I Can Fish Up Everything!

Finally, it was time for the main event. She opened a foam box on the floor, pointed to the large marlin inside, and explained, "I bet Japanese restaurants go through a lot of sashimi. This is a marlin from the Indian Ocean, called an Indian Marlin."

"Its meat is perfect for sashimi. It has a high fat content and is nicknamed the ’White-Fleshed Flag.’ Who knows how many sashimi plates a single one of these could make for a Japanese restaurant."

Zhao Jiajia raised her phone, snapped a picture, and sent it to her brother.

"Bro, see if your restaurant could use any of these fish. I’m at my old classmate’s seafood shop. If you need anything, I think you could source from her. The price might even be cheaper than what you’re paying now."

It was now past lunchtime. Zhao Jie was lying in his break room, phone in hand, flirting with one of his sister’s best friends.

’What’s the best thing about having a younger sister?’

It’s for her to make all sorts of best friends, of course—all for her big brother’s benefit.

Of course, Zhao Jie kept all this flirting with her best friends a secret from his sister, and her friends all had the decency to play along.

He was in the middle of an enjoyable chat when a message from his sister suddenly popped up.

Feeling a little guilty, he startled. He opened the message and saw that his sister was just recommending some seafood, and he breathed a sigh of relief, though he was also a bit puzzled.

He knew that Zhao Jiajia had gone to find an old classmate. He even remembered who it was; he’d seen her once when he picked his sister up from school.

He didn’t have much of an impression of Yi Chen, so he was surprised to find out she had opened a seafood shop.

But since his sister had specifically sent him the message—and as a doting big brother who also cared about his future happiness—he took a serious look at the photos.

’I recognize the Tai Star Garoupa. The Blue Star Nine-spine Sea Perch... looks a little familiar. But what are these other fish? If I don’t even know what they are, how can I tell if the restaurant can use them?’

Then he got to the last one: a Marlin Fish. That piqued his interest.

Marlin Fish is a common fish for sashimi in Japanese restaurants. It’s sometimes called ’white tuna’ because its flesh is white, and it’s considered a high-end sashimi fish that’s so oily it practically melts in your mouth.

Although it’s not as famous as tuna or salmon, it isn’t difficult to sell.

Zhao Jie’s own restaurant had a dedicated Marlin Fish sashimi platter, as well as white-flesh sushi, both of which were made from marlin.

The tuna, Marlin Fish, and salmon for his restaurant were all sourced from Shangdu. There was an International Seafood Market there that specialized in these products.

This International Seafood Market imported fish from abroad and also bought directly from fishermen, then sold it to Japanese restaurants like his at market price.

To get a better price, you had to buy in bulk. But no matter how good business was, a single Japanese restaurant couldn’t go through that many huge fish in one week, so he’d never qualified for the discount.

It wasn’t that Zhao Jie didn’t want to source from somewhere cheaper, but there was one major obstacle: the supply wasn’t stable enough.

If a supplier couldn’t even provide a hundred kilograms a week, and couldn’t guarantee freshness on top of that, then what the hell was the point?

At the very least, the International Seafood Market in Shangdu could guarantee a stable supply of fish that was fresh enough to be used for sashimi.

Sashimi requires extremely high-quality fish. Anything less is unacceptable.

If his sister’s old classmate had a stable source and guaranteed freshness, he wasn’t entirely against the idea of sourcing from her.

So he quickly replied, "Jiajia, ask your old classmate if she can provide a stable supply of one hundred kilograms of Marlin Fish per week, guaranteed fresh. If she can, I’m willing to go over and discuss a supply deal."

Zhao Jiajia saw the message and quickly handed her phone to Yi Chen.

"Marlin Fish?" Yi Chen repeated, looking puzzled.

"Yeah, what’s a Marlin Fish? Did I send him a picture of one of those?" Zhao Jiajia realized belatedly.

"I’ll go get the boss. We have to ask him if we can fulfill that order."

Yi Chen came out of the shop and pulled aside Gu Nan, who was chatting with the other seafood shop owners.

"Boss, can you come inside for a minute? I need to ask you something."

Gu Nan smiled and excused himself from the other shop owners, following her back into the store with a puzzled look.

"What did you need to ask me?"

