Chapter 55: The Marlin is Reserved
Hearing this, An Jun immediately slapped his thigh, a mournful look on his face. "Bad move! My wallet’s going to take a huge hit tonight!"
Ye Jing couldn’t help but chuckle. All three of them had big appetites, but Gu Nan’s was the biggest.
This barbecue restaurant was good, but it wasn’t cheap either.
The "First Mate’s Lamb Rack" that Gu Nan ordered alone cost 588 yuan and weighed about six and a half pounds.
It was roasted in an oven and was incredibly fragrant.
Even so, Ye Jing didn’t hold back, ordering a few of his own favorite dishes.
The total for just their two orders already exceeded one thousand yuan.
Jiang Tengming was dumbfounded. "Can you guys really eat all this?"
"You’ll see in a bit," Ye Jing said with a mysterious smile.
An Jun might have been complaining about being broke, but he didn’t hold back when ordering. ’Since I’m already paying for it, why be shy?’
Only Jiang Tengming, afraid they wouldn’t be able to finish everything, declined to order anything more.
However, in just half an hour, he witnessed what true gluttons looked like—three of them, in fact.
Fortunately, they had indeed ordered a lot of food, and with Gu Nan and the others intentionally reining themselves in a bit, he still managed to eat his fill in the end.
"Hello, your bill has already been paid."
"Huh? Who paid it?" An Jun asked, stunned, as he went to pay the bill after the meal.
"I did. You just got back and you brought a friend. How could I let you pay?" Gu Nan said with a smile from the side.
He had used the excuse of going to the restroom midway through the meal to go pay the bill.
Thirteen hundred yuan was an acceptable amount for the current Gu Nan.
The batch of fish he’d caught just today would fetch over ten thousand yuan if he sold them all, so he was naturally willing to spend this money.
Your spending habits are definitely different when you have money versus when you don’t.
"Not bad, not bad! Our Ah Nan really knows how to handle things!" An Jun patted his shoulder, satisfied. "Since that’s the case, I’ll arrange round two."
"There’s a round two?" Ye Jing was taken aback.
"Of course. To Feiyun Pavilion we go!" An Jun slung an arm around Jiang Tengming’s shoulder and started walking out of the restaurant.
"Uh, didn’t you just get back from getting massages in Southeast Asia?" Gu Nan was rather speechless.
"That’s different. Over there, *I* was the one expending energy. At Feiyun Pavilion, other people expend the energy."
"..."
And so, the group made their way to Feiyun Pavilion for massages.
Perhaps because he didn’t have much stamina left, An Jun opted for a tui na massage today.
The four of them were in a large room together. After they each took a shower, they changed into the parlor’s robes.
The masseuses Qiaoya had arranged for the other three arrived first. Gu Nan had requested Pan Yourong, so he had to wait more than ten minutes for her to arrive.
The moment she walked through the door, An Jun blurted out, "Holy shit—"
Jiang Tengming’s eyes practically popped out of his head. Only Ye Jing, who had a girlfriend, was a bit more reserved.
It couldn’t be helped. A figure that exaggerated had a huge impact on men. Even if you had no interest or it wasn’t your type, you couldn’t help but sneak a couple of glances.
But that was just a brief interlude. After a short while, Jiang Tengming initiated a conversation. "Ah Nan, what kind of fish do you mainly sell at your shop? Do you have any of the rarer, more exotic types? Or something that would be a good fit for me?"
Gu Nan had originally planned on inviting him to his shop after they were done, so he was surprised that Jiang Tengming brought it up himself.
"I don’t have anything particularly exotic at the moment. It’s the closed season for fishing, so I can’t get any even if I wanted to. That’s why I’m dealing in imported seafood right now."
"However, I did just get an Indian marlin in tonight. It’s not huge—about five feet long and weighs around eighty pounds. And it’s extremely fresh, perfect for sashimi."
"Since you make videos, I think this type of fish would be great content. Plus, I have some other imported fish you’ve probably never featured, like the Tai Star Garoupa, Blue Star Nine-spine Sea Perch, and so on. You can come take a look later."
