I Can Fish Up Everything!

The three of them bustled about, nearly filling the two large plastic containers An Jun had brought. A pile of empty seasoning bottles sat nearby.

The only thing left was the Australian crystal crab. Even a small one weighed nearly three and a half pounds. Putting it in whole would take up too much space, and it wouldn’t absorb the flavor with such a short marinating time.

"If we’re eating it tonight, we should probably chop it up. Otherwise, it won’t be flavorful enough," Yi Chen said, picking up the crystal crab.

She was the best cook of the three and had been watching a lot of videos about raw-marinated seafood since coming to the shop, so she knew her stuff.

Gu Nan did a little shrug. "I have no objections. My job is just to eat."

An Jun followed his lead. "You’re the expert, you call the shots!"

Yi Chen rolled her eyes at them and took the crystal crab away to be prepared.

Once everything was ready, the containers were sealed and wrapped in a layer of plastic wrap. Gu Nan placed the two boxes of raw-marinated seafood into the freezer.

They didn’t have a blast chiller, so the regular freezer would have to do. He’d freeze it for an hour, then take it out. By the time it thawed, it would probably be time for dinner.

Gu Nan had rarely eaten this raw-marinated stuff. The only time was back in college when he’d ordered some as takeout for his ex-girlfriend. Just three items had cost him over two hundred yuan, and he’d barely had a few bites himself. The only word on his mind was ’expensive.’

After more than an hour in the freezer, he took the two containers out. A layer of ice had formed around the edges of the sauce inside. With the air conditioning on in the shop, it would thaw out slowly.

The two large boxes contained a considerable amount of food, so Yi Chen also cooked some rice and made a dish of stir-fried pork with peppers.

She even specially brewed a cup of black tea for herself. Her period was due in a few days, and she didn’t want eating this to give her stomach cramps.

"Is it about ready? Can we try it?" An Jun had paced back and forth, checking on it countless times. He couldn’t wait any longer. Seeing that it had completely thawed and the container no longer felt as cold, he eagerly opened the lid.

"Actually, another hour or two would be best. The flavor might be a little weak like this. But it’s not a big deal. If it’s bland, we can just dip it in the sauce," Yi Chen said, checking the time. It was already past five o’clock.

It was dinnertime, so they decided to dig in. No one wanted to wait any longer.

Gu Nan picked up his chopsticks and went straight for the squid. It was pre-cooked, which made it more approachable.

Coated in sauce, its body gleamed with an amber, oily sheen.

A single bite released a burst of juice—savory, fragrant, numbing, and spicy. It was quite chewy.

But just as Yi Chen had said, the marinating time was a tad too short. The meat itself wasn’t deeply flavored; the deliciousness came mainly from the sauce.

Seeing him start, the other two couldn’t resist and began to dig in as well.

Yi Chen picked up a piece of king salmon belly. The two containers had different flavors; hers was sweet and sour, which suited her tastes perfectly, making her eyes instinctively narrow in pleasure.

An Jun, meanwhile, grabbed a Spotted Prawn Shrimp. The back of the shell had already been cut open. With a simple poke of his chopsticks, he easily pulled out the meat, which had already separated from the shell, and stuffed it into his mouth in one go.

The Spotted Prawn Shrimp was so large that his mouthful was only a quarter of it. An incredibly rich flavor exploded in his mouth, causing An Jun’s eyes to widen in surprise.

"MMM-MMM~~"

His mouth was too busy to talk, so he just gave them a series of thumbs-ups.

Yi Chen was the one who had mainly mixed the sauce, even writing down the proportions in a notebook for future improvements. But An Jun felt there was no need for any adjustments; the flavor was already fantastic.

After finishing one shrimp, An Jun actually felt a little full. It was both delicious and satisfying!

"This is just awesome! I never expected raw-marinated seafood to taste this good!"

"Well, look at the ingredients we’re using." Gu Nan was gnawing on a crystal crab leg. The meat was so fresh and sweet even after being marinated raw. "How many people can afford to eat ingredients that cost this much? You don’t get this kind of flavor from ordinary stuff."

An Jun nodded in agreement. The ingredients he bought for himself tasted good, but compared to the ones in the shop, the difference in flavor was obvious.

Even though he wasn’t a chef and his palate wasn’t particularly sensitive, he could still tell the difference.

"Hey, having a meal, are we?" While the three were enjoying their food, an unexpected customer arrived.

"Well, well, Sea King! What brings you to Yangjiang Port today?" Gu Nan quickly stood up.

This busy man had vanished after buying that blue Large-spot Grouper. He would occasionally buy fish through WeChat, asking Gu Nan to pack and ship them, but since he was in Shanghai, he almost never came over in person.

"I had some business in Bazhou City today. After I was done, I thought I’d swing by your place and grab something for dinner." Sea King said with a smile, handing him a cigarette and craning his neck to look at the two large containers on the table.

"Oh, is this raw-marinated seafood?"

"Yeah. Some customers who want sashimi usually ask us to just slice it and sell it to them. Since we’re already doing sashimi, I figured we might as well try making some raw-marinated dishes. We made this batch to test the flavor. If it’s good, we’ll promote it to our customers."

As he spoke, Gu Nan grabbed a bowl and a pair of chopsticks for him. "Want to try some?"

"Then I won’t be polite!" Sea King did indeed want a taste. The raw-marinated seafood looked delicious, and the ingredients were even better.

He first tried a slice of the fish belly. As soon as it entered his mouth, his eyebrows shot up. The sweet, sour, and spicy flavor was exactly to his liking!

"Try this one, too. It’s a different flavor."

"Alright!"

