I Can Fish Up Everything!

Chapter 15: Chapter 15: Yi Chen’s Past

Catching big fish came with extra rewards, which was great. Unfortunately, it also required a high-end rod.

After Gu Nan collected the full set of the white Fengqi Fishing Rod and reel, he caught far fewer small fish, but the number of large ones was still low, not to mention anything like the giant or king-sized ones.

’To catch fish of the giant size or larger, I’ll probably need at least the blue Fengqi Fishing Rod.’

At that point, the rod and reel combined would give a 30% bonus for big fish, greatly increasing the odds of catching one.

Next, Gu Nan checked the equipment recycling function. He found that a rod bought for five hundred Gold Coins could only be recycled for three hundred, which was 60% of the original price.

It was the same for the line and bait; bought for three hundred, recycled for one hundred eighty.

The green Fengqi Fishing Rod and reel each cost two thousand Gold Coins, while the line and bait cost twelve hundred.

There were now four daily tasks. If he could complete them all, he estimated he could earn seven to eight hundred Gold Coins a day. Plus, there were Gold Coin rewards from the fish index. At this rate, it would take ten days at most to collect a full green set.

Ten days was completely acceptable to Gu Nan. And considering the increase in Gold Coins from today’s daily tasks, the time might even be a little shorter.

After familiarizing himself with the newly unlocked game functions, he cast his rod and continued fishing.

He finished at midnight, just like before. Then, he took his catch back to the shop, putting the ones to be kept alive in tanks and icing down the rest.

He also grabbed a notebook and took stock of the fish in his shop.

Currently, for fish from the Fengqi Coast, there were sixteen Star Chicken Fish. The smallest was just under a pound, and the largest was three and a half pounds.

Eleven Bushi Golden Needlefish, the smallest a pound and the largest a little over four pounds.

No clownfish, and only one five-colored tang—catching that was pure luck.

Normally, these fish couldn’t bite a large hook. He had only managed to catch a few clownfish yesterday because he’d wanted to see if it was possible and had specifically switched to a hook for creek fish.

But today, his target was other fish, so he didn’t catch any.

Five Ball-nosed Fish, ranging from one to three pounds.

A total of six Black-striped Small Stripes Buri, which included the two that hadn’t sold yesterday.

Three Blue-striped Gidai. The smallest was fourteen ounces, and the largest was estimated to be nearly two pounds.

He also caught a new three-star fish today called the Yellowfin Gidai. Its place of origin and other details were the same as the Blue-striped Gidai, and its flavor rating was also five stars.

Its maximum length was ten centimeters longer, but compared to the Blue-striped Gidai, the Yellowfin Gidai’s flesh was much tougher, making it only suitable for pan-frying or making soup.

The suggested price was the same as the Blue-striped Gidai: eighty yuan per pound.

Both fish were from the snapper family, but not the same genus. They were relatives, so to speak.

Gu Nan had only caught one of these fish so far. He hadn’t weighed it, but he estimated it was about a pound and a half.

These were all fish from the Fengqi Coast. He hadn’t caught as many local species; it was still mainly blackhead seabream and rockfish, with a similar yield to yesterday.

Gu Nan had tossed the small miscellaneous fish. He doubted he could even sell the two tilapia in the tank.

After finishing his inventory, he locked up the shop and went home to sleep. He didn’t run into his old classmate tonight.

...

Near the seafood market, there was a street named Dongfeng.

On this street was a chain convenience store called "Changchi," a 24-hour establishment.

The store ran on three shifts—morning, afternoon, and night. Yi Chen worked at this very convenience store.

At midnight, just as Gu Nan was heading back from fishing, she was arriving for the night shift, which ran from 12:00 AM to 8:00 AM.

Although the work at a convenience store didn’t seem too demanding—mostly just stocking snacks and waiting to ring up customers—

the constant all-nighters were hard on the body. The pay wasn’t great either, only four thousand a month here in Yangjiang Port.

Yi Chen had a complicated family situation. Her parents were divorced and had each started new families. Though custody was awarded to her father, she didn’t like her new stepfamily, so her grandparents took her in and raised her.

Due to the family turmoil and her father largely ignoring her after having new children, she didn’t study much in middle or high school and ended up not going to college.

After graduating from high school, it was hard to find a suitable job. Besides becoming a factory girl, the only options were other jobs that didn’t require a diploma.

But these were all low-paying, difficult jobs. Of course, the pay at nightclubs was high, but the price you paid was even higher.

Yi Chen, who had been rebellious in her school days, grew up instantly after her grandfather passed away.

Her goals now were to save money, take good care of her grandmother, and, if she got the chance, travel and see the world.

As for marriage and romance, Yi Chen never even considered it. Her parents’ divorce had hurt her so deeply that she had no faith in so-called "love."

She only believed in her grandma and money. Grandma genuinely doted on her, and money gave her a sense of security.

Around 11:40, Yi Chen arrived at the convenience store. Her grandmother was already asleep. Back home, when she had tried to sleep, all she could see when she closed her eyes were images of herself drifting on the ocean.

She had tossed and turned for a long time, and seeing it was already 11:30, she decided she might as well come to work.

Usually, as long as she wasn’t working the afternoon shift (4:00 PM to midnight), she would go foraging on the beach at night to see if she could catch anything to sell for extra money. She never expected to have such an unforgettable experience today.

At the moment, there were no customers in the store. The woman on duty was in her mid-twenties. Standing next to her was a man with somewhat long hair, his hands shoved in his pockets and his back slouched. He radiated the air of a try-hard punk.

"What took you so long? Didn’t I ask you to come in early?" Seeing Yi Chen, the young woman’s smile vanished. She crossed her arms and frowned.

"And who are you to tell me when to show up?" Yi Chen wasn’t about to indulge her. "My shift starts at midnight. It’s not my time yet."

"Don’t you know I have a date tonight? We’re coworkers. What’s wrong with helping me out a little?"

"What does your date have to do with me? It’s not *my* date."

"You..."

"Hey, hey, hey, don’t fight, don’t fight. You’re all coworkers! You should get along. It’s no problem for me to wait. Babe, don’t be mad, okay?" The punk had been sneaking glances at Yi Chen ever since she walked in.

Seeing that the two were about to have a full-blown argument, he quickly stepped forward to intervene, making a move to separate them as they got closer.

However, Yi Chen noticed his outstretched hand and took two steps back, causing him to grasp at empty air.

She shot the man a look and frowned. "If you have a date, then get going."

Leaving them with that, she turned and walked into the small stockroom, locked the door, and changed into her work uniform.

If it weren’t for the incident earlier tonight, Yi Chen wouldn’t have let it go so easily.

’So what if she’s trying to guilt-trip me? Acting all innocent and manipulative, being passive-aggressive... anyone can play that game!’

"What’s her problem, seriously!" the young woman muttered, looking indignant and thoroughly displeased.

Her actions, however, were just as rude. She grabbed her boyfriend and stormed out of the store.

A short while later, Yi Chen came out to the register in her uniform. Seeing that they were gone, she actually felt more at ease.

She had actually come in early to help cover the shift before, but her coworker had started taking a mile when given an inch, which Yi Chen couldn’t stand.

The one time she politely refused, her coworker’s attitude toward her plummeted. She even started bad-mouthing Yi Chen to other colleagues behind her back, which was disgusting enough.

’What kind of person is that!’ It was a real eye-opener for Yi Chen. In her twenty years of life, she had never met anyone like that. Even the delinquent girls she knew in middle and high school weren’t this revolting.

After that, their relationship deteriorated rapidly, and she became increasingly unhappy working there.

A high-paying, easy job was hard to find, but while jobs that paid four thousand a month in Yangjiang Port weren’t exactly everywhere, they weren’t hard to find either.

So, Yi Chen had decisively quit. The only catch was that she couldn’t leave immediately. The boss needed to hire a replacement first; otherwise, being short one person would make the three-shift rotation impossible.

A small convenience store like this wouldn’t hire extra staff; having just enough people was already considered good.