother Wang, I’ll give you a few when I’m done."

Wang Junhe: "No problem. No need to give me any. Just give me priority if you catch any particularly large ones. Even better if you can get one as big as that one from the last competition."

"I’m not that interested in the regular-sized ones. I’ll just find a chance to go fishing with you for some."

Gu Nan: "Great, it’s a deal then. I’ll get your surprise ready in the next few days, and then I’ll go fish for the large yellow croakers."

After a few more messages, Wang Junhe sent over the coordinates for three specific fishing spots, then went back to his work, adding that he was looking forward to the surprise.

Gu Nan put away his phone with a small smile. ’Anglers really can’t go it alone.’ If he hadn’t asked, he’d just be wandering blindly and would have had no guarantee of stocking up on large yellow croakers before the Mid-Autumn Festival.

"Did you get the fishing spots?" Yi Chen asked, seeing him put his phone away.

"Yeah. Want to come with me when the time comes?"

"Of course I have to! I’ll be in charge of two electric reel rods. We’ll catch a ton."

Hearing her mention electric reel rods reminded Gu Nan to take this opportunity to complete the Seven-Star Rock mission. Not only could he draw a trial card, but he could also upgrade his blue fishing rod to a gold one.

He might even get another one or two real-world Marine Product Selection Cards.

Of course, this time he wouldn’t choose large yellow croaker; he would choose bluefin tuna.

He still owed a lot of money on that large fishing boat. A bluefin tuna could potentially sell for over a million, which would undoubtedly relieve a lot of the pressure.

Time passed quickly, and soon it was ten-thirty. It was time to prepare lunch.

Because An Jun had given his parents two large yellow croakers, Gu Nan didn’t invite them over to eat.

There was no rush for his grandmother’s side; he could send some over for her to try after he caught them himself.

After all, An Jun had bought the fish, and they had agreed to eat them together. It wouldn’t be right to take one to give to his own elders.

"Ah Nan, are we just going to have the large yellow croaker Steamed?" Yi Chen asked, having already started the rice cooker.

Gu Nan nodded. "Yeah. Not steaming it would feel like a disservice to the money Ah Jun spent. You can start on the other dishes; I’ll go prep the fish."

With that, he picked up the two large yellow croakers and began to prepare them.

’At almost 1,500 yuan a pound, I can’t even bear to scrape these scales off for Ah Jun,’ he thought.

He then took a pair of scissors and cut open the fish’s belly. The swim bladder of a fish just over a pound wasn’t very large. He couldn’t be bothered to dry it, so he decided to just steam it along with the fish.

The fish maw was good stuff, too; it had to be saved.

After finishing one, he started on the other. When he cut this one open, Gu Nan was pleasantly surprised. This one had roe. Excellent.

Once he was done preparing both fish, he handed them to Yi Chen.

She took the fish, pondered for a moment, and then had a new idea.

"Ah Nan, what do you think about saving one for a soup? It seems a bit pointless to cook both fish the same way. A fish over a pound isn’t too small; one Steamed one should be enough."

Gu Nan thought about it and agreed. They weren’t eating it for sustenance, just savoring the taste, so having another flavor profile would naturally be better. He quickly went out and bought a block of tofu and some seafood mushrooms.

A short while later, Ye Jing and An Jun arrived at the shop together.

Seeing the two fish being prepared in two different ways, both men nodded in satisfaction.

"Why didn’t you guys bring your girlfriends?"

Ye Jing: "She’s busy."

An Jun: "Next time."

"Tsk..." Gu Nan saw right through them but didn’t call them out on it. ’These two sneaky bastards, hogging all the good food for themselves. I’ll have to find a chance to mention this to their girlfriends.’

Lunch was ready soon. Gu Nan first served a large piece of fish to Yi Chen, then took another large piece for himself. Just like that, a quarter of the Steamed large yellow croaker was gone.

"Holy shit!" An Jun was dumbfounded. ’Just like that, over four hundred yuan worth of fish is gone?’ He snapped out of it and quickly lunged for a piece.

Ye Jing, too, lost his usual composure, his chopsticks moving in a blur. With the meager income from his pet shop, when would he ever get to eat authentic wild large yellow croaker if someone wasn’t treating him?

To be honest, seeing Gu Nan’s high income, he was starting to feel the urge to change careers.

He felt like running a pet shop had no real future; he’d be stuck like this for the rest of his life.

His girlfriend had been with him for so many years, and he wanted to give her a lavish wedding and a future free from worrying about daily expenses. A single pet shop could hardly make that happen.

(Well, at least eating the large yellow croaker made him think of his girlfriend.)

But changing careers was a big decision that needed careful consideration and discussion with others. So, for now, Ye Jing just kept fighting for his share of the fish and didn’t voice his thoughts.

Gu Nan’s chopsticks were wickedly fast. While making sure Yi Chen got enough, he didn’t neglect himself. If the others didn’t fight for it, there’d be no large yellow croaker left for them.

He wasn’t sure if it was just psychological, but he felt he had to retract his earlier thought that small yellow croakers were just as good as the large ones.

This expensive stuff tasted like it had a deliciousness buff cast on it. The flavor was exquisitely fresh and savory.

Small yellow croaker?

What the hell was that?

"BURP! I’m so full. It’s been a long time since I’ve eaten this well!" Ten minutes later, An Jun satisfyingly slurped down the last of the fish soup and put down his bowl and chopsticks.

"Yeah, food always tastes better when you have to fight for it!" Ye Jing said, also patting his full stomach contentedly. "Speaking of which, it’s been a while since I’ve had your girl’s cooking. Yi Chen, your culinary skills have leveled up!"

"You bet!" Before Yi Chen could be modest, Gu Nan started showing off. "That’s something your girls can’t do."

"Everyone has their own strengths. I just happen to enjoy cooking, so I’ve studied it a bit more," Yi Chen said humbly, shooting her man an eye-roll.

"See, Yi Chen knows how to talk. My girl may only have average cooking skills, but she knows foreign languages. That’s her strength," An Jun said with a raised eyebrow.

Gu Nan’s and Ye Jing’s expressions immediately turned awkward. That was indeed something their girlfriends couldn’t compare to.

Yi Chen, however, didn’t think much of it. She just wondered if she should learn something new in the future, since her education level was her weak point.

After a short break, the three men cleaned up the bowls and chopsticks together.

Actually, it was Gu Nan who roped the other two into helping. His girlfriend had already cooked for them; did they really expect her to clean up after them too?

Not a chance!

Originally, Gu Nan had planned to take the day off and spend the evening getting cozy with Yi Chen.

But then, Aunt Flo came to visit.

So, after they finished watching a new movie together, he had no choice but to take his girlfriend home and return alone.

Lying in bed, unable to sleep, and knowing he wouldn’t be able to "eat meat" for over a week, the energetic Gu Nan decided to find an outlet for his pent-up energy.

So he got up, got dressed, and drove to the docks in the middle of the night to head out to sea. He was going to grind for that golden rod.

Lately, some of the vloggers hadn’t been coming by to buy seafood, mainly because the shop had no new stock. The Bering Sea had so many good things; it was time to start getting them into the store.

There was nowhere to buy chum this late at night, so Gu Nan made a special trip to the old shop and took all the fish guts his parents had saved.

He never used to save that stuff himself, but his parents made a point of keeping it, mainly because some anglers would come by to buy it as chum.

A large bucket of it didn’t sell for much, but his parents’ generation was used to being frugal. To them, any money was worth earning.

Besides, back when he first opened his shop, he didn’t have many fish guts. But now, he had tons!

Thankfully, Gu Nan had driven the pickup truck today. He could put the large bucket of fish guts in the truck bed without stinking up the cab.

He got on his fishing boat, tidied up a bit, and set off.

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