Jiang Tengming’s eyes lit up. ’Fresh enough for sashimi? That’s perfect.’
The pressure of being a seafood content creator was actually quite high. In the beginning, when your follower base was small and seafood was expensive, you often ended up losing money.
If he didn’t have another business on the side, he really wouldn’t have been able to keep making videos.
Now, he was doing pretty well. With 300,000 followers, he was a moderately well-known seafood creator on the video-sharing platform, and his monthly income was quite good.
But once you reach a certain level of making seafood content, the problem of selecting new species arises.
Fish like marlin were a favorite among creators like him, especially ones imported from abroad.
If he did a good job, this episode could be a viral hit. If the view count was high, the site might even feature his video, which would gain him a lot of new followers. Compared to that, the direct income from the video seemed less important.
"Deal, deal! You have to save that fish for me. I’ll definitely be there tomorrow."
"Alright. Let’s exchange contact info. Just let me know when you’re coming tomorrow." Gu Nan took out his phone and they added each other.
After they finished talking, one of the other masseuses got a look of sudden realization and said, "Number 66, those new fried fish nuggets we have at the parlor... they’re not from this handsome guy’s shop, are they?"
Pan Yourong smiled and nodded. "They are!"
Hearing their exchange, Gu Nan immediately thought of the woman who came to his shop every day to buy Black-striped Small Stripes Buri. He asked in surprise, "The woman who comes to my place every day to buy Black-striped Small Stripes Buri is from your parlor?"
The masseuse who had just spoken nodded repeatedly. "Yes, yes! She’s one of the staff here. Number 66 bought some fish from you before, and the fried fish was so delicious that after our manager tried it, she immediately decided to add it to our buffet. So you really have Number 66 to thank for this!"
A teasing expression on his face, An Jun answered for Gu Nan, "Well, he certainly does have to thank her. How about repaying her with a marriage proposal?"
Gu Nan rolled his eyes at him. ’Always making trouble for me.’
It was an awkward thing to respond to. A direct refusal would be hurtful.
The massage profession was a sensitive one, and a rejection could make it seem like he was looking down on them.
"It’s no use even if I’m willing. I’m afraid Number 66 would find me lacking. You all make such high salaries, I was hoping to become a kept man!"
Pan Yourong smiled, her lips pursed. "I wouldn’t mind. Being a kept man is fine by me."
"..." Gu Nan’s eyes widened. ’Geez, why isn’t she playing along? She’s just teasing me back!’
The others immediately started hooting and hollering, practically demanding they get married on the spot.
But it was all in good fun; everyone knew it was just a joke.
...
He had gotten back around midnight last night, but Gu Nan was in high spirits this morning.
The massage had been relaxing, alleviating much of the fatigue from his fishing trip. His sleep quality had been excellent, so when he woke up at six in the morning, he was full of energy.
When he arrived at the shop, the doors were already open.
Yi Chen was nibbling on a steamed bun while holding a notebook, familiarizing herself with the newly arrived seafood.
Gu Nan walked in carrying breakfast. Seeing how focused she was, he asked, "Yi Chen, is there anything you’re not clear on?"
For the other fish, Yi Chen had been able to look up their names online to find pictures, quickly matching each name to the correct species and getting a clear understanding.
But there was nothing written in the notebook for the Indian marlin, so she was a bit confused.
"Everything else is fine. You wrote down the prices in great detail. It’s just that there’s nothing written for this marlin, so I don’t know how to price it."
Gu Nan nodded and led her over to the marlin. "This is an Indian marlin. Its price fluctuates more than the other fish, which is why I didn’t write it down. I planned to come in and explain it to you in person today."
"Someone’s coming to see this fish today; he’s a friend of mine. The normal price would be 120 yuan per jin, but since he’s my friend, and there’s a small abrasion on the side of the fish, you can give it to him for eighty yuan per jin."
He was just giving her a heads-up; Yi Chen would naturally know what to say when the time came.