I Can Fish Up Everything!

After that, Gu Nan switched to bottom fishing. Without any more Indian Marlins to contend with, reeling in fish with the safety rope was relatively easy.

"Man, what happened to you?" the boat captain asked in surprise when he came for pickup, seeing Gu Nan’s sorry state.

Gu Nan looked like a man who’d just lost the fish of a lifetime. "Sigh, don’t even ask," he said, heartbroken. "I hooked a massive fish, and it was a hell of a fight. I finally got it right next to the boat, but I couldn’t get a firm hold, and it escaped. I’m so pissed, my guts are twisting."

"To make matters worse, I didn’t get a single bite after that. So unlucky."

"Well..." The boat captain opened his mouth, then closed it. For a moment, he didn’t know what to say to console him.

He’d met unlucky fishermen before, but never one who was both unlucky and got skunked. No matter how slow the bite was around the bridge piers, you never came back completely empty-handed. This was the first customer he’d ever had who managed to get skunked.

The "skunked" Gu Nan returned to shore and immediately drove his tricycle home.

That night’s Indian Marlin alone was enough to fulfill Zhao Jie’s order. He didn’t know if he would still want the two smaller ones.

So, he decided not to ship anything yet. He would wait to ask tomorrow. That way, he wouldn’t ship the fish only for them to be rejected, causing the remaining two to spoil before he could sell them.

Back home, he showered, tossed his dirty clothes into the washing machine, and turned it on. Without waiting for it to finish, Gu Nan went straight to his room, flopped onto the bed, and was fast asleep within seconds of his eyes closing.

The next day, he was sore all over again, but he felt it was a bit better than the time he’d fished for that "boss" in the rain. ’Perhaps I’m getting used to this high-intensity fishing?’

As usual, he went to work at the shop. Gu Nan worked on some practice problems for a while, and seeing it was already ten in the morning, he sent a message to Zhao Jie.

"Boss Zhao, we got an Indian Marlin that’s around three hundred jin. There are also two smaller ones, bringing the total to about four hundred sixty or seventy jin. Do you want to take them all, or just the big one?"

A moment later, Zhao Jie replied, "I’ll take them all. We burned through a lot of ingredients over the Dragon Boat Festival. If it weren’t almost time for my regular pickup, I’d be asking you to send a couple more. This is perfect timing."

"Great, they’re already on their way. They’ll arrive tonight or tomorrow." Seeing that he wanted everything, Gu Nan opened the game to arrange the shipment.

The exact arrival time was uncertain. It could arrive as early as that afternoon or as late as the next day.

Still, the latest it would arrive was the next day, which was manageable enough.

An Jun didn’t come by in the morning, so Gu Nan went ahead and put his fish in a tank with the others, telling Yi Chen not to sell them.

As lunchtime rolled around, he watched her go to make lunch with such domestic grace that Gu Nan was suddenly struck by a strange illusion. ’It’s like we’re a married couple running this shop, and my wife is making me lunch.’

Shaking his head, he pushed the strange, sudden thought away and went back to his practice problems.

After lunch and a short rest, it was almost time to meet Wang Junhe.

"Yi Chen, I’m heading out this afternoon. I probably won’t be back for dinner, so you don’t need to make anything for me."

"Okay~"

Leaning on the counter, Yi Chen watched Gu Nan go, her eyes filled with a certain bewilderment.

’Marriage, romance... what are they, really?’

’Her family background made her afraid to even think about things like that. But with such an outstanding, handsome, and respectable man right here... how could she not be drawn to him?’

’He’s his own boss, ambitious, and makes a good living. A smart girl would jump at the chance to be with a guy with so much potential, who cares if he sells fish.’

’Anyone who looks down on someone for selling fish is a complete idiot. In this day and age, no matter what you do, money is what matters most.’

’Of course, as long as it’s not illegal!’

And so, Yi Chen was conflicted. If she was truly determined never to marry, then letting this opportunity pass wouldn’t matter. But would she come to regret it?

She wasn’t so sure...

Gu Nan, unaware of the young woman’s inner turmoil, walked to the entrance of the seafood market. After a short wait, a G-Wagen pulled up beside him.

He was a little surprised to see Wang Junhe in the driver’s seat. He never would have pegged him for someone who drove a car like this.

’Why did he walk to the fishing spot before, looking like a total nobody? Was he just trying to be low-key?’

"Ah Nan, what’s with the sudden urge to buy a boat?" Wang Junhe asked as he started the car after Gu Nan got in.

"It’s all your fault, Brother Wang," Gu Nan said, launching right into a complaint. "Last time on your boat, we only fished for a single morning. I barely even got started."

Guo Xiao chimed in from the side, "He’s right, he’s right! There were so many silver pomfret, and Ah Nan even caught a Meter Level counterfeit leopard coral grouper. And then you just went straight home in the afternoon. What kind of fishing addict could put up with that!"

Wang Junhe laughed heartily. "Haha, my bad, my bad. This time, I’ll definitely help you pick out a boat with the best bang for your buck."

"Thanks, Brother Wang."

The three of them chatted and laughed, and the car soon arrived at the shipyard.

Although Gu Nan had only shortlisted five boats, since they were all there, Wang Junhe and Guo Xiao made a point of helping him look at several more.

Time flew by. After they had looked at thirteen boats, the sun was already dipping toward the west.

However, after discussing and considering Gu Nan’s requirements, Wang Junhe and Guo Xiao picked out two good fishing boats and left the final choice to him.

Without hesitation, Gu Nan ruled out the one they thought was excellent. The main reason was the price: even used, it cost over 500,000.

The other boat had an asking price of 238,000. He haggled until he was blue in the face and finally managed to knock the price down to 220,000.

This was also the rock-bottom price the owner had entrusted to the shipyard; they wouldn’t sell for any less.

’At least, that’s what they said. He had no idea how much of that was just hot air.’