Sea King tried the other one and found the numbing, spicy, savory, and fragrant flavor to be delicious as well. As a connoisseur, he thought the sauce was exceptionally well-made. Among all the raw-marinated seafood places he had tried, this could rank in the top five.

"This flavor is great. If you’re selling this, you have to make me two boxes, one of each flavor."

"Then I’ll go buy the seasonings and containers..." Yi Chen put down her chopsticks and was about to get up.

Sea King quickly raised a hand to stop her. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, no rush. Even if you make it now, I won’t be able to eat it until it’s time for a late-night snack. No rush, finish your meal first."

"Ah Nan, I’ll go ahead and buy the ingredients now, and I’ll come back to pick it up later!"

"Sure, I’ll send you a message when it’s ready!" Gu Nan nodded, agreeing immediately.

’This is a good chance to take a photo and post it on my Moments,’ he thought. ’I should let the regulars know about this.’

Sea King didn’t hesitate. He immediately called over his cameraman, clipped a lavalier mic to his collar, and started filming an episode for his channel.

He hadn’t planned on filming a video tonight, but since the opportunity arose, he might as well.

"These Spotted Prawn Shrimp are plump. Give me the six largest ones."

"Ah Nan, what kind of crab were you eating just now? Crystal crab? Alright, I’ll take the biggest one of those, too."

"Definitely need the king salmon. The biggest lobster... what’s that? The smaller ones are better for raw marinating? Then give me three of the small ones."

Gu Nan quickly jotted it down in a notebook. He loved customers like this, who ordered up a storm without even looking at the prices.

Soon, he had the list of ingredients. Six of the largest Spotted Prawn Shrimp, each over a jin, for a total of 2,360 yuan.

The largest king salmon, 1,320 yuan.

For the lobster, he chose Rose Dragons, as they came in smaller sizes. In total, they weighed over seven jin, costing a little over 2,600 yuan.

There were also abalone and other miscellaneous items. For a single late-night snack, he spent over 8,700 yuan, and that was just for the ingredients.

Gu Nan rounded it up to an even 9,000 yuan, which included the labor fee for the marinating.

This labor fee was an extra commission for Yi Chen. Since she was his girlfriend, he didn’t bother calculating a specific split.

An Jun, watching from the side, was green with envy. After Sea King left, he couldn’t help but say, "Your customers are just so loaded. Almost ten thousand yuan in a single order! When I open my little shop, who knows how long it’ll take to make that much in revenue!"

"As long as your food is good, you won’t have to worry about attracting wealthy customers," Gu Nan said with a laugh.

His perspective had broadened considerably during this time. He no longer batted an eye at rich people spending ten thousand yuan on a meal, nor did he find a several-thousand-yuan dinner unacceptable anymore.

It wasn’t just him; Yi Chen was the same. Being exposed to daily revenues of thousands or tens of thousands of yuan and witnessing the spending habits of the wealthy, she gradually stopped thinking that the seafood in their shop, priced in the thousands or tens of thousands, was expensive.

An Jun shook his head. He didn’t think his small-scale shop could ever reach that level. His business model was based on selling mid-to-low-end products in high volume.

However, this was just a trial run for him. Only if the small shop succeeded would he consider expanding the business later on.

Throughout the evening, they sold some more of their catch. Fortunately, Gu Nan’s shop also stocked plenty of more affordable seafood. If it were all mid-to-high-end products, the shop would probably see very few walk-in customers all day.

At 7 p.m., they closed up shop right on time.

An Jun left on his own electric scooter, while Gu Nan drove Yi Chen home before heading to the pier.

While he was driving, he happened to spot a familiar figure on the side of the road, carrying a small bucket and a fishing rod.

Slowing down as he passed, he glanced back. Well, what do you know, it really was someone he knew.

Gu Nan had a very deep impression of this old man. The moment the man spoke, fish would start biting. He wondered if this "buff" would continue to work. If it did...

’If what happened last time can happen again, wouldn’t I get a huge extra haul if I take this old man fishing with me in the future?’

He decisively pulled over, reversed a little, and rolled down the window under the old man’s puzzled gaze.

"Uncle, remember me?" Gu Nan felt that since this was their third meeting, they were quite familiar, so his form of address was a bit more intimate than before.

Lin Zhijian looked quizzically at the young man in the car, then recognition dawned on his face. "Oh, it’s you, young man."

"Uncle, where are you headed? I’ll give you a lift!"

"I’m on my way to go fishing. You came at just the right time. Want to come along?" Lin Zhijian deftly tossed his things into the truck bed, then got in and sat in the passenger seat.

This was his third time hitching a ride; he was a pro at it.

"Sure! I’ve got nothing else to do, so why not!" Gu Nan readily agreed, then started the car and headed to the pier first to grab a fishing rod from his boat.

’He wasn’t sure if this old man was really his ’best support,’ but tonight was a good chance to find out.’

If so, when he wasn’t fishing for seafood from his fishing game, he could take the old man out to sea to give himself a buff.

The car zipped over to the pier, where Gu Nan grabbed a rock fishing rod.

Then, he went to a tackle shop to buy some chum, hoping to catch a silver carp, bighead carp, or snakehead.

He drove to the spot where he had caught the yellowcheek carp last time. Whoa, it was packed. There were more people than fish.

"Uncle, with this many people, can you even catch anything?" Gu Nan asked, surprised, pointing at the long line of anglers that snaked along the bank.

"Hah, don’t mind the crowd. I get a catch every single day!" Lin Zhijian wasn’t about to back down, patting his chest to prove he wasn’t one of those anglers who always went home empty-handed.

"Heh heh..."

Gu Nan’s mouth twitched. ’Anglers are all cut from the same cloth,’ he thought. ’Shameless, every one of them!’