"What’s a Marlin Fish?"

"Oh, ’Marlin Fish’ is a common term for fish in the billfish family. Swordfish, spearfish, and sailfish can all be called marlins. However, spearfish are larger, so they’re generally called great marlins."

Yi Chen nodded, then explained that Zhao Jiajia was trying to set them up with a Japanese restaurant, showing him the text message.

Gu Nan was thrilled. He’d been wondering what he was going to do with any Indian Marlins he caught in the future. ’Am I supposed to just sell them in one go to the big seafood markets?’

They just import fish from abroad to sell. What a joke!

He never imagined Yi Chen would bring him such a wonderful surprise. At least one hundred kilograms a week—that was an extra fifteen thousand in revenue every week!

"Miss, could you ask for me if they have any size requirements, on top of the freshness and stable supply?"

Zhao Jiajia nodded and relayed the question.

Zhao Jie replied quickly. He said the fish had to be at least twenty-five kilograms each. Anything smaller wouldn’t have a high enough fat content, which would affect the texture.

Of course, there was no upper limit.

Although larger marlins have higher mercury levels, his restaurant would limit the portions of those dishes, so it wouldn’t be a health issue for customers.

"No problem. One hundred kilograms a week of fish over twenty-five kilograms each—I can provide that. Please tell the owner that if he’s amenable, he should come by my shop. We can discuss prices, and besides, I have other fish that might be suitable for his restaurant."

"Okay, I’ll tell him," Zhao Jiajia said with a nod, sending another message to her brother.

"If this deal works out, I’ll treat you all to a feast," Gu Nan said, his face flushed with excitement. This was a huge business opportunity!

It also made him reconsider Qiaoya’s earlier suggestion. Perhaps he really should ask her to connect him with some hotel procurement managers or the owners of seafood restaurants.

"We have a deal, then. If that feast isn’t to my satisfaction, I’ll make trouble for you. And another thing—I’m making this introduction for Yi Chen’s sake, so don’t you dare stiff her on the commission." Zhao Jiajia wrinkled her nose, looking rather adorable.

"Don’t worry, I guarantee you’ll be satisfied with the feast. And you don’t need to worry about Yi Chen. I’m not some unscrupulous boss."

Although the shop’s business was doing surprisingly well—much better than the one or two thousand in daily revenue he’d initially expected—he had already decided on her commission rate and wouldn’t go back on his word.

’Cutting her commission would make me no different from those unscrupulous factory owners who slash their workers’ piece-rate wages.’

Besides, Yi Chen was very capable. The food stall owner and now this Japanese restaurant—she had brought in both clients. Gu Nan couldn’t bring himself to discard an employee who had served him so well.

He was counting on her to bring in even more customers and keep the shop running smoothly so that he could go out fishing without a care in the world.

’But to be completely at ease... wouldn’t he have to make her one of his own?’

For the first time, Gu Nan began to consider the question. She was beautiful and had a great figure... and he still couldn’t forget that flash of snow-white and sky-blue.

Most importantly, she was five years younger than him. A girlfriend, or even a wife, like that... seemed like a pretty good idea.

But actively pursuing her felt strange. It would take time and energy, and if he failed, she would almost certainly quit. How awkward would it be to see each other after that?

After some thought, Gu Nan decided to just let nature take its course.

He didn’t actually have feelings for her yet, anyway. Making a move with an agenda would seem forced and insincere, making rejection all the more likely. It was better to just see how things went for the time being.

"Would you two like anything to drink? My treat." He couldn’t provide a feast just yet, but he could spring for coffee or milk tea.

Zhao Jiajia asked for a latte, and Yi Chen wanted a cappuccino.

Since they were both getting coffee, Gu Nan ordered a ’sauce-fragrance’ latte for himself. The drink had been trendy for a while, but back then, he was so broke he could barely keep the shop open, so he’d obviously never bought one.

After ordering the coffee, the three of them chatted casually in the shop.

They were waiting not only for their coffee, but also for Zhao Jie.

After Jiajia had replied to him, he sent a message saying he was coming right over.

Meanwhile, Gu Nan was mulling over what price to offer. It couldn’t be too low, lest he take a loss. But market price wouldn’t work either; after all, the customer was coming specifically for a deal.