I Can Fish Up Everything!

Chapter 21: Chapter 21: An Angler Comes to Buy Fish

[Daily Quest 1: Catch ten 2-star fish of any species from the Fengqi Coast. Reward: 10 EXP, 200 Gold Coins.]

[Daily Quest 2: Catch five fish over 50 cm in length. Reward: 10 EXP, 300 Gold Coins.]

[Daily Quest 3: Unlock a new entry in the Fish Codex. Reward: 15 EXP, 300 Gold Coins.]

[Daily Quest 4: Catch any fish within one minute (timing starts from the moment the fish is hooked). Reward: 15 EXP, 300 Gold Coins.]

If he completed them all, he would get 1,100 Gold Coins and 50 EXP.

Gu Nan could feel that as his equipment improved, the difficulty of the daily quests was also increasing. However, the corresponding EXP and Gold Coin rewards were rising as well.

That was only normal. His need for both would only grow, and if the quest rewards didn’t increase, it would take him forever to get a set of purple-grade Fengqi Fishing Rods.

Gu Nan had a better understanding of the game now. When using a guaranteed catch, the haul was primarily determined by the fishing rod’s stats.

Poor stats would basically get you low-star fish, while good stats should get you higher-star fish.

Of course, he wasn’t entirely certain about this. Gu Nan felt that even if he upgraded his rod, he couldn’t sell his current white-grade set just yet.

He desperately needed high-star fish, but the low-star ones, aimed at casual walk-in customers, were actually the main source of his shop’s income.

After checking the daily quests, Gu Nan found himself with nothing to do for the moment.

"Ah, how could I have forgotten about this." He suddenly slapped his forehead, then got up, took a picture of the five-colored tang, and sent it to the customer who had bought ornamental fish yesterday, asking if he still wanted it.

A short while later, the customer replied, saying he wasn’t in town and would be back tomorrow. He asked Gu Nan to hold the fish for him and said he would come over in the morning.

Gu Nan replied with an "Okay" and started playing a game on his phone to kill time.

"HOLY SHIT, a penta kill, a penta kill! Don’t steal my kill..."

"Boss, what kind of fish is this? How much is it?"

Gu Nan froze, looking up to find a customer had arrived.

He couldn’t care less about the penta kill now. He put his phone down and hurried over to help. ’Anyway, we’re at their crystal. It’s a guaranteed win.’

"This is a Star Chicken Fish, imported from East Africa..." Gu Nan said, walking over to the customer. Only then did he notice the man was carrying a fishing rod. ’Did he get skunked and come here to buy a fish to take home?’

Wang Junhe was not in a good mood today because he had gotten skunked yet again. He’d certainly fed the fish well, though.

He recalled how confident he’d been that morning, promising to catch a fish for his son to eat. Now, he was too embarrassed to go back empty-handed.

And so, passing by the seafood market, he decided to pop in and have a look.

He walked around and found plenty of shops selling live seafood. The problem was, the smaller shops all got their stock from fish farms. Those farmed fish had a poor texture and taste; his family would know he’d bought it the moment they took a bite.

The larger seafood stores had plenty of imported fish, but they were mostly expensive groupers and other valuable species, not ordinary fish.

It wasn’t that Wang Junhe was unwilling to spend the money. The main issue was that he’d tried this a few times before, and his wife had seen right through it.

Then, passing by Gu Nan’s shop, he spotted the Star Chicken Fish and the Bushi Golden Needlefish. They looked rather plain and therefore inexpensive, but were a decent size.

He didn’t recognize either species, which meant his wife and son wouldn’t either. Besides, buying a plain-looking fish to pass off as his own catch was actually the most convincing move.

"Are they wild-caught? How do they taste?" Wang Junhe didn’t really care whether they were imported or not.

The main things were that they had to be wild-caught and couldn’t taste too bad.

"Definitely wild-caught, and line-caught at that. See? There’s still a mark from the hook on its mouth!" Gu Nan said, nodding affirmatively. "The flavor is no worse than a semi-farmed Seven-star Sea Bass. It’s best braised or used in soup."

"Whoa, line-caught fish, huh? You’re really something to get your hands on these. Impressive! How much are they?" Wang Junhe was surprised. Judging by the hook mark, the fish hadn’t been caught that long ago.

Then again, live fish were usually air-freighted, and if the transport was fast, the hook mark wouldn’t have had time to heal.

"The price is great. Only twenty-five yuan a pound."

"That really isn’t expensive." Wang Junhe was genuinely surprised by how cheap this imported fish was. ’With air freight costs so high, how can he even break even on these things?’

Wang Junhe couldn’t figure it out, but he figured the owner wasn’t stupid enough to lose money on purpose. So, he pointed at the other fish in the tank and asked, "What about these ones?"

Gu Nan quickly went through them one by one. By the time he finished introducing the Blue-striped Gidai, he noticed the customer’s expression grow very tempted, as if he really wanted it.

In the end, however, he chose the largest Star Chicken Fish, which was just over four pounds. Gu Nan charged him an even one hundred yuan.

This time, however, Gu Nan didn’t bother bagging the fish with oxygenated water. He simply scooped it out and handed it over, flashing a knowing smile that all fishermen would understand.

Wang Junhe chuckled, understanding completely. He took the fish, pulled out a hook, and pierced it back through the original hook mark. Then he placed the fish in his own livewell, even adding some water from the shop’s tank.

But he didn’t leave right after buying the fish. He took out his phone, snapped a picture of the fish in the tank, and as he typed a message to his fishing group chat, he casually said to Gu Nan, "Boss, save these fish for me for a bit. I have some friends who might need them too."

As a fellow fisherman who had often been skunked himself, Gu Nan understood instantly. He made an "OK" gesture. "Sure thing. I’ll wait for your friends."

"Oh, right. Maybe we should put your fish back in the tank for a bit, so it doesn’t lose its energy."

"It’s better if it’s less energetic! This fish is too lively. If I take it home like this, my cover will be blown, won’t it?"

"That... makes sense. You’re the one with the experience here."

Since they were both fishermen, they had plenty to talk about. While they waited, the two of them chatted in the shop about where the fish were biting, when and where they’d caught big ones, and so on. They were basically bragging about dream catches and shooting the bull.

The two not only exchanged contact info, but Wang Junhe also added Gu Nan to a fishing group chat and invited him to go fishing together sometime.

Gu Nan only agreed verbally. He couldn’t let anyone see the fish he was catching from the Fengqi Coast right now, or it would definitely raise suspicions.

And if they went somewhere else, he had no desire to get skunked alongside someone else.

Yangjiang Port’s natural resources weren’t as well-protected as in some other places. Originally a small fishing village, its coastal and river resources had been more or less ravaged by the previous generation. Otherwise, the local fishermen wouldn’t get skunked so often.

Another short while passed, and just before five o’clock, the fishermen Wang Junhe had called over finally started to arrive one after another.

There weren’t many fish left in the shop. With one guy taking one, and another taking another, there weren’t even enough to go around.

Even the Blue-striped Gidai and Yellowfin Gidai that Gu Nan had set aside for a restaurant delivery tomorrow were forcefully bought up.

After all, not every fisherman’s family was as sharp as Wang Junhe’s wife. Even though the Blue-striped Gidai clearly didn’t look like a local coastal fish, the two fishermen who bought them were confident they could talk their way through it.

The fishermen who didn’t manage to buy one weren’t too disappointed; they just headed off to check other shops.

Gu Nan hadn’t expected business to be this good today. Except for the five-colored tang that hadn’t been picked up yet, every single fish he’d caught had been sold out.

It was only just five o’clock now, but seeing as there was nothing left to sell in the shop, he decided to close up early.

He cleaned up the shop and checked the money in his account. He had spent two thousand today, but his savings still exceeded seven thousand. His wallet was getting visibly fatter.

So, so satisfying!