I Can Fish Up Everything!

Chapter 38: Chapter 38: Yi Chen is Numbed, Another Unappetizing Lunch

"Phew, things have finally quieted down."

It was ten-thirty in the morning, and Yi Chen, who had been busy without a moment’s rest, finally had a chance to take a break. She stood with one hand on her hip, leaning against the counter.

Thinking about how most people in the morning just asked questions without buying anything, she couldn’t help but complain, "It feels like I’ve been running around for nothing all morning. Hardly anyone actually bought any fish."

"You’ve sold almost half our stock and your sales have already hit thirty-seven hundred. You call that ’for nothing’?" Gu Nan couldn’t help but chuckle after calculating her morning’s performance.

"Huh? It’s that much already?" Yi Chen was surprised. She had the impression that a lot of people hadn’t bought anything.

"If twenty out of a hundred customers make a purchase, that’s already a pretty good performance. To be honest, you’re doing better than I am."

Gu Nan had seen how the morning went; it was indeed easier for Yi Chen to make sales than it was for him.

Male customers tended to be more straightforward. When they tried to haggle and she put on a troubled expression, most of them felt too embarrassed to press the issue.

Coupled with the sales skills she’d developed in the past, her success rate was naturally higher.

Of course, her appearance was also an advantage. Without getting into ’simps’ or anything, men just instinctively feel a bit more favorable toward a pretty girl.

It was just like how some middle-aged aunties would take a liking to him on sight.

Unfortunately, the aunties were much more prone to haggling over every penny, and the proportion of young female customers wasn’t high, so his advantage wasn’t as great as Yi Chen’s.

"What do you want to eat for lunch? How about we get some Sichuan food again to train up your spice tolerance?" Gu Nan asked, seeing that it was almost noon.

Remembering her miserable state last night, stuck in the bathroom and unable to leave, Yi Chen shuddered and shook her head frantically.

"I’m not eating spicy food! You couldn’t pay me to eat it again. Anything else is fine, as long as it’s not spicy."

Seeing her terrified expression, Gu Nan understood instantly. After all, he had experienced a similar tragedy himself before.

"Alright, I’ll order something non-spicy for lunch then." He nodded, suppressing a smile, and took out his phone to order food.

Gu Nan had a lot of restaurants saved in his phone, all thanks to An Jun, who was always exploring new places to eat.

He didn’t just check out big-name restaurants; he even ventured into hole-in-the-wall eateries. Afterward, he would share the tasty and clean ones with him and Ye Jing.

Since Yi Chen said anything was fine except spicy food, he decided to just order two bowls of noodles.

"By the way, Yi Chen, I know a noodle shop that’s really good. I’ll order us some seafood noodles for lunch. Do you prefer rice vermicelli, wheat noodles, or sweet potato noodles?"

"They have sweet potato noodles? I love sweet potato noodles." Yi Chen’s eyes lit up when she heard that.

When she was little, she often ate the sweet potato noodles her grandfather made. They were delicious, and she absolutely loved them.

Unfortunately, after her grandfather passed away, she never tasted those nostalgic sweet potato noodles again. Still, she would occasionally order a bowl at noodle shops.

Even if it didn’t taste like her grandfather’s, she still enjoyed it.

"Okay." Seeing that she wanted sweet potato noodles, Gu Nan sent the order to the noodle shop owner via WeChat.

Just as he was about to put his phone away after ordering, the owner sent another message.

"By the way, Ah Nan, I just remembered I bought some good peanut worms this morning. Want to add some?"

Gu Nan’s eyes lit up. He had ordered seafood noodles, so adding some peanut worms would be perfectly fine.

He actually hadn’t liked eating peanut worms before. The appearance was fine with him; it was the muddy, fishy smell he hated.

But ever since he tried this shop’s seafood and peanut worm noodles, he had grown to love the taste.

So he immediately replied and told the owner to add them.

He was about to ask Yi Chen if she ate them, but just as he finished replying, a message happened to come in from An Jun.

"Ah Nan, you free this afternoon? Come with me to Feiyun Pavilion!"

Gu Nan had rested for a night, so he wasn’t as exhausted as he was last night, but the fatigue still lingered. He agreed to go.

Seeing that he agreed, An Jun arranged to meet him at Feiyun Pavilion at two in the afternoon.

"Oh yeah, ask Yi Chen if she wants to come. If she does, bring her along."

"Taking a girl for a massage... you’re really something else."

"What’s the big deal? It’s perfectly normal!"

"True! I’ll ask her then." Gu Nan was just about to look up and ask when Yi Chen’s voice cut in first.

"Boss, one blackhead seabream, one point three jin."

"Got it." Gu Nan put down his phone, opened his ledger, and jotted it down: blackhead seabream, 1.3 jin, unit price fifty, total sixty-five.

Blackhead seabream was a bit more expensive during the fishing ban period. Once the ban was over, the price would drop to around forty.

After Yi Chen packed the fish and handed it to the customer, Gu Nan remembered An Jun’s invitation and asked, "Yi Chen, An Jun invited me for a massage this afternoon. Do you want to come along?"

Yi Chen gave him a strange look, then shook her head. "I’m not that tired, so I’ll pass. You guys go ahead!"

"Okay." Gu Nan picked up his phone to reply to An Jun, then took out the shop’s front door key and handed it to her. "You’re free from one to four this afternoon. You can go home and take a nap, or you can watch the shop and sell fish. If you go out, get a copy of this key made. I’ll transfer you the money for it later."

"Mhm, got it!" Yi Chen took the key, nodding repeatedly. Ever since she started working, she’d never had a job that required her to get up at five in the morning.

Having woken up so early today, it wasn’t so bad when she was busy, but now that things had quieted down, she was indeed feeling a little sleepy.

So, she planned to go home for a nap in the afternoon and then come back early to open the shop.

Gu Nan looked at her, hesitating. ’I feel like there was something else I was supposed to ask her, but I just can’t remember what it was.’

However, when the noodle shop owner delivered their food, it finally dawned on him: he’d forgotten to ask about the peanut worms.

Many guys couldn’t even handle the things, let alone girls.

But the owner had already added them. Plus, knowing Gu Nan’s appetite, the owner had also prepared an extra-large bowl of rice vermicelli packaged separately. Even with his big appetite, Gu Nan couldn’t possibly eat three servings.

’It’s strange; I can eat a lot of rice, but my appetite is a bit smaller for other foods.’

’Oh well, better not say anything. Maybe Yi Chen doesn’t recognize peanut worms. She might not even know what she’s eating after she’s finished, right?’

’These seafood and peanut worm noodles taste really good. She might end up liking them.’

However, when Yi Chen, who was already starving after a busy morning, excitedly opened her food container, her smiling face froze as soon as she saw what was on top.

"P-Peanut worms?"

"Uh, you recognize them?"

"I’ve dug them up before..." Yi Chen was floored. She had dug them up once and sold them for a few dozen yuan; how could she not recognize them!

If it weren’t for the fact that she wasn’t very strong and couldn’t stand the scorching sun, she definitely would have gone out to dig for them every day.

But she had never actually eaten them, and she was quite repulsed by their appearance.

"How about I eat it all? I can order you another bowl without them." Seeing her troubled expression, Gu Nan had no choice but to pull her bowl toward him.

"You don’t have to go to all that trouble. Can’t you just pick out the peanut worms?" Yi Chen didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at his behavior. ’Does he have to be so dramatic? It’s hilarious.’

"Oh, right!" Gu Nan smacked his head. He’d been overthinking it.

But even after she gave him all the peanut worms from the top, with her first bite, Yi Chen still accidentally ate one that was mixed in with her sweet potato noodles.

The taste, however, took her by surprise. She hadn’t expected it to be so delicious, and her aversion to the peanut worms vanished in an instant.

"These noodles are so good. They taste a lot like the ones my grandpa used to make."

"Really? I’m glad you like them." Gu Nan breathed a sigh of relief.

Just a moment ago, he had been feeling a little regretful, thinking he should have given her a meal allowance instead of providing